Out with the old, In with the new

Just got back from a much needed jog after a week of vacation binge eating and drinking.  We did make some fabulous things while I was galavanting the globe.  Sad to say, everyhting was consumed at record speed and there are no photographs to prove the existence. 

We were relaxing up at my Auntie Nancy's lakeside estate.

She has a spectacular garden with an abundance of herbs and vegetables.  In an effort to feed ourselves before the daunting 2 hour trip back to the big city of Chicago, we decided on BLEFGTs.  Whatever am I talking about?...you may ask.  A snappy new version of the time honored sandwich the BLT.  We added flair, of course, and had bacon, lettuce, egg, and fried green tomatoes on ours.  Boy oh boy, did our creativity pay off! 

In this scenario, it certainly helped that we were able to pluck the green tomatoes fresh just steps outside of the door.  In the meantime, I layed the bacon strips, 2 per person, on a baking sheet and placed them in the oven at 350.  I turned them over once, about half way through.  This is really the cleanest way to cook nice crispy bacon.  We sliced the green tomatoes thin.  Note: green tomatoes are much firmer than a red tomato.  You may not think they are ready to eat; but they are.  Next, we utilized the standard breading procedure.  The standard breading procedure should be used when breading anything: fish, chicken, eggplant, zucchini, and so on. 

You will need three vessels; a shallow, bowl, pie tin, or something comparable works best.  In the first dish, place flour seasoned with salt and pepper.  In the second dish, whisk up eggs with a dash of water.  In the third dish, you place your breading.  This can be the usual breadcrumbs, or panko, or something wild like corflakes or crushed crackers.  Carfeully coat your item to be breaded in each dish. Shake off excess flour, then cover with egg, then coat evenly with breading. Try your best to designate a wet hand and a dry hand so you don't ened up with stubby club fingers. 

We then browned our tomatoes in a saute pan with olive oil.  I toasted some english muffins brushed with butter in the oven, then topped them with the bacon, an overeasy egg, crisp romaine, and the hot fried green tomatoes.  Bon appetite! What a yummy brunch item.  I highly reccomend giving it a whirl and sneaking these extra veggies into your morning meal. 

The day we returned, my cousin blew into town on business so I wanted to cook a tasty lunch before his flight home.  After I racked my brain, I developed the idea to make tuna potato cakes.  Kinda like a crab cake, kinda like potato pancake; call it what you will; I call it easy and delicious!  In addition, you may just already have all of these items at home.

I shredded up three potatoes on the box grater, and squeezed out all the excess water.  I mixed them up with three cans of tuna, diced celery, diced red onion, , 2 eggs, salt and pepper, and 1/2 cup flour.  I formed them into cakes and browned them in olive oil.  In a seperate bowl, I whisked up sour cream, mayonnaise, lemon zest, lemon juice, thyme, and salt and pepper to make a creamy lemon herb drizzle.

I layed the cakes out on a platter and drizzled them with the sauce.  It looked lovely and they dissapeared quickly.  This is a perfect way to jazz up cheap ingredients.  Crab is expensive; tuna is cheap.  It can still be awesome!  Just elevate it with presentation, some fresh tasting citrus, and herbs, and voila!  Of course, you could add or remove things from these cakes.  Bell peppers, green onions, and parsley would be nice.  You could use celery root, or parsnip in place of the potato, or, no potato at all. 

These are two examples of old recipes or classics revamped to make something fabulous and new.  You probably have something in your repetoire that you could add one or two ingredients to and surprise everyone.  What are some classic recipes that you would like to see reworked?  Any ideas but don't know where to start?

Snazzy side dishes

We just got our second bountiful basket last weekend.  

http://www.bountifulbaskets.org/ 

This time around, we got potatoes, spinach, lettuce, celery, plums, grapes, mangoes, pears, nectarines, corn and bananas all for $15.

 

Are you tired of eating the same 5 to 10 meals on repeat?  I know I am....even as a chef, my repertoire becomes redundant from time to time.  Immediately, I had to get clever to figure out how we were going to use all this stuff up!  Making do with what you have is an instant catalyst for creative cooking.  For my first snazzy side, I decided to make potato pancakes.  Potato pancakes are a delicious way to serve potatoes and get away from the usual routine.  Start by shredding the potatoes on a box grater.

Sprinkle the shredded potatoes with kosher salt to draw out all the water.  In the meantime, mince up red onion, celery, and garlic.

Squeeze all the extra moisture out of the shredded potatoes and place in a mixing bowl with celery, onions, and garlic.  Mix together with 1 egg and 1/4 cup flour.  Season with pepper, and thyme.  

Heat some olive oil in a large saute pan and form mixture into patties; fry until crispy on each side.

Serve warm garnished with sour cream.

In this rendition, I used celery because that's what  I had available.  These are also really good with shredded zucchini in the mix or with the potatoes by themselves.  I sauteed up the fresh spinach with garlic, salt and pepper and grilled off some New York Steaks rubbed with lavender seasoning. A lovely summer meal!

Nearly everyone on earth loves fresh sweet summer corn.  Since the bountiful basket delivered up 5 ears, I knew I could whip up a snazzy side.  This idea came from a popular Mexican treat of having corn on the cob brushed with mayonnaise and then sprinkled with chili powder, lime juice, and cotija cheese.  Well, this method produces and extremely delicious and extremely messy corn on the cob.  I decided to bake it as a casserole to keep the mess down.

First, husk the corn, and grill it until slightly charred. 

Let it cool, and carefully remove the kernels from the cob by shaving them off with a knife.  Stir up the kernels with mayonnaise, sour cream, lime juice, chipotle powder, and cotija cheese.  Pour into a baking dish, top with panko and bake until heated through and bread crumbs have browned.  Panko is a Japanese style breadcrumb with a light flake style texture.  You could make this dish with frozen or canned corn but the charred flavor from grilling the fresh cobs really adds something.

I served this up with some grilled chicken thighs and it was zesty and scrumptious. 

You could add a million things to this roasted corn casserole: bacon, cilantro, and peppers are the first to come to my mind.  Get clever with your side dishes and don't get stuck doing the same ole' same ole.'

What are your favorite side dishes?  Is there a main course item that you're not sure what to accompany it with?

Mix up breakfast

Breakfast can be the most difficut meal of the day, in my opinion.  Often, it is hard to create a delcious and balanced meal early in the morning.  Maybe it's just a struggle for those of us who work at night...

You may or may not have seen the new plan for Americans, replacing the old "food guide pyramid," and "my pyramid," the "my plate."

http://www.choosemyplate.gov/

Basically, "My Plate" suggests that half of your plate should be occupied by fruits and vegetables.  More often than not, breakfast becomes solely a carbohydrate fest: waffles, toast, cereal, fruit, and so on. 

Blending can be a great way to incorporate some things you wouldn't usually have in the morning and it provides a quick portable solution. Last year, we received an awesome blender for a wedding gift. 

Now I should preface this by noting that this isn't your ordinary blender.  This is a commercial style blender that could essentially puree a beseball bat if you so choose.  These run somewhere in the neighborhood of $400 but they sure do the job right! 

Yesterday, I awoke to the buzzing of the Vita-mix, and was greeted with a creamy green treat from my husband.  He blended non-fat strawberry yogurt, kiwi, and celery.  That's the trick, you see.  Throw in some veggies! Celery, kale, and lettuce, are all good choices.  You don't even taste it when it's mixed up with all that other stuff. 

There are no rules when blending.  If you can dream it, you can blend it.  Just be careful with your fruit portions.  You don't want to blend up way more fruit than you would ever eat in one sitting.  Use mangoes, oranges, berries, bananas, pineapple, peaches, carrots, celery, kale, lettuce, yogurt, milk, ice, and more.  Also, the difference between blending and juicing is that with blending, you are still eating all of the fiber.  This leads directly into my next point; drinking blended fruit and vegetable smoothies will keep you regular or jumpstart you if you're not. 

Kevin also made some hard boiled eggs to go along with my green goddess smoothie. 

For absolutely perfect hard boiled eggs, place the eggs in a sauce pan with water.  Place them on the stove and turn on heat until boiling.  As soon as the water boils, turn off the heat completely and cover the pan.   Let sit for 12 minutes.  After 12 minutes, scoop out the eggs and shock in ice water.  

Some fresh herbs would have been excellent with either the smoothie or the eggs.  We have some baby sprouts just popping up and we are quite excited for the results!

What's your favorite smoothie combo? How do you like your hard boiled eggs?



Happy Hour at the New Chateau

Well, the house is really coming together.  We are STILL waiting on shutters, which in turn, means we are waiting on window treatments as well.  Regardless, the landscaping is complete in the backyard.  Stay tuned for project gardening!  We plan to plant some herbs and vegetables...

In the meantime, we decided to host our first official happy hour.  We had over my husband's coworkers with their kids and some of my friends as well.

The Menu

Shrimp & Scallop Ceviche

Balsamic Chicken Skewers

Spicy Sausage Toasts

Spinach and Artichoke Dip with Sourdough Crostini

Assorted Crudite

Chips & Salsa

Pomegranate Blueberry Lemonade

Pretzel M&Ms

I wanted to keep the fare as finger foods but maintain a fairly hearty menu for all the boys!  I also had to keep the kids in mind.  I started with thinking about a beverage (this was a happy hour afterall, and libations were a must).  I bouht some crystal light lemonade and some ocean spray pomegranate blueberry juice and mixed them together for a very pretty, very refreshing summer beverage.  This was perfect for kids and adults and provided a wonderful mixer to go along with vodka or rum.

The spicy sausage toasts are a major crowd-pleaser.  Everyone always asks how its done and its very simple.    You need some HOT ground sausage like Jimmy Dean or something comparable.  You cook it up and stir in garlic and herb creamy cheese.  I usually use Alouette or Rondele cheese.  It looks like this:

Then, you spoon the mixture onto rye bread and bake approx 20 mins at 350.  Its nice if you can find those miniature loaves of cocktail bread but I couldn't so I sliced marble rye in half.  

For the ceviche, I chose shrimp and scallops.  You could also use lobster, or fish.  You need raw seafood to make ceviche.  It is ok if it is frozen but it can't be cooked and frozen.  First, thaw if frozen, then chop up seafood into a small dice size.  In this particular version, I added chopped cilantro, diced mango, fresno chile, red onion and diced avocado.   Fresno chile looks like a red jalapeno.  

Toss it all together and top with zest and juice from 3 lemons and 5 limes.  Keep in the refrigerator and toss sporadically for a few hours.  The seafood will become opaque as the acid in the citrus coagulates the proteins.  "Ceviche" is a method of marinating seafood.  It essentially becomes "cooked" without using any heat.  Drain off the juice and serve it with your favorite tortilla chips.  I personally like the multi grain.  That bowl disappeared quick!  

You could use other things like different types of chile, different fruit like papaya, grapefruit, watermelon, cantaloupe.  You could add bell pepper, cucumber, tomatoes, edamame and so on!  Its light, refreshing and very healthful for summer parties.

Another healthy and flavorful appetizer is balsamic glazed chicken skewers.  Start by thawing and dicing boneless skinless chicken breasts.  Cut baby bella mushrooms in half, and get some cherry tomatoes.  Soak some skewers in water before you start.  Dry skewers will burn easily when cooking.

Skewer the items, 2 of each piece, and season with salt and pepper.  Sear off with a bit of olive oil on a griddle pan, on the grill, or in a skillet.  In the meantime, reduce some balsamic vinegar slowly over low heat.  I threw in a sprig of rosemary to add some herby flavor.

When almost cooked, place on a sheet ban and brush with balsamic glaze, and finish baking in the oven.  Top with extra glaze to serve.  The balsamic reduction should thicken up and sweeten significantly as it reduces.  Keep it very low and slow so you don't burn it and give it a yucky bitter taste.  

The spinach and artichoke dip is far from healthful but delicious nonetheless.  Thaw a bag of frozen chopped spinach and squeeze out all the excess water.  Stir it together with 1 can of artichoke hearts, chopped, 1 cup of mayonnaise, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan and 1 cup shredded mozzarella. Bake at 425 for 45 minutes.  I serve it with mini slices of sourdough bread, brushed with butter, sprinkled with garlic and salt, and baked until slightly crisp and golden.  A mini crispy bread item is also know as a crostini.  You can also serve the dip with pita chips, pita bread, chips, crackers and raw vegetables, also known as crudite.  I had baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced cucumber for my crudite. 

On this particular day, I worked 8 - 4 then everyone showed up at 5:30.  You can throw these things together quickly!  However, I didn't have time for a goody so I just put out a bowl of pretzel M&Ms. It was a hit! The kiddos especially enjoyed them.  Also, I invested in some bubbles while I was doing my grocery shopping.  They were 50 cents and they kept those munchkins entertained for hours!  It is always nice to have something special to offer a kid...it doesn't have to be expensive.  

Whenever you are entertaining, write a menu.  Print it on a piece of cardstock and place it on a little easel or write it on a little dry erase board.  People love to see a menu! Furthermore, it adds a touch of class to any event.  Make sure you talk like a chef on your menu.  Use words like those noted in this blog: ceviche, crostini, crudite and so on.  Other fun appetizer words are: pouches, pockets, rounds, tarts, purses, cups, boats, or shots.  For example, you could serve chilled soup in a shot glass, then name it appropriately.  Aaagh, but that will be another day.

What is your favorite party appetizer? Do you have a fun name for it? Any struggles when entertaining groups?

Nothing bundt ease!

We've been working diligently on our new house.  Unpacking, organizing, hanging, wiring, painting, and so on.  We haven't had a chance to do any serious entertaining yet but we have had a few friends pop in to see our progress.

Saturday, my girlfriends stopped by to scope the new digs and for a little chat.  These girls are notorious for liking their sweets so I knew I had to whip something up to offer them.

Let me preface this by fully admitting, I am not a baker!  Baking is immensely different than cooking.  Most people make the false assumptions that chefs, especially female chefs, love to bake.  Most chefs suck at baking. Baking is like doing math.  It requires TONS of patience.  If you measure wrong, or open the oven at an inappropriate time, the whole thing is ruined and, usually, you have to start over.  When cooking,  if you mess something up, or it doesn't taste right, you add a little of this, a pinch of that and voila!

I decided on something light and summery: a lemon blueberry sour cream bundt cake.  First you'll need these:

I mixed up a box of lemon cake mix, 4 eggs, 1 cup or sour cream, and 2/3 cup blueberries.  I sprayed my bundt pan and poured it in....that was easy!

I baked the cake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.  I let it cool for about 15 minutes on top of the stove.

Meanwhile, I whisked up 1 stick of room temperature butter, the zest and juice from one lemon, and 1/2 box of powdered sugar.  I flipped the cake out of the pan and onto a pretty platter.

I slathered the frosting/glaze on top of the still warm bundt and let it melt down the sides.  I sprinkled a few more fresh blueberries on top to finish the presentation.

The girls loved it! They both went back for a second piece.  Making people smile, feel good, and say yummy, are all part of the joys of cooking.  I served a piece to my mom in the morning with coffee.  Great then too!

This was so easy, that even I could whip it up between all the chaos.  In order to be a successful baker, make sure you have everything you need before you start, measure your ingredients, and be patient.  It's worth the delicious smell of baked goods that will waft through your house.

Lakeside luncheon

On a recent trip to Northern Wisconsin, we landed at my aunt's cabin on Loon Lake.  Famished from a daunting* 2 1/2 road trip to this fabulous destination, we immediately rallied the troops to whip up a fabulous luncheon. 
*Note: joking...wasn't very long...we are just always ready to eat!)
This is the first key to success when feeding hungry troops: get yourself some sous chefs.  Even my sister, who is a self proclaimed kitchen dunderhead, was an unstoppable force at trimming artichokes. 

The menu:

Steamed artichokes with white wine butter sauce

Miniature Reubens

Assorted Wisconsin cheeses and summer sausage

Fresh fruit

Hummus and flatbread

Sausage and lemon pasta salad

Schezuan green beans

I cut the artichoke stems off at the base; then, my sister neatly trimmed the sharp, pointy tips off of the artichoke leaves.  Meanwhile, in a large stock pot, I sauteed some minced garlic in olive oil, sprinkled in some lemon zest* and deglazed with white wine.  I placed the artichokes upside down in the wine and added broth, fresh herbs, lemons, salt and pepper.  I covered them up and let them simmer for about 30 minutes. 

*Note: A microplane works best for zesting citrus.  It also comes in handy for hard cheeses, garlic, nutmeg and more.  It is used like this:

A must for every kitchen - and at about $14, affordable.

Next, I diced up and sauteed some bacon while my sous chef snapped the tips off the fresh green beans, also known as haricot vert. 

When the bacon was cooked, we sauteed the beans in the bacon fat and added a bottle of Schezuan chili sauce.  We sprinkled them with toasted sesame seeds and voila!  This is so simple and they were amazing.  The dish would be great to bring to a potluck or barbecue.  Very tasty!

My aunt whipped up some mini Reubens on rye bread with pastrami, thousand island, sauerkraut and Swiss cheese.  Also, super easy and delightful.

My other aunt worked on a lemony pasta salad.  It was so summery and flavorful.  She used chicken sausage, spaghetti, lemon, roasted tomatoes and garlic.

I cut the flatbread into triangles, brushed it with a bit of olive oil, sprinkled with sea salt and warmed in the oven.  I placed it on a platter with hummus, cheese, sausage, and fruit.  Perfect lunch nosh.

My hubby pulled out the artichokes, arranged them on a platter and finished the liquid in the pot with butter to create a dipping sauce for the leaves.  

Although we had a slew of goodies to eat, it all took about 45 minutes.  Furthermore, it was so fun to have everyone in the kitchen together.  Lots of fun banter and a bit of learning.  Lastly, we simply sat by the lake and enjoyed.  Cooking for a crowd does not have to be stressful.  Give your sous chefs a task...even kids.  Kids can be a great help in the kitchen.  They would have been able to snap the tips off the green beans perfectly.   Getting your family or friends involved in the cooking process makes the result that much more enjoyable for everyone!

 

Dinner for 1?

Often, dinner for 1 is much more complicated than dinner for a group.  People often get anxiety when they have a bunch of guests for a big meal.  In my opinion, it's much more difficult to formulate a fabulous meal solely for 1.  Or, you end up eating the leftovers from your fabulous meal for 5 days. 

In addition, it can be a true obstacle to muster up the motivation to cook just for yourself.  Additional obstacles include time and energy.  Most people have no desire to stand around the kitchen cooking when they just get home from work.

Just the other night, I overcame all of these obstacles to create something tasty just for myself.  And the real beauty?  The whole process took about 7 minutes!  This is another one of those scenarios where I used the ingredients I could find in the kitchen.  That means, at some point, I had to purchase said ingredients. 

I always keep uncooked whole wheat tortillas on hand.  You just brown them quickly in a dry pan so they taste fresh and chewy.  I use them for breakfast burritos, wraps, and quesadillas.  On this particular evening, I was going for a veggie quesadilla.  I rumaged around and found asparagus, yellow squash, tomatoes, and red onion.  I did a quick slice and dice and sauteed it all with a dash of olive oil, salt and pepper.

I browned a tortilla on one side, then placed my veggie mixture on the browned side, and topped with shredded cheddar.  I topped it off with another browned tortilla and place it back in the pan to cook the uncooked side of the tortillas and melt the cheese.

I cut up my quesadilla into 6 triangles and garnished with a dollop of salsa, and a dollop of low fat sour cream.  These tortillas are 110 calories each.  If you use part skim cheese and non/low fat sour cream, you are talking about a totally satisfying dinner for well under 500 calories!

Remember, dinner for one can be quick, easy, and nutritious.  It doesn't half to be a bowl of cereal, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, or a hot pocket.  Other options for inside this quesadilla include ground turkey, chicken, zucchini, peppers, beans, corn, spinach, and more.  The options are endless.  You could also do something like pears or apples and brie in a quesadilla.  YUM-O!