Category — tips

I hope you had a relaxing Labor Day Weekend! Part of mine was spent in the desert sun and the other in the cool pines of Flagstaff. I returned Connor to school and on the drive back this morning, I was trying to decide about dinner.

Cruising up and down the winding mountains between there and here, I was thinking about my kids and about my pregnancies, of all things! Expecting was wonderful, but pregnancy itself, for me, was not! Let’s just say (without getting too graphic) that I knew I was pregnant, both times because I was suddenly so ill. There was no “morning sickness” for me… more like “every-single-waking-moment sickness, for the full 9 months!”

Amazing that I gave it a second try and had Connor! But of course, I thank God every day that I did! So anyhow, what does that have to do with Beef Stroganoff?

Well, it was one of the few things I absolutely craved, and wasn’t sickened by the smell of, and was somehow able to keep down, at least for a while. Understandably, I made it at least twice a week. Somehow my darling Marissa claims that she can’t stand it. But I would dare her to not love this version.

Back then I used stew meat and white mushrooms. I believe my gourmet daughter would appreciate the beef tenderloin and the wild mushrooms used here.

For the wild mushrooms, I use 1 1/2 ounce shiitake (the most affordable) and only a 1/2 ounce mix of other varieties. Instead of sour cream, I love to use really great Greek yogurt. It’s hard to find anything better than the Fage brand, even their non-fat (0%) is amazingly delicious, and best of all, you can find it at Trader Joe’s! So enjoy, pregnant or not!

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Not only is Connor home today, but Marissa also made a “drive-by” visit. In other words, she arrived home late in the afternoon, hung out with us until dinner, dressed and is out for the night, will come home sometime in the early morning hours, let’s say 1 or 2 AM, and sleep in her comfy bed, get up and go to the lake with friends, then drive back to Tucson for school on Tuesday. (I know, that is a record for a run-on sentence, even for me!) This is why I call it the “drive-by”… just time enough to eat and run. But hey, when your kids come home, it’s all good… all fair… I’m just happy to see them!

Plus dessert is in order when kids are home! Since it’s Labor Day Weekend – it doesn’t get much better than strawberries and shortcakes and whipped cream!

Now for a quick food processor tip. The dough for the shortcakes is very soft and is a bit difficult to get off the processor blade. The next time you have a messy blade, first get most of the contents out of the processor bowl, then just put the processor back together and turn it on for a second or two. The centrifugal force will basically clean off the blade and push all the contents onto the sides of the bowl. Remove the blade and use a rubber spatula to clean out the bowl. See pictures below.

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Ingredients for Green Chile Macaroni

Connor is coming home for the Labor Day weekend this afternoon. I texted him earlier this morning and asked what he would like for dinner… strangely enough, he said, “rotisserie chicken and good mac and cheese.”  The reason I say “strange” is because one of his most basic “college foods” is Easy Mac – so it is the last thing I’d ever guess he would want. But of course, he did say “Good” mac and cheese and that means one thing – Robert McGrath’s Green Chile Macaroni. This is the best mac and cheese you can imagine! Robert is one of my favorite chefs and honestly one of my favorite people. His cookbook, American Western Cooking has this and so many other amazingly delicious recipes.  I’m writing the recipe just as it appears in the book, but I generally use only 1/4 cup heavy cream plus 1/2 cup fat-free half-and-half.  And Connor really likes to have breadcrumbs on top of his mac and cheese. If you do too, just melt 1 tablespoon butter with 1 tablespoon olive oil in a small skillet, add 1 peeled and minced garlic clove and 1/2 cup dried bread crumbs or panko and sauté until crumbs are browned. Sprinkle on top just before serving.

Robert McGrath’s Green Chile Macaroni

1 tablespoon corn oil
1/4 cup diced poblano chile
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 cup diced red onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup sweet corn kernels
2 cups cooked elbow macaroni (about 1 cup dried before cooking)
1/2 cup roasted, peeled, and pureed poblano chile (see note below)
3/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup grated hot pepper Jack cheese
Kosher salt and cracked black pepper to taste

Heat the corn oil in a heavy pan over high heat and sauté the diced poblano chile, red bell pepper, red onion, and garlic until just tender. Add the corn kernels and sauté quickly.

Add the cooked macaroni, poblano puree, cream, and pepper Jack cheese. Stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. Season to taste and serve.

Serves 4

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Me at 2 years old

I finally took on a task that I’d been putting off for months… OK, not months, years!  Scanning pictures that are “pre-digital” onto my computer. See, this is what happens when your kids leave you for college – you do things! I found this picture in the stack and just couldn’t resist posting it. I am two years old here, according to my mom’s writing on the back. With an apron on! Wow, who knew?

Today’s tip has to do with fresh ginger root. It is something I don’t always have on hand but not something I’m willing to go to the store for if it’s the only thing I need. So I always buy a bit bigger piece than I’ll need, I peel the extra and slice it into “coins” about 1/2-inch thick. I have a jar in my fridge that I keep the ginger coins in that is filled with Sherry. That way whenever you need fresh ginger and don’t have it in the produce drawer, just pull out a coin or two, mince it up and you’re ready to go!

When working with pork tenderloin, you must always trim away the silver skin. Silver skin is a layer of white connective tissue or membrane that you find on pork tenderloin and a variety of other tender meats.  It is tough as rubber and needs to be removed before cooking.  It is not difficult to do; cut it off in then strips, angling a sharp paring knife against the membrane, not the meat, then slide your knife along the silver skin, pulling back tightly on it, and continue to do so until the loin is clean. See the picture below.
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Jam and Raspberry-covered cups ready for custard

This afternoon I taught a cooking class for 25 fifteen-year-old young ladies who belong to NCL, National Charity League. NCL is a wonderful organization that my daughter, Marissa, and I belonged to when she was in high school. It brings mothers and daughters together in philanthropic and cultural activities. For dessert, I made a super-quick and amazingly easy version of crème brûlée.  Since I made more than 30 servings, the photos are not exactly consistent – different ramekin shapes and different baking pans are pictured, so please overlook that.
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This is one of my favorite recipes of all time. I have served it as an appetizer (using the leg of lamb cubes for little kebabs) and as a main course, as here with lamb chops, to literally hundreds of people and there has never been even one person who didn’t love it.

People who had given up on lamb saying that they found it too “gamey” ask for the recipe! The pomegranate juice truly transforms the lamb into the most delicious meat imaginable.

Pomegranate molasses can be found bottled in many Middle East markets, but it could not be easier to make yourself. You can see the 3 ingredients in the photo above.

A couple of items in the photo may look strange – allow me to explain. You ask, “What are those black sticks in your sugar jar?”

Answer: They are dried vanilla beans. You see, every time a recipe calls for a fresh vanilla bean, let’s say crème brûlée… once I’ve finished with the bean, I dry it off, and stick it in my sugar jar. The sugar takes on a hint of vanilla flavor, a bonus for just about any recipe calling for sugar.

Next question – “What is that stuff floating in the measuring cup holding the Pom juice?”

Answer: Frozen lemon juice. Living in Scottsdale, we have an abundance of citrus trees and in December – February, that citrus is coming out of our ears. My one and only lemon tree produced a plethora of lemons this year. I was zesting and juicing lemons daily for months plus giving away boxes upon boxes of citrus. It was a huge pain then, but of course, I am grateful and happy now with all the zip-locks bulging from my freezer.

To freeze the juice, I fill standard-size muffin tins to nearly the top (each muffin cup holds 1/4 cup of juice) and freeze the tins uncovered overnight. The next day, label a gallon-size zip-lock freezer bag with the date and “1/4 cup lemon juice each.” Then pop out the frozen “juice muffins” and immediately get them into the labeled zip-locks and back into the freezer. They will keep for about 1 year, just in time to start the process over again.

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Ingredients to make Banana-Nutella-Granola Cookies!

If you have been to Paris, then you have probably had a Nutella crepe and possibly of Banana-Nutella crepe.  And when you arrived home after your amazing vacation you most likely went to the store, got yourself a little jar of Nutella, and came home and made yourself some crepes!  I know that after every trip I make to Paris, one of the first things I want to make are crepes, it keeps the illusion that you haven’t left the City of Light alive in your heart.  It’s been a year and 3 months since I was last there – when Dave, Connor, and I went over to join Marissa for a wonderful 2-week vacation.  Needless to say, we had to bring her home, kicking and screaming, after her magical “semester abroad!”   Plus my mentor and dear friend, Barbara Pool Fenzl, owner of Les Gourmettes Cooking School, just left this very day for France, so in her honor, I made no crepes – since there is no one here to eat them with me 🙁   But instead cookies.  As we all know,  you can freeze cookies and share them with loved ones when they come home to visit from college!

NOTE: In the “ingredients” photo at the top, you’ll notice that the bananas are quite brown.  This is because once bananas become ripe on my counter, and I don’t have the time to bake, I place them in either the refrigerator or the freezer. Either option turns the skin as brown as brown can be.  If refrigerated, use within a few days, and if frozen, best within a few weeks.

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I’m wondering how long this new feeling I’m experiencing will last? “What feeling?” you ask – Guilt, that’s what! It’s 11:15 PM and although I’ve worked diligently on the blog off and on all day (setting up links and learning new things- thanks, as always, to Cyndi)

I have yet to post anything for the day. I don’t bother much with the emotion of guilt, I don’t find it to be very productive, so this is a new feeling for me! Honestly, I really am having a great time and am so excited about my 9-day-old blog in fact my horoscope – I’m a Scorpio – has been crazy dead on. Today’s for example:

“You’re feeling wonderful. Exhilarated, excited and anxious for all new things to happen. Well here’s a newsflash: just thinking about change – the way you are – means it’s already started. Everything begins as a thought – as an idea – right? So now your only job is to get the show on the road with some action. Map out a battle plan on paper and get it started.”

WOW! Anyhow besides slaving away on the “inner workings” of this site, I was also messing with my cable/TiVo connection for a larger part of the morning… sometimes all this techno stuff just really ticks me off. After doing back-bends, restarts, consulting TiVo.com, and finally having to call them twice, it all came down to unplugging it all (TV, TiVo box, cable box, and VCR) waiting 10 seconds, and plugging it all back in so it could all reboot and be happy again. That’s all it took! And honestly, that is what I usually think of first, WTH?!

The day wasn’t a total loss though, because I enjoyed a wonderful “end of the summer ladies-who-lunch” date at Lon’s with Barbara Fenzl and Kim Howard, my “Cooking Partners in Crime.”  So hurray for that! Anyhow, since we only had leftover salmon, peppers, and pesto available for dinner, I will just have to put up a cocktail recipe for today!

My BFFs, Peggy and Anne, and I discovered this great drink at Ocean Prime Restaurant back in the late summer of ’08, on a girl’s night out. I served it at a Christmas party in mid-December and then in January, I shared it with my other BFFs, Jen and Jeff – who live in Illinois. We hadn’t had it again until this month, twice now! First with Peggy and Anne a couple of weeks ago and then again last night with the Froggatt’s at our Basil & Bay dinner. I know it sounds like a strange combo, but after serving it to more than about 3 dozen different people, I haven’t found one person who does not absolutely love it- so don’t knock it till you try it!

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I woke up this morning and just can’t believe all the work “The Amazing” Cyndi has done on my site!  It is already looking more wonderful than I could have imagined!  Thank you, dear friend!

Marissa went back to Tucson yesterday, so on Thursday night, we had a quick and easy dinner consisting of Stuffed Pork Chops, Parmesan Asparagus, and Caprese Salad. The thing I really love about this pork chop recipe is that it is so quick and versatile.  I keep boneless chops and some sort of sausage in my freezer at all times.  If it’s not hot Italian sausage, then it’s the sweet variety or chorizo.  Onions and garlic are always on hand.  And if I don’t have fennel, then celery or carrots are great substitutes. No fresh rosemary?  No problem, use dried, just use half as much, as the dried herbs are about twice as potent as fresh …as long as it hasn’t been in your cupboard for the last dozen years!

Dried spices and herbs do not spoil, but they do lose their strength.  A lot of cookbook writers and chefs tell you to purge your pantry once an herb or spice is about 6 months old. But the spice companies, including McCormick and Penzeys, say differently. They tell you to keep and use the spices as long as they appear to have flavor.  And hey, they are the ones that would be raking in even more big bucks if we followed those writers and chefs, so I go along with them!  It certainly helps if you store them correctly though.  Store in an airtight container, in a cool, dry place.  And most of us are guilty of storing them too close to the oven or stovetop… that is not a “cool” place!  Spices retain their potency longer than you’d think — as long as 4 years for whole spices, 2 to 3 years for ground spices, and 1 to 3 years for herbs.  Whole spices such as peppercorns, cinnamon sticks, cloves, cumin, and cardamon hold their flavor for many years. Whenever possible, whole spices are the way to go, and toasting those spices in a dry skillet will bring out the oils and therefore bring out even more and better flavor.  Invest $20 or so in an extra electric coffee grinder, dedicated just for spices, cause “cumin flavored coffee” – eeww!.  Don’t want the flavor of peppercorns in with your cinnamon?  In between spices, “clean” the grinder by grinding either dry white rice or a slice of fresh bread, then just toss out the rice/bread. Either one will take away the flavor of the precious spice.

Herbs lose their flavor faster than spices. Dried herbs that have no color and no or very little smell when crumbled in the palm of your hand are not going to do your dish any favors, but if they still have fragrance when crumbled in your hand, use them, taste the dish and add more, if needed. For a list of herbs and spices, you should have on hand, go to Pantry Stocking on the “Tips” page or to the July 9, 2009 post.

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Glossary of Basic Cooking Terms

AL DENTE: Slightly undercooked, to a chewy consistency, from the Italian phrase “to the tooth.” Usually refers to the cooking of pasta but also applies to vegetables that are blanched, left still slightly crisp.

ASPIC:  A jelly made from clarified meat, poultry, fish, or vegetable stock.

AU JUS:  Roasted beef, lamb, or poultry served with natural pan juices that accumulate during their cooking.

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