the written kitchen

In the Last Two Months...

2011-11-17T08:36:00.006-06:00

picture courtesy of wikipedia

...I've been gone a bit longer than I'd like to admit. Fifth grade homework has not treated me well and hasn't left me with much time. Thank goodness I cook for the week on Monday's or we wouldn't be eating. Cooking on Monday's doesn't lead to too much creativity so I haven't had much to share. Two to six hours of homework a night led to an email to the teacher. We weren't the only ones overwhelmed and the homework has lessened.

What has happened in two months:

~My best friend (Kim) and culinary school roommate was in town with her husband (Rob) and four-year old daughter (Maddie). We had a blast.

~I cooked at Restaurant Iris for the chef collaboration brunch. It went so well and everyone cleaned their plates. I was truly honored. They are an impressive bunch of people.

~Finished out a 6th year of Dinner on Demand.

We took my best friend and her family to the zoo, Tom's Farm, The Peabody to see the ducks, and to The Rendevous.

The zoo in Memphis is awesome. We all loved it and the animals were really active. The monkey's were so loud it freaked out little Maddie.

The Rendevous was liked by a couple of us, but it just wasn't very good to me. I have to admit that I've been spoiled by Ernest's ribs (he's a friend of mine and makes the best ribs on the planet). While eating ribs at The Rendevous, our girls commented that, "they're not as good as Ernest's." They are sooo right!

I've been making these Salted Caramel Brownies a lot. You can find the recipe here. I added cayenne to these, but it's optional.

I made Jana's (friend and co-worker) French Dips this past weekend, so I'll be sharing that soon. Other than that, I haven't cooked anything new, but how about those Honeycrisp apples?! I'm addicted! I wish there were around all year!

More Veggies

2011-09-04T16:07:00.005-05:00

In my quest to eat more veggies and less meat, I made myself the most gorgeous and delicious Greek Tuna Salad the other day. No, I'm not becoming a vegetarian. I'm trying to simply cut the meat portion size down and incorporate fresh veggies with every meal. My love affair with bacon or anything pork and a good, crispy pan-fried diner-style burger will forever prevent me from vegetarianism, and I'm okay with that. More than okay with that. Everyone can thank Mark Bittman's new cookbook, The Food Matters Cookbook, for this vegetable increase.

I think I love this cookbook because Mr. Bittman likes beans and I love beans. There are some really great recipes for cooking with beans of all sorts. This really has nothing to do with the Greek Tuna Salad, except that it does have garbanzo beans in it. I'm just really enjoying his new cookbook.

Greek Tuna Salad

Yield: 2 servings

1 can olive oil packed tuna, drained

1/2 cucumber peeled, seeded, and diced

1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

1 green onion, chopped

1/4 cup sliced kalamata olives

1/2 cup drained garbanzo beans/chick peas

2 Tbsp. feta cheese, crumbled

2-4 handfuls chopped romaine lettuce

2 Tbsp. olive oil

1/2 lemon, juiced

Salt and pepper, to taste

Garlic Croutons, optional

Toss all the ingredients together except for the tuna. Season with salt and pepper and add the croutons, if using, and toss again. Portion the salad onto 2 plates and top each salad with equal amounts of the tuna.

ROASTED BANANA

2011-08-08T17:29:00.008-05:00

I just made the most delicious Roasted Banana Paletas with Mexican Chocolate! I am so excited about these. I'm (hopefully) serving a mini version of this, minus the chocolate, with my Caramel Croissant Bread Pudding at Iris in October. The mixture was good just as a smoothie and almost didn't make it to the popsicle mold. Our next attempt is spicy watermelon and an apple pie a la mode.

Here's the menu I'm going to present to Chef Kelley at Iris. Of course I haven't spoken to him, so this is premature, but I've been dying to let everybody see it and give me their feedback.

pimento cheese croquettes with red pepper jelly vinaigrette, crumbled bacon, and toasted pecans on mixed greens OR pimento cheese crostini with all the other stuff on top.

roasted butternut squash bisque with a cinnamon creme fraiche and a hidden surprise of olive & sinclair chili chocolate on the bottom

roasted gorgonzola stuffed & prosciutto wrapped mission figs (if in season) with balsamic reduction drizzle

tennessee white cheddar hoe cakes with sweet & sour collards, a poached egg, grilled shrimp, and brown butter hollandaise with a tempura fried black-eyed pea garnish

classic monte cristo with raspberry jam for dipping and french fries

sage seared pork tenderloin sliced and served with either a sweet potato mash with diced apple or a roasted sweet potato wedge, green veggie (haricovert?), and a dried berry demi.

caramel croissant bread pudding with miniature roasted banana paleta

peanut butter cake with Iris ice cream choice (vanilla, chocolate, or roasted banana paleta)

featured cocktail: sassy lady (cuz i am)- st. germain, vodka, soda water, lemon juice, agave syrup, and a squeezed clementine wedge.

table bread: miniature muffin or parker house rolls

I wanted to do all of my favorite things that I love to eat and cook (brown butter, balsamic reduction, collards, hoe cakes, pimento cheese, bacon and all things pork, paletas, anything cheese, and anything fried) using my favorite TN ingredients (Olive & Sinclair Chocolate, Sweetwater cheddar, Benton's bacon, etc.). This menu is composed of dishes or components of dishes that people always ask me about for their cooking class. I will be providing the recipes on this blog on 10/10/11.

Roasted Banana & Mexican Chocolate Paletas
Yield: 12 paletas

3 large bananas
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup half and half
1 cup skim milk
2 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. crushed mexican chocolate, optional

Preheat the oven to 375. Slit the skin of the banana from end to end and place onto a foil lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool enough to handle, pour off the liquid, and remove the peeling. In a blender place the roasted banana flesh, brown sugar, half and half, milk, and vanilla. Puree until smooth. Distribute the crushed chocolate evenly into the paleta molds and pour in the roasted banana puree; cover with the slotted paleta mold's lid. Freeze for 2 hours and then insert the popsicle sticks 1/2 way in and freeze for another 4-6 hours, preferably overnight.

INSIDE

2011-07-25T12:52:00.010-05:00

Stupid hot. That's all I have to say about this weeks weather. Staying indoors does allow for more cooking, and after the Nashville trip and eating out every single meal, home cooked meals were welcome.

I'm so thrilled our girls enjoy cooking. Now that they are older, it's cute to see how the oldest has started to really understand it and take matters into her own hands. Just this week she made her own French Toast, cheesy scrambled eggs, Caesar salad dressing, homemade marinara and chicken parmesan, and smitten kitchen's lime-yogurt cake with berry sauce. They also helped me with the hoe cakes.

I have to admit that the lime-yogurt cake was good straight out of the oven, but the next day it was inedible. It was tough. Not stale and dry but hard to get a fork through tough. That cake goes into the trash, along with the recipe. The flavor was great but I will just use lime juice and zest in my next sour cream pound cake.

The hoe cakes were the star of the week. We had them as part of our breakfast-for-dinner tradition with a swiss & bacon omelette and fruit. Make sure you get your griddle/pan really, really well preheated because you want the heat to blast that baking powder/soda in the flour & cornmeal mix to give you a really high rise. Just so you know, placing cheesy eggs or a fried egg and a slice of canadian bacon or ham between two hoe cakes makes a delicious breakfast sandwich.

Hoe Cakes
Yield: 14 (4-inch) cakes

1/2 cup self-rising flour
1/2 cup self-rising white or yellow cornmeal mix
1 egg
1/2-1 Tbsp. sugar or agave
1/4-1/3 cup buttermilk
2 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. oil or melted butter
Melted butter (for griddle)

Preheat the griddle to 375. Mix together the egg, sugar, buttermilk, water, and oil. Stir in the flour and cornmeal mix until smooth. Add more buttermilk if needed. The batter should look like a thick pancake batter. Melt some butter onto the griddle and place a small ice cream scoop of the hoe cake batter onto the griddle (about 1/4 cup or less). These should be about 3-4 inches in diameter. Cook for about 2-4 minutes on each side or until you start to see lots of bubbles form inside the hoe cake. Flip and cook for another 2-4 minutes. These should be crispy-crunchy and golden brown on both sides like a piece of toast. Serve with melted butter and maple syrup or with tomato marmalade and crumbled bacon or with whatever floats your boat.

NASHVILLE EATS

2011-07-19T18:44:00.008-05:00

We just returned from a grown-ups-only weekend in Nashville with four other couples and it was awesome. We ate our way through some new places and visited a few old faves.

Friday night we all went to The Bluebird Cafe and listened to some pretty great music. The cocktails and food were bad but who cares, the music was entertaining. This will definitely become a Nashville tradition for us.

Saturday we shopped (REI, Hemline, Posh, etc.) and went to Rotier's for their famous burger. We had to wait an hour but that hour wasn't lost. Kevin and Scott played Galaga and Kevin was stupid-excited when he beat the high score. The atmosphere is dingy but that's what makes it awesome! The burger was good but not amazing. I ordered my fries extra crispy and they were better than the burger. I'm glad we went but we probably would go to Burger Up! instead next time.

After lunch we went to Las Paletas. This is a popsicle shop next door to Burger Up!. I had the Mexican Caramel, made with goats milk, and it was really, really, good. Scott and Lisa tried the grapefruit and cantaloupe. Kevin had creamy mixed berry AND strawberry-chocolate, yes he had two. The fruit pops were more like icees but so yummy.

Saturday night's dinner started as a disaster. To make a long story short....we had some people boating Saturday and others shopping and eating (guess which I was). I made reservations for 10 people at varying times Saturday night at 5 different restaurants and let everyone decide. The boat people chose Miel because it had the later time slot, leaving them more time on the water. Miel was not even my second or third choice, but me and Kevin decided that majority rules. Next time I'm pulling the "trust-the-chef-on-this-one" card.

We sat down at Miel in a long booth where no one could hear the person across from them, let alone, down at the end of the table. We were served warm tap water with no ice. We were given amuse bouche with no explanation as to what it was. We couldn't order a Cosmo because they didn't have cranberry juice. I ordered a French 75 that came to me with no ice and totally warm. My husband asked for a non-alcoholic beer and was told, "we don't carry any non-alcoholic beers, but I can offer you a lavender lemonade." Seriously?!

We all were looking at one another and finally Lisa leaned in and whispered, "We should leave." That's all that needed to be said. Then the gossip grapevine began around the table, as that was the only way to communicate anything anyway. I went outside with my cell and called four other restaurants to try and get us in anywhere. After being laughed at by several hostesses and getting 12 mosquito bites, we called a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friends recommendations, Tin Angel. We got in, had a great meal, wine,non-alcoholic beer, cosmos, and heard conversations without yelling. No lavender lemonade here! I'm still laughing.... It sounds like Saturday night was very tense but it was all very casually and politely handled without any stress. Kevin handled our waiter at Miel beautifully, telling him it just wasn't a "good fit." It was truly a fun night.

Sunday was a delicious brunch at Fido's. Quirky area of town and really cool restaurant. I had the Semolina-Buttermilk Pancakes with cheesy grits and a superb cup of coffee (they roast their own beans). Kevin had a Benedict of some sort with andouille sausage and our friends had similar items but with the cheesy potatoes. Everything was really, really good. I will definitely be back there.

Here's my version of the delicious Sunday brunch pancakes from Fido's. Enjoy!

Semolina-Buttermilk Pancakes
Yield: 24 pancakes

1 cup semolina flour
1 cup cake flour
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 Tbsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 1/2-2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup melted butter, margarine, or canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla

Mix together all the ingredients until smooth. Pour onto a greased griddle that is well preheated to 350-375. Serve with maple syrup, butter, and whipped cream. These make great blueberry pancakes.

NEW MUSIC

2011-07-14T15:37:00.002-05:00

The Once and Future Carpenter (CMT Unplugged) - The Avett Brothers - The Avett Brothers Videos

Where Have All the Average People Gone (CMT Unplugged) - The Avett Brothers - The Avett Brothers Videos

MORE TOMATOES & OTHER DELICIOUSNESS

2011-07-11T12:09:00.020-05:00

These are my first tomatoes I've ever grown! I'm so excited. There are only 6 right now and I'm really hoping the birds, squirrels, or a really mean momma deer on our land won't eat them.

I finally received my Diana Warner necklace and I love it! She's so talented. I first was told about her work from a friend who is living in NYC.

I've done a lot of cooking this week. Thank goodness the girls unload and load the dishwasher nowadays. We just got finished cooking five meals for the week, all of us together, and we were done in under an hour! Awesome job my little sweet potatoes.

We cooked Mini BBQ Meatloaves, Chicken & Rice Casserole, Grilled Chicken Caesar Salad marinated in the sherry-Dijon marinade we used to use at Bistro 122 (thanks Chef Colmer, once again!), Beef Tacos with black beans & salsa rice, and Lemon Linguine with those delicious tomato tarts. Last night we had mini filo tartlettes with melted milk chocolate, fresh raspberries, and whipped cream.

We had some yummy food last week too. I made Cooks Illustrated Classic Pot Roast and it was probably one of my top 20 meals ever! It was that good. If you use the link it probably won't let you see it unless you do their 14-day free trial. Do it, it's worth it! I made Mexican Mini Meatloaves with melted cheese and tortilla strips on top. These were so good that they led me to try the Mini BBQ Meat Loaves mentioned above with a square of Benton's bacon on top. When you do them in a square muffin tin or regular muffin tin, you cut the cooking time in half. I'm not sure why it's taken me this long in life to realize that.

Mini Mexican Meat Loaves
Yield: 10

1 pound all-natural ground beef, lean
4 ounces diced canned green chilies
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. dried onion flakes
2 cups cheddar-Monterrey cheese blend, divided in half
1/2 Tbsp. chili powder
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. oregano
1/2 tsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1/4 cup enchilada sauce
1 cup bagged tri-color tortilla strips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a square-cup or round-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. In a large bow, mix together all the ingredients except for 1 cup of the cheese and h tri-color tortilla strips. Divide evenly into the muffin tin, overfilling slightly. Bake for 20 minutes. Top each meatloaf with an even amount of the remaining cheese and tortilla strips. Bake for another 5 minutes.

TOMATOES

2011-07-06T16:25:00.006-05:00

I know the next post was supposed to be about all the yummy things I cooked with all of our farmer's market stuff but this is what I made for lunch today with help from the girls and just had to share it.

This recipe that was inspired by a Martha Stewart clip I saw this morning on the Today Show. My oldest daughter was complaining, "I don't want that for lunch" under her breath in the living room....and then she ate it and loved it.

We made a simple salad to go with it of romaine, olive oil, salt, pepper, lemon zest, lemon juice, and agave.

I think Martha used puffed pastry for her tarts but we used reduced-fat refrigerated crescent roll dough. I had the dough on-hand from the Peach Dumpling recipe for the paper tomorrow (7/7). I'm sure that puff pastry dough is fine but, I have to admit that the buttery flavor of the crescent rolls gave it some extra richness. I would think that flaky biscuit dough would work really well too and it's already round, just flatten slightly!

Easy Tomato Tarts
Yield: 6 tarts

1 package refrigerated reduced-fat crescent rolls (6 rolls)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tomato, sliced into 6 slices
6 basil leaves, chiffonade (fancy name for rolling and slicing into thin strips)
Salt and pepper
6 Tbsp. shredded Parmesan or other favorite cheese

Preheat the oven to 375. Place a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet. Roll out the dough and press together all the seams to make one big piece of dough. Cut out 6 rounds with a cookie cutter that is about 1/4-1/2 inch bigger than your tomato slices. If you don't have a cookie cutter large enough, use a glass that is the right size or use the biggest cookie cutter you have and stretch out the dough to size. Place each dough round on the parchment-lined baking sheet. Mix together the olive oil and garlic in a small bowl and brush each dough round with the mixture. Place 1 Tbsp. of Parmesan cheese on each round and top with a tomato slice. Sprinkle each tomato slice with salt and pepper and bake for 20-30 minutes or until the crescent dough is golden around the edges. After they are cooked, immediately sprinkle the basil on each tart. Serve immediately or even at room temp.

BREAKFAST DOWNTOWN

2011-06-25T17:37:00.007-05:00

Saturday we went to Cockadoo's in downtown Memphis for breakfast with some friend's and all our kids. It's right across the street from The Peabody so I really expected it to be slammed. We got there at 8:30 a.m. but it didn't get full until around 10:00 a.m. as we were leaving.

It's a super cool atmosphere but the food was here and there. We all decided the biscuits were great, although some under the heat lamp didn't look so great. The pancakes were pretty bad. They tasted like an old pancake mix someone pulled out of their pantry. Just because a restaurant makes dinner-plate sized pancakes does not mean they are good.

As the menu states, the grits are seasoned with salt. That is no lie. They were not edible. If we hadn't been with other people, I would have sent them back. The breakfast sandwiches were great, probably because they were on the biscuit, and the hash browns were good too. We skipped the sweet potato hash because online reviews are not good for this either. The Mississippi Mud coffee was better than expected. They "proudly serve" this brand but I had never heard of it, but it was good.

All in all, I probably won't eat there again. For 2 adults and 2 kids under 11 years old, it was over $53 without tip and without the 40 miles. Who pays $3 for adding a small slice (about the size of sticky note) of country ham on a biscuit (that was just for the ham) or for a small boat of hash browns? We did! Wow, I had forgotten how much money was in breakfast.

I do have to say that the reviews on the service were pretty bad, but we had excellent service!

We went to the Farmer's Market after breakfast, so stay tuned. It was awesome cooking from market to table...we cleaned our plates! Post and pics to follow....

MIGAS HUEVOS CON EL PAPA

2011-06-19T09:21:00.015-05:00

Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there, including my hubbie and my own Daddy! I love you guys more each day and we are blessed more in our lives because of you.

As part of Kevin's Father's Day weekend, we went on a "day date" yesterday. Originally we were going to go see "The Hangover Two" and eat lunch, but he decided (thankfully...although I really want to see that movie) that we wouldn't really get to spend any time together and would waste our good, hard-earned babysitting time. He decided he wanted to shop instead. I know! I am married to the only man who enjoys shopping. We at lunch at Range USA. Yes, it's a shooting range. What can I say about that? We went in to get a gift card for Kevin's dad for his father's day and birthday gift and ended up eating a really great Reuben too. Who knew?! I've never had a Reuben served to me, or any thing else for that matter, by a waitress toting a gun on her side. I'll let you keep that picture in your head for a bit....

This morning this girls gave him a gift of 3 pounds of coffee from one of his favorite coffee roasters, Blue Moose Coffee. We stumbled on this roaster after he made a one-time special blend for a Swedish coffee we bought from igourmet. He also got a river trip a few weekends ago and a Camelbak for biking.

This morning, after a couple americano's, I made breakfast. I'm going to call it Migas Huevos Rancheros. This is a cross between a traditional huevos rancheros we had at Franciscas in Cortez, CO. and the Miga's at Surrey's in NOLA. I could eat this every morning for breakfast or for brunch....maybe this will go on the brunch menu for my Restaurant Iris appearance?!

Migas Huevos Rancheros

Yield: 6 servings

6 eggs

1 Tbsp. coconut oil

1/3 cup minced red onion

1/3 cup minced poblano

3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 can low sodium black beans, drained & rinsed

3 Tbsp. good quality salsa (more for garnish, optional)

1 cup crunchy tortilla strips (found in the salad dressing aisle with the croutons)

1 Tbsp. chopped cilantro

Salt & pepper, to taste

1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese or feta

Sliced pickled jalapenos, garnish (optional)

Saute the red onion, poblano, and bacon in the coconut oil until the bacon is cooked and the veggies are tender. Add the beans and season with salt and pepper, cooking until heated. Add the salsa and stir to combine over low heat. Take off the heat and stir in the cheese, cilantro, and tortilla strips. In a small non-stick pan, cook two eggs to order for each person or just scramble them all and serve on top. Garnish with the pickled jalapenos and more salsa, if desired.

NEW FACE

2011-06-03T07:14:00.011-05:00

Well, what does everyone think? Tiffany with Tart Designs worked on this new blog header and she absolutely nailed it. Other than a little tweaking of the size, adding a red border to bring it all together, and some post-title color changes, it's good to go. I hope everyone loves it as much as I do!

I made a delicious Greek salad last night with a fresh basil vinaigrette. I put all the ingredients separately in little bowls and let everyone choose what they wanted to add to their own salad. They put everything in a small metal mixing bowl and tossed it together themselves. With kids, allowing them to assemble their own food really helps in the enjoyment of eating, especially when veggies are involved. They ate it up!

The perfectly grilled bone-in chicken, courtesy of my hubbie, helped a lot with the yumminess-factor of this salad. Since we were grilling hamburgers this past weekend, I had him grill my marinated chicken too. I then finished the cooking process in the oven last night in a baking dish on super-low heat (250 degrees) for about 30 minutes. The chicken was tender and sooo moist. I served it with diced tomato, sliced kalamata olives, crumbled feta, diced cucumber, and the fresh basil vinaigrette. Everyone added their own ingredients and tossed. Delicious-ness for all!

Our computer crashed and we are still waiting to have everything uploaded. Here's the Hot/Cold Potato Salad I did this week (recipe to follow in The Commercial Appeal next Friday).

Other People's Music

2011-05-19T19:20:00.007-05:00

Mykonos from Sean Pecknold on Vimeo.

I came across this video while catching up on some of the blogs I follow. Thought I'd share it. We went to Mykonos on our honeymoon, almost 14 years ago, so it caught my eye and now it's got my ears. I'm really liking this band. Good cooking music for a mellow day.

I made Martha's Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies while listening. These are my new favorite cookie. I used milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet, cut the white sugar down to 1/4 cup, and omitted the cinnamon. They taste like a Reese's peanut butter cup. Y U M !

PS- made the Chicken Posole Soup again this week... too good, but now it's finally getting hot outside again, so I guess that's it for soup. Well, except that I could eat my Butternut Squash Soup everyday.

Fleet Foxes - Grown Ocean from Fleet Foxes on Vimeo.

Other People's Recipes

2011-05-09T15:56:00.005-05:00

I recently came across a couple of new blogs, well, new to me. Lottie & Doof and Sprouted Kitchen. I decided to make Sprouted Kitchen's Mushroom & Poblano Tart. This is a very curious recipe. The "crust" of this tart is baked soft polenta or grits. It's super easy to make, but I have to admit, I was a little concerned that this would not work.

Well, it didn't just work, but it was divine! This is one of those recipes that I wish I had thought of. I will certainly make it my own by changing up the filling ingredients (the mushroom & poblano part). The soft polenta "crust" is still firm enough to hold its shape when cut and was made for the mushroom and poblano egg custard filling. What a perfect match! The fun part will be trying to find a new filling that is as tasty and beautifully paired as the mushroom and poblano. Maybe gruyere, bacon, and asparagus or spinach? Can't wait to try.

Next up was Food & Wine's Baked Currant Doughnuts from their July 2010 issue. These were originally intended for our favorite server, Jeff, at Restaurant Iris. Motivated by my last yeast-rising success story of the Parker House Rolls, I quickly began to decide doughnuts were wwwaaaaayyy more work than rolls. Needless to say, 3, yes, 3 rises later, I put the first pan in the oven for the 25 minutes at 400 it called for. I knew to trust my instinct that this was too hot and too long.... but I did pilates instead and waited for the timer. Burned! Like, black, smoking-bottom burned. First pan in the trash. It only had 6 doughnuts on it, for cryin' out loud. This left the 6 remaining doughnuts. The math wasn't working out in Jeff's favor on this. I cooked the second pan at 375 for about 15 minutes. Perfect. Yummy. Jeff did not get any doughnuts. Btw, I used dried blueberries instead of the currants.

I also made Cooking Light's Superfast Chicken Posole. Really, really good, light, quick, and super tasty. I was actually mad when this was gone. I forgot to take a pic of it...oops.

Last but not least are the Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Muffins and Bacon-Cheddar Corn Muffins, also from Cooking Light. I substituted unsweetened apple sauce for the chocolate muffins, bringing the calories and fat down even more. These are just like the article says, fool-proof!

Rolls on Easter

2011-04-25T10:54:00.004-05:00

As many of you know, I'm not very good at baking things that contain yeast. I don't have the patience or the scientific background to make yeast recipes work (which is really just another excuse for lack of patience). Lately I've been handing this off to my husband, as he is the patient one.

I happened to catch Alton Brown's recipe for Parker House Rolls and decided it looked simple enough for me to try again. It didn't work. It was a bright, sunny, moist day. Perfect for making yeasty bread products...not so. They never rose and while trying to stay hopeful that they would magically rise, by some miracle of God, if I put them in the oven to bake was, well, just stupid. They were hockey pucks that could have killed an intruder or at least blinded one.

My conclusion was that the yeast was dead. So, off to the grocery store before Easter night services. New yeast...

They worked. I made the dough and formed them into rolls for their second rise before a family bike ride Easter morning. When we returned...happiness! They were gorgeous and billowy (is that a word?) and ready for the oven. Truly delicious.

They were so good, that after Easter dinner (ham, broccoli-cheese-rice casserole, cilantro-lime-garlic cob corn, black eyed pea salad, and strawberry cake with coconut frosting) I played 126 calories-worth of four-square with the girls and hubby, just to eat another roll. This morning, I had two. I can't wait till they're gone so they don't just sit on the counter and mess with me.

*Bread flour worked best for this recipe, as did regular white sugar, not agave or raw sugar. I also used skim milk instead of whole milk. I formed them into flattened balls instead of doing the traditional Parker House fold-over with butter tucked into them and brushed them with melted butter before and after baking. I also cut back the salt to 2 teaspoons.

Balls, Matzo

2011-04-08T09:49:00.011-05:00

A few weeks ago we had some friends over for a belated cooking class of Matzo Ball Soup. I've been making this soup for about 3 years now and one of them (the Christmas gift recipient of matzo crackers and the promised cooking class) has always wanted to learn, especially since the mother of a dear Jewish friend of his had passed away.

As we had our class (and cocktails) we cooked our steak dinner for the night, as it was too warm of an evening for soup. It was a lovely night, full of fun and tons of laughter. Our friend is one funny dude. We tried all night to use the word "ball/s" as much as possible. Hysterical!

One of the best things to come out of that evening, besides the companionship of our good friends of course and the 5 gallons of Matzo Ball Soup, was the creation of a signature cocktail I'll be using during the brunch at Restaurant Iris in October. It's a combination of vodka, St. Germain (an elderflower liqueor), soda water, agave nectar, lemon juice, and clementine wedges. It was delicious. One problem....we can't think of a name. Right now we have: Fall Fling, Country Fling, Country Fizz, Country Sour, and Citrus Fizz (and many more). Take the poll to vote on your favorite or to make a suggestion.

Matzo Ball Soup
(click on title to print the recipe)

Yield: 1 gallon

For the stock:
1 whole chicken (about 3 lbs.)
1 onion, halved
2 celery ribs, halved
1 large carrot, halved
1 tsp. black peppercorns
1 gallon of water
For the matzo balls:
1 cup matzo meal
1 cup crushed matzo crackers (should look similar to panko)
4 eggs
1/4 cup chicken fat, reserved from stock or melted margarine
1/4 cup soda water
1 tsp. salt, or to taste
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. onion powder
For the soup:
1 Tbsp. margarine
1 small bag frozen chopped onion
2 carrots, diced
2 celery ribs, diced
3 cups pulled, cooked chicken meat
3 quarts chicken stock
1 small bag egg noodles

Boil the ingredients for the stock for 1 minute. Cover and reduce to low for 1 hour. Strain the stock into a gallon-size pitcher. Reserve the chicken but discard the vegetables. Allow the chicken to cool and then pick off the meat, reserving it in the frig for later. Allow the chicken stock to cool in the frig until the fat floats to the top, preferably overnight. Remove and reserve the chicken fat that comes to the top after refrigeration for use in the matzo balls. Meanwhile, combine all the ingredients for the matzo balls and form into 2-4 tablespoon-size balls; set aside. For the soup, plae the margarine in a large soup pot and saute the onion, carrots, and celery until tender but not brown. Add the chicken stock and simmer until the veggies are tender. Bring to a boil and add the matzo balls. Allow them to boil for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken meat and then the noodles. Boil until the noodles are done. Season with more salt and pepper, as needed.

Nashville

2011-02-19T17:03:00.010-06:00

We took Goop's advice and tried a few places from Gweneth Paltrow's Nashville recommendations.

*Drews Brews for coffee. Picked up a pound of his espresso roast.

*Swetts for lunch. Fried chicken!

*Olive and Sinclair for chocolate. I'll be using their Chili & Cinnamon chocolate at Restaurant Iris in October.

Can't wait to go back!

Cookie

2011-02-10T13:23:00.015-06:00

We are snowed-in, yet again. The south just isn't equipped to handle this amount of snow, or any snow for that matter. I set off to baking. I've been baking a new cookie every week for about 4-6 weeks now. This started as a way of purchasing fewer store-bought, processed cookies.

We skipped last week since I was trying to see how I would handle watching my sugar intake, keeping it under 25 grams. It didn't go well. I'm grateful I lost 5 pounds but that's no way to live. Whole grains are good for you! I don't care if they have sugar/carbs in them, I gotta have them, no, my body neeeedddss them to function properly.

Potato chips, sweets, juices, and anything white, I can stay away from, and pretty much do anyway. But I gotta have oats and brown rice and fruit for cryin-out-loud, and sweet Jesus, agave nectar or demerara/raw sugar in my coffee in the morning. One week with Splenda in my coffee...not a palate-pleaser. Why does Coke Zero taste soooo good but coffee with the same sweetener tastes soooo bad?! Needless to say, I'm making a compromise between the 25g of sugar per day and eating real food and sugars in my life. I'll watch it but it's not going to watch me...I'm back in charge.

Here's our cookie for this week: Oatmeal (that's right...carbs) Chocolate Chip (uh huh...sugar and fat and caffeine) Pecan Cookies. I used a secret ingredient in these, well a couple. I substituted vegetable baby food for half the butter, the dreaded Splenda (since I now have a huge bag of this stuff) to replace 1/4 of the brown sugar, and whole wheat flour instead of white. I also cut back the nuts and chocolate chips to 3/4's cup instead of a full cup of each.

None of us could tell there were veggies in this, of course there wasn't really enough to count as a veggie anyway. We also didn't recognize the Splenda. I did, however, get the calories down from 400 to 140; the fat down to 5g. from a whopping 20g., the fiber up to 3g. from 2g.; the protein up to 4g. from 2g.; and the sugars down to 9g. from 21g. Not too shabby and they're really super delicious!

P.S.- making Smitten Kitchen's White & Dark Chocolate Heart Brownies this weekend and Strawberry Layer Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting for Valentines Day...stay tuned!

UPDATE 2/13: Smitten Kitchen's brownies DID NOT work. Way too greasy and sticky, crispy sweet....do not recommend.

dough before baking

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Click on recipe title for a printer-friendly version

Yield: 24

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups oats, not quick oats
3/4 tsp. sea salt
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
6 Tbsp. butter, softened
6 Tbsp. mild-flavored baby food puree
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated Splenda
1 tsp. vanilla
1 egg
3/4 cup toasted, chopped pecans
3/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350. Line two baking sheets with parchment. Using a standing mixer or bowl with a hand mixer, whip the butter, baby food, brown sugar, and Splenda until somewhat smooth. Add the egg and vanilla. Add the flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. Mix for about 10 seconds. Add the pecans and chocolate chips and mix again until it comes together as a cookie dough. Place 2 Tbsp. worth of the dough about 1-2 inches apart on the cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes. Allow to cool on a rack for at least 2 hours. This will help the cookies stay crisp on the outside when they are stored together.

Dinner

2011-02-07T10:14:00.005-06:00

Here's what I'm cooking this week on DINNER MAID for my clients and our family:

Jamie Oliver's Sweet & Sour Roasted Chicken with Rice Pilaf
Nigella Lawson's Jalapeno-Garlic 24 hour Roasted Pork with Cheesy Mashed Potatoes & Green Beans

Pecan Crusted Chicken Tenders with Maple BBQ sauce, Sweet Potato Baked Fries, & Broccoli

Italian Turkey Sausage Meatball & Macaroni Soup
Beef Bourguignon with Parsley-Butter Egg Noodles

1770 Meatloaf with Roasted Paprika Potato Wedges & Peas

The Written Kitchen

2011-01-20T19:42:00.009-06:00

Well, after 2 years, I've finally been able to purchase the domain and name that I would like for this blog: The Written Kitchen. I've got everything linked and forwarded as best I can for right now until the blog designer can switch the name and some of the pictures to better fit what I wanted the design of this blog to eventually become. So, you will still see Morsels and Moments until she can change it to The Written Kitchen.

As for some more good news, I will be Guest Cheffing at Restaurant Iris on October 9th. Chef English decided to only serve brunch every third Sunday of the month so that they could be open for dinner on Monday nights. Since he would be out of town the third weekend of October, we decided on the second weekend, 10/9. We will be collaborating on the menu, which will be the only menu served that day. I'm nervous, excited, intimidated, and thrilled to be challenged in this way again. It's been 10 years since I was last on the line in a kitchen. Not that I will be on the line, although that would be awesome!

I'm hoping to do food that I love to cook (for me and others), eat, and write about. Obviously I want it to be super yummy, but I also want it to be food that you all could cook at home. I guess that's the teaching-chef side of me. Maybe Chef English will let me hand out recipe packets...tacky!? Anyway, I mostly feel honored to even be asked.

I can't leave you without a recipe, so here's the recipe for Strawberry Champagne Cupcake Trifles (from Georgetown Cupcakes) I made for New Year's. These were good, but I would use less chocolate or try white chocolate next time, as the semi-sweet chocolate masked the delicate flavor of the champage and strawberry cupcakes.

Snowed In

2011-01-11T19:29:00.008-06:00

Around these parts, we don't get much snow and when we do, the city (and surrounding cities) shuts down. I'm talking no bread, no milk, no eggs to be found anywhere. Speaking of bread, milk, and eggs... why is that the first thing to sell out? If there's a power failure due to snow and ice-laden power lines and trees, those fresh items are the first thing to go bad. I've never understood that, but maybe I'm missing something.

The snow brought a dreamy Sunday evening and a gorgeous Monday (no school, of course) and lots of clothes drying. Do I want to see my utility bill next month? Uh, no! It will have been so worth it though. The girls were layered so thick with tights and shirts and socks they couldn't bend their arms or legs. It was quite a hoot to watch them building snowmen with out bending their arms. After being pulled by the 4-wheeler on pool rafts in the snow, building multiple snowmen, sledding at a nearby golf course, and 17,000 cups of hot cocoa, they came in for the night. Exhaustion doesn't describe their grinning, sleepy, red-nosed faces.

As for me, I did some "free" cooking. In other words, I was able to cook for fun, curiosity, and creativity. I cooked Chili from a diced chuck roast. A kind of cowboy-type chili. The best chili ever. I will never use ground meat again. My husband discovered baking and made Parker House Rolls. I've been telling him for years that he should try baking and that I thought he would be really good at it... I was right. I stand to gain massive amounts of weight with all the bread he'll be testing out and I'll be eating. I also made Wedding Cookies or Sandies. The... best.... cookie.... ever! If you use Plugra butter, dirt would taste good. I'll share the recipes for the Wedding Cookies and Rolls later.

Cowboy Chili

Yield: 3 quarts

2 1/2 pounds chuck roast, trimmed of fat & diced into 1/4-1/2 inch pieces

3 Tbsp. oil

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

1 celery stalk, diced (about 1/4 cup)

6 garlic cloves, minced

2 Tbsp. cumin

1 Tbsp. coriander

1/4 cup chili powder

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

2 Tbsp. dried oregano

3 cups beef broth

1 (14 oz.) can stewed tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 (28 oz.) can crushed tomatoes

1 (14 oz.) can diced tomatoes

2 cans (14 oz. each) red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat the oven to 325. In a large pot or dutch oven, add the oil. Toss in the meat, onion, carrot, garlic, and celery and cook until the onion becomes tender. Add the cumin, coriander, chili powder, salt, pepper, and oregano. Stir and cook for about 4 minutes. Add the broth, stewed tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, and diced tomatoes. Stir, bring to almost a boil. Turn off the heat, cover, and place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours. Add the beans after 1 1/2 hours. Serve with crushed tortilla chips and shredded cheese. Optional: sliced pickled jalapenos, sour cream, cilantro.

Gobble Gobble

2010-11-24T14:34:00.015-06:00

Thanksgiving is tomorrow and I feel as if I've been cooking for weeks. My 22 pound turkey is brining (sea salt, agave, paprika, dried shallots, garlic, and peppercorns). Both dressings, cornbread-sausage and oyster (gross), are made. Pecan, Pumpkin, and Sweet Potato pies are made with a special friend joining the party this year... Emergency Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting (melt 1 stick butter, 1/3 cup milk, ½ cup peanut butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla, & beat in 1 pound box confectioner’s sugar).

fyi...a 22-pound turkey does not fit into a 3-gallon bucket.

As you can see, I cook everything ahead of time, except for the turkey. It's the only way to do Thanksgiving. I love it. It's my favorite holiday, a time for reflection while being engrossed in my passion and preparing for another passion... eating.

We are so thankful and so blessed in our lives.

I will be sharing our adventures from our vacation to Colorado soon: golden aspen trees, high altitude towns, elk, and rhubarb-raspberry pie.

Chocolate Emergency

2010-09-05T16:06:00.004-05:00

A couple of months ago Cook's Illustrated, on the Today Show, cooked up some forgotten cakes. One was the Emergency Chocolate Cake from the 1940's. I've now made it at least 6 times, including by request in cupcake form from my 10 year old daughter for her birthday party. She even knows it has mayonnaise in it. Mayonnaise is a strange ingredient but not too unfamiliar in the baking world. It makes baked goods super moist. This cake gets more and more moist the older it gets...that is, if it makes it past day two. A simple buttercream or cream cheese frosting is the perfect compliment, but neither are necessary.

This recipe calls for coffee as an ingredient, but using water is fine if you don't want that hint of java. It also calls for Dutch cocoa but it works with any kind of cocoa. I've also used a mini bundt pan and made Mocha Caramel cakes for a fancier twist for my sister to sell at her deli. I'm going to include my Caramel Frosting recipe below, since it's mine.

Caramel Frosting

Yield: 2 cups

1/4 cup brown sugar

3 Tbsp. evaporated milk

2 Tbsp. butter

1 cup powdered sugar

Bring the brown sugar, evaporated milk, and butter to a boil until the sugar is dissolved (about 1 minute). Whip in the powdered sugar until smooth with a hand-held or stand mixer. Use immediately. To make a thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar. To make a thinner frosting, add more evaporated milk by the tablespoonfull after the frosting has been made the regular way.

This Week

2010-08-05T11:53:00.010-05:00

Thank you to Nectar and Light for sharing her friends posting of this video by The Avett Brothers: I and Love and You. It's now on my iTouch. Also thanks for sharing about Keb 'Mo. I love cooking to both of these, especially Keb 'Mo.

Working on some simple food this week since it's 107˚. Nothing grand or exciting except yummy Hebrew National hot dogs with quick pickled red cabbage. Nobody ate it but me, but I'm not complaining. Making Pictures & Pancakes homemade Worcestershire because I'm a Bloody Mary freak. Fish tacos are on the horizon as well as homemade pizzas.

I made fried chicken for the first time in years with a combo of bread crumbs and flour. It was so good and super crunchy. The last drumstick called to me in the night....and I ate it cold...like Nigella...at the fridge....in my PJ's. No regrets! Will share recipe later.

Tomatoes & Blueberries

2010-07-31T10:33:00.007-05:00

I made this beautiful Tomato Marmalade from Food & Wine magazine a couple of weeks ago. They don't have it on their website yet, so I'll share the recipe that turned into my own after making a few changes to theirs. When I made this the first time, I only did half the recipe because it sounded like a lot of tomatoes to concassé (can anyone say culinary school flashback?!). After getting a mere 2 jars out of it and then tasting it, I realized that I wanted...no needed to make more. Spread this on crostini with a thin tickle of mascarpone, goat, or any cheese with a crisped-up piece of country ham, prosciutto, spicy cured sausage/ham, or bacon. I'm thinking that I might try it on a sharp cheddar grilled cheese.

The Blueberry Syrup is also from the latest issue of Food & Wine. For some reason they have this recipe on their website but not the Tomato Marmalade, even though they came from the same issue. I followed this recipe to a T, but it was too thin. I ended up simmering it for about 30 minutes, which was 10 minutes too long. It went from a thin, watery, flavorless syrup to....jelly. This, I assure you, is not a bad thing. Spread on pumpernickel toast with a schmear of cream cheese is a really, really, nice thing. As one can tell from the pic, it hasn't been hard eating half the jar. We did, even in its jellied state, stir it in to lemonade with some sparkling water and a sprig of mint for a tasty afternoon drink by the pool. I also plunged a couple tablespoons into my cottage cheese. A blueberry vodka cocktail of some kind is on the horizon.

Tomato Marmalade
Yield: 10 cups

6 pounds tomatoes
3 cups sugar
1 tsp. crystallized/candied ginger, minced
1/2 tsp. Saigon cinnamon
2 lemons, halved & juiced

Bring a large pot of water to boil. Make a criss-cross mark on the bottoms of the tomatoes. Drop into the boiling water for about 10-30 seconds, depending on how big or small your tomatoes are. Remove with a slotted spoon, cool slightly, and remove the peel. Cut the tomatoes in half at the equator and squeeze out the seeds. Cut out the hard, stem round. Finely chop the tomatoes. Discard the seeds. In a heavy bottom pot, stir together all the ingredients, including the lemon juice and halves. Bring to a boil and then simmer on low heat for about 1 hour. Discard the lemons and bring to a boil until reduced by 1/8-1/4, stirring gently. Ladle into prepared jars, lid, and cool.

Blueberry Syrup Recipe

French Food = Eggs

2010-07-22T18:33:00.009-05:00

This past weekend I was inspired by the Cooking Channel and one of their shows, French Food At Home. With the exception of one recipe (we'll get to that later), everything was really great and quite easy to prepare. I'm pretty sure that my cholesterol is way over the legal limit since I used eggs, and a lot of them, in every recipe but one. Once I had my mixer out, I just left it out all weekend because everything called for me to whip egg whites. This can be a bit annoying, but since I had read the recipes ahead of time and I was making 3 recipes from the show that required whipped egg whites, it wasn't as much of a nuisance.

The very top picture of those beautiful Angel Cookies or, as the chef of the show calls them, Powder Puffs, look so yummy. This is the recipe I was referring to...they weren't good...at all. The cookies came out of the oven smelling like popcorn for some reason. Now this might sound like a good thing, but I assure you, it was not. The texture was bad too; very powdery. Hey, maybe that's why she calls them Powder Puffs? Once the cookies were assembled, I realized they had to be eaten right away. They turned into one big blob in the refrigerator after just 1 hour and had to be tossed, without eating, the next day. Guess the hubbie wasn't really missing anything to begin with. The only salvageable item from this recipe was the vanilla whipped cream. I mean, who hasn't made this before right?! But after a really gross tasting cookie, the vanilla-scented pillows of cream (me and my daughters all with our own spoons in the bowl) made up for it.

The second item I tried from French Cooking At Home, was this Pea, Asparagus & Fava Tumble. I didn't have fava's or the time to deal with them, so I just used asparagus, peas, and edamame. Yummy! The bi-weekly column I do for the Commercial Appeal will have my version of this recipe out on 7/30.

The third item was her Spinach Omelet Souffle. Yum, yum, and more yum. I did have to cook mine on both sides or my kids would have said it was raw. Regardless, it was delish and easily flippable without losing too much air.

The fourth recipe was her Angel Cake. I used fresh blueberries from down the street and a homemade, quick Maple Creme Anglaise (1/2 sour cream & 1/2 heavy cream). The cake, again whipped egg whites, was light as air but still had depth of flavor from the egg yolks. This cake doesn't keep long as it takes on other flavors easily, so serve it at a dinner party or at brunch so that it doesn't make it to another day.

Angel Cake out of the pan.

I've been doing a lot of canning lately: tomato marmalade and blueberry syrup from Food & Wine, among other things. I'll be sharing those soon. I've canned before, but this time the lids made that beautiful "pop" to let me know they sealed. Very exciting!

Cherry Pie

2010-06-22T17:06:00.007-05:00

Finally, I have found time to share my excitement over my recent hand-picked, homemade cherry pie. I confess, I didn't make the crust. After pitting cherries for 2 hours, I was just about over it. I have no idea what kind of cherries these are but they were tart as all get-out. I had to use 1 1/4 cups of sugar for one pie! I picked them off my neighbors tree with my husband and daughters. I suppose I could ask them what kind of cherries they are....I'll get back to you on that.

I also made some cherry preserves with an accidental purchase of instant pectin. What the hell is this stuff anyway?! Cherries need to be cooked a bit to break down their "crispness." I gave it a shot and, after tasting it the next day, decided to try an experiment. I dumped every jar of cherry preserves out and cooked that mess. I cooked it until it looked right. For those of you needing an exact recipe...I can't help you here. Well, actually I can..... don't use instant pectin. After cleaning my jars again (thank goodness for dishwasher sterlization), I refilled. All is right again in cherry preserves land. Instant pectin, my a**.

Wow, that's a first...two curse words in one blog. It's about a thousand degrees here right now. Maybe it's bringing out my red-neckness. Not anything a little cherry preserves can't fix.

Cherry Pie

Yield: 1 deep-dish 9-inch pie

2 1/2 pounds pitted tart cherries

3/4-1 1/4 cups sugar, depending on tartness

1/8-1/4 tsp. almond extract

3 Tbsp. corn starch

2 sheets prepared pie dough or homemade

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Toss the cherries with the sugar, almond extract, and corn starch. Place one pie round in the bottom of a 9-inch pie dish and cut to fit. Pour in the cherries and top with a lattice top or just another pie dough round. Trim to fit and cut 6 slits (if using a whole pie dough round). Bake for 30 minutes then reduce the heat to 325 degrees and cook for another 30-40 minutes, covering with foil if the edges begin to brown too much. Let set for at least 2-3 hours before serving.

Cold Orzo Salad

2010-04-27T19:13:00.010-05:00

After a defeating day of nearly being extirpated by the most horribly behaved high school seniors I've ever encountered, I'm so glad I have cooking and writing to bring me back from such a horrific glance of this "next generation." How depressing...

We had to feed these kids breakfast....my least favorite gig. Once it was over, I got in my car and discovered the bacon-grease stench emitting from my skin, hair, and clothes was enough to make me seriously reconsider my bacon obsession for about 2 minutes. But later that night the bacon-scented steam wafting from the shower was nauseating....let's take that up to about 3 minutes of bacon-obsessed reconsideration. Then there's the scrambled egg smell...not a word in any thesaurus on the planet to describe the odor.

So, I learned quite a few things today but here's just two: 1.) my boss is a woman of steel strength and nerves, a wonderful leader and, 2.) that bacon-grease a moisturizer does not make.

Orzo Pasta Salad

This recipe is only related to the above story because it's what I had for dinner since I was too exhausted to cook. It's delicious, simple, quick, and will feed a ton of people for a beautiful Spring night (or day) get-together. Try it sprinkled with a bit of feta or goat cheese too.

Yield: 6 cups

Serves: 10-12

1 pound good quality orzo pasta

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tsp. garlic pepper seasoning

1 tsp. agave nectar

1 lime, juiced

3 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped

1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped

1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

1 cup fresh corn kernels (removed from cob and uncooked)

1 tsp. kosher salt

Boil the orzo for 8-10 minutes or until al dente. Rinse with cold water to cool. Place the cooked orzo in a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir to combine and chill for at least 1 hour.

Salmon Nuts

2010-03-17T10:44:00.006-05:00

The new blog design has me wanting to cook! More importantly, it has me inspired to remember to take pictures of what I cook. I don't use a fancy camera like some of the other food blogs do, not that there is anything wrong with that. I also don't take more than 10 pictures of anything, cause who has time for that?! I just take a quick shot so you all can see what it should (somewhat) look like as an end result when you're done cooking it. I'm no food stylist for sure and I just want the pictures to look real...because usually I'm snapping the shots right before we sit down to eat it. Now about the food...

This is a pan-roasted almond crusted salmon and it's so easy, good for you, and doesn't have any strange ingredients. I use this same "crusting" technique with chicken cutlets, pork medallions, and other types of fish. Just make sure your chicken or pork is no more than 3/4-inch thick so that it cooks through without burning the nuts, like I came extremely close to doing, as you can see in the picture.

I served this salmon with a chilled whole wheat couscous salad that I first started making at work for a food-sale weekend. The fresh basil vinaigrette is so yummy and makes the desires for Spring overwhelming. I typically add toasted almonds to the couscous, but since I'm using nuts on the salmon, I'm leaving them out. Couscous is so easy to prepare because it's a type of pasta and not a grain, so it only requires steaming and not boiling. I use my instant hot water dispenser and the couscous is done in 5 minutes (Israeli couscous, which is more of a pearl-shape, does require boiling).

The basil vinaigrette is something I make at least 2 cups of at a time. I use it for the obvious salad, a marinade, in cold pasta or tuna salad instead of mayo, and so much more. It's really vers-a-tile (you have to say that slowly with the emphasis on each syllable and end with "-tile" using an extremely long "i" sound....I don't know why, but I say it that way every time and it makes me chuckle to myself). Hee hee.

Almond Crusted Pan Roasted Salmon
Serves: 4

4 pieces salmon (about 4-6 ounces each), skin-off, bones removed
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1 egg white mixed with 1 tsp. cold water
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. dried parsley flakes
Salt and pepper
2 Tbsp. oil
4 lemon wedges for garnish (optional)

For the couscous:
8 ounces whole wheat couscous
1 1/2 cups hot water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup basil vinaigrette (recipe follows)
4 leaves fresh basil, chopped
1/2 cup roasted corn medley
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 tsp. fresh citrus juice (lemon, lime, or orange) or vinegar (red wine, apple cider, or rice wine)
1/2 cup sliced toasted almonds (optional)

Basil Vinaigrette:
yield: 2 cups

1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/4 cup agave nectar (or 1/2 cup sugar)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 tsp. paprika
1 cup canola or olive oil
8 leaves fresh basil

Heat a large cast iron skillet on medium-low heat and add the 2 Tbsp. oil. In a shallow dish or paper plate, stir together the egg white and water with a fork. In a separate dish or paper plate, toss the almonds with the parsley. Sprinkle both sides of the salmon with salt, pepper, and the garlic powder. Press only the flesh (where the bones were removed from) side of the salmon filets into the egg whites and then into the almonds (you are only putting the egg whites and almonds on one side). Cook the salmon, almond-side down, very slowly so the almonds don't burn. Turn after you start to see the edges of the salmon turn pale pink. Cook on the other side for about 3-5 minutes or until desired doneness. Make the vinaigrette by blending all the ingredients in a food processor, blender, or by using an immersion blender. In a 1 quart dish that has a lid, place the couscous, 1/2 tsp. salt, and water. Cover and let set for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to combine; chill.

Pruning Inspiration

2010-02-21T15:44:00.005-06:00

After 4 months of being absent, I'm happy to say I've been inspired by (drum roll)....prunes. I know, really?! A good friend of mine and co-worker gave me a recipe for her favorite chicken which had prunes, vinegar, capers, and green olives...grossness. I only got this recipe after complaining about not being very inspired to cook lately and being lovingly questioned by others about when I was going to update the blog. After testing the recipe, I decided to write my bi-weekly column on her chicken that you can check out here.

So today, while the family was out geo-caching, I got a craving for Mario Batalli's lentils that I recently had at his restaurant, B & B Ristorante, in Las Vegas. His green lentils were served as a special that night and came with lamb sausage and balsamic reduction. Well, I wasn't going to make sausage today (maybe another day) but I did have the green lentils and balsamic vinegar. You're probably wondering how the prunes tie into this dish.

There they were.... a small bag of prunes (feel free to insert "dried plums" if that makes your face contort less with visions of grandmas) sitting on my counter from the recent chicken recipe. What's one to do with 5 prunes? So, I slivered them up and put them into the lentils once the veggies were tender and the water was added. They just simmered away and melted into the lentils. These lentils don't taste like Mario's, but hit all the flavor notes (minus the lamb): sweet, tangy, earthy, and meaty...a meal in itself or just a side to some roasted or seared chicken.

There are other people who use prunes at very fancy restaurants, like Thomas Keller at the French Laundry in California. There's a recipe in his cookbook where he uses a prune puree to layer with the Pommes Anna. We cooked this at work for a 14-course fundraiser dinner and served it with his ribeye recipe. No one had a clue what that delicious, creamy sweetness was swirling through those potatoes. It was only safe to tell them after they had eaten it to avoid that contorted face thing.

Who knew prunes could be such a perfect mystery ingredient for adding new dimensions of flavor to all kinds of things....well, at least three, that I know of so far.

Lentils

Yield: 2 quarts

2 cups green lentils

3 carrots, chopped

1 celery rib, minced

1 shallot, minced

6 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

2 slices cooked bacon, chopped

1 Tbsp. oil

4-6 cups water

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. poultry seasoning

5 prunes, chopped

1 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Heat the oil in a large skillet and add the bacon, shallot, carrots, and celery. Cook until tender and then add the garlic. Add the water (saving 2 cups if the lentils become dry and are still undercooked), Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, prunes, and poultry seasoning. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook until the lentils are tender; about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the balsamic vinegar.

Jefe! (you know who you are)

2009-10-16T16:22:00.006-05:00

Never in my wildest dreams did I think 15 years ago, after graduating from culinary school, that I would be working in a church kitchen. I hadn't attended a church service in over 8 years and was used to the crazy, insane hours of restaurant night-life and the partying that came with it. Fifteen years ago, church, in any form, was the furthest thing from my mind. So, it's just a bit ironic now that I'm working as a chef in one and that I know it's God's plan for me.

I met my boss, J (that's what we'll call her, just in case she doesn't want me using her name, but I think everyone knows who she is), 5 years ago when I decided to volunteer in our church kitchen. Our second child was 4 months old and I wanted a way to meet new people and get back into a kitchen. Little did I know that volunteering on Tuesday's to help prepare our church's Wednesday night dinners, would change my life forever.

My first Tuesday, I stirred 40 gallons of spaghetti sauce all day. Yes, all day long. The next Tuesday, I made 800 pounds of meatloaf by hand (yes, by hand) with a sweet, chronologically-challenged lady. That same day, J had me dicing pounds of onion. She looked at me kinda strangely, wondering how I had managed to chop all those onions in such little time (not that I'm bragging on my speedy chopping skills, but grandma next to me might have taken years). That's when I told her I was a culinary degreed chef. My life was changed permanently.

J is not just a boss to me now. She's become a friend, a mentor in Christ & cooking, and a confidant. She is a blessing in every way. She's an unbelievable mother, sister, daughter, wife, friend, employee, leader, and servant in Christ.

I thank God every day and every night for leading me to the kitchen at church and for placing J there to receive me. I was on a faith journey before entering the church's kitchen, but now I'm on a faith expedition that strives for a servant-heart (except when I have to make another 80 gallons of pimento cheese for the umpteenth time) that I first witnessed in J. So, thank you J for everything you do, not just for what you've done for me personally, and not just for being my boss, but for HOW you lead and for HOW you are a friend. Oh, and Happy Birthday too!

Gorgonzola Stuffed Figs Wrapped with Proscuitto with Balsamic Reduction (balsamic reduction is J's favorite thing...enough to bathe in it).

Arroz con Leche

2009-09-10T18:27:00.011-05:00

Okay, okay, it's rice pudding...but I used Spanish medium-grained rice, so I'm allowed to use a fancy name for it. This is the best rice pudding I've ever made and ever tasted. Using the medium-grain rice transformed the pudding to a glossy, textured creaminess, and delightful dish. A dish that I've eaten for breakfast 3 days in a row (and for dessert).

This isn't your typical mushy, flavorless rice pudding that is lollipop sweet. Hopefully you can tell by the pics that it's just so darn shiny. I'm a bit fascinated with it. The grains of rice are still complete and not ripped and turned into a porridge.

Most of you know I've been trying to eat better, so I used skim milk, which makes it virtually fat-free. It wasn't quite as rich as I'd like, so I poured 1 tablespoon of half and half over the top of each serving. It really did the trick, while only adding 20 calories....yeah me!

During the cooking, I used 1/4 cup of sugar, but it wasn't enough. Once it was done, I sprinkled 3 tablespoons of brown sugar over the top and stirred it in...¡perfecto! I prefer Saigon cinnamon, so that's what I used for this recipe, along with a seductive whisper of ground bay, making perfect spice companions.

Arroz con Leche

Yield: 4 cups

4-5 cups skim milk

1/4 cup sugar

1 1/2 cups medium-grain, Spanish, or Mexican rice

1 tsp. Saigon cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground bay

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla

4 Tbsp. half and half, garnish

Boil the rice in about 3-4 cups of water with 1 tsp. salt for 20 minutes. Drain the water and add the milk, sugar, vanilla, ground bay, cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Simmer, stirring frequently, for about 20-30 minutes or until the rice is tender and the mixture is creamy. If the rice isn't done but it's too dry, add more skim milk in 1/4 cup increments until the rice is done. Serve each portion with 1 Tbsp. of the half and half.

P&P

2009-08-16T09:42:00.008-05:00

As promised, I am going to tell you about my fabulous meal at Restaurant Iris a couple of weeks ago, celebrating my 37th birthday with friends Jennifer & Ben, Lisa & Scott, and my hubby, Kevin. My birthday was actually the week before, but it's the only time we could all get together and it was a good enough excuse to go to our favorite place...not that we ever really need one. Lisa and Scott were Iris virgins, so it was a real treat to see how much they enjoyed it.

I started with a Pimm's Cup cocktail....then the food just started rolling in. We tried to order from the menu, but they know what we like at Iris so they just started bringing food out. First there were 2 platters of fried oysters, baked oysters, a "grilled cheese" (cold smoked salmon, brie, olive, and creole mustard), lobster knuckle sandwich, natchioches (meat pies with lots of clove and a sauce Jennifer and I could drink it's so good), short rib raviolo with brown butter & mushrooms, and New Orleans style BBQ shrimp (again with a sauce that one can drink or sop up with enough bread to feed a small country).

We skipped our usual brussel sprout salad because of the massive quantities of appetizers we had just shoveled in. Our entrees consisted of 2 orders of the gulf jack with harissa "cafe au lait", 2 New York strips stuffed with more fried oysters & blue cheese (or Gouda if you're Kevin and you don't like blue cheese because you're abnormal), a ribeye with a truffle bordelaise that should be served in a glass, and pork tenderloin with beet greens, cornmeal pasta, and maque choux. All were perfect. There's not much else I can say but that our tongues were dancing and our faces were shining with delight.

Dessert: chicory creme brulee, coconut sorbet, malted chocolate shake, honey almond ice cream, blood orange sorbet, and cassis sorbet. Yummy! I could have skipped dessert but I'm so glad I didn't. The honey almond ice cream was awesome and so was Lisa's brulee.

So I'm sure many of you are wondering where the "Pancakes & Porn" reference from earlier this week came from. Well it's all Scott's fault. Apparently there is a movie out there that has "porn" in the title but isn't about porn. I can't remember what it's called. Regardless, it all went into the gutter from there. First we talked about our porn-given names: you take the street you were raised on as your first name and your first pets name as your last name and there you have your porn-given name. Mine was Brandy Welchshire. I don't remember who, but someones name was Heavy Juicy...pretty good right?!

Anyway, it just went on from there. Everyone was asking what I was going to write my next blog entry about and I said I was thinking about the pancakes. Then someone shouted, "Pancakes and Porn." We all agreed that evening at Iris should always be referred to as the Pancakes and Porn evening. Then someone suggested t-shirts with Pancakes and Porn on the front and a bed logo on the back with "Breakfast in Bed." So there ya go. It was a funny, delicious, and happy meal with good friends. I couldn't have asked for a better celebration of getting older.

Perfect Pancakes

Yield: 20 pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup melted butter or canola oil, optional

1 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk, milk, or water

2 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

Blend all the ingredients together and cook on both sides on a griddle.

Other People's Food

2009-08-11T19:18:00.011-05:00

Just thought I'd write a quick post to let you know that I cooked for most of the day today and made some really great things by other people (mostly Cooking Light): Chicken Souvlaki by Cooking Light, Brownies by Saveur, Basil-Lime Sorbet by Cooking Light, and Homemade Basil Pesto by me. Can you tell my basil needed to be used? Yes... I'm aware that making things from Cooking Light doesn't balance out the brownies :(

Here's the adjustments I made to the Souvlaki: I didn't use pita, not because I didn't want to, because mine had freezer burn. I also used fat-free feta, fat-free plain yogurt, and half the amount of the dill (using dried) for the sauce. I also seasoned my raw chicken with the ingredients listed, using fresh garlic, and roasted it in the oven at 425 for 20 minutes on top of the called-for onions. That's it. No pic for this one...we ate it and I forgot.

For the Brownies: I left out the espresso beans it called for and the espresso, as these were mainly for my children and I really didn't feel like padding the walls so that the caffeine could allow for spastic bouncing. This picture isn't pretty, but when it comes to brownies with frosting who really cares?!

Basil-Lime Sorbet: I made it according to their directions. My sister-in-law and I were deliciously happy when all the kids decided they hated it! Yippeeeee!

Don't you just love a good label maker?! It makes me feel way more "Martha" than I really am.

Homemade Basil Pesto:
Yield: 1 quart

4 cups fresh basil leaves, packed
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
4-6 garlic cloves
1-2 tsp. salt, depending on taste and saltiness of the cheese
1 tsp. ground pepper
1/2-1 cup olive oil, depending on how thin or thick you like your pesto
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Puree all the ingredients together until smooth. Separate out into 1-cup portions in freezer-safe containers and freeze for up to one year. Thaw in the frig overnight.

Don't worry, I'll be posting the Pancake recipe later this week!

Hummus

2009-08-08T11:42:00.008-05:00

Hummus is one of my favorite go-to recipes. Whether I need it as an appetizer for unexpected guests or for a snack to have on-hand for our family, it's just one of those things that's good with everything. We shmear it on Melba toasts, dip carrot & celery sticks in it, use it as a mayonnaise or protein substitute for roasted or grilled veggie sandwiches, or as a dip for other cut up raw veggies. There's a ton of recipes out there for hummus, but I'm a purist with this one. I've tried them all and I stick to my never-changing 7 ingredients. The picture above is my husband eating hummus at our favorite pizza place, Mellow Mushroom.

I know I haven't been posting as frequently and I apologize to you all. Summer has kept us busier than I expected and trying to eat less than 1500 calories hasn't left me very inspired. Check out this link for my Un-fried Chicken & Eggplant Parmesan that I made a couple of weeks ago. It was really yummy and we didn't miss the fried breading at all. I'm pretty sure the cheese on top had something to do with that.

Next week I'll be posting a recipe for pancakes that will knock your socks off. I'll include stories from my birthday dinner at Restaurant Iris that everyone humorously titled, "Pancakes & Porn: Breakfast in Bed." I promise I will explain that...and no, it doesn't involve all of us watching porn! Everyone decided that we needed a t-shirt to commemorate the evening and a recipe for the blog to bring it all together. It was a superb evening that involved a ton of the most delicious food Memphis has to offer, rib-cramping laughter, and amazing friends to share it all with.

Hummus

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

1 can chick peas/garbonzo beans, drained

1/4 cup tahini

1/4 cup lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup excellent olive oil

1 tsp. kosher salt

2 garlic cloves, medium-sized

Puree all the ingredients together until smooth. Serve with chips, veggies, crackers, or pita. It's best after being refrigerated for 2 hours or more.

kēēn-wŏ

2009-06-15T12:53:00.007-05:00

Recently I have been craving cold summer salads of all kinds. While searching the pantry for ingredients for my next salad adventure, I found some quinoa (kēēn-wŏ). Originating in South America, quinoa is an edible seed that is used like a grain or cereal and is high in protein and fiber. I used to use this at The Peaks in Telluride in a roasted vegetable terrine. It was really yummy, full of roasted zucchini, yellow squash, red bell peppers, eggplant, and quinoa. We served it with a smoked tomato vinaigrette. That's sounding really good too, so I'll have to play with it and see if I can manage a recipe.

See, IT"S NOT DEAD!

For today I knew I wanted a sweet and sour taste, so I made an easy vinaigrette with equal parts sugar and vinegar and then some olive oil. Since the quinoa and my chosen bean, black-eyed peas, cooked for the same amount of time, I just boiled and drained them together. Fresh basil leaves from the herb garden outside that I have managed not to kill, added a fresh summer bite. I tossed in a few other pantry ingredients and let it marinate for 3 hours. This was so good that we fought over who got to take the leftovers for lunch. I won!

Quinoa & Black-Eyed Pea Salad
Yield: 2 quarts
Serves: 12

1 cup quinoa (couscous, rice, or small pasta will work too)
1 small bag frozen black-eyed peas
¼ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup sugar, brown sugar, honey, or granulated calorie-free sweetener
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 green onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
8 basil leaves, torn or chopped
2 tomatoes, diced

1 cup frozen or canned corn
¼ cup pimentos, drained

Boil the quinoa and peas together in 8 cups of boiling, salted water for about 20-30 minutes or until the peas and quinoa are tender; drain. In a large bowl, mix together the vinegar and sugar until dissolved. Add the rest of the ingredients, including the peas and quinoa, and toss to combine. Let set in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours but it tastes better if it sets overnight. If using couscous, rice, or pasta instead of the quinoa, cook it according to its specific directions, separately from the peas, and combine after they are cooked.

Quinoa before it's cooked.

Tropicalorie

2009-05-29T12:02:00.012-05:00

I've recently been trying to get a bit healthier after a couple of high cholesterol-heart episodes with both parents. My genealogy just isn't helping on either side. I've always considered myself pretty knowledgeable about food and what's good for you and what isn't. Knowing these things doesn't mean I eat, or don't eat, accordingly.

I thought I'd do a test and do something I've never done before....count calories. What a nightmare! I found a calorie-counter online and was completely surprised with the amount of calories I was eating. If this is what 1500 calories looks like and it's only lunch-time, I'm in big trouble. I must have been consuming over 3,000+ calories a day.

So, why am I telling you all this? Anyone who knows me, knows I'm a very angry hungry person (did I just admit that?), so this calorie-counting process had to be about developing, testing, and uncovering recipes that actually tasted delicious. I don't like the taste of paper, so I'm not going to eat anything that resembles it just because it's low-cal or low-fat. And if you can't tell by now from this blog, I'm a sucker for a good muffin. I like muffins, because they are the right size, filling, and easy to manage on-the-go.

This recipe for Tropical Muffins is a twist on a zucchini-pineapple quick bread I found online. After many substitutions and additions, I was stunned that these weren't bad for me. The recipe made so much batter that I had enough for 12 muffins and a loaf!

Tropical Muffins
Yield: 2 loaves or 24 muffins

3 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 eggs
2 egg whites
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 cups mashed ripe, almost brown, banana
1/2 cup canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (20 oz.) can crushed pineapple, drained
1/3 cup shredded coconut flakes (sweetened or unsweetened)
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Preheat the oven to 325. Mix together the eggs, egg whites, sugar, banana, oil, vanilla, pineapple, and coconut. Stir in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until combined. Pour evenly into greased/sprayed pans. Bake for 1 hour for loaves or 15-20 minutes for muffins.
Calories (per muffin/slice):187; Fat: 6g

A Perfect Meal

2009-05-16T10:49:00.011-05:00

(Click here to listen)

This past Mother's day I had the delightful amusement of cooking with my girls while Kevin managed the grilling of shrimp and chicken sausages.

We started with these Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts, in the above picture. They are my favorite dish right now. I crave them all the time and can eat them straight-from-the-frig cold. If my mother had cooked brussel sprouts this way when I was a kid, I wouldn't have missed years and years of their delightful, earthy, smokey pleasures. I suppose I should save that kind of bitterness for a therapy session....

I first had a version of these brussel sprouts at my favorite restaurant, Restaurant Iris. Its chef, Kelley English, was voted one of the top new chefs of 2009 by Food & Wine magazine (we are so proud of him)! His brussel sprouts are more of a salad with a sherry vinaigrette and local bacon. I like to roast brussel sprouts with balsamic or sherry vinegar at the start and then another drizzle after coming out of the oven for a splash of tartness with all those condensed caramelized bits.

I have to say that Kevin performed perfection at the grill that Sunday. We almost didn't have to chew the shrimp they were so tender. A physical alliteration of "melt-in-your-mouth good." I did a simple marinade of crushed garlic cloves, basil from the back yard, olive oil, and red pepper flakes.

I've decided that kids will eat anything if it's been skewered. I guess it's the novelty of something cooked on a metal or wooden rod. Maybe we'll experiment with all the things they think they don't want to eat like lamb or some crazy fish to see if they'll eat that too. (Note to self: using kids for my personal food experiments might be the second indication of need for therapy...call Dr. Martin).

We drank virgin Piña Coladas from a Williams-Sonoma mix I bought on clearance last fall. I'm not going to lie....I missed the rum. They were frothy and icy and the perfect beverage to accompany our meal together, which would have been even better with rum.

Dessert was Emma's idea. She's 8 3/4's (can't forget the 3/4's, ever) and wanted chocolate turnovers, but wasn't quite sure what that meant, but knew she wanted chocolate in "dough." Maybe I have a protégé after all. We placed our chocolate chips in the pastry diamonds and enjoyed watching them go from flat to puffed with the help of a psychedelic oven light that needs replacing. They were quite tasty with the ice cream on top; reminiscent of days in Paris over 8 years ago.

It was the perfect day sustained by the perfect meal.

Bacon Roasted Brussel Sprouts
Serves: 6-8

1 pound brussel sprouts, trimmed & halved
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 Tbsp. balsamic or sherry vinegar
3 strips good quality bacon, chopped
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2-1 tsp. pepper (depending on taste)

Preheat the oven to 400. Place the brussel sprouts in a baking/roasting dish and toss with the olive oil, bacon, salt, and pepper. Drizzle on 2 Tbsp. of the vinegar and toss. Roast in the oven for 20-30 minutes, stirring once. After they come out of the oven, immediately drizzle with the remaining 2 Tbsp. vinegar.

Beautiful

2009-05-10T14:51:00.005-05:00

(Click here to Listen)

Today I received breakfast in bed with pancakes that spelled out "I ♥ Mom." The husband got very crafty with an empty squirt bottle and pancake batter. He was quite pleased with himself; very cute. The pale blush roses that accompanied my breakfast are beautiful.

I've been "spa'd" by my two amazing girls. I have more lotion on me than should be medically allowed in one sitting. Brown and gold eye shadow was swept all over my face making for a very creepy bronzing event. I'm pretty sure I've consumed half a tube of lipstick from the accidental application to my teeth rather than lips. Hopefully we haven't done permanent damage to our lungs (or my hair) from the billows of hairspray. Even with the possible hair breakage, lung destruction, and lipstick ingestion, I wouldn't trade this day for anything.

Tonight I'm cooking with "help" from the wee little chefs. I wanted some of my favorite things: bacon roasted brussel sprouts, basil grilled shrimp, fingerling potatoes, corn on the cob, and chocolate turnovers. I'll be posting the recipes and pics later this week.

Pound "Crack"

2009-05-05T16:28:00.014-05:00

After an insanely busy week working/cooking, you'd think I wouldn't want to step foot in a kitchen, but I guess I was wanting to cook for me. I decided I would bake a pound cake layered with sweetened strawberries and cream cheese whipped cream. A shortcake of sorts.

Since I can't cook "small" anymore (after 5 years of cooking for thousands, it's hard to cook for under 100), I made two batches: one batch made 24 muffin-size pound cakes and the other batch made 3 small bundt cakes. One bundt would be for dessert at home tonight and 2 bundts claimed space in the freezer for teacher appreciation day next week. The muffin-sized cakes are in the freezer too, for a last minute dinner party dessert or a whoops-look-what-fell-out-of-the-freezer-and-into-my-mouth treat.

I used a friends pound cake recipe but changed it a bit with some Jiffy Cornbread mix. I wish I had had my camera when she took a bite, her eyebrows curved in uncertainty, and I told her the part about using Jiffy in her already divine pound"crack" recipe. I'm calling it pound"crack" because it's so addictive....and no, I've never used crack...it's just an adage people. I'm guessing she thought it was pretty good since we almost (notice I said "we") attacked the one I had saved for someone else. I wonder if it will still be there tomorrow?

Lemon Cornmeal Pound-Short Cake

Yield: 1 large bundt, 12 muffin-size, or 2 small bundts

For the cake:
3 sticks unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese
3 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. lemon extract (or 2 tsp. lemon zest)
3 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup Jiffy cornbread mix
For the strawberries:
2 pints sliced strawberries, stems removed
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. water
For the Cream Cheese Whipped Cream: (a version of the Easter Strawberry Cream Cake)
4 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup sugar
2 cups heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease or spray your pan/pans. Beat the butter and cream cheese for the cakes until light in color. Add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Mix in the flour and Jiffy until combined. Pour into desired pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. While the cakes bake, mix the sliced strawberries, sugar, and water together and set aside. Whip together the cream cheese and sugar for the whipped cream filling. Add the heavy cream, slowly. Whip the heavy cream-cream cheese-sugar mixture until fluffy and whipped like whipped cream. Let the cake/cakes cool completely and slice in half horizontally. Layer with the strawberries then the cream then the second cake layer. Top with the cream and then the strawberries.
Note: this cake may be made without the Jiffy by replacing it with all-purpose flour.

I'm Sick of Ham

2009-04-22T14:04:00.008-05:00

We had a ton of leftover roasted chicken breasts yesterday at church. Chicken salad came to mind. I'm done with ham for a while. I feel like Bubba in Forrest Gump describing everything I've done with my leftover Easter ham: ham salad, ham casserole, ham sandwiches, ham soup, ham gumbo, ham kabobs....

My boss usually makes her...rephrase that, makes us (her staff) make chicken salad with pureed chicken (nastiness), halved grapes, celery, mayo, dry ranch dressing mix, and sour cream. It's wildly popular but we are so sick of it that gagging in front of the 60 gallon boiling pot of raw chicken and its alien-yellow gathering foam, has me reeling in head-swaying acts of refusal. I've been trying to ween her off this for years and finally had my shot.

They always think that I "froo-froo-itize" things. If not whirring steaming hot chicken breasts in a robot coupe (industrial food processor) is considered froo-froo, than that's just fine with me cuz my name ain't Bubba (this is said in your best Forrest Gump accent). "Run, For-rest, run!"

Froo-Froo Chicken Salad
Yield: 4 cups

6 bone-in chicken breasts
1 cup good quality mayonnaise
4 green onions, chopped
4 celery ribs, minced
2 large cans mandarin oranges, drained
1 cup toasted almonds (slivered or sliced)
2 Tbsp. Dijon or grain mustard
Salt and pepper, to taste

Season the chicken with salt and pepper and roast in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until cooked through. Cool the chicken, pick the meat off the bones, and chop into 1/2-inch chunks. In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise and Dijon. Add the celery, green onions, mandarin oranges, and almonds to the chicken and add some of the mayo-Dijon mix according to how saucy you like it. Season with salt and pepper.

Easter or Anytime

2009-04-15T17:45:00.014-05:00

I have to say that Easter was pretty tasty. What I like about the menu was that it was simple yet versatile enough to prepare anytime, not just Easter. I participate in recipe-testing with Cooks Illustrated and they just happen to send a recipe for Cherry-Port Glaze for ham, although it would pair nicely with pork, chicken, lamb, or duck. Three ingredients can't be beat for simplicity and ease of preparation for that glaze. It was sweet, a tad tart, and had the color of crimson stained glass...gorgeous.

As you might have learned from my previous post, the buttermilk mashed potatoes went sailing down the drain, for the most part. I completely forgot about them and they overcooked. However, I have happy news that they were salvageable. I just let them sit there with their buttermilk and butter friends until the mixture became happy again. Even though I enjoyed the redeemed potatoes, I would have preferred some heavy cream to cut the sharpness of the buttermilk. The next day I threw in some green onions and cheddar cheese, promptly renaming them "loaded mashed potatoes" so that the kids would eat them...again. The sweet-sauteed carrots were the saving-grace veggie at the table. They were tender and sweetened with a kiss of honey.

Now for that broccoli-cheese cornbread. The picture sure does make it look good. It was gross, really gross. I realized my mistake as soon as I mixed it together. Starting with a traditional Southern cornbread recipe is fine. It's adding frozen chopped broccoli that hasn't been seasoned that led to it's demise. I will definitely saute the broccoli with some onion, salt, and garlic next time (I adjusted the recipe to reflect this).

But I think what everyone is probably wanting is news about the Strawberry Cream Cake. While I was whipping the cream cheese and sugar, then drizzling in the heavy cream, I was saying to myself, "this seems like a good idea, but I'm just not sure how it will taste." I can admit when I'm wrong. Wow! This Cooks Illustrated frosting has a texture like no other and is less sweet than a typical butter cream (no fat grams saved, thanks to the heavy cream). This might be my new favorite frosting, icing, pudding, dip, or whatever this is. My co-workers were eating the leftovers with a spoon (you know who you are).

Outside of great food, minus the cornbread, our church blessed us with a very uplifting and touching service. I've linked a video of the service just so everyone could see the finale and feel the hope that everyone surely left with, especially in these economic times. Hope's pastors, staff, volunteers, and congregation are like no other. What a blessing to have a church whose namesake speaks volumes.

Cherry-Port Glaze:
Yield: 1/2 cup (adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

1/2 cup cherry preserves
1/2 cup port
Pinch salt

Simmer all the ingredients together until reduced by 1/2. Spread on ham at the end of cooking.

Broccoli-Cheddar Cornbread:
Yield: 9-inch skillet or 12 muffins or 8x8 pan

4 Tbsp. oil
1 cup self-rising flour
1 cup corn meal
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup melted butter or oil
1 cup frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup minced onion
1 garlic clove minced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 Tbsp. oil (for sauteing broccoli)

Preheat the oven and cast iron skillet to 450. Meanwhile, saute the broccoli, onion, and garlic in 4 Tbsp. of oil with the 1/2 tsp. of salt and pepper. Cook until the onion is golden. Cool slightly. After the cast iron skillet in the oven has been heating for 10 minutes, pour 4 Tbsp. of oil in the pan and swirl around the bottom. In a bowl mix together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, eggs, buttermilk, salt, melted butter, and cheese. Add the broccoli mixture and stir to combine. Pour into the skillet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through.

Honey Carrots:
Serves: 6

8 carrots
4 Tbsp. butter
4 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup water

Saute the carrots in the butter and salt. Add the water and honey. Cover and cook until tender.

Strawberry Cream Cake:
Yield: 9-inch 2-layer cake (frosting adapted from Cooks Illustrated)

1 box white cake mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup warm water
2 eggs
1/4 cup oil or melted butter
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sliced strawberries
1/4 cup sugar
8 ounce cream cheese
2/3 cup sugar
2 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

Preheat the oven to 350. Spray two 8 or 9-inch cake pans with nonstick spray then line the bottom with parchment; then spray the parchment. In a bowl, mix together the cake mix, sour cream, water, eggs, oil/butter, and vanilla. Pour equal amounts of the batter into each cake pan and bake for 20 minutes or until cooked through. Cool the cakes completely (I put them in the freezer to speed this up). Meanwhile, puree the strawberries with the sugar and set aside. In a standing mixer, whip the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Slowly add the heavy cream and then turn the mixer up to medium-high to whip it like you would whipped cream. Once it forms stiff peaks it's ready to use. When the cakes are cool, slice the rounded tops off the make for an even surface (now you have a snack). On the bottom layer, spread the strawberry mixture on and then top with some of the whipped cream frosting. Add your second layer and frost the entire cake. Sprinkle the top with coconut. It's best to make this 1-2 days in advance so that the cake can continue to moisten.

Easter Afternoon

2009-04-12T15:48:00.012-05:00

It's 3:30 in the afternoon and completely black outside with thunder booming and window panes clattering (these pics were right before the rain). There are serious storms headed this way, but I wanted to make sure I posted a couple of pictures before I finished making Easter dinner and before we lost power. Around these parts, one can whistle loud and the power will blink. Gotta find the flashlights...

I tested a few recipes this year for Easter from other sources and will be putting them all up this week. You can look forward to Cherry-Port glazed ham (Cooks Illustrated), buttermilk mashed potatoes (I tried microwaving them....the picture above speaks for itself...they were so water-logged they went through a fine mesh seive), broccoli-cheddar cornbread, glazed carrots, and strawberry cream cake with toasted coconut.

mason roger valentine trying to hunt for eggs

Rat-Uh-Who-We What?

2009-04-07T17:46:00.025-05:00

I’m pretty sure that pizza is the perfect food. Yeasty, crunchy crust, gooey cheese, tangy sauce, and scattered toppings of choice...what’s not to love? Pizza is like a bare canvas waiting to be composed and spoiled with endless embellishments, as long as you have a great crust to support it.

This pizza crust recipe is made in a mixer, rises in an hour, and stretches, rolls, or, ahem, flies in the air easily. I don’t have the time or the talent for rising and punching and rising and punching, especially when it comes to dinner. The rim of this crust is crispy yet has a chewy & inflated center and the foundation becomes crunchy while staying soft, but not soggy, under the sauce and cheese.

I used to use bagged shredded mozzarella cheese, but have recently switched to fresh, sliced mozzarella. We don’t use it all the time, but lately we have very much enjoyed its melted, bouncy strings that cling to our chins and the giggles that come with its sticky embrace.

We make homemade pizzas now just about every other weekend. Small ones, baking-sheet-size rectangle ones, and we even turn the dough into bread sticks or knots for sinking into pizza sauce. The kids usually make cheese-only pizzas with an occasional sprinkle of bacon, but we grownups go for a combination of bacon, mushrooms, pesto, jalapenos, feta, and spinach. This is a version of our favorite pizza called the Magical Mystery Tour at Mellow Mushroom (I’m so glad we don’t have one in Memphis because I would surely weigh more than 300 pounds).

Recently I made a huge batch of ratatouille and decided to scatter some of it on our last homemade pizza, along with some bacon, spinach, and roasted tomatoes. Man...I love bacon…anyway…I might have a new favorite pizza!

Ratatouille Pizza
Yield: Four 8-inch crusts or Two 11x16 crusts

For the dough:
6 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp. kosher salt
2 packages of active dry yeast (1/2-oz. total)
1 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups warm water

Mix together the water, oil, honey, and yeast; set aside. Meanwhile, in a standing mixer with a dough hook, mix together the four and salt. Add the water-yeast mixture and mix with the hook for 7-10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover, and leave in a warm place for 1 hour or until doubled. Punch down and form into desired size/shape. Once the pizza is assembled, bake on a preheated pizza stone or a parchment-lined baking sheet in a preheated 450 degree oven for 10-20 minutes, depending on size of pizza and amount of toppings used.

For the sauce (optional):
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 garlic clove, sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. oregano

In a small saucepan, heat the oil and add the garlic. Cook the garlic until fragrant but not browning. Add the tomato sauce, basil, and oregano. Simmer for 10 minutes on very low heat.

For the ratatouille (optional):
1 small eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 zucchini, cut into half-moons
1 small red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and chopped into 1/2-inch squares
4 Roma tomatoes, quartered, seeded, and cut in half again
1 Tbsp. cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. honey
Salt and pepper, to sprinkle
1/4 cup olive oil

Preheat the oven to 450. Toss all the ingredients together and season with salt and pepper. Place in a greased roasting pan or on a lined/greased baking sheet. Cook until the vegetables are soft and fully cooked. Move them around a bit while cooking to promote cooking evenly. It may be left as is, or 1/4 of the mixture may be mashed a bit then mixed with the other veggies. If it's too dry, add a bit of the pizza sauce.

Best Cupcakes

2009-04-04T07:53:00.014-05:00

If you've been out of your house in the last year, than you've probably seen cupcake shops popping up all over the place. I don't frequent them, but I do have a crush on cupcakes. They're a sublime 6 bites of cake and icing. For some reason, annihilating multiple cupcakes isn't accompanied with too much guilt, but eating a second piece of cake leads to an unforgivable world of making sure I get on the treadmill....twice.

I recently tested out David Lebovitz's adapted recipe for Showgirl Cupcakes to take on a field trip with my daughter and her class. Nigella Lawson , from whom the recipe was adapted, has her version in her cookbook Nigella Bites.

Both recipes are tasty, but I prefer a little less sugar than his, due to the peaks of frosting on top. I'm going to go somewhere in between his 2/3's cup and her 7 Tbsp., compromising at 1/3 cup sugar and a touch of honey. These "compromised" cupcakes have no need for frosting to complete their summit. But then, isn't that a muffin and not a cupcake? Oh no...no, no, we must make buttercream. Me, myself, and I didn't seem to experience any altercations in eating them with AND without frosting.

Honey-Vanilla Cupcakes
Yield: 12

1 stick butter or margarine, softened
1/3 cup sugar
3 Tbsp. honey
2 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
3/4 cup self-rising flour
2 Tbsp. water

Preheat the oven to 350. Beat the sugar, honey, and butter until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, water, and vanilla; mix well to combine. Add the flour and mix until there aren't any lumps. Spoon batter in a muffin tin lined with cupcake papers, about 2/3's full. Bake for 15 minutes.

For the Buttercream Frosting:
2 sticks softened butter or margarine
1 tsp. vanilla
2 Tbsp. honey
1/8 tsp. salt
1 pound box powdered sugar

Whip the butter or margarine with the vanilla, honey, and salt until light in color. Add the powdered sugar, on low speed, and whip until fluffy (add 1 tsp. of milk or water at a time, if it's too stiff). Leftover frosting may be frozen for future use (bring to room temperature and re-whip, when ready to use again).

Music On Mission

2009-03-31T17:53:00.024-05:00

I wanted to tell everyone about an event coming up this Friday (4/3/09) at Newby's at 7p.m. It's a fundraiser for the poverty-stricken of Quito, Ecuador. Music On Mission was started by the person who led my first mission trip, Tucker Strickland.

Going to Ecuador on a mission trip began when I started volunteering in our church kitchen in 2004, which eventually led to my teaching cooking classes there as a way to raise money. Tucker was working in the kitchen then too, as well as leading trips to Ecuador to help with the construction of a new school in Carmen Bajo, an extremely poor town just outside of Quito. Jennifer (my boss at the church) and I decided that the Carmen Bajo school would be a perfect place for the cooking class funds.

Tucker and Jennifer were headed on a mission trip to Ecuador, along with almost 80 other people, to start and finish the second floor of the, eventual, 4-story school. I had no intention of going since it was "Christmas"-time (July 4th weekend) for my husband's concrete company. However, God had a different plan for me and it worked out that I was able to go on the trip.
me & kids in Carmen Bajo / ceiling of the 2nd floor of the school

It was the hardest work I've ever done. I was actually making homemade concrete, of all things. No more getting angry at my husband for wanting to take a shower after work, even if we are running late to get somewhere...lesson learned! It was back-breaking, tearful, high-altitude, and some of the most fun I've ever had! I've never been so completely happy being so filthy. I had rocks, dirt, and sand in every possible place: my scalp, nose, eyes, ears, bra, underwear, shoes, socks....everywhere and it was wonderful.

Our lives, including the people of Carmen Bajo, were changed forever. When you see a community living in such poverty and need but with an attitude of happiness just for being alive, you see all of us with hearts renovated, eyes unlocked, gratitude, and a longing for change. Jennifer and I came back to the U.S. with one intention: raise as much money as we possibly could to finish that school.

Thanks to Tucker's prodigious leadership and contagious passion for the people of Ecuador, we came home and started Dinner On Demand one month later. Not only did DOD help to finish the school in 2006, but it also continues to fund international missions and local needs all over Memphis.

I hope everyone will go out this Friday to Newby's and support Tucker's new organization, Music On Mission. Come listen to some good music, chat with friends, and see how God has truly used and blessed Tucker with the ability to help, lead, and guide others into changing the world. Oh, and a donation would be great too! Thanks!

Carmen Bajo Empanadas

For the dough:
2 cups all purpose flour
3.5 oz. butter, softened
1/2 tsp. baking powder (the school kitchen lady called this "boom")
½ cup warm water
½ tsp. salt
1 teaspoon sugar
For the filling:
¼ pound tomatoes, chopped
½ small onion, chopped
½ bell pepper, chopped
½ pound chicken, grilled and shredded
2 Tbsp. butter
Pinch turmeric

Mix all the dough ingredients together and add enough of the warm water, just to combine. The dough should not be tacky or sticking to your fingers. Roll the dough into small balls and roll each ball out like a pizza crust, about 1/8-inch thick. Meanwhile, sauté the vegetables for the filling, season with salt and the turmeric, and drain. Add the chicken to the vegetables and combine. Heat a deep sauté pan with at least 2-3 inches of vegetable oil, to about 375 degrees. Place some of the filling in each round, leaving enough room to fold over and crimp the edges. Fry the empanadas until golden brown. Serve with your favorite salsa.

Sunday Experiment

2009-03-29T13:38:00.014-05:00

Earlier today I came across a video online at The New York Times.com. Mark Brittman was cooking up something he'd had in Spain called a Tortillita (it's so much fun to say, isn't it?). It's an egg-less pancake, of sorts, that he dotted with shrimp and used chickpea flour to make the batter. My pantry is pretty well-stocked, diverse, and international, but even I don't have chick pea flour just setting around.

I threw caution to the wind, turned a DVD on for the kids, and danced my way into a Sunday afternoon in the kitchen. After taking some Chocolate Covered Raisin cookie dough out of the frig to warm a bit (more on this recipe in a future post) for baking later, I set to making my version of a tortillita, that I've renamed: Southern-Style Pan-Cake (make sure you say pan with an accent, sorta like Paula Deen would, ok, ya'll?). Mr. Brittman's recipe was a great inspiration, but it turned into a totally different creature in the end.

This batter will look like a thin pancake or cornbread batter and, if you watch Mark Brittman's video, isn't quite as thin as his, being compared to heavy cream. Since I used a combination of corn meal and all-purpose flour, I doubled the amount of baking powder so it's scientific magic wouldn't be weighed down by the corn meal. I used a good quality canned salmon, minced green onions, & garlic. Then, after practicing my pan-flipping technique, I squeezed lemon wedges over its crispy exterior for a clean and fresh twang. All I can say, is that I thoroughly enjoyed my time in the kitchen today, experimenting, flipping, cooking, and eating a really yummy lunch.

My brain is spinning with the limitless possibilities this Southern Pan-Cake batter has inspired. If you use a super hot griddle, you could make mini pan-cakes for a cocktail party (roasted corn & shrimp, maybe?) or a sweet version using berries & lemon or apple & cheddar or pear-bacon-Gorgonzola. Also, they would make great vehicles, transporting all sorts of savory or sweet toppings on a ride to your mouth. Happy Sunday, ya'll!

Southern-Style Salmon Pan-Cakes

Yield: 4 pan-cakes/tortillitas (6-8 inches each)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 cups water
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
2 Tbsp. minced green onion
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup good quality canned salmon, drained
Lemon wedges, optional garnish

Peanut Oil, for cooking

Mix all the ingredients together, except the salmon. Let set for 5 minutes. Stir again and add more water, if needed, to make the batter more like a thin cornbread batter. Carefully stir in the salmon. In a 6 or 8-inch non-stick skillet, heat 3 Tbsp. peanut oil. Pour in the batter, about 6-8 ounces. Let it cook for 4 minutes on one side, then flip it to cook another 4 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges. Substitutions of any kind of meat or seafood may be used or neither. Feel free to use any kind of herb you like and any type of onion (shallot, red onion, chives, white/yellow onion, etc.). You can also turn this into a sweet pan-cake/tortillita by adding 1/4 cup sugar to the batter. As you can see, this batter is very versatile, but try not to use ingredients that will add more liquid to the batter.

My House Smells! (In a very, very good way)

2009-03-26T08:53:00.009-05:00

I wish everyone could smell my kitchen right now! I just finished cooking Arroz con Pollo, chicken with rice, and I had to sit down immediately to write about it. The aromas are reminding me so much of my time in Spain that I think I was actually smiling while I was cooking just now. Browning chicken, melting onions and peppers, sharp tingles of garlic and vinegar, and bright florals from the oregano, just kept me squealing about how good this was going to be for dinner. My 4-year old kept checking in on me in the kitchen to make sure I was OK. I don't really know what she thought I was doing in there, but she had the most curious look on her face.

Anyway, after I put the rice in and let it cook for a bit, I was just so delighted at the beautiful color and texture of the rice. It calls for a medium-grain rice or pearl rice, found in the Hispanic aisle, usually. You can use the long-grain rice, but the texture is totally different. I keep thinking about how my friend, Belinda, and I would walk the streets of Barcelona looking for treats. No one in Spain really eats on the same schedule as Americans do, so we forced ourselves to wait for dinner, not knowing that dinner in Spain is usually after 10:00 p.m. We managed to find a wine cellar that sold us wine directly into our empty water jugs from the barrells themselves. We lugged them back to the hostel and managed to forget all about dinner, our howling stomachs, and, unfortunately, our behavior, which is another story all-together.

We followed our noses to a place with a courtyard that had tons of locals...we knew we had the right spot. Just like when you are looking for a good Chinese place, if Chinese people are filling the place up, then you've hit the jack-pot. Our Arroz con Pollo was one of the most memorable meals I had in all of Europe (outside of the Pakistani food in London). Tender and flavorful rice, chicken that actually tasted like chicken, chunks of tomatoes, leaves of oregano, and just a little bite from an acid of some sort (maybe white or red wine vinegar) enveloped my nose and turned my palate into a crazy-high water slide of saliva and excitement. Divine!

I adapted this recipe from one I received in an email from Cook's Illustrated. Their recipe calls for green olives, capers, pimentos, vinegar, and olive oil that coats the chicken before serving. Having kids, I knew this wouldn't fly. I used the pungent olive-caper mixture as a garnish and optional condiment. I also substituted a few other ingredients.

I wish my kitchen could smell like this every day...

Arroz con Pollo

6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar
8 bone-in chicken thighs (skin optional)
2 Tbsp. olive oil, plus more for sauteing
1 onion, chopped
1 green or red bell pepper, chopped
10 ounces canned crushed tomatoes
2 cups chicken stock
3 cups pearl or medium-grain rice
1/2 cup green olives, chopped
2 Tbsp. capers
1/2 cup diced, jarred pimentos

Marinate the chicken in the garlic, olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper, and vinegar for 2 hours. Meanwhile, in a large dutch-oven-type pot, saute the onion and bell pepper until soft and starting to turn golden brown. Push it to the side and add the chicken, skin or flesh-side down, until golden brown (about 5 minutes) on medium-high heat, then flip and brown the other side. Add the stock and crushed tomatoes, scraping the bottom of the pan to get all the brown bits. Add the rice and half of the olives and capers. Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook for 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 and after the 20 minutes, put it in the oven. Stir after 15 minutes and then cook another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and place the rice in a serving dish with the chicken on top. Mix the remaining olives, capers, and pimentos with 1/2 Tbsp. olive oil and 1/2 Tbsp. sherry vinegar; use as a garnish. You may toss the cooked chicken with the olive-caper-vinegar mixture before serving, if desired.

Orange-ya glad I didn't say banana?

2009-03-22T19:34:00.009-05:00

On a recent trip to my local mega-wholesaler, I came across Cara Cara Navel Oranges. I really didn't care anything about them accept that they were $7.99 for a bag of 12 and they were, more importantly, seedless.

We had given up on oranges here in my household. They've become so expensive, flavorless, and brimming with seeds. Seeds are not a good companion to a 4 and 8 year-old. So I lugged my beautiful orange globes home, peeled one open, and took a bite. I think I actually heard bells ringing around me. Ohh, it was seedless, beautifully seedless, easy to peel, ruby-pink on the inside, low in acidity, and delicious.

I ended up taking 3 peeled Cara Cara's on a recent and unexpected all-adult road trip. We all devoured them, wanting more. Our sticky fingers were a driving and riding complication. I usually don't go anywhere without the baby wipes. Having kids does this to a person. Now, everyone making fun of me for my baby-wipe-toting ways in the past, were cowering in needful wanting for something moist to excavate their hands of orange debris. Now who's laughing...?

I actually went back to the store the next day and bought them all a bag of Cara Cara's with a travel-size package of baby wipes. Really this "thoughtfullness" on my part was more so that they would eat their own and not mine.

Our family went through 8 oranges in less than 3 days. We're going to have to start up CCNOA (Cara Cara Navel Oranges Anonymous...I feel like Rachel Ray right now- why have an abbreviation for something if you're going to explain it?). Apparently these are only in season till the end of March, so I hope everyone can find and enjoy them before they're gone until winter. Here's a link to some info on these navel oranges. Enjoy!

Rise or Not To Rise...

2009-03-18T09:24:00.011-05:00

I recently came across a recipe for Potato Bread in a Cooking Light Magazine. I always run... very fast... not looking back... hair flowing in the wind, from anything that calls for yeast. It's just something that I've never been good at. I think it boils down to patience.... and the fact that I wasn't born with that gift (my kids and husband can vouch). It really is a gift, both patience and bread-baking.

Usually when I become brave enough and put my big-girl panties on and go for it, it does one of two things: it rises, it's beautiful, and it leads to twisting and turning the recipe into new experimental bread endeavors... or, it falls flat (pun intended) and it goes in the garbage. I live just outside of Memphis, so I know humidity is not the issue. No, I'm pretty clear this "rising" incompetence has nothing to do with the weather, the yeast freshness, or the procedure. It's definitely me.

This recent reproduction of the Cooking Light Potato Bread turned out beautifully. We ate two loaves in 1 week. I decided I would try the same recipe but with sweet potato (leftover from the cupcakes). I also substituted a bit of white-whole wheat flour. It was a tad more dense, but still came to a rise, and tasted great (especially toasted with honey and butter). However my creativity turned it's back on me and became cruel with these two words: Cinnamon-Raisin.

Now see, here's where they would freeze-frame the movie and the narrator would make some quip and then they would rewind the movie so that the characters could start over with different dialogue that the narrator had referred to during the freeze-frame. I should have stopped while I was ahead.

My Cinnamon-Raisin venture was flat and inedible, verifiying of a couple of things: don't fix it if it ain't broke (that's said with the Southern-most twang imaginable) and a Chef and a Baker are very different things. Not that I'm trying to justify my failure (yeah right).

That Potato Bread recipe just wasn't meant to be tampered with. It was perfect all on its own. I might try the sweet potato substitution again, but right now I'm happy with my new biceps after all that kneading. On to new things....

Original Potato Bread

Upside-Down Goodness

2009-03-15T10:17:00.012-05:00

You'd think, being a Southerner and having gone to culinary school, I would have made a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake before.....never! This cooking adventure started while taking our 8-year old out for a special dinner a few days ago. We went to Central BBQ for ribs (I've now switched from Corky's to Central as my fave). We went to a place called Sweet for a dessert treat. What does that name say to you? Bakery, desserts, cookies, pastries, maybe confections? Oh, they had desserts...in a case...about 8...and a decent dessert & food menu. But the restaurant was dark with flittering candles, looking a bit too melodramatic for our impetuous sugar fix. That's when I saw the full name of Sweet Bistro. That's also when my daughter saw a mini pineapple upside-down cake and wanted it as her treat. We decided not to stay and pay $10 for the cake, plus tip, plus tax, plus all that ambiance lost on kids, plus getting home waaaayyyy after bed-time. We opted, instead, for cookies, M & M's, and egg-shaped chocolate candy-coated malt balls at Mamaws house down the street and with a pinkie-promise we would make a Pineapple Upside-Down Cake together on the weekend. Well, it's Saturday and I did promise....

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Yield: One 10-inch cake

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup light brown sugar
One 14-oz. can crushed, sliced, or chunk pineapple, drained but not dry (juice reserved)
2/3 cup sugar
8 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup cake flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice
Whipped cream, toasted pecans, and maraschino cherries (optional garnish)

Preheat the oven to 350. In a 10-inch cast iron skillet, melt the 6 Tbsp. of butter. When melted, add the brown sugar and let come to a low boil (medium heat) for 1 minute. Spread or lay the pineapple in the brown sugar to cover the entire bottom of the pan. In a large bowl, beat the 8 Tbsp. of butter with the 2/3 cup sugar until light in color, about 4 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla. Add both the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, pineapple juice, and buttermilk. Mix to combine. Pour the batter into the skillet on top of the pineapple. Bake for 35 minutes or until the center comes out clean when a toothpick is inserted. Cool for 5 minutes and invert onto a cake plate. Serve with toasted and chopped pecans, whipped cream, and a maraschino cherry.

Sweet Potato Recipe Contest

2009-03-14T10:32:00.002-05:00

I decided to enter my very first recipe contest! I've never been able to do this before because professional chefs are typically excluded. This contest prohibits "full-time kitchen professionals." I only work 10-15 hours in our church kitchen and write a bi-weekly food column, so they said I was good to go. You'll have to pardon my newbie excitement, but...this blogging thing has opened up a whole new world! Since I'm just beginning my blog-journey, I've been constantly reading and following one blogger's favorite sites to another's, and so on and so on. I eventually get so far away from the original blog I was reading, that I have to start from the beginning. That's how I ran across the sweet potato contest at Sweetbytes. I've put my contest recipe entry for Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting below. This recipe is a combination of two of my favorite things: cupcakes and brown butter. If you want to add a touch of crunch, try sprinkling the frosted tops with candied-spiced pecans.

Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Brown Butter Frosting
Yield: 24 cupcakes, 1 loaf, One 9x13 cake, or 48 mini cupcakes

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
3 Tbsp. honey
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sweet potato baby food or canned sweet potatoes (drained & mashed) or 1 cooked & mashed sweet potato
2 cups white-whole wheat flour (or half whole wheat, half all-purpose)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground cardamom or nutmeg
For the Brown Butter Frosting:
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
4 cups powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin pan with cupcake liners (or spray a loaf/cake pan with non-stick spray). Cream together the butter, honey, & brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and the sweet potato. The batter might look curdled, but it will come together once the flour is added. While the mixer is off, add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, & cardamom/nutmeg. Mix on low speed until combined. Place batter in the cupcake liners, 3/4's full and bake for 10-15 minutes. Cool completely before frosting. For the frosting: melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat until browned, about 4 minutes. Beat the cream cheese and pour the hot butter over it, on low speed. Turn up the speed and beat until smooth. Add the vanilla and salt, mixing to combine. Add the powdered sugar and beat until fluffy. Frost the cupcakes once they are completely cooled. These will keep in an air-tight container for up to 1 week.

Here's the recipe I like for Candied-Spiced Pecans (courtesy of Allrecipes.com). I add 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper to it for an extra kick.

Opening Day

2009-03-09T10:55:00.002-05:00

Right now I'm surrounded with memories of stomach flips, sweaty palms, and mass confusion, similar to the first day at culinary school or giving birth (both times) or opening day at that first restaurant. My nervous hands are comforted by the backspace button and my excited mind is churning with thoughts.

So, grab a glass of tea (or something else, depending on your time zone) and let's start opening day with a short story about my daily food dilemma: dinner.

Being a chef, people automatically assume that we've got dinner in the bag, and I don't mean take-out. Well...OK, sometimes I do. Having all this culinary knowledge can mean your demise at home, especially with kids. I mean, they just aren't going to eat things with truffle foam or rutabaga puree or anchovies. Of course, that would insinuate that I actually cook that for them...I think not!

I too, stand at the pantry waiting for inspiration to jump off the shelves. That refrigerator isn't any help either, unless I was looking to decrease my frontal skin temperature by 5 degrees. Don't get me wrong, it's a blessing to be a chef, but even this chef-mom needs quick, easy, and delicious recipes for at-home dinners. Let's start tonight with ingredients you probably have in your pantry for a meal that's fit for a family or a dinner party. I know, I know, shrimp isn't really a pantry item, but I happened to have some in the freezer from a gulf coast trip and thought I'd throw it in. If you don't have shrimp, go vegetarian with this and just add the smoked paprika to the sauce. Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Pasta with Smoky Shrimp
Serves: 4-6
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup skimmed evaporated milk
1 garlic clove, sliced
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 tsp. oregano, chopped (or 1/2 tsp. dried, crushed)
1 Tbsp. basil, chopped (or 1 tsp. dried, crushed)
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 pound pasta, cooked and drained (any size)
For the shrimp:
20 large shrimp, peeled, deviened, tail-off
2 tsp. olive oil
Salt and pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to broil on high. Meanwhile, heat the 2 Tbsp. olive oil in a small sauce pot. Add the garlic and cook on medium until fragrant but not turning color. Add the crushed tomatoes, oregano, basil, salt, and pepper. Simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and add the evaporated milk and Parmesan cheese. Make sure to dry the shrimp with paper towels, then toss the shrimp with the 2 tsp. olive oil, salt, pepper, and smoked paprika. Place the shrimp on a metal cooling rack that's been placed on top of a foil lined sheet. Broil the shrimp on each side for 2 minutes. Toss the sauce with the pasta and shrimp. Sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese and more fresh basil, if desired. This is also good with garlic-sauteed broccoli florets or roasted, sliced zucchini.

About Me

2009-01-23T15:53:00.030-06:00

Before receiving my Culinary Degree in 1995 from Johnson and Wales University in Norfolk, VA, I had to complete an externship at the restaurants of Keystone Lodge in Keystone, CO. Once I was official, I came back to Memphis, worked at a local French-American restaurant (Bistro 122), and tuned into an episode of Lifestyles of the Rich and the Famous. During the show, I was bewitched with The Peaks Ski & Golf Resort & Spa in Telluride, CO. I faxed them my resume, got hired over the phone, and moved to Telluride 2 weeks later to work. I floated among the stations of grill, saute, salad/desserts, room-service, while also managing a 1-month stint on the mountain as a ski-lift operator to earn extra money (Telluride was and is very expensive).

I left Telluride to travel for 2 months in Europe, with the original intention to take at job offer at The Ritz Carlton in London. Since I hadn't attained work visa's before leaving the USA (who knew?), I wasn't eligible to legally (that's the key word) work at The Ritz. So...I spent every dime I had and bounced around 10 different countries with a good friend from Keystone. I moved back to Telluride and became the Executive Chef at a local restaurant, Swede-Finn Hall. It was a hard, but fulfilling job and my first as a head chef.

After my, now, husband proposed at the lovely Sheridan in Telluride with snow falling all around us, I moved back to my home town of Memphis, TN, got married (going on 12 years), and had 2 daughters. I worked in restaurants around Memphis, opened a catering business, taught cooking classes, consulted & opened 2 restaurants for other people, and started writing a bi-weekly food column for our local newspaper.

While continuing to write the column, I currently work part-part time (that's what you say when it's less than 15 hours/week) at Hope Presbyterian Church in Kitchen Ministries with a meal assembly fundraiser, Dinner on Demand, and anything else that has to do with food.

I started Morsels and Moments to capture a persistent nudge to write about food, eating, cooking, & all the escapades that cling to them. It has also opened an avenue for sharing recipes, thoughts, short stories, & food-related happenings from the front lines of my kitchen. I'm truly blessed to have found a career I love and a family that supports it, and the fact that they get fed on a regular basis probably has nothing to do with that!?
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photo taken by hayden on a mission trip i led to costa rica 2008

me & the kids in carmen bajo, ecuador... 2006 mission trip (the trip that started dinner on demand)

mason roger valentine