Goodchardonnay

White Chocolate Coconut Cake

2012-02-10T10:35:00.006-06:00

Remember the Dacquoise I posted in December? In it, I mentioned a pastry chef from the Atlanta Hilton and Towers? Well, the cake I can still see (and taste) was done by the same guy and was sold in the coffee shop next door to the restaurant I managed. It was a triple layer cake with a delicious white meringue icing and covered in fluffy white coconut.
Many years ago, I adapted a few recipes to create something similar using white chocolate layers. If ever you are looking for an honest to goodness old time favorite you need to hunt down Junior League Cookbooks. I have a few, California Fresh (Jr League of Oakland-East Bay), Connecticut a la Carte (Jr League of Hartford) , and Celebrations of the Bayou (Jr League of Monroe,LA). Low and behold, I found a White Chocolate Layer Cake recipe that is already written for 3 layers in my Monroe book. I made a few adjustments such as doubling the white chocolate and increasing the cake flour to make up for the extra moisture. I omitted the pecans because I want a strictly white cake, white icing and white coconut.
For the white chocolate layers. Using a cooking spray or Crisco, grease (3) 9" pans. Measure 1 Cup Buttermilk into a measuring cup and add 1 tsp Baking Soda. Place 8 oz White Chocolate in a bowl and place it in a pot of simmering water. Once it melts, stir and remove from the pot of water. Let cool slightly. Measure out 2 3/4 Cups Cake Flour. Preheat oven to 350. Cream together 2 Sticks Butter with 2 Cup Sugar. Separate 4 Eggs, the Yolks go in the butter mixture and the Whites go into a clean dry bowl for beating. Add 1 tsp Vanilla to the batter. Continue to cream until it's combined. To the batter add, 1/4 flour, 1/3 chocolate, and 1/3 buttermilk, begining and ending with flour, until it's all in the batter. Whip Egg Whites until they are stiff. Fold the whites into the batter, 1/3 at a time. Divide the batter placing 1/3 in each pan. Spread the batter until it touches the sides and is flat. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan. Let cool for 15 minutes then loosen the sides and remove from the pan. Let cool entirely before you assemble the cake.

Applewood Bacon Wrapped Shrimp with an Asian Glaze

2012-02-05T08:43:00.012-06:00

We were invited to a Super Bowl party and I offered to bring an appetizer. I went back and forth on many ideas but settled on making something new to post on my blog. I decided, since I have been craving this and dying to make it for the first time, that I would make up a recipe for Bacon Wrapped Shrimp.
To make the glaze add to a bowl, 8 oz Honey, 1/4 Cup Stone Ground Mustard, 2 Tbl Soy Sauce, 3 Tbl Apple Cider Vinegar, 1 Tbl Rice Vinegar, 1 tsp Freshly Grated Ginger, and S&P to taste. While stirring with a wire whip, drizzle in 2 tsp Sesame Oil.
I am not sure how many people will be there but the host is roasting an whole pig. I plan to buy 4-5 pounds Jumbo Shrimp head on. Peel and clean shrimp, keeping the tail on for handling and cleaning out the top vein. Place these on a paper towel lined sheet pan. I bought U-10 Shrimp at the Mandeville Seafood Market and got 56 (5 lbs cost $35 which is a very good price). You have to do the math on the bacon, too. Each strip nets 4 pieces. Buy the bacon by the slice not the weight so you have enough, so in this case, 15 slices.
To assemble, cut Applewood Smoked Bacon in 2 directions, in half down the middle and then in half crosswise. This provides nice sized strips to work with and won't over power the shrimp flavor. Pat dry the shrimp and toss it in 1/4 Cup Melted Butter. Wrap each shrimp with a strip of bacon and secure with a toothpick. Place on a foil lined sheet pan without stacking the shrimp. Baste with glaze.
Preheat oven to 425. Place in the oven and cook until the shrimp is pink and curls, about 7 minutes. (When entertaining, you can do this an hour in advance and finish once guests arrive.) Switch from oven to broiler. Turn the shrimp over and baste again. When ready, broil shrimp for 3 minutes in the broiler turning the shrimp over half way through the cooking process. If you want, drizzle additional glaze on the shrimp before serving and top with thinly sliced Scallions. (NOTE: This is very important! If you plan to add the glaze at the end, set it aside once you make the glaze so it isn't contaminated with the raw shrimp and bacon in the basting process). If you want to spice up this dish, add Red Pepper Flakes to the glaze or sprinkle on the the finished dish. Wow, the guests really enjoyed this dish!!

Potstickers

2012-01-30T09:33:00.002-06:00

If you haven't attempted making your own potstickers, I highly recommend it! I just served them with Jasmine Rice as well as Soy Sauce and Rice Vinegar for dipping. This recipe comes from my Martha Stewart Hors D'oeuvres Handbook though I didn't follow it exactly. I increased the filling recipe (but not to an exact measurement) because her recipe only fills half of he 48 wrappers that come in a pack. For Christmas I received a gadget that is used for folding and crimping the wrapper all in 1 motion. If you live locally, the gadget came from Simplee Gourmet on Highway 21. In the past, I have hand crimped the potstickers and it is very time consuming so this made filling them go much faster. You cook these in batches so while the first batch cooks, you can continue filling. Here is the filling recipe doubled already.
First get the prep ready. To a small bowl, add 1 Tbl Grated Ginger. To a bowl add, 1 Diced Medium Leek (white and light green parts), 6 Finely Sliced Scallions (white and light green parts) and 2 Medium Carrots cut to a 1/4" dice. To a bowl, add 5 Finely Chopped Bella Mushrooms. Place 1 Lb Ground Pork into a bowl that you will use for mixing. Have Sesame Oil, Five Spice, Soy Sauce, Dry Sherry, and Canola Oil at the ready.

Now you are ready to cook the filling. Preheat and empty skillet over medium heat. Add 1 Tbl Sesame Oil. Add Grated Ginger. Cook for 15 seconds. Add the 1/2 tsp Five Spice and the Sliced Mushrooms. Cook stirring for 1 minute. Add the Carrots, Leeks, and Scallions. Add 1 Tbl Sherry. Stir to combine. Add 1 Tbl Soy Sauce and S&P to taste (go easy on the salt because soy sauce is salty). Once the vegetables appear to be softening. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes. Add to the bowl with the uncooked pork and stir to combine.

Line a sheet pan with a clean damp dish cloth. Open the Wonton Wrappers and working 1 at a time brush the outside edge with water. Place 2 tsp of filling in the center of the wrapper and fold in half pleating as you go, pinch the wrapper closed. Set these on the damp cloth pressing down slightly so the pleat side faces upward. Once you have enough to cook the first batch, preheat an empty large skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 1/2 Tbl Canola Oil. Add the 12-15 potstickers, without stacking but they can be crowded but not touching, and cook until the bottom is crispy, dark golden brown, and releases easily. Add 1/4 Cup Water and cover to allow steam to finish cooking the potstickers. This will finish in 4-5 minutes. Remove from pan and serve at once with Rice Vinegar and Soy Sauce for dipping. While the 1st batch is cooking, continue filling the 2nd batch. This should make 48 Potstickers and should be cooked in 3 batches. For a meal, serve with Jasmine Rice.

Chicken Tetrazzini

2012-01-25T21:08:00.002-06:00

I cooked a roasted chicken over the weekend and after we ate a leftover meal, my husband asked if I could make Tetrazzini. I like it well enough even though I have never made it but thought I would give it a try. He and my son both loved it and my son was disappointed tonight when it was gone. I think it was a nice departure from the meals I normally make. The primary success is that I cooked the pasta until it was just under done. It must be undercooked before assembling the dish and when it bakes it'll finish cooking. The second key to this dish is not to load it up with cream of mushroom soup for then that's all it tastes like. Here's my Chicken Tetrazzini recipe.

Preheat oven to 350. Boil 2 Quarts of water. Once it boils add 1 tsp Salt and 12 Ounces of Twist shaped Pasta. Cook for approximately 8 minutes. It should be under done. Strain and set aside. While it is cooking, slice very thin, 4 Baby Bella Mushrooms and Mince 1 Large Shallot. Preheat a small skillet over medium heat and add 1 Tbl Butter. Once hot, add mushrooms and shallots and cook for 5 minutes until soft. Deglaze pan with 1/4 Cup Chardonnay. Remove from the heat. Dice the breast and the thigh of a roasted chicken and place in a bowl. It should net approximately 1 1/2 Cups of Diced Chicken. Add to it, 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup, 1/2 Cup Sour Cream, 1 1/4 Cup Grated Cheese such as Cheddar or 4 Cheese Mexican Cheese, 3/4 Cup Peas, 1/4 Cup Water and 1/2 tsp Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper. Add the cooked pasta and the mushroom mixture. Stir to combine.
Pick a casserole dish that is small enough that the mixture will come close to the top. I used my 8 " x 11.5' dish which is 2 Quart. Butter it well and add mixture. Top with Fresh Bread Crumbs and dot with 1 Tbl Butter cut into small pieces. Sprinkle with Paprika. Place in the oven for 35 minutes or until mixture is bubbly and golden. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Hazelnut Dacquoise

2011-12-25T14:00:00.005-06:00

This dessert stands out as my most favorite anywhere. I never knew what it was at the time, but when I worked in Atlanta, the pastry chef there had a signature dessert of sorts that was sold in the restaurant I managed. He called it Chocolate Hazelnut Torte. I would've found out exactly what it was 28 years ago since most chef's I worked around helped me with the gist of how things were made and I gained lots of knowledge in that way...but this Prima Dona pastry chef, no way. He never smiled and he rarely said a word to me. He was American, too, which baffled me because most Prima Dona pastry chef's come from Europe. This guy was trained at the CIA and he was talented. In the restaurant, the servers brought around a dessert cart to the diners and everyday there was a piece of this dessert left, I ate it. That was back when I could do that and though those days are long gone, it was fun while they lasted. This wasn't exactly what he made, I'll have to work on it, but I discovered, his was a dacquoise not a torte.
So this discovery came about when my son checked out a dessert cook book from his school library. As I looked through it, I was drawn to a picture that sort of reminded me of the layers of that dessert from Atlanta. I decided to give it a try for Christmas dessert. I loosely followed several recipes to invent this particular recipe, though a jumping off point, it was very good. Here's what I did.
Toast 2 Cups Shelled Hazelnuts for 7-8 minutes in a 350 degree preheated oven. Give the pan a shake while they are toasting. Once they are fragrant and golden remove them from the oven. Once they are cool, place them in a dish towel and rub them against themselves to remove the skins. Reserve 12 nuts for garnish when serving. Reserve 1/2 Cup for ganache. Place 1 1/4 Cup Hazelnuts in a food processor and pulse with 2 Tbl Sugar until finely ground. Add 1 Tbl Corn Starch and pulse until combined.
Cut (2) pieces of Parchment Paper large enough to cover a sheet pan. Using a pencil and a ruler, draw (2) 8 1/2" circles on each of them. Place the paper on (2) sheet pans pencil side down. Place oven racks on upper 1/3 and lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat to 250.
Separate 6 Eggs placing the 6 whites in a mixing bowl. Save the yolks for another use. Allow the whites to warm to room temperature. Beat at medium high until frothy. Add 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar and 1/4 tsp Salt and beat until soft peaks. Add 3/4 Cups Sugar, 1 Tbl at a time and beat until stiff and glossy. Gently fold in Hazelnut Mixture adding small amounts at a time. Spread 1/4 of the mixture on each of the 4 circles and flatten with an off set spatula. Do not allow the circles to touch. Place in the oven and bake for a total of 1 1/2 hours. Switch positions after 45 minutes. Turn off oven and allow the oven to cool. Remove from oven and let cool and additional hour. Gently remove the circles from the parchment. Be certain layers are cool. Place in a 1 gallon storage bag with paper towels in between the layers. NOTE: I encourage you to get to this point 1 day ahead.
For ganache garnish. Pulse 1/2 Cup of reserved toasted Hazelnuts in food processor until fine. Warm 1 Cup Heavy Cream over medium heat until about to bubble around the edges. Turn off burner and add 6 oz Ghirardelli or Lindt Chocolate Bars and 2 Tbl Frangelico. As it cools, add ground hazelnuts. Stir to combine and refrigerate.
For the filling, melt 6 oz of Ghirardelli or Lindt chocolate over low heat. As soon as it melts, remove from heat. While it is melting, beat 3 Cups Heavy Cream. Add 2 Tbl Confectioners Sugar and 1/2 tsp Vanilla and beat until soft peaks form. Beat another 30-45 seconds or so. Add melted chocolate and stir to combine.

To assemble, using a large flat bottomed platter, place a small dollop of cream in the center to keep the bottom layer from moving. Place first layer on the dollop and push down with the layer to spread and position the layer. Spread evenly, 1/3 of the cream and press on the 2nd layer. Add 1/2 of the remaining cream and press on the 3rd layer. Add remaining cream and press on the 4th layer. Refrigerate for several hours before serving.
When dining, remove ganache from the refrigerator and allow to warm to room temperature. Using a hand mixer, beat on high so it becomes airier and softer. Place in a pastry bag with a fluted tip. (I didn't have the right kind of tip for this so I added a small spoonful of ganache.) Garnish the outer edge of dacquoise with 10-12 swirly dollops of ganache and topped with a toasted hazelnut. Serve with a light red wine, sparkling wine or hazlenut coffee. Enjoy this special Parisian treat!!

Medallions of Eggplant Topped w/Hand Picked Crabs in Lemon Butter Sauce

2011-12-14T11:48:00.001-06:00

I apologize I don't have a photo for this finished dish. My tennis team does a Christmas luncheon each year and we all bring a tasty treat. I basically made this at home, transported it and finished it at R's house. We ate this as an appetizer while socializing in her gorgeous kitchen. The room fell silent, need I say more?
First, the crab. My husband picked a Dozen Crabs ($20) for me the day before. If you don't have access, you'll need 1 lb Crabmeat and make sure the meat you buy is lump and that it's fresh. If the crabs are cooked in a seasoned boil, I think the dish will turn out better. Cover the crabmeat and store in the refrigerator for no more than 1 day.
This recipe provides for 12 Appetizer Portions of 2 medallions of eggplant and a 1/4 Cup of Lemon Butter Sauce with a generous amount of Crab. For the Eggplant. Buy 2 Medium Eggplants. Peel and using a serrated knife, slice into 1/2" slices. Preheat a griddle to 375. To a flat bottomed bowl, beat 3 Eggs and 1/2 tsp Salt with a few splashes of water. To a 2nd flat bottomed bowl, add 2 Cups of Bread Crumbs. Coat the griddle with vegetable oil and cook the eggplant, turning once, until golden. You'll work in batches, so re-oil the griddle as needed. It won't be quite done since it's going in the oven. Shingle the eggplant on a cooling rack set on a sheet pan.
For the Lemon Butter Sauce do all the prep first. Mince 1 Large Shallot. Zest, then Juice 5 Lemons. Measure out 1/4 Cup Dry Vermouth. Add 2 Tbl Corn Starch to 1 Cup Chicken Broth. Open 1 Sick Butter. If you are eating this at home, remove the crab from the refrigerator.
Heat a 12" skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tsp Canola Oil and 1 tsp Butter. Add Shallots, a good pinch of salt, and saute for 1 minute. Add Lemon Zest and saute for 30-45 seconds. Add Dry Vermouth and swirl for 1 minute. Add Lemon Juice and swirl, cooking until the mixture begins to get thicker. Add Broth and once it simmers, cook for 2-3 minutes until it gets thicker still. Turn off heat and add the butter. Swirl once the butter melts and pour into a thick bottomed pot.
Up until now, everything can be made ahead. I transported the crab in a cover container, the sauce in a pot ready for the stove, and the eggplant on the covered sheet pan.
Whether at home or traveling, here's how to finish the dish. Preheat oven to 325. Add Eggplant and bake uncovered for 18- 20 minutes until sizzling. Heat the Butter Sauce WITHOUT THE CRAB over low or medium low heat until very warm without boiling. Stir with a wire whip for 15-20 seconds so it is smooth. Turn off heat and add Crabmeat. Plate up 2 medallions of eggplant and using a 1/4 cup ladle, add the sauce. Serve at once!!

Gruyere Potatoes

2011-12-14T08:51:00.006-06:00

I came across this recipe years ago and loved it when I read it. It accompanies any beef, ham, barbeque, crown roast of pork or thick chops, etc. The only change I made was that I add a little more gruyere than is called for, but other than that, don't try to change it. For example, don't add extra potato because you have just one more and don't open 3 (14 1/2 oz) cans of broth and add it because you don't want to throw any out. And if you realize after it is assembled that you forgot the butter, it will work but it won't taste as good, so trust me, I have done all of these things over the past 15 years. Oh, and don't make this the night before and refrigerate it without cooking, the potatoes will turn gray and won't turn back, I know, my friend K did this...for a family holiday dinner. Lastly, allow for these to rest for 20 minutes on top of the 90 minute cooking time before trying to serve them, so plan ahead.
If you have a mandolin or a V-slicer, pull it out, and if not, I hope you have excellent knife skills. A V-slicer is a $30 version of a mandolin and can be found at Bed, Bath, Beyond. You still have time, get it on your Christmas list! I use mine a lot so it is an excellent investment.
Here's the recipe:
Butter well a lasagna sized casserole dish of sorts. I have several dishes that work well, but in general, 9"x13" and I would not go much bigger than this, so measure your dish. Next, grate .25 lbs (1/4 lb) Gruyere Cheese, feel free to go slightly higher. If you want a less expensive choice, substitute Emmentaler. Cube 2 Tbl UnSalted Butter into 1/4" cubes. Peel 3 lbs. of Russet Potatoes. Try to get the weight fairly close. If you buy a 5lb bag, count them all and use 3/5 of the total. The last time I made these there were 15 so I used 9. Easy enough! Continuing on, slice the potatoes on the V-slicer to 3.5mm thick. When done, gently toss the potatoes with 3 Tbl Flour.
Preheat oven to 375. Layer 1/3 of the potatoes in the casserole dish. Top with 1/3 of the Gruyere, dot with 1/3 of the butter and add S&P to taste. Repeat 2 times. Add 4 Cups of good quality Chicken Broth. If you want to add any flavoring, White Pepper and Nutmeg are good choices. Salt isn't necessary because the broth and cheese are both salty. Place in center of oven and bake UNCOVERED for 1 hour 30 minutes. Make sure to let it rest before trying to serve, otherwise it will be soupy. If you need to transport this, bake for the first 1 hour 10 minutes. Finish at location in a 350 oven for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and golden brown. Enjoy one of my favorite versatile side dishes.

Peanut Brittle

2011-12-08T18:07:00.002-06:00

Everywhere I have gone lately, I've seen wonderful Peanut Brittle. It got me thinking that when I was young I made candy at Christmas time. I learned to make Peanut Brittle in grade school. Back in those days I had to shell the peanuts, an activity I did while watching tv. Now that unsalted peanuts are available in a jar, it reduces the time quite a bit. A few days ago I picked up a jar and made Peanut Brittle this afternoon using my old McCall's Cook Book recipe. If you don't have a candy thermometer, you need to get one before tackling candy making.

In a non-reactive (All-Clad works well) pot, add 2 Cups Sugar, 1/2 Cup Corn Syrup and 1 Cup Water and heat over medium heat. Stir until the sugar melts and the mixture becomes clear. Continue cooking without stirring until the candy thermometer reads 238 degrees. The mixture should be bubbling gently. Add 2 Cups of Shelled Unsalted Peanuts. Cook while stirring until the nuts become golden (this will take at least 20 minutes). You can test the doneness after 15 minutes by drizzling the candy in a glass of ice water. The candy should be hard and brittle and when you chew it, it should be tender without sticking to your teeth. Once it comes to that point, remove from the heat and add 1 tsp Butter and 1/4 tsp Baking Soda. Stir until combined and pour onto a buttered sheet pan. Swirl the pan to get the brittle to spread out giving you the thickness you are aiming for. Let cool completely before breaking into pieces. If you are giving it as gifts, be mindful of peanut allergies.

What happens when young meets up with mature in the kitchen...

2011-11-30T10:44:00.004-06:00

I watch Food Network off and on, most often when it's cold. Last week I came across and episode of Giada and her Aunt Raffy duking it out in the kitchen. Competing forces of young vs. mature, formal schooling vs. family cooking methods handed down for generations, modern twists vs. never touched family recipes, it was very entertaining. It begins with a glass of wine, of which neither lady denied.
I would do anything to cook with my mother again. I was often in the kitchen with her preparing meals for the 9 of us when I lived at home. As I moved about the country, when we were lucky enough to visit one another, we each took time to make something new or something the other had not had before. Our visits were always something special in the kitchen. When my mother and I talked on the phone our conversations virtually always turned to food and neither grew tired of it. I rarely messed with old time favorites but if and when I did, my father always accused (accuses) me of messing them up. Naturally after 6 years of food classes from 6-12 grade, a 4 year degree in Food Service and 15 years of food and beverage related hotel work at no less than 50 hours a week and often 60-70 hours, I feel a bit qualified to do so. I suppose our station in life rarely changes among our family members no matter how accomplished. I am not sure why that is, but it is. That identical dynamic is at work when it comes to the kitchen and you can see it unfold on tv before your very eyes when Giada and Aunt Raffy are toiling away. Together, they made a Rollatini that looked wonderful so I made it the other night. After reading some of the comments on the recipe, most of which called for more flavor in the way of garlic, I re-read the recipe. I surmised that it was not garlic they longed for, as there is clearly a reason the Italians didn't put it in there, but perhaps something more subtle and along the line of sauteed minced shallots. I added that flavor instead and the result was delicious. I will certainly make this many times in the future. If you know how to make your own pasta, then this recipe is for you!
From start to finish this took about an hour. First make your favorite fresh pasta. I made my using flour, semolina flour and wheat flour. You need enough to roll out a 12" circle 1/8" thick. If you have too much pasta, cut it in half and make 2 rollatinis. While the pasta is resting under a damp cloth, heat water in something big enough to add the rollatini without bending it.

For the filling, heat a small skillet over medium heat and cook 1 Large Minced Shallot in 1 Tbl Butter. To a bowl, add 4 oz Ricotta Cheese, 1 Egg Yolk, 2 Tbl Olive Oil, 1 Tbl Softened Butter, 1/3 Cup Parmesan, 1/2 Cup Chiffonade Fresh Spinach, 1/2 tsp Salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and the shallots. Roll out pasta to as thin as possible, 1/8". Brush the outer 1/2" edge with an Egg Wash. Spoon filling on pasta and spread evenly with an offset spatula without going all the way to the edge.
Roll tightly and then roll the rollatini in a clean kitchen towel. Tie the ends with string. Add Rollatini to the simmering water and cook for 20 minutes, turning it over half way through the cooking process. Remove with tongs. Let rest for 5 minutes, then remove the towel to further cool for another 5 minutes. It should be cool enough to handle. Preheat Broiler.
Generously butter a sheet pan. Using a serrated knife such as a bread knife and without too much pressure, cut 1/2" slices and shingle them in 3 rows. Brush with 2 Tbl Melted Butter and top with Parmesan Cheese. Broil for 3-5 minutes until golden brown. Serve with your favorite Marinara Sauce. Raise your glass to toast the Giada's and Aunt Raffy's of the world!

Roasting Turkey 911

2011-11-24T10:13:00.009-06:00

Did you ever take for granted your elder's ability to roast a turkey that is always perfect? Then, the rude awakening, you find yourself on your own for the first time and realize you have no clue how to do it?

Get a good sturdy roasting pan. My has a rack and it reduces the cooking time because it allows heat to move around the bird. Decide if you are going to stuff it or not and if so, what will you stuff it with.
Make sure you buy either a fresh bird (it's never been frozen) or allow for ample thawing time. These things are frozen solid and require 3 days in a refrigerator to thaw. If you try to cook a frozen turkey I can guarantee it will be raw in the middle and the parts that are cooked will be dry. Remember when you remove the packaging to rinse the turkey inside and out and to remove all the things inside. There is normally a neck stuffed in the main cavity and there is a cavity in between the wings and it contains the plastic bag with the giblets.
Determine, who is going to carve it, on what and with what, make certain the knife is sharp.
Work out a time table. First, determine what time you want to eat. Back out 20-30 minutes for carving and another 30 minutes allowing for the bird to rest. In essence, it needs to come out about 50 minutes - 1 hour before you want to eat.
Stuffed and roasted on a rack, a turkey cooks for 18 minutes a pound. Stuffed without a rack, 20 minutes a pound. I tend to round down the pounds before calculating because over cooked turkey is dry and as a leftover it's not that great. A perfectly cooked turkey on the other hand is delicious during the feast and for all the leftovers.

Once you are ready to cook the bird, Preheat oven to 325. While the oven is heating, butter the outside of the bird without double dipping anything that touches the bird to retouch the butter. Don't be too particular about spreading the butter, in the end it melts and it's used for basting. Salt and Pepper the outside on of the bird. I found Dried Sage this year and sprinkled a light amount on the outside.

With 2 hours left to cook, add 2 Medium Onions cut into Quarters to the roasting pan. You can separate each quarter into 2 pieces, but don't separate all the layers or they will burn. With 30 minutes to go Add the Giblets to the roasting pan for the giblet lovers. Giblets don't agree with me, so I remove them from the pan before making gravy.

Pictured 1 1/2 hours into it. Baste every 45 minutes or so. As the skin darkens, loosely tent a piece of foil covering the skin to prevent further browning. This may have to be done after about 1 1/2 - 2 hours of roasting.

I will continue to add notes on cooking times. It is very important to record what you did and how it turned out so adjustments can be made for next time.

For today my plan is to roast a 14.85 pound turkey, stuffed and on a rack for 4 hour, 12 minutes. Perfecto!! That cooking time was just perfect.
Serve with all of your family favorites!

Miniature Apple Purses

2011-11-22T15:16:00.002-06:00

So simple! So delicious! I love these because they are small, 4 bites. When served with an assortment of miniature desserts, your guests can try a variety!
I made up this recipe just this afternoon. I used 2 apples and 1 sheet of puff pastry and made 16 mini purses. I have a bit of the filling left over and will use it to top pancakes tomorrow or the next day.
Here is my Apple Purse Recipe.
Make sure the puff pastry sheets are thawed. I used 1 Sheet of Pepperidge Farms Puff Pastry Sheets which come 2 to a box. They are found in the freezer section. Preheat oven to 400. Peel, section, and dice 2 Golden Delicious Apples into tiny cubes about 1/4" x 1/4". In a saucepan over medium heat, melt 4 Tbl UnSalted Butter and add 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar. Once bubbly, add 1/4 tsp Cinnamon, 1/2 tsp Vanilla, 2 Pinches of Salt and 10 grinds of Fresh Nutmeg. Add Diced Apples. Cook until they appear to be getting soft but hold their shape, about 3-4 minutes. The mixture should be just about to bubble without boiling. Add 1 Tbl Flour and cook for 1 more minute. Remove from heat and set aside.

Roll out Pastry keeping its' square shape. Cut into quarters. Working with 1 quarter at a time, cut into quarters again. Roll each quarter so you have a piece about 3" square. Place about 1 Tbl of apple filling in the center of each piece of pastry. Wet the edges with Heavy Cream. This will act as glue. Bring up the corners and sort of pinch the entire thing closed. Gently tie with string. Place purses on a light colored sheet pan allowing 3" of space between them. Brush the outside with Heavy Cream. Dust with Sanding Sugar.
Place in oven and bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Pictured they are baking. Let cool for 10 minutes before trying to remove them from the sheet pan. They should lift easily. Can be made in advance and reheated for 7 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Place on a warm platter to serve.

Russian Blini

2011-11-18T17:28:00.005-06:00

My son did a heritage project at school. He was born in Russia and the research proved to be very educational. Today was the feast where the students brought food from the country they reported on. I have been wanting to make blini pancakes for some time now and decided to make them for this event. (At the same time I made the blini pancakes, I taught my friend C how to make scones. Her son reported on England.)
This a neat yeast batter that is made in steps over a period of hours, though time consuming, the finished result is delicious!

Instead of traditional sour cream and caviar, I chose to serve them with strawberries and whipped cream.
I have been to Russia 4 times and have had blinis on every trip. On the last trip I began to really wonder how they were made because they have tiny air pockets and are not a "quick batter" which is leavened by adding baking soda, baking powder or air. They were pliable like a crepe but just to be sure it wasn't the same thing, twice at dinner, I ordered crepes for dessert and I was served crepes, not blini. I believe Gourmet's recipe is as close as you may get and it is indeed made with yeast. If you make other thinned out batters then you are actually making crepes and if they look like the pancakes you get in the US and the batter is made the same way, you are simply making the pancakes you are familiar with. Here is the blini recipe straight from The Gourmet Cookbook.
In a large bowl, stir together 1 package of Dry Active Yeast (2 1/2 tsp), 1/4 Cup Warm Water (105-115 degrees) and 1 tsp Sugar. Let it become bubbly for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a pot, warm 1/2 Cup Milk and 1 Tbl UnSalted Butter until warm (105-115 degrees). Add 1/2 Cup Buckwheat Flour, 1 Tbl Sugar and warmed milk to the yeast mixture and combine vigorously with a wooden spoon.
Cover with plastic wrap and either let rise in a warm place for 2 hours or for a more pungent blini, let rise overnight in the refrigerator.
Again, warm 1/2 Cup Milk to 105-115 degrees. Separate an egg reserving the white in a bowl. This will be beaten later. Add to the batter the Milk, 1/2 Cup regular Flour, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 Egg Yolk. Using a wire whip, combine for 1 minute. Cover and let rise for 1 hour. With 10 minutes to go, using a hand mixer, beat 6 Tbl Heavy Cream until soft peaks. Completely wash the beaters. Beat the Egg White until stiff peaks begin to hold. Fold the beaten cream into the batter. Fold the white into the batter. Heat a griddle and using butter cook 3" blini pancakes. You can keep these warm on a platter until ready to serve. Serve with caviar, sour cream, smoked salmon or just simply with berries and sour cream or whipped cream.
pree-YAHT-nah-vah ah-pee-TEE-ta!! (bon appetit)

Potatoes 3 Ways

2011-11-08T13:49:00.001-06:00

The kids will be out of school soon and company will visit in the coming holidays. I decided to try something I haven't done before. Recently,we have bought baked potato salad at some of the local grocery stores and it's good but the potatoes have a texture as if they were either under baked or cooked in a way other than baking. I decided to buy a $3 5lb Bag of Russet Potatoes and bake the entire bag. There were 11 potatoes in the bag and they were fairly consistent in size.
On the first night, we had Baked Potatoes with Sour Cream and Grated Cheese. I am going to make Home Fries with the 2 largest potatoes. With the remaining 6, I will make a Loaded Baked Potato Salad of my own. I plan to add Sour Cream, Grated Cheese, Crumbled Bacon and Scallions to the potato salad. They were all very good and think of the price. I bought 8oz Grated Cheese, 16 oz Sour Cream, 1 lb Bacon (of which I used 1/2), 1 bunch of Scallions (you can use Chives), and Canola Oil for the Home Fries. What a deal!

Super Simple Mozzarella and Tomato Hors D'oeuvre

2011-11-04T10:51:00.003-05:00

I bought what was called "Mozzarella Pearls". I added them to a flat platter. Using 1 Pint Grape Tomatoes, either keep them whole or cut them in half. Add 1/4 Cup Good Quality Olive Oil. Add a Few Grinds of Pepper and a few Pinches of Kosher Salt. Top with Chiffonade cut Basil just before serving. Serve at room temperature with frilled tooth picks.

Zucchini Craisin Muffins Recipe

2011-11-04T10:41:00.004-05:00

I made up this batter recipe for Zucchini Bread. I adapted that recipe for muffins.
Preheat oven to 375. Grease 2 muffin pans or use muffin liners. In a bowl, mix together 3 Cups Flour, 2/3 Cups Packed Brown Sugar, 1/3 Cup Sugar, 8oz Craisins, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, a touch of Cardamon, and a few grinds of fresh Nutmeg. Hand mix with a wire whip to combine ingredients. Grate 2 Medium sized Zucchini either on a grater box or with a mandolin. Add to bowl. Set aside. In a 2 cup measuring cup begin stacking these ingredients, it'll save on the cleanup! 1/2 Cup Canola Oil, 1/4 Cup Milk, 1/4 Cup Sour Cream (add sour cream to the cup until line comes to 1 Cup), and 2 Eggs. Mix with a fork until the egg is broken up and the sour cream is distributed. Add the wet ingredients to the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until just combined. The batter will seem a bit sticky and possibly slightly dry but not to worry, zucchini is a watery vegetable and will make it all good in the end!

Scoop batter using a 1/4 Cup Scoop into the muffin pan. Makes 22 muffins. I always leave a corner open on each pan in order to handle the pan without destroying a muffin. Place in oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. You can serve this with Orange Flavored Cream Cheese by combining the Zest of 1 Orange into 8 oz softened Cream Cheese. Serve muffins warm.

Tilapia Topped with Hand Picked Crabs and Lemon Butter Sauce

2011-11-02T07:12:00.003-05:00

This was so delicious topped with local hand picked crabs. The crabs were cooked perfectly with the right amount of seasoning. The Talapia was cooked perfectly with the right amount of lemon and butter in the sauce.
Heres what I did.
Buy 6 Crabs. These came from Mandeville Seafood Market and were $20 a dozen, not bad. Hand pick crabs. If you don't know how to do this, buy local crabmeat already picked (and hopefully seasoned.)
First, some prep. Heat water for pasta. Rinse and pat dry 1 Tilapia Fillets per person. Zest and juice 1 Lemon. Mix 2 tsp Corn Starch with 2 tsp Chicken Broth and set aside. Cut 1/2 Stick UnSalted Butter into 4 pieces.
Heat empty skillet over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Add salt and pasta to water. Add 1 Tbl Oilve Oil and 1 Tbl UnSalted Butter to skillet. Add fish fillets to skillet and cook until just done turning only once. The second side will take slightly less time than the first. Remove the fish from the pan, place on a plate, and cover loosely with foil.
Make Sauce. Add Lemon Zest and cook for 10 seconds. Add 2 Tbl Dry Vermouth and cook for 30 seconds. Add Lemon Juice and cook for 30 seconds until it appears thick. Add Corn Starch Mixture and 1/4 Cup Chicken Broth. Cook for another minute or 2 allowing it to bubble gently. Turn off heat and add butter. Swirl gently. Add Crab Meat. Plate up pasta and fish and top with the crabmeat sauce. Serve with a salad, a buttery white wine, and crusty bread.

Mini Wonton Wrapper Quiche Recipe

2011-10-26T09:09:00.004-05:00

These are just perfect as an appetizer, snack, or buffet breakfast / brunch. My tennis team acknowledged Breast Cancer Awareness last week and this was one of the things we ate. I baked them in the morning and brought them warm, still in the pan.
Here's what I did. NOTE: This recipe makes 24 quiches. There are 48 Wontons Wrappers in a package so this can be doubled to make 48 quiches. The night before, cook 6 slices Thick Slab Smoked Bacon until crisp and grate 1 Cup Emmentaler Cheese. The following morning, first take the wontons out of the refrigerator so they warm up and become pliable, otherwise they will crack.
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt 1/2 Stick Butter. Crumble cooked Bacon. Brush all the cups of a mini-muffin pan. To a bowl, (I used a batter bowl for easy and quick pouring) add 5 Eggs, 1/2 Cup 1/2 & 1/2, 1 Tbl Flour, S&P to taste. Cut 12 Grape Tomatoes in half the long way. Keep the wontons in a stack and cut all 4 corners off. Working 1 at a time, brush each wonton with butter and arrange it in each of the cups, butter side down. Fill each cup with Egg Mixture. Add 1 tsp of Grated Cheese, crumpled Bacon (you have enough for 1 slice per 4 cups) and top with a Grape Tomato, cut side up. Place in hot oven and bake for 18-20 minutes. Serve at once straight out of the pan!

Frozen Chocolate Mousse with a Chocolate Cookie Crust

2011-10-04T20:45:00.010-05:00

If you want to impress your friends, make this dessert. It's a bit time consuming but it's all cleaned up by the time you entertain. My inspiration came from a spring-form pan I found that is 3" tall and 6 1/2" in diameter. I basically made my chocolate mousse recipe, with a few changes, and froze it.
For the Cookie Crust, in a food processor, add 12 Nabisco Chocolate Wafer Cookies. Add 1 Tbl Sugar and 1 Tbl melted UnSalted Butter. Grind until you have find crumbs. Lay a piece of plastic wrap in the pan to ensure your mousse won't stick. It should hang over the sides. Add a generous layer of crumbs in the bottom of a spring-form pan and gently tap using a flat bottomed glass or a round meat tenderizer. Place in freezer.
The mousse recipe is made in 3 basic steps. Organize how you will use 2 pots and 3 bowls, as you need 2 double boilers.

To a bowl that will fit into a pot to create a double boiler, add 6 oz Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate, 6 oz UnSalted Butter and 1/4 Cup Water. Fill pot with 2" water and heat over medium heat. Place the bowl in the pot. Melt the mixture while stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and allow to return to room temperature.

Separate 4 Large Eggs, the whites into a mixing bowl and the yolks into a bowl that will fit over a pot of water. In the second bowl, over 2 " simmering water, use a hand mixer to beat 4 Egg Yolks with 1/3 Cup + 2 Tbl Sugar and 4 Tbl Frangelico. This will take about 15 minutes. It should be fairly thick, almost like runny mayonnaise. Remove from the heat and place the yolk mixture bowl in an ice bath in order to cool the bowl and therefore yolk mixture. Continue beating the mixture until is is cool to the touch. This may take about 15 minutes.

Fold the Chocolate Mixture into the Yolk Mixture.

Beat Egg Whites until frothy. Continue beating until they begin to hold their shape. Add 1 Tbl Sugar and beat until shiny and add 1 tsp Vanilla.

Fold 1/3 of the whites into the chocolate mixture. Do this 2 more times. Add this on top of the cookie crust. It should fill the pan to the top. Freeze for at least 4 hours or overnight before serving. To serve, whip 1 Cup Heavy Cream with 1 Tbl Sugar until the peaks hold.
Remove the ring from the frozen dessert and discard the plastic wrap. Cut the frozen dessert with a sharp knife and place on a plate. Add a dollop of whipped cream. Either sprinkle with leftover cookie crumbs or chocolate shavings and serve at once.

Butternut Squash Risotto

2011-10-04T20:44:00.006-05:00

This is a wonderful autumn dish that can go with any number of meats (ham, pork, lamb, beef or poultry) or can be eaten as the entree. This dish takes time to cook so you shouldn't plan on walking away while it is cooking as it needs periodic attention.
First, skin a Small Butternut Squash. If you haven't worked with one, the neck is solid meal and the bulb is where the cavity. Cut the squash in half where the two sections meet. Place the cut side on a board and using a sharp knife, remove the skin using a top to bottom motion, turning as you go until all that is remaining is the meat. For the neck, cut long slices about 1/4" thick. Cut the slices into 1/4" strips and dice into 1/4' cubes. For the bulb, cut in half and remove the seeds. Place squash on a board so it represents a dome. Cut 1/4" slices, cut the slices into 1/4" strips and the strips into 1/4" cubes. Some of these pieces will be misshapen because of the curves but try to keep the general dice uniform so it cooks for the same length of time. Dice a Small Vidalia Onion into 1/4" cubes. Heat an empty sauce pan over medium heat. Add 2 Tbl Olive Oil. Once the oil is hot, add the vegetables and cook stirring often for about 6-8 minutes until the onion has sweated and the squash begins to become soft. Do not brown the onion. Add 1 Cup Arborio Rice. Stir for about 1 minute. Begin adding 32 oz of good quality Chicken Broth, 1/4 cup at a time. (NOTE: If you are serving this to a vegetarian, use vegetable broth.) Stir during and after each addition. As the rice absorbs the broth, it's time to add more. Continue adding broth until the rice is cooked but not mushy. You may or may not use all of the broth. Add Kosher Salt and White Pepper to taste. Serve with Grated Parmesan Cheese. Though I didn't add any herbs, after eating this I concluded that I would add finely minced Rosemary or Thyme.

Pumpkin Gruyere Souffle

2011-09-28T12:57:00.008-05:00

I have adapted this recipe from a recipe in The Essential Vegetarian Cookbook. I bought this book about 15 years ago for side dish ideas. This recipe is originally made by cooking Golden Nugget Squash, removing the meat and re-stuffing the squash to bake it. It is very tasty and I will make it that way when the squash is available. For now though, I found pie pumpkins are arriving in the produce section, so I used one. I apologize the souffle fell before I photographed it (it rose to just above the rim of the souffle dish) but I an assure you this is a very tasty recipe. Here is my adaptation.
Cut 1 Pie Pumpkin in half and and place it in a very large pot, fitted with a steamer basket and about 2" of water. Cook over simmering water for about 20-25 minutes or until meat is tender.
While the pumpkin is cooking do a little prep. Butter (all the way to the top) and sugar 8 individual souffle dishes. Place them on a sheet pan. Separate 3 Eggs, the whites into a bowl ready to beat and the yolks into a small dish for adding to the butter/flour mixture. Using a grater box, grate 1/2 Cup Gruyere Cheese. Preheat oven to 415F. To a medium bowl, scrape and mash the pumpkin, discard the skin.
Melt 4 Tbl of Butter over medium heat. Add 3 Tbl Flour and stir for about 1 minute. Gradually add 2/3 Cup of Milk, stirring to keep the mixture smooth. Cook for another minute until the mixture is thick. Remove from the heat. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add grated gruyere and stir until it is smooth. Add about 1/4 tsp Freshly Ground Nutmeg. Add this to the pumpkin and stir until blended. Using a hand mixer, beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into the pumpkin mixture. Add mixture to the souffle dishes and bake for 20-25 minutes or until puffed up and set.
Use a strong spatula to transfer each souffle dish to a dinner plate. Warn your diners that the souffle and the dish are quite hot. Delicious served with your fall favorites!

Fruit Smoothies

2011-09-24T14:58:00.001-05:00

We make smoothies a lot, all year long. I make them many different ways but here is the recipe for the smoothie shown. Mango's are very inexpensive (around $1). I love them in a smoothie. This recipe makes two smoothies, one for me and one for my son. To a blender, add 1 banana, 1 Mango, 5 Strawberries, 2 rings Fresh Pineapple, 1/2 Cup Milk, 1 Scoop Raspberry Sherbert, 15 Ice Cubes. Blend until smooth and pour into glasses.

Cutting a Mango

2011-09-04T14:42:00.004-05:00

Mangos are tricky to cut. Without this gadget, there is more waste than is necessary. The pit is an odd shape and you have to know how it lays inside the fruit to know how to cut the fruit. Using this handy gadget eliminates the mystery.

Set the Mango on one of the its ends. Push down. You will be left with 2 halves and what appears to be solid fruit but is actually the pit. Discard the pit.

Using a sharp knife, score each half, making cuts spaced 1/2" apart, first in the lengthwise direction, then perpendicular to those cuts. The skin has a concave shape. Place your fingers on the outside of the skin and push upward to make a convex shape. Run the knife along the inside of the skin releasing the cubes of fruit. Hopefully these pictures will help you.

Changed My Label System

2011-09-04T10:15:00.000-05:00

You will notice a new look to the side bar labels. My labels began to have too many cross references. The labels are supposed to resemble an index in a cook book, however, there isn't a way to break down the labels to subsets. For example, in a cook book you see 'Meat' broken down further into sub groups, for instance Chicken, Beef, Pork, Lamb, etc. I like that system and am searching for a way to list my recipes in that fashion. If it can't be done on this blog, I may move my blog to a location where that is an option. Any feedback is welcomed!! The comments section is open to all.

Stuffed Cornish Game Hens

2011-09-03T17:38:00.001-05:00

I am so ready for autumn. Labor Day weekend marks the change from summer to autumn for most of the country... though not for SE Louisiana. Being a New Yorker I still struggle with the extra month of summer. Whenever we get a cloudy day during this time of year, I can't resist roasting something in the oven. We have a tropical storm dropping rain on us so I decided to make a bread stuffing and roast Cornish Game Hens. Recipe is coming soon!

Wonderful Sabayon Recipe

2011-08-19T08:21:00.006-05:00

I am not sure where this recipe came from but it is in my kitchen book and I have made it a half a dozen times over the years. It traditionally uses Champagne but my sparking beverage hails from California so I'm going to call it Sabayon rather than Champagne Sabayon. It is rich and filled with all of the worst things for you, however, it is incredibly delicious. When serving, use the Sabayon sparingly and balance it with fresh fruit. Here is the Sabayon recipe.
Create a double boiler fitting a thick bottomed pot and a bowl that when placed in the pot, doesn't allow for the steam to escape. Remove bowl and heat the pot with 2" of water over medium heat. To the bowl, add 1/3 Cup Sugar and 4 Egg Yolks. Beat with a hand mixer until the mixture is thick, pale, and ribbons. Place the bowl in the pot with the hot water and add to the mixture 1 1/2 Tbl Kirsch, 3 Tbl Sparkling Wine, 1 tsp Fresh Lemon Juice, 1 tsp Grated Lemon Zest. (If you don't have Kirsch add 4 1/2 Tbl Sparkling Wine.) Beat on high until the mixture is thick and fluffy. Add the bowl to an even larger bowl filled with ice water. Continue beating until the mixture is cool. Transfer to a clean bowl. This can be made in the morning and refrigerated until dessert time. Cover with plastic wrap making sure the wrap actually touches the sabayon so a skin doesn't form.
When ready to serve, in a separate bowl, beat 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream until soft peaks and fold into the egg mixture. Layer the Sabayon and Fresh Berries in a tall fluted glass. Serve with the open bottle of Sparkling Wine! Serves 6.

French Onion Soup

2011-08-12T08:15:00.011-05:00

From this. Buy 6 Large Fresh Onions.

To this. Slice thinly. Preheat pot over medium heat and add 4 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Add sliced onions increase to medium high and cook uncovered, stirring frequently.

To this. After 10 minutes they begin to lose moisture and will reduce in volume.

To this. Continue cooking and stirring often for an additional 50-60 minutes until onions begin to turn golden brown. Reduce heat slightly to avoid burning if needed.

To this. Measure 3/4 Cup Madeira and add it 2 Tbls at a time. Continue to cook and stir until deep brown. Start to finish, the onions cooked for 1 hour 10 minutes. Add 2 Cups Chicken Broth and 3 Cups Beef Broth.

To this. Ladle into bowls, top with Sliced French Bread and top with Grated Gruyere Cheese.

To this. Broil until the cheese melts and is golden brown. Serve at once.

Tarte Tatin

2011-08-08T10:18:00.007-05:00

I love the foods of autumn! Yesterday I noticed the light of the sun has changed providing longer afternoon shadows. Maybe it's that school is back in session in the deep south or maybe I am ready for some football, or both. None the less, I woke this morning craving this dessert and am going to make it later.
I see I have a fan from Ithaca and if you are in college and have access to an oven and a heavy oven proof skillet, you can make this! In the next month or so, apples will be in full season so you should give this a try. A bonus would be if you find an orchard where you can pick your own! This goes fast, so you have to have your prep done first and your oven should be hot.
Defrost Puff Pastry. (Puff Pastry can be found at most groceries in the frozen section.) Preheat oven to 400 F. Peel and core 2 Golden Delicious Apples. Cut each apple into 12 wedges. I like to use the gadget that cores and sections the apples. Roll thawed pastry til just big enough to fit in the pan keeping it as thick as possible. Using a knife, cut off the pointed corners of the pastry.

In a 10" oven proof skillet over moderate heat, melt 2 Tbl UnSalted Butter and add 6 Tbl Sugar. The old time iron skillets work well for this though I used my brand new Calphalon Unison 10" skillet. Using a wire whip, stir continuously until the mixture looks like the color of toffee. If you are using a nonstick pan, use a coated whip so you don't scratch the surface. This should take about 2 minutes. Remove from heat. Add apples, curved side down or in a shingled arrangement. Drape with the pastry, tucking in the sides and lightly tucking the pastry around the apples and place the pan in the oven.
Bake for about 20-25 minutes until pastry has risen and is golden brown. Remove from oven.
Immediately, place a plate upside down on top of the pan. Carefully flip the pan over so the apples are now on top of the pastry. Cut into 6 (or fewer) wedges and serve immediately. Add vanilla ice cream or whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon or freshly ground nutmeg. This does not store well in humid climates. Plan on eating it all right away and rest assured, that isn't hard to do!

Sharping Your Knives

2011-08-06T07:44:00.004-05:00

One of the most dangerous things in the kitchen besides broken or damaged tools are unsharpened knives. As long as I don't fly to vacation, I always pack my own knives. I traditionally bring a paring knife, a serrated tomato knife, and a 5" Santoku although in the past I used to bring my 6" Chef's knife. I have mentioned this in previous posts but am reminded again, as I am on vacation, and once again I would have been subject to the wooden block with all of the cheap knives. I drove here so I don't have to use these knives, but they are horrible.

When a knife is dull, instead of cutting through the food, the blade actually moves or rolls the food and causes your fingers to be under the blade. A finger cut doesn't stop bleeding very quickly. Keep your knives sharp by learning to use a steel. Run the blade over it a dozen times or so before each use. It takes a little extra time but it is worth it. I finally bought a knife sharpener and use it every few months to get a good blade on all of my knives. It cost about $80. It has 3 wheels in different grades, course to fine, which spin. There magnets set at a 45 degree angle to the wheel. You pull the knives past the spinning wheel to sharpen both sides of the blade. The sharp blade holds for a good month depending on how much use it gets. Pull out your steels today and to remove the burrs and nicks and I guarantee you will feel the difference.

Goodchardonnay

2011-07-30T09:34:00.002-05:00

Though my Blog title makes you think I am exclusively a wine blog, it's primarily food with some wine thrown in, here and there. My husband stumbled upon Vine Talk on PBS. It's hosted by Stanley Tucci, who is a delightful host. The show moves along quickly enough to gain some knowledge and informative enough to whet your interest in a new wine. With that I am back on a mission to discover new wines. I have attended many pairing classes and I want to get better at it so that is another angle I am working on. Things like, why this sparkling wine tastes so good with this sabayon. Or why this Fume goes perfectly with this risotto.

We serve nice wines when we entertain and it's amazing how enjoyable it is when no one leaves the table and we just hang out and drink yummy wines. My fondest memories are on a cold Christmas night, with our dining room fireplace lit, hanging around the table enjoying a red or sparkling wine with a leisurely dessert. Ok, back to reality, it's 100 degrees and humid out there but you get the picture.

I am a wine lover and have had many opportunities to try more wines than the average bear. My fist experience was when I was in my early 20's. I was an assistant manager at a fine dining restaurant at the Tarrytown Hilton. One of the assistant managers, Steve Lofredo, formerly the owner of Zoe in Soho, was attending the CIA. I had recently graduated from IUP in Food Service Management and was hungry for information about food and wine and he provided it. Our wine list contained over 150 selections. On Friday and Saturday nights, we opened a white and red wine and sold the wines by the glass. This allowed diners to each have the wine they liked with their meal or to taste a glass before purchasing a full bottle. That was a rather new idea and it went over well. The best part was at the end of the evening, the managers divided the open wines into glasses, if only a half of a sip, and we tasted everything we sold that night. We began working through our wine list and I believe by the time I left there a year later, I tasted about 70 wines.

From there I moved to Atlanta where I continued drinking and recording my feelings on wine. I ran a high volume breakfast and lunch restaurant in the Atlanta Hilton so wine was not featured and my budget was thin. Needless to say, the wines I bought fell on the less expensive side of good.

Not to fear though, from there, I moved to SF and began making trips to Napa and Sonoma for tastings especially with out of town guests. My perfect day began with a tour of a winery, lunch outside on the picnic tables at V. Sattui. Then a random stop somewhere along the way to finishing up with an outdoor table at Domaine Chandon for some sparking wine. Back then it was easy enough to learn what conditions produced good wines just by looking out your window. When a year was good the locals knew it just as too much rain sometimes gave the pickers 24 hours to get the grapes off the vine. These are the finer details you don't think of when you don't live there.

In recent years I haven't kept good records of what I like. With the applications for phones available now, I am in the process of recording Vineyards, years, and prices, plus my rating of the wine and what i served it with. This brings me back to the reason I began this post. The episode of Vine Talk I watched was on Chardonnay's. My husbands birthday is today so I bought the wine the celebrities thought was the best of the 6 they tasted. Flowers priced at $34.99 at Acquistapace's, which by the way is the best place on the northshore to buy wines, followed by Rouse's down by the lake. I'll let you know what we think!!!

Shrimp and Vegetable Tempura

2011-07-25T07:53:00.004-05:00

Last night we had Shrimp Tempura. For those on a budget, it's a cost effective meal. I prepped 1 Small Red Onion by cutting 1/2" slices. I like to buy individual Broccoli caps rather than the bunch held by a rubber band, so I bought 1 Broccoli Cap and cut it into "1-2 bite" sized pieces. 1 Small Sweet Potato cut into 1/3" slices. 1 Green Pepper cut into 1/2" strips. A Handful of Green Beans with the ends cut off. I used 1 Pound Large Shrimp (16-20) with the Heads Removed. I had to peel and devein the shrimp and I kept them separate from the prepped vegetables.
This batter recipe comes from a Yan Can Cook book that I have. The trick to good tempura is that the ingredients are very cold. Freeze the bowl you plan to use and refrigerate or freeze the cornstarch. First, heat the empty wok over medium heat while you make the batter. When wok is hot, fill 1/2 way to the top with Canola Oil. To the cold bowl, add 2 Cups flour, 1/2 Cup Corn Starch, 1/4 tsp Baking Soda. To 2 1/4 Cups of Cold Water, add ice cubes until the level reaches 2 2/3 Cups. Stir and let the ice melt. Add 2 Egg Yolks and stir. Add wet ingredients to the dry and stir quickly without over stirring. The batter should be lumpy. To a flat bottomed bowl, add 1/2 Cup Corn Starch for dredging.
I have learned to cook all of the vegetables first, then cook the shrimp. Dredge the vegetables in corn starch and then quickly dip in batter and quickly place into the hot oil. Each batch will cook for around 2-3 minutes. The smaller sized vegetables will cook more quickly than the larger ones. Once the vegetables float they are done. Serve with simple Soy Sauce flavored with Red Pepper Flakes, Minced Garlic and Thinly Sliced Scallions. This is a great meal for hanging around in the kitchen with friends. On a few occasions with a big crowd, I have also made pot stickers, lettuce wraps and my husband has rolled sushi. Goes very well with Sapporo Beer. NOTE: For reheating, preheat oven to 325. Place a cooling rack inside of a sheet pan. Place the vegetables and shrimp on the cooling rack in a single layer. Place in oven for 15-20 minutes.

Flour Tortilla French Toast Recipe

2011-07-17T10:48:00.002-05:00

Long on flour tortillas? They are perfect for a french toast breakfast or brunch, snack, or even dessert. Many years ago I had no bread and wanted to make french toast for breakfast. I quickly improvised and made this delicious version. I haven't made them in years but decided to make them this morning to add to my blog. They are simple enough, here's what you do.
For every 5 small tortillas the following quantities will work well. To a flat bottomed bowl, add 2 Eggs, A Pinch of Salt, 2 Pinches of Sugar, 1/4 tsp Cinnamon, and 3 Tbl Milk. Feel free to add a Splash of Orange Juice if you have if handy. Figure on 2 Flour Tortillas per Person. Fully heat a skillet on medium heat. Add a 1/2 tsp of Crisco. Do not use butter or it will burn. Quickly coat both sides of a flour tortilla in the egg mixture and add it to the skillet. Turn once it is golden brown and cook 2nd side. Roll into thirds and top with Vermont Fancy Grade Syrup, Fresh Fruit and Toasted Nuts. Serve immediately. For Vermont Maple Syrup, call Therrien's Sugarhouse in Brattleboro, Vermont 802.257.4013. Their prices are excellent!

Bleu Cheese Twice Baked Potato

2011-07-15T07:14:00.006-05:00

Place oven rack in the center position and preheat to 400 degrees. Using a vegetable brush, scrub well the outside of small Idaho (Russet) Baking Potatoes, 1 per person plus 1 extra in case 1 breaks while filling. Bake potatoes for 55 minutes. While potatoes are baking, cook Applewood Bacon (1 strip for every 2 potatoes) until crispy. When bacon cools, crumble it with a knife or by hand and set aside. Thinly slice 2 Large Shallots (for every 4 potatoes). Heat a small skillet and add 2 Tbl Vegetable Oil. Add shallots and cook until golden and crispy. Drain on a paper towel and set aside. Remove potatoes from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes.
Use a paring knife to cut open the tops of each potato. Make two elliptical cuts from end to end in order to create a nice size opening. Discard the top skin and remove the insides into a bowl. For every 4 potatoes, add 1/4 Cup of Sour Cream and 4 oz your favorite Bleu Cheese. Stir with a fork to combine. The potatoes should still be slightly lumpy and the cheese not completely broken up. Refill the potatoes with the mixture. When ready to serve preheat the oven to 350 and bake for 20 minutes or until hot all the way through. Top with shallots and bacon and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes and serve. These can be held in a warm oven set at 250 if you aren't ready to eat. Additionally, you can bake the potatoes and prep them in the morning and hold them in the refrigerator until ready to bake for the 2nd time. Delicious with a sliced grilled sirloin steak and a salad.

Nutella Martini Recipe..... need I say more?

2011-07-12T16:47:00.011-05:00

Chocolate and Hazelnut, nary a better combination.

I have been wanting to make a martini using Nutella for some time now. Here's what I came up with.
Swirl Nutella in a martini glass. Before adding ice, to a shaker add 1 Jigger Frangelico, 1 Jigger good quality vodka (I used Russian Standard), 1 Jigger Milk, 1 Jigger 1/2 & 1/2, and 1 heaping Tbl Nutella. Shake to blend. Add ice and shake again until very cold. Strain into a martini glass and indulge! Lovely for the end of the evening or a dessert party.
This recipe was posted on Thursday night and I am now typing on Saturday morning. I have never searched for, heard of, nor consumed a Nutella martini until this one, the one I made up. I decided to do a quick search of Nutella Martini last night and sure enough I found a few. The interesting thing is people are calling them Nutella Martini's (just like me) with a small hitch, Nutella is a trademarked name but none of the recipes I found actually contained Nutella. They used Frangelico and Godiva Chocolate. I think that is what trademark infringement is all about. Well I for one am supporting the real thing!

Trout Pecan

2011-07-10T10:03:00.005-05:00

Like I mentioned in my last post, I am trying to perfect my Lemon Butter pan sauce. This was an even better try as I made a few minor adjustments. Rinse fish, in this case Trout Fillets, 1 per person. Set onto paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Lightly Salt and Pepper the fillets. Zest and Juice 1 Lemon for every two fillets. Set aside. This fish is larger than the Orange Roughy (if you have read my previous post). To cook 4 fillets, I used two 12" skillets. If you don't have two then make this 2 times and clean the skillet before making the second batch. Rough chop Pecans and toast in 1 Tbl Butter over medium heat. Add A Few Pinches of Sugar, 1 Few Pinches of Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper and stir while they are toasting. Set a side. Heat empty skillet over medium high heat. Add 2 Tbl Butter and melt. Add fish fillets. When they begin to look opaque around the edges, carefully flip the fish. Let the second side cook until the fish is firm to the touch in its thickest part. When done, place on a warm plate and make the pan sauce. Add the lemon zest to the pan. Stir for about 20 seconds. Add lemon juice and swirl for 30 seconds. Add 1/4 Cup Chicken Broth and cook until it begins to thicken. Turn off heat and add 2 Tbl Butter and swirl until melted. Spoon over the fish and top with the toasted pecans. Serve at once.
NOTE: The changes I made to this recipe vs. the Orange Roughy were to replace the Olive Oil with Butter and to swirl in more butter at the end which gave the sauce a thicker consistency. I also added S&P and Sugar to the pecans provide a sweet and savory compliment to the butter lemon sauce. If you wanted to take it one step further you could add a bit on cayenne pepper to give the nuts some heat. I would love to hear some feedback from anyone making any of these recipes. The comments section is open without a login.

Orange Roughy with Lemon Butter and Toasted Pistachios

2011-07-06T21:48:00.005-05:00

I have been working diligently on perfecting a pan sauce after sauteing a piece of fish. I really sort of copied a bit of my brown butter technique for this sauce and it's tasty. But what I am really after is the light lemon butter sauce we see in local restaurants. After many tries I am convinced they may make up a lemon butter sauce and that it isn't made with the pan juices every time they fire up a fish dish. That will be a whole 'nother set of experiments. For now, I am just trying to get a quickly cooked piece of fish that has some color on the outside, that can be turned without breaking apart, that can be removed from the pan without breaking apart, is tasty and has a quick 2 minutes sauce. None of these are that simple though it sounds as if it should be.
I have many spatulas but I need to get to Simplee Gourmet on Hwy 21 (for the local gang) to get a tool for turning fish. Any good gourmet shop will have what you need and that is our local store. The other variable is the pan. I am concluding that the newer pans I have (and the pans sold) are coated. I don't feel they render themselves to the browning I am after. I may have to invest in a larger stainless skillet for that. In any event, when making this dish you will need to have a thick bottomed skillet.....Ok, a lot of talk, here's what I did:
First, rinse fish fillet(s) and pat dry or place on paper towels to dry. While it is drying, heat a small skillet and toast chopped Pistachio Nuts in 1 Tbl Butter. Set aside. Zest and Juice 1 Lemon. Heat a skillet, large enough to fit the fillets, over medium high heat. After a few minutes add 2 Tbl Olive Oil and add 1 Tbl Butter. Swirl to coat the add 1 Orange Roughy Fillet per Person but don't overlap the fish.
When the fish begins to turn opaque around the edges, carefully turn it over. Cook the second side until fish feels firm to the touch at it's thickest point. Place on warm plates. To the pan, add the lemon zest and stir for 20 seconds. Add lemon juice and swirl to combine. Add 1/4 Cup Chicken Broth. Let this reduce for a few minutes until it thicken slightly. Turn off heat and add 1 Tbl Butter, swirling the pan the entire time. Pour over fish fillets and add toasted pistachios. Serve at once.

OMG, Great Homemade Ice Cream Sandwiches!

2011-07-03T07:44:00.011-05:00

When I was a kid, we had a store around the corner called Urban's Market. We used to get penny candy (for a penny) and candy bars and popsicles for 5 cents. When you walked in, on the left, there was a freezer with a siding glass top that contained all of the ice cream novelties. What I loved about their ice cream sandwiches was that the cookie was crunchy, not because it was frozen, but because it was a crisp cookie and it didn't get soft and stick to my fingers. This summer my son and I have tried Blue Bunny and Blue Bell ice cream sandwiches, hunting for the kind I grew up with. Though not perfect, Blue Bunny was the winner when it comes to the crispness of the cookie. Blue Bell stuck to my fingers when unwrapping the paper, though they are good otherwise.
As a jumping off point, I found a chocolate dough recipe in my Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook. I made the dough yesterday and it is in our Man-Frig (named because it contains beverages, one of which is beer, though there is a drawer with snacks for my son) and it is set at the coldest setting.
Today, I have to roll out and bake the dough. It has a few steps so I'll be busy. Then I'll scoop ice cream in order to get real tall sandwiches. My husband wants Blue Bell Fat Free Strawberry Cheesecake Yogurt but he'll have to settle for Raspberry Sherbert since that's all I found. I am looking for some sort of White Chocolate that I am going to squish Fresh Raspberries into and I think my son wants something chocolatey. (I got Dutch Chocolate for my son and I found Black Raspberry, so we are all in heaven.) Once assembled, I'll wrap them in parchment paper. Hopefully I'll get the results I am looking for and if not this go around, it's sure fun trying!
In the meantime, here is the dough recipe. In a bowl, measure 1 1/4 Cups Flour, 1/4 Cup + 2 Tbl Dutch Process Cocoa Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda and 1/4 tsp Salt. Using a wire whip, stir to combine the dry ingredients. In a mixer bowl with a paddle, beat 1 Stick UnSalted Butter, 2/3 Cups Brown Sugar and 1/3 Cup Sugar. Add 1 Egg and 1 tsp Vanilla and beat to combine. With the mixer on the lowest setting, add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. With floured hands, divide in half, flatten and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for a least 1/2 hour.
Remove from the refrigerator 1 at a time and roll out dough to 1/8" thickness and freeze. Cut out 2" circles and freeze the circles. Gather the scraps and repeat the process until all the dough is cut.
Preheat the oven to 350 and bake for approximately 12-14 minutes until the cookies feel firm. Once cooled, fill with ice cream and freeze until ready to serve. Thank you Mrs. Urban for all the childhood memories!!
In the end, my son ate 2. Need I say more?

Skinny Chicken

2011-07-02T08:11:00.006-05:00

Years ago, my husband would order Skinny Chicken at Macaroni Grill every time we ate there. I don't know if it's still on the menu. I tasted it once and recorded in my kitchen cook book (the book where I write all kinds of stuff down) what I think was in the glaze/dressing. The other day he mentioned feeling fat so I decided to review my notes and make this for dinner. He was so appreciative that I listened and delivered on something low fat. Last night as I was prepping the plates with the greens for my photographs and my mother-in-law walked over (we live next door) with a huge bag of garden Roma tomatoes, the perfect compliment.

First, rinse and pound, 1 Chicken Breast per Person in order to tenderize. Whip up the glaze/dressing. This is enough for 3 chicken breasts so double or triple as needed. To a bowl, add 2 Tbl Honey, 1 Tbl Rice Vinegar, 1 1/2 tsp Stone Ground Mustard (such as Zatarains), 1 tsp Red Wine Vinegar, 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, freshly Ground Pepper, and a Pinch of Kosher Salt. While stirring with a wire whip, blend in 3 Tbl Olive Oil. Divide the glaze in half, reserving enough to drizzle on the finished salad since there is no dressing otherwise. I reserved 1/2 in a neat ceramic pitcher that I have so it can be poured easily.

Preheat grill and while it is preheating, wash and spin enough greens for the number of people you are serving. I found a nice Arugula/Spinach Mix that was perfect. Arrange greens on the plate and add any vegetables you want, for example, my father-in-laws Roma Tomatoes.

Cook the chicken. Baste 1 side of the chicken with the glaze and place on grill, glaze side down. Glaze the upward facing side. After a few minutes, flip the chicken breast. Glaze the upward facing side. After a few minutes, you are going to flip again but you want the grill marks to create a cross pattern, so the chicken needs to be rotated by 90 degrees to the first set up marks. Glaze upward facing side. In a few minutes you will flip for the final time, again, 90 degrees to the set of marks you have already. Let rest for 5 minutes and slice on an angle. Place hot chicken on the fresh greens and drizzle with reserved glaze. Depending on how thinly you pounded the chicken breast and how hot your grill is, this should take about 2 minutes on all sides. If the chicken is not releasing from the grill, it is not ready to flip but note the honey can be sticky so don't get fooled.

Also, consider adding any of these: shredded Carrots, thinly sliced Red Onion, thinly sliced Baby Bella Mushrooms or colorful Sweet Bell Peppers cut into strips. I also think it would be nice topped with a crumbled Fete Cheese. As I am listing all these accoutrement's, you may be thinking what I am thinking, which is this entire meal can be served at a buffet. In the event of a buffet, make certain you have lots of salad dressing because people tend to take more than might be needed. Again, the point is keep it fresh, keep it light and keep it skinny!

Baby Back Ribs

2011-07-01T15:32:00.004-05:00

I really like to roast ribs in the oven because they come out extremely tender. The other night I racked my brain to create something new as either a dry rub or a glaze. I came up with this wonderful glaze. Truly my creation.

I told my husband "I made it up" which is code for, 'you won't see this again, because I didn't write it down'. When he tasted them he told me he hoped I had written down what I did. I admitted they smelled good in the oven and that I had photographed them in case they tasted good. Before I forget, not only that I even made this glaze but also how I made it, I decided to record my recipe. These will cook for about 2 hours depending on the thickness of the ribs. Mine were on the meaty side.

Preheat oven to 350. Line a sheet pan with heavy duty aluminum foil. Rinse and pat dry a rack of ribs. Grind Pepper over the ribs and add a very small sprinkle of Kosher Salt. Place ribs in the oven on the center shelf.

For the glaze, using a 1/2 package of dry Good Seasons Garlic Cheese (as in the Salad Dressing dry mix), add 2 Tbl Honey, 1 tsp Soy Sauce, 1 tsp Water, 1 Tbl Stone Ground Mustard such as Zatarain's. Mix together. This should make a runny paste.

After 1 hour and 20 minutes brush some of the glaze on the ribs and return to the oven. Reduce oven temperature to 325. After another 20 minutes, glaze again and return to the oven. They should be done at the end of 20 minutes. Let rest for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

The above will work just fine and I encourage it. Honestly, the exact way I did these pictured was that I had to leave in the middle of cooking dinner. I know, crazy, happens all the time! If you are like me, maybe this method fits into your busy schedule when you have to leave briefly. I turned the oven off after the second glazing and headed off to my son's guitar lesson. We got home about 45 minutes later. The ribs were hot and fall off the bone tender!! If you understand cooking, you can leave things at the right moment and come back home and they are perfect. Try it and see! Happy 4th of July and happy summer!!

Simple Summer Potato Salad

2011-06-30T16:09:00.001-05:00

Every once in a while I taste something that is simple and delicious and perfect for the time of year. On previous summertime visits, my sister-in-law J has whipped up a potato salad that is just that. This week, I had a hankering for the flavors I recalled, so I made it and now I can share it with you.

What I like best is that this potato salad has no mayonnaise and is perfect for an outdoor affair since nothing will spoil. In fact, I think the flavors are more prominent if it isn't served cold so room temperature is the coolest I would go. With that in mind, here's what I did.

Wash and quarter a 3lb Bag of Small Red Potatoes, if some pieces are big, cut them in half. Cover with cold water and cook over medium high heat at a gentle boil until the potatoes are tender but keep their shape when stabbed with a fork. Once done, rinse in cold water to prevent further cooking. Place in a flat bottomed bowl. Drizzle with 1/3 Cup Olive Oil and toss to coat. Add 2 Tbl Red Wine Vinegar and stir gently. Season with 1 Tsp Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Pepper and Fresh Dill Leaves removed from their stems. I like to combine fine and coarsely ground peppers for this dish. In the end, you want it to taste good so feel free to taste a potato as you add seasoning. If your plans for this July 4th are a picnic or barbecue, consider this simple potato salad as a side dish.

Making something cool today!

2011-06-19T08:59:00.003-05:00

It's Father's Day and although I won't see my father (but we'll talk) we are going to my in-laws. I decided to make an antipasto of sorts. I am pulling together a few things already listed on this site. First I am going to make dough to grill flat bread (Recipe on the site). Then I am going to prep and grill Sliced Egg Plant, Colorful Sweet Peppers, Garden Fresh Tomatoes, Vadalia and Red Onions Slices, Whole Scallions, medium Sized Portabella Mushrooms and Zucchini sliced lengthwise. (I grilled vegetables in a similar fashion when I made the Grilled Vegetable Sandwiches on Ciabatta Bread.)

When the vegetables are done, they can rest. Then I will organize them on a platter. In lieu of describing all the cutting, I will just post a picture. I will likely grill the flat bread here since it will be easier although I think it would taste better and be more fun straight off the grill.
Here's the twist, the nouveau! I am going to make some warm flavored dipping oils. To individual ramekins, I will have Pressed Garlic in one, Lemon Zest and Fresh Rosemary in one, Oregano and S&P, and Lemon Zest and Pepper Flakes, one will remain plain. I am going to heat Virgin Olive Oil and add it to the ramekins. This will release all the flavors into the oil.
The eating technique, tear a piece of flat bread, dip it in oil and top with a vegetable. Sound good? I hope so cause my mouth is watering!! Let you know how it goes over!! I'd say it went over well. The oil winners were garlic and rosemary lemon zest! I didn't make the lemon zest red pepper flake oil but that would've been tasty.
NOTE: I photographed the flat bread but the grill marks on the bread look darker than they really were. When I make this again, photograph it and a picture here.

Grilled Salmon, Scales On

2011-06-12T12:05:00.005-05:00

First, when buying salmon, buy fresh salmon fillets with the scales on. Buy individual fillets since they are easier to remove from the grill and can be purchased based on how well done you like your fish. If you want to buy a full side, cut it into pieces that will fit on your spatula once cooked. I like mine a bit thinner so it is more done than the way my husbands prefers his fish. By buying 2 thicknesses, I can cook them both at the same time for the same amount of time.If you don't see the sizes you like, ask the fish monger to cut pieces for you. I bought 2 fillets around 1.2 pounds total.

This recipe preparation is one of the few times I love our infer-red grill. Place 1 Salmon Fillet Per Person, scale sides down, on a platter about a hour before cooking. This allows the fish to begin to warm up to room temperature. Either drizzle or brush Virgin Olive Oil on both sides of the fillet. With scales down, top with the Zest of Lemon. (The zest of 1 Lemon will top 2 Fillets) Add Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste. If you like Dill, add it now.

About 20 minutes before cooking, throughly heat your grill. Place the Salmon Fillets on the grill scale side down and close the lid. Note: You will not be turning the fish. The fish will cook in a matter of 2-6 minutes depending on your doneness and the heat of your grill. Using your tongs, you can feel for doneness, soft and springy means rare in the middle and firm is cooked all the way. The fish will go from a bright orange to a milky pink color as it firms up. You can open the grill to peek as you are learning how long to let it go. Try not to over cook it though because dry salmon isn't good.

To remove it from the grill, get the spatula under the scales. It is easiest if you approach the fillet from a corner and at a diagonal to the grate to get it started. With a quick motion, get the entire fillet including scales on the spatula and carefully transfer to each plate as is. This goes great with grilled Asparagus, Lemon Rice Pilaf and a Lemon Drop Martini! Eat immediately!!

Brown Butter Shrimp

2011-04-17T09:58:00.005-05:00

This recipe comes from Food and Wine Magazine, June 2000. The major changes I made are that I used shrimp instead of scallops (you can easily substitute scallops or both, as the original recipe calls for) and I doubled the sauce recipe. I normally use prosciutto but on this night I didn't have it, so it is pictured without.
This is another one of those recipes that has to be completely prepped because it cooks very quickly. This is a perfect dinner choice when you want to visit with your guests before eating dinner. This is also a wonderful platter style appetizer or hors d'oeurve where you let guests serve themselves. As a dinner these quantities should serve 4 people. So first the prep. Wash and trim the end of 1 lb Asparagus. Peel and devein 2 lbs. Large Shrimp (head on), leaving the tail intact. Place on paper towels to dry. Zest then juice 1 Large Lemon. Measure out 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth. Julienne 4 sliced of thinly sliced Prosciutto.

Cook Basmati Rice according to the directions, figuring 1/4 cup uncooked rice per person. In a skillet, saute the asparagus over medium heat in 1 Tbl Olive Oil with 1 tsp Unsalted Butter added. Season with Kosher Salt and White Pepper to taste.

Preheat large skillet over medium low heat. Add 1 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Add prosciutto and cook until crisp., about 4 minutes. Transfer prosciutto to a plate. Raise heat to medium high and add 3 Tbl UnSalted Butter in same skillet. Add shrimp and cook until browned and just done, about 1 minute per side. Transfer shrimp to a plate. Add lemon zest and cook until browned, about 1 minute. Add lemon juice and simmer for 10 seconds. Add chicken broth and simmer scraping the bottom of the skillet until reduced to a rich glaze, about 3 minutes. Swirl in 1 Tbl Unsalted Butter. Return shrimp and any juice back into skillet and toss to coat. You can season with a pinch of Kosher Salt and White Pepper to Taste but go easy on the salt because prosciutto is salty.

On a warmed platter, arrange rice and top with shrimp and sauce. Arrange the asparagus in an attractive manner. Top the shrimp with the crispy prosciutto and serve with warm crusty bread.

Chocolate Mousse Pie, (by a kid)

2011-03-20T09:36:00.008-05:00

My 9 year old son and I watched Julie and Julia again last night. He wants a blog and of course he can't have one..... yet. Instead, I told him he could be a guest on my blog. We decided to make Chocolate Cream Pie, but we are using Julia's Chocolate Mousse recipe for the filling as opposed to cooking a pudding. In researching recipes for the mousse, I found David Lebovitz, Saveur Magazine, has as close to hers as I can find. Hey, the way I figure it, my son won't know the difference so why not go straight to the top when it comes to perfection!

For the crust over the years, I have used Gale Gand's recipe a a jumping off point that has been altered to fit my deep dish pie plate. In a food processor pulse 1 Cup Pastry Flour, 1 1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour, 2 Tbl Sugar and 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt. Cut 10 oz Cold Unsalted Butter into pieces and add it to the flour. Pulse until is resembles small peas. While pulsing, dizzle in water by the tablespoon using approximately 3-4 Tbl Ice Water until dough comes together. Form into a disk and wrap in plastic.

Refrigerate for a few hours. When ready to roll, remove from refrigerator and let rest for about 15 minutes until warm enough to roll. In the meantime, preheat oven to 350. Roll dough to about 1/8" using either a dusting of flour or between parchment paper. Place dough over pie dish pressing into the corners and cut off excess dough. Shape the edge of your crust to your liking. Lightly prick the dough with a fork. Bake for 25 -30 minutes until browned.
Now for the fun and delicious part!! I made a simple change to this. We didn't want to use coffee and rum so I used Frangelico instead. You can google her original recipe but here is what I did.
This is made in 3 basic steps. Organize how you will use your pot and bowls.

To a bowl that will fit into a pot to create a double boiler, add 6 oz Bittersweet Chocolate, 6 oz UnSalted Butter and 1/4 Cup Water. Place over pot and heat the water enough to melt the mixture. Remove from heat.

Separate 4 Large Eggs, the whites into a mixing bowl and the yolks into a bowl that will fit over a pot of water. If you can use the same pot of water as the chocolate, then great, do it, but you can see I used 2 different sized bowls. Over the simmering water, using a hand mixer, beat the 4 Egg Yolks with 2/3 Cups Sugar and 4 Tbl Frangelico. It should be fairly thick almost like runny mayonnaise. Remove from heat and place the yolk mixture bowl in an ice bath in order to cool the bowl and therefore yolk mixture. Continue beating the mixture until is is cool. This may take about 15 minutes.
Fold Chocolate mixture into the yolk mixture.
Beat Egg Whites until frothy. Continue beating until they begin to hold their shape. Whip in 1 Tbl Sugar and beat until shiny and add 1 tsp Vanilla.
Fold 1/3 of the whites into the chocolate mixture. Do this 2 more times. Add mousse to the pie shell and refrigerate until set. Serve with freshly whipped cream. If you don't want to make a pie you can certainly serve this mousse in a nice glass cup. C and I hope you Enjoy!

Stuffed Shells

2011-03-01T10:41:00.003-06:00

I haven't made these in a long time, in fact, I forgot I have made them in the past. I like this recipe because it is prepared in 3 basic steps and can be done at once or in stages. Mine are ready for the oven and took all of 40 minutes to get prepared. I cooked and filled 24 shells, 12 for tonight and 12 to freeze for a few weeks from now.
For the pasta shells, boil a large pot of water over high heat. Once it boils, add 1 tsp Salt and cook 24 Large Pasta Shells for about 12-15 minutes. They need to be under done since they are being baked in the oven.
While water is boiling, slice 1/2 Large Onion very thinly and sautee in 1 Tbl Olive Oil for about 3 minutes until fragrant. Add 1 lb Ground Beef and cook until just about done. Add 4 Cups Marinara to the meat and onion. I make my own marinara and the recipe is on this site or you can easily use a jar of your favorite. Season the sauce with S&P to taste, Parsley, Oregano and Basil. Let cook over low heat for for about 15 minutes. While sauce is cooking make filling.
To a bowl add 15 oz Ricotta Cheese, 2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella, 1 Cup Parmesan, 2 Egg Yolks, 2 Pressed Garlic Cloves, S&P to taste, and 1 tsp Fresh Chopped Parsley. If you want to add spinach to the filling I would chiffonade about 1 Cup of Clean Fresh Spinach and stir into filling.
Preheat Oven to 350F. Drain pasta and rinse under cold water to stop the cooking process. Butter casserole dish and add 2 cups of sauce. Fill shells with filling and bury them in the sauce without overlapping. Top with additional sauce as desired. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until bubbly. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. In the meantime, warm bread in the oven. Serve additional sauce on the side. Great with a simple salad.

Buttery Bleu Cheese Spread with Toasted Walnuts

2011-02-26T10:26:00.005-06:00

My Mom used to love to serve a yummy niblet with a cocktail when she entertained. I visited once and she serve this dip. When I asked her about the recipe she told me she got the recipe while visiting me. Years later, when I made my kitchen cook book from magazine recipes, I came across this in a Southern Living issue and clipped it out. I have made it a few times, but lately have had a hankering for bleu cheese. It's simple to put together and it freezes well, especially if your have a ramekin or something you may want to serve it in. I made a few changes to the original recipe. I like toasted nuts with blue cheese and I reduced the butter and cream cheese in half to accent the bleu cheese flavors. The crumbled Bleu Cheese I bought comes in a 5oz container so I decided to use it all though the recipe calls for 4 oz. Additionally, the recipe calls for chives but I have scallions, so for today, that's what I'll use. Note, the sherry is optional. I used it and it is delicious!
In a bowl with a hand mixer, quickly combine, 12 oz softened Cream Cheese, 1/4 C. softened Butter, 5 oz Crumbled Bleu Cheese, 1/2 C. Rough Chopped Toasted Walnuts, 2 Tbl. Thinly Sliced Scallions, 2 Tbl Sherry. Put spread in a serving bowl or a ramekin if freezing. Serve with sliced Apples or sliced Pears, Crackers or a sliced toasted Baguette, Crackers or Pretzels. Also, can be used as a compound butter served on steak such as a sliced Sirloin Steak or with Baked Pototoes. Bon Apettit!!

Panko Crusted Mozzarella Cheese

2011-02-20T13:29:00.002-06:00

I am debating an entering this for the local restaurant menu competition as an appetizer. Panko Crusted Mozzarella Cheese that is flash fried. It's served along side of clean Fresh Spinach Leaves with Diced Tomatoes drizzled in Reduced Balsamic Vinegar and Olive Oil, all flavored simply with S&P and Pressed Garlic. Served with Sour Dough Toast.

I imagine this to be a shared appetizer, which is my favorite kind. The diners can assemble these tasty treats to their liking.

For Mozzarella Cheese, buy the cheese in block form. Cut 1/2" Slices and cut crosswise making triangles. Preheat thoroughly an empty iron skillet or skillet suitable for frying. Add 1" of Canola Oil and thoroughly preheat to 375F. Get 3 flat bottoms bowls ready, Flour in one, 1 Egg beaten with a splash of water in the second and Panko Bread Crumbs in the third. Coat the cheese only as you are ready to fry. First in the flour, shaking off excess, then the egg mixture and lastly the Panko Crumbs.
Add to oil and quickly fry turning once. Let cool on a paper towel. Assemble onto your serving plate and serve immediately. Mangia!

Marscarpone Lemon Chiffon Filled Crepe with Blueberry Sauce

2011-02-20T08:51:00.004-06:00

A local restaurant has a competition where the winners get their appetizer, entree or dessert placed on their menu. I turned to a palette of spring flavors for my dessert idea. I have to admit, I used all of the crepes I prepared trying to come up with a likable presentation. I wasn't satisfied with anyone my ideas. Plating food is A LOT harder than it appears. I tried rolling them, but they looked too much like a cannoli. I spread the crepe with the chiffon and broiled in then folded it over in the traditional quarters but I didn't care for that look. I tried a variety of other versions and after thinking about it for a week I decided I should've folded them into quarters, topped them with the lemon chiffon and then drizzled the blueberry sauce over them. So no matter what presentation you choose, the flavors were superb.

Make Fresh Crepes. I took a savory recipe and turned it into more of a dessert version. In a bowl, mix until smooth 1/2 Cup Flour, 1/4 tsp Salt, 2 Eggs (slightly beaten first), 1 Cup Milk, 2 Tbl Melted UnSalted Butter, 2 Tbl Sugar. Preheat crepe pan over medium heat. Add a small bit of UnSalted Butter each time to coat the pan before adding 2 Tbl of crepe batter. Cook crepes so they are light brown on a least 1 side. Place them between parchment or waxed paper. This should make 12 crepes. If you need exactly 12 then double the recipe to account for mistakes.

Make a simple Blueberry Sauce. Add 1/4 Cup Sugar to 1/4 Cup Water. Heat over medium heat just until sugar melts. Add 2 Cups Blueberries and swirl until you see the juice but berries remain whole. Using a sieve fitted over a bowl, strain the berries reserving all of the juice.

Make Marscarpone Lemon Chiffon. Add 3" of water to a pot (for the yolks use a bowl that will fit over this pot) and begin to simmer the water only over medium heat. Separate 4 Eggs, Whites into the bowl of a stand mixer and the Yolks into a bowl (that fits over the pot of water.) Zest 2-3 Lemons then squeeze them netting 1/4 Cup + 3 Tbl Fresh Lemon Juice.

Using a hand mixer, beat the egg yolks and 4 Tbl Sugar until pale and thick. Drizzle in the Lemon Juice and beat all the while. Add 4 oz Marscarpone Cheese and the Lemon Zest and continue to beat. Place bowl over the simmering water and continue to beat until thick. When warm and thick, remove bowl from the heat.

Beat Egg Whites until foamy. Add 1/4 tsp Cream of Tartar and beat until soft peaks. Add 4 Tbl Sugar, 1 tsp at a time and beat until glossy but not dry. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold 1/4 of the whites into the chiffon mixture. Repeat this 3 more times. Refrigerate.

When ready to serve, warm crepe in pan for 10- 20 seconds, fold into quarters, add a dollop of cold chiffon and drizzle with both the blueberries then the blueberry syrup. Garnish with a sprig of Rosemary or Mint. Serve at once.

The Salt Experiment

2011-01-25T10:18:00.008-06:00

We have heard many times that Americans have too much salt in their diet. Though approximately 1500 mg is needed each day for bodily function, too much of a good thing can cause other problems. I never paid much attention to all the talk because I think I eat less salt than most people since I rarely use or consume processed foods and never eat canned vegetables. Salt is likely used by food manufacturers not to make you unhealthy but rather to extend food shelf life. If you look back to days of crossing the Atlantic in sail boats, the trip was long and in order to extend the shelf life of meat and fish, it was dried and salted.
Hearing the news of the recent reduction in the daily recommended needed, I got wondering exactly how much salt do I eat? And more importantly, how much am I feeding my family.
So I am setting out to do an experiment. I will assume that 3/4 tsp a day is about what we should each eat. I cook and salt our food with kosher salt. I will place 3/4 tsp for each of us in separate bowls. I am going to label the bowls. If we want to salt our food, we will use our individual bowls. When I cook something the 3 of us will eat, I will take 1/3 from each bowl. If we are eating something that has salt listed on the label, I will record that as well. I am very curious to find out how this works out.
Here is an interesting fact. On my package of Morton Course Kosher Salt, I found a 1/4 tsp of Salt has 480mg of sodium. I wanted to find out if all salts were created equally and in researching Table Salt, found 1/4 tsp has 600mg of sodium. Making a change to Kosher Salt can reduce your intake right off the bat.
When cooking, try salting your food after it's cooked. We all want to taste salt, so if it is salted to hit your tongue first, you'll need less.
As a test, I salted very lightly, the bottom slice of bread for a turkey breast and tomato sandwich so it would hit my tongue rather than the roof of my mouth and what a difference. I tasted the salt first.
If you are on a low salt diet it doesn't mean a no-flavor diet. Try flavoring with non salt flavorings like spices, herbs, ginger, garlic,and pepper to name a few.

I am finding that we eat very little salt. I decided to continue this process for a 7 day period. This way I can better account for weekends vs. week days when we are home for more meals.

I am proud to say that after a week, we each consumed under 3/4 tsp of Kosher Salt per person for the entire week. I didn't bake which I normally do, that would be about 1 tsp for a recipe and then of course that is divided by 3. Therefore, the main source of sodium we are getting is coming from things like Wheat Bread, Cheese, Ketchup and Mustard, Salty Chips or Store bought Cookies that are in our diet. I drink Hot Chocolate in my coffee and surprisingly there is sodium in it. I am getting approximately 1/3 (based on 1500mg sodium a day) of the daily allowance there. So I would say we are in very good shape as far as sodium is concerned.
From March through October we have extremely high temperatures and all sweat quite a bit. We all drink gatorade which contains sodium but on the other hand our daily requirement would be increased as well.
I am confident we are not in the group of Americans consuming too much sodium, if anything, we are under the daily requirement.
You should switch to Kosher Salt to reduce your intake. Another suggestion is to use salt in pinches to "finish" your food rather than salting it while it is cooking. If you begin to read labels you will begin to feel offended by the sodium content and will automatically avoid high sodium products, big culprit, Kraft Mac and Cheese.
If you are concerned, conduct your own experiment with your family. Teaching your kids these good habits will be good for everyone's health! Please feel free to post a comment as to your findings.

Are You Ready For A Little Football Food?

2011-01-22T09:06:00.013-06:00

I apologize this picture isn't quite a good as the recipe but you get the idea. As a leftover I stretched the filling. You should fill the cups 3/4 of the way. Also I decided to cut the corners off the wontons for the purpose of the recipe and in the photo I tried folding them under but in cooking, they opened up and were still a little sharp and crunchy.
I made up this cool hors d'oeurve after seeing something like this made using wonton wrappers as a shell. I don't even recall what the filling was, I just liked the wonton idea. These can be time consuming to put together so if your game day schedule is busy, make the filling a day ahead.
Get the prep ready first so the dish can go together quickly. Thinly slice 2 - 3 Shallots. Get 1 Garlic Clove ready to press. If you have leftover crawfish from a boil peel enough for 1 lb of tail meat, but if not, buy 1 lb Louisiana Frozen Crawfish Tails. They are more expensive but taste better than the ones from China that are boiled in plain water and have no flavor. Rinse the crawfish tails. Buy 1 package of Wonton Wrappers. Keeping Wrappers in a stack, using a sharp cut off a tiny bit of each corner because they make sharp crunchy edges once they are cooked. Melt 3 Tbl Unsalted Butter over low heat. Brush a mini muffin pan with butter. Add a wrapper and brush the inside of the wrapper with butter.
Heat a skillet thoroughly over medium heat. Add 3 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Saute Shallots for a few minutes till soft. Press the Garlic into skillet and while stirring, heat for 1 minute. Add 2 Tbl Flour and stir for the next 2-3 minutes. Add 1/2 Cup Chicken Broth stirring all the while. Add 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream. Cook for about 3-4 minutes, til it comes to a gentle boil, then turn off heat. Let mixture cool for a few minutes. Add 1 Egg Yolk. Add Crawfish Tails. Add 1 Tbl Barbeque Shrimp Seasoning. If needed, add more to taste. Add Salt and White Pepper to taste. Preheat oven to 375. Fill each wonton with mixture and top with a Sprinkle of Parmesan Cheese. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until wonton is a deep golden brown. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.
For some variations to this, you can add diced Red Pepper when you saute the shallots. You can also add finely sliced Scallions when stirring in the crawfish. I get tired of bell peppers in everything because it is over powering, so I opted not to add it this time so I like the idea of the scallions best.

Drunken Chicken

2011-01-14T12:28:00.005-06:00

This is a simple and fun recipe. It cooks quickly, is moist on the inside, and the skin is crispy all the way around. Great dinner even if cooking for 1 cause you'll have leftovers and wonderful tasty chicken for sandwiches. The coolest part is you can cook 2 at once without any additional time. Just make certain the birds aren't touching each other. There is a stand for the beer that helps keep the chicken upright and I own 2 of them. They are an odd shape for storing and they are somewhere but I couldn't find them so I went with just the beer can. The chicken can also be cooked over a grill with the lid shut. In winter, I like to cook mine in the oven
Move rack to the lower 1/3 of the oven. Preheat oven to 400. Rinse a small Whole Roasting Chicken (mine was just under $7) and S&P the cavity of the chicken as well as the outside. Open a 12 oz Can of Beer. Drink a few sips and add a few Garlic Cloves and any Herbs that interest you. Put can of beer in a roasting pan. Place chicken over the can, legs facing downward and use the legs for stability. Carefully place in oven. After 15 minutes, reduce temperature to 350. Cook for another 1 1/4 hours. Let rest before carving. Carefully remove chicken from can without tipping it over. A quick au jus and be made from the drippings. Cut apart the legs, wings, and thighs in order to slice the breasts. Another option is to serve all parts cut up. To do this, remove legs, wings and thighs. The back can be removed from the thighs and discarded after any useful meat is removed. The breasts can be separated at the top netting 8 pieces. Serve with mashed potatoes and a fresh vegetable....oh, and beer.

How to Feed a Family of 4 for Around $100 (The Menu Week 3)

2011-01-08T11:10:00.006-06:00

This is a general menu and the days are interchangeable based on your schedule. I like to cook when the evening is less hectic and when I am pressed for time due to scheduling, I tend to serve leftovers. In the 2 previous menus, I have indicated the leftover buffet on day 7 but in this week due to the fact the chicken is roasted on Monday, it needs to be eaten by Friday. If you decide to move the leftover night later in the week, cook the chicken later in the week as well.

This menu is based on the fact that you are getting carry over on some staples from Week 2 groceries. If this is the first time you are using a week long menu, cross check what you have in your pantry with what is needed.

I would also like to note that further savings can be realized if shopping sales, using coupons or buying store brand items.

The purpose of these menus is to demonstrate that good food can be served to your family when you find yourself on a tight budget if you do a small amount of planning and are willing to make a few simple recipes from scratch. Try to avoid fillers, junk food and soda, making the most of all the foods you serve.

Monday
B- Cereal with Sliced 1/2 Banana / Juice & Milk
D- Roasted Chicken / Mashed Potatoes / Corn / Milk
Tuesday
B- Yogurt / Peanut Butter Toast / Juice & Milk
D- Spaghetti with Marinara/ Zucchini Bread / Ice Cream / Milk
Wednesday
B- Scrambled Eggs / Toasted Zucchini Bread / Juice & Milk
D- Pork Chops / Rice / Carrots / Milk
Thursday
B- French Toast / Sliced Bananas / Juice & Milk
D- Hot Dogs on Wheat Buns / Baked Beans / Milk
Friday
B- Cereal with Strawberries / Juice & Milk
D- Dinner Buffet using all leftovers / Milk
Saturday
B- Fried Eggs / Toast / Juice & Milk
D- Spaghetti with Meatballs / Salad / Garlic Bread / Milk
Sunday
B- Buttermilk Pancakes with Fresh Strawberries / Juice & Milk
D- Grilled Provolone Sandwiches with Sliced Tomato / Home Fries / Fresh Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies / Milk

How to Feed a Family of 4 for Around $100 (The Grocery List Week 3)

2011-01-08T10:54:00.006-06:00

8 Pork Chops $8
All Beef Hot Dogs $4
1 1/2 Pounds Ground Beef $4
1 Roasting Chicken $6
3 Gallon Milk $10.50
2 Dozen Eggs $4
Provolone Cheese $3
Real Orange Juice (Calcium Enriched) $3
4 Yogurts $2
1/2 Gallon Ice Cream $4
Frozen Corn $2
2 Loaves Nature's Own or Simililar Bread $5
1 Fresh Italian Bread $1
Wheat Hot Dog Buns $3
Baked Beans $2
2 lbs Angel Hair Spaghetti $3
1 Apple Juice $3
2 Boxes Cereal $5
Grape Jelly $3
Peanut Butter $2
5 lbs All Purpose Flour $2.75
Nestles Chocolate Chips $3
Brown Sugar $1
2 Hunts Pasta Sauce $2
1 Onion $.40
1 Garlic Bulb $.25
5 lbs. Russet Potatoes $3
1 Large Bag Carrots $1.75
4 Bananas $2
1 Quart Strawberries $3
Zucchini $1.50
2 Tomatoes $1
1 Lemon $.50

Profiteroles

2010-12-24T11:25:00.004-06:00

I should have posted this recipe long ago, but if you are stuck for a festive dessert for this holiday season, I think you can't go wrong with profiteroles! If you are going to make these tonight, or tomorrow, go get the ice cream now. I like to serve 3 profiteroles person and serve 3 types of ice cream making each one different. This year, Peppermint Stick, Vanilla Bean and Pralines and Cream. But there are lots to choose from, Coffee, Milk Chocolate and Egg Nog were some runner up choices for me.
All the other ingredients are likely in your house already. For Chocolate Sauce, see recipe, as you might have to add a few things to your grocery list if you want to make your own. Otherwise get a very good quality sauce that has a thick consistency.
This comes from The Gourmet Cookbook, the one with 1000 recipes! Preheat oven to 425. Move shelves to upper 1/3 and lower 1/3 of the oven. Place parchment or butter 4 cookie sheets.
I doubled this recipe to make plenty for 3 each and for anyone who might stop by for dessert. Measure out 1 1/2 Cups Flour and place in a bowl. In a saucepan (I use All-clad) Over medium high heat, melt 1 1/2 Sticks UnSalted Butter, 1 1/2 Cups Water and 1/2 tsp Salt. Heat stirring until butter is melted and mixture comes to a boil. Lower heat and all at once add flour and stir using a wooden spoon until mixture comes together and leaves the sides of the pan. This should take about 30 seconds. Remove pan from heat. Stir while it cools slightly. Place mixture in a mixing bowl (pictured is just before adding eggs). Stir while it continues to cool a little more. I began mixing on low to remove some of the heat. Add 6 Eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition.

Either add mixture to a pastry bag or spoon tablespoon sized dollops onto cookie sheets about 1 1/2" apart. Place 2 cookie sheets in the oven at a time. Rotate after 10 minutes, baking for a total of 20-25 minutes until the pasty looks golden brown and looks dry. Remove from oven and allow to cool before making dessert OR you can make them a day ahead and store in an airtight container.
To assemble, warm chocolate sauce. I love to serve these on dinner plates even if they have to be washed. Using a serrated knife, cut in half along the equator and fill with a small scoop of ice cream. Add chocolate sauce to ice cream and place top of the profiterole on the ice cream. Dust the tops and plates with power sugar and or cocoa powder. Serve with either a spoon of a fork and a freshly brewed cup of coffee or a toast of champagne. If you make these you will completely be impressed with yourself!!

Mom's Butter Crunch

2010-12-17T09:37:00.009-06:00

As far back as I can remember we gave our elementary school teachers (grades K-6) gifts at Christmastime. Since there were so many of them in any given year, we always helped in some way to get the gift together. The youngest kids either measured chocolate or ground the nuts. We didn't have food processors so we had to grind our nuts in a gadget that was a jar fitted with a grinder. The top was loaded and the nuts ground as you turned a crank. It took hours but the nuts were a wonderful consistent size perfect for topping butter crunch. We used to watch tv and grind the nuts. I remember my hand used to get tired from turning the crank.
There are many variations of butter crunch today. I favor the recipe I grew up with. It's tender and has just the right ratio of candy to chocolate to nuts. If you are going to make this, I highly recommend you purchase a good candy thermometer. Interestingly, I have had trouble making it everywhere I have lived since leaving NY. Relative humidity is likely the biggest culprit, but for some reason, this year, it turned out perfectly! This recipe dates back to at least the 1960's.
Butter a sheet pan lightly and set it on a trivet or hot pad of some sort. Add ice water to a measuring cup for testing and have it near by.

In a non-reactive saucepan with a thick bottom (such as All-Chad) add 1 Stick of Butter, 1 Cup Sugar, 1/4 Cup Water and 1/2 tsp Salt. Attach the candy thermometer to the pan using the clip. Heat mixture over medium heat, bubbling, until it reaches 290 degrees F (Soft Crack). You need to stir this just about the entire time. Use a wooden spoon instead of a metal spoon because it won't transfer heat to your hand. As it nears 280 begin testing small amounts by dripping the candy into the water. Once it cools, about 15 seconds, eat the drops testing it until it is tender and crunchy. The last 10 degrees go quickly so continue to do this until it is ready. The toffee should be a golden brown color. Remove the candy thermometer from the pan and carefully pour out onto the sheet pan and tilt the pan every which way to get a shape that is a consistent thickness.

Caution, candy making is dangerous as it is VERY HOT. Warn your family not to touch the sheet pan once you've poured the candy. Let cool entirely. Heat 12 oz Semi Sweet Chocolate (such as Nestle's Semi Sweet Chips) in a saucepan over very low heat just until melted. Spread 1/2 of it onto the toffee. Top with 1/2 Cup Ground Walnuts and push slightly into the chocolate. Once cool, turn over the toffee using an off set spatula and repeat using the remaining chocolate and another 1/2 Cup Ground Walnuts. Once cooled completely, break the toffee by hand. Store in an airtight container. Thanks Mom!

Clams Casino

2010-12-04T07:10:00.008-06:00

This past Thanksgiving at a week long family gathering in the Outer Banks, NC, my brother and I decided to make clams casino for my Mom, one of her favorites. The only problem is, she broke her leg on Thanksgiving morning and was transported to Asheville via ambulance. She had surgery the following day but didn't recover from the trauma of it all and passed away on December 2, 2010. Scott and I made the clams casino on our last night in the Outer Banks, completely unaware of the impending outcome of the situation. This is for you Mom. I have fond memories of making and eating these with you over the years. The original influence was the Milanese Restaurant in Poughkeepsie, NY. They don't use green pepper or bread crumbs and it always aggravated my Mom when she ordered them somewhere and those ingredients were in the preparation.

Mom, you have been a huge influence on my love of good food and learning how to make it. We are both self taught, but you were my original teacher.

Though you can make these alone, I never have. Buy Littleneck Clams figuring on 6 or so per person. Using a sharp knife, open and disconnect them from the shell. Rinse and remove any dark sandy areas. Dry out 1 side of the clam shell and add a pea sized bit of butter to the shell. Place the clam on the shell and place on a sheet pan. Dice Bacon, 1 strip per 6 clams, and saute until just about done. Remove and let drain on a paper towel. Finely dice a Medium Onion and saute in the same skillet until translucent. Add a Splash of good White Wine and a few grinds of pepper and a few pinches of salt. Remove from heat and season with finely chopped Fresh Parsley.
Preheat Oven to 450. While oven is warming, top each clam with a small amount of the onion mixture and a few crumbles of bacon. Bake for about 7 minutes until very hot. Squeeze Lemon on the hot clams when they come out of the oven and serve immediately. Serve with the open wine.

I miss you and will always miss our lengthy conversations about food! Thank you for your patience with me in the kitchen. If anyone should make these please look up and toast Geraldine, "Dean", or just Mom, she'll be pleased.

In Order to Prepare for the Holidays, a Little Organization is in Order

2010-11-05T07:49:00.008-05:00

If you are hosting overnight guests or a special event for the holidays, one great way to relieve stress is to give it a little forethought. It always begins with a list, even if you don't begin working on any tasks now. Of course, there are a few things you can do soon that will reduce the crunch time panic later so prioritize what you want to accomplish and even assign some of them to family members. By the time an event comes, I like to find myself entrenched in one thing only and that is the food preparation. All else has to be done within a few days of hosting guests.

Some things to think about;

Think back on previous parties and what went well for you and what didn't.
What events are you hosting, for how many guests and how many children?
How will they be invited and when?
On what day of the week does the party fall?
Who will be cleaning the house and when?
Begin to put thoughts into a menu considering a combination of hot and cold, vegetable and fruit vs meat, dip vs platter, sweets vs savory, items cooked in the oven, on the grill and on the stove. The bigger the party, the more you have to spread out.
If you have a favorite serving platter, bowl or silver that you want to use, work them in during your planning.
Do you have a theme or color scheme? Incorporate that into your table decorations.
Consider a combination of dishes that can be made in advance vs dishes that can only be made the day of the party. The menu is similar to a matrix as you should have marks in all areas.
Don't serve things your guests knowingly can't or don't eat. There are food allergies to be considered as well as religious beliefs.
Make sure you have your menu and recipes handy to begin to writing a grocery list.
Consider color and texture, making certain to have a mix. Don't get caught serving 3 brown looking casseroles or too much junk food and sweets and not enough substantial food or 3 dishes using broccoli.
If your matrix is absent of something add something new you've never made but is on your level of cooking ability.
Consider the storage of these foods before and after the party and determine if you have ample space. If not, begin using what you have in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer and then actually clean your refrigerator and freezer.
Clean your oven.
Polish your silver pieces.
Consider your equipment and space. Where will things go and how will people eat these things for example, on what, with what and where? If it's a standup cocktail party, don't serve things that require a fork and knife.
Mid-day parties are the most complicated and should be avoided if possible, especially if your guests are bringing children. If parties take place during a mealtime, it's much easier for you and your guests to know what to expect. This issue is if they eat lunch they aren't hungry for your food and if they attend your party, it ruins a later meal. This absolutely doesn't work at all for most people.
If you need linens, platters, cutting boards or glassware now is a good time to shop while the selection is great and sales are a plenty.
Spread out the expense by purchasing your beverages now.
Give some thought to how beverages will be kept cold and if you will need to make ice leading up to the party. If you are using coolers, all the cold beverages should be chilling the night before the party or first thing in the morning for an evening event. This is a good job to delegate.
What decorating needs to be done? It should be completed days ahead of the party.
If you are making place cards, you can make them in advance.
Sharpen all of your culinary knives and replace broken cookware. These can be very dangerous in the kitchen, especially when it comes to asking people to help you in the kitchen.

With a little preplanning, you might just be encouraged to find room to get out of your comfort zone. With a little preplanning, you might just host your best party yet!

Rustic Apple Pie

2010-10-31T12:20:00.019-05:00

These quantities make a pie big enough to serve 6. My Mom made one of these a few Thanksgiving's ago and I really liked it. I love how home made it looks. Not having a recipe, I made up my own version. First make the crust and let it chill in the refrigerator for no less than 30 minutes. To a food processor, add 1 1/2 Cups Flour, 3/4 tsp Salt, 1 1/2 Tbl Sugar. Pulse to combine. Cut 1 Stick of UnSalted Butter into 8 or more pieces and add to flour. Pulse until it looks like corn meal. Add Icy Cold Water, 1 Tbl at a time and pulse briefly after each addition until dough begins to come together. Form dough into a disk on plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator for 30 minutes or more. This can be made ahead and can be wrapped to make mini individual pies.
Preheat oven to 425. Next, prepare Apples. Core and section into wedges, 3 Apples. I am using Golden Delicious. Add 1 Tbl Butter to a skillet. Add apples and cook for a few minutes to remove some of the moisture. Add 2 Tbl Brown Sugar, 1/2 tsp Cinnamon, 1/4 tsp Salt and 1/2 tsp Vanilla. Cook for about 5 minutes til slightly soften but still holding their shape. Remove dough, if moist, dust with flour and roll between parchment paper. Roll out to about 1/8" thick. Place parchment paper on a pizza paddle and remove top paper. Begin with the center and arrange overlapping the apples. Fold over 1 1/2" of the edge. Brush the edge with Milk and dust with Sanding Sugar. Bake on parchment paper directly on pizza stone for 25-30 minutes until golden. Serve wedges warm or room temperature from the parchment paper. Can add a small scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of freshly whipped cream. Happy Autumn! Cooks note, everyone who ate this yesterday liked it a lot!

Fun Pancakes

2010-10-23T08:40:00.001-05:00

Last week I came across a Yahoo article about a guy who makes fun pancakes for his 3 year old. Now this guy is super talented and is an artist by profession, and I can assure you I am neither. He places his batter in squeeze bottles and draws on the griddle to make all sort of really neat things.
I bought a few squeeze bottles to give it a whirl. I mixed up 3 colors, green, brown and orange. I made my usual pancake batter (already on this site) thinning it out with whole milk so it could be squeezed through the opening. I placed batter into the bottles and shook in the colors. Here are a few photos of the pancakes I made. This is really fun.
My batter was a little too thin especially after adding the color and they spread more than I wanted. Next time I know the batter will squeeze out without it being quite as thin. Also, if you draw big pancakes, you will have a dickens of a time flipping them. My pumpkin was too big and the batter spread making tough to flip.

If you have a sleep over for girls, I think this would be a really fun breakfast for them. My son normally eats 1 or 2 pancakes and he ate equivalent to 4-6 made this way!

Open Faced French Bread Pizza

2010-10-23T08:10:00.004-05:00

This is another of those recipes I bought the ingredients for but on account of rain my tennis match was cancelled. I made one any way and had it for dinner that night. You can top these any way imaginable but here is what I did. Split 1 Italian Loaf of Bread evenly down the middle lengthwise. Preheat Broiler. Brush each half with Olive Oil. Add a layer of clean dry Spinach Leaves. Thinly slice Tomatoes and lay them onto the spinach. Using a press, press a Clove of Garlic and distribute as evenly as possible onto the tomato. Add a small sprinkle of Kosher Salt and some Freshly Ground Pepper. Top with a single layer of Munster Cheese (or whatever you are in the mood for). I personally like the way this cheese melts and browns. Add a sprinkle of Oregano. BTW, you can always add fresh herbs under the cheese layer. Place under the broiler for about 5-7 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes and cut on the diagonal into 3-4" slices. Nice for lunch, snack, appetizer or dinner. If you are taking these somewhere, cut them onsite.

Granola and Fruit Served in a Waffle Bowl

2010-10-21T12:22:00.003-05:00

I play tennis in a league and the home team provides the snacks for all of the players. We pass around the duties throughout the team and there are always good things to eat where ever we play. This week was my turn and yesterday we got rained out so I have all this food to eat! Here is my idea for the Yogurt, Homemade Granola (recipe in this blog already), Ocean Spray Craisins, and Bananas all served in an edible Joy Waffle Bowls. This is a prefect serving vessel for many occasions and will work nicely out on the courts. Will have to try it again the next time we are the hosting team.

Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Icing

2010-10-19T12:11:00.003-05:00

I absolutely love this time of year. I love the colors and the smells of the kitchen as we turn from herbs towards spices. After the long hot humid SE Louisiana summers, I especially love the cool weather. Nothing warms a house faster than something fragrant baking or roasting in the oven. When deciding on classic fall fare, I turn to the northeast for authentic recipes. This recipe hails from Connecticut a la Carte which is owned by the Jr League of Hartford, Inc. My sister gave me this book in 1982. I made slight changes to update to my style of cooking. The recipe calls for 2 cups sugar and I split the sugars using 1 cup each of granulated and light brown sugars. Also, I only buy large eggs so I used 5 as they called for 4 extra large eggs. Lastly, I always add vanilla to my baked goods.
Line 2 muffin tins with 11 muffin papers keeping open a corner for handling. Preheat oven to 350. Peel and grate 4-5 carrots on a grater box to produce 3 Cups Grated Carrot. In a bowl fitted with the wire whip, beat 5 Eggs for about 30 seconds. With mixer running, add 1 Cup Granulated Sugar and beat for 30 seconds. Add 1 Cup Light Brown Sugar, 1/2 cup at a time. Add 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 1 tsp Cinnamon and 1 1/2 tsp Vanilla. Beat for another minute or 2. In the meantime, sift 2 Cups Flour with 2 tsp Baking Soda and add slowly to the bowl with the mixer running on medium. Stir in by hand 3 Cups Grated Carrot. Using a 1/4 cup scoop, scoop batter into muffin papers and bake 1 pan at a time for 18-20 minutes or until fragrant and lightly golden. I always test for doneness using a toothpick. If it comes out clean, it's done. Let cool completely and make a quick cream cheese icing.
Beat 1/4 Cup Butter with 4 oz Cream Cheese. Add a few Tbl 1/2 & 1/2. Add Powder Sugar until you have the consistency and volume you are looking for. Go back and forth adding sugar and 1/2 & 1/2 as needed until it is perfect. This is very forgiving. You can even stuff the cupcakes with the icing and just top with powder sugar. I like to color the icing in a variety of fall colors. As you ice the cupcakes top them right away with things like, a Walnut Half, Holiday Sprinkles, Maple Sugar, Nutmeg, Candy Corn, Toasted Coconut and Vanilla Sugar. Just have fun!

Chicken Marsala

2010-10-16T08:50:00.005-05:00

goodchardonnay.blogspot.com

I have eaten two preparations for Chicken Marsala. One has a coating on the chicken and is assembled with the sauce when it's plated. This is the preparation I have made. The other is where the chicken is pounded thinner and has no coating. In the latter preparation, the chicken is added back to the sauce before it is served. I like both both but I prefer to make the coated chicken.
First, get the prep out of the way, because this dish goes together quickly. Rinse and pound 4 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts to tenderize them. If they are large, cut them into smaller pieces before pounding. Using 2 flat bowls or pasta plates, add 2 Eggs and a splash of water to one. To the other, add 1 Cup Flour and S&P to taste. Rinse and slice thinly an 8oz package of Baby Bella Mushrooms and set aside. Measure out 1/2 Cup Marsala Wine. Open a 14 oz Can of Beef Broth (Swanson's). Rinse and chop 1 Tbl Fresh Parsley and set aside.
Boil a large pot of water for pasta. Once boiling add a generous amount to salt. Cook pasta while chicken is cooking so both are done at the same time. Drain and add a small amount of olive oil to pasta and place on a warm platter.
Use 1 skillet and this recipe per 4 chicken breasts so you end up with ample sauce. Heat a 12" skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 1/2 Tbl Olive Oil. Dredge chicken breast, one at a time, in flour shaking off excess, the egg mixture and then flour again. Add to hot pan. Once the first side is golden brown, turn, only once. Lower the heat slightly otherwise the 2nd side will be golden but the chicken won't be cooked through. Once done, remove and shingle the chicken on a plate. Cover lightly with foil. Deglaze the pan with the Marsala Wine. Stir using a wire whip to remove the bits of flour. Add broth and continue stirring. Spoon 1 1/2 Tbl of the leftover Seasoned Flour into a small bowl. Add a small amount of water to make a paste. Spoon some of the hot sauce from the skillet into the bowl, stirring with a fork to make a slurry. While stirring, add the slurry to the skillet. Let this cook gently at a very low boil for 3 minutes, it will reduce and get a bit thicker. Add the mushrooms and continue cooking. Add S&P to taste. Once done, turn off heat and swirl in 2 Tbl Butter. Place chicken breasts on the pasta and add the sauce. Garnish with parsley. Serve immediately.

White Chocolate Chunk Milk Chocolate Heath Cookies

2010-10-09T14:17:00.002-05:00

Sometimes the weather in New Orleans has just the perfect humidity and perfect temperature for the butter to make the most delectable cookies. I love thin crispy but chewy cookies and these are to die for. About 30 minutes before making the cookies, remove butter from refrigerator. Preheat Oven to 375. Rough chop (3) 4.4 oz Lindt White Chocolate Candy Bars and set aside.
In mixing bowl with paddle attachment, mix 2 Sticks UnSalted Butter with 3/4 Cup Sugar and 3/4 Cup Light Brown Sugar for about 2 minutes or until combined. Add 1 1/4 tsp Pure Vanilla, 1 tsp Kosher Salt and 1 tsp Baking Soda. Mix on the #2 setting until combined. Add 2 Eggs, beating after each addition until combined. Add 2 Cups of Flour and 1/2 Cup + 1 Tbl Old Fashioned Oats. Mix until combined but don't over mix.
Stir in White Chocolate and (1) 8oz bag Heath Milk Chocolate Toffee Bits. Using a scoop, scoop out dough onto an aluminum sheet pan, 8 cookies to each pan. Bake until fragrant and golden brown. This recipe made 32 cookies plus a little bit of dough to eat! Let the cookies cool for about 1 minute on the baking sheet. Remove and let them cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack.

Lasagna

2010-10-08T09:37:00.005-05:00

It's that time of year when we begin to move from the grill to things baking and roasting in the oven. This past week I made a Lasagna with homemade pasta. If you don't want to or know how to make pasta, you can buy the no bake sheets that are simple to use and come out great. The reason I love to make my own pasta is that the lasagna portions serve up easily while the layers remain in their place.
You can use a jar sauce or whip up your own. For your own, in Olive Oil saute over medium heat, 1 Small Diced Onion and some crushed or minced Garlic. Add 1 28 oz can Crushed Tomatoes. Once it begins to bubble slightly, add S&P, Red Pepper Flakes, Fresh or dried Basil, Oregano and Parsley all to taste. Turn off heat. In the meantime, saute 1 1/2 Pounds of 85/15 Ground Beef with S&P. You will also need 3 Cups Mozzarella Cheese and 8oz Ricotta Cheese.
Begin by buttering well a Lasagna Casserole dish. This is taller than a pyrex dish, allowing for 3 layers. Lightly spread sauce, covering the bottom of the dish. Add pasta sheets. Add 1/3 of the remaining sauce. Add 1/2 of the meat. Add 1/2 of the Ricotta in dollops and spread with the back of a spoon and top with 1 Cup Mozzarella Cheese. Add pasta again and repeat with 1/2 of remaining sauce and all of the meat and ricotta. Top with 1 Cup of Mozzarella Cheese. Add Pasta and and this time add the remaining sauce and last cup of Mozzarella. Add 1/4 of Shredded Parmesan.

Preheat oven to 400. Cover casserole with foil and bake for 30 - 35 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking for 15 minutes or until bubbly and cheese is browned. Let rest for 10 minutes before cutting. Serve with a salad and warm crusty bread. If you refrigerate this before baking, let it warm up before placing it in the oven. For reheating as a leftover, I like to cut the portions and bake them on a cookie sheet at 350 for 20 minutes or so.

Nature's Own Bread

2010-09-23T08:20:00.005-05:00

As soon as I got out on my own and began buying my own food I immediately steered away from white bread. At that time, I purchased Roman Meal. I moved to a city and it wasn't available so I switched to Nature's Own. For the most part, I am a very loyal customer to brands until they change the recipe. Then I am gone faster than you can say "pecan". After eating the Nature's Own Honey Wheat bread for years, they changed the recipe. I gave it time, hoping a batch was mixed wrong. I bought if for about another month at 3 or 4 different stores. I even ran into the guy filling the shelves and asked about it. He admitted, it wasn't the first time he had heard this from a loyal customer. The problem was the new version of the bread was gummy. I moved to their Nature's Own Wheat Bread. That's all we have eaten for about the past 6-7 years (or when ever it was that they changed their recipe).

If you buy this brand then you have seen their new bread called Nature's Own Honey 7 Grain and it is extremely good! If you haven't tried it, it is awesome! Toasted, it is as close to the bread I make in my bread maker. I debated on buying this exclusively from now on and found myself drawn to it last time I was at the store so it may be our new bread. I think good quality bread is very important to a household because it's such a large part of our daily food. I love it toasted with turkey and tomato. If you think about it, try it out and tell me what your opinion. The comments section is open!

Coconut Chicken Strips with Orange Marmalade Dipping Sauce

2010-09-22T07:28:00.005-05:00

This recipe is light, fairly easy to make and very tasty. First, prepare the Dipping Sauce. Stir together Orange Marmalade with Prepared Horseradish. I like mine flavorful and use a 1:1 ration. Make yours to taste. Using a meat tenderizer, pound Chicken Breasts to a consistent thickness. Cut each breast into 4 strips lengthwise. I used 3 breasts netting 12 strips. Add 1 Egg White with a Splash of Water to a flat dish and mix until combined. To a second flat dish, add 1 Cup Coconut. Preheat oven to 200. Line a baking sheet with a cooling rack. Preheat a large skillet over medium heat. Add 2 Tbl Olive Oil and swirl to coat. One at a time, add chicken strips to the egg wash then the coconut and add to the hot skillet. Once golden brown, turn over. Cook the second side and when done, place on the cooling rack and place in the oven. Remove any coconut bits from the skillet. If the pan gets too dry, add more live oil. Keep cooking in batches until all of the chicken is cooked. Serve immediately with the Orange Marmalade Dipping Sauce.

Spaetzle

2010-09-13T14:52:00.003-05:00

When I worked in Atlanta, I was surprised to see the Austrian Banquet Chef frequently serve spaetzle on large dinners, upwards to 1000 guests. I don't think it's a common food in the US. I learned quickly that I love spaetzle though! I was at the Georgetown Dean and Deluca years later and found a home version spaetzle maker. I paid about $15 for this cool gadget and I've had it since 1995. I follow the simple recipe that came with the thing. I have at times flavored my spaetzle dough with fresh dill depending on what I serve it with.
Boil a very large pot of water. Salt the water after it has boiled. In a bowl, measure 2 1/2 Cups Flour and 1/2 tsp Salt. In a measuring cup, add 1/2 Cup Milk, 1/2 Cup Water and 2 Large Eggs. Beat slightly. Once water is boiling, add the wet ingredients to the flour and stir with a wooden spoon. This makes a loose gooey batter. Place the spaetzle maker on the pot of water. Imagine this maker has a hopper and a cutter. Add the dough to the hopper and move the hopper back across the cutter which allows the cut spaetzle to fall into the water. The hopper has to stay over the pot, so you may not be able to make full lengths of the cutter but that will depend on the diameter of the pot. Since the dough is raw, it cooks in about 1 - 1 1/2 minutes. Once it floats it's done.
I like to drain it and place it in a flat bowl to help slow the cooking process. Add 2 Tbl Butter and S&P to taste. Some people like to then saute it in 1/4 Cup Butter and if making ahead that probably works great for reheating. I don't need all the extra calories. Serve immediately with Pork and Red Cabbage or Beets.

Panko Crusted Pork Chop

2010-09-11T16:31:00.001-05:00

I like using the crispy Panko Bread Crumbs that are readily available at stores now. This is a very simple dish and it's prepared quickly. I always use thick chops because they are more moist and give me the time to get the rest of the meal ready.
Purchase Thick Cut Pork Chops, 1 per person. In one bowl, beat 1 Egg with a Splash of Water, a Tbl Mustard (I use local Zatarains since it's stone ground) and Freshly Ground Pepper. In a 2nd bowl, add Panko Bread Crumbs. By the way, I don't salt pork and the mustard provides saltiness.
Let the chops sit out for 15-30 minutes to get up to temperature. Preheat oven to 350. Preheat an oven proof skillet over medium heat until thoroughly heated. Add 1 Tbl Oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the skillet. Dip the chops in the egg mixture, turning once. Coat with bread crumbs, turning once. Add immediately to the hot pan. After about 6-8 minutes the chop will be nicely browned on the first side. Turn (once) and place in oven for 15 minutes. When it's done, let it rest 5 minutes before serving.

Orange and Oregano Sticky Fingerling Potatoes

2010-08-15T08:27:00.003-05:00

I thought up this recipe about 10 years ago, it's just taken me that long to actually make them. The idea came to me as I misread the title to a recipe. I thought, Oooo, that sounds good, then as I read the ingredients, the ones I was looking for weren't listed. So here is my recipe. I saw lots of different Fingerling Potatoes and choose the multi-colored package for around $4.
Rinse 1 lb Fingerling Potatoes and place in pot. Cover with water, place lid on pot and bring pot to a simmer over medium heat. Cook the potatoes for about 20-25 minutes until tender but don't fall apart when stabbing with a fork to check for doneness. Drain into a colander. While potatoes are cooking, Zest 1 Orange and Juice 1 half.
Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 Tbl Sugar and melt, this will take a few minutes. Add potatoes and toss around coating the potatoes. Add Orange Juice. Add 2 Tbl UnSaltedButter and continue to cook. Add Orange Zest and 1/2 tsp Dried Oregano (fresh if you have it) toss for another few minutes. Add S&P and serve hot. As my son said, it smells like Christmas!

Cheesecake

2010-08-15T08:23:00.006-05:00

This recipe comes from Gourmet Magazine, April 1996. The only change I made was that I add sour cream to the batter. There is a topping layer I don't always do but if you want to, it will cover up imperfections on the top. Cheesecake cracks especially when baking in a dark pan. If buying a spring form pan, get a light colored one. I have one but last time I took a cheesecake somewhere I never got the bottom back. You used to get 11 Graham Crackers in a pack so the recipe was obviously intended for 1 pack. Well now you get 9 so you have to open a 2nd pack. This crust would also be good if you want to add Walnuts. Also, you can flavor the batter anyway you want. I have added Bailey's to it and I have posted a Lemon Cheesecake recipe I made up using this recipe as a jumping off place.
For Crust, in processor, add 11 Graham Crackers broken first into quarters, 1/3 Cup Sugar, 1/3 Cup Softened UnSalted Butter and 1/8 tsp Salt. Dump into the bottom of a spring form pan and flatten using a flat bottomed object, pictured my meat tenderizer, but a glass works well too. Flatten tightly in the corners as shown. Preheat oven to 350.
For batter, beat at medium speed (3) 8oz softened Cream Cheese blocks and 2/3 Cup Sour Cream. Add 4 Eggs, 1 at a time beating at low speed until just combined. Add 1 tsp Vanilla and 1 Cup Sugar beating on low until just combined. Pour batter over crust and bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and set on cooling rack for 5 minutes. Make topping. Stir together 2 Cups Sour Cream, 1 Tbl Sugar and 1 tsp Vanilla. Drop spoonfuls of topping over cake and spread to an even layer. Place back in oven for 10 minutes. Place on cooling rack. After 10 minutes or so, remove the ring. Serve at room temperature. Serve with fresh berries.
Cool completely before refrigerating. If you refrigerate, remove 30 minutes before serving.

Grilling a Steak

2010-07-13T17:38:00.003-05:00

Grilling a steak properly isn't difficult, but rather a change in how you do it and committing to only grilling this way.
This steak was grilled on an infrared grill so the cooking times were shorter than a gas grill. Preheat grill to high heat for 10 minutes. Lightly clean the grates with a wire brush. Some of the seasoning that has built up on the grates should be left and keeps the meat from sticking. Pictured is a 2" thick Sirloin Steak, about $14.00. I removed it from the refrigerator and marinated it for about 1 hour. At the very least, let the steak, warm up to room temperature for about an hour and salt and pepper it before grilling if you didn't marinate.
Place the meat on the grill at a diagonal to the grate. Flip it over after 4-5 minutes keeping it at a diagonal. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Now when you flip it you are also going to also rotate 90 degrees. Cook for 3-4 minutes. On the next flip, do not rotate it. That should give you the diagonal grill marks that are so appetizing when you eat out. Grilling takes practice. One person in the house should do all of the grilling. I used to do it but as my husband took over the task. He is quite good now and although he thought caring about the grill marks was a waste of time at first, he has grown to love the perfection of it all. Let the meat rest for 10 minutes before slicing it so you don't lose all of the juices. Cut thin and on the angle against the grain of the meat. Thinly sliced meat is always more tender. FYI, this was cooked to medium rare which is the way we prefer steak. We served this with the Dauphine Potatoes and a fresh vegetables.

Chocolate Sheet Cake

2010-07-12T13:36:00.004-05:00

I thought I already posted this recipe but I can't seem to find it so maybe not. This recipe came from my Aunt Nancy and my Mom. I remember having this at Thanksgiving time over the years when I was young. Both my mother and her sister married and both had 7 children. So between 18 of us kids, big and small, this never lasted long. I used to make this for bake sales. It is extremely appetizing and the icing, addicting! I would say the most important thing is that you need a sturdy sheet pan. If yours twists as it heats up, this cake will not work and the icing will be a disaster. I have true 1/2 sheet pans which I got from a restaurant supply store but I also have 1 the same size from the Martha Stewart line of bakeware. They are sturdy and have straight sides and they are light in color without a non stick coating.
Yesterday my nieces S and E were here. Whenever they are here we frequently bake something together and this was perfect because I could have 3 kids doing 3 different tasks without competing. One last note, this is the only recipe I tried to make with butter and it didn't work. Use Margarine for this one.
Preheat oven to 400. Grease a sheet pan with Crisco shortening. In a saucepan, add 2 Sticks Margarine, 1 Cup Water, 5 Tbl Cocoa. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. In the meantime, measure into a mixing bowl, 2 Cups Sugar and 2 Cups Flour. Add hot chocolate mixture to dry ingredients and mix on medium speed. Add 1 tsp Baking Soda and mix again. In a measuring cup add 1/2 Cup Buttermilk, 2 Eggs and 1 tsp Vanilla. Using a fork, stir together. Add egg mixture to batter and mix until a smooth batter. Pour into sheet pan and place in oven on a middle shelf. Bake for 20 minutes. Clean the saucepan cause you'll need it for the icing. With 10 minutes left to bake, make icing. In saucepan bring to boil, 1 stick Margarine, 3 Tbl Cocoa, 6 Tbl Whole Milk. Once it boils, add 1 Lb Powder Sugar all at once, a 1 tsp Vanilla and stir until smooth. Pour over hot cake. Let it set up at least 1 hour before cutting. Serve with cold milk!

Dauphine Potatoes

2010-07-12T13:34:00.004-05:00

I love leftover mashed potatoes not because I want to eat them again but rather I want to make Dauphine Potatoes. My Mom had me making these for my family when I was in High School. Looking back, she had a lot of faith in me cause if I screwed it up we didn't have another 1 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes hanging around. Knowing my Mom, she likely had a back up plan, but never shared it with me. This is not the easiest recipe to make and it takes a few steps so leftover potatoes certainly avoids 1 major step. I like these best with sliced sirloin steak or some sort of roasted meat. Read through this recipe a few times so you know what you are doing.

Boil 1/2 Cup Water in a thick bottomed saucepan like Calphalon or All-clad. Reduce heat to low and add 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil (I use Canola), 1/4 tsp Salt, and 1/2 Cup Flour all at once and stir vigorously until it is blended. Cook a little while longer but do not let it brown. If it begins to break up and the oil is extracted from the mixture, throw it away and start again. (I hate to tell you that but it's better to begin again now rather than after the potatoes have been added.) So assuming all is going well, remove the saucepan from the heat and let the mixture cool slightly. Add 2 Eggs, 1 at a time, stirring well after each addition, until mixture is smooth and glossy. Add another 1/2 tsp Salt and some freshly ground Nutmeg. Add 1 1/2 Cups Mashed Potatoes.
Preheat iron skillet over medium heat. Fill with 1" Canola Oil. Add the potato mixture, 1 tsp at a time until pan is fairly full. Once they float and look golden around the edges, flip them over and let them finish cooking. Preheat oven to 250. Place a cooling rack in a sheet pan. Place potatoes on the cooling rack and place in the oven until ready to serve. Enjoy this wonderful classic dish!

Apple Topped Pancakes

2010-06-26T12:39:00.004-05:00

I just made this up this morning. Wow, what a hit! My son wanted a warm apple topping on pancakes for breakfast. I knew we had an apple, so that's what we made. Heat up a small sauce pan over medium heat while you peel, core and dice 1 Apple. Add 1 generous Tbl Butter to the pan. Saute the apple. Sprinkle in Cinnamon, add 1 Tbl Brown Sugar and a dash of Vanilla. Preheat griddle.

This is my Mom's Pancake recipe. Beat 1 Egg, Add 1 Cup Buttermilk, and 2 Tbl Canola Oil. Add 1 Tbl Sugar, 1 tsp baking Powder, 1 tsp Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp Salt. Stir til smooth. Add 1 Cup Flour. I used 1/4 Buckwheat flour and 3/4 Cup Flour. Stir and cook on hot griddle. Top with apples, whipped cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Eat immediately!

Grilled Vegetable Pressed Sandwiches

2010-06-23T07:49:00.003-05:00

Last Friday, I made this sandwich to bring to our tennis club to share with some of my teammates. It was very hot so I stored it inside until we were done. It was served more or less at room temperature which was perfect since there is olive oil on the bread. You can make these a number of ways but here's how I made mine. Preheat grill to a high heat. Cut and peel 1 Eggplant into 1/2" rounds, Slice 2 Zucchini the long way to 1/2" slices, rinse and core 1 Red Pepper and cut into 3 pieces, Slice 1 Large Red Onion into 1/2" Wheels. Run 2 skewers through the onion layers in 2 directions so it stays together while it is on the grill. Prep all of the vegetables and generously brush with Olive Oil. S & P to taste. Place on grill and turn every few minutes until the vegetables are tender. Place on platter and S & P again. Remove the curvy ends and sides from a Ciabatta Loaf. Cut open as pictured. Reduce 1/4 Cup Balsamic Vinegar til it becomes thicker and richer . Slice 1 Garlic Clove in half and rub onto the cut side of the bread. Brush with Olive Oil. Brush with vinegar. Dice the red pepper. Layer all of the vegetables going to the edge of the bread. Slice 2 Large Ripe Tomatoes into 1/4" slices and place on top of vegetables. Add top bread and cut in half the short way. Place on a cutting board. Using a bread knife, press hard and cut into 2" x 4" slices. Wrap the board and sandwich using parchment paper and store with the board on top which will continue to press the sandwich. Serve with olives, salami, sausage, pasta salad, and an Italian red wine.

Blueberry Banana Pecan Bran Muffins

2010-06-23T07:47:00.003-05:00

This is the Nabisco recipe I use (with some changes) but I like All-Bran cereal better. Preheat oven to 400. In a 4 Cup measuring cup add 1 Cup Whole Milk and 1 1/4 Cups Bran Cereal. Let this sit for 5 minutes. In a bowl, measure the 1 1/4 Cup Flour, 1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, 1/4 Sugar, 2 1/2 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda, 1/2 tsp Salt. Add to the measuring cup, 1/4 Cup Canola Oil, 1 Egg, and 1 Banana. Using a fork, mash the banana against the side of the bowl. Stir to combine. To the dry ingredients add 1/2 Cup Chopped Nuts and 2/3 Cup Frozen Blueberries. If the berries aren't frozen it's ok. I pick them fresh and put them in the freezer once I decide I am making muffins. Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and stir until combined. Place in muffin cups either greased with Crisco or use muffin papers. Bake for about 20 minutes or until fragrant and golden brown. Enjoy!

Peach Blueberry Pot Pie

2010-06-15T09:53:00.005-05:00

This recipe is in the July 2010 issue of Martha Stewart. Hers is made with peaches and since we grow blueberries, I added 1/2 Cup. Also, I made up my own crust recipe. Hers is a cornmeal crust. I happen to own the same dish so mine has the same look.

First make the dough cause it has to refrigerate for 30 minutes and up to overnight. Remove butter from the refrigerator. I like to mix flours but if you don't have anything but All-Purpose, that's ok. In processor, pulse together, 2 Tbl Sugar, 3 pinches of Kosher Salt, 1/2 Cup Pastry Flour, and 1 1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour. Add 6 Tbl UnSalted Butter cut into pieces and pulse until it is the size of peas. Put ice in bowl and add water. Drizzle 3 Tbl Ice Water, 1 Tbl at a time, and pulse after each addition. Once it begins to come together it is ready to form into a disk. Dump contents onto a sheet of plastic wrap and using the wrap, bring mixture together as you flatten to about 3/4" thick and form to a round disk. Rest dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a shallow baking dish. Remove dough from the refigerator and roll out til it is large enough to cover the dish. Trim so it will still hang over the edges slightly. Cut holes in it using a kitchen tool or a knife. I used the round end of my pineapple corer. In a bowl, combine 6- 8 Sliced Ripe Peaches (I used 6 but could've had 7 or 8) , 1/2 Cup Blueberries if you have them, 3 Tbl + 1 1/2 tsp Corn Starch, 1 Tbl + 1 tsp Lemon Juice, 2/3 Cup Brown Sugar, Pinch of Salt, 1 tsp Vanilla. Add the fruit mixture to dish and dot with 2 Tbl UnSalted Butter cut into pieces. Top with crust. Tuck in the edges. Slightly beat 1 Egg and brush onto crust. Add the dots you cut out and brush with egg. Dust with Sanding Sugar. Place in oven with a small sheet pan on the shelf below to catch juices that may drip. Bake for about 1 hour until crust is golden and fruit is bubbly.
Remove from oven and serve warm or room temperature with French Vanilla Ice Cream!

Chicken Cacciatore

2010-06-13T13:59:00.005-05:00

This recipe comes from Cooking Light, Jan/Feb 1995. I have made a few changes to it though. This recipe is prefect for a large groups or as part of a buffet. It's also perfect if you are expecting guests to arrive from out of town, for instance, you can have it ready and with a quick 10-15 minute warm up during a cocktail, dinner is done. Warm a loaf of bread and serve with a salad. This is also an easy meal for a college student to make and it is delicious as a leftover. If you are cooking for yourself, eat this meal twice and freeze the rest for another week.

Rinse and pat dry with paper towels 6 Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs. S & P both sides. Heat large pot over medium high heat. Add 1 Tbl Olive Oil. Add chicken and cook for 7 minutes on each side, turning only once. While chicken is cooking prep vegetables. Slice thinly 1 Cup Mini Bella Mushrooms, Slice Thinly 1/2 Onion, and 2 pressed garlic Cloves.

Remove chicken and place on a plate. Add vegetables to pot and cook for 5 minutes stirring all the while. Add 1/2 Cup Pinot Noir, 1/2 tsp Oregano, 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, 1 28oz Can Crushed Tomatoes. Cook for about 10 minutes and return chicken to pot. Get a pot of water going for pasta. Once it boils, add salt and pasta. Give it a stir and cook uncovered until just done. Drain and place on platter. Top with chicken and sauce. Enjoy with the remaining Pinot Noir!

Egg Salad Sandwiches

2010-06-05T08:41:00.004-05:00

The other day, I called my son for lunch and before I got back to the kitchen, he was already eating the presentation plate I photographed! Lucky for me I was done taking pictures. 'Tis true, we eat with our eyes and he ate it all but one tomato slice. The next day he wanted "the same sandwich he had for lunch yesterday". That's my strong and growing boy! He is not the best carnivore, yet, so protein has to come in other ways!
Hard cook 1 1/2 Eggs per person by adding eggs to a pan, covering with cold water and cooking for 18 minutes after coming to a simmer. I like to cook my eggs until just done and a pretty yellow color with no green. Immediately, dump some of the water and add cold water until the eggs cool down. Keep doing this until they are cool enough to handle. Peel and rinse to further cool. Looking at an egg slicer, you'll see you can cut eggs in 2 directions. Cut in 1 direction and rotate 90 degrees and cut in the other direction. Place in a bowl. Add about 1/2 Tbl Mayonnaise per Egg, 1/2 tsp Mustard per Egg, Freshly Ground Pepper, and a few dashes of Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce per egg. Fold together gently with a rubber spatula until combined. Don't over mix. You be your own judge but I don't feel you need any salt for mustard tends to be salty. If you need more of any ingredients, add them slowly tasting with a clean spoon after each addition. It's nice to get it right the first time, otherwise the mixture gets too over mixed and looks like deviled egg filling. Place in refrigerator and serve cold!
Pictured, I cooked 2 strips of Bacon per Sandwich and served on soft onion rolls. For a busy night, make this ahead, have the kids set up a buffet, and let everyone serve themselves. You can offer Jumbo Olive slices, too. I got that from my room mate in Atlanta who made her egg salad that way. Thanks A! I was never a fan of celery or onion in my egg salad but here's a chance to offer it. Thinly slice red onion and dice celery and let everyone add their own. Very budget friendly while pleasing all, small or tall!

Zucchini Bread

2010-06-05T07:55:00.003-05:00

It's summer and what to do with that oversized Zucchini from your garden...or your neighbors? Make bread, that's what. Last summer my father in law brought over some beautiful vegetables and the zucchini was huge. I immediately thought to make bread with it. It's a simple recipe going back to 7th grade food class when we made muffins. Measure dry onto one bowl, measure wet into a measuring cup, add together mixing until just combined. Bake and what a wonderful treat!

Preheat oven to 375. Butter a 9.25 x 5.25 x 2.75 Wilton bread loaf pan. Wash and cut the Zucchini into 4" long pieces. Using a mandolin or the down and dirty version, the V-Slicer, with the cut side facing the blade, shred the zucchini using the 1/8" blade so you have match stick sized shreds. You'll need about 2 1/2 cups of Zucchini.

This is my own recipe. In a bowl, mix together 3 Cups Flour, 2/3 Cups Packed Brown Sugar, 1/3 Cup Sugar, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Baking Soda, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, a double pinch of Cinnamon, a touch of Cardamon, and a few grinds of fresh Nutmeg. Hand mix with a wire whip to combine ingredients. Set aside. In a 2 cup measuring cup begin stacking these ingredients, it'll save on the cleanup! 1/2 Cup Canola Oil, 1/4 Cup Milk, 1/4 Cup Sour Cream (add sour cream to the cup until line comes to 1 Cup), and 2 Eggs. Mix with a fork until the egg is broken up and the sour cream is distributed. Add zucchini to the bowl with dry ingredients. Add the wet to the bowl and mix with a wooden spoon or rubber spatula until combined. The batter will seem a bit sticky and possibly slightly dry but not to worry, zucchini is a watery vegetable and will make it all good in the end! Place in oven and reduce heat to 350. Bake for 1 hour 15 minutes until it is fragrant and the bread pulls form the side of the pan. Enjoy any time during the day with butter or an orange flavored cream cheese. Best right out of the oven. For reheating, I like to cut thick slices and warm in the toaster.

Chocolate Ganache Cake

2010-05-22T08:43:00.005-05:00

This is a fun cake to make and is very impressive to serve. The only thing better than those 2 things is its taste! I made this 2 times in May this year because my son's second grade teacher is a chocolate fan. We made one for her and my son and husband were disappointed to see it go out the door, so we made another one the following weekend. Having helped on the first one, my son did most of the work of the second one!

This comes from a 1997 Gourmet magazine. I changed the order in which I make the steps. There are 3 basic steps, ganache, genoise cake, and glaze.

Begin with the ganache because it has to be refrigerated. Add to an empty pot, 1 1/4 C Heavy Cream, 2 Tbl UnSalted Butter, 2 Tbl light Corn Syrup. Over medium high heat, bring to a boil. Remove from heat and add 1 Lb Semi Sweet or Bitter Sweet Chocolate. I like to use Ghiradelli or Lindt.

For the genoise, preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9" cake pan with 2" sides, by buttering the pan, adding a circle of parchement and buttering the parchment. In a small bowl, add 1/3 C sifted (do this before measuring) Droste Cocoa Powder, 1/3 Cup Flour, 1/3 C Cornstarch, and a pinch of Baking Soda. Using a wire whip, mix these ingredients together.

Place 2-3" of water in a pot and simmer over medium high heat. In a metal bowl that will fit tightly over the pot of water creating a double boiler, whisk together 3 Eggs, 3 Egg Yolks, 2/3 C Sugar, and 1/4 tsp Salt. Place bowl over simmering water and whisk until just lukewarm. Remove bowl from heat and using a hand mixer, beat until mixture has cooled and doubled in volume. Sift 1/3 of the flour mixture over the eggs and fold together. Repeat 2 more times until batter is mixed together. Pour batter in pan and place on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for 30 minutes until cake is firm to the touch and pulls away from pan slightly. Once done invert onto a rack and invert a 2nd time onto a rack and let cake cool with the top upward.

Make Syrup, in a pan, add 1/3 C Water and 1/3 C Sugar and place over medium heat to disolve sugar. Remove from heat and let cool and add 1/3 C Chambord. Note, I usually forego the syrup and use only the 1/2 C Raspberry Jam beween layers.

Let ganache stand at room temperature til it is cool but pliable. Beat with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.

Remove parchment from cooled cake and using a long serrated bread knife, cut the cake into 3rds using a sawing motion, cutting straight across keeping the knife level. This part is tricky, just stay calm and take your time. Take top layer and place it upside down on a flat base or a cake plate. Brush with 1/3 of the syrup, spread with 1/2 of the jam and spread with 1/3 of the ganache. Add the next layer and repeat. Add the bottom, bottom (flat side up) and top with syrup and ganache. Chill cake for 30 minutes, while you do some clean up.

Make glaze. To a saucepan, bring 1 Cup Heavy Cream and rmove from heat. Add 8 oz coarsley chopped Semi Sweet or Bittersweet Chocolate. Swirl until the chocolate is covered in cream. Let sit for 2 minutes. Whisk until combined and strain over the cake to top. You will have to use an offset cake spatula as you go to glaze the top and sides of the cake. The cake will set up in about 5 minutes. Garnish with Fresh Raspberries. This cake is rich and can be cut into small slices so if feeds 10-12 people easily. It's a lot of work but it is truly a gourmet delight! When you say "look what I made", your own arm won't be long enough to pat yourself on the back!!

Quick Omelette

2010-05-22T08:24:00.001-05:00

Many years ago, I changed drastically the way I make omelettes. As a kid, I added everything to the bowl and put it in a hot pan. I stirred until it set up and I folded it over. I had to turn over this incredibly heavy laden egg to cook the other side and it always broke apart and made a huge mess.

Now I use of a method you see at omelette stations in hotels, though theirs are larger than just 1 egg.

Heat empty 8" skillet. Meanwhile beat 1 Egg with a Tbl of Milk and any herbs you are using, in this case, Scallions. Add 2 tsp Butter to hot pan and swirl to coat. Add any kind of vegetables or meat to the pan at this time, and quickly heat. Add the egg mixture and move the vegetables and meat around so they are evenlly distributed. Once it is set, flip omelette over by tossing in the air. Pictured, I am about to flip the omelette. Top cooked side with cheese, in this case, I used grated Swiss. While placing on a plate, fold it over. The flipping part takes practice and knowing when to flip takes a practiced eye. Once you get it down though, you'll never go back!

Spicy BBQ Shrimp Alfredo

2010-05-09T07:57:00.005-05:00

I didn't photograph this and really should've, but it was good! In fact we ate all of it! I have had a hankering for this dish and to make is saucier since I posted it. With the impending effects of the oil spill we had best eat shrimp and support our shrimpers NOW! Fortunately the locals haven't gouged the price yet. Very large shrimp, head on, were $5.99 lb and I bought 2 pounds plus 2 pieces of Vanilla Roman Candy but that's another story!
This served 3 of us, 2 adults and a pasta loving 8 year old! First do the prep because this dish goes together quickly. Peel and devein 2 lb Large Shrimp and place on a paper towel lined plate to soak up excess water. Get an 8 quart pot of water boiling. Have ready 12 oz Angel Hair Pasta.
In the meantime, thinly Slice 1 Shallot and place in a bowl. Slice Crosswise 1 Scallion Dark Green to Light Green for garnish and place in a bowl. Measure out 3/4 Cup Chicken Broth, Measure out 3/4 Cup Heavy Cream.
Add 1 Tbl Salt to pasta water and add pasta. Heat a large skillet empty over medium high heat. Add 3 Tbl UnSalted Butter and when melted, add Shallot. Sautee quickly, about 1 minute. Add Shrimp and sautee quickly while turing shrimp over, about 2 minutes. Sprinkle in 1 1/2 Tbl Flour and stir to coat. Add Broth and continue to stir and turn the shrimp. It will thicken quickly. Let it simmer for about 30 seconds and reduce the heat to medium low. Stir in Heavy Cream. Let sauce simmer for a minute and turn the shrimp over in the sauce. This will finish cooking the shrimp. Add 1 1/2 Tbl Barbarque Shrimp Seasoning and a little Salt to taste. Turn off heat. Stir in 3/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese. Drain Pasta. Add a few Tbl Olive Oil to the pasta. Serve pasta onto plates and top with Spicy Shrimp Alfredo Sauce. Garnish with Scallions and additional Parmesan Cheese. Wonderful with a salad and warm crusty bread!
BTW, I sell the BBQ Shrimp Seasoning. It's $4 if you are local and $5 if I have to ship it. Simply send me an email or place a comment on my blog so I can contact you and get your info!

Bacon, Spinach, Tomato and Swiss Tart.

2010-05-08T09:51:00.010-05:00

Here is another fresh savory tart. This can be served for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It also makes a nice gift by placing it on a cardboard cake round.

Cook 6 Strips of Bacon. Once it's cooled, crumble it to the desired size and set aside. Preheat oven to 425F. Defrost Puff Pastry (I used Pepperidge Farms).

Roll out dough so it will fit your tart pan, bottom and sides. I used a traditional 10" tart pan purchased many years ago at Williams and Sonoma and you can find one at Simplee Gourmet on Hwy 22 in Mandeville. Place pastry over pan and tuck overhanging pastry into the sides. I find it appetizing to have different thicknesses of crust. Pinch pastry onto the sides of pan. Roll pin over over the top to remove any extra pastry. In bowl, using a wire whip, beat 4 Eggs, 1/2 C Whole Milk, 1/4 C 1/2 &1/2, 2 Tbl Flour, Clean and Dry Spinach Leaves, and S&P to taste.

Add egg mixture to the tart pan. Using a grater box, grate 1 C Swiss Cheese of your choice. Top with Freshly Sliced Tomatoes and the crumbled Bacon. Place in oven and bake for 20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Let rest for 5 minutes before removing the outer ring. Slice using a bread knife. Serve with a spinach salad!

Pizza made Simple

2010-05-08T07:47:00.004-05:00

I don't care for the show, Semi-Homemade at all. I don't think it's appropriate to cut all manner of corners then take credit for something a 4th grader could make, but that's my honest opinion. I like to make pizza dough from scratch and if I don't plan ahead allowing for a double rise, I use this alternative to ordering a $20 pizza and waiting an hour for its delivery. You will find Freshetta 4-Cheese Pizza in the freezer section of the grocery store anywhere from $4.50 on sale to $6. DON"T get the pre-cut. That has to be the stupidest thing, ...what..., now I can't pull out a pizza wheel and cut my pizza. How lazy do these people think we are!?! Not to mention, I accidentally got one 'pre cut' when I didn't know it and it made such a big mess on the floor of my Viking that I should've sent them a clean up bill! On that night, I wished I had paid the $20.

Getting back to business, the reason I like this particular brand is that it rises nicely but the trick is, you have to cook it frozen! So with that, place pizza stone in the oven and thoroughly preheat to 400-425. You will have to experiment with the exact temperature. I preheat to just over 400. In the meantime, place pizza on paddle and top with additional cheese if you wish to add it. Then top with all of your ingredients.

Here I used Fresh Spinach, A very thinly sliced Shallot, Grape Tomato Halves and Strips of Sweet Red Pepper. Once done, drizzle with Olive Oil and sprinkle with Kosher Salt. I was having camera battery problems so I forgot to do this for the photo, but I normally sprinkle with Dried Oregano. Place pizza on the stone and cook until golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Let it cool for at least 5 minutes and slice and serve!

For other topping ideas, I regularly use Hormel Original Pepperoni, Johnsonville Sweet Italian Sausage (which I cook first), Sliced Onion (which I carmelize first), or whatever you have that you are in the mood for!
Note, if you live in New York or New Jersey, disregard this entire post and order in! It's one of the foods I miss most about living in the deep south!

Feta Cheese Filled Crepes

2010-05-07T07:35:00.006-05:00

This recipe comes from my Williams-Sonoma Ravioli and Lasagne cookbook. It's easy enough to make and if you make pasta, you can substitute it for the crepes. This is sort of a 3 step process. First you make a marinara, then the filling and lastly the crepes. If you make this and assemble it to eat right away, it bakes in about 20 minutes and is incredibly delicious. For making crepes I highly recommend a crepe pan. You can get one from a high-end kitchen supply store. Here locally in Mandeville, I recommend Simplee Gourmet located on Highway 21.

First a simple marinara. This is a quick pan sauce made in about 20 minutes including cooking time. Heat an empty wide bottomed sauce pan over medium high heat. Add 2 Tbl Olive Oil. Let heat for about a minute. Add 1 Small Minced Onion and 2 Cloves of Pressed Garlic. Add 1 28 oz Can of Crushed Tomatoes. Stir to combine. Reduce heat and let simmer without boiling for about 15 minutes. Add seasoning such as Fresh Parsley, Oregano and Basil. Add 2 tsp Kosher Salt and 1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes. Stir to combine. Turn off heat and make filling.

For bechamel, heat empty sauce pan over medium heat. Add 4 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Once melted add 2 Shallots sliced very thinly. Saute until they are fragrant. Add 4 Tbl Flour and stir for about 3 minutes. Don't brown the roux so if it seems to be getting too hot, reduce the heat. Add 1 Cup Milk and 1/2 Cup Heavy Cream. It should thicken in about 8 minutes. Season with Salt and White Pepper. Remove from heat. Once cooled slightly, add 3 Egg Yolks, 1 Lb Feta Cheese, 1 1/2 Cups Parmesan Cheese, 2 Tbl Parsley, and Ground Pepper. Set aside.

Butter a large caserole dish big enough to fit 12 filled crepes without stacking. Add a 1/2 cup of marinara. Make sure bottom is coated.

Make Crepes. To a bowl add, 1/2 Cup Flour, 1/2 tsp Salt , 2 Eggs which have been slightly beaten, 1 Cup Milk, 2 Tbl Olive Oil. Beat til a smooth batter. Heat Crepe pan over medium high heat. Add a drizzle of Olive Oil. Add 2 Tbl of batter swirling til you have a thin pancake basically the same size as the crepe pan. I like to use a chop stick to turn over the crepe. Turn after about 30 seconds and cook for another 10 seconds. Removed form pan. Stack 2 on a sheet pan using waxed paper in between layers. Don;t be discouraged if the first one doesn't come out, that is normal. Once the pan is heated thoroughly and seasoned the rest will be fine.

Preheat Oven to 375. Fill the crepes with filling and line them in the sauce seam side down. Bake for 20 minutes or until bubbly. Serve at once with a salad and warm crusty bread. My family of 3 eats this entire recipe. My 8 year old loves these!! This recipe smells delicious the entire time your make it.

Meatballs

2010-05-07T07:20:00.003-05:00

My family loves spaghetti and meatballs and we typically have pasta and marinara on Monday nights. When I am up to the task, we have meatballs, too. I have to admit though, they are a lot of work. Heating up the oil can be wasteful if only for a dozen so recently I began making enough to freeze 2 containers of 12 each. With all the activities and running around, we get the full effect 2 more times with a fraction of the work and no mess! I use my 1oz scoop to roughly measure out the amount needed. It saves time and makes them more consistent in size. I like to buy the meat the day I am making them and I let it sit out for 30 minutes to warm up before making the meatballs.

In a bowl, add 3 lbs Ground Beef (90/10), 4 Cloves Freshly pressed Garlic, 1 Medium Onion Minced, 1/2 Cup Dried Bread Crumbs, 3 Tbl Finely Chopped Fresh Flat Leaf Parsley, 1 Tbl Dried Oregano, 2 tsp Dried Basil, 2 tsp Kosher Salt, Freshly Ground Pepper and lastly 2 Beaten Eggs. Using your hands, quickly incorporate all the ingredients without changing the grind of the meat. If it is overworked it will resemble canned cat food. Wash hands thoroughly. Heat an empty skillet over medium high heat. Add Canola Oil to 1 1/2" deep. Meanwhile, begin forming and quickly rolling the meatballs. I like to do all the scoopinf then all the rolling. Add the first meatball, you should immediately get a sizzle going and if not, pull it out and continue heating the oil. Cook them in batches, 10-12 at a time, browning 1 side then the other to a medium brown. When you get down to the last 2 batches, cook half of the remaining meatballs in each batch. Do not over cook them. They should be more medium inside as they will finish cooking in the marinara. As you are cooking, the oil will begin to break down so you may have to lower the temp or you will find the later batches beginning to burn. If your pot of marinara is on the stove near by, use a slotted spoon to remove any bits of onion floating around, and add it to the sauce. It adds terrific flavor! I drain the meatballs on a slotted spoon and add it directly to the sauce. For the ones to be frozen, drain on a paper towel and freeze once cooled. For Meatballs Grinders, serve the meatballs in marinara with a 6" length of Crusty Bread and Grated Provolone and Mozarella Cheeses. Warm up the sandwich once made!

Murphy-Goode Chardonnay

2010-05-07T06:38:00.001-05:00

I set my husband out looking for Murphy-Goode Fume Blanc, but they didn't have it at the store he was in. Instead he brought home the Chardonnay for just around $20. Whenever you get to that price point for a chardonnay, I feel the quality goes up very quickly. This was no disappointment. For a table wine, I stick closer to the $10-$12 range so this bottle with fuller body and more fruit was a nice reminder of the wines a drank while in SF. It was very enjoyable and I would buy it again.

Chicken Picatta, Too

2010-05-02T10:05:00.004-05:00

I have this on my site already but yesterday made a few changes to the recipe. Pound 3 Chicken Breasts so they are a consistant thickness. If you are going to cut the breasts to a smaller size, do it before you cook them.
In a flat bowl, add 1 Cup Flour, 1/4 tsp Paprika, 1/4 tsp White Pepper and 1/2 tsp Salt. To another flat bowl, beat 2 Eggs with 2 Tbl Water. Prep all other ingredients. Zest 2 Lemons and then juice them. Strain 2 Tbl Capers. Mince 1 Tbl Parsley. Measure out 1 Cup Chicken Broth. After the dredging, take 2 Tbl of the remaining seasoned flour and place in a small bowl. Add a few Tbl Chicken Broth and stir until it is smooth. Set aside.

Thoroughly preheat 14" skillet over medium heat. Add 2 Tbl Olive Oil and 2 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Swirl to coat. Dredge chicken breast 1 at a time in flour, egg wash, then flour again. Place in hot skillet. Once brown, about 7 minutes, turn once. For the second side you can lower the temperature slightly, cook until brown and not quite done, about 5 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and place on a plate. With pan on the upperside of medium, add Most of the Lemon Zest to pan and cook for about 15-20 seconds. Add Lemon Juice and stir until it begins to get thick. Add Chicken Broth. Temper the Floury Paste you made earlier by stirring in a few Tbl of the hot liquid. Add the tempered flour back into the sauce, stirring all the while. Cook at a very low boil for a few minutes while stirring. If the sauce seems thick, add a small amount to broth at a time. If it is too thin, let it reduce. Turn off heat. Add Capers and 1 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Swirl until butter is melted. Add juices from the plate with the chicken. Swirl. Add chicken to pan for about 5 minutes to reheat and finish cooking. Top with Parsley. Serve the chicken and drizzle with the sauce.

Raspberry Orange Buttermilk Biscuits

2010-05-01T11:30:00.006-05:00

I basically took a MS recipe and made some major changes. The first is that hers is made with Cheddar Cheese and Sage. The second is I like to use Bread Flour for biscuits. They are tender because the gulten doesn't fully get developed and they are forgiving for the exact same reason. When the gluten gets developed in a delicate baked good it becomes tough.

Preheat oven to 400. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Measure in a large bowl, 2 Cups Bread Flour, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 4 tsp Baking Powder, 1/2 tsp Cream of Tartar and 1 Tbl Sugar. This next step goes back to 7th grade cooking classes. Pull out your pastry blends and cut in 1 Stick UnSalted Butter cut into small pieces. When done cutting in, the mixture should resemble peas. At this point add 1/2 Cup Dried Rapsberries (I like dried because they don't bleed but fresh can work too though I would freeze them). Zest 1 Orange and add it to the bowl. If you have pure orange oil, measure 2/3 Cup Buttermilk and add to it 1/2 tsp Pure Orange Oil. Give it a stir. Quickly stir the wet ingredients with the dry and once able to be worked, dump into a floured surface. I like to use a pastry cloth but the counter works fine, too. Fold over and rotate a 1/4 turn 8-10 times until you have a 1-1 1/2 " tall disk. Do not over work the dough. Let the dough rest for 10 minutes.

Cut using a biscuit cutter or a glass, cut shapes as close together as possible. Take remaining dough and make a smaller disk and cut until all biscuits are cut. Brush with 1/2 & 1/2 and dust with Sanding Sugar. Place in oven for 10 -12 minutes or until golden. Let rest for 5 minutes then serve!

BBQ Shrimp Seasoning

2010-05-01T10:35:00.003-05:00

I just bought a case as I could no longer find this particular seasoning. If you live locally it's $4 a pack. If I have to mail it to you, it's $5 a pack. Just send me a message goodchardonnay@gmail.com. Thanks.

Simple Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2010-05-01T07:45:00.002-05:00

I love to make these all year round. I grilled 2 Pork Tenderloins on Thursday night. We ate the smaller of the 2 and I was able to reheat the larger in the oven for about 20 minutes. These potatoes were a perfect compliment to the leftovers. Preheat oven to 350. Peel and cut 2 Sweet Potatoes to similar sized chucks. Add 3 Tbl Olive Oil to ovenproof skillet. Toss potatoes in oil and place in oven for 1 hour and 10 minutes total. After about 30 minutes turn potatoes over recoating with oil and rotate the pan. After another 30 minutes, turn potatoes over again and Salt to taste. I usually don't add Pepper but you can. Cook for another 10-15 minutes.
Let rest for 5 minutes before serving. These offer a nice compliment of salty and sweet plus the color is always fabulous! Great with all meats!

Blueberry Lemon Chiffon Pie

2010-05-01T07:21:00.004-05:00

I have made this pie many times! The basic recipe comes from a Food & Wine issue, August 1994, although I have made a few changes. I would encourage you to use a pie crust recipe that you like and one that fits your pie dish. I like to use a deep dish pie plate my mother gave us as a shower gift. Pie dough in my opinion is one of the most temper mental (and frustrating) things to make. Humidity in SE Louisiana can change a dough recipe faster than a lizard can eat a mosquito, so again work on a crust you can make in your environment.
Assume you made your crust dough. Shape it to a disk and place it in plastic and refrigerate for a few hours. Preheat oven to 450. Let it sit out for about 15 minutes and roll to slightly larger than your pie dish. Fold over the edge and crimp in some fashion. Lightly press the tines of a fork in the bottom and sides of the dough without going all the way through. Cover completely with foil. You can weight down the crust with pie weights, beans or rice. Bake for 20 minutes until lightly browned. Remove foil and let rest.
Meanwhile get filling and chiffon made. In saucepan, place 3 Cups Clean Blueberries and 5 TBL Sugar. Cook for about 3-5 minutes, swirling the pan until berries create a sauce but still remain whole. Place in strainer over a bowl and set aside.

Preheat oven to 400. Separate 4 Eggs into 2 bowls. I like to use a hand mixer for the yolks and my stand mixer for the whites. To the Yolks, add 4 TBL Superfine (Caster) Sugar and beat until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. You can find Superfine Sugar at The Fresh Market or a high end grocer. Zest 3 Large Lemons and set aside. Juice the Lemons til you have 1/2 Cup Lemon Juice. Gradually beat the lemon juice into the yolk mixture. Stir in zest. Transfer to a saucepan and cook over low heat stirring until thickened. Transfer back to the original bowl while you beat the egg whites.
Beat Egg Whites unitl foamy. Add 1/8 tsp Salt and beat until soft peaks. Add a total of 3 Tbl Superfine Sugar, 1/2 Tbl at a time. Beat until glossy but not dry. Fold 1/4 of the egg whites into the lemon yolk mixture. Continue adding 1/4 of the egg whites until they are all folded in.
Place Blueberries in the pie crust and drizzle with 3 Tbl of the reserved Blueberry Juice. Top with Lemon Chiffon mixture and push against the pie crust sides. Using the back of a spoon make decorative peaks. Brush exposed crust with 1/2 & 1/2 and dust with Sanding Sugar. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature with remaining blueberry sauce on the side.
For these photos, I feel I over cooked my pie by about 5 minutes. I checked it and it wasn't ready then when I went back it was darker than I like. You can see it also pulled away from the crust slightly. It still tasted good but it really bakes for just 15 minutes.

French Toast with Fresh Blackberries

2010-04-20T15:12:00.005-05:00

This French Toast is easy to make and can be served for breakfast, brunch or even dessert. Blackberries were on sale yesterday for $1 a 1/2 pint, just enough for 4-6 servings. They were huge and delicious!
I bought the bread for $1, too, and it was fresh out of the oven. 1 day older and it was perfect for a soft centered, thick sliced, French Toast.

I consider these ratios for 1 to 1 1/2 servings. For garnish, toast 1/4 Cup Sliced Almonds in 1 tsp Butter. Meanwhile, in a shallow dish, beat 1 Egg with a Pinch of Salt, 2 Pinches of Sugar, 1 Tbl Milk, 1 Tbl Orange Juice, 1/4 tsp Vanilla. Slice Leftover Bread to 1" thickness. Heat skillet over medium heat. Add either 1 tsp Crisco or a Non-stick Spray. Try not to use butter, it burns. Dip bread in egg mixture and place in heated skillet. Turn once browned and cook second side. Place on plate and top with Vermont Fancy Grade Maple Syrup and garnish with Blackberries and Toasted Nuts.

Shrimp Scampi

2010-03-04T07:33:00.008-06:00

This recipe comes from Cooking Light March 1996. I made a few changes. I used butter instead of margarine and I decided on a yellow pepper but orange or red works just the same. The smells of this in the oven brings back wonderful memories of when my husband and I first met and he lived on Canal Blvd. It's easy to make and cooks quickly. Perfect dinner for a busy night. Purchase 2 lbs of Large Un-peeled Shrimp. Peel leaving the tails on. Butterfly the underside of the end to get them to stand up. Place in a shallow rimmed casserole dish. Preheat Broiler. To a skillet over medium high heat, add 3 Tbl UnSalted Butter. Add 1 Diced Yellow Pepper and 4 (up to 8) Pressed Cloves of Garlic and saute for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add 1/2 Cup Dry White Wine, 1/4 Cup Minced Parsley, 1/4 Cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice and S&P. Pour mixture over shrimp. Dust with Paprika. Broil for 6 minutes. Serve with Basmati Rice, a green vegetable and Hot Crusty Bread.

Apple Buckwheat Pancakes

2010-03-04T07:23:00.006-06:00

The pancake recipe is already posted on this blog, but to recap with changes, I diced small 1 Golden Delicious Apple and I substituted 1/4 Cup of the flour with 1/4 Cup Buckwheat Flour.
Here is the recipe in full. Beat 1 Egg in a bowl, add 1 Cup Buttermilk and 2 Tbl Canola Oil and beat to combine. Add 1 Tbl Sugar, 1 tsp Baking Powder, 1 tsp Baking Soda and 1/2 tsp Salt and beat to combine. Add 3/4 Cup Flour and 1/4 Cup Buckwheat Flour. Beat until a smooth batter. Stir in diced Apple. Preheat griddle to a medium high temperature. Lightly coat with Crisco or non Stick Spray, butter will burn. Laddle out desired pancake size. I like a tall stack of small pancakes. Turn just once when browned. Do not mindlessly pat the rising pancake down. You want the pancake to rise. Stack on a plate, buttering as you stack and top with, made in Vermont, Therrien's Fancy Grade Maple Syrup. For Therrien's Maple Syrup, call (802)257-4013, you'll love their personal service and thier prices! Wonderful with link Sausage!

Grilled Sausage Pattties

2010-02-28T12:31:00.003-06:00

I have been dying to make my own sausage. This week I came across this guy grilling really good tasting "burgers". They all caught my eye but the one I got inspiration from was his grilled sausage patty with peppers and onion. I didn't see the recipe, so I seasoned the ground pork to taste. I will give you an idea of what I added but you may want to change it for your own palette.

To 2 Lbs Ground Pork (this made 7 patties) add seasoning such as these to taste. 1 1/2 Tbl Fennel Seeds, 1/2 tsp Paprika, 1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper, 1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes, 1/2 tsp salt, 1 tsp Dried Oregano, Coursely Ground Pepper to taste and 1/2 tsp Onion Powder. I would start with something like these quantities and make adjustments for the next time. Remember the onions and peppers will give lots of flavor, too. Mix together by hand and form into flat patties.

Thinly slice 2 Banana Peppers, 1 Poblano Pepper and 1 Full Sized Onion. Preheat a skillet over medium heat and add 2 Tbl Olive Oil. Add Onions and Peppers and cook til slightly carmelized. Place in a bowl. Grill Sausage Patties so they are cooked thoroughly. I turned them 3 times to get cross hatch grill marks. Toast Buns or some sort of Crusty Roll. Serve with Slices of Fresh Tomato and Grated Mozerella Cheese. If you have it, add Marinara. Wonderful quick and flavorful dinner!

Pineapple is in Season!

2010-02-28T11:47:00.004-06:00

This week I bought a beautiful pineapple on sale, $1.99, but in general I see them for around $3. If you want to stretch your budget, let your nose follow the seasonal fruits! I have this handy dandy gadget that cores and cuts a spiral all at the same time. The gadget cost around $20 and is available at Bed Bath & Beyond.

It's now September 2011 and this gadget broke a few months ago. I went to Simplee Gourmet on Hwy 21, Covington, LA and bought a stainless steel version. This one should last a lifetime. We eat a lot of pineapple because we make smoothies quite often.

Once the spiral is on the gadget, you remove the handle and slide all of the fruit off as 1 continuous spiral. If you want chunks, keep the sprial on the gadget and cut downward from top to bottom making large stacks of chunks until the entire pineapple is cut. Add berries for a nice colorful fruit bowl!

Fresh Tortellini with Spicy Alfredo

2010-02-27T08:49:00.002-06:00

My son is a huge pasta lover, well so am I. Whenever my husband goes out of town, pasta is on the menu. I whipped this up after getting him home from an after school activity so dinner was filling and on the table in about 15 minutes, start to finish, no lie!

Boil an 8 quart pot of water. In the meantime, heat a large empty skillet over medium heat. Mince 1 Large Shallot. Mince Parsley or 1 Scallion green part only, for garnish. Get 1 Garlic Clove in press but don't press just yet. To boiling water, add 1 Tbl Salt and Fresh Tortellini . I bought the large pack, 1 Pound Fresh Tortellini, because in the past the 9oz is too small for the 2 of us. Add 3 Tbl Butter to the skillet. Add Shallot and sweat til softened, about 1 minute. Press Garlic directly into the skillet and stir for 30 seconds. Add 1 1/2 Tbl Flour and sitr to coat shallots. Cook this for a few minutes, without browning. Add 1/3 Cup 1/2 & 1/2. Add 1 Cup Milk. While stirring, let bubble very gently over medium/medium low heat til it thickens. Turn off heat and add 1 Tbl Butter and Seasoning at this time. I used Barbeque Shrimp Seasoning and a bit of S&P. Swirl skillet to mix. Add 1 Cup Parmesan Cheese. Drain pasta and add directly to the skillet to coat. Serve at once topped with Scallions and additional Parmesan Cheese!

Simple Potato Pancakes to go with our Grilled Burgers Tonight!

2010-02-23T18:29:00.006-06:00

I have been making these for a long time. You can use a food processor to grate the onion and potatoes but they will be more watery than if you use a grater box. Either way, if they seem watery, squeeze the potatoes and disgard the water to make them drier. Potato Pancake Recipe is as follows. You can use most potatoes. Pictured is large red potatoes with the skin left on. I haven't used them in the past but frequently roast them because they get very crispy. I think they turned out well. This made 8 nice sized potato pancakes and the serving size seemed to be 2. Preheat a large skillet empty over medium heat. While the pan is heating, using a grater box, grate a ratio of 3 Large Red Potatoes with skin on and 1/2 of a Large Yellow Onion and mix together in a bowl. Coat the bottom of the skillet with 1/4" Canola Oil. Preheat oven to 250. To the potato mixture, add 1 Beaten Egg, 1 Tbl Flour, 1 tsp thyme, S&P to taste. Mix well. If it seems runny, add a bit more flour. Use about a 1/4 - 1/3 cup of the mixture and form a patty in you hand and place in hot oil. If it falls apart upon landing in the skillet, quickly use a spoon or spatula to gather up the mixture. Also use the back of the spoon or spatula to flatten the pancake slightly. Let these cook without touching them until golden brown. Turn once to brown the 2nd side.

Add the cooked pancakes to a sheet pan lined with a cooling rack and place in the oven til ready to serve. I normally season these more but kept it light on account of my 7 year old. These can be seasoned a variety of ways using rosemary, oregano, chives, scallions, shallots, dill and parsley. These flavors can be mixed to get you desired flavors. Season them to compliment your meat choice. We had these with grilled hamburgers but they go particularly well with sliced steak such as sirlion.