Red Kitchen Recipes

Ferneau Cooking Class - Outdoor Grilling

2013-05-12T18:51:00.000-05:00

I have had the best Mother's Day ever! I stayed in bed while my daughters served up breakfast in bed, consisting of a microwave - scrambled egg and a slice of bacon, delivered on a cookie sheet with 2 Hallmark cards. Then we watched the movie Parental Guidance, and it was perfect for the occasion. Earlier on in the weekend, I had received an email from a gentleman who needed a Mother's Day gift certificate to a Ferneau Cooking Class. I think pretty quickly on my feet, and I try to provide a quick turnaround time of customer service, so I was glad to be able to get this man out of a bind on his day - before - request. He reminded me of my brother and his last minute holiday shopping for his wife and/or previous girlfriends.

Ferneau Cooking Classes dazzle newcomers a bit. Almost always, someone will wonder in, look around at the beautiful space where we conduct our classes, at Ridge at Chenal Valley, and express their awe over the beauty. Apartment living in Chenal Valley is closer to resort style living, and the amenities have surpassed those of the days when I was in my early twenties moving from apartment to apartment looking for lower rent and a better pool. These days, I feel like I live in a hotel. Like a W Hotel. Where I get to hold cooking classes, meet other foodies, and enjoy food masterfully crafted by one of Little Rock's best Executive Chefs, Chef Donnie Ferneau. Those pork chops....some of the best I've ever had. He has a way of making the simplest things so flavorful and perfectly tender. And you can tell he has fun doing it.

My friend Debbie of Dining with Debbie joined us for the Outdoor Grilling class where we started in the clubhouse kitchen prepping ingredients, then we all meandered outside together to the full kitchen area along the poolside. Ferneau Cooking Classes are like having a fun cookout where you get to meet other people who love food. You get 3 courses for $50, and wine is included as well as the featured cocktail. Then the cleanup is on us, too. We have quite a beautiful, scenic view outdoors with lots of green trees and two gazebos. Like I said...Resort style living.

We serve the meals up family style, and we all enjoy visiting with each other as we chow down on the food.

The appetizer that Chef Ferneau started us with was a Bruschetta with Tomato Concasse, a term that you'd know if you joined us for a Ferneau Cooking Class. The brilliant chef talks along the way, explaining his cooking techniques as well as introducing you to food terminology that you can then share with friends later on, but try not to sound like a pretentious food snob! (I'm a big fan of Jack Handey.)

When Chef Ferneau came to speak to my daughter's second grade class about the importance of nutritious food, he said that grilled vegetables were some of his favorite things to eat. And we all had plenty on this night! Lately I've really enjoyed the grilled green onions!

I don't cook with a blender, mixer, or other large and cumbersome food processor, so its refreshing to see my friend Chef Donnie whip up some good sauces by hand. This chimichurri was delicious atop the bruschetta as well as alongside the grilled pork chops and flank steak.

The potatoes with herbs were pretty enticing, wrapped in foil and roasted on the grill. I even gave up my no carbs after 2:00 rule.

Hand - whipped cream. No electronics! Talent...

Desserts with fruit are my favorite! Join us for a Ferneau Cooking Class and experience it for yourself.

Rockport Stew

2013-05-04T13:35:00.002-05:00

I'm getting ready to head out the door to go to the Arkansas Times Heritage Hog Roast, and I've been noticing a few pictures of the whole hogs with their heads and eyes still intact from some of the participating roasters. And I thought posting head - on shrimp would make people squeamish! Ha! I've been meaning to get this recipe posted. It came from a cyber friend Jimmy who posted it to my Facebook page a while back. I was so glad to see this recipe. If you're looking for head - on shrimp, check at Whole Foods. That's where I got mine. I enjoyed it so much, especially on a chilly May day in Arkansas. We have some crazy weather, people. This recipe is from Caller.com

Southern Gourmasian Gnocchi

2013-05-03T19:51:00.000-05:00

I can tell when I talk to the owner of The Southern Gourmasian food truck that he's the type of person who has wheels turning constantly in his mind. I've been following the truck for a while now, and the friendly chef is usually asking me my opinion of some idea he has or telling me about a food plan that he has soon. (He appreciates that I have a passion for food and knows that I write a food blog.)

My day job is in advertising, and I've had the pleasure of talking to business owners over the years about what makes their business better, why people should choose them over the competition, and how they will keep customers coming back when I send them there via radio, TV, print, or Internet. I see how some business owners just constantly have wheels turning. It's a great thing. Who knows what makes one business thrive while the other fails. I asked this of Pleasant Ridge Town Center's Angie J. herself during a meeting. Look at how much Schickel Development has grown! Amazing!! In 2008, I thought we were experiencing an economic downturn. But they were building Pleasant Ridge Town Center as well as The Promenade at Chenal.

It made no sense then, but look! Little Rock gained from local shopping. Instead of going to Dallas or the Internet, I could save on gas money, stay in West Little Rock (my favorite), engage in shopaholic tendencies, and contribute to local economic growth!

If you've never had gnocchi, they are Italian dumplings that can be served up in any manner..with sauces, in soups, etc. I have had these in a few places from Little Rock to St. Louis to Midtown Manhattan. I've enjoyed them, and I've bought them in the store many times. I've never had them home-made like these perfect little pillowy soft, tender, toasted and flavorful Southern Gourmasian gnocchi. They need no sauce at all. In some Italian restaurants, you can have them drowned in sauce. I enjoyed them so much more with Southern Gourmasian's combination of pork torchon, baby mustards, grilled radishes, pickled red onion, and radish salad. The flavor combination was amazing!! Many of these things were from their home garden. We foodies love farm to table food!

Eat from The Southern Gourmasian when you can, know that I highly approve of them without fail, and look forward to an upcoming cooking class with the chef himself - I'm hoping he shares his secret to the best gnocchi ever! Okay, so it's Thomas Keller's recipe, but I'd love to watch his technique on how to get it done right! Email me at ThanhRasico@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Cooking Class with The Southern Gourmasian coming soon! Stay in touch! :)

Balsamic Soy Sauce Glazed Chicken

2013-04-14T14:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a great week night meal that you can throw together pretty quickly without having to pay a whole lot of attention to it. I noticed often in cookbooks that people made their own barbecue sauce, and it made me wonder why because barbecue sauce is so inexpensive, easy to find, quick and convenient. So I read the labels of just about every sauce on the shelf in the stores that I frequent. It paid off, because at a cookout at my brother's house recently, I could quickly scan the labels of the four sauces he offered, and I knew which sauces had high fructose corn syrup and which didn't. I was glad he had McClards, so I chose it for the delicious ribs he smoked! Otherwise, I usually buy Stubbs if I'm buying from the store. Of course, my husband ate his ribs with no sauce. Some people think that's the only way to eat ribs, and they'll tell you that. I don't care how others eat their ribs, so I don't go around telling people that dry is the only way to go.

I was glad to find an easy sauce to make at home - like the professional cookbook writers. I usually give credit when I find a recipe, but this was jotted down on a note in my junk drawer. I finally found a time to make it, and I was glad I did. For the sauce, you just throw the ingredients into a small saucepan and let everything come up to a boil, a light stir, and reduce to low to reduce and thicken.

For non - sandwich eaters, you can leave the meat on the bone and just spread the sauce on top. Gianna enjoyed hers on a lightly toasted ciabatta bun with the sauce drizzled on top.

Ingredients:

For the marinade: soy sauce or tamari, garlic powder, black pepper
8 pieces of chicken legs & 8 pieces of chicken thighs
1/3 c. brown sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. soy sauce or tamari

Directions:

Marinate the chicken for a couple of hours or overnight in a large sealable bag.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake chicken for 30 minutes.
Reduce hear to 350 degrees. Bake chicken another 30 minutes.
Combine last 5 ingredients in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Once it comes up to a light boil or simmer, stir to combine.
Reduce heat to low for about 10 minutes, then spread on top of the chicken when ready.
For sandwiches, toast your ciabatta bun in the oven at 400 degrees about 8 minutes. Shred the chicken, then spread the sauce on top.

Foodie Friday Post for Arkansas Women Bloggers

2013-04-12T23:28:00.003-05:00

I was extremely excited to get to be the guest writer for the wonderful group Arkansas Women Bloggers today for Foodie Friday! Check out my Vietnamese Crab and Asparagus Soup with Corn at their web site!

Jumbo Gumbo 2013

2013-04-10T23:34:00.000-05:00

Last weekend's Jumbo Gumbo Cookoff arrived just in time with perfect sunny weather after a couple of dreary, chilly, soaking wet days. I had been looking forward to the event for weeks, since I had been invited to be a part of the Foodie Fan Club. I, along with fellow food blogger friends Michael Roberts of Arkansas Foodies and Kevin Shalin of The Mighty Rib had the great honor of handing out our own Silver Spork awards to the team we deemed the best gumbo based on no mathematical equation whatsoever. The table you see here where I perched my schwag for the picture op actually belonged to the chef judges who sat and tasted the top 12 gumbos, scored them by several categories and contributed to the systematically tabulated final calculation to determine the top 3 best gumbos in the competition. When I looked over chef judge Todd Gold's shoulder at his scorecard, I saw a bunch of numbers in rows and columns which gave nothing away.

There's my Silver Spork award. It felt so special to have my name and claim to fame right there in print to be handed out. I was so happy that Drake's Gumbeaux, the team I gave my award to was equally excited to receive the award. They also received an award for ranking among the top 12 out of over 30 teams at the competition. Outside of Jumbo Gumbo, they also won 1st place last year in the 2012 Duck Gumbo competition in Stuttgart. I just loved the flavor of their gumbo. I have a love for gumbo, and I knew that at the prospect of having so many great choices, I would have to realize which ones I could love and leave from the ONE that I would love and return to for more.

Two more of the top 12 contestants shared their awards with me. The LSU team had a fantastic tasting gumbo which she topped with freshly fried okra. I swear my hairstylist Michael at Caracalla just told me he had done the very same thing the last time he made gumbo. The outcome of the crunchy okra in the saucy mix was brilliant! This would be one of the tricks learned from Jumbo Gumbo that I will be trying!

The ortho team Brace Yo Self also had a phenomenal presentation for their gumbo topped with vibrant chopped green onions and toasted french bread predunked in the flavorful sauce for your pleasure. If I hadn't still been thinking about Drake's Gumbeaux, I would have seriously thought about handing my Silver Spork award to team Brace Yo Self! There were a lot of great names in attendance by the way!

They even said that I was about the fourth person who had been by to take a picture. That says a lot. Maybe half of cooking is making it good looking!

They even had hot sauces of your choice to the side, water to offer, and pretty beads. I ldo love a nice ambience when I dine.

Again, another eyecatching name. Also positioned perfectly as if to be a street sign along the walkway.

My husband was happy to be in town to enjoy the sunny goodness, away from temps of 22 below and frozen eyelashes in Alaska. We had a great time basking in the sun, agreeing to disagree on several of the tastings, and walking around holding hands for date night/gumbo judging.

Little Rock's River Market Pavillion is always a fun place for enjoying the outdoors. We've been here often for Farmers Markets, ice skating in the winter, and school field trips. Look at that beautiful blue sky!

Kevin and I took a moment to pose with Francis the crawfish. Hey, watch that claw!

The event lasted from 5 - 9 pm. It went by pretty quickly to me. Before I knew it, Melissa was up on the stage announcing the top 12, then Mayor Stodola took the stage later to announce the top 3.

Contestants also had the opportunity to win by Fan Favorite. The more people stuffed your jars, the more of a chance you have to win. Proceeds went to benefit The Allen School.

So now you've had a look at Jumbo Gumbo 2013. Next year, come on out and "Let the good times roll." You can have a quick sampling of each of competing teams' gumbo at their booth, or you can grab a handy muffin tin, fill it with rice, leave one space open for your drink, and walk around with plenty to eat. My advice is to get there sooner than later!

Congrats again to the Drake's Gumbeaux team!! We look forward to seeing you at Jumbo Gumbo 2014!

Duck Breast with Shitake Mushrooms

2013-04-07T23:32:00.000-05:00

Just in case you don't utilize the search bar to the left of my blog to look up recipes for duck breast, one of my favorite proteins, I decided to put up a new post with a new picture to reiterate my love for this superior poultry. I found while dining across the country during my years as a pharmaceutical sales rep that duck breast is best served medium rare in the finer establishments. The Food Network recipe here actually prepares their duck breast in almost the exact same way that I do. In a few select upscale restaurants in Little Rock, you may find duck breast on the menu. Probably for no less than $20 per dish. This particular breast that I found at Terry's was also over $20 for just one breast (uncooked). But sometimes I just crave the good stuff. Then I go broke the rest of the week and eat stuff like plain old chicken. I would never eat chicken this rare, though. Duck is a big French specialty, and I love French cuisine.

Ingredients:

1 D'artagnan Fresh Magret Duck Breast
2 tbsp organic, lower sodium tamari, or soy sauce
1 tbsp fish sauce, optional
1 tbsp turbinado sugar
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp shao hsing rice cooking wine, or chicken broth
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 8 oz. package fresh shitake mushrooms, cleaned

Directions:

Score the fat side of the duck crosswise without cutting into the meat.
Place inside a large sealable bag, add the tamari, fish sauce, sugar, & garlic powder.
Marinate overnight or up to 2 days.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Sear the duck fat side down in a pan over high heat for about 6 minutes, turn and sear another 2 - 3 minutes. Place in the oven and roast an additional 20 minutes.
Using the remaining duck fat from the pan, add the peppers and mushrooms.
Add the cooking wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen the browned bits.
Add the oyster sauce and saute until the vegetables are soft and have absorbed the sauce.
Let the duck rest like you would a steak before slicing into it.

Also try Shirataki Noodle Soup with Duck, another favorite recipe of mine.

Sandy's Homeplace Cafe - Little Rock, AR

2013-04-02T23:17:00.000-05:00

Today was a great day for some comfort food. The Spring weather sprung, then the Natural State's typical temperamental skies brought April showers with some really chilly air. I had never been to Sandy's, although my husband often made it there over the years to catch up with his long time friend Chris whenever Honey is in town from work. He brags about the amazing food that is prepared for him at the camp where he works in Alaska a few weeks on and a few weeks off. Fresh - caught cod and salmon, Prime Rib night, all kinds of manly food for the hard workers on the desolate North Slope. Leaving me to think, what do you think my food is.....chopped liver?

But wait, this is chicken liver. His favorite chicken liver. So good that it keeps him coming back almost as often as U.S. Pizza keeps him coming back for their large pepperoni, garden salad, and cold beer.  That's my husband's kind of food. My kind of food is usually overpriced or hard to find. While I introduce the kids to things like carpaccio and duck confit, Jereme offers Shipley donuts and Coca Cola. I cringe a little, but it's like my favorite manager said, "Just do the right thing most of the time." I think he was talking about food choices.

Sandy's has been around a long time. You can tell by the dated interior, the old tables, old chairs, the floors, the walls, and the way the owner herself walks around greeting people at their tables by name. The buffet is tiny with a section of chicken livers and some chicken fried steak as your main course. Two large Crock Pots each hold a choice of white or brown gravy. The vegetable choices today that I noticed were mashed potatoes, boiled okra, cabbage, and corn. I don't think you could fit much else on there. But the staff was attentive, in and out of the kitchen checking to keep the buffet full. Refilling tea and water and keeping fresh, sliced white onions out on the table. Sandy herself hollered at someone at one point by name to tell him where the rolls were kept.

My husband was telling me about how Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe came in before I got there. He asked Jereme if "you boys save any food for me?" Jereme always likes to pat politicians on the back good 'ol boy style. "I thought you packed your lunch, Gov." That got a chuckle. "As a matter of fact, as a public servant, shouldn't you have parked further down the road and walked a little?" My husband likes to go there... (There had been a gentleman who placed an orange cone out front for the Governor's vehicle. The parking lot is also small.) More chuckles.  Arkansas has had some pretty amicable Governors, you know. We had 2 Term President Bill Clinton, and then we also had 2008 Presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

As I looked around Sandy's, amazed at how the mainstays always keep it so simple, I notice a few notables in their suits and ties. An ex news guy who now works in radio. The suits and ties are mixed in table by table with blue - collared workers in their jeans and Carhartt attire. Jereme and I are the same. I'm in my suit for my daytime advertising sales job while he's in casual North Face fleece, not that it's as cold as Alaska.   I'm one of only 3 women at Sandy's, besides her.  Her place reminds me of many other mainstays off the beaten path of downtown Little Rock. Even in the industrial area of Little Rock, on 15th Street, I still recognize the politicos entertaining people here when they can entertain them anywhere they want.  As I enjoy my plate full of food, nodding my satisfaction, my husband reads my mind.

"You can't just do a place like this. It has to be food that everyone likes with classic sides." I agree and continue to scope it out. "Two different choices everyday, but the same every week." No stress of having to work out menu choices. Low overhead. Only open for lunch.  Steadily busy on the day that chicken liver is the special.

Jereme asked if I'll come back to Sandy's with him. Of all his favorite places, at least this is the one where I don't have to worry about crappy service ruining my meal. I maintain a nice Zen most of the time (maybe it's in my Vietnamese blood), and it takes a lot to disrupt that, and today I saw nothing at Sandy's that I didn't like. I told Sandy I wished she would make meatloaf, but she wont budge from the handwritten menu posted by the register. I'll just have to enjoy all of her other dishes. And I know I will.

For more info on Sandy's, this was what I found.

Pork & Chive Burger

2013-03-24T15:57:00.002-05:00

This recipe began as an attempt to make a turkey burger recipe that my friend Neil told me about. It came from Runner's World. When he told me that he needed sriracha, and there was also fish sauce in the recipe, it quickly caught my attention. When I was younger, I seasoned pork patties with fish sauce and garlic powder, nuked them in the microwave, and had myself a little snack. Not exactly something that I would share on my blog. But to hear that someone else made a burger with fish sauce! Hmmmm....

With the presence of fish sauce and sriracha in the recipe, I was surprised they didn't even call it an Asian turkey burger. I personally put fish sauce in just about every meal involving protein anyway. So I guess it's becoming more of a universal ingredient. I read somewhere that the combination of fish sauce and sugar keeps meat moist. And I hate dry meat. On that note, as I was looking over the turkey section, I was surprised at how expensive it is compared to other ground meat. So I grabbed ground pork instead. It was $2 less! Then, deviating even further from the turkey burger recipe, I added chives to my pork burger mixture because I thought I'd like the green color of the chives mixed in with the meat.

After gently mixing the ingredients, score into 4 sections. I used this old rice steamer spatula thingy.

Start with a grill pan, heat it up, take off the heat, then spray generously with canola spray. That's one of the things I learned in the Ferneau Cooking Classes that I help coordinate. You start with a cold pan, heat it up, then add oil. By the way, my kids aren't fans of regular buns, so I used sourdough mini baguettes. I like this picture because I really enjoy grill marks.

The turkey burger recipe called for one part sriracha and one part mayo. It was more like 2 parts mayo for me. First try was too spicy! My friend Dock thought of doing this in the nineties. He loves this stuff!

Use the same grill pan to grill the pork patties.

The recipe also called for alfalfa sprouts, but I chose cilantro instead.

So while there are some similarities in these 2 recipes, there are many differences as well. I guess I'll say this is my adaptation.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp unrefined sugar
1 tbsp garlic powder
About 1/4 cup of snipped chives
sea salt, to taste
2 mini baguettes, split and sliced in half
1 avocado
juice of half a lime
handful of cilantro
sriracha, about 1 tbsp
mayo, about 2 tbsps

Directions:

Mix the pork lightly with fish sauce, sugar, chives, and garlic powder.
Score into 4 sections, then toast the bread. Heat a grill pan over medium high heat, remove when ready, and spray with canola spray. Lay the bread slices facing down, and press flat. I use a bacon press.
Make the sauce by combining the sriracha and mayo.
Slice the avocado, squeeze the lime juice over it, then season with sea salt.
Chop the cilantro.
Make 4 pork patties, then cook about 6 minutes per side until done.
Assemble and enjoy! The sauce should be dripping down your arm.

Cajun Shrimp Risotto

2013-03-23T10:54:00.002-05:00

I love Creole and Cajun cuisine. When I shared an apartment with a friend from New Iberia, Louisiana, I went home with her often to visit her family and enjoy huge holiday meals. They also owned Savoie's Foods for a while, so I sampled every bit of their products. These were college years when I didn't really cook, so it was much easier to just heat up easy packaged meals shipped in from my friend's mom. Later on, my friend attended Loyola in New Orleans, so my husband and I visited her often there. After eating at many restaurants around there, I decided that I could easily live in New Orleans for the food alone!

Shrimp and Grits have become a popular menu item in many New Orleans style restaurants in town. I wanted to make some at home, but I used risotto instead because I had a huge bag of Arborio rice that I wanted to use. I also had a little saffron, so I decided to throw that in as well. The final touch to complete the meal was smoked andouille sausage, which really added a lot of smokiness.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter
Pinch of saffron
1 cup Arborio rice
32 oz. chicken broth, reduced sodium
1/2 cup Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese
1 package of smoked andouille sausage, chopped
1 lb. of large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 shallot, chopped
1/2 cup dry white wine, I use Sauvignon Blanc
1/2 stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
Juice of one lemon

Directions:

Start by putting the broth into a small saucepan over medium heat to get it hot.
Heat a small Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the butter, then cook the smoked sausage. Remove the sausage after browned and set aside. Next, add the shallots, then stir to cook for a couple of minutes. Add more butter if needed. Add the Arborio rice and cook an additional two more minutes.
Add the wine, allowing the rice to absorb it well. Add saffron.
Add a half cup of the hot broth to the rice. Stir until the broth is all absorbed, then continue to add a half cup of broth while stirring and stirring. This will take about 20 minutes.
Add the last amount of broth, while continuing to stir everything in the pot.
Making it as thick or thin as you'd like, feel free to add more broth or water to the consistency you prefer.
Make the shrimp by combining the butter, worcestershire, and lemon juice. Pour over the shrimp and bake in a 400 degree oven 20 minutes.
Top the risotto with the shrimp and some of the sauce.
Finish by adding the Parmigiano - Reggiano and green onion garnish. Your home will smell amazing!

JUMBO GUMBO COOKOFF

I'm really excited about an upcoming event April 5th! I've been invited to hand out a Silver Spork award at the 4th Annual Jumbo Gumbo Cookoff which benefits The Allen School. I look forward to sampling all of the teams' entries (all 40) to determine my favorite! Can I really do that?! Other local food blogger friends of mine will also be there to hand out the same award. Check out The Mighty Rib and his article about Jumbo Gumbo. Also have a look at Arkansas Foodies who will also be there. Buy your tickets in advance, and you can also sample some gumbo for $15 or $20 at the door. The Little Rock River Market Pavillion is the perfect place for the event, I think.

If you love Creole & Cajun food as much as I do, you may enjoy a couple of other related recipes that I've developed below.

Duck Gumbo

Shrimp & Sausage Gumbo

Ferneau Cooking Class April 4th

2013-03-19T17:57:00.001-05:00

I've teamed up with my friend - Chef Donnie Ferneau - to bring fun, interactive cooking classes to Little Rock! These are cooking demonstrations where you can sit back, watch, and taste while hearing about the chef's techniques! If you would like to attend, email FerneauClasses@gmail.com. Read the Eat Arkansas review of the last class!

Classes take place in West Little Rock at the brand new, gorgeous kitchens (indoor or outdoor) of The Ridge at Chenal at 5400 Chenonceau Boulevard. We post class dates here on a monthly basis, so keep checking back here.

NYPD Pizza

2013-03-08T20:18:00.000-06:00

I occasionally enjoy sharing places that serve good food - outside my own kitchen! And who else would confirm or point me in the right direction, other than my husband, love of my life. That's right....that's why I'm with him. This week was a good reminder of how not to conduct yourself in the face of criticism, whether it be harsh or not. The fact that social media is quite public should be enough to refrain from ugliness. But if you don't care, you don't care. Either way, it made me want to eat some good pizza. Or stromboli, in this case. I love NYPD's stromboli!!

I got into a habit of ordering NYPD Pizza anytime I had a babysitter come over for the girls. Gianna got used to me getting her this Antipasto salad, so we split this the other night. We heard Hot Dog Mike would be around NYPD, and my daughter was interested in that bit of news. So we look forward to seeing how those 2 go together! Well, that's all I wanted to share today!

Ferneau Cooking Classes

2013-02-26T00:05:00.000-06:00

February - Valentines Inspired - Heart Healthy Theme

Chef Donnie Ferneau and I were extremely pleased with our first cooking class. We were prepared to host 10 - 15 people, and we had 15 attend. I love the intimacy of a class of this size. You get to know everyone in the class that way. The idea came when I heard that Donnie had left Rocket Twenty One recently. I remembered our last conversation about the closing of Kitchenco., where Donnie had instructed many cooking classes that I often attended. He had said that someday he would love to host cooking classes again when a venue presented itself.

So a brand new apartment complex was built in March of 2012. The amenities rival those of a swank resort with a spacious kitchen that shares its space with multiple flat screen TV's, modern decor, and an outdoor view of a luxury pool surrounded by a full kitchen, hot tub, fireplace, and several corners of nicely furnished, separated seating areas. The large island bar at The Ridge at Chenal on Chenonceau is a massive enough slab of marble to hold all the ingredients needed to prep food, concoct adult beverages, and seat 4 - 8 people comfortably. Behind the bar, additional exquisite bar tables and seats also situated our guests with ample space and great views of the cooking demonstration.

We enjoyed meeting couples who attended together, singles who attended alongside other singles, and several residents of The Ridge.

It was great to have present my fellow blogger friend Joel DiPippa of Southern Ash who apparently has mixology skills which he lent during the class.

As Joel took time to prepare the champagne cocktails for the class, Donnie continued with his presentation of the food he planned to prepare.

If you attend any of our classes, you'll have a good time. You don't have to bring anything. You can sit back, have some appetizers, watch as Chef Donnie prepares your meal all the while talking about the ingredients he uses as well as how you can find the same pantry staples to incorporate into your own cooking.

A special thanks to friend Kevin Shalin of The Mighty Rib for his article on the first Ferneau Cooking Class coordinated by myself and hosted by Chef Donnie Ferneau. The management team at The Ridge at Chenal also played a huge role in helping our first class to be a great success in their beautiful kitchen. We had a great time indulging in delicious bites while discussing ingredients for cooking. Kevin was really impressed with what Donnie did with the cabbage. That's what you'll find when you attend these classes. Simple ingredients can be transformed to make some of the best dishes!

A big part of Ferneau Cooking Classes includes the discussion of healthy food and how to prepare them with the end result of a delicious meal. Participants play a big role in asking questions along the way. This particular meal began with a light salad with handmade dressing, strawberries, and the crunch of walnuts.

The final entree was served family style. Attendees were able to walk around to ask questions of the chef, serve themselves as much food as desired, and to mingle with one another. A dessert of baked apples and ice cream was also presented, but I think it was all eaten so quickly, I didn't get a picture! Maybe next time I'll request dessert first!

If you're interested in attending upcoming Ferneau Cooking Classes, email FerneauClasses@gmail.com. We hope to see you! :)

Local Lime - Little Rock, AR

2013-02-21T00:55:00.003-06:00

I love food, and I love style. So combine food & style together, providing good taste and even better atmosphere, and you get my favorite Mexican restaurant in town. Local Lime. Every other Mexican joint that has opened before them pales in comparison in my eyes. I consider my environment, my ambience, my surroundings all to be very important when I choose a place to spend money on food. I also consider the people serving and providing the food as well as the quality that it goes to show. But most of all I'm really picky about where my food comes from and the standards that the people have in choosing ingredients to serve.

We considered moving to Memphis last summer for my husband's job. We drove back and forth many weekends over the summer, and decided that Memphis just doesn't have what Little Rock's got. I love being minutes away from The Pomenade at Chenal. Collierville had a similar area near Memphis, but that was the summer I realized that Little Rock is truly a special place. Specifically West Little Rock...

I can have a great dining experience at just about all of the restaurants at The Promenade. I can spend a little or a lot, depending on how much I want. Take this a la carte taco for example. It's the carnitas. For the rest of the ingredients, check out the menu here.

My daughter Sasha loved these fun green striped straws that decorated the table...it's the little things, you know.

Your choice of a frozen margarita from a very expensive machine, or an equally tasty on the rocks version from the mixologist at the bar. Having a TCBY guy as an investor may have been a help towards the perfection of the machine.

I love tapas. I love to order 2 or 3 and call it my meal. It's very Cabo...very Playa.

Ceviche Baby.

Cheese Dip - for you Americans.

Enchiladas with cilantro rice and black beans.

Our friend Bart had the chicken tacos. He's not such an adventurous eater. If I ever order chicken in a restaurant, I probably hate the rest of the menu, and I have no choice but to stay and eat. No offense, because I love the variety that Local Lime offers, and clearly my photos show my love for just about everything else on the menu. This has just happened to me in a restaurant before. And I really prefer cooking chicken at home over ordering it at a restaurant. They did look really good, though. Okay I'll try those next time.

This was my favorite...Love you Local Lime! - xoxo

Chicken Pot Pie with Cheddar Puff Pastry Crust

2013-02-17T22:23:00.000-06:00

This was my first attempt at a lattice crust. When my recipes don't turn out looking as pretty as I'd imagined, I just call it rustic. So this is my rustic pot pie.

Since I was so involved with the puff pastry cheddar crust, I kept the rest of the recipe pretty simple. Frozen veggies worked well here.

After I rolled the cheese into the puff pastry, I folded it up, then cut some strips with a ridged edge.

You can see the cheese along the edges of the lattice crust here. I was pretty happy with this turnout.

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed per package instructions
1/2 cup of shredded cheddar cheese
1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp water
1 1/2 lbs. of shredded chicken
1 bag of frozen veggies (green beans, peas, carrots, corn)
1 small can of sliced mushrooms
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp flour
1 cup of chicken broth
1 cup of milk

Directions:

Heat the butter over low heat in a medium Dutch oven. Add the flour, stirring well to incorporate. Add the broth, then the milk, and heat over medium low until thickened.
Add the frozen vegetables, sliced mushrooms, and chicken. Stir to heat over medium, then reduce heat and keep warm over low heat.
Roll out the puff pastry on a floured board. Brush bottom half with egg wash mixture. Top with cheese, then fold the lower half up. Roll the pastry to press closed, then cut as shown above.
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the chicken mixture into a square pan. Alternate strips of puff pastry to create the lattice crust. Brush with egg wash mixture.
Bake in the oven 20 - 30 minutes until the crust is browned. Cover the edges with aluminum foil after 10 minutes to prevent burning.

Prosciutto Parmigiano Puff Pastry Twirls

2013-02-03T22:30:00.000-06:00

I love making things with puff pastry, and so far, I've found nothing wrong with the ingredients. So I continue to enjoy baking up little crisp, light, and flaky tapas to serve on the side with dinner or as an after school snack for the girls.

After allowing a sheet of puff pastry to defrost according to package instructions, lay it on top of a lightly floured board. Roll it out as thin as you'd like, careful with the rolling pin so that the pastry doesn't stick to it. You can dust the pin with flour to prevent this. The pastry will rise when baked, so roll away. Brush your pastry with egg wash, then top with your choice of toppings. I chose cubed Prosciutto di Parma and freshly grated Parmigiano - Reggiano cheese. To roll, you start with the short end.

To cut the roll, use a good serrated knife that you would use when cutting a tomato or a crusty baguette. Some recommended freezing the roll for 15 minutes to make this easier to do. I skipped that step, though. I tried to slice the roll into 1/2 inch pieces, and I ended up with about 16 rolls in all. The rolls are brushed with a little more egg wash before baking in the oven about 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed per package instructions
1 egg and 1 tbsp water, beaten together
4 - 6 oz. diced or cubetti prosciutto
6 oz. freshly grated Parmigiano - Reggiano or Asiago cheese
All - Purpose flour for dusting (King Arthurs recommended)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Gently unfold the puff pastry sheet and save the other one in the package for a later use.
Lightly dust a board with flour, then lay the pastry sheet on top.
Dust a rolling pin with flour, then roll out the pastry.
Brush with the egg wash.
Top with the prosciutto and cheese.
Roll slowly, starting at the short end.
Slice into about 16 - 20 pieces, about 1/2 inch each, then lay each onto a large parchment lined pan. Lightly brush with more egg wash.
Bake about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Oat Bran Bars

2013-02-02T23:21:00.003-06:00

One weekend, we went to Mimi's Cafe for brunch on a Saturday morning, and we found a pan full of goodies at the front of the restaurant in the waiting area. There was no wait, but we each helped ourselves to a few anyway. They were delicious. We asked our server about them, and we found out that they had simply taken one of their signature muffin mixtures and spread it in a pan to make bars instead of muffins. They also topped theirs with oats. We forgot to pick those up, though.

I loved the muffin bars, so I decided to put them right here on this blog. I found a box of oat bran muffin mix at the store, checked the ingredients, and I was happy there wasn't anything in it that I objected to terribly. My husband thought they were brownies. I was pretty pleased that they tasted good enough to seem bad for you, but they really weren't too bad for you! I also enjoyed just the slight hint of sweetness without the heavy sugary flavor that I don't like in a lot of sweets.

Directions: Prepare the muffin mix per package instructions (add water), then spread the mixture into a greased rectangular pan. So easy, Sasha did all the steps herself. Cook per directions, let cool, then cut into squares.

Chicken Mushroom Lasagna

2013-01-29T18:51:00.000-06:00

When my husband is out of town for work, we add things to our dinner that he would not dare touch. Things like mushrooms. I don't understand mushroom haters at all. To me, they enhance a dish with their mellow flavor and tender texture. To him, they make things taste too earthy.

Lasagna just keeps getting easier to make. Take a close look at this picture. The bottom noodle layer is just one square sheet, and it only requires a light soaking in warm water before adding to the baking pan. How convenient. No boiling, no need to layer side by side. Talk about easy!

As always, when you don't need a huge, long, rectangular pan of lasagna, you can make a square dish that typically feeds a small family of four. This dish is cut into 9 squares, enough to serve everybody seconds, and even another person, thirds. If you missed my previous lasagna posts, you can check out my No - Ricotta Italian Sausage Lasagna or my Seafood Lasagna.

Ingredients:

2 or 3 Square lasagna baking sheets (From The Fresh Market)
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 6 pieces)
2 cups of milk
1 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. butter
8 oz. asiago cheese, grated
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, coarsely grated
1 small package of button mushrooms, sliced

Directions:

Bring a medium stock pot of water up to a boil. Add chicken, reduce heat to medium low, then simmer with lid on about 40 minutes or until done.
Remove chicken from pot and let cool on a cutting board. Shred meat with 2 forks, discarding fat. Preheat oven to 320 degrees.
Make sauce: Add flour to a large sauce pan over medium high heat. Toast slowly.
When warmed well, remove from heat. Add butter, whisking to combine.
Return to heat over medium. Add milk, slowly, a little at a time, whisking to combine.
When all the milk is incorporated, continue to cook over medium low heat until slightly thickened. Add the asiago cheese, mixing well.
Add the chicken and mushrooms to the cheese sauce mixture.
Soak a sheet of lasagna. Spray a square pan with canola spray, then lay the sheet on top.
Add the cheese sauce and chicken mixture, spreading as thinly or thickly as you'd like.
Top with some mozzarella cheese. Optional: top with chopped parsley if you'd like a little more color.
You can continue with one more or two more layers, depending on how thinly you spread each layer. Even though the sheets don't touch the sides of the pan, you'll still be able to easily cut squares out of the finished lasagna.
Cover with foil, and bake 25 - 35 minutes, uncovering the foil after the last 10 minutes.
Let cool 15 minutes before cutting.

Seafood Risotto

2013-01-26T00:17:00.001-06:00

When entertaining guests in your home, a nice elegant dish to consider is risotto. And if it happens to be a couple that you really like, then you could fill their dish with seafood. Our friends Bart and Andrea came over, and my husband wanted me to make something nice. So I decided to use the Carnoroli rice that I found at The Fresh Market.

Usually, Arborio is the more commonly found Italian style rice that is used in cooking risotto for its heavy release of starch content that makes it creamy yet still firm to the bite. I was glad to find the Carnaroli because other foodies online prefer it, and I was easily swayed to agree that it's the superior rice grain for cooking risotto once I used it.

I love Asiago cheese because it is has a taste very similar to Parmigiano - Reggiano, but it costs much less.

Ingredients:

2 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups Carnaroli rice

32 oz. chicken broth, reduced sodium

1/2 cup Asiago cheese, freshly grated

8 oz. bay scallops

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled & deveined

1 lb. mussels

1 shallot, chopped

1/2 cup dry white wine, such as Sauvignon Blanc

Directions:

Start by putting the broth into a small saucepan over medium heat to get it hot.
Heat a small Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add the butter, then the shallots, then stir to cook for a couple of minutes. Add the Carnaroli rice and cook an additional two more minutes.
Add the wine, allowing the rice to absorb it well.
Add a half cup of the hot broth to the rice. Stir until the broth is all absorbed, then continue to add a half cup of broth while stirring and stirring. This will take about 20 minutes.
Before you add the last half cup of broth, add the shrimp and scallops.
Add the last amount of broth, while continuing to stir everything in the pot.
Once the shrimp and scallops look done, add the Asiago.
Cook the mussels separately beforehand, then add those last.
Making it as thick or thin as you'd like, feel free to add more broth or water to the consistency you prefer.

Tip: You can find some easy to cook mussels here. However, since I made that last package, I've since considered some of the ingredients. I now use the tomato based version of the mussels because the ingredients are just slightly different to my liking.

Cheddar Puff Pastry Straws

2013-01-16T20:26:00.000-06:00

When I lived in Villages of Wellington, our cul de sac had a tradition of trading treats over Christmas if we didn't get together for a progressive dinner. Have you ever done a progressive dinner? We were the first to build on Alton Cove, then the others got into their homes in time for our holiday dinner. Each house hosted a course from appetizer to salad to main course to dessert. It was a great way to get a peak into each others' homes! We all ooohed and ahhhed a lot that first year.

My 7 year old Sasha and 9 year old Gianna helped me with this project. I had always wanted to make these. My former neighbor Ashley usually made these as her holiday treat to share with the rest of the cove.

She always said they were easy to make, and for this after school snack, I would have to say I agree!

Ingredients:

1 sheet of puff pastry, thawed as directed
1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, freshly grated
1 egg, beaten
kosher salt

Directions:

Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface.
Lightly brush the beaten egg on the lower half of the vertically placed puff pastry sheet.
Scatter the cheese onto the lower half, season with salt, then fold over to let the edges meet.
Roll the sheet out some more, then cut some thin strips out. (I used a pizza cutter.)
Place a sheet of parchment paper each onto 2 large cookie sheets.
Twirl each strip of puff pastry, then lay onto the parchment paper, pressing the ends to stay secure.
Freeze of refrigerate each tray 15 minutes. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cook about 12 minutes or until browned.

The basic concept of this recipe came from Martha Stewart.

Spaghetti with Meatballs

2013-01-13T19:43:00.000-06:00

Is spaghetti a regular standby for dinner in your household like it is in ours? How do you personalize yours to make it your own? We use a pork and beef mixture in our meatballs and top ours with freshly grated asiago cheese, while using the thinnest pasta, cappelini. I find that the bigger ratio of pork to beef makes the meatballs more tender.

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground pork
8 oz. ground beef
1/4 c. milk
1/3 c. panko
1 egg, beaten
garlic powder, about 1 tbsp
freshly ground black pepper
fish sauce, optional, about 1 tbsp.
dried parsley, about 1 tbsp.
1 Jar of tomato sauce, no sugar in ingredients
Cappelini pasta
Asiago cheese

Directions:

Place the ground beef and pork in a large bowl.
Mix the milk and panko in a small measuring cup, then let the panko absorb the milk.
Add the panko mixture to the meat mixture, then add egg, garlci powder, black pepper, optional fish sauce, and dried parsley.
Mix gently.
Form your small, bite sized meatballs on a large baking sheet topped with parchment. Refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bake 20 minutes
Simmer meatballs in tomato sauce over medium heat about an hour.
Add to cooked pasta, top with shredded asiago, and garnish with parsley flakes.

Duck Gumbo

2013-01-05T18:12:00.000-06:00

Every year, there's an event in Stuttgart, Arkansas, where a Duck Gumbo Cookoff takes place. I've never been there, but I've heard a lot about it. This is not the type of duck that you get when you go to Yaya's Euro Bistro or any other upscale establishment serving duck. I once told my friend Kyle, an avid duck hunter, how much I paid for pekin (Long Island) and Fresh Magret duck breasts. His jaw dropped. That was back when I worked in pharmaceutical sales, though. When I earned the income of my company's top 5 percent of the reps in the country. Not there anymore! I'm back to the Simple Life now. So Kyle very generously gave me 18 duck breasts. These are Mallard from Stuttgart.

I checked out Emeril's method of making Duck Gumbo. He's got several recipes for it all over the place. In one recipe, he roasted the duck beforehand. In another, he simmered the duck for an hour or hour and a half. I liked that idea. Then I just made the gumbo the way I always do, except with duck. Also, in place of canned tomatoes, I used fresh. I read in a magazine recently that BPA has adverse effects to your health, so I stay away from it. When I share things like this with my friend Neil, he always says, "We should just all live in a bubble!" Soooo.....

My last batch of duck that I received from Kyle was slightly more gamey than what I usually get from him, so I consulted with Michael Roberts at Arkansas Foodies and Eat Arkansas. He informed me to soak wild game in cold water, and change out the water often to get as much of the blood out as possible. Then I soaked the breasts in buttermilk overnight per his suggestion. Perfect!

Lastly, I didn't serve my gumbo with rice. I decided instead to top it with a healthy serving of crab meat from an economical can that I picked up from the grocery store. Just stir the meat into your gumbo to enhance the flavor. It's how I plan to serve gumbo up from now on!

Who wants a bowl?!

Ingredients:

About 3 lbs. wild duck breasts, chopped into bite sized pieces
Peanut oil
1 package Andouille smoked sausage
1 large white onion, diced
2 bell peppers (any color), diced
2 celery stalks, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1/3 cup of flour
40 oz. chicken broth
1 lb. frozen chopped okra
1 lb. chopped tomatoes
Creole seasoning
Lousiana hot sauce
Canned crab meat
Chives, for garnish

Directions:

Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat. When hot, add enough peanut oil to lightly cover the bottom.
Add the sausage, and cook until done, stirring often, about 8 minutes.
Add onion, peppers, and celery. Cook until soft. Either mince the garlic or press into the mixture. Stir until fragrant about 3 minutes.
Add the flour, a little at a time. Stir to incorporate. Continue stirring over medium low heat until it looks as brown as you like. Add the duck, stirring well. Add creole seasoning.
Add broth, bring up to a boil, and cover. Simmer about an hour.
At this point, you can add fish sauce like they do at Cook's Country. I love that I discovered this! About a tbsp or 2 will do it!
Add the okra and tomatoes, bring mixture back up to a boil, then simmer again another 30 minutes, covered.
To serve, top with crab meat, some hot sauce, and snipped chives.

Coconut Lime Seafood Soup

2013-01-03T17:59:00.000-06:00

My inspiration for making this soup came from a visit to A.W. Lin's Asian Cuisine at The Promenade at Chenal here in Little Rock. The menu offered a cup or bowl portion of Seafood Coconut soup for a pretty reasonable price, so I tried it in the cup portion, which was a substantial amount of soup.

Anytime people tell me how much they love Thai food, I'm just waiting for them to mention the coconut broth soup that is so popular. I usually always say that I'm not a huge fan, until now. I was also reading in Sync - where my old friend Christy was editor before moving on to launch Arkansas Life - that the restaurant uses organic ingredients, local produce, and no MSG. That is my kind of restaurant! I'm so glad Sync reported that, too.

This soup has a lightly creamy base from the light coconut milk, topped with undertones of lemongrass, Thai Ginger, and kaffir lime from the Thai Red Curry Paste that I used. If my friend Lisa's reading this, she's saying that her mouth just squirted....I hope! Did you know my first job out of college was at B98.5? I still love that station!

You can use just about any kind of seafood in this dish. You can add just about any typical Asian vegetable, including mushrooms, bean sprouts, or tomatoes. As always, I used what I had on hand.

I try my best to keep up with measurements to help people who try my recipes, but I honestly don't measure that closely, so please feel free to taste as you go along to see how you like the flavor. I hope my approximate measurements help, though!

Ingredients:

1 13.5 oz. can of Light Coconut Milk
1 tbsp. Thai Red Curry Paste
3 tbsp fish sauce
About 2 tbsp turbinado sugar or agave nectar
Juice of 2 limes (approximately)
32 oz. Chicken broth
1 lb. wild - caught American shrimp
1 lb. bay scallops
1 bunch of asparagus, trimmed and chopped
For garnish: halved key limes, snipped chives, chopped Thai chilies

Directions:

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a medium Dutch oven. Bring up to a boil, then simmer about 10 minutes. Taste and adjust with more sugar, fish sauce, or lime juice.
Bring back up to a boil, then add the shrimp, scallops, and asparagus. When the shrimp looks cooked, remove from heat.
Add garnish and enjoy.

Smores

2012-12-30T12:24:00.000-06:00

This year, Santa was offered a smores plate on Christmas Eve for his travels.

It was simple to make. Start with a graham cracker cookie. Place 2 Hershey pieces on top.

We found these special marshmallows made just for making smores. You can use one or two. Melt it just like this in the microwave for 10 seconds. Then, top it with another graham cracker. Give it a gentle smudge, let the marshmallow ooze out a little and the chocolate will also melt. Enjoy!

Tamale Spread

2012-12-29T20:25:00.000-06:00

Allen, Texas, is home to one of the best Premium Outlets near Little Rock, Arkansas, but I didn't even walk into True Religion when I was there over Christmas. It was hard. But I stayed busy with family! I learned about a tradition known by local residents of Hot Springs, Arkansas, which I was surprised that I didn't know about before. I've spent a lot of time in Hot Springs! What Arkansas resident hasn't? My brother and his wife mentioned that we would be having a tamale spread, but I wasn't sure what they were talking about. Then they said that it was a McClard's menu item. Okay!

It started with some delicious brisket that my brother had been smoking forever in his smoker! Don't you love the smell of anything in a smoker?!

For our lunch layout, we had tamales to start. Next, we added the shredded, smoked brisket on top. Then we layered some cheddar cheese on top. At some point, there was some McClard's barbecue sauce that you can buy from the grocery store. We also had some Fritos, but I skipped those. I think McClards also has beans & onions, but we didn't have those. If you're interested in the full McClard's tamale spread, check out the Tamale Spread here!