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

[Read more →]

My cute little kids… when they were little.. and they’re still cute!

I’ve spent the last two days, and I mean all day – never leaving the house; scanning old pictures onto my computer. It’s satisfying, but my neck and back are barking – loudly! I think a massage is in order for a Labor Day gift to myself.

This scanned picture is of my two little chefs back in 1994. Marissa is 6 and Connor is just 2 1/2 years old. One of their most loved vegetables is asparagus and this is their favorite way to have it prepared. The thing I like about it – is it’s quick and easy. If you end up having it as often as we do, be sure and double or triple the Parmesan-Butter mixture and either refrigerate or freeze. Another great thing, there is no need to blanch the asparagus first, it is perfectly tender-crisp when it comes out from under the broiler. Sorry, the pictures below are a bit out of focus and have so much glare, I think it’s the aluminum foil’s fault, but be sure to use the foil, otherwise, the pan is a huge pain to clean.

[Read more →]

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.
[Read more →]

This recipe was last night’s dinner, served with sides of roasted garlic mashed potatoes and blanched asparagus and green beans (leftover crudites from the NCL Saturday class) that were heated and dressed with the same Garlic Parmesan Crema used to season the roast.  Most Sundays my dad comes over and we play cards (Spades, Hearts, Gin Rummy, and/or Pinochle before dinner, and the meals are usually standard meat/potatoes.  But honestly, you can’t beat an inexpensive beef roast on the weekend. Today is my dear friend’s, Larry Fitzgerald, birthday – he is a mere 26 years old today.  We’ve been in the kitchen together since he was 22 and he is an excellent cook and an amazing person.  Happy Birthday, Fitz!

[Read more →]

I am saddened by the news of the passing of Sheila Lukins on Sunday, August 30, 2009. The last time I saw Shelia was when she came to teach at Les Gourmettes Cooking School and promote her newest cookbook, Ten, in December 2008.  She was a dynamo and she will be sadly missed.  Shelia’s most famous cookbook and still one of the best cookbooks 25 years later is The Silver Palate Cookbook she co-wrote with Julee Rosso.  It came out in 1979, the same year I graduated from high school, and it was one of the first cookbooks I owned.  A couple of my favorite recipes from it were, and still, are, Strawberry Chocolate Tart and Tarragon Chicken Salad (recipe below).  I love that book to this day and it reminds me that I wanted to put up my list of cookbooks you should own… please post comments about cookbooks that are on your “must-have” list!
[Read more →]

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.
[Read more →]

Julia Child and Linda – April 2000

Instead of a recipe – today I’m posting a very special picture, special to me anyhow. It was taken at the 2000 International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Conference.
[Read more →]

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.

[Read more →]

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.

[Read more →]

I promised myself that I would post before 10 PM today, and it’s a promise I am keeping! I need sleep! I have been obsessed, which is what happens when I get into something new. If I love a book, I don’t put it down until it’s finished.

For example- a few summers ago, when the 5^th Harry Potter book was released on a Friday morning, I bought two copies (well, we always buy 2 copies, one for each of my kids’ libraries). One copy went with Dave and the kids on a plane that afternoon back to Illinois to see his family. The other was with me, in bed, which I read straight through, no eating, no sleeping, no anything (except toilet breaks!) until the book was finished. Mind you this is an 800+ page book.

Then on Saturday morning, when I’d finished it, I got dressed and shopped for that next week’s classes, came home, and went to bed until the next morning. But that’s how it is and that’s how it’s been with these posts too. I’m going to have to get on a more daylight schedule! Most of today’s daylight has been spent putting up links to sites I wanted to share with you. Most are cooking sites or blogs, and some of the others are friends’ sites. Then there are sites that are just filled with lovely and artistic photos, many Paris inspired!

photo from The Paris Apartment

Like this gorgeous photo (I have died and gone to heaven!) from The Paris Apartment! So check them out and enjoy! The following recipe was partially inspired by a sandwich I had this summer in California. It was with grilled chicken and had a tasty and unique corn-onion mayonnaise. I haven’t been able to get that mayo out of my mind since, and every now and then when friends ask things like “is mayo gluten-free” or “how do I make my own” I end up thinking back to it. I picked up skirt steak with the intention of making fajitas but then found in the newly arrived Sept issue of Bon Appetit a sandwich recipe using…Grilled Corn Mayonnaise! Funny how things like this show up in different places around the same time… so now here is my version…

[Read more →]