Damn I'm good.

Sometimes I come along a recipe or an article on food and read it and think to myself..."That is bloody brilliant! Why didn't I think of that????". Then I take the recipe, most often tweak it to my liking and write about it here. Which is why I write a food blog and not for Bon Appetit. But when I do nail it, I nail it. And making up a recipe is so much sweeter when the result is better than you even expected.

A few weeks back I left on a lovely vacation with my parents and other friends There are a few unusual things about this trip that are different from my normal vay-cay's.

Number One: It was a long one...10 whole days away from home, with 4 of them being driving well over 2000 miles on the way there and back. Wheeeeeee!!!!

Number Two: I left my work phone in my desk at work. The place we were going has extremely limited cell service and I felt that the need for a completely disconnected vacation was well deserved and quite frankly very needed. After the heartburn went away I really did enjoy myself.

Number Three: Even though we stayed in a house with all the comforts of home, I did very little cooking. This is because I had two wonderful ladies (Mama & Jill) cooking for me. Here is one of the wonderful dinners they made for us. Argentine Pork Loin & Mashed Potatoes, YUM!

Number Four: The reason for number three is that I was out hunting every morning and every evening for elk with my father and our friend Bruce. This is my new favorite picture.

Unfortunately for all of us, none of the three hunters were able to bring home an elk. Multiple factors contributed to our unsuccessful hunt including the heat, the amount of water and just dumb luck. It's not that we didn't try, the stars just weren't with us this time.

We stay on a ranch that our friends own in the upper part of Colorado, it is a working cattle and hay ranch for the most part, but the land is so vast and diverse I am sure there are riches to be found on the land if you just have the patience to look. We found wild raspberries and wild mountain strawberries on a trip up to a mining camp, mushrooms grow like crazy and there are any number of different game animals to take home.

Unfortunately for me, the only four legged creature that I came in contact with daily I was not allowed to shoot. If I could, I would be a well fed woman with a stocked freezer. Bummer that there is no cow season in Colorado...those things just stand there and chew the hay or grasses and look at you.

Our hosts were so kind at the end of the trip to gift us with a fair amount of beef from the ranch (ground, steaks and roasts) to take home as a consolation prize for not bringing in an elk. Now, I know what we all say about California Cows being happy and all that....but man they have NOTHING on the cows from Deline's ranch. These are some of the fattest, grass fed, relaxed cows I have ever seen.

I brought home a little bit, leaving the bulk at my parents house since I cook so rarely these days. But tonight as the weather changes and there is a little nip in the air, I felt the need for comfort food. With very little in the house I finally came up with meatloaf for dinner but wanted something a little different than my standard.

I googled and found several fun recipes, none of which I followed, and finally found the one that was the catalyst for this post.

The thing with meatloaf is that it really does need gravy in my opinion. I can do without if I have to, but it's just kind of missing something if you don't have it. Unless of course you are talking about a meatloaf sandwich in which case ketchup is perfectly acceptable. But meatloaf in a bread pan generally leaves a fair amount of fat and no drippings to speak of to make a homemade gravy. Unless you do this.....

Hello meatloaf bed. Thank you for joining us and letting us rest upon you. Please feel free to mingle with the juices of the meat and mirepoix to create a perfect base for homemade gravy.

I think this might be my new standard regardless of what flavor meatloaf I make as it is the ultimate gravy making method.

Porcini Mushroom Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy

1 oz Dried Porcini Mushrooms, reconstituted in 1 C hot water

1 Medium Onion-1/2 diced fine, 1/2 rough chopped

1 Carrot, Peeled and Chopped

2 Stalks Celery, Chopped

1# Lean Ground Beef

1 Egg

1/3 C Panko Bread Crumbs

1/4 C Chopped Parsley

1 T Salt

1.2 tsp Pepper

2 Slices of Bacon, cut in half

1/2 C White Wine

1 C Chicken Stock

3 T Flour with 1/4 C Water for Slurry

After mushrooms are reconstituted in water, pull out with a slotted spoon and pat dry, chop finely. Add 1/4 of the mushrooms to the carrots, onions and celery and place the mixture at the bottom of a metal pan that is suited to stove top use as well as oven.

Mix beef, egg, panko, remaining mushrooms, parsley, salt & pepper together until mixture holds together. If needed, add more bread crumbs if it is too moist. Don't overwork the mixture or it will be tough. Pat in to a loaf and place on top of vegetables in the pan. Top with the bacon slices. Bake at 350 for 1 hour. 

When done, remove meatloaf from the pan and place on a cutting board, tent with foil. Place roasting pan on he stove top and turn on low. Add the mushroom liquid and wine (not all the mushroom liquid, leave a little in the bottom to keep any grit in the container) to the vegetables and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom boiling for a minute. Pour the liquid in to a saucepan, straining out all the solids and add the chicken stock. Bring to a boil and thicken to your preferred thickness with the slurry. Season with S&P of course.

I served it with Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes because what else do you serve with meatloaf, right???

It's better when you know where it came from!

I swear food really does taste better when you know where it came from, how long it's been off the vine or out of the water.

A few nights ago I finally had enough time off to get my ass back in the kitchen and cook something other than quickie meals, pre-packaged easy meals or heat up leftovers.

Simple simple simple...I had a fellow friend who was also overworked and in need of food love and girl time so I knew I didn't want to go crazy in the kitchen, but wanted to spend time chatting, drinking wine and burning our fingers gluing corks together to make corkboards.

Fresh Silver Salmon from Alaska courtesy of our friends Bruce & Jill, quick seared in a hot skillet and topped with a hollandaise sauce. Hollandaise sauce made from scratch with dad's eggs (well...his chickens eggs anyway) and dad's lemons of course.

Sliced tomatoes from Mom & Pop's garden drizzled with fig balsamic and fresh basil from a plant that is gracing my counter.

Zucchini from my friend Tiffany shredded and made in to cakes with a little cheese and other goodness.

Nothing frou frou, nothing fancy and everything probably took me about 45 minutes to prep and cook. But damn it was good. And the zucchini cakes are just as good, if not better, the second day so feel free to make extra!

Zucchini Cakes

1 Large Zucchini, shredded

1/2 of a Medium White Onion, shredded

1/2 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese

2 Eggs

2/3 cups Panko Bread Crumbs

1 T Dill

Salt & Pepper to taste

After shredding the zucchini, squeeze with a paper towel to remove some of the moisture. Blend everything together in a bowl and season to taste. If you let it sit too long it will get watery so try to do it at the last minute. Spray a large nonstick skillet with spray and fry the cakes over medium heat for about 5 minutes to a side or until browned. They can be kept warm in the oven before service.

Just flat out tasty

Every once and a while there comes along an article in a magazine or online that makes you stop and think and go hmmmmm....I could do that. But occasionally there comes an ingredient that is not part of your day to day pantry staples and you either have to figure out how to get it, how to fake it or in my mom's case, how to grow it.

Recently in Bon Appetit Magazine there was an article by one of my favorite food writers, Molly Wizenberg, that was all about "pan-fried peppers". She was in France and had these wonderful little fried peppers (in duck fat no less), but upon returning to the States could not find the exact peppers she had while overseas. She substitutes several different varieties and raved about how wonderful they were.

My mom is nothing if not committed to cooking. She will, like me, spend a day or more in the kitchen just to make one recipe that she found in a magazine for friends or family or just for her and my dad. She will order ingredients online that she may only use once a year for something and occasionally she will throw something in the ground for the sake of having it whenever she darn well pleases.

Enter the Shishito Peppers.

On average they are about 2-3" long, dark green and kind of wrinkly. They hide in the foliage of the plant, masquerading as leaves until you reach in and find there is a little weight in there. They grow pretty quickly too, once they are established, they average about 30 peppers a week on 6 little plants that are suitable for consumption.

After searching the grocery stores and farmers market with no luck, she headed to our local Green Thumb for plants and grabbed some for us and some for a friend. Only a few short weeks after planting them in and around our herb garden she was harvesting the first little peppers for a tasty hors d' oeuvre.

A quick fry in hot oil (or duck fat if you have it) and a sprinkle of salt and splash of lemon and you have an addictive little nibble with which to treat your guests. The chiles, when cooked, blister up in the pan and the flesh turns soft and silky. They have a little bit of bite and occassionally you will find  one with some heat, but rarely. Adding the lemon juice or lemon salt (Thanks to my banquet chef Bobby for that addition to my kitchen!) brings out a little bit of sweetness in the peppers.

The chiles are on the right, the ones on the left are the sage fritters which can be found on this post An unexpected treat.

Enjoy if you can, I highly reccommend adding these little guys to your garden!

Wanted: Someone to help me eat all this food

I'm pretty sure I should win a prize for this last weekend. In terms of culinary skill and stamina I definitely put my best food forward and with one exception (the garlic bread was just a litle "crispy") I made a whole lot of really awesome food. And I am not exaggerating about the "whole lot" thing!

Friday night I made more jam....this time it was plum and it is once again damn good. Plus I got all "Martha Stewart" on myself and decorated the jars oh so cutely. But jam making isn't a short process so after hours of cooking, canning, sterilizing and cooling (all while sipping my vino), my writing at the very end was a little "off". That jar went to mom since she will love me no matter what. 21 jars later....and a loaf of zucchini bread.....and chili to freeze for lunch leftovers.

Saturday morning I woke and immediately hit the ground running....marinate the chicken, slow roast the ribs, clean the house for a day with my wonderful friends. Entertained a bunch of awesome adults and a bucket of the cutest darn kids in the afternoon....my friend Catrina made this dessert.....

Which is seriously my new crack. No joke. It is basically ice cream sandwiches, Cool Whip, chocolate sauce and heath bar crunchies. So simple but it really has to be one of the best summer desserts possible. And SO easy!

Leftovers from Sunday include about a whole chicken, a few ribs, a couple cobs of corn and two pieces of ice cream crack. Guess which one I am not willing to share.

And then I found a NEW brand of food crack on Sunday morning while preparing for the last shindig at Clover's house.

I am calling it OMG Macaroni and cheese. Because seriously? Oh my God.

My friend Tiffany tells me this is her favorite recipe...but she only uses the base and then pretty much does whatever she wants to to make it awesome. Including quadrupling the cheese. No typo there friends, that would be 4X the cheese. Hence the OMG factor.

As in the recipe calls for 8oz and she adds 2 POUNDS!!!!

This is what a pound and a half looks like....remember this is all going in one 13x9 pan.

I'm not sure where the noodles fit in to this whole situation, but I made it work,

That would be Goat Cheese, really good melty Gouda and Irish White Cheddar. And the whole pan gets crowned with a heaping portion of Asiago cheese and buttery bread crumbs.

Four servings were had by one attendee (we won't mention his name of course)....and Uncle Pip who rarely praises anything actually grunted and went back for seconds. Grudgingly of course.

I have a small container left here because I over estimated my pan and let me just tell you...I am hoarding this stuff!

And if this over the top crazy gut bomb wasn't enough to send my ass back to the gym I had to go and make dessert too.

Beauteous strawberries from the Channel Islands farmers market were sweetened with a little sugar to be thrown on top of indulgent shortcakes to round out my All American weekend. And as always I had to throw in a frigging monkey wrench and do things different because I can't just be normal like everyone else in the world.

So I created a buttermilk lemon curd with which to offset the uber sweet and rich flavors of the strawberry shortcake. It really worked, tart and tangy-it was a perfect foil to the berries and cream. I was proud to say the least.

Last but not least I am only making mention of the entree that Clover blessed us with on Monday. I am going to wait to share the recipe until I actually make it as I have to give you the whole experience. But I will share with you the title....

Chicken Skewers with.....

Bacon Paste.

I'm telling you, this needs it's own blog post because it is bloody brilliant. More to come. Promise.

I hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did celebrating our Independence with your friends and family!

OMG Macaroni & Cheese

Adapted from Food Networks "Super Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese"

8 T Butter, divided

4 T Flour

2 C Whole Milk

8 oz Irish White Cheddar, shredded

8 oz Holland Gouda , shredded

8 oz Goats Cheese

1 C Heavy Cream

Salt & Cayenne Pepper to taste

3/4 Pound Macaroni, cooked and drained

8 oz Asiago Cheese, shredded

1 1/2 C Panko Bread Crumbs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Meanwhile, melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a non-reactive saucepan. When bubbly whisk in flour and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring every now and then. Slowly whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, whisking on occasion for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove pan from heat and whisk in first three grated cheeses. Stir vigorously just until cheese has melted. Then whisk in heavy cream to adjust the texture and season to taste with salt and cayenne pepper. In a mixing bowl combine sauce with drained macaroni and adjust seasoning. Transfer mixture to a 13 x 9-inch baking pan and spread it out evenly. Top with the Asiago Cheese. Melt remaining butter in a small saute pan and add bread crumbs and cook until tasty, sprinkle bread crumbs on top. Bake until hot and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

*Note-If you want the additional flavor, substitute 4 T truffle oil for the butter when sauteing the bread crumbs. I did this with the leftovers and it was DIVINE!

Strawberry Shortcakes with Buttermilk Meyer Lemon Curd

Adapted from Paula Deen's Strawberry Shortcakes

Shortcakes

1 quart strawberries, hulled and quartered

1/4 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons sugar, plus 8 teaspoons

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 tablespoons butter, cold and cubed

2/3 cup half-and-half, plus 1/4 cup

Sweetened whipped cream

Buttermilk Meyer Lemon Curd

6 Egg Yolks

1/2 Cup Sugar

Zest from 2 lemons

3 T Lemon Juice

1 C Buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a medium mixing bowl, toss the strawberries and 1/4 cup sugar together. Set aside until time to serve.

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse together flour, baking powder, salt and 3 tablespoons of sugar. Then pulse in the cold butter cubes until a coarse meal is formed. Turn the flour mixture out into a large mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Pour in 2/3 cup half-and-half and gently mix it in with a rubber spatula or fork, be careful not to over mix the dough or the biscuits will be tough.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a couple of times until it just holds together. Pat the dough out to 3/4-inch thickness and cut out 8 round 3-inch biscuits.

Transfer the biscuits to a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Brush the tops of each biscuit with the remaining half-and-half and sprinkle each with 1 teaspoon sugar. Bake in a preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes or until the biscuits have risen and are a light golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let cool slightly.

Beat together eggs, lemon juice, sugar, zest and buttermilk in a stainless steel or copper bowl until blended. Cook over a water bath until frothy and thick, whisking the whole time. Cool over an ice bath and chill until it's time to serve.

Split each biscuit, spoon some strawberries on the bottom piece, then add the buttermilk lemon curd, then whipped cream and top with the other biscuit half.

I seriously thing I should get a medal for this weekend. At least silver. But really....I do need to feed someone with all these dang leftovers!

I be jammin'

I love this time of year. all of a sudden there is an abundance of produce to be had. A few weeks ago I went to my grandpa's house and his Saturn peach tree was heavy with fruit so ripe you had to eat it over the sink so as not to make a mess of yourself. The ones we salvaged and brought home were made in to a peach tart tatin. The plum tree was next and what we didn't eat raw was converted in to a plum crisp by my "I don't bake" Mommy.

Everywhere I turn it seems that someone has an overabundance of something and I just can't bring myself to see it wasted. I used to process and freeze things but last year I invested in some canning equipment and a book on "how to". My first couple experiments were small, but successful. Tomatoes, fig preserves, marinara and blueberry preserves. This year I am attempting to do it in bulk and so far, so good!

From my lovely bestie Clover came about 10# of uber ripe apricots which I decided to make into jam (duh). As usual I get these brainstorms late at night and end up finishing my project after 11:00 at which point I am bleary eyed with sleep and wine. Fortunately for me the cooking goddess likes me and generally blesses my forays in to territory unknown.

This batch was the first I made with pectin, which fortunately for me shortens the cooking time substantially and also results in a shiny beautiful jam. It was extremely easy and only requires a little patience in the canning process. I also bought the pectin that enables you to use less sugar or artificial sugar as my recipe called for an insane amount of sugar in ratio to the apricots, over double what the recipe below calls for. I could feel my teeth rotting just reading it. The fruit was so ripe there was no need to go overboard on the sugar.

Apricot Jam

5# Ripe Apricots, seeded and chopped

4 T Lemon Juice

1 Package (49g) Pectin

3 C Sugar

6-7 Eight oz jars with lids

Sterilize your jars and lids and set aside.

In a heavy bottomed pan, mix your fruit, lemon juice and pectin together well and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add the sugar all at once (best if you measure in to a bowl as opposed to cup by cup) and keep stirring. Bring to a good boil, it should turn shiny and thick. If there is any foam on top, skim that off with a spoon and discard.

Pour in to jars, leaving a 1/4" gap between the jam and the lid. Screw on the lids tight and put in a canner or a large pot of water (covering lids). Boil for 10 minutes and remove.

There is a great canning kit that I got from Bed Bath & Beyond, it is cheap, but has all the essentials for picking up the cans, grabbing lids and pouring your goodies in to the jars without making a total mess of your kitchen. You can find it here . 

Enjoy!

What it takes to get me back......Guilt!

It's been a while....two and a half months to be precise, but who's counting? Apparently  you as I have gotten comments from all 5 of my faithful readers in regard to my lack of posts in the past couple months and for that I am sorry.

My only "excuse" is that I truly have not cooked much over the last month and before that very little....along with that have had little time to post anything due to crazy work schedule and social schedule.

A quick photo montage with bits and pieces to fill you in since you've last heard from me. Please know that I took these photos thinking that I was going to share with you way sooner than this. :)

First bite of summer.

My Addy chomping on her watermelon at Joey & Charlies Birthday Party.

 

Cooking lesson with Nate.

Teaching my cousins buddy how to bone and cook a chicken. Comedy.

My Moms 2nd Surprise 60th Birthday Party

Complete with a whole roasted pig in Baja. We dressed the pig up, not the caterers.

Camp meat baby!

Dorado courtesy of yours truly. Ceviche only an hour later.

Yes, that is guacamole served with chicharrones. At a restaurant know affectionately as the "Pork Palace"

Holy crap. My own personal heaven. Could have made a meal or twelve out of this but powered up and realized that a new wardrobe would be in order.

Wine tasting Vay Cay with the bestie in Paso Robles

Wine, Cheese, Meat and other goodies for lunch, our favorite!

A week and dinner with my ladies, we always eat sooooooo well together!

"Blue" Salad

Blueberries from Clovers Family (biggest & best!), Blue Cheese, Almonds, Greens, Balsamic & EVOO

Clams and Bacon (you knew it was coming)

A little onion, tomato and white wine....perfect dippin' sauce!

Pacific Oysters on the half shell

Cocktail Sauce & Meyer Lemons

It feels good to be back...more to come, I am going to go make something else for you now.

Much love and happy cooking!

Success story

Forty years ago today my parents were married. It was a Tuesday and they did it in the Catholic church with my Grandma and Grandpa Kenton as their only witnesses. Mom's dress was a brown and white mini dress (very mini) and Dad wore a blue shirt, and tie with a brown coat. There was a small family party at my Grandparents house, no one remembers what they ate and my Aunt Joanie made a wedding cake.

Forty years later they have one (fabulous) kid, awesome friends and family and an amazing life together. Not bad for a couple who met on a blind date in the 70's.

They aren't much for celebrating this date, preferring to celebrate the date of their first date which surprisingly enough they both remember with better clarity than their wedding day. But I am not one to let an event like this pass without at least a little bit of celebration,

I only went overboard a little bit. Like the custom printed menus that I thought of today. Or the toast in the glass their best friends gave them as a wedding gift.

I told them they had a date tonight and that was it. Then as the week progressed, I finalized my menu and details and had way too much fun planning tonight's dinner.

Oysters on the Halfshell
Tomato, Meyer Lemon, Horseradish Sorbet

Nicholas Feuillate Brut Champagne

Seared Bay Scallops
Pea Puree, Pea Tendrils, Caviar

Baby Greens
Duck Confit, Gala Apples, Goat Cheese
Balsamic Vinegar & EVOO

Foley Winery Bar S Ranch Chardonnay

Rack of Lamb
Wild Mushroom Demi
Roasted Garlic Risotto Cake

Foxen "Toasted Rope" Syrah

For dessert I enlisted the help of a dear friend, lovely lady and talented pastry chef who, in her spare time, whipped up a gorgeous cake that my Dad couldn't get enough of.  

 

Wedding/Anniversary Cake

Chocolate Cake with Hazelnut Crunch Cake

Made with love by La Starr Heiliger from La Starr & Co

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!