Main course

Friday Night Chinese in One More Snowstorm

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Green Onion Pancakes .. or you could call them Spring Onion Pancakes.

Last summer, before I went away to school for two months, I picked up a little book called QUICK & EASY CHINESE by Nancie McDermott; photography by Maren Caruso (San Francisco:  Chronicle Books, 182p., 2008, $19.95).  I had every good intention of using the summer, where I’m cooking away from my own kitchen (and need easy recipes),  to drum up some great Asian dishes.  I thought I’d increase my Asian cooking skills, which are nil, and also make great use of the St. Paul, Minnesota Farmer’s Market.  A little extra in the way of vegetables wouldn’t hurt us.

Well, the book came along for the ride, packed with my music books and one Ina Garten cookbook.  What I didn’t know was that the courses I had chosen would take over my whole life and I would be lucky to eat at all. Ha.  Of course, Dave and Emily pitched in when they saw me working night and day, but we didn’t get to the Chinese. More’s the pity.  Back home came the book in August.  Boohoo.  Dave loves Asian food and I am so stuck in French and Italian (or other Mediterranean) meals.

Occasionally, I’d grab the book off the shelf and start to whip something up only to find I had no Black Bean Sauce or fresh ginger.  You must make a commitment to Asian food in your pantry as well as in your cookware.  Though, truthfully, the cookware can be fudged. Ginger can’t.  A few months went by before recipes began to be chosen, the appropriate condiments purchased and  stored, and we finally began to cook from the sweet little book.  I should say that I shopped and Dave cooked.  He is, after all, great at chopping and using a wok.  Among many other things.

Meantime, this week we have taken a few days off for “spring” break.  Even went out to The Summit at the Broadmoor (another blog–how wonderful).  Snow just kept arriving every other day or so, despite plans for a trip to Denver, to the movies, etc.  So, we just stayed home and warm…cozy up on the mesa.  What a spring.  Obviously time to try another great Chinese meal.  All the time in the world as the snow flew and the wind and the dogs howled.

So here is the menu (this is the second or third one he’s tried) and then some pics from Dave’s  Friday night foray into QUICK AND EASY CHINESE… I’ll put in one recipe at the end, with appropriate credit to Nancie McDermott.  Thanks a lot….  Check out her book.

  I love Chinese in the snow.

menu:
Egg Flower Soup, page 38
Green Onion Pancakes, p 39-40
Broccoli with Ginger and Garlic, p 127
Almond Chicken, p 49 (Cook’s note:  We added a bunch more vegetables here because we had them.)
Rice

wine:  dry riesling (German)
dessert:  none

                                                                      (Two-Dog Ktichen Above!)

Green Onion Pancakes (Taiwan street-food flatbreads)

1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
3/4 c water
About 1 T vegetable oil, plus 3T for frying
1T salt
1/2 c thinly sliced green onion

*Med bowl:  combine flour and water. stir well to mix and turn into soft dough.
*Lightly flour work area and your hands, and then scrape the dough onto the floured work surface.  *Knead the dough for 5 minutes, turning and pressing to form it into a soft, smooth dough.  Cover the dough with the bowl and let rest 5 min.
*Divide the dough into 3 portions, cutting it apart with a butter knife or pastry scraper.  Leaving the other two portions covered while you work, place one portion on the floured work surface, and roll it out into a big, round pancake, 6-8 inches in diameter.
*Use about 1t of the oil to lightly and evely coat the surface of the pancake.  Sprinkle it with 1t of the salt, and then scatter about 1/3 of the green onion over the pancake.
*Starting with the far edge and pulling it toward you, carefully roll up the pancake into a plump log.  *The soft dough will need a little coaxing, and it won’t be perfectly even, but that is just fine.
*Shape the log into a fat spiral, turning the righ end toward you to make the center and curving the remaining log around it.  Tuck the loose end under and gently but firmly press to flatten it into a big, thick cake.  Using your rolling pin, roll it gently into a 7-in pancake.  The green onion will tear the dough and poke out here and there, but that’s not a problem.
*To cook, heat a heavy, medium skillet over medium-high heat until hot.  Add about 2 t of the oil and turn to coat the bottom of the pan evenly.  When a pinch of the dough and a bit of green onion sizzle at once, place the pancake in the hot pan and cook until handsomely browned and fairly evenly cooked on one side, 2-3 minutes.
*Turn and cook the other side for about 1 min., until it is nicely browned and the bread is cooked through.  Use the remaining dough to roll out, season, shape, and cook two more pancakes.  Use additional oil as needed.  Cut into quarters, and serve hot or warm. (QUICK AND EASY CHINESE, by Nancie McDermott.)

Cook’s note:  This is a bit salty in a good way…If you are watching your sodium intake, you should cut the salt accordingly.  Dave cooked these 1/3-1/2″ thick and they were done and chewy like fat flatbread.  If you’d like a tender, more quickly cooked pancake, roll them out thinner and cook quickly.  I thought they might have been good with a soy-ginger sauce for dipping…a la Asian dumplings.  These are a little time-consuming, but not much.  Might be fun to take somewhere as an appetizer…They are fine at room temp and could be transported all-ready-to-go cut in a cloth-lined basket.

Also, some people call green onions “scallions,” and some call them “spring onions.” 

Sing a new song; eat green onion pancakes,
Alyce
—————
In Memoriam—

Lois June Valentine
 
                 June 28, 1917-March 20, 2010

Ever ready for a new adventure, she’s now on the ultimate trip.

Potato Soup and Irish Soda Bread

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I had a farm in Ireland…….
——————————————————————–
Not.  I did, however, visit once.
I wish I could go back.
I can’t go today, but I can make Potato Soup and Irish Soda Bread on
St. Patrick’s Day……
———————————————————————–
I’ve been making this meal for a long time.  I love it, but I don’t make it any other time of the year.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps it wouldn’t be special if I made it, say, in May or September.  You, however, have no holiday strings emotionally strumming over these recipes and could make them next week or next year.
Go you.  So, here’s the soup………..and then the bread–
Happy St. Patrick’s Day!
…
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Potato Soup

  • 2 slices of bacon, diced; 1/4# Canadian bacon, chopped*
  • 2 onions (different kinds are nice), chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, minced
  • 2 leeks, chopped
  • 3 large pototoes, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1 turnip, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces
  • 1 parsnip, peeled and cut into 1″ pieces, optional
  • 6-8 cups unsalted chicken broth
  • Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
  • 1/2 c Greek yogurt or sour cream
  • parsley or dill
  1.  In an 8-10 quart soup kettle, saute bacon until about half-done; add Canadian bacon.  Cook until well browned.  Remove meats  from pot and drain on paper towel-lined plate.  Cool and  refrigerate until you’re going to serve the soup. 
  2. Pour out all but enough bacon grease to coat the bottom of the pan well.  Add onions, garlic and leeks and saute until almost golden, stirring often.  Add potatoes, turnip and parsnip and cook 2-3 minutes until hot.  Add chicken broth.  Bring to a  boil and lower the heat.  Simmer until all vegetables are soft, about 25 minutes.  Salt and pepper to taste.  
  3.   Puree in food processor, with hand-held blender or by hand using potato masher.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream, a bit of the bacon and ham and a garnish of fresh parsley or dill.  Make sure there’s fresh ground pepper at the table.
    *You could choose to use all bacon.
  4. Printable recipe for both soup and bread below the bread recipe.
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…
There isn’t much better than soup and bread anywhere.  If you’re cold.  If you’re really hungry.  Can you think of anything better?  I have a friend whose husband doesn’t like soup,  Just doesn’t like it at all.  He did, however, eat soup at my house once.  And asked for the recipe later.  Such folks are few and far between.  Who doesn’t walk in a house, smell soup simmering or bread baking and go, “Wow!  It just smells so good in here.”  And, while we can’t always put our fingers on what makes us happy in life, we do know we like it when the house smells like something good to eat.  Those  “Wow”s come with big smiles and anticipatory movements that include looking around for the delighting elements.  So, here’s the bread.  More on the provenance later.
…
…
Irish Soda Bread – American Style
  • 4 cups flour
  • 1/4 c sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 cup butter, cold, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
  • 1 1/2 cup currants or raisins
  • 1 1/3 cup buttermilk (+ 2-3 T, if at altitude)
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  1.  Grease a 2qt  round bowl (ovenproof), casserole or  deep cake pan. Alternately, line a baking sheet with parchment paper for a free-form loaf.
  2. Preheat oven to 375F.
  3. In food processor, or large mixing bowl, measure dry ingredients and mix well.  Cut in with blade attachment or with knives or pastry blender, the butter. 
  4. In a large mixing cup, whisk together the buttermilk and eggs; add the currants and baking soda.  Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix well to form a very wet dough. 
  5. Turn dough out onto a floured board and knead briefly.  Shape into a round loaf.  Turn out into the prepared baking bowl or onto baking sheet and bake for about an hour  (or a bit more)  until bread is very well-browned and firm in the center.  A wooden skewer stuck in the middle of the bread should come out clean.  You may have to test several times.
  6. Let this bread sit 15-20 minutes before cutting or it will crumble.  Cool completely before wrapping tightly in foil and storing in the refrigerator.  Will keep 3-4 days.
  7.  Excellent leftover just as it is, but even better for toast made under the broiler. 

{printable recipe for both soup and bread}

 

Me and the green.
—
A couple of notes on the provenance of the recipes:
I began (and later changed) the potato soup years ago from a recipe called  “A Cold Winter’s Day Potato Soup” from THE EASTERN JUNIOR LEAGUE COOK BOOK, edited by Ann Serrane and published by David McKay in ??1980.
The bread recipe is one I have no idea about from whence it came.  It’s on a recipe card I’ve had for so many years.  I’d guess I copied it out of a magazine or a book at the library one day as a young wife.
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THE TWO-DOG KITCHEN IS REALLY SOMETHING ELSE AS TUCKER HITS FOUR MONTHS……
While we are making the potato soup, Tucker tries to figure out if he likes onions skins.   Nah….
Sing a new song,
Alyce
all photographs copyright Alyce Morgan 2003 and 2010

Saving your Sole in a Fish Bowl

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        “I might have been a goldfish in a glass bowl for all the privacy I got.” 
                                                                                            — Saki (Hector Hugh Munro)

I don’t know what I was thinking.
I guess I thought I knew better. (I didn’t.)
Maybe I was confused by both interstates being shut down at once.
Go Colorado.
Or I was over the top because a student had transposed a small, but two-handed piece of music into six or seven different keys, including B major.
Or, I knew, and just had to see for myself.  Like a child.  Hmm.  More likely.

Anyway, I did one of those unthinkable culinary things.   Or, I went outside the fish pond.  I took some sweet, thin sole and poached it in a chunky, bit of heat tomato sauce.   Yes, I did it.  Well,  I tried to make it a, we might say, gentle tomato sauce.  I could barely manage it.  Capital “T”-  Tiny piece of garlic, not toooo much onion.  Sweetened with an adorable, small carrot complete with top, and a bit of Colorado honey (something we do well out here.)  I cooked some risi (tiny pasta like rice) and sat the whole shebang along side it.  Was it good?  Yes.  Was it a home run?   Not the best of them. Did I eat it?  Decidedly.  And I’m blogging it because?  Because maybe we should blog the things that aren’t perfect.  That aren’t what the rest of the world thinks of as the best ideas.  Maybe we should keep on keeping on…and change our soul–I mean sole.

(*Note two days later:  I tried this again so Dave could eat some for lunch and adored it on second take.  I used no fresh basil in the sauce and put, instead, the 1/2 t Herbes de Provence.  I have revised the recipe.)

Did I mention the sole was $6.99 a pound and fresh?  (As fresh as fresh is in CO.)  Or that I had zucchini that had to be used?  Husband gone; quick fish meal in order.

Now I love sole in the regular ways.  A little flour, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, into the butter bath…out again,  squeeze the lemon into the butter, pour it over the fish, and serve it topped with parsley.  I do, I do, I do love it.  The mildness of it is its beauty.    I also like it just barely kind of grilled in a skillet with only a little olive oil and salt and pepper.  I know very well that I need something hearty like snapper to stand up to the treatment I desired.  I can’t claim I did the dumb thing because I live in a land-locked state.  I’ve lived all over.  In other words, sole is delicate and must be treated like it.  Falling apart easily, it won’t make it through any rough handling or bull-in-a- china-shop flipping tactics like tuna or salmon.  Cook quickly, slide a large thin fish spatula underneath and slide it onto a warmed plate.  That’s how you deal with sole.  There are some some people who must be treated similarly…  Another blog.

But I keep having this dream of fish poached in vegetables and I’ve been successful with it a few times…albeit with other fish.  I mean, what more could you want than fish poached in vegetables when you’re trying to be healthy, eat well, and still want to cook and eat gorgeously?  The grilled salmon and salad  or asparagus is nice, but it gets old.  It does.   I think you have more options on either coast; our available fresh fish is limited unless you can afford Whole Foods fish prices a few times a week.  I make a grilled tuna topped with marinara and served with orzo with spinach and raisins.  I hit up Whole Foods for that one and make it for my sister’s birthday or for my wine group.  Every day?  No, I’m like the rest of the world; I’m looking for bargains.

So what was this like?  It was a little like a shallow bowl of very thick, yummy soup with some fish and baby pasta in it.  Yet, it was hearty.  Filling, even.  I drank a Seghesio zin with it.  Here’s another instance of pairing the wine the preparation, not with the protein.  You could eat ALOT OF THIS and do no harm at all- if you limited the risi.  And, by gosh, the fish cooks in two minutes.  And they call drive-through hamburgers “fast food?”

My other idea was to roast a bunch of root vegetables, dissolve them a tish in some broth and poach the sole in that.  Maybe with sage.  In other words, just take sole out of its cubby and out for a run in the park.  That’ll be another day.  Ooo:  les poissons.

Well, you think about it.  I’ll write the recipe down.  Make it; I liked it.  I’d eat it again.  But it is different.  It’s odd stuff up against each other.  Gently.  Like spring in Colorado.

Saving your Sole in a Fish Bowl 
                                             serves 2 generously

1T olive oil
1 small clove garlic, minced
1/2 med. onion,          “
1 sm carrot,                “
2 stalks celery,          “
1 small zucchini,       “
4T fresh basil, sliced thinly, divided or 1/2 t Herbes de Provence
1/2 t kosher salt; 1/4 t fresh ground pepper
Pinch crushed red pepper, rubbed finely between your fingers
1/2 of a 28oz can of crushed Cento tomatoes
1 lemon, cut into two pieces.  Chop one piece into 1/2″ dice; slice the other half.
1/4 c red wine
1/2 c water  plus more as needed
1 t honey
1/2 # fresh sole

Cooked risi (tiny pasta) or rice  (I put salt, pepper and fresh basil in the boiling water.)  mixed with:
          2T freshly grated parmesan and 2T chopped fresh parsley

A Little Side Salad*

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over medium heat and add the vegetables, half of the basil, salt and peppers.  Cook until the vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes at altitude.  Stir often.  Add the tomatoes, half of the lemon slices, the wine, water and honey.  Lower heat and simmer 10-12 minutes.  Taste and adjust seasonings.  If the sauce becomes too thick, add a little more water.  Stir often.  Add sole in an even, single layer, and cover for 2-3 minutes, cooking until fish is firm.  Gently remove fish from sauce and serve in a shallow bowl topped with some sauce (leave small pieces of lemon in the sauce and eat them:) and the side of rice or risi (tiny, rice-like pasta).  Add a slice or two of  rest of the lemon for punch and garnish with the rest of the sliced basil.  Leave room for a little crunchy side salad to one side or serve it in a tiny bowl.

*My side salad is like this:  2-3 c chopped romaine, 1/2 red pepper, diced, 3 T torn fresh parsley or basil–whatever fresh herb will do a trick for you, a shake of kosher salt and a pinch of fresh ground pepper.  Squeeze a little lemon over the salad before you dress it.   Dressing:  1T fresh lemon juice, 1 small clove of garlic, crushed, 1-2T fresh basil, minced, 1/2 t Dijon-style mustard…Whisk all that together well and drizzle in, still whisking, 2T best-quality extra-virgin olive oil. 

The dogs, of course, had to go out at just the critical point…when I sat down with hot fish.  I remember similar lives with nursing babies.  Once, after months of cold food, I spent the day arranging life so that I would have a hot piece of meat for dinner.  I bathed the baby in the morning. I fed him all day long.  I kept him up.  I had the meal ready to cook and nursed him.  Put him to bed, where he fell promptly asleep.  I proceeded to cook my little steak and, you guessed it.  Before I got the first piece in my mouth, he was screaming.  I was convinced young mothers never got to eat.  I sure appreciated the first hot meal I got when he turned, oh, 20 or so.

Sing a new song; eat your fish in a bowl,  try it hot…………but put the dogs to bed first,
Alyce

It Might as Well be Spring, Spring, Spring…

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                              “A little madness in the spring is wholesome even for the king.”   -Emily Dickinson

It hit 50 F this week.  Maybe more.
If you breathed really deeply, love was in the air.

Spring.
When a girl’s thoughts turn toward…

You guessed it:  asparagus.

Of course, it’s Fed Ex asparagus. (Ask me if I care.  I want asparagus and I want it NOW.  And, it’s never market-ready in Colorado Springs.  Like many other things, we’re kinda the import city of America food-wise.  Even the Native Americans never tried to live here and grow anything.  How smart were they?)

Living in Europe, I yearned and burned for green asparagus.  Germans, when I lived in Germany, cultivated only white asparagus, grown under mounds of dirt to prevent it from greening.  Green asparagus was for animals and it grew wild in Russia, where no one ever thought to bother it.  No, we ate spargel in Germany and, I guess we were glad to get it.  But, hey.  It was fat spargel.  And I never got used to its pale hue.  Looked a bit sick to me.  Give me the skinny green stuff any day.

We’ve had asparagus nearly all winter, but the other day it simply looked like spring asparagus to me.  I had to have some; I had to have a couple of bunches.  It was like a windfall of riches.  When I got home, I sat around dreaming about what I could do with it.  For, oh, about five minutes.  I had to get dinner done and get to book club that night.  (BLUE DIARY by Alice Hoffman–a good read that was oh-so-sad.)

I could have sauteed some onions, added the asparagus and some chicken broth and simmered the pot until the vegetables were tender.  A whirrrrrrrrr in the blender and  I’d throw it in bowls topped with sprigs of dill and a baby spoon of sour cream. We’d have “cream” soup.

I could have grilled it.  (This is my fave.)  Salt, pepper, olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon juice.  Thassall.  Phew–right down it goes.

I could have steamed it in the microwave for TWO minutes and we could have eaten the spears with our fingers after dipping it into a mustard vinaigrette.

Somehow my head kept bowing in the direction of where the little book on risotto used to be (I had given it away.)  A little pesto (I had basil), a little onion, a handful of cheese and there was dinner.  Who could ask for anything more?   Here’s how I did it…

Asparagus Risotto made for Spring Love

1# asparagus, cleaned and cut into 1″ pieces
1T unsalted butter
1T olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped finely                                                                   
1 c arborio rice
Kosher salt; fresh ground pepper
1/4 t crushed red pepper
1/4 c white wine (use more chicken stock if you don’t care for wine)
4 c unsalted chicken stock, heated and kept warm in another pot on the stove

1 c fresh basil leaves
3T walnuts, plus a couple of extra whole ones for garnish
2 cloves garlic, chopped

1/3 c extra virgin olive oil                                                                    
1/2 c freshly-grated parmesan cheese
1/2 c   ”           ”      manchego (your choice–I had manchego)

In a heavy 4qt saucepan, saute the onion for five minutes over medium heat.  Add rice and cook another 5 minutes or so until it just begins to turn a tish golden here and there.  Careful it doesn’t burn.   Season rice and onions with salt and both peppers. 

Raise heat to medium-high and pour in 1 c chicken stock.  Stirring often, cook until stock is absorbed…   You must stir very well, particularly if you don’t have a really heavy pan.  It will stick and burn easily.  Pete and repeat using almost all of the stock.    (While the risotto is cooking, make the pesto.)  When you have only about 1 c stock left in the other pan, add the asparagus pieces and, for the last couple of broth additions, add only 1/3-1/2 cups broth.  Taste now to see how close to done the rice is.  You want it with a little bite, but the risotto should be juicy when you serve it.  Nothing mushy, please.

When the last bit of broth is absorbed, turn off the heat, stir in all but 2T of the pesto, and let the risotto sit uncovered for 3-4 minutes.  It will finish cooking now.  Eat hot, garnishing with a little pesto and a walnut half.

PESTO:  Combine basil, nuts, and garlic in the food process or with mortar and pestle.  Slowly add olive oil until you have a smooth paste.   Stir in cheeses.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Option:  A real meat eater might add 2 strips/pieces of bacon or pancetta, chopped and cooked up with the onion.

Below–  Next night:  leftover risotto with some grilled chicken on a bed of spinach topped with mushrooms, red peppers and garlic cooked in a bit of cream and chicken broth.

Tell me what makes it spring for you?

Sing a new song; make a new risotto,
Alyce           oh, and ….of course,

NEWS FROM THE TWO-DOG KITCHEN…

Almost Veg Pasta a la Lindsey Vonn and Elizabeth’s Gwendal

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Had to have something really fast for dinner two nights ago. Inspired by a super new book I’m reading (buy it:  LUNCH IN PARIS by Elizabeth Bard), I  decided to make a pasta dish a la Elizabeth’s husband’s non-recipe with what was in the house.  I quickly rifled through the small freezer and then through the veg bin.  Leftover fresh pasta (enough for me) was in the freezer/big smile.  There was, lo and behold, a small package of yummy, thick smoked bacon.   The veg bin was a little more confusing.  There were a few carrots (not even limp); there were even a few very straight and tall stalks of celery.  Good so far.  Onions?  In the bag under the mudroom sink.  Garlic?  Shallots?  In cappucino cups on the counter with the olive oil.  Ok, that’s a start, but we’re missing something that’s going to pull it all together.  I then remembered some baby broccoli in a bag on a shelf and, praise, praise, there were three fresh tomatoes needing to be eaten SOON.  The skins were already a little crepey.  Great for the saucepot.

I got a small stockpot going with water for the pasta and turned on the Olympics.  Now, I’m not a huge sports fan, but I like the Olympics as well as the next girl.  Especially the winter olympics.  I skated quite a bit as a kid (really) on the long-time frozen pond behind our house and the love of the glide and the wind (and the scars-not) is still with me.  It just happened that as I made this, ok, it was lovely, pasta, Lindsey swooped down that slope with me holding my breath as I sauteed the onions and celery.  I nearly burned the garlic as she hit that one curve, but it all came together  in the end as she cried for joy over just having finished the darned run.  I would have cried, too.  Oh.  Maybe I did.  Phew.  I was so glad for Lindsey, and for me… that it was over..and that dinner was ready.  Of course, it was nice that she won that gold medal, too.  Go, Lindsey!!!  Go, Gwendal!!!

Here’s what I did:

Almost Veg Pasta a la Lindsey Vonn and Elizabeth’s Gwendal
     serves 2-3

First, set your small (6q) stockpot to boiling with about 4 qts of water and a little salt.  Cook your pasta and, while it’s cooking…

In a deep, large sauté pan or skillet, cook until about half-way done

-2-3 strips bacon or 1/4 cup smoked ham, thinly sliced in  1T olive oil (No bacon for you? You can sub 3 -4 tablespoons total olive oil for the bacon and 1 Tablespoon oil)

Then add

-1 onion, finely chopped
-2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
-2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
-4 stalks celery, finely chopped
-1 bunch baby broccoli, ”   ”

(Meantime: check your pasta.  If it’s nearly done, drain it, saving a 1/2 c pasta water for sauce.)

Cook until softened and then add

-3-4 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped
-1/4 cup mixed chopped fresh parsley and basil (or 1 t each dry oregano and basil)
-fresh ground pepper to taste
-kosher salt   to taste

Let the sauce cook down for 3-5 minutes.  Dust with a little more ground pepper.   If you haven’t drained the pasta yet, do so now, and add the half-cup pasta water to the sauce.   Fork up some pasta into your bowl,  top with a big ladle of sauce and then add some

-Parmesan cheese,  coarsely grated

I  also like this topped with a few chopped fresh herbs. Parsley and basil are nice. 
.
Gardening note: Neither one of those herbs is growing in my south window right now and I have to buy them.  Currently doing quite well through the winter are thyme (three pots), sage (huge pot three years old), rosemary (two smaller pots with slow-growing plants) and almost frozen dead mint. 

{printable recipe}
————–
You won’t win the Olympics with this dish, but you’ll sure be happy, warm and full.  You’ll also have  all of your veg for the day at one meal.  The bacon didn’t hurt a bit. (Thanks, Elizabeth Bard!)

 

Wine:  any  red.  I liked a Syrah.
Dessert:  One square of dark chocolate (Lindt –about 50 calories per) for your health, of course
Sing a new song; win a new medal,
Alyce
———–
NEWS FROM THE TWO-DOG KITCHEN———or , for now, A THREE DOG NIGHT…..

                                Gabby and Tuck had the big kid from next door sleep over–Meet Moss!

We know how to share a meal, well…maybe just a bone.

How long do I have to live in the kitchen?

Shrove Tuesday Jambalaya or No Pancakes, Please

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In my world, and for some of you, this is the day when traditionally we clean out the beautiful, fattening rich things like butter and dairy.  Adding flour (and whatever else), we come up with stacks of pancakes and, oh, ok, bacon or sausage…Drooling maple syrup (only the real kind) and maybe a few bananas or even leftover frozen and grated cranberries with toasted pecans and a tish orange peel, my personal favorite.  My own church has a pancake supper tonight at 6 with lots of bacon and lots of fun.  Check out First Congregational Church, nw corner of St. Vrain and Tejon in Colorado Springs.   ( pancake photo: Salahan.com; jambalaya photo: Alyce Morgan)

Christians are getting ready to begin Lent…and, it’s not a time to sit around and think about how bad we are. That’s old school.  Now, it’s an opportunity to review who we are and why….how we stand right now…and even to think about wiping our own personal slate clean so that we can be drawn new. To maybe see a few goals for our spiritual existence or personal life.  It’s a fine time to commit to prayer, to renewed study and to see what comes of it.  We are assured that, as we model ourselves on our Lord and savior, we too can begin again, live again, fall into depths doubting and shouting… and rise once more. Ever hopeful, ever-changing.  40 days of saying to oneself sometime during each day’s prayer-life, “I want to change this one thing; I’m commited to it.”  In other words, Lent is a positive, proactive experience.  Make me new.  Help me take the time to think about what I am, who I am and what I would like to change, who I would like to be…  There’s no crying in Lent (or baseball.)

But, instead of the ubiquitous pancakes, why not whip up a Mardi Gras special before Lent starts tomorrow?  Even if you don’t know Lent from “Rent,” it’s a great time for this dish.  With a little New Orleans background of my own, I was born with what they call the trinity (onions, green peppers and celery) in my mouth.  I’m talking Jambalaya, an easy one. The orignial recipe here is from honored Cajun food writer Maude Ancelet, but comes to us through Andrew Scrivani’s sweet blog makingsundaysauce.com.  Mark Bittman (NYT) mentioned it a little over a week ago and I’ve made and tweaked it, clarifying a few things and changing it up a teense.

In the food world, my recipe will be called “a riff on it.” I will also say I’m in the process of tweaking it even more. I’d like to try it as an oven dish because to find a dutch oven or covered skillet large enough for all of these ingredients (and for them not to be stacked 6 inches high in the pan) is difficult.  I covered my 14″ frittata pan with an assortment of cookie sheet, foil, etc. to getter done.  A bit cumbersome.  Never-the-less.  You may have different pans!  Your dutch oven may be larger or, in any case, you can brown the chicken in batches if you need to. Just make it; it’s delish.  Phew.  Great for … Shrove Tuesday.  Here’s my version:                                                                      (Oh, and it’s time to rent “Chocolat.”)

Jambalaya
serves 4-6 easily

1 whole chicken, cut into pieces
1# sweet Italian sausage, cut into 2″ pieces
2T olive oil
2 large onions, chopped coarsely
2 stalks celery, ditto
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t dry oregano
1 bay leaf
5 cups water
1 # rice
1/2 t kosher salt-or to taste
1/4 t fresh ground black pepper-or to taste
1/4 t crushed red pepper, optional
1/4 c each sliced green onions (use tops) and chopped parsley*

In dutch oven, or large skillet (will need a lid), brown chicken and sausage in oil over medium heat, turning to cook evenly on all sides.  Remove meats to paper-towel lined platter when nicely browned, but not done.  Add the onions, pepper, celery, garlic, oregano and bay leaf to pan.  Saute well for 10 minutes or so until softened.  Add water, rice, salt  and pepper.  Return the meats to the pot  Bring to a boil, cover and reduce heat.  Simmer until rice is tender and all liquid is absorbed.  Keep covered and let steep a little while, serving “piping hot.”  In a small bowl, mix the green onions and parsley and let folks help themselves to these for a garnish.
*option:  top with some shrimp grilled with a little bit of Old Bay seasoning

WINE:  California zinfandel.  You also might like a  Beaujolais, often known as a “fun” wine.
DESSERT:  Something “sinful” like a hot fudge sundae or 2 pieces of apple pie and ice cream.

Happy Mardi Gras, Happy Shrove Tuesday…..
May your Lent be all you need it to be…………..

Sing a new song (definitely for the next 40 days),
Alyce

And, of course…  NEWS FROM THE TWO-DOG KITCHEN….

Meatloaf Panini or I Always Loved YOU (and Meatloaf Sandwiches)

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Meatloaf, though well-loved (like you–Happy Valentine’s, friend)  is often the source of ridicule.  People laugh about it, call others by its name and while they eat it without turning up their noses (in fact, they really want it), it perhaps is wolfed down with a little snotty, eye-raising disdain.  When they mention it, their voices lower and, sotto voce, with eyes slanted, they run on about the meatloaf their mothers made with ketchup.  On the other hand, if no one is really listening, they are hot on the trail of a good recipe.  If you bring up meatloaf at the hairdresser’s, ten women will soon be surrounding you, wanting to know how in the (well, you know) you make it and just how good is it?  Do you use a mixture of meats?  Turkey? If so, how do you flavor it?  They want it now.

And so on.

Bring up mashed potatoes and boiled carrots (then sauteed in a little butter and honey and thyme) and the world is at your feet.  It’s like talking biscuits.  Chocolate chip cookies.  Beef stew. Chicken and dumplings.

Feeding six people for years and years led me to think about and try many kinds of meatloaf before settling on a rather pedestrian, (embarassing to admit I still use an envelope of dry onion soup mix in it),  but very quickled snarffed down and s-i-m-p-l-e (also cheap) version.  Later, I began making meatloaf for the homeless when we fed them at our church.  I sometimes made it just so we’d have meatloaf sandwiches to travel with when we were on the way to a camping spot or traveling across country.   We were kind of the meatloaf bunch back then.

When the kids walked (or ran) off, one by one, I found I made it less often.  How much meatloaf can two people eat?  It went the way of big trays of biscuits and dozens of homemade blueberry muffins for dinner every night.  It went the way of 12 qt pots of spaghetti sauce. In the place of those cooking for the masses dishes,   I started cooking 3 quarts of Tyler Florence’s bolognese. (And still had to freeze some.)  I began to fall in love with tiny lamb chops served over barely warmed arugula with slivers of parmesan and almonds…all served with mind-warming Pinot Noir from Oregon.  I fixed saute pans full of sole and plates of quickly grilled vegetables topped with feta and fresh basil.  No need for big ol’ pot roasts and 2# meatloafs…or was there?  I adored (and yet do) cooking for two.  Yes… but, then again…….

One day, I just couldn’t stand it any more,  I had to have meatloaf.  And potatoes. And carrots.    So I made it.  I made it all.  And, of course, it was mostly all still there the next day.  I said, “Let’s not cook tonight; let’s have meatloaf sandwiches and watch a movie in the basement.”  Dave was all over that.  I told my good friend, Sandy, about it and she, too, was enthusiastic.  “Oh YES and have a nice, round red with them.”   Which sounded fine.  I adored meatloaf sandwiches.  But…

As I went to fix them, the new cook in me, the one who cooks for two,  pulled out the grill pan.  She grabbed the cast-iron, wooden handled press (my cheap panini maker) that we used to cook meat camping.  She searched out a little spinach, some fresh basil, a jar of salsa and whatever cheese was in the cheese drawer.  And here’s how she did it because, friends, she made

Meatloaf Panini with Sauce for Dipping
serves 2!  (orignial meatloaf recipe below–keep reading at end)

                        Make it with cheddar, serve salsa for dipping.
                        Make it with provolone, serve marinara for dipping

4 slices whole wheat bread (large slices); I like them with seeds
1T butter
2T coarse ground Dijon-style mustard
3-4 thin slices meatloaf (your choice)

4 slices cheese (provolone or cheddar, depending on the sauce)            
1/4 c fresh basil leaves
1/4 c fresh spinach leaves

1 c marinara or salsa for dipping (depending on which sandwich you make)                                                                                          

     

Heat a grilling pan (or large cast-iron skillet) over medium-high heat.  Butter each slice of bread on one side.  On the other side of only two slices, spread the mustard.  Place one slice bread on the pan and lay on the  meatloaf, cheese and basil and spinach leaves.  Top with other slice of buttered bread.  Repeat.  Lay something heavy on top (a grill press or a heavy pan or plate) and grill until toasty brown on one side.  Turn over and grill until the other side is just as brown.  Eat while it’s hot!!!– right away, each served w/ 1/2 c  desired sauce in a ramekin or small bowl.

SIDES:  Chips, pickles.  Right.
WINE:  Rhone.  (We drank a California Rhone called “Incognito.”  Whoo Hoo.)
DESSERT:  Small piece of dark chocolate with the rest of the wine.

Porque no?
Pourquoi pas?
Happy Valentine’s Day! 
Sing a new song; grill a new sandwich,
Alyce

Meatloaf recipe:  1# lean ground beef, 1# bulk breakfast sausage, 4 cloves garlic, grated or minced finely,  1 15 oz can tomato sauce, 1 ex-large egg, 1 envelope dry onion soup mix. 2 slices bread (torn in small pieces) 1/2 t ground black pepper, 1T dry basil, 1T dry oregano.  In large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients well using your great hands.  Pat meat mixture into 9×5 loaf pan (I like glass) and bake at 350F for an hour.  Pour off grease.  Let meatloaf remain in pan, covered with foil, for 10-15 minutes before cutting.

NEWS FROM THE TWO-DOG KITCHEN:

Sooper Bowl Chili-Chop and Stir-Into the Crockpot for Half-time

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I don’t know where the idea of chili for Super Bowl came from, but it’s a hit most places if you’re not having pizza.  If you’re not having pulled pork.  (I noticed that top Yahoo! searches were including “pork recipes” this last week.)  So maybe pulled pork, but maybe ribs.  The pork case at the market looked like July 3, it had so many racks of ribs in it.  Prices weren’t bad either.  Still, I was on the path to chili…could I be led away?

I was drawn to a recipe in the NYT (Mark Bittman)  for Chicken Sausage Jambalaya.  Actually, I think it first came from a site called sundaysauce.com; it’s in the left side bar under blogs I follow.  Chicken, sausage:  it all sounded so good.  Rice.  Hmm.  But, chili beckoned.  I haven’t made chili since Halloween and I usually make it pretty often.  Somethings just yelled.

At the store…

Italian sausage (Sara’s-made right up near Palmer Lake) hit the cart.
VEEEEry lean beef fell in on top of it.  I know; it should have been turkey.  But, hey, it’s the Super Bowl.

Did I have enough canned tomatoes?  Italian ones?  Beans?  Unsalted, organic?  I knew I had dried beans, but had a thought about a Super quick chili using canned beans.  Up the canned aisle; it’s not my favorite place. (Produce is my favorite.)  No big cans, so I grabbed 2 pinto and 1 black.  I can never bear to make chili with only one sort of bean.  What else?  Nothing.  OH, I had to have (and this is critical)

TORTILLA CHIPS

Fritos are good, too, especially with cheddar cheese on chili.  But tortilla chips… hmm.  Just right. I actually like to eat this chili with tortilla chips, not a spoon.  I rarely eat chips of any kind, still… Oh well.

Grab some Dos Equis or make a pitcher of margaritas?  I might be the only one who likes zinfandel with chili and I thought I had a sweet bottle of Seghesio. Still, the better half probably needed his Dos Equis; the winter ales in the garage frig were going to pale compared to a Mexican brew. (not bad, eh?)  Note to self:  hit the liquor place next door before going home. Oh, and go back through produce (yeah) and get limes.

By then, the cart was a dead giveaway; anyone going by (and aren’t there a lot of cartsnoopers?) knew I was making chili.  Like, regular old Irish kinda chili.  Not fine Texas fare with big hunks of beef slowly simmered in a thick, spicy sauce; not NM green, mild, hot or in between.  Just the kind of big pot my learned-to-cook-during-the-depression mom made, using her own home-canned tomatoes, some jars of which were  full of other small goodies like celery, green pepper, etc.  We had a ferocious garden out back.  Summers were literally  full of “what a row to hoe.”  Of course, over the years, the recipe morphed.  (There never was a written recipe, just we kids’ memory for the pot, the shelves full of quart jars-“Run bring me a jar of tomatoes.”- and its smells.) Nowadays, I like lots of different vegetables. I like different kinds of meat. I like wine in it.  Lemon.  Dijon mustard. Cinnamon, just a tish.  Yeah, it’s a bit different than mom’s.  It smells as good.  Even the milk man smelled it outside.

“Smells so good in there.”   “I’m going to your blog tomorrow for that recipe.” (ok!)

Ah, yep.  I’m cookin’ chili. Get outta the way, dogs.  Makes me incredibly happy for some reason.  Makes me feel rich to have a great big pot of the stuff cooking away.  Odd what makes us feel rich.  You?

This particular pot of chili can be pulled together in 20-25 min and then thrown in the crockpot, well, not literally.  I do pour it pretty quickly into the crockpot insert in the sink!  Or, make it the day before.  Whichever way, it’s an easy meal.  Buy or make some corn bread.  Get some tortilla chips and salsa.  Of course, the Dos Equis.  A pan of your favorite brownies?   A veggie tray and you’re on your way.  Why be troubled?

We like Manchego with chili.

Can you smell it?

Sooper Bowl Chili
serves 8-10;makes a little more than 6 quarts

2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/4 teaspoon each: cinnamon, dried red pepper flakes, cumin, black pepper, chili powder
2 onions, chopped (food processor if you have one)

4 cloves of garlic, minced
4 large celery stalks, chopped
1/2 each red and yellow peppers, ditto
2-3 small zucchini or yellow squash, ditto
1 pound each: bulk sweet Italian sausage and lean ground beef
3  15-oz cans no salt, organic beans (pinto, kidney or black)
6 Tablespoons chili powder (or to taste)
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons kosher salt (+/- to taste)
2 Tablespoons each, dried oregano and basil
2 32-ounce cans Italian tomatoes
2 Tablespoons honey
2 Tablespoons Dijon-style mustard
1/4 cup lemon juice

2 cups ea: red wine and water

Optional garnishes: grated Manchego (or cheddar), chopped onions, tortilla chips, hot sauce

Saute  first five (1/4 t each) spices in the 2 Tablespoonsolive oil over quite low heat very briefly in a 10 or 12 qt. stockpot while you begin to chop the vegetables (2-3 batches) in the food processor (or by hand.)  Spoon vegetables into pot and cover, turning heat up to medium-high.  Meanwhile, brown both meats in another skillet over medium-high heat.  Stir both pot and skillet frequently.  When vegetables are tender, add rest of ingredients to pot. Drain meat well; add to the tomato mixture.  Stir well and taste; season as needed. 

Bring to a boil and turn off the burner. *Place crockpot stoneware insert  in sink and pour chili into it.  Replace insert into crockpot.  Set heat to low and let cook 4-6 hours.  If too thin, take lid off and let cook 15-20 minutes on high to thicken.

Serve garnished with tortilla chips and chopped onions and cheese if you like.
Pass a bottle of your favorite hot sauce for those who want to burn their taste buds.

*Option:  Cook on stove.   Lower heat to medium low and simmer at least an hour.  More, if you’d like.  Some people like to wait and add the beans during the last 15 minutes.

 

Enjoy the day.  Have a little more if you like.  There’s plenty.  You’re rich.
no spoon needed

If you still don’t know anything about football (I don’t want to know; it’s a good time to read the NY Times), you can click below and get a very quick lesson on how the game is played….

http://football.about.com/c/ec/7.htm

Sing a new song  (Go Colts?  Go Saints?), as I pray for two dear friends, s and c and for Emi, taking the Biblical Content Exam today at Princeton………..
Alyce

Here’s the newest from the Two-Dog Kitchen–

Gab’s all Tuckered out!

Note to readers:  If you’d like to keep up with my local articles (on a national site),  they’re listed in my twitter feed  on the left sidebar at the top of the blog.   You don’t have to make a separate trip to examiner.com. Article titles say things  like “Super Bowl Pizza…” and you just click on the link that begins with tinyurl…  Thanks!!!!  Also, check out my favorite blogs, links to which are right below the Twitter stuff.

Salmon on Couscous for Groundhog Day and I have a new job

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Last week, I began writing Colorado Springs restaurant/food articles for examiner.com.  The articles are fairly short and cover “Cheap Eats in Colorado Springs.”  They might be restaurant reviews, reports on coupons or specials, chef or book interviews or whatever can be crammed into that space about eating more frugally.  There are already a few articles up and you can comment there, too, or let me know right there on the website of a good deal you’ve seen around town.    You can also follow me on twitter.com (afmorgan53) and see what I’m up to as I cruise around looking at story ideas.  At the side of this blog, I’m beginning to list the blogs I follow…fyi.

It’s a new endeavor and way fun.  Examiner has nationwide local info on a variety of subjects.  When you hit the site, you can click on a place to find your city.  Under Colorado and Colorado Springs,  restaurant articles are under the heading “entertainment.”  There you’ll see my articles with my byline Alyce Morgan, Colorado Springs Cheap Eats Examiner.  It’ll take me a while to get my feet under me and figure out everything I want to do or not.   Thanks to those who have already sent suggestions for articles or commented on the site.  Hugs.  Your support is important to me, friends. Smile!

Meantime, dinnertime still comes around and I’ve got a few things coming up on this blog I think you’ll like.  I am happy with  salmon almost any way, but I especially like it when I figure out some different or new way to make it and I do that often.  Despite the farmed salmon debate (and Target has stopped selling farmed salmon, according to a  recent press release), most people love its healthy fat goodness.  It’s just as good grilled simply as it is in an elegant presentation.    Leftovers are yummy in everything from scrambled eggs (with dill) to fish spreads for crackers to salad toppings.  Even sandwiches.  So consider making extra and not cooking (much) tomorrow.  Here’s how I did it:
onions cooking with spinach and basil
Salmon on Couscous with Golden Raisins
   4 servings
Preheat oven to 250 F and warm the dinner plates there until needed.
For the Couscous; make this first—                                               
1T olive oil
1/3 c onion, chopped finely
1/3 c golden raisins
1 5.8 oz box couscous (I like the Roasted Garlic and Olive Oil style)
1 1/4 c boiling water
Saute onion in olive oil for ten minutes or so, stirring often.  Add raisins, couscous, seasoning packet (if wanted) and stir.  Pour in boiling water and stir well.  Cover and let sit off the heat until needed.  Fluff with fork before plating.
For the salmon; make this second–
3T olive oil, divided
2 medium-large onions, sliced thickly                  
1 lrg shallot or 3 scallions
4 cloves garlic, sliced thickly
2-3 c fresh spinach
1/4 fresh basil (or 1T dry)
4 4oz salmon filets
Kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
Glaze:  4T each best quality balsamic vinegar                                    
 and honey, a few grinds of pepper
  • In a large saute pan, heat 2 T of the oil and add onions and shallots.  Cook down for 15 minutes or so, adding garlic when the onions are almost done. 
  •  Add spinach and basil. 
  •  Rub other 1T oil on the salmon and salt and pepper well.  Place filets in the pan on top of the vegetables and cover if possible.  Cook salmon until barely cooked (a tad rare is fine; they’ll cook more as you plate), around 7-10 minutes, depending on thickness. 
  • While the salmon cooks, heat the glaze ingredients, stirring together over medium heat for 1 minute.  
To serve, on warmed plates,  spoon vegetables onto a bed of couscous.   Top with the salmon filets.  Drizzle salmon with  glaze.
Serve with:  Grilled asparagus
Wine:  Pinot Noir
Dessert:  Greek yogurt, blueberries and honey in stemmed sherbets.  Top with a few toasted almond slices.
Reading:  Mimi Sheraton’s EATING MY WORDS; Michael Pollan’s FOOD RULES: AN EATER’S MANUAL; Nancy Horan’s LOVING FRANK (just finished-wow); Barbara Brown Taylor’s AN ALTAR IN THE WORLD
and, last, but most
TUCKER–
Ok, Ok; Tucker’s great.  Of course, he is up three times a night to do his business or just because he’s lonely, but he’s really beginning to be ok in the kennel and, who wouldn’t love…

And, believe it or not, he fetched the paper today.  He IS a golden retriever, after all.  As I write, he has fetched my 2# weights that I use for my hands. 

And, also:  Dog is God spelled backwards.  You already knew that.

Sing a new song; write a new article; love a new dog.

Alyce

Emily’s Takeover

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Today I decided to takeover not only my mother’s blog but her kitchen as well. I’m on vacation from seminary (follow my blog!) and decided to make a delicious dinner for my parents. I live in a dorm and eat in a cafeteria, so I don’t get a chance to do real cooking very often. I’m not a great cook, but I can follow directions pretty well. Today I wanted to stretch my culinary skills. We invited over some friends, and we watched the snow continue to fly. For some reason I gravitated to French foods or at least foods that sound kind of French. I had no idea if everything would go well together, but I didn’t know when the next chance for me to cook would be. It helps that I’m at home in safe place. In case something went wrong I could pull out the big guns (crying) and Mom would jump in and fix it. That didn’t happen although I had lots of questions.
–
Menu:
–
Hummus and Fresh Vegetables
Tuna Croquettes with Sauce Remoulade
French Onion Soup
Alyce’ Sweet Balsamic Salad
Creme Brulee
–
Starters: I bought hummus (garlic) at the store and arranged on a cute plate these things:
celery, asparagus, English cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, baby carrots
–Dish #1 : Tuna Croquettes –I’m not sure what I expected here, but they were a little like incredibly good crab cakes. Except! I didn’t have to pay for crab. I used tuna in pouches.

Recipe by Alton Brown
I had seen this recipe on Alton Brown’s show Good Eats. It sounded good. It turned out good. Because the panko is lighter than normal breadcrums, each little ball of tuna-ie delight was crispy but not heavy. I can’t see these croquettes as a full meal, but it was a satisfying appetizer. Even though the recepe online shows the croquettes with some sort of thick sauce, there was no recipe! Mom whipped up a sauce made of mayonaise, shallots, dill pickles and dijon mustard. She called it a Revved Up Tartar Sauce which then we realized was close to a sauce remoulade.
Dish # 2: French Onion Soup—This one doesn’t bake, nor does it have a ton of heavy cheese- just parmesan when you serve it. Oooo la la ! The house smells like heaven.
–


Carmelizing the onions above. Ina says 20 min; it took 45.

The soup cooking.. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH———-


Here (above) are the parmesan croutons for the soup. Good all by themselves, too.

Recipe by the Barefoot Contessa (also found in the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook from 1999)

I have never made soup before except by heating up the insides of a can. So when the idea went off in my head to make French onion soup, I was confused. “Don’t you know I don’t cook?” I told myself, but I just wouldn’t listen to me. So I found what looked like one of the easier French onion soups in the world. The hardest part was slicing the onions. I had no idea how to slice an onion properly, but I found out that once you cook them it doesn’t really matter if you sliced them ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. It’s important to get all the onions about the same size if you can. It did take twice as long for the onions to brown than the Barefoot Contessa told me, but I assume that’s because I’m in Colorado and the altitude makes cooking weird sometimes. I used a sweet sherry that made a big difference in the final product. The house still smells wonderful from the onions and butter that were the base of the soup. I finished the soup about an hour and a half early and just left it on the stove until our friends showed up and we were eating the first course. It warmed up very quickly and was delicious.

Mom made a quick salad to go with the soup so that we would have something green. It was kind of like this:
–
Dish 3a. Alyce’s Sweet Balsamic Salad
.
10 cups mixed greens (she used baby arugula and baby spinach
1/3 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c cherry tomatoes
Juice of half a lemon
Pinch ea: kosher salt and fresh ground pepper
2T Balsamic Vinegar
1T honey
4-5 T extra-virgin olive oil

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper
.
I think she made the dressing in the bottom of the bowl first. She whisked together the vinegar, honey and salt and pepper. Then she drizzled in the oil until it was all mixed pretty well.
Greens, walnuts and tomatoes went on top in a large bowl, which was refrigerated until we needed to eat it. Then Dad tossed it and served it on salad plates.

Dish #4: Creme Brulee See top and bottom photos, too!
Recipe from The Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichl (2004)

Here-above- I am doing something Mom says is “tempering the eggs.” Otherwise, the hot cream will scramble the eggs and we don’t exactly want breakfast tonight.


SO GOOD! One neighbor raved, “This is the best creme brulee I’ve ever had!” I usually bake a type of cake for a dessert, but I really wanted to try something different. I think Creme Brulee is super fancy and grown up. Turns out it’s not that hard to make if you’ve got a torch handy. Mom said the key to a good creme brulee is good heavy cream and high quality vanilla. As a Masters student I understand that it makes sense to buy the cheap vanilla, but after eating this creme brulee I will NEVER buy cheap vanilla again. The creme was creamy and smooth. The brulee (expertly burned by my father) was crackling and crisp. If you want people to think you can make incredible desserts but you don’t know if you really can, this recipe is for you! It does take some specialized equipment (ramikins, torch), but invest in that equipment and it will pay off.
(Mom says you can use plain old Pyrex custard cups and put the creme brulee under the broiler; you can do without the special stuff but it’s so fun to torch something, says Dad.
The best part about cooking for people is that you get to spend time them and show them you care. I hope you enjoy these recipes and take over YOUR mother’s kitchen some time.
Check out the rest of the creme brulee pictures below…………………..
.
God Bless,
Emily
power tools


Mom’s note: Wow! I love having anyone cook like that for me. AND the creme brulee was, there’s no other word: silky. Thanks, Emi. Come home anytime.