Tuesday, Feb. 13, ’07 left Port Angeles for Portland, our first stop in this 6 + week trek around the western U.S. Found what I was searching for immediately upon arriving at the R.V. park - SUN! Quickly retrieved the chairs, beverage table, books, and a glass of wine from me, a martini for Roy. It lasted ~2 hours, then cold and now it’s raining as only it rains in Portland. Heavy.
Wednesday, Feb. 14 – It’s Valentines day!! For the first time, I sent an electronic card to Roy – well, I guess I can call it that, not a commercial one, but one I made with pix to send to him. Here are the pictures –
This was as we were leaving for our Bon Voyage party on board the ship for our Mexican cruise in 1976 – my nickname in those Angela Davis days? PH (pubichead…) I loved my Afro –
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/cjdacook/RJ.jpg
This one was just a couple years ago, Roy helped me with a catering job – we were done and just cleaning up – and as it was for friends, I had already hit the wine, can you tell????
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y72/cjdacook/ROYMEATJACKS.jpg
Our Valentine’s Dave Menu????
VALENTINE’S DAY
FEB. 14, 2007
Portland, Oregon
our menu
Roasted Beet and Grapefruit Salad
18 Hour English Muffins
Roasted Garlic Mashed Yukons
Filet Mignon
Creamy Roquefort Sauce
L’Ecole No. 41, Ferguson 2004
Commemorative Reserve
Columbia Valley
Snickers Brownies
French Vanilla Ice Cream
Canoe Ridge 2003
Cabernet Sauvignon Port
Columbia Valley
It’s 1 p.m. and the brownies are done – finally, the damn oven in here just does not cooperate!
Candy Bar Chocolate Brownies
Dave Lieberman – Food Network
Rich, decadent, moist and chewy with chunks of candy bars melted in, you couldn't ask a brownie for more. One of the best parts about them is that you can do them in one bowl, so cleanup's a breeze. The one thing you have to remember is to put the candy bars in the fridge before you got to chop them up or you'll get mush instead of chunks.
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, melted, plus a little more for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
10 mini chocolate-peanut candy bars, crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups), refrigerator cold (recommended: Snickers "fun size")
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9 by 13-inch cake pan (aluminum is fine) with butter. Beat the 1 1/2 sticks butter and the sugar together in a large bowl until blended. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then stir in water and vanilla. Sprinkle the salt and baking powder over the mixture, then mix in. Do the same with the cocoa.
Finally, stir in the flour until just blended. Put the candy bars in a food processor or blender and pulse on low speed until all the bars have been reduced to a coarse crumble. Fold the crumble into the batter thoroughly. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the center is set, the edges look a bit crusty, and the top of the brownies start to crack a little. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
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The beets and garlic head are in the oven roasting. Potatoes ready to go. Portland has a Year-Round Farmer’s market today from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., we will go check things out there and see what we can cram in the fridge.
Oh that farmer’s market was a sight to behold!!! Right out of the 60s – with a great little retro store behind the market!! Couldn’t smell any funny cigarettes, but they had to be there, somewhere!
Roasted Beet and Grapefruit Salad
Dave Lieberman – Food Network
6 small beets
1 medium ruby red grapefruit
2 ounces alfalfa sprouts, trimmed
Salad dressing:
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium shallot, minced
3 pinches salt
10 grinds black pepper
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
Thyme leaves from 10 delicate sprigs
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Wrap the beets individually in aluminum foil. Roast about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until fork tender. Remove beets from oven, unwrap and let cool 5 minutes before peeling. Slice the beets into eighths.
Remove the peel of the grapefruit with a sharp knife, cutting all the way down to the grapefruit flesh. Then cut the individual grapefruit segments out from their skin, using the supreme technique. Place the grapefruit segments in a bowl. Take the inner grapefruit remains and squeeze whatever juice you can out of it over the top of the grapefruit segments in the bowl.
Make the dressing by mixing together all the dressing ingredients along with all the juice that you can strain from the bowl of grapefruit.
Assemble the salad: Make a little heap of alfalfa in the middle of the plate. Scatter the cut beets around the plate. Pinch off pieces of the grapefruit segments and scatter them around the plate. Drizzle generously with dressing, top with a couple more grinds black pepper and serve.
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I prefer roasting beet my way to the above – just rub with olive oil and roast open on a sheet pan.
This vinaigrette is just spot on – it is delicious. I had Champagne vinegar in the trailer so used that and didn’t have fresh thyme, but the dried leaves worked o.k.
The entire combination of this salad works. And it was even tasty with the L’Ecole wine, which having read the label – no wonder I liked it, my favorite blend, Cab, Merlot, Cab Franc.
Overall, the dinner was very good. The filets were Christmas presents from Mattie and Wendy and so tender and juicy!! The brownies were good, but damn are they rich. Sent the rest in to the folks in the Portland office where they were promptly dealt with…those I probably won’t make again, but the beet and grapefruit salad, I certainly will!!!
Thursday, the 15th, we finally got to meet up with Scotty/Morris-what an absolute sweetheart! He acted like he had all the time in the world to explain about the ‘making of a restaurant’ – when it looked like he had people lined up waiting for him to make decisions. We love the building and what he is doing with it and I’m so glad we got to see the before and it will be opened and the rage of Vancouver by the time we get back up here. If only I were 29 years younger, I’d be right there in line with my application!! Left a bottle of my favorite champagne for him to enjoy on opening nite.
His menu looks over-ambitious, but I sure hope he can pull it off, it’s sounding wonderful. He also will have a pastry chef on site – which to me is one of the most important people to have!
Can’t tell more than that till we get back here to try it out once it’s opened! Flakey old FoodDude, didn’t make it – never seem able to connect with him. Will try another time thru.
It’s now Friday a.m., Great-White-Father is up and about and time to get this caravan on the road to Medford. Tracie has her menu lined up and reservations made for this evening at the Culinary School!! Going to be a fun time! I think Susan is doing the Saturday brunch for us…
Talked to Kelly for a minute yesterday and she has her menu in place also – we will prep together while imbibing Sex on the Beach. Great-white-father will act as bartender to keep us happy!!! We’ll be with Kelly and Brent on Wednesday (?) of next week.
Everyone in California is bragging about the weather – and the damn sun better stay In place till we get there – tired of this Portland rain!!! Medford? Don’t know yet.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Monday, February 5, 2007
The Old Sea Captain and The Chef
We have a delightful, if a little intense, single neighbor who is a fishing boat captain - he works out of Alaska. But he is land-locked right now and we will have a chance to get to know him - he is one big time foodie, so this will be fun!
Saturday afternoon, the afternoon before Superbowl(!), Jay decided it would be a hoot to have a 'professional' chef cook for him so off to the fish mongers he and Roy went. Supposedly to pick up 'a couple' of seafood goodies to have for an impromptu Superbowl party on Sunday. My first mistake was letting the two of them go by themselves!! Lobsters, steamer clams, oysters - in shells and in a jar, scallops, smoked salmon, mussels!! for three people?? I grabbed the phone and called every neighbor to get some help eating all this bounty, but of course every single one, except one couple, had parties to go to by then!
Now, the funny happening Saturday nite for me was, I woke up ~2 a.m. with all these thots running thru my head - it was like it used to be when I was planning a catering job or a big job at the hotel - what would I fix, how did I want to cook, what order serving, what kind of presentation, the whole gamut going thru my mind like we were having a huge party, instead of 5 people coming together to do justice to the bounty of these two jokesters!! Jay had said to do whatever I wanted with the food - so, that's why my mind was in such a turmoil, there were so many ways to go!!
Oh, and to add to this feast, I had already thawed out chicken wings, some crab, and had gotten jalapenos for poppers for Roy & me to have for a small celebration during the football game. (In case I forget to mention it later....the chicken wings are still in the frig)
Finalized Superbowl Menus - for FIVE (!) people
Cranberry Crab Spread (a throw-together that turned out great!)
Ron's (a neighbor who was going to another party brot this over to add to what we had...) Smoked Salmon Spread
Two Smoked Salmon (mine & one purchased by the 'boys') with Lemon/Caper Sauce (I/we all like mine - thank you Marlene - better than the one purchased)
Jalapeno Poppers Rockefeller - a new dish -everyone loved
Scallops with Caviar and Sour Cream - I used to do this catering, served on/in Asian spoons.
Mussels with Balsamic Cream & Bacon
Lobster Medalions with Balsamic Cream & Bacon - this was an experiment to see if lobster worked in the sauce, but found we liked the mussels much better!
Grilled Oysters - always a favorite, but the 'captain' had never had them grilled.
Steamed Lobsters and Clams with garlic butter - another fav.
Loaves of sourdough for sopping!
AND the neighbor couple brot another appy, that was quite good - will have to get the recipe!
AND DID WE EVER DO JUSTICE TO THIS FEAST!!!
RECIPES
CRANBERRY CRAB SPREAD
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. milk
8 oz. crabmeat (fresh or canned and flaked)
2 T. green onions, minced or chives
Dashes of salt and garlic powder
4-6 shakes of Tabasco
½ cup dried cranberries
Parsley, sliced green onions, or chives for garnish
Whisk together the cream cheese and milk till well combined.
Add the crabmeat thru garlic powder and combine well.
Stir in dried cranberries, cover and refrigerate for a couple hours.
Garnish and serve with crackers or toasted bread rounds.
Makes about 2 cups.
--------
JALAPENO POPPERS ROCKEFELLER
I would love to give credit for this recipe, but I didn't add the name when I copied it from C2C forum - damn. Sharon???
Makes 12 appetizer servings
(Note: I only had 4 jalapenos and some scraps of yellow bellpepper, so I cut the jalapenos in half lenghtwise and filled them that way and the bells were in squares, so just topped them with the filling and a pc. of bacon - one guest wouldn't try the jalapenos, but ate all the bell pcs., so I think I'll do this again for a 'popper' tray)
24 jalapeño peppers, top cut off and seeded
12 oysters, off the shell, chopped with liquid
1/2 cup cooked spinach, well drained and chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon Pernod
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
12 slices bacon, partially cooked and cut in half
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix the chopped oysters, spinach, green onion, bread crumbs, egg, Pernod and seasonings together. Stuff the peppers with the mixture. Top each pepper with bacon and insert toothpick through to hold in place.
Bake the peppers until they are soft, heated through and the bacon is crisp. Approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes then serve.
--------
OVEN SMOKED SALMON
Marlene (da Cook) Cochran from the Yukon recipe
Salmon, dressed
Brown sugar
Kosher salt
Liquid smoke
(qtys. depend on size/number of salmon pieces)
Split the salmon along the backbone.
Remove the backbone and ribcage. Remove pin bones.
Leave skin on. Slice each side into 2" sections.
Lay the pcs. on a sheet pan; coat with brown sugar.
Sprinkle with kosher salt & liquid smoke.
You will be rinsing this off later, so be generous.
Cover w/plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Rinse the salmon pcs, pat dry, and place on cooling racks, which have been sprayed with vegetable spray.
Place in a 150 F. oven, until the salmon flesh takes on a translucent look, leaving the door open a crack to let moisture out.
This should take 6-8 hours, depending the thickness of the pieces.
Refrigerate for short-term use, freeze airtight for longer storage.
Serving Ideas : Oh boy am I in trouble - marinated this for 18 hours (and I must say it looked good enuf to eat at that time!); turned the oven on this a.m. and found to my dismay the damn oven goes no lower that 170 degrees...so went ahead and put the salmon in and then we had to go work on the rental. AND we always have to stop for Mexican food after that hard work.
Fast forward to coming into the kitchen after Mexican food and two margaritas each - and smelling this wonderful smoked salmon. It was 6 1/2 hours later and the salmon was absolutely perfect. So good in fact, that if I don't stop nibbling at it, I'm going to puke.
My favorite go with for this salmon – a mixture of cream cheese, little mayo to loosen, sliced green onions (or thinly sliced red onion), capers, and fresh lemon juice to taste.
-------
SCALLOPS WITH CAVIAR AND SOUR CREAM
Recipe By :a Chef's Journey via an old family favorite
Vegetable or Canola oil
12 sea scallops, sliced in half horizontally
sour cream for piping
thinly sliced red onion pieces
caviar for topping
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Season scallops with salt and pepper.
Cook scallops until golden on the bottom, about 2 min.
Turn over and saute till done, about 1 more minute.
Drain on paper towels and let cool.
Top each scallop with a dab of sour cream (this is easy to do with a plastic bag and a corner cut off to pipe onto the scallop)
Top the sour cream with red onion pieces.
Carefully spoon caviar on top.
Description:
"Serve on Asian spoons for a nice presentation."
Yield:
"24 pieces"
Saturday afternoon, the afternoon before Superbowl(!), Jay decided it would be a hoot to have a 'professional' chef cook for him so off to the fish mongers he and Roy went. Supposedly to pick up 'a couple' of seafood goodies to have for an impromptu Superbowl party on Sunday. My first mistake was letting the two of them go by themselves!! Lobsters, steamer clams, oysters - in shells and in a jar, scallops, smoked salmon, mussels!! for three people?? I grabbed the phone and called every neighbor to get some help eating all this bounty, but of course every single one, except one couple, had parties to go to by then!
Now, the funny happening Saturday nite for me was, I woke up ~2 a.m. with all these thots running thru my head - it was like it used to be when I was planning a catering job or a big job at the hotel - what would I fix, how did I want to cook, what order serving, what kind of presentation, the whole gamut going thru my mind like we were having a huge party, instead of 5 people coming together to do justice to the bounty of these two jokesters!! Jay had said to do whatever I wanted with the food - so, that's why my mind was in such a turmoil, there were so many ways to go!!
Oh, and to add to this feast, I had already thawed out chicken wings, some crab, and had gotten jalapenos for poppers for Roy & me to have for a small celebration during the football game. (In case I forget to mention it later....the chicken wings are still in the frig)
Finalized Superbowl Menus - for FIVE (!) people
Cranberry Crab Spread (a throw-together that turned out great!)
Ron's (a neighbor who was going to another party brot this over to add to what we had...) Smoked Salmon Spread
Two Smoked Salmon (mine & one purchased by the 'boys') with Lemon/Caper Sauce (I/we all like mine - thank you Marlene - better than the one purchased)
Jalapeno Poppers Rockefeller - a new dish -everyone loved
Scallops with Caviar and Sour Cream - I used to do this catering, served on/in Asian spoons.
Mussels with Balsamic Cream & Bacon
Lobster Medalions with Balsamic Cream & Bacon - this was an experiment to see if lobster worked in the sauce, but found we liked the mussels much better!
Grilled Oysters - always a favorite, but the 'captain' had never had them grilled.
Steamed Lobsters and Clams with garlic butter - another fav.
Loaves of sourdough for sopping!
AND the neighbor couple brot another appy, that was quite good - will have to get the recipe!
AND DID WE EVER DO JUSTICE TO THIS FEAST!!!
RECIPES
CRANBERRY CRAB SPREAD
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 T. milk
8 oz. crabmeat (fresh or canned and flaked)
2 T. green onions, minced or chives
Dashes of salt and garlic powder
4-6 shakes of Tabasco
½ cup dried cranberries
Parsley, sliced green onions, or chives for garnish
Whisk together the cream cheese and milk till well combined.
Add the crabmeat thru garlic powder and combine well.
Stir in dried cranberries, cover and refrigerate for a couple hours.
Garnish and serve with crackers or toasted bread rounds.
Makes about 2 cups.
--------
JALAPENO POPPERS ROCKEFELLER
I would love to give credit for this recipe, but I didn't add the name when I copied it from C2C forum - damn. Sharon???
Makes 12 appetizer servings
(Note: I only had 4 jalapenos and some scraps of yellow bellpepper, so I cut the jalapenos in half lenghtwise and filled them that way and the bells were in squares, so just topped them with the filling and a pc. of bacon - one guest wouldn't try the jalapenos, but ate all the bell pcs., so I think I'll do this again for a 'popper' tray)
24 jalapeño peppers, top cut off and seeded
12 oysters, off the shell, chopped with liquid
1/2 cup cooked spinach, well drained and chopped
1/4 cup chopped green onions
1 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 teaspoon Pernod
salt, pepper, and garlic powder to taste
12 slices bacon, partially cooked and cut in half
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix the chopped oysters, spinach, green onion, bread crumbs, egg, Pernod and seasonings together. Stuff the peppers with the mixture. Top each pepper with bacon and insert toothpick through to hold in place.
Bake the peppers until they are soft, heated through and the bacon is crisp. Approximately 12 to 15 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes then serve.
--------
OVEN SMOKED SALMON
Marlene (da Cook) Cochran from the Yukon recipe
Salmon, dressed
Brown sugar
Kosher salt
Liquid smoke
(qtys. depend on size/number of salmon pieces)
Split the salmon along the backbone.
Remove the backbone and ribcage. Remove pin bones.
Leave skin on. Slice each side into 2" sections.
Lay the pcs. on a sheet pan; coat with brown sugar.
Sprinkle with kosher salt & liquid smoke.
You will be rinsing this off later, so be generous.
Cover w/plastic wrap & refrigerate for at least 12 hours.
Rinse the salmon pcs, pat dry, and place on cooling racks, which have been sprayed with vegetable spray.
Place in a 150 F. oven, until the salmon flesh takes on a translucent look, leaving the door open a crack to let moisture out.
This should take 6-8 hours, depending the thickness of the pieces.
Refrigerate for short-term use, freeze airtight for longer storage.
Serving Ideas : Oh boy am I in trouble - marinated this for 18 hours (and I must say it looked good enuf to eat at that time!); turned the oven on this a.m. and found to my dismay the damn oven goes no lower that 170 degrees...so went ahead and put the salmon in and then we had to go work on the rental. AND we always have to stop for Mexican food after that hard work.
Fast forward to coming into the kitchen after Mexican food and two margaritas each - and smelling this wonderful smoked salmon. It was 6 1/2 hours later and the salmon was absolutely perfect. So good in fact, that if I don't stop nibbling at it, I'm going to puke.
My favorite go with for this salmon – a mixture of cream cheese, little mayo to loosen, sliced green onions (or thinly sliced red onion), capers, and fresh lemon juice to taste.
-------
SCALLOPS WITH CAVIAR AND SOUR CREAM
Recipe By :a Chef's Journey via an old family favorite
Vegetable or Canola oil
12 sea scallops, sliced in half horizontally
sour cream for piping
thinly sliced red onion pieces
caviar for topping
Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Season scallops with salt and pepper.
Cook scallops until golden on the bottom, about 2 min.
Turn over and saute till done, about 1 more minute.
Drain on paper towels and let cool.
Top each scallop with a dab of sour cream (this is easy to do with a plastic bag and a corner cut off to pipe onto the scallop)
Top the sour cream with red onion pieces.
Carefully spoon caviar on top.
Description:
"Serve on Asian spoons for a nice presentation."
Yield:
"24 pieces"
Final Week of New Year's Resolution!!!
Well, the damn resolution is finally over and I ended up doing a lot better than I thot we would - in fact good enuf to say I did stick to it!!
Jan. 28th - Leftover filling from (1/27) Jambalaya Stuffed Bell Peppers used for twice baked potatoes - nice.
Jan 29th - Mixed cooked Cavatelli with the rest of the fresh Tapenade cheese from Pike Place market - with additional kalamatas, capers, su-dried tomatoes. great dish, Roy devoured. This cheese is suggested to be eaten with a week - so this is a wonderful way to use it up and not waste it.
Jan 30th - the two leftover Jambalaya Peppers - glad we're thru with those - three nites of the same flavors gets old.
Jan 31st - Sichuan Shrimp with Chili Sauce - one of the worst written recipes I've ever made, but once things got sorted out, what a tastey dish! rewrote the recipe -
SICHUAN SHRIMP WITH CHILI SAUCE*****
6 T. oil -- divided
----------
Mix together -- while assembling other ingredients:
1 lb. large shrimp - not more than 24 to a pound -- cleaned 2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. mirin
---------
Seasonings:
1 T. mashed and finely mined garlic
1 T. mashed and finely minced ginger
1 green onion -- thinly sliced
1 tsp. hot chili paste (optional) - but very good in it
(for your mise en place, you can have all the above seasoning ingredients in one small bowl - the the peppers (below) should be separate)
3 Red hot Chili Peppers -- "genuine Tabasco peppers work really great" (I used 2 Jalapeno, seeds and membranes included), minced
----------
Sauce - mix together in small bowl:
5 T. ketchup
1 T. sugar
1/2 T. salt
1 T. mirin
----------
Vegetables:
10 spears asparagus -- cut off tips whole, and the rest (stems) cut in 1" steep diagonal cut
1 stalk celery -- cut in thin diagonal slices
1 good size bamboo shoot -- cut in long thin slice to compliment the other vegetables
----------
1 dash Toasted Sesame Oil
Boil a qt. of water in your wok. Immerse all the veggies and boil rapidy till they reach peak color brightness and are crisp tender. Remove to a bowl and keep warm. Dump water and dry wok.
Put 5 T. of the oil in the wok and get it smoking hot; add the shrimp and stir till just pink and done. This shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. Put onto plate and discard all excess oil and quickly wipe out wok.
Heat the last 1 T. oil in wok. Get it smoking hot and toss in the hot peppers. Cook them for a minute, at most, till you are getting good whiffs of cooking chili. Add the other seasonings and stir for 15-20 seconds.
Add the sauce ingredients and stir to mix. Add back in the shrimp and veggies. Stir till all reheated. Give a quick dash of toasted sesame oil, then a quick stir.
I served this with lots of rice and it's really good!! It's hot, but good!
And as I was entering the recipe into Master Cook, I found my old recipe for Sichuan Chile Sauce - completely forgot I even had one! So, will keep with this recipe and make some up next time.
Sichuan Chile Sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic -- peeled and finely chopped
1 piece fresh ginger -- (1 inch) peeled and finely chopped
1 small onion -- peeled and finely chopped
6 fresh red chiles -- such as jalapeños, deseeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup Chinese red rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons Chinese yellow rice wine
2 teaspoons salt
Water as needed
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the onion and stir-fry for another minute.
Add the chiles and the vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes, adding water if it gets too dry.
Add the remaining ingredients except the water and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process to a fine puree, adding water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
Place the sauce in bottles and refrigerate.
Yield: About 1 1/4 cups
This recipe is reprinted with permission from Dave DeWitt at Fiery Foods.com.
NOTES : This is a classic chile sauce from one of the hottest regions--foodwise--in China. It can be used in stir-fry dishes, added to soups, or sprinkled over rice.
------------
Also on the 29th, made some wonderful seafood stock - made differently than I have previously. Layered mirepoix on two b. sheets and topped with the seafood shells, I had 3 lbs., and roasted - what a wonderful flavor!!
Seafood Stock --
3 lbs. shells
mirepoix - 50% onion, 25 % each carrots and celery
Roasted this for 25 min. at 400 F. - in my oven, this was just perfect - lots of good goop on the b. sheets.
Deglazed the sheet pans with with water, in the oven, and added to stock pot along with 8 oz. of Noilly Pratt and 1 1/2 gal. cold water. Simmered for just about 1 hour.
The stock is not the 'classical' white seafood stock, but rather a caramel-color and so very tastey!!
The rest of the week we were not very healthy eaters - P.A. was having sales all over town for Alaskan King Crab legs, so picked up some of those plus a couple Dungeness Crabs and some Mussels.
The mussels went to Cameon's Mussels with Balsamic Cream and Bacon dish, the Dungeness I cleaned and made up 2 and 4 oz. pkgs. and put in freezer. The Alaska King we had steamed and the rest went to Crab Louis!!! Delightful dinners. And of course, as we did when the kids were little, we had "Choo Choo Train Rice" - which, for obvious reasons has been renamed over the years to Fried Rice with Ham!! For some reason Mattie named it the Choo Choo thing and it just stuck...
FRIED RICE WITH HAM
Recipe By :a Chef's Journey via an old family favorite
Serving Size : 6
2 T. peanut oil
1/3 cup green onions -- thinly sliced, includ. tops
1/2 teaspoon ginger root -- peeled & minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic -- minced
2 each eggs -- lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup approximately of ham -- finely diced cooked, lean
1/4 - 1/3 cup fideo pasta
1/2 cup peas -- frozen, tiny
2 T. soy sauce
2 cups rice -- cold
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Heat oil in wok or large skillet.
Add next 3 ingredients & stir fry 1 min;add eggs & scramble loosely breaking them w/spatula.
Add next 6 ingred. & stir fry 2 min.
Add rice & stir fry till hot.
Add sesame oil & stir. Serve.
Serving Ideas : add leftover veggies, chicken, pork, etc.
NOTES : Always make fried rice with cold rice.
------------
Well, we are well into February and still doing a pretty good job of eating healthy....overall! but, with these seafood sales and neighbors deciding it would be fun to have a 'professional' chef cook for them....and that's another story!! We shall persevere...
Jan. 28th - Leftover filling from (1/27) Jambalaya Stuffed Bell Peppers used for twice baked potatoes - nice.
Jan 29th - Mixed cooked Cavatelli with the rest of the fresh Tapenade cheese from Pike Place market - with additional kalamatas, capers, su-dried tomatoes. great dish, Roy devoured. This cheese is suggested to be eaten with a week - so this is a wonderful way to use it up and not waste it.
Jan 30th - the two leftover Jambalaya Peppers - glad we're thru with those - three nites of the same flavors gets old.
Jan 31st - Sichuan Shrimp with Chili Sauce - one of the worst written recipes I've ever made, but once things got sorted out, what a tastey dish! rewrote the recipe -
SICHUAN SHRIMP WITH CHILI SAUCE*****
6 T. oil -- divided
----------
Mix together -- while assembling other ingredients:
1 lb. large shrimp - not more than 24 to a pound -- cleaned 2 tsp. soy sauce
2 tsp. mirin
---------
Seasonings:
1 T. mashed and finely mined garlic
1 T. mashed and finely minced ginger
1 green onion -- thinly sliced
1 tsp. hot chili paste (optional) - but very good in it
(for your mise en place, you can have all the above seasoning ingredients in one small bowl - the the peppers (below) should be separate)
3 Red hot Chili Peppers -- "genuine Tabasco peppers work really great" (I used 2 Jalapeno, seeds and membranes included), minced
----------
Sauce - mix together in small bowl:
5 T. ketchup
1 T. sugar
1/2 T. salt
1 T. mirin
----------
Vegetables:
10 spears asparagus -- cut off tips whole, and the rest (stems) cut in 1" steep diagonal cut
1 stalk celery -- cut in thin diagonal slices
1 good size bamboo shoot -- cut in long thin slice to compliment the other vegetables
----------
1 dash Toasted Sesame Oil
Boil a qt. of water in your wok. Immerse all the veggies and boil rapidy till they reach peak color brightness and are crisp tender. Remove to a bowl and keep warm. Dump water and dry wok.
Put 5 T. of the oil in the wok and get it smoking hot; add the shrimp and stir till just pink and done. This shouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. Put onto plate and discard all excess oil and quickly wipe out wok.
Heat the last 1 T. oil in wok. Get it smoking hot and toss in the hot peppers. Cook them for a minute, at most, till you are getting good whiffs of cooking chili. Add the other seasonings and stir for 15-20 seconds.
Add the sauce ingredients and stir to mix. Add back in the shrimp and veggies. Stir till all reheated. Give a quick dash of toasted sesame oil, then a quick stir.
I served this with lots of rice and it's really good!! It's hot, but good!
And as I was entering the recipe into Master Cook, I found my old recipe for Sichuan Chile Sauce - completely forgot I even had one! So, will keep with this recipe and make some up next time.
Sichuan Chile Sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 cloves garlic -- peeled and finely chopped
1 piece fresh ginger -- (1 inch) peeled and finely chopped
1 small onion -- peeled and finely chopped
6 fresh red chiles -- such as jalapeños, deseeded and finely chopped
1/4 cup Chinese red rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons tomato ketchup
2 tablespoons Chinese yellow rice wine
2 teaspoons salt
Water as needed
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan, add the garlic and ginger and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the onion and stir-fry for another minute.
Add the chiles and the vinegar and simmer for 10 minutes, adding water if it gets too dry.
Add the remaining ingredients except the water and simmer for 5 more minutes.
Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
Transfer the mixture to a food processor or blender and process to a fine puree, adding water as necessary to achieve the desired consistency.
Place the sauce in bottles and refrigerate.
Yield: About 1 1/4 cups
This recipe is reprinted with permission from Dave DeWitt at Fiery Foods.com.
NOTES : This is a classic chile sauce from one of the hottest regions--foodwise--in China. It can be used in stir-fry dishes, added to soups, or sprinkled over rice.
------------
Also on the 29th, made some wonderful seafood stock - made differently than I have previously. Layered mirepoix on two b. sheets and topped with the seafood shells, I had 3 lbs., and roasted - what a wonderful flavor!!
Seafood Stock --
3 lbs. shells
mirepoix - 50% onion, 25 % each carrots and celery
Roasted this for 25 min. at 400 F. - in my oven, this was just perfect - lots of good goop on the b. sheets.
Deglazed the sheet pans with with water, in the oven, and added to stock pot along with 8 oz. of Noilly Pratt and 1 1/2 gal. cold water. Simmered for just about 1 hour.
The stock is not the 'classical' white seafood stock, but rather a caramel-color and so very tastey!!
The rest of the week we were not very healthy eaters - P.A. was having sales all over town for Alaskan King Crab legs, so picked up some of those plus a couple Dungeness Crabs and some Mussels.
The mussels went to Cameon's Mussels with Balsamic Cream and Bacon dish, the Dungeness I cleaned and made up 2 and 4 oz. pkgs. and put in freezer. The Alaska King we had steamed and the rest went to Crab Louis!!! Delightful dinners. And of course, as we did when the kids were little, we had "Choo Choo Train Rice" - which, for obvious reasons has been renamed over the years to Fried Rice with Ham!! For some reason Mattie named it the Choo Choo thing and it just stuck...
FRIED RICE WITH HAM
Recipe By :a Chef's Journey via an old family favorite
Serving Size : 6
2 T. peanut oil
1/3 cup green onions -- thinly sliced, includ. tops
1/2 teaspoon ginger root -- peeled & minced
1/2 teaspoon garlic -- minced
2 each eggs -- lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1 cup approximately of ham -- finely diced cooked, lean
1/4 - 1/3 cup fideo pasta
1/2 cup peas -- frozen, tiny
2 T. soy sauce
2 cups rice -- cold
1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
Heat oil in wok or large skillet.
Add next 3 ingredients & stir fry 1 min;add eggs & scramble loosely breaking them w/spatula.
Add next 6 ingred. & stir fry 2 min.
Add rice & stir fry till hot.
Add sesame oil & stir. Serve.
Serving Ideas : add leftover veggies, chicken, pork, etc.
NOTES : Always make fried rice with cold rice.
------------
Well, we are well into February and still doing a pretty good job of eating healthy....overall! but, with these seafood sales and neighbors deciding it would be fun to have a 'professional' chef cook for them....and that's another story!! We shall persevere...
Monday, January 22, 2007
Third Week of Resolution!
This week just flew by for some reason – probably ‘cause we were getting out of Dodge!
Tuesday, the 16th – I played with the dish I made in Windsor for the fundraiser dinner two years ago. Bresaola Layered With 3-Peppercorn Chevre and Huckleberry Puree.
At the dinner, Lorraine and I served it as a salad course, but I wanted to make it over into an hors, so tried two options –
Prepping: combined the Chevre and mascarpone cheeses.
Rather than making the original huckleberry puree, I thinned Huckleberry jam w/jalapenos with tawny port to a dropping consistency.
1 - Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on each round of Besaola, a drizzle of the jam/port and topped with a few of the micro greens that had been tossed with EV olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
This didn’t work – the bresaola was not strong enuf and came apart.
2 – Toasted 18-hour bread rounds; spread with cheese mixture, layered bresaola over and spread a little more cheese mixture on the meat; drizzled the jam/port over and sprinkled with the micro-greens. This turned out wonderful and the heat from the toast added a nice creaminess. Very happy with this version.
This was supposed to be an appetizer, but we at so much of it – this was dinner, so was it a new one or an old one????? I’m thinking old with a twist.
Wednesday, the 17th – another old one, Chicken Picatta. Now, I’ve made this many times over the years, but for some reason it all came together for Roy and he could not stop raving about it. Served with a rice pilaf and some fruit.
Chicken Picatta
Season 4 chix cutlets, pounded thin, with s&p; dust w/flour. Spray a pan with nonstick spray, add a mixture of olive oil and butter- a Tablespoon of each, and heat over medium heat.
Saute cutlets 2-3 min; flip and sauté 1-2 min more with the pan covered. Transfer cutlets to a warm plate; pour off fat from pan.
Deglaze pan with ¼ c. dry white wine (I always use Noilly Pratt vermouth for this step); add 1 med. clove of minced garlic and cook till garlic is slightly brown and liquid is nearly gone, 2-3 min.
Add ½ c. chix broth, 2 T. fresh lemon juice and 1 T. capers, swish together; lay the cutlets on top and cook 1 minute on eah side. Transfer cutlets to serving plates and finish sauce with 2 T. butter and 3-4 slices of lemon. When butter melts, pour sauce over cutlets and garnish with fresh parsley – that’s it! A simple dish is a wonderful dish!!
Thursday, the 18th – at the beach, Port Townsend, left sunshine in P.A. to go to stormy looking weather in P.T!! Dinner this nite was the old standby, Pasta with capers, sundried tomatoes, Kalamatas and a little Parm. As a side dish, we again stopped and picked up Seaweed Salad – boy, do I just love that salad, from the seafood deli on the wharf. Also had leftover Herb bread.
Friday, the 19th – fixed Roberto’s Sausage and Veggie Roast – love that dish – picked up some Andouille at the Food Co-op in P.T. so used it in this dish.
ROAST SAUSAGE WITH ONIONS, PEPPER & POTATOES
Recipe By: (Roberto), Kernersville, NC USA
"Amounts are irrelevant - this is ultra simple and delicious."
Bell Peppers - green, red, yellow - whatever you prefer to use - cored, seeded and cut into nice chunks.
Potatoes, scrubbed & cubed into large chunks.
Large onions, of any variety, peeled and chunked.
Salt & Pepper, Olive oil
Sausage - Italian is the primary choice but this is wonderful with Kielbasa, Bratwurst, Chorizo, Andouille, whatever you can get a lot of for a little.
Combine all cut vegetables in a large foil roasting pan and drizzle with a goodly amount of olive oil, season with salt & pepper.
I add some crushed red pepper, a little Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano and mix well.
Cover with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for about an hour.
While the veggies cook, parboil your sausage in a little water in a covered pan for 15 to 20 minutes.
When veggies are starting to get nice and soft, cut the sausage into nice size pieces and add to the roasting pan.
Cover and bake 3/4 to 1 hour, then uncover & roast under the broiler, stirring occasionally, till the sausage is browning nicely and the veggies start to show signs of browning.
Serve with grated cheese, bread and a salad, or a raw vegetable antipasto, or soup, or anything.
Saturday, the 20th – a movie date nite!! Saw DreamGirls – what a wonderful movie – laughed, cried, sang along… and the on the pizza place a number of people have been telling us we ‘must’ try – Waterfront Pizza. We had a ½ and ½ - Greek (seems like all I’ve eaten this week is Greek flavors!!) and Roy’s side was sausage, pepperoni, etc. The pizza was great – they make a sourdough pizza dough that is lighter than air! And so tasty.
Sunday, the 21st – we had l/os from Roberto’s Sausage and Veggie roast with a green salad and a honey/mustard dressing. I guess the dressing is the only new thing we tried this week!!
Monday, the 22nd – it’s only 6:30 a.m. so haven’t had dinner yet, but as I have to report for jury duty, tonite will be l/os fro the freezer. There is some ham & beans, beef/veggie soup, and a couple other things to choose from.
So the count this week – new 2, if you count the pizza and the dressing, all the rest old ones. One week to go, and it certainly was not as hard as I thot it would be – it’s sure fun to look for some of the old favorites.
And I'm very please that we have held to the 'diet' regime of eating a heck of a lot healthier so far this year. I've been cooking and eating like I was still working full time and wow, my clothes are not fitting anymore!! Treadmill every day and watching what we eat - it's working!
Tuesday, the 16th – I played with the dish I made in Windsor for the fundraiser dinner two years ago. Bresaola Layered With 3-Peppercorn Chevre and Huckleberry Puree.
At the dinner, Lorraine and I served it as a salad course, but I wanted to make it over into an hors, so tried two options –
Prepping: combined the Chevre and mascarpone cheeses.
Rather than making the original huckleberry puree, I thinned Huckleberry jam w/jalapenos with tawny port to a dropping consistency.
1 - Spread a layer of the cheese mixture on each round of Besaola, a drizzle of the jam/port and topped with a few of the micro greens that had been tossed with EV olive oil and fresh lemon juice.
This didn’t work – the bresaola was not strong enuf and came apart.
2 – Toasted 18-hour bread rounds; spread with cheese mixture, layered bresaola over and spread a little more cheese mixture on the meat; drizzled the jam/port over and sprinkled with the micro-greens. This turned out wonderful and the heat from the toast added a nice creaminess. Very happy with this version.
This was supposed to be an appetizer, but we at so much of it – this was dinner, so was it a new one or an old one????? I’m thinking old with a twist.
Wednesday, the 17th – another old one, Chicken Picatta. Now, I’ve made this many times over the years, but for some reason it all came together for Roy and he could not stop raving about it. Served with a rice pilaf and some fruit.
Chicken Picatta
Season 4 chix cutlets, pounded thin, with s&p; dust w/flour. Spray a pan with nonstick spray, add a mixture of olive oil and butter- a Tablespoon of each, and heat over medium heat.
Saute cutlets 2-3 min; flip and sauté 1-2 min more with the pan covered. Transfer cutlets to a warm plate; pour off fat from pan.
Deglaze pan with ¼ c. dry white wine (I always use Noilly Pratt vermouth for this step); add 1 med. clove of minced garlic and cook till garlic is slightly brown and liquid is nearly gone, 2-3 min.
Add ½ c. chix broth, 2 T. fresh lemon juice and 1 T. capers, swish together; lay the cutlets on top and cook 1 minute on eah side. Transfer cutlets to serving plates and finish sauce with 2 T. butter and 3-4 slices of lemon. When butter melts, pour sauce over cutlets and garnish with fresh parsley – that’s it! A simple dish is a wonderful dish!!
Thursday, the 18th – at the beach, Port Townsend, left sunshine in P.A. to go to stormy looking weather in P.T!! Dinner this nite was the old standby, Pasta with capers, sundried tomatoes, Kalamatas and a little Parm. As a side dish, we again stopped and picked up Seaweed Salad – boy, do I just love that salad, from the seafood deli on the wharf. Also had leftover Herb bread.
Friday, the 19th – fixed Roberto’s Sausage and Veggie Roast – love that dish – picked up some Andouille at the Food Co-op in P.T. so used it in this dish.
ROAST SAUSAGE WITH ONIONS, PEPPER & POTATOES
Recipe By: (Roberto), Kernersville, NC USA
"Amounts are irrelevant - this is ultra simple and delicious."
Bell Peppers - green, red, yellow - whatever you prefer to use - cored, seeded and cut into nice chunks.
Potatoes, scrubbed & cubed into large chunks.
Large onions, of any variety, peeled and chunked.
Salt & Pepper, Olive oil
Sausage - Italian is the primary choice but this is wonderful with Kielbasa, Bratwurst, Chorizo, Andouille, whatever you can get a lot of for a little.
Combine all cut vegetables in a large foil roasting pan and drizzle with a goodly amount of olive oil, season with salt & pepper.
I add some crushed red pepper, a little Rosemary, Thyme, Oregano and mix well.
Cover with foil and bake in a 350°F oven for about an hour.
While the veggies cook, parboil your sausage in a little water in a covered pan for 15 to 20 minutes.
When veggies are starting to get nice and soft, cut the sausage into nice size pieces and add to the roasting pan.
Cover and bake 3/4 to 1 hour, then uncover & roast under the broiler, stirring occasionally, till the sausage is browning nicely and the veggies start to show signs of browning.
Serve with grated cheese, bread and a salad, or a raw vegetable antipasto, or soup, or anything.
Saturday, the 20th – a movie date nite!! Saw DreamGirls – what a wonderful movie – laughed, cried, sang along… and the on the pizza place a number of people have been telling us we ‘must’ try – Waterfront Pizza. We had a ½ and ½ - Greek (seems like all I’ve eaten this week is Greek flavors!!) and Roy’s side was sausage, pepperoni, etc. The pizza was great – they make a sourdough pizza dough that is lighter than air! And so tasty.
Sunday, the 21st – we had l/os from Roberto’s Sausage and Veggie roast with a green salad and a honey/mustard dressing. I guess the dressing is the only new thing we tried this week!!
Monday, the 22nd – it’s only 6:30 a.m. so haven’t had dinner yet, but as I have to report for jury duty, tonite will be l/os fro the freezer. There is some ham & beans, beef/veggie soup, and a couple other things to choose from.
So the count this week – new 2, if you count the pizza and the dressing, all the rest old ones. One week to go, and it certainly was not as hard as I thot it would be – it’s sure fun to look for some of the old favorites.
And I'm very please that we have held to the 'diet' regime of eating a heck of a lot healthier so far this year. I've been cooking and eating like I was still working full time and wow, my clothes are not fitting anymore!! Treadmill every day and watching what we eat - it's working!
Tuesday, January 16, 2007
2nd Week of Resolution
Did pretty well this week -
Tuesday, the 9th - Beef Stew (l/o) over pasta
Wednesday, the 10th - Taco Salad
Thursday, the 11th - Chicken Breasts w/Spicy Citrus Glaze - this is a very healthy dish that I first made in '99
Sear chicken breasts or strips of in butter (about 4 min. on each side).
While this going on, mix together:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup thawed frozen o.j. concentrate
2 tsp. orange zest
2 cloves of garlic minced
salt & red pepper flakes
Pour the honey mixture over the chicken and cook, turning to coat for about 2 min or till sauce begins to thicken. Garnish with scallions and serve with rice.
For a starter for this dinner, we had Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup - garnished with one meatball (from freezer), capers, kalamatas and feta sprinkled over. Very good!!
Friday, the 12th - Postponed Christmas party dinner in Bellevue.
Saturday, the 13th - Got home late afternoon from Pike Place so had Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup from Trader Joe's (wanted to compare to the online order product Burr's gave us and it's just as good!) topped with goat cheese.
Pesto Stuffed Tortellini topped with Parmesan, capers, kalamatas and Pancetta (most of which were purchased in Seattle). This was a nice combination, will definitely repeat.
Sunday, the 14th, I made the dinner to be reviewed on C@H forum on Monday.
Chicken Pho with noodles, fresh herbs, and lime - here's my review of this dinner that I posted on the forum:
Now this is a tasty dish - pretty too!! (will try to post pictures here)
The broth is just a wonderful flavor - I've never charred cinnamon nor ginger, but I'll sure do it often now!And the overall combination - great!
In addition to the Pho, we had stir fried Bok Choy
Nuoc Cham - from Mai Pham's Southeast Asian cookbook:
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp. chili paste
1/4 cup fish sauce
2/3 cup hot water
2 T. lime juice with pulp (author's note:"very important to include the pulp")
1/4 cup sugar
grated carrots
Red Bean Buns - I wasn't sure how to finish them, so steamed half and baked half. Love them both ways!!
Monday, the 15th - an old Cooking Light recipe that we especially like -
Conflake-crusted halibut with Chile-Cilantro Aioli (instead of making the Aioli, we tasted different chutneys/sauces we picked up in Seattle and all were great with the fish and 'chips'.
Oven fries with Yukon potatoes - these are becoming my favorite potato to use for oven fries.
So, for the week - four old dishes; two new dishes; and one night out to dinner - which the food was not the least bit tasty.
The third week will be mostly at the beach - and I'm taking the stuff for a lot of our old favorites (and healthy) that we've been making in the trailer for a long time. One nite tho, we are eating out at a local pizza joint that neighbors around here have said is the best pizza around.
Tuesday, the 9th - Beef Stew (l/o) over pasta
Wednesday, the 10th - Taco Salad
Thursday, the 11th - Chicken Breasts w/Spicy Citrus Glaze - this is a very healthy dish that I first made in '99
Sear chicken breasts or strips of in butter (about 4 min. on each side).
While this going on, mix together:
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup thawed frozen o.j. concentrate
2 tsp. orange zest
2 cloves of garlic minced
salt & red pepper flakes
Pour the honey mixture over the chicken and cook, turning to coat for about 2 min or till sauce begins to thicken. Garnish with scallions and serve with rice.
For a starter for this dinner, we had Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup - garnished with one meatball (from freezer), capers, kalamatas and feta sprinkled over. Very good!!
Friday, the 12th - Postponed Christmas party dinner in Bellevue.
Saturday, the 13th - Got home late afternoon from Pike Place so had Roasted Red Pepper & Tomato Soup from Trader Joe's (wanted to compare to the online order product Burr's gave us and it's just as good!) topped with goat cheese.
Pesto Stuffed Tortellini topped with Parmesan, capers, kalamatas and Pancetta (most of which were purchased in Seattle). This was a nice combination, will definitely repeat.
Sunday, the 14th, I made the dinner to be reviewed on C@H forum on Monday.
Chicken Pho with noodles, fresh herbs, and lime - here's my review of this dinner that I posted on the forum:
Now this is a tasty dish - pretty too!! (will try to post pictures here)
The broth is just a wonderful flavor - I've never charred cinnamon nor ginger, but I'll sure do it often now!And the overall combination - great!
In addition to the Pho, we had stir fried Bok Choy
Nuoc Cham - from Mai Pham's Southeast Asian cookbook:
2 crushed garlic cloves
1 tsp. chili paste
1/4 cup fish sauce
2/3 cup hot water
2 T. lime juice with pulp (author's note:"very important to include the pulp")
1/4 cup sugar
grated carrots
Red Bean Buns - I wasn't sure how to finish them, so steamed half and baked half. Love them both ways!!
Monday, the 15th - an old Cooking Light recipe that we especially like -
Conflake-crusted halibut with Chile-Cilantro Aioli (instead of making the Aioli, we tasted different chutneys/sauces we picked up in Seattle and all were great with the fish and 'chips'.
Oven fries with Yukon potatoes - these are becoming my favorite potato to use for oven fries.
So, for the week - four old dishes; two new dishes; and one night out to dinner - which the food was not the least bit tasty.
The third week will be mostly at the beach - and I'm taking the stuff for a lot of our old favorites (and healthy) that we've been making in the trailer for a long time. One nite tho, we are eating out at a local pizza joint that neighbors around here have said is the best pizza around.
Sunday, January 14, 2007
A TRIP TO SEATTLE
WITT's Christmas party had to be postponed because of 'the storm' so it was held Friday (1/12) in Bellevue - dinner terrible. It was held at an Italian chain that I'd not heard of before, Maggiano's Little Italy. Only one dish passable they served a hot artichoke dip that was tasty.
But, on Saturday we went to Pike Place Market and The Spanish Table and spent the kid's inheritance!! What fun.
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
1600 Pike Place (across st.)
Blank Slate Tapenade cheese - a soft, fresh farmer's cheese with a mixture of gr/blk/kalamata olives, garlice and lots of herbs and spices.
6 oz. / $5.75 (have brochure) Beecherscheese.com
What a wonderful selection of cheeses - first stop so had to watch the sheckles and bot only one (the tapenade), but they also had a Blank Slate Honey. It was a hard choice.
La Buona Tavola
(truffle Café Specialty Foods)
1524 pike Place (across st.)
TruffleCafe.com
Three Pack-
Truffle & Salt
Mushroom-truffle pate
Acacia Honey & Truffle
Trader Joe’s
Belletoile - Brie Triple Cream - wonderful
Castello Blue – real creamy/delicious
Tortellini w/pesto filling – 1 lb. (had for dinner when we got home mixed with a little capers, kalamatas, parm and some of the Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta.)
Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper soup (2) (had a cup of this also for dinner, very good flavor! sprinkled with goat cheese)
Creamy Corn & Roasted Red Pepper Soup (1)
Spinach & Chive linguine – 8 oz.
Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta
Rst’d Red Pepper Artichoke Tapenade
7 bottles wine –
Bears’ Lair Cab - $4.99 (Napa)Falcon Ridge Lodi Zin ’04 - $5.99
1-877-994-4616
Chariot Gypsy ’03 Red -7.99 (American Canyon, CA)
Barefoot Zin (Modesto) – 4.99 Barefootwine.com
Trader Joe’s Chilean Collection, Merlot – 3.49 Central Valley, CA
Haywood ’03 Merlot - $4.99 (Geyserville) haywoodwinery.com
Montepulciano D’Abruzzo ’05, Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Italian – 4.99
The Spanish Table – Food & Wine from Spain & Portugal
(Matiz Catalan) Squid Ink Pasta – Fideo
La Hacienda De Ybarra - Pimientos del Piquillo de Lodosa
(piquino peppers)
AlCaparras Capers ( big hummers)
Two Temranillo wines –
Campo Viejo, Crianza ’03, Rioja $9.99
Legaris Crianza, Ribera Del Cuero ’03 – $16.99 (Owner recommended) had with dinner tonight - great temprnello
Spanish Style Aurelia’s Chorizo, 6 oz. - $9.99
Redondo Iglesias – Dry cured Serrano Ham/
18 mos old.
Delaurenti Specialty FoodWine Store in Pike place
Fennel Crackers
Talatta Filetti di Aciughe, all’olio’di oliva – Anchovies $6.99
Bresola from Uruaguay – ¾ lb.
1 end piece $1.50/9.99 lb.
¼ lb. $5.76/ 23.99 lb.
Trying to work all of these goodies into a 'healthy regime' in eating for the next couple months will be hard! But, a good challenge.
But, on Saturday we went to Pike Place Market and The Spanish Table and spent the kid's inheritance!! What fun.
Beecher’s Handmade Cheese
1600 Pike Place (across st.)
Blank Slate Tapenade cheese - a soft, fresh farmer's cheese with a mixture of gr/blk/kalamata olives, garlice and lots of herbs and spices.
6 oz. / $5.75 (have brochure) Beecherscheese.com
What a wonderful selection of cheeses - first stop so had to watch the sheckles and bot only one (the tapenade), but they also had a Blank Slate Honey. It was a hard choice.
La Buona Tavola
(truffle Café Specialty Foods)
1524 pike Place (across st.)
TruffleCafe.com
Three Pack-
Truffle & Salt
Mushroom-truffle pate
Acacia Honey & Truffle
Trader Joe’s
Belletoile - Brie Triple Cream - wonderful
Castello Blue – real creamy/delicious
Tortellini w/pesto filling – 1 lb. (had for dinner when we got home mixed with a little capers, kalamatas, parm and some of the Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta.)
Tomato & Roasted Red Pepper soup (2) (had a cup of this also for dinner, very good flavor! sprinkled with goat cheese)
Creamy Corn & Roasted Red Pepper Soup (1)
Spinach & Chive linguine – 8 oz.
Sun Dried Tomato Bruschetta
Rst’d Red Pepper Artichoke Tapenade
7 bottles wine –
Bears’ Lair Cab - $4.99 (Napa)Falcon Ridge Lodi Zin ’04 - $5.99
1-877-994-4616
Chariot Gypsy ’03 Red -7.99 (American Canyon, CA)
Barefoot Zin (Modesto) – 4.99 Barefootwine.com
Trader Joe’s Chilean Collection, Merlot – 3.49 Central Valley, CA
Haywood ’03 Merlot - $4.99 (Geyserville) haywoodwinery.com
Montepulciano D’Abruzzo ’05, Denominazione di Origine Controllata
Italian – 4.99
The Spanish Table – Food & Wine from Spain & Portugal
(Matiz Catalan) Squid Ink Pasta – Fideo
La Hacienda De Ybarra - Pimientos del Piquillo de Lodosa
(piquino peppers)
AlCaparras Capers ( big hummers)
Two Temranillo wines –
Campo Viejo, Crianza ’03, Rioja $9.99
Legaris Crianza, Ribera Del Cuero ’03 – $16.99 (Owner recommended) had with dinner tonight - great temprnello
Spanish Style Aurelia’s Chorizo, 6 oz. - $9.99
Redondo Iglesias – Dry cured Serrano Ham/
18 mos old.
Delaurenti Specialty FoodWine Store in Pike place
Fennel Crackers
Talatta Filetti di Aciughe, all’olio’di oliva – Anchovies $6.99
Bresola from Uruaguay – ¾ lb.
1 end piece $1.50/9.99 lb.
¼ lb. $5.76/ 23.99 lb.
Trying to work all of these goodies into a 'healthy regime' in eating for the next couple months will be hard! But, a good challenge.
Tuesday, January 9, 2007
First Week of the Resolution!
I committed myself in the form of a New Year's resolution to only fixing old recipes for the entire month of January! Well, I know (and knew it at the time probably) that no way could I go a whole month without trying a new dish - so I'm modifying my resolution. Two nites a week I can have fun with new recipes and the rest of the week I'll have fun with oldies that I'd forgotten about.This really is fun. Especially because I use my recipes as kind of a diary - I always write the date (YES, even in my coffee table type up-scale books!!) and if we're doing a project, or someone's here, just things that are going on in our lives that particular day.
So today is the 9th of January, the second week of the new year. I’ve tried to keep the resolution, but I really have not listed every dinner I’ve made, so now I’ll look over what I have done.
January 1st’s menu is listed in previous blog – all old recipes and ate this food on Monday (1st) and Tuesday. Wednesday, had ham/cheese grilled with ham and beans (old recipe); Thursday – Confetti Pasta (old, healthy recipe) – fettuccine, ham, peas, milk, cottage cheese, Parm, s&p&nutmeg.
Also on Thursday fixed the first of two versions of Sex on the Beach drinks. (thanks to dollop and Jan)
Dollops first –
1 ½ oz. each:Peach Schnapps & Vodka
2 oz. each: Cranberry, Orange and Pineapple juices.
Very good, but…
Next day we tried Jan’s offering –
¾ oz. each: Peach Schnapps, Vodka, Pineapple juice
3 oz. Cranberry juice
Splash of o.j
This was the best I think because of the larger amount of the cranberry juice. Love that flavor.
Well, love this drink. We’ll take the makings for this drink every time we go to a ‘warm’ state.
Also on Thursday, I started the 18 hour bread and finished it on Friday afternoon. Damn near ate the whole loaf before dinner.
Friday, old recipe again!! ‘Baked Beans’ which we really liked the first time around and ‘Tar-Heel Ribs’ with a marinade:
2 cups cider vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. molasses
1 ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Black pepper & salt
Marinated ~8 hours, drained & brushed with a combination of ½ Huckleberry BBQ sauce & ½ Heinz Chili Sauce (I didn’t have the ingredients for the sauce called for in the recipe). Roasted for a couple hours and had planned on grilling on the Barbie later with more sauce. BUT…we encountered Seattle weather in Port Angeles that nite and I stuck the buggers under the broiler instead.
While this is an old recipe, I made it Aug. 3, ’04, I really, really like the combination of the Berry bbq sauce and chili sauce mixture. Will definitely do this again.
Saturday – a brunch morning. Friday nite we saw Ina Garten in her ‘Barefoot in Paris’ and got a real yearning for the ‘Herbed Baked Eggs’ – added some minced ham to help disguise the egg a little ( ;) ) and it was a very nice dish. Will do this for company.
No Champagne tho, had Bloody Marys instead.
Sunday, the 7th – Had Emeril’s ‘Steamed Baby Bok Choy with Broiled Salmon & a Warm Roasted Tomato & Lemon Vinaigrette’ – what a nice light, fast dinner this was.
The standout of the dinner was the Roasted Tomato & Lemon Vinaigrette –
2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ c plus 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. fresh marjoram leaves
The zest from 1 lemon
Salt & pepper
¼ c lemon juice
2 T. basil leaves
Saute quickly the tomatoes in ¼ c. of the olive oil, marjoram, lemon zest, s&p and lemon juice. Move to the oven and broil till well caramelized, 8-10 min. let rest while roasting the salmon, then add the julliened basil leaves – season again with s&p.
Love this ‘vinaigrette’ – will use it on lots of things, bet it would be good just over a bowl of pasta!
The second week will be much easier not to want to experiment – Roy will be in Portland Tues thru Thurs., but I may cook up something old that I especially liked…..hmmmm.
And for dessert we had frozen yogurt with Ina Garten’s chocolate sauce – yum!! (but didn’t make the profiteroles – maybe next time)
So, that’s the first week of the year – did I do O.K.??
Yes!! Five nights – old; two nights – new. There were some extras (drinks, brunch eggs, 18-hour bread, but also old meatloaf for sandwiches and herb/Kalamata/sun-dried tomato bread)
So today is the 9th of January, the second week of the new year. I’ve tried to keep the resolution, but I really have not listed every dinner I’ve made, so now I’ll look over what I have done.
January 1st’s menu is listed in previous blog – all old recipes and ate this food on Monday (1st) and Tuesday. Wednesday, had ham/cheese grilled with ham and beans (old recipe); Thursday – Confetti Pasta (old, healthy recipe) – fettuccine, ham, peas, milk, cottage cheese, Parm, s&p&nutmeg.
Also on Thursday fixed the first of two versions of Sex on the Beach drinks. (thanks to dollop and Jan)
Dollops first –
1 ½ oz. each:Peach Schnapps & Vodka
2 oz. each: Cranberry, Orange and Pineapple juices.
Very good, but…
Next day we tried Jan’s offering –
¾ oz. each: Peach Schnapps, Vodka, Pineapple juice
3 oz. Cranberry juice
Splash of o.j
This was the best I think because of the larger amount of the cranberry juice. Love that flavor.
Well, love this drink. We’ll take the makings for this drink every time we go to a ‘warm’ state.
Also on Thursday, I started the 18 hour bread and finished it on Friday afternoon. Damn near ate the whole loaf before dinner.
Friday, old recipe again!! ‘Baked Beans’ which we really liked the first time around and ‘Tar-Heel Ribs’ with a marinade:
2 cups cider vinegar
2 T. brown sugar
1 T. molasses
1 ¼ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
Black pepper & salt
Marinated ~8 hours, drained & brushed with a combination of ½ Huckleberry BBQ sauce & ½ Heinz Chili Sauce (I didn’t have the ingredients for the sauce called for in the recipe). Roasted for a couple hours and had planned on grilling on the Barbie later with more sauce. BUT…we encountered Seattle weather in Port Angeles that nite and I stuck the buggers under the broiler instead.
While this is an old recipe, I made it Aug. 3, ’04, I really, really like the combination of the Berry bbq sauce and chili sauce mixture. Will definitely do this again.
Saturday – a brunch morning. Friday nite we saw Ina Garten in her ‘Barefoot in Paris’ and got a real yearning for the ‘Herbed Baked Eggs’ – added some minced ham to help disguise the egg a little ( ;) ) and it was a very nice dish. Will do this for company.
No Champagne tho, had Bloody Marys instead.
Sunday, the 7th – Had Emeril’s ‘Steamed Baby Bok Choy with Broiled Salmon & a Warm Roasted Tomato & Lemon Vinaigrette’ – what a nice light, fast dinner this was.
The standout of the dinner was the Roasted Tomato & Lemon Vinaigrette –
2 c cherry tomatoes, halved
¼ c plus 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. fresh marjoram leaves
The zest from 1 lemon
Salt & pepper
¼ c lemon juice
2 T. basil leaves
Saute quickly the tomatoes in ¼ c. of the olive oil, marjoram, lemon zest, s&p and lemon juice. Move to the oven and broil till well caramelized, 8-10 min. let rest while roasting the salmon, then add the julliened basil leaves – season again with s&p.
Love this ‘vinaigrette’ – will use it on lots of things, bet it would be good just over a bowl of pasta!
The second week will be much easier not to want to experiment – Roy will be in Portland Tues thru Thurs., but I may cook up something old that I especially liked…..hmmmm.
And for dessert we had frozen yogurt with Ina Garten’s chocolate sauce – yum!! (but didn’t make the profiteroles – maybe next time)
So, that’s the first week of the year – did I do O.K.??
Yes!! Five nights – old; two nights – new. There were some extras (drinks, brunch eggs, 18-hour bread, but also old meatloaf for sandwiches and herb/Kalamata/sun-dried tomato bread)
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