My sister and niece, Sloane and Raina, had a long-weekend getaway to Portland, Oregon last month. I had the task… I mean the pleasure… of dog-sitting for their pooch, Bubo. When I say that Bubo is a spoiled brat, that is just glancing the tip of the iceberg. Yeah, he’s cute, and that is the only thing that kept me from ringing his little neck. We (as in Dave, my dad, and I) can’t agree if he is deaf, stupid, or just a brat. Bubo will NOT come when you call him; Dave thinks he can’t hear, Dad thinks he doesn’t know his own name – making him an idiot, I know that my sister has just spoiled him to pieces and that Bubo loves to be chased after. Ugg!

I am pretty hardcore when it comes to spoiled brats … Bubo did NOT sleep on our bed as suggested by Sloane, or even in our room for that matter. No – since he is a dog – he slept on his little pillow on the tile in the gated-off area of the breakfast room/kitchen/laundry room, and he was just fine with that… no whining or complaining, just sleeping all night. Although my sister brought over a bagful of various doggie treats, he only received one a day, not one every single time he looked up wistfully at me. He was not allowed to bite at my toes and fingers or tear into my shoes… you get the idea – I straightened him out, but I’m certain he’s back to his old antics… right, Sloane?

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The fun little picture above is meant to represent the number 100, as in 100 consecutive days of blog posts – a new record on my part.  When I made the decision back on September 10th (day 80 in a row), I had no idea just how difficult it would be to not miss a day for 3+ months. You never know what life is going to throw your way when you make a plan – a public statement – like that.  But in many ways, this blog is my therapy, it keeps me honest, and well, I just love doing it.

October is always my busiest month of the year, so I’m happy that it worked out that September 30th is day 100. Just for the sake a trivia and my amusement, the previous streak of consecutive posts was 72 back in June, July, August, of 2010.

I was wracking my brain thinking of what might be fun to make for post #100. I searched the web for food-related “100” and found nothing.

Then I went to Foodnetwork.com and found our own Chef Beau MacMillan, executive chef at Elements at Sanctuary with this video.  The video is from the show “The Best Thing I Ever Ate, Street Food”  and Beau is talking about H-100 tater tots from the Grill ‘Em All food truck in Los Angeles, CA.  Food truck chef Ryan Harkins named the tots after a hard-core rock band, H-100 from Ohio.

It was about a year and a half ago that Beau was right here in my kitchen cooking with Larry Fitzgerald and me. He is a great guy and if he loves these tater tots, I knew they must be something special. I’ve tried to re-create them here.  Next time I’m in LA, I’m going to find that truck and compare … ’cause man, these are awesome!

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If you have ever eaten at Chelsea’s Kitchen, here in Phoenix, then you have most likely enjoyed or watched someone else enjoy the out-of-this-world Brussels sprout salad.  The only thing I can’t get over is the price… $14 for a salad seems a tad pricey. Luckily this delicious salad is easy to make at home for just pennies on the restaurant dollar.

And this mustard vinaigrette… one of the best and most versatile vinaigrettes you will ever make. So although you don’t use even half of it for this salad, you are going to want to use it on salads from here on out!

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I’ve been on a blue cheese kick recently. Maybe there is a nutrient in it that my body is short on.  Let’s see, it is a good source of protein, calcium, and phosphorus. No, that’s probably not the reason. It is also high in sodium and is very high in saturated fat… hmm – that doesn’t sound good. This recipe redeems the blue cheese a little bit with its main ingredient, cauliflower. Cauliflower is low in fat, high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C.  Leave off the bacon garnish and use vegetable broth, and you’ve got yourself a delicious good-evil, yin-yang, angel-devil vegetarian soup.

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See that cutting board full of mustard greens, kale, radicchio, and Napa cabbage?  That was what I had purchased to use a liners and decoration for the platters of food at Terrie’s birthday party on Saturday night. Why is it on my cutting board today, 3 days after the party? You guessed it, I forgot to use them.  In the rush to dish out and serve the food, the greens in the refrigerator produce drawer were forgotten.  And as is typical, I remembered later that night as I lay in bed trying to fall asleep.  Peggy and Terrie discovered the drawer full the next morning while they were cleaning up, and brought them to me.  This recipe is what I came up with for using the kale, mustard greens and some of the radicchio. Tomorrow I’ll use the remaining radicchio and Napa cabbage for a crisp fresh salad or maybe a slaw for fish tacos.  P.S. I had planned on topping this dish with crumbled feta cheese, but when I opened the package… mold – eww.  So I shredded on some Jarlsberg instead – Yum!

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These quick and easy appetizers may be shaped however you like; as tartlets, purses, or turnovers. The recipe below describes how to make into tartlets. For purses, completely enclose the filling and brush the entire outside surface (except the bottom) with egg-wash. For turnovers, chop the apples and nuts into smaller pieces and fold into triangles, crimp the edges with a fork and brush all over with egg-wash. Personally, I prefer the tartlets for two reasons; you can see exactly what is inside and there is a higher filling to pastry ratio when the filling is not fully enclosed. It gives you more bang for your buck. Any version of these may be used to top a salad, but once again, I think the tartlets are the best option for that application as well.

I also prefer to use Trader Joe’s puff pastry for this recipe. The sheets are in a perfect square, without any folds. Pepperidge Farm is the other easy-to-find choice and will also work. The end product will be shaped slightly different, as their pasty comes folded in thirds and is a rectangular shape. It is also thinner, so no need to roll out, but you will need to thaw according to package directions before unfolding.

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Sometimes getting dinner on the table is the hardest part of the day; yes, for me too. Late yesterday afternoon a friend on Facebook posted this:

“ugghh! that dreaded time, dinner! I never know what to make and on top of it so tired from all those 1st graders.”

Not only is this friend obviously a first grade teacher, she is a wife and the mother of two young daughters. Before she started those wonderful phases of her life, she was my assistant at Les Petites Gourmettes one summer. I sent her two links to a couple of my “easy-breezy” recipes as a “comment” – while at the same time, I was actually having the same issue yesterday evening – “What am I going to do for dinner?” I had been deep-cleaning my house from the time I got up in the morning, right up until I realized that I really needed to stop and make dinner. I was exhausted, tired, and HOT. While the east coast has been gearing up for Hurricane Irene; in Phoenix, we’ve been under an “excessive heat advisory” all week. It was suppose to end tonight at 8:00 PM, but I just learned that it has been extended through Sunday  Monday- oh joy. (late entry – it was 117 degrees today – it is official – hottest August EVER, on record for Phoenix).
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When deciding what to serve for an appetizer party, it is important to think of all the various components:

hot and cold
meat and vegetarian
rich and mild
complex and easy-breezy
color on the table (you need to be careful that everything is not dark and brown)

I put out only four items for the Blog Anniversary Party, which is at least 3 less than I normally do. Taking that into consideration – all the above factors were especially important to keep in mind.

Here is what I offered and what purpose each served for the buffet:

Italian Guacamole with Ciabatta Chips – cold, vegetarian,  mild, colorful, easy-breezy, and diet-friendly

Bacon Lollipops – hot, meat, rich, complex, although lacking in color

Lamb Merguez Flatbread – hot, meat, rich, colorful, complex

Prosciutto, Melon, and Bocconcini Picks – cold, meat, mild, colorful, and exceptionally easy-breezy

(can be made vegetarian – substitute an heirloom cherry tomato for the prosciutto on half,  or all, of the picks)

The importance of having at least one easy-breezy recipe included in a party buffet can not be overemphasized. 

As the hostess, you need to know that there is at least one recipe that is no-fail, no-cook, and if all else falls apart, you could get your kid or spouse to complete it for you without too much direction. 

This recipe is exactly that, keep it in your repertoire!

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This in another recipe I’m recreating from that restaurant we love in San Francisco, Gitane Restaurant and Bar. It is one their Catalan Flatbreads.

Merguez is a fresh sausage made with lamb, beef, pork, or a mixture of two or all three. It is heavily spiced with harissa, garlic, peppercorns, cumin, fennel, and more. You can buy it online from several sources or make the homemade version, provided here.

For some insane reason, I forgot to sprinkle my finished flatbread with the fresh cilantro. It could have had something to do with all the martinis I was making (and enjoying) all night! Don’t follow my lead, it is the cilantro that truly makes this flatbread exceptional. Oh, and no worries, I promise that the martini recipes using my infused vodkas will be posted on Sunday.

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Bacon Bonbons – prunes stuffed with goat cheese, wrapped in smoked bacon, in a spiced port glaze

That is the full description on the menu at Gitane Restaurant & Bar in San Francisco – which I used to make these delicious and addicting little morsels at home. I served them on Tuesday night at the Blog Anniversary Party and they disappeared quicker than anything else on the table.

The one change I would make, is to cook them a little longer than I did for the party. Although wonderful as they were, I’d like for the bacon to be a bit crisper. I’ve increased the baking time in the recipe below as compared to what I did the other night.  Please keep that in mind when you make them. The bacon will look and be more “cooked” than reflected in my photo.

The name, Bacon Bonbons, is so cute. I can’t just steal it, so I’d like to come up with a new clever name for my version. I haven’t found it quite yet… as you will see. So, any help – from any one of you – would be graciously appreciated!  (Thank you JoAnne Halberg for coming up with a better name!)

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