The Saucy Gourmet

A Peachy Keen Afternoon Tea

2010-03-05T09:00:00.004-05:00

Did you know that March 3rd is National Peach Blossom Day? To celebrate, we had an Afternoon Tea at Rolling Pin, and what fun it was! We had 22 students in attendance all ready to drink some hot tea. I think with all the cold weather we are still having here in Florida, everyone was ready to start thinking about spring and fresh fruits and veggies. Will Spring ever come? People were actually having to scrape their windshields this morning, something we rarely ever do in Florida and definitely NOT in March!

Our tea selection was easy today, Peach Ginger! While the first cup of tea was being poured, I began our Peach Tartlets. These are easy to make! First I combined the sugar and the Chinese 5 Spice, I sliced the peaches (no need to peel), then melted the butter in a large saute pan. When the butter was done foaming, I place the peach slices in single layer, cut side down and sprinkled with the sugar/spice blend. I reduced the heat to medium and browned the peaches, turning once making sure the sugar was carmalizing but not burning! When the peaches were lightly browned, I transferred them with the melted sugar into a bowl to cool. To save time during the class, since we would be making 28 tarts, we prepped the tart shells before everyone arrived. Using all ready pie crust, makes this a quick and easy dessert! It was time to move on to the scones, Peach Cobbler Scones, one of my favorite. These scones are so moist and flavorful, you don't need to serve them with butter or jam, they are perfect all by themselves with a nice cup of tea! While the scones were in the oven, I started assembling the tea sandwiches, Peach Chicken Tea Sandwiches, Pecan Date Tea Sandwiches and Asparagus and Prosciutto Tea Sandwiches. Two of my assistants had already started the Asparagus and Prosciutto since they tend to be a little more time consuming but oh so worth it, both for taste and presentations. I had already cut all the asparagus to size and blanched them to save even more time, but spreading the prosciutto with the honey mustard and then rolling every piece of asparagus does take a while. The good news, these tea sandwiches hold very well, so they can be prepared well in advance. I demonstrated how to put it all together, then trimmed the crust and cut the sandwich in half, I love the way they look when cut! I then mixed up the chicken salad using yogurt and peach preserves with a little chopped mint. I demonstrated how to make one and passed the rest back to my wonderful assistants to finish. Thank goodness we had 4 assistants as we had a lot to assemble and plate, I could not have done it without them. Thank you Theresa, Barb, Tia and Shelisa, you guys were awesome! It was time for the last sandwich, Pecan Date. My orginal recipe calls for fresh dates, but since they were not available, I substituted dried and they worked wonderfully. The combo of cream cheese, dates, pecans and olives, yes I said olives is out of this world (sweet meets salty). I stirred in a little green onion for color, and spread a thin layer on a piece of honey wheat bread, topped with another slice, trimmed the crust and cut the sandwich into fourths. This one was easy! While we caught up with the sandwiches (and tried to catch our breath) I gave the students a break....there was shopping to be done in the store! When the students returned, another pot of tea was poured and the sandwiches were served. As they munched away, I assembled the peach tartlets and made Pecan Oatmeal Lace Cookies. Whew, I was exhausted. As the desserts were served, I had to excuse myself, something I HATE to do. The class had run over time slightly and I had to go to training for my new job. All the students were very understanding; guess they were full and happy! Our next Afternoon Tea is Tuesday, March 16, the day before St Patrick's Day, can you guess the theme?

An Irish Tea Party

Irish Soda Bread Scones

Corned Beef Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber and Mint Tea Sandwiches

Smoked Salmon Tea Sandwiches

Shamrock Sugar Cookies

Irish Cream Brownies

Please join us if you are in the area, there are still seats available!

Peach Cobbler Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup frozen peaches -- thawed and chopped
4 tablespoons butter -- chilled
1 egg yolk
1 cup half and half
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a cheese grater, grate the cold butter (I like to keep mine in the freezer) into the flour mixture, then cut in with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Toss peaches in flour to coat. Meanwhile, beat together eggs, cream and extract, then quickly blend wet ingredients with dry and press into a mound of dough. Try not to handle it too much. On a piece of parchment paper pat the dough flat and cut into triangles, bake at 450 degrees for approximately 12-14 minutes.

Asparagus and Prosciutto Tea Sandwiches

54 medium asparagus spears
18 slices firm-textured bread
8 ounces whipped cream cheese -- softened
fresh ground pepper
1/2 pound prosciutto -- thinly sliced
honey mustard
Cut asparagus spears to fit bread slices.
In a large saucepan fitted with steamer insert, bring 1 inch of water to a boil and steam asparagus until just cooked, about 3 minutes. Plunge asparagus into bowl of ice water. When chilled, remove and pat dry with paper towels.
Spread bread slices with thin layer of cream cheese, pepper generously and set aside.
Cut each prosciutto slice in half lengthwise, and spread with 1/4 teaspoon or more of mustard. Starting with tip, roll asparagus in prosciutto, spiraling downward as you go. Repeat with each spear.
Cover 9 bread slices with 6 wrapped spears each, then top with remaining slices. With a serrated knife, trim crusts. Cut each sandwich in half across spears. Cover with plastic wrap until ready to serve.

Mini Peach Tartlets

2 tablespoons butter
3 large peaches -- halved, pitted and cut into 4 pieces
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon Chinese 5-spice
1 15 ounce box ready to use piecrust
1 egg -- beaten with 1 teaspoon water

Combine sugar and chinese 5 spice. Melt butter in large saute pan, place peach slices in one layer, sprinkle with sugar mixture. Heat over medium heat until sugar melts, turning peaches once, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and cool.
Cut dough with 4 inch round cutter, place on silicone lined baking sheet. Crimp edges. Brush with egg wash. Place 3 peach slices on each tart. Drizzle a little melted sugar.
Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes.

Saucy Chicken Marsala

2010-02-25T09:45:00.012-05:00

I am on to a new adventure in my life, a new job! It has been a whirlwind since I applied for the job about a month ago, mainly because the office is about an hour from my home through Tampa traffic. I am doing training now, but when I "graduate" the first week in April, I will be able to work from home, I can't wait. The worse part of this training is how much I miss my puppies and my KITCHEN! Luckily, a couple of weeks ago, it was so cold in Florida, the only thing I wanted to do was stay inside and cook. So, in the freezer are some lasagnas, chicken cordon bleus, meatballs, egg rolls and some soups and stews. All I have to do is take them out the night before, let them thaw in the fridge, and then the first one home, just has to pop them in the oven. Yesterday, my training was in the afternoon, so I had the morning to play in the kitchen. I wanted to make one of my all time favorite comfort foods, Chicken Marsala! It is so easy, so yummy and so much better when it sits in the fridge for a couple of hours.

After walking the puppies, I gathered up all my ingredients, which for this recipe are very few: of course butter and Marsala.

I had some frozen cornish game hen stock, which I popped in a bowl and thawed in the microwave.

I did not have a lot of time, so I took some short cuts, nothing drastic:) Instead of pounding the chicken, I filleted it. Using a sharp knife, I cut the chicken in half, then just pounded out the thicker parts. This saves some time and is perfect if you have larger pieces. I also had some pre-sliced mushrooms in the fridge, not my favorite ones to use, but they sure can be a time saver!

After I had everything prepped, I put some flour in a baggie, put the chicken breast in, and gave them a good shake. Using disposable baggies can be a real timesaver for clean up! I don't know about you, but when I dredge chicken in flour in a shallow bowl, not only does the counter get floured, but so do I!

I melted some butter in my skillet and lightly browned the floured chicken over medium heat until golden brown. It takes a little longer to brown the chicken over a lower heat, but this way, I do not take the chance of burning the chicken or the butter. As the chicken pieces browned, I removed them to my casserole, layering them slightly. Then I added more butter and sauted the sliced mushrooms for a couple of minutes. When they were done, I sprinkled them around the chicken. I then poured in a little of the Marsala and deglazed the pan. I turned the heat up slightly and poured in the remaining wine and the hen stock, bringing in all to a slow boil. I reduced the heat and let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. What a wonderful aroma it is!

I poured all the sauce over the chicken, let it cool for awhile then covered the pan with foil and popped it in the fridge. I printed quick instructions for the interim chef (my hubby) who would get home before me and off to work I went. I spent most of my training time day dreaming about dinner and it was worth it. After a long commute home in the dark, in and out of pouring rain, I was greeted at the door by 2 beautiful labs, one wonderful hubby with a big glass of wine and the aroma of the baking chicken. Life is good! Tonight for dinner is lasagna and warm French bread. Guess what I will be day dreaming about during class!

Saucy Chicken Marsala

4 chicken breast -- skinned and boned
1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup butter

1 cup mushroom -- sliced

1 1/2 cups marsala wine

1 cup chicken broth

1/2 cup fontina or mozzarella cheese -- shredded

1/2 cup parmesan cheese -- grated

Place chicken between 2 sheets of wax paper; flatten to 1/8 inch thickness using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Dredge chicken lightly in flour. Place 4 pieces at a time in 2 tbsp melted butter in a large skillet; cook over medium heat for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until chicken is golden brown. Places chicken in a lightly-greased 13x9 inch baking pan, overlapping edges. Repeat procedure with remaining chicken, adding 2 tbsp butter. Reserve drippings. Sauté mushrooms in remaining butter. Sprinkle evenly over chicken. Stir wine and chicken broth into pan drippings in skillet. Simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spoon sauce evenly over the chicken. Bake at 400° for 10 minutes. Combine cheeses and sprinkle over chicken. Bake an additional 5 minutes.

PAMA Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake Perfect for Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T11:02:00.017-05:00

First thing I have to say, I GAINED 5 POUNDS JUST MAKING THIS CHEESECAKE!!!! I must admit, it was worth it and along the way, I discovered a new and very healthy snack, very high in antioxidant. I'll tell you about that in just a minute, but first the Cheesecake, incredible.

We have a friend whose birthday is on Valentine's Day. Last week her husband asked us to join them to celebrate by going out to dinner. Now, I have always made it a point to avoid restaurants on Valentine's Day. It is always too crowded, the servers are way too stressed and we always end up paying way more than we expect. I would much rather have a quite dinner at home. Since I had already planned our dinner for Sunday night, just the two of us (we had weekend guest last year for Valentine's Day) I invited them over to celebrate the night before. Dinner was an easy choice. We would begin the evening with Yukon Gold Vichyssoise with Crème Fraîche Potato Salad and Leek Vinaigrette. For our main course, Rack of Lamb with Herb Crust, Asparagus tossed with Lemon Vinaigrette and a side of Brown Rice and homemade French Bread. This is one of my favorite menus and it was perfect for our guest since I they had mentioned over the past couple of years that they like lamb and vichyssoise. I was stumped on the dessert. Of course, it had to be chocolate, I mean, it is Valentine's Day Weekend! I scoured the Internet, but nothing was catching my attention. Then I noticed the bottle of PAMA sample I had been sent last week. I went to their website, but nothing there attracted my attention. So off to the Internet I went to try to find a chocolate, pomegranate dessert. I found a Cheesecake, perfect, I love Cheesecake! Thanks Jessica from How Sweet It Is!

The best part, I had most of the ingredients except the Oreos, so I sent my pirate son off to the store to pilfer me some. OK, I really did not send him, he is busy at FSU Law School, this is a picture from his 21st Birthday Party. We had a Pirate Party and sent him on a scavenger hunt around town; you should have seen some of the looks he and his entourage received:-) He was a good sport, but was not to happy that his last clue was on the bottom of our very chilly pool.

Sorry, I got off track, back to the cheesecake.....I made the crust last night, 25 Oreos went to the food processor with the melted butter, and at least 10 went into my tummy, with milk, of course! I put it in the fridge and watched the opening ceremonies for the Olympics.
This morning after taking the puppies on a very chilly walk on the beach, I felt the need to turn the oven on, so I started the cake.

I blended all the cake ingredients with my KitchenAid, and then poured them over the chilled crust. Into the oven it went for 45 minutes. I could not resist licking the beaters, oh boy how I love cheesecake! While the cheesecake was in the oven, I did a little research on how to keep a cheesecake from cracking or falling. One site suggested using an instant read thermometer since over baking will cause the cake to crack. They said, when the internal temperature reaches 150, the cheesecake is done. The only problem, my thermometer left a pretty big hole in the center of the cake, no worries, it was getting another layer, but I probably will not try that method again. On lots of other sites, they suggested leaving the cake in the oven after it is baked. You are to turn the oven off, leave the door open and let it cool for 30 minutes. This helps the cake to adjust slowly to the temperature in your kitchen, cooling it too quickly causes the cake to fall and split. This sounded like a great idea since my oven was 350 and the temperature in our house was 68! And it worked perfectly.

While the cake was cooling in the oven with the door open and the kitchen was snuggly warm, I cut into my pomegranates to see how they looked, they had been in the fridge for a couple of weeks. To my amazement, they were perfect. If you want to see an easy way to remove the arils, check out my Pomegranate Mixed Green Salad post.

I assembled all the ingredients for the ganache and heated the water in my double boiler. Don't fret if you do not have a double boiler, you can improvise one with two sauce pans or a large pot of boiling water and a Pyrex bowl. Just make sure your upper pan does not touch the bottom of the under pan, since the result could be a counterproductive direct heat and scorch the chocolate.

When the water in my bottom pan was at a low boil, I reduced the heat to medium and put in the chocolate chips.

I stirred them constantly until they were melted, and then reduce the heat to low.

Then added the PAMA and the heavy cream.

Stirring with my silicone whisk until all ingredients were incorporated.

I poured it over my cheesecake, smoothed it out and popped it in the fridge for 2 hours. Of course, I had to lick the spoon, the ganache is so good!

After about 2 hours, I whipped the heavy cream with the sugar and the vanilla.

And spread the wonderful whipped cream over the cake using my off set spatula. Of course I had to lick the beater and the spatula. I love sweetened whipped cream. Back in the fridge went the cake for about another 2 hours.

I prepared our dinner and baked some bread. I have french bread down now, I will have to post about it soon. Our friends arrived around 6:00, we had a great time and the cheesecake was a hit. What a fun day of cooking and then sharing my creations with great friends. Happy Birthday Phyllis!
Oh, I almost forgot to tell you about my new snack. Pomegranate arils and mini dark chocolate chips, WHAT A COMBO!

PAMA Chocolate Ganache Cheesecake

Oreo Crust:
25 Oreo
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Cheesecake:
3 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons PAMA Liqueur
3 tablespoons flour
Chocolate Ganache:

1 cup dark chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons PAMA Liqueur

Whipped Cream:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Pomegranate arils -- for garnish

Preheat oven to 350.

To make Oreo Crust, pulse Oreos in a food processor into crumbs. With processor running pour melted butter into crumbs, continue running until well combined. Press a spring form pan. Refrigerate while making cheesecake layer.

To make cheesecake, in an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, sugar at medium speed until completely blended. Reduce speed to low and add eggs one at a time, then add vanilla. Continue mixing on low speed until just incorporated. Add in 2 tablespoons PAMA liqueur and mix on low speed. Add in flour and mix until combined. Pour into springform pan and bake at 350 for 45-60 minutes, or edges are until golden brown. When finished baking, turn off oven and leave the cake in the oven with door open for 30 minutes. Remove and allow to finish cooling on counter while preparing the ganache.

To make chocolate ganache, add chocolate chips to a double boiler, over a low simmer, stir chips until melted, remove from heat. Add heavy cream and PAMA liqueur, stir until smooth. Pour over cooled cake. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

To make the whipped cream, add heavy cream, sugar and vanilla to electric mixer. Beat at high speed until soft peaks form. Spread on top of cheesecake. Refrigerate for another 2 hours.
Sprinkle pomegranate arils on top of cheesecake for garnish.

Mardi Gras Florida Style!

2010-02-08T15:47:00.012-05:00

Last weekend was one of my dear friend's birthday, great reason for a party! What better theme for a 40th Birthday Party than Mardi Gras, sorry, I cannot do all the black over the hill stuff! I like things bright, fun and cheery, just like me. But here was my problem, the friend I was having the birthday party for is the one who always decorates for my parties, she does an incredible job! Our "partnership" always works out perfect, she decorates, I cook, she stays out of the kitchen, and I stay out of her table scapes! We have had some great parties together, but for this one I was on my own. I did enlist the help of my daughter and son in law, but they could not come till the afternoon of the party and I am way too impatient to wait that long to decorate. So I did all I could before they came and then let Brie use her artistist touch to make everything look better while I finished in the kitchen.

I decorated the house with a lot of flowers in the colors of Mardi Gras; Purple, Green and Gold (not sure why in the pictures the purple flowers look blue?) And lots of masks and garland.

It was a beautiful evening for a party and we were all able to stay outside on the lanai.

We began the evening with crawfish, they were good and spicy. Everyone had their choice of eating them as is, or dipping them in melted butter or cocktail sauce. We could not convince anyone to "suck the heads out" even after a couple of beers.

We also had a raw oyster bar

Gordy and Rich could not shuck the oysters fast enough. We were topping the oysters with Frozen Champagne Mignonette. So easy to make and such a hit! The recipe is below

Of course we had to toast to her birthday!

For dinner we had Shrimp Etouffee, Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, Creole Rice and Mardi Gras Salad with Creole Mustard Dressing. For the Non-Spicy, a friend brought Mac and Cheese and I popped a ham in the oven.

For dessert, my daughter made the most incredible Chocolate Chip Cookies. She used a recipe she found on Savory Sweet Life.

Another friend brought brownies and a chocolate "to die for" cake. Just in case we ran out of desserts, I made my old standby, Southern Comfort Cake.

Even our Cigar Store Indian got into the party spirit.

It was a fun party, even the puppies were exhausteded

Oysters with Frozen Champagne Mignonette

1/4 cup shallot
3/4 cup pickled ginger
1/2 cup champagne
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons fresh ground pepper
3/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chives -- chopped

In a food processor, combine shallots, ginger, champagne, sugar, pepper, and vinegar. Puree on med-high speed one minute. Pour mixture into a pie plate and freeze several hours.

Clean and shuck oysters. Place them on a serving platter. Remove champagne mignonette from freezer, and scrape one teaspoon of mignonette onto each oyster.

Sprinkle each oyster with chopped chives. Serve immediately.

A Valentine's Day Tea

2010-02-03T16:24:00.009-05:00

Valentine's Day is less than 2 weeks away, what a great theme for our Afternoon Tea today at Rolling Pin! We had a full class today, 18 wonderful students ready to have some fun! I began the day by preparing Cherry and Pistachio Scones. I love these scones probably because I love maraschino cherries and pistachios! These scones are so easy to prepare, especially when I used a silicone mat to line my rolling surface and a silicone mat to line my baking sheet. I combined the flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl. Using a pastry cutter, I cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembled coarse crumbs. I squeezed the chopped cherries in a paper towel to get them as dry as possible, and then stirred them into the dry ingredients along with the chopped pistachios. I measured my milk into a 1 cup measuring cup, then whisked in the egg yolk. I lightly floured the silicone mat I had ready on the counter and dumped the dry ingredients onto it. I made a well in the middle and poured in half the milk mixture. Using a bench scraper, I incorporated the liquid then made another well and add the rest of the milk. I continued using the bench scraper until the dry ingredients were moistened. Then I gently kneaded the dough several times. I divided the dough in half and placed them on my silicone lined baking sheet. I patted each half into a 6 inch round and using the bench scraper again, cut each round into 6 wedges, not separating them. Barb, one of the wonderful Rolling Pin assistants brushed the scones with the egg whites and popped them in the oven.

While the scones were in the oven, I prepared our Walnut and Cherry Brownies. I used cherry candy oil instead of extract. These oils are wonderful to use, much richer in flavor and highly concentrated. They have a 3-1 ratio, meaning if your recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of extract, you will only need to use 1/3 teaspoon of oil. I love all the flavors. They come in, Pina Colada, Guava, Tropical Punch, Pineapple, Cherry, Grape, Strawberry, and Watermelon just to name a few. Also, the bottles are smaller, so they are easier to store in my crowded kitchen!

The brownies were ready to go into the oven and scones were ready to come out. While Barb, Theresa and MaryAnn plated and served the scones along with a cup of tea, I began assembling our first tea sandwich. Today's selections were Deviled Ham and Pecan Tea Sandwiches, Herbed Vidalia Onion Tea Sandwiches and Chicken and Cherry Tea Sandwiches. After I demonstrated how to assemble all three, I gave the students a break so they could begin their shopping and helped my great assistants make and plate all 3 choices. It was a whirlwind 10 minutes! By the time the students had made some of their purchases of cooking and baking supplies, the sandwiches were in front of their seats and ready to be enjoyed with another cup of Raspberry Tea. At this time, I glanced up at the clock only to realize I was way behind schedule, we must have been having way too much fun! I quickly mixed up the dough for our sugar cookies and popped it into the freezer and out of the oven came the brownies. The dough was still sticky, but I was running out of time, so we had to continue on, sticky or not. It actually became a great baking tip, if you rush the dough, your cookies will spread too quickly while baking. Oh well, they were not beautiful, but at least they were yummy.

While the sandwich dishes were being cleared, I demonstrated how easy it is to cut the brownies with a pizza cutter. The secret is to line the pan with parchment paper, when cool, just lift it all out of the pan, place the brownies and parchment paper on a cutting board and slice with a pizza cutter, how easy is that!

Dessert was served, along with another cup of tea! Not my prettiest plating, but they must have been good, there were none left!
Our next Afternoon Tea at Rolling Pin is Tuesday, February 16, which just happens to be Fat Tuesday. What a perfect theme....

"A Mardi Gras Tea Party"

Pecan Scones

Bananas Foster Tea Sandwiches

New Orleans Muffuletta Tea Sandwiches

Curried Chicken Salad Tea Sandwiches
New Orleans Bread Pudding

If you are in the area, there are still 2 seats available, we'd love to have you!

Cherry Pistachio Scones

2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup butter
3/4 cup maraschino cherries -- drained and chopped
1/2 cup shelled pistachios -- chopped
1/2 cup milk
1 egg, separated
Preheat oven to 375° F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and cinnamon. Mix well. Using a pastry cutter, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in cherries and pistachios. In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and milk. Add to the dry ingredients, stir until dry ingredients are moistened. On a lightly floured surface, gently knead dough several times. Divide dough in half and pat each half into a 6 inch round. Place on baking sheet. Cut into 6 wedges, do not separate.
In a small bowl, beat egg white. Brush over top of scones. Bake for 17 - 22 minutes or until golden brown. Remove to a wire rack to cool.

Deviled Ham and Pecan Tea Sandwiches

1/2 pound cooked ham -- cut into 1" pieces
1/2 medium onion -- quartered
3 large sweet gherkin
1/2 cup pecans -- toasted and cooled
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
1 teaspoon tabasco sauce
1/4 cup mayonnaise
16 slices white bread

Pulse all ingredients except bread in a food processor until finely chopped and combined well.
Spread ham mixture (1/4 cup per sandwich) between slices of bread. Discard crusts, then cut sandwiches into triangles.

"Knot" Your Ordinary Pretzel

2010-01-27T09:44:00.017-05:00

I think I have mentioned before, I am not much of a baker, right? One of my goals in 2010 is to try my hand at new and different things in the kitchen, especially baking breads. I am so very lucky to have a husband that supports these goals, actually, he loves bread! A couple of weeks ago he came home with a copy of Peter Reinhart's "Artisan Breads Every Day", I had been drooling over it the day before in the bookstore. Of course that evening I read it cover to cover. What a great book! I have been trying my hand at many of the recipes. I started a seed culture for sourdough, but it failed. Not sure if it was due to the temperature in the house, I started it during that really cold spell we had in FL; the water, I used bottled water; or the flour, I used unbleached all-purpose. I started another starter yesterday, this time using whole wheat flour and fresh pineapple juice, unfortunately, I have no control over the weather and it is going to be chilly all week again. I will keep you posted as to the results.

Another recipe I could not wait try were the soft pretzels. I love warm soft pretzels! I also really love the pretzel rolls I have when I visit my parents in Williamsburg, VA! So I decided to experiment with the recipe. I shaped most of the dough the traditional way since I had promised to bring them to a party if they turned out. I also made made two in the shape of a dinner roll.

I mixed the dough the afternoon before I planned to make them. I do not have much experience with bread, I very carefully measured all the ingredients and made sure my water temperature was perfect. I love my Oxo liquid measuring cups and my digital thermometer. I used hot tap water and let it cool slightly in the cup until it was lukewarm or 95 degrees. I then whisked in the yeast and let it hydrate for a minute.

I combined the dry ingredients in my mixer using the paddle attachment. I poured in the yeast mixture and the cooled melted butter and mixed at the lowest speed for about a minute. I switched to the dough hook and mixed on the lowest speed for about 2 minutes, then let it rest for 5 minute to relax the gluten (and I guess if you are doing this by hand, it give the baker time to relax). While the dough was resting, I lightly floured my marble slab and oiled the bowl I was going to put the dough in. I turned my mixer to med-low and let the dough hook work for another 3 minutes. I did have to add a little more water as the dough seemed dry. I transferred the dough to my floured surface and kneaded for another minute, then formed it into a ball and placed it in my oiled bowl, covered it with plastic wrap and then into the fridge it went.

I was amazed and very proud of myself; by morning the dough had doubled in size just as the recipe said it would, so far so good. I must admit, I kept procrastinating all day to start playing with shaping the pretzels, I had never made a pretzel knot before! I finally had to do it since the party was that evening and if they did not turn out, I would have to make some other type of appetizer. (I work better under pressure sometimes) I started with the easy part first, making the baking soda solution that I was to dip the pretzels in before I baked them, some warm water, baking soda and an egg white. I then removed the dough from the fridge and using my bench cutter, I cut the dough into 16 pieces. Using my scale, I weighed each piece to make sure they were 2 ounces as the books says, adjusting some as needed. I figured since it was my first attempt, I should try to be as close to possible on size. In the end, I had 17 2 ounce balls. I wrapped two of the balls in plastic wrap and set them to the side to use as pretzels rolls and moved on to shaping the rest. It was actually easier than I thought after I got the hang of it. Since the directions say to roll each piece into a 17 inch rope, and I know that the marble slab I use for rolling out dough is 18 inches, if I rolled the ropes edge to edge, I would be pretty close, especially after I learned that if the dough keeps shrinking back after I rolled it, to stop fighting with it, and let it rest for a couple of minutes. The gluten has to relax. The directions also said to taper the last 3 inches of each roll, so I measured my fingers and pefect, the width of my four fingers is just less than 3 inches, boy did that make it easy. I worked with four pieces at a time, rolling one out, letting that one rest while I moved on to the next. After I rolled all four, the first one had relaxed and shrunk back a couple of inches, so I re-rolled it, tapering the ends and shaped it.

To my amazement, the first one turned out almost perfect. I thought I was on a "roll" but have to admit, I got cocky and started trying to shape them too quickly and the next couple were not so easy. I slowed down, took my time and before I knew it I had 15 mostly beautiful pretzels some not as pretty as others, but that was ok.

Each pretzel then got dipped in the baking soda solution and placed on the silicone lined baking sheet, then sprinkled lightly with sea salt. Into the 400 degree oven they went for 16 minutes. I did rotate the pans halfway through for even browning. While they were in the oven, I heated the baking soda solution on the stove. I had read to do this while I was doing some research on pretzels and thought I would try it for the pretzel rolls. When it reached a slight boil, I reduced the heat and shaped the 2 reserved balls, used my kitchen shears to snip a cross on the top and placed them in the simmering water for about a minute, flipping them to make sure they were coated top and bottom with the solution. I removed them with a slotted spoon, placed them on a lined baking sheet, cut side up and lightly salted them. By then the others were done, I removed them from the oven and popped in the "rolls". I moved the pretzels to a wire rack and let them cool for about 10 minutes. The rolls need about 20 minutes to turn a wonderful golden brown, they then went on the rack to cool. I could not wait to try a roll, but I did hold off for 10 minutes as I knew they would be better after they cooled. They were just as I remembered them in Williamsburg, crusty on the outside, soft and chewy on the inside, yum! I took the pretzels to the party and served them with a warm cheese dip, they all went!

Below is a quick summary of the recipe from the book. I highly recommend purchasing the book as it has wonderful pictures to help with shaping the pretzels and some wonderful variations I can't wait to try. Maybe the next Saucy video should be making pretzels, what do you think?

Pretzels (this recipe is adapted from Artisan Bread Every Day by Peter Reinhart)

1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water -- 95 degrees
4 1/2 cups unbleached bread flour
2 1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
2 tablespoon melted butter
8 teaspoons baking soda
2 cups warm water
1 large egg white-- beaten
coarse sea salt

Dissolve yeast in warm water. Blend dry ingredients in bowl. Pour in yeast mixture and butter.Combine with paddle attachment for 1 minute, switch to dough hook and knead dough until slightly smoother, about 2 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes. Continue to knead with dough hook on medium low for 3 minutes, adjust water or flour as needed. Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead by hand 1 minute. Cover and let dough rise in fridge overnight or up to 4 days.

Cut dough into small pieces and roll into ropes. Twist ropes into pretzel shapes and place on silcone lined baking sheets. When all dough is shaped, combine water, baking soda and egg white in deep pan. Dip pretzels in solutions then place back and baking sheets and sprinkle with coarse salt.
Bake at 400 degrees F. for about 16 minutes or until browned. Cool on wire racks before serving.

January is National Hot Tea Month, Let's Celebrate With an Afternoon Tea!

2010-01-20T10:16:00.008-05:00

A beautiful January day in Florida was the perfect day to celebrate National Hot Tea Month, I mean we did start the day in the mid 40's and by the time the tea started, it was in the 60's, a little chilly for our standards, great for a hot cup of tea!

We started our day with Wonderful Raisin Scones. I decided, with the agreement of the students, to do a little experiment. Instead of cutting in the butter with a pastry blender, I used a technique I learned from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. I froze the butter for 30 minutes and then used the large holes on a box grater to grate the butter into the dry ingredients, tossing the "butter threads" often to evenly distribute them. It worked wonderfully and was so much easier then using a pastry blender since I had doubled the recipe. I also mentioned to our students, that by tossing the raisins in the dry ingredients, this helps them from clumping together or sinking to the bottom. While the scones were in the oven I made the custard for our Fruit Tarts. I combined the sugar, flour, and salt in a small mixing bowl, whisked it gently to break up any lumps, and set it aside. I prepared an ice water bath by filling a bowl halfway with ice and water and set that aside. I combined the buttermilk and egg yolks in a small saucepan and whisked until smooth. I continued to whisk as I stirred in the dry ingredients and placed the pan over medium heat. I cooked, whisking constantly, until mixture was thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 4 minutes. I removed the custard from the heat, and stirred in the vanilla bean paste. I then transferred custard to a small bowl nestled in the ice water bath and let cool, stirring to help it cool faster. Since I was not using the custard immediately, I pressed plastic wrap on the surface of the custard to keep a skin from forming and chilled the custard in the refrigerator.

When the scones were done, we removed them from the oven, and placed them on a plate with Devonshire Cream. They were wonderful, warm, full of raisins and paired perfect with our English Breakfast tea!

We then moved on to our tea sandwiches. Cheddar and Chutney (made with Major Grey's Mango Chutney), Cucumber and Dill served open faced and garnished with a fresh dill sprig and Chicken Salad with Smoked Almonds. We used the finely chopped smoked almonds to "decorate" one side of the sandwiches by just lightly spreading some mayonnaise on a side and dipping it in the almonds. What a great plate presentation it was!

While everyone was enjoying their sandwiches and another cup of tea, I prepared the Lemon Poppy Seed Tea Cakes and popped them into the oven. While they were baking I mixed up the glaze, mentioning that we were leaving the glaze thick since we would be drizzling it over very warm muffins. I then removed the custard from the fridge, spooned a little into our pre-cooked mini tart shells and topped each with combo of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and a little sliced mango. By then, the muffins were done and we plated the desserts. Yummy. Our Afternoon Tea at Rolling Pin was so much fun, I can't wait until our next one on Wednesday, February 3

"A Valentine's Day Afternoon Tea"

Cherry Scones

Deviled Ham and Pecan Tea Sandwiches

Herbed Vidalia Onion Tea Sandwiches

Chicken and Cherry Tea Sandwiches

Walnut Cherry Brownies

Heart Shaped Sugar Cookie

There are still a couple of seats available, we would love for you to join us!!

Lemon Poppy Seed Tea Cakes

Tea Cakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
10 tablespoons butter -- softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Lemon Glaze
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 cup confectioner's sugar

Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, poppy seeds, and salt and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy (about 2 minutes with an electric mixer). Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the lemon zest. Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat.
Use a standard 12-muffin pan. Coat each muffin cup lightly with olive oil, grapeseed oil, or a little melted butter using a pastry brush. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick (we use a thin bamboo skewer) to make sure the center of the muffins are done. Set muffin pan on wire rack to cool. After 5 minutes, remove muffins from pan.
While the muffins are cooling, in a bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and lemon juice for the glaze. Add more lemon juice if necessary. While the muffins are still a bit warm, use a pastry brush to brush the glaze over each muffin. The muffins will absorb some of the glaze, so you add more glaze to each muffin if you like.

Wonderful Raisin Scones

3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter -- chilled and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
1 cup raisin
3 large eggs -- divided
1 cup milk
1 tablespoon milk
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with a silicone mat, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour mixture until particles are the size of small peas; stir in raisins. In a medium bowl, beat 2 eggs lightly with 1 cup milk. Add to flour mixture; stir just until mixed.
On a lightly floured surface, knead dough gently. Pat or roll out the dough into a circle 1/2-inch thick. Using a lightly greased and floured 3-inch biscuit cutter, cut into rounds, cutting close together to generate as few scraps as possible. Dip cutter into flour as often as necessary to keep dough from sticking. Push scraps of dough together so that edges join; firmly pinch edges with fingertips to make a partial seal. Pat this remaining dough to 1/2-inch thick; continue to cut 3-inch rounds. Space 1-inch apart onto prepared baking sheet. When making scones, work the dough quickly and do not over mix. The scones can be cut into any shape you desire. Use a drinking glass to make circles, or cut into squares or wedges with a knife. Dip the edges of the cutter in flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Do not pat the edges of the scone down; instead leave the cuts as sharp as possible to allow the scones to rise in layers.
In a small bowl, combine 1 egg and 1 tablespoon milk; brush onto scones. Bake 15 to 18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and serve warm.

Make Ahead Tip: When the scones are cool, wrap airtight and hold at room temperature for up to one day or freeze to store longer. To reheat, unwrap scones (thaw wrapped, if frozen) and place onto a baking sheet. Bake in a 350 degrees oven 8 to 10 minutes or until warm.

Julia Child's French Onion Soup

2010-01-16T07:47:00.135-05:00

The weather has gotten a lot warmer in Florida, but a bowl of French Onion Soup still sounded wonderful! Julia Child's French Onion Soup to be exact. But first, I have to brag on my kids and their PERFECT Christmas presents. Our daughter, the artsy one of the family, and her husband, the techno guy, gave me a 9-disc set of Julia Child's cooking shows. I love it and have so enjoyed watching them EVERY chance I get. Our son, the practical law student, gave me something I really needed.....2 'Ove' Gloves. They are wonderful and I have not burned my hands since Christmas, it used to be at least a weekly occurence! With Julia's video "Your Own French Onion Soup' playing and my "Ove" gloves at the ready, it was time to cook.

Julia, of course, slices her onions with a knife; a mandoline was my tool of choice! I have experimented with onions and I think just regular yellow onions are the best. Sweet onions are too sweet for the soup and red onions add a less than desirable color to the finished product. One thing I learned from her show is that you first need to cook the onions, before you brown them. I heated the butter and the oil in my dutch oven, added the onions, stirred them around until coated then covered them with the lid and reduced the heat.

While the onions were simmering, I made Julia's "croutes" (toasted bread), I drizzled each side of the bread slices with a bit of olive oil and place them on a silpat lined baking sheet. I baked the croutes for 30 minutes in 325 degree oven, turning after 15 minutes. After about 20 minutes, I removed the lid, gave the onions a quick stir, then sprinkled in some sugar and salt, turned up the heat and carmelized the onions.

Once the onions were browned and reduced significantly, I reduced the heat to medium-low and added 3 tablespoons flour. I stirred them around for about 2-3 minutes trying not to scorch the onions and the flour. While I was stirring the onions, I warmed the stock in the microwave. See, I can multi-task! When the flour was browned, I stirred in 1 cup of warm stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up all of the cooked-on bits. I added the rest of the stock, the wine, the sage, and the bay leaf to the pot and simmered for 30 minutes, covered. I turned on my broiler to low and removed the bay leaf and added 3 tablespoons of cognac and grated half 1/2 of a raw onion into the soup, this gives it a richer flavor. Since dinner was just for the two of us, I placed one "croute" in each of our soup bowls, ladled in some soup and topped it off with some grated Fontina cheese. Under the broiler they went for just a couple of minutes, I watched them closely. When the cheese was bubbly and lightly browned, I used my 'Ove' gloves and easily removed the bowls to our serving plates. We did let them cool slightly before enjoying. Oh, I cannot wait for the leftovers tomorrow!

French Onion Soup (from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

5 cups yellow onions -- thinly sliced
1 tablespoon oil
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons flour
6 cups beef stock
1 cup wine (dry red or white)
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon ground sage
salt and pepper -- to taste
12 ounces swiss cheese -- grated
4 ounces parmesan cheese -- grated
1/2 yellow onion
3 tablespoons cognac
8 French Baguette slices
4 tablespoons olive oil -- for drizzling

Place heavy bottom stock pot or dutch over over medium-low heat. Add 1 Tablespoon cooking oil and 2Tablespoons butter to pot. Add sliced onions and stir until they are evenly coated with the oils. Cover and cook for about 20 minutes until they are very tender and translucent.

To brown or caramelize the onions turn heat under pot to medium or medium high heat. Add 1/2 tsp sugar and 1 tsp salt and continue to cook uncovered, stirring frequently until the onions have browned and reduced significantly.

Once caramelized, reduce heat to medium-low and add 3 Tbs flour to the onions. Brown the flour for about 2-3 minutes trying not to scorch it. (If the flour does not form a thick paste, you can add a bit more butter here).

Stir in about 1 cup of warm stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to get up all of the cooked-on bits. Add the rest of the stock, wine, sage, and bay leaf to the soup. Simmer for 30 minutes.

To make the "croutes" (toasted bread), heat oven to 325 degrees F. Drizzle each side of the bread slices with a bit of olive oil and place on baking sheet. Cook the croutes for 15 minutes in oven on each side (30 minutes total).

Check the soup for seasoning and add salt and pepper if needed. Remove the bay leaf (if you can find it).
Transfer to a casserole dish. At this point you can add the 2-3 Tbs cognac and grate the 1/2 raw onion into the soup. Add a few ounces of the swiss cheese directly into the soup and stir.

Place the toasted bread in a single layer on top of the soup.

Sprinkle the rest of the cheese in a thick layer on top of the bread making sure to cover the edges of the toast to prevent burning.

Drizzle with a little oil or melted butter.

Place in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.

Turn on broiler and brown cheese well.

Let cool for a few minutes.

How to Make a Wonderful Rich Stock

2010-01-13T10:49:00.025-05:00

I had every intention of posting this yesterday, but got sidetracked......I was in a cleaning out mood. Most people do a Spring Cleaning, not me, I do a New Year's Winter Cleaning. After all the Christmas decorations are back up in the attic, it is time to clean house. I have been especially motivated this year because it has been too darn cold to go outside. I can not believe the harsh weather we have been having in Florida, we have lost a lot of our tropical plants, but I know I cannot complain after all the damage I have seen to the citrus farms around here. I even read that a tropical fish farm suffered almost complete losses due to their ponds freezing. Forecasters say that the weather is going back to normal today. I (and the puppies) am looking forward to it!

OK, enough complaining about our weather.....on to Cornish Game Hen stock. There is nothing like homemade stock, it adds SO much more flavor to your foods. While my wonderful hubby was deboning all those Cornish Hens for us over the weekend, I reminded him to please save all the bones he removed so I could make stock. When he was all done, I put them in my large stock pot with some celery, carrots, sliced onions, and parsley. This was perfect timing as I had purchased too much celery and I had a bag of baby carrots that were starting to dry out. I covered it all with cold water, added a couple black peppercorns and a heavy dash of salt and brought it all to a boil. I reduced the heat and simmered uncovered for about 4 hours. I occasionally skimmed the foam and fat that came to the surface and gave it a quick stir.

I removed the pot from the heat to allow everything to cool slightly and then used my spider to remove most of the bones and large pieces of veggies.

When the stock was cool, I placed a large bowl in my sink with my strainer on top and poured the stock through. I then placed the bowl in an ice bath to bring the stock temperature down so I could cover the bowl and put it in the fridge until morning. Using an ice bath helps ensure the temperature is quickly reduced to a safe storage temperature of 40º F or less, therefore there is less chance of food spoilage. In the morning, the fat had risen to the top and solidified, I used a large spoon to skim it off.

Then I used a 2 cup measuring cup and poured the stock into resealable sandwich bags. I discovered this method from my mom. It saves room in the freezer. I made sure all the bags were sealed tight and placed them in the freezer for a couple of hours.

After the stock had frozen I placed 3 of the sandwich bags into a labeled freezer bag. Back in the freezer they went all ready to be used whenever I need them. Just some quick notes: I try to keep 3 freezer bags in my freezer. One label, chicken scraps, one beef scraps and one veggie scraps. When deboning chicken breast or thighs, if you do not have enough to make a stock, just pop them in the freezer bag and put it back in the freezer. When your bag is full, it is time to make stock, you don't even have to defrost them. In your veggie bag, you can put in celery and carrot ends, carrots and celery getting past their prime or carrot peeling. When it is time to make stock, use what veggies are in the bag and supplement with fresh if there are not enough.

Also, if your stock seems a little weak even though you have simmered it all day, you can add a little chicken base, I have had great sucess with Better Than Bouillon. I do not recommend using chicken boullion cubes as they tend to be too salty.

How to Debone A Cornish Game Hen

2010-01-11T09:34:00.006-05:00

Last Thursday night, Gordy and I did a dinner class at Rolling Pin, Boneless Cornish Game Hens. I love when I can convince him to do a class with me, we have so much fun cooking together and always have such a great time at Rolling Pin. The students love him, and why shouldn't they, he is a great guy!
Not sure if I have mentioned this before in any of my posts, but I do not enjoy working with raw poultry....I don't mind cooking with poultry, but when it comes to cutting up a raw chicken or deboning them, I JUST DON'T LIKE IT! A couple of years ago my mom came home from a cooking class all excited because she learned how to debone a Cornish Game Hen. I could not wait to learn. I love the little guys, but they are so hard to eat with all the bones. They are so elegant stuffed with wild rice and plated with a simple salad, but they are not so elegant to eat, you really have to go with the "caveman approach" to get all the meat off the little bones! I stood ready with my knife and kitchen shears, ready to learn, but as soon as we took the little buggers out of their little bags, I was finished and Gordy had to take over. Luckily for us, he was there! He has since become a real pro! When I can get them fresh and he has some spare time on the weekend, I can usually talk him into deboning 6 or 8 and then I freeze them, all ready for a Elegantly Easy Dinner! I just thaw them overnight in the fridge, stuff them and bake them, how easy is that.
You can buy the frozen hens in most grocery stores, and I have been able to find some very large frozen Cornish Hens at Sam's Club, but the problem is, you have to thaw them before you debone them and then cook them within a day or two. (I don't defrost uncooked chicken, and then refreeze it uncooked)
The Perdue hen is fresh, purchased from our local Publix and these are the Cornish Hens we are using in the video below. The Tyson hen is frozen and is back in the freezer to be cooked at a later time.
After our class on Thursday went so well, I thought it might be time to attempt our first video on The Saucy Gourmet. Below is our very basic instruction video on How to Debone a Cornish Hen, enjoy!

When all six hens were deboned, I froze 4 and put two in the fridge all ready for the next night's dinner.

Last night, I whipped up a very easy Wild Rice Stuffing and an Orange Glaze.

We loosely stuffed the hens, using silcone rubber bands to hold the legs together.
Then baked them on a rack in a silpat lined baking sheet for about 1 1/2 hours, basting them occasionally with the orange glaze. I covered them with foil after about 35 minutes to keep them from over browning, then removed the foil during the last 10 minutes just to crisp the skin. Last night, we began our dinner with French Onion Soup, and then were only able to eat about 1/2 hen each. We had to save room for German Chocolate Cake! I think Tuesday after cooking all day at Rolling Pin, we will have leftovers.

Orange Glazed Boneless Cornish Hens with Wild Rice Stuffing

1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped mushrooms
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 1/2 cups cooked rice (you can use wild rice, long grain rice, or a combo of the 2)
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tablespoons grated orange peel
2 Cornish game hens, deboned is possible
GLAZE:
1/2 cup orange juice
1/8 cup honey
1/8 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons grated orange peel

In a skillet, saute the onion, mushrooms and almonds in butter. Add rice, sugar, salt, thyme and orange peel; mix well. Loosely stuff hens. Place, breast side up, on a rack in a shallow baking pan. In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients; spoon some over hens. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes. Cover and bake 35 minutes longer until juices run clear, brushing often with remaining glaze.

A Wonderful Guest Post from Chow and Chatter!

2010-01-08T10:27:00.007-05:00

What great fun I have had sharing guest post with Rebecca at Chow and Chatter! I have learned so much from her and always enjoy visiting her site! She is a Brit living in America, food and travel are her passions. When she asked me to do a guest blog yesterday about our tea, I jumped at the chance. But I did make her promise she would do a guest post for The Saucy Gourmet that was healthy (we all know I cook with too much butter and cream) and different from anything I have ever done. She came through as promised!

I am honored to guest post on Shari's wonderful blog, I am a writer, food blogger and registered dietitian and have the pleasure to be able to stay home with my adorable 15 month old daughter Jasmine, often featured in my blog! I am married to a South Indian so dal is big in our house, well food from all countries in fact.
Dal is basically a spicy lentil soup high in protein and very nutritious mostly eaten with rice and other vegetable dishes.

Enjoy......

Ingredients:
3 cloves garlic
little salt
toor dal 1 cup
1 cup spinach
little tumeric
sambar powder (can be found in Indian grocery store- famous in South India)
curry leaves
mustard seeds
green chili
1/2 onion
1/2 tomato.

Method
1. add dal, green beans, tomato, little onion, little tumeric 1 clove garlic to pressure cooker and cook till you hear two whistles. (if you don't have a pressure cooker simple boil for 30-45 minutes until very soft.)
2. fry mustard seeds (let pop), onion, curry leaves, garlic, green chili in canola oil, then add some sambar powder- more if you want it to be spicy
3. mix fried onions and spices with dal and boil 5 - 10 min add coriander/cilantro to garnish.

Thank you so much for sharing Rebecca! I have very little experience with Indian cuisine, so I had to do a little research to familiarize myself with some of your ingredients. Here is what I found on Cook's Thesaurus:
Whole toor lentils are yellow with tan jackets, but they're usually sold skinned and split. They have a mild, nutty flavor, and they're often cooked as a side dish or ground into flour. They're sometimes sold with an oily coating, which you should rinse off. Look for them at Indian markets. Substitutes: channa dal OR yellow split peas OR pigeon peas

Guest Blog

2010-01-07T14:07:00.003-05:00

My first guest blog.

Thank you Rebecca at Chow and Chowder for asking me to guest blog on your wonderful site. Kind of fitting to do a post on my tea at Rolling Pin since Rebecca is a Brit who loves tea!

Time For Tea, A Great Way to Thaw Out!

2010-01-06T15:28:00.022-05:00

Wow, the weather outside is frightful, but inside Rolling Pin it was so delightful! I know I should not be complaining about the cold snap that has hit Florida, especially looking at some of the other temperatures from around the country, but it is darn cold out there! We had a frost last night, and they are calling for another tonight, and if conditions are just right this weekend.....snow! I thought we moved to Florida to escape all that!

The only good that has come out of our colder weather, it was the prefect day to have an Afternoon Tea titled "A Snowflake Afternoon". Dave West, the owner of Rolling Pin, and I decided that since the teas have become so popular, we would try 2teas every month. Our teas will now be on the first Wednesday and the third Thursday. Today, we had the prefect number of students, 12. We began the class with a wonderful pot of English Breakfast Tea and a piping hot Cream Cheese Walnut Scone drizzled with Cream Cheese Frosting. Since the scones were hot, I decided make the frosting very thick. That way by the time they were all served, the frosting had melted to a wonderful glaze. Everyone voted these the best scones so far! While everyone was enjoying their scones and another pot of tea was poured, I began making our tea sandwiches.

Today our selection of tea sandwiches included
Roasted Beef Sandwiches with Kalamata Mustard Butter
Caviar and Egg Tea Sandwiches and
Waldorf Tea Sandwiches
I must admit, everyone seemed very skeptical about the Caviar and Egg, but they all tried them and everyone said they loved them.
Just a quick note about the caviar. Traditionally the designation caviar is only used for sturgeon roe, namely from the wild sturgeon species from the Caspian Sea, in most cases from Russia or Iran (Beluga, Ossetra and Sevruga caviars). This caviar varies, according to their quality (flavor, size, consistency and color), and are associated with gourmet and Haute cuisine environments. Presently, depending on specific national laws, the name caviar may be used by a variety of far less expensive products, substitutes and imitations of caviar, such as salmon roe (sometimes called red caviar), trout roe, lumpfish roe, etc. Since we were using the caviar as a light garnish, I elected to use the must less expensive lumpfish roe. The lumpfish roe is much smaller than than the Beluga roe, making it a perfect "pop" for our tea sandwiches. After the tea sandwiches were served, I began to prepare my favorite part of tea, dessert! Today, we enjoyed Winter White Tea Cookies and White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies!
My next Afternoon Tea will be Tuesday, January 19 "A Traditional Afternoon Tea" what a great way to celebrate National Hot Tea Month! There are still a couple of seats available, we would love to have you come join us!

I had to show off some of my Christmas Presents! The frame was from one of my favorite students at Rolling Pin, Karen. Thanks you so much Karen, I LOVE IT!! The little chef was a stocking stuffer from my parents, they said it looked like me, minus my usual glass of wine. What fun I have had with both of these gifts!

Frosted Cream Cheese Walnut Scones
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter -- chilled and cut into small pieces
5 ounces cream cheese -- chilled and cut into small pieces
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 large egg
1 cup walnuts -- coarsely chopped
Cream Cheese Frosting

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Baking sheets may be ungreased, or lined with parchment paper or silpat

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugar; whisk together to mix.

With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter and cream cheese into the flour mixture until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a small bowl, stir the buttermilk and egg together. Add the liquid mixture and walnuts to the flour mixture; stir just until mixed. The dough will be stiff and slightly sticky. If necessary, turn the mixture onto a lightly floured board and knead gently until the flour is combined. Do not over-knead as this will make a tougher scone.

On a lightly floured surface, shape and pat the dough into a circle or rectangle about ¾ inches thick. Cut into wedges, squares or circles with a floured knife and place them 2 inches apart on the baking sheet.

Note: Scones can be cut into any shape you desire. Use a drinking glass to make circles, or cut into squares or wedges with a knife. Dip the edges of the cutter in flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Do not pat the edges of the scone down; instead leave the cuts as sharp as possible to allow the scones to rise in layers.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until the scones are lightly browned. Remove scones from baking sheets and cool on wire racks.

Cream Cheese Frosting
3 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon milk

In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft. Add confectioners sugar and vanilla extract; beat until smooth. Add enough milk to make a good spreading consistency. Frost the scones while they are still warm.

Caviar and Egg Tea Sandwiches
20 slices pumpernickel cocktail bread
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 hard boiled eggs -- peeled and sliced
Creme Fraiche
caviar
fresh chives

Preheat oven to 400°.
Cut pumpernickel slices into triangles; place on baking sheet. Brush with olive oil, and bake 8 minutes or until toasted; set aside to cool. Place one egg slice on each toast point. Spoon or pipe Crème Fraiche on egg slice; top with caviar and fresh chives.

A Decadent Dessert, Perfect for Christmas Eve Dinner

2009-12-18T10:04:00.018-05:00

Wow, what a night. Last night was my last class of the year at Rolling Pin, Make Ahead Christmas Eve Dinner and it was packed. I usually sell out at 18, but somehow 5 extra students were added at the last moment, and no one remembered to let me know! It all worked out wonderfully, but I must admit, I am exhausted today. Quick post and them I am off for a nap!! Hopefully after a 20 minute power nap, I will be refreshed and ready to start preparing for all the Christmas festivities (and the catered breakfast I have for 30 on Tuesday)

The menu I prepared last night, is my traditional Christmas Eve Dinner

Kris Kringle Soup
Beef Wellington
Gruyere Scalloped Potatoes
Brussels Sprouts w/Buttered Pecans
Individual Chocolate Cranberry Cakes with Bourbon Whipped Cream

Before class began, I made a large batch of Duxelle, our filling for the Wellingtons, which is nothing more than sauteed shallots, garlic and mushrooms. I then seared all but a couple of the fillets, cooled them on rack and popped them in the fridge. The beef and the duxelle need to be cooled before you begin assembling the Wellingtons, it makes the puffed pastry much easier to handle! I buttered 23 tartlet pans, leaving one to do as a demo for class and combined the dried cranberries with the Bourbon for dessert. By then all the students began arriving, EARLY. Actually, one student arrived an hour early, but we convinced her that she had plenty of shopping to do in the store!

I began the class by preparing Kris Kringle Soup. It is a secret family recipe, and only those close to our family know the recipe....and the 20 that attended my class last night. Only joking, the recipe is oh so easy, but makes a wonderful start to a very rich meal! While the soup was heating, I made small batch of duxelle, seared a couple extra fillets, and popped them in the fridge to cool. We then served the soup and I moved on to preparing the Gruyere Scalloped Potatoes and the Brussel Sprouts. Potatoes went into the oven as we starting assembling the Wellingtons. We rolled out the puffed pastry slightly and cut each sheet into fourths. We placed a tablespoon or so of duxelle, topped that with a fillet, then wrapped it all up like a little package, sealing the edges with an egg wash. At this point, we had to bake the wellingtons, but they are much better refrigerated for at least one hour or up to a day (the make ahead part) It is very challenging to prepare a make ahead dinner in 2 hours:-)

When everything was baked to perfection, we plated the Wellingtons with the potatoes and the brussel sprouts. As our students enjoyed their dinner, I moved on to making my favorite part of dinner, DESSERT!

I began by prepping our tartlet pan. I needed to cut a piece of parchment paper to fit in the bottom of the pans, easy enough, I just remove the bottom, traced it, and cut it out, perfect fit! Then, I demostrated how to coat the interiors of the tartlet pans. I brushed the inside completely with some melted butter, placed the parchment circle in and coated with butter again. I refrigerated the pan until the butter was cold and set, about 5 minutes. I brushed a second coating of butter over the interiors of the pan, chilled 5 minutes more and then lightly dusted it with flour.

While I was preparing the pan, I simmered the cranberries until all the liquid was absorbed, and moved them to a bowl to cool.

I melted the chocolate and remaining stick butter in a small saucepan over low heat, and moved to another bowl to cool.

I pulsed the pecans with some flour in the food processor until finely ground.
In to the mixer bowl went the eggs yolks and brown sugar and I blended them at medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. I added chocolate mixture and beat until just combined. I then transferred the batter to a larger bowl and stirred in the pecan mixture and cranberries.

After one of the assistants washed the mixer bowl, I whipped the whites with a pinch of salt until they just held stiff peaks. I folded one third of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then folded in remaining whites gently, but thoroughly.

At this point, my assistants helped me divide the batter among molds that we had placed on cookies sheets. Makes getting them in and out of the oven so much easier! We baked them for about 25 minutes. Ideally, the cakes need to cool in their pans for about 30 minutes, but we were running out of time and the smell of the chocolate had our students salivating. So we decided to serve them more like a molten cake. I quickly whipped up some heavy cream with some confectioners sugar and bourbon then carefully removed the cakes from each mold, I slid each cake from removeable bottom onto a dessert plate, making sure I removed the parchment paper. We lightly dusted each cake with confectioners sugar and served with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream. They were licking their plates and asking for more, but is was time to go home and we still had a ton of dishes to do. The best part of this menu, everything can be made ahead and all the prep dishes and pans washed and put away before you sit down to dinner!
What an evening. Nap time. Oh yeah, one more thing, I am going to start guest writing for floridafoodies.net. If you get time, check my introduction from Claudia McCants.

Individual Chocolate Cranberry Cakes with Bourbon Whipped Cream

10 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup bourbon
2 teaspoons bourbon
7 ounces bittersweet chocolate (not more than 60% cacao if marked) -- chopped
1/4 cup pecans -- toasted and cooled
3 large eggs -- separated
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon confectioner's sugar

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F.
Cut out 4 rounds of parchment paper to fit just inside bottom of each mold, then set rounds aside. Melt 2 tablespoons butter, and brush the molds with some of it. Line bottom of each mold with a round of parchment and brush parchment with some melted butter. Chill molds 5 minutes (to set butter), then brush parchment and side of each mold with more melted butter. Chill molds 5 minutes more. Dust molds with flour, knocking out excess, and set aside.
Simmer cranberries and 1/4 cup bourbon in a small saucepan over low heat until cranberries are tender and bourbon is absorbed, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Melt chocolate and remaining stick butter in a small heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Remove from heat and cool 10 minutes.
Pulse pecans with flour (2 tablespoons) in a food processor until finely ground, being careful not to process to a paste.
Beat together yolks and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until thick and pale, about 2 minutes. Add chocolate mixture and beat until just combined, then stir in pecan mixture and cranberries.
Beat whites with a pinch of salt in another bowl using cleaned beaters until they just hold stiff peaks. Fold one third of whites into chocolate mixture to lighten, then fold in remaining whites gently but thoroughly.
Divide batter among molds (they will be very full), then put molds in a shallow baking pan and bake until a wooden pick or skewer inserted into center of a cake comes out with tip wet and remainder of pick dry, about 25 minutes. (Batter will rise above rims but will not spill over.) Transfer cakes to a rack and cool in molds 30 minutes. (Cakes will continue to set as they cool.)
Beat cream with confectioners sugar and remaining 2 teaspoons bourbon in a small bowl using cleaned beaters until it just holds soft peaks.
Remove side from each mold, then slide each cake from bottom onto a dessert plate, discarding parchment. Lightly dust each cake with confectioners sugar and serve with a dollop of bourbon whipped cream.

Tea for Two? Or Tea for 25!

2009-12-15T14:56:00.017-05:00

Today was our monthly Afternoon Tea at Rolling Pin and, in my opinion, it was a HUGE success. Of course, my opinion is based on the fact the scones baked perfectly, we had enough filling for all the tea sandwiches, the desserts turned out and all of this was completed in less than 3 hours. Thanks to my assistants today, Brenda, Wendy and Denis, you guys were incredible! With 25 students, it was a VERY busy afternoon!

The tea today was a "Nutcracker Tea" and the menu was

Gingerbread Scones
Roast Beef and Horseradish Tea Sandwiches
Tomato Watercress with Chive Butter Tea Sandwiches
Festive Chicken Tea Sandwiches
Chocolate Pecan Bars
Snowballs

The Scones were very similar to my gingerbread recipe, except I delete the sugar since our desserts were so decadent. We served the scones with Devonshire Cream that is sold at Rolling Pin. I made Tomato Watercress with Chive Butter Tea Sandwiches and
Festive Chicken Tea Sandwiches because I thought the colors were very festive, red and green and when I think of Christmas, I always think of roast beef with creamy horseradish sauce! The dessert recipes are below. The best part of the snowballs are they only take minutes to make and you don't have to bake them. It is a great recipe to do with the kids!

Everyone went home with a small keepsake from me, a Nutcracker!

My next Afternoon Tea at Rolling Pin will be January 6 "A Snowflake Afternoon Tea"

Chocolate Pecan Bars

For the crust :
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup cold butter -- cut into pieces
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg -- beaten slightly
For Filling:
1 stick butter -- softened
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups pecans -- chopped
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Make the crust:
In a food processor blend together the flour, the sugar, the butter, and the salt, pulsing the motor, until the mixture resembles coarse meal, add the egg, and blend the mixture until it forms a dough. Press the dough evenly with floured hands into the bottom of a buttered 13- by 9-inch baking dish and bake it in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 20 to 25 minutes, or until it is golden.

Make the filling while the crust is baking:
In a bowl cream the butter with the brown sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy and add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the flour, the vanilla, and the salt and stir in the pecans and the chocolate chips.

Spread the filling over the crust and bake the confection in the middle of the 350°F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let the confection cool completely in the dish on a rack and cut it into 24 bars. The bars may be made 2days in advance and kept in an airtight container.

Snowballs

2 1/4 cups cream filled chocolate sandwich cookie crumbs
1 cup pecans -- toasted and finely chopped
1 1/2 cups sifted powdered sugar -- divided
1/3 cup flaked coconut
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup strawberry preserves

Stir together cookie crumbs, pecans, 3/4 cup powdered sugar and coconut in a bowl. Stir in corn syrup and preserves. At this point, it is best just to dig in with your hands to thoroughly combine everything. You want a pretty sticky dough so the powered sugar "sticks" to the balls, but if the dough is too sticky to shape, just add more cookie crumbs.

Shape mixture into balls using 1 level tablespoon of mixture for each. Roll balls in remaining 3/4 cup of powered sugar; roll again to coat well.

Store in airtight container up to 4 days.

Make Ahead Christmas Brunch

2009-12-10T05:33:00.010-05:00

My class last Tuesday at Rolling Pin in Brandon was "Make Ahead Christmas Brunch". We had 8 students in attendance and a lot of fun! We started the morning off with Pomegranate Mimosa. A wonderful blend of 2 cups Pomegranate juice, 1 cup orange juice, 1/2 cup triple sec and a bottle of Cava or demi sec Champagne. It is best when everything but the Champagne is combined the night before and chilled, then when you are ready to serve, fill each glass half way with Champagne, when the bubbles subside pour in the pomegranate blend. While they were enjoying their drinks, I prepared a Fruit Salad with Cranberry Dressing, Baked Ham and Broccoli Strata and Cherry Stuffed French Toast with Cherry, Orange, Maple Syrup. The best part of this menu is everything can be made the night before. Then Christmas morning, all you have to do is pop it all in the oven. Oh so easy! The Strata can even be prepared with leftover ham.

Baked Ham and Broccoli Strata

(click here for printable recipe)

2 10 ounce packages frozen chopped broccoli -- thawed and drained
3/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham -- cut into 1/2 inch strips
2 cups Swiss cheese -- shredded
1 8 ounce loaf French bread -- cut in 1 inch slices
6 eggs -- lightly beaten
2 cups milk
3 tablespoons dried minced onions
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
1/2 teaspoon paprika

Combine broccoli, ham and cheese; spread half into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking dish. Arrange bread slices on top. Cover with remaining broccoli mixture. In a bowl, combine the eggs, milk, onion, mustard and hot pepper sauce. Pour over broccoli mixture. Sprinkle with paprika. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes before baking. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 35-40 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Fruit Salad with Cranberry Dressing
(click here for printable recipe)
2 cups cranberries
1/3 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice
bibb lettuce
2 large oranges -- peeled, cored and cut into wedges
2 large pears -- cored and sliced
2 kiwifruit -- peeled and sliced lengthwise into wedges

For dressing, in a medium saucepan combine cranberries and water. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 4 to 5 minutes or until berries just begin to pop. Remove saucepan from heat; stir in sugar and orange juice. When cool, press mixture through a sieve. Discard cranberry skins. Cover and chill the dressing about 2 hours or until thoroughly chilled. (The dressing will thicken slightly as it chills.)

To serve, line 6 small bowls or plates with lettuce leaves. Arrange fruit on lettuce leaves. Drizzle with dressing.

As requested, here are more pictures of my santa collection....or is it an addiction?

Childhood Memories....Christmas Bread and French Toast

2009-12-08T08:24:00.023-05:00

As the Christmas Holidays get closer and closer (I swear every year, they come quicker and quicker) I start to reminisce about "the old days". Growing up, Christmas in our home was always magical. To say my parents love Christmas is putting it mildly. There is not a mantle, or table or shelf, or stair, or...you get the gist that is not decorated. They have a Santa collection, a nutcracker collection, a snowman collection.... Christmas is everywhere and of course, has continued into our home. I have all the above, except a nutcracker collection (and no, I do not want to start one!) Last count, I had over 300 Santas, anywhere from a tiny 3 inch Santa to a life sized 6 foot+ Santa. Most of my Santa hold some special memory, a gift from a dear friend, handmade ones from friends and family or a wild shopping spree the day after Christmas.

There are memories all over our home, but some of the best memories are the ones in my heart. My mom finishing my Christmas outfit in the car on the way to midnight mass, Christmas morning waking up and all the lights magically on in the house (did Sana do that), magic snow from the North Pole that did not melt and one memory that still brings back the aroma of my grandmom's kitchen. Christmas Bread. Not a holiday has gone by, that we have not had Christmas Bread. First my grandmother, then my mom made it and now I am making it. It is one of those no fail recipes that I have been making for years. I must admit though, I now cheat and use my KitchenAid Mixer to do 4 minutes of the kneading, then I just knead it by hand for about one minute. Interested in winning a KitchenAid Mixer, visit Amanda's Cookin'. It is so loved in our family, that while my brother was at West Point, one of his Christmas wishes was to have 2 loaves of bread all to his self, so he could take it back with him to NY. Then as our family grew, my children and my nephews would always remind their grandmother to make extra, so everyone could have as much as they wanted. Our traditional Christmas Dinner has always been on Christmas Eve, and it was not unusual for both loaves of the bread to disappear that evening and my mom would be back in the kitchen the next morning making more.
Not too long ago, I decided to try something different with the bread. Unbelievably we had a whole loaf left one Christmas morning, French Toast came to mind, stuffed French Toast to be exact. It is so yummy and so easy to do and can even be done the night before! I take 2 slices of bread, spread one with softened cream cheese and the other with any type of preserves, raspberry or cherry are great for Christmas, but this summer I may experiment with peach or pineapple. Then sandwich the two together. I whisk a couple of eggs with some milk and vanilla extract, heat some butter in a skillet, dip the bread in the egg mixture, making sure I coat all sides, then fry them up in the pan. It is delicious served with powdered sugar or any type of syrup! And it is decedent served with a Cherry-Orange Maple Syrup. The recipe below for the bread is from my grandmother, known to all as Baba. The recipe for the French Toast is a make ahead version.

Christmas Bread (click here for printable recipe)

2 packages dry yeast
6 cups flour
1 1/2 cups milk
2 eggs -- beaten
1/2 stick butter
2/3 cup sugar
11 teaspoons salt

Mix well 2 cups flour with dry yeast. Heat milk, butter, sugar and salt till warm. Mix with yeast, beat. Add beaten eggs, beat. Add remaining flour. Mix till smooth. Knead for 5 minutes. Place in well greased bowl, turning over to grease top, cover with a clean dish cloth and allow to raise about 1 1/2 hours. Divide dough in half, then divide each half into thirds. Make 2 braids, place each on a well greased baking sheet, cover with a clean dish towel and raise for about 1 1/2 hours. Bake 350for about 20 minutes, or until lightly brown. I always bake both loaves at the same time. To keep them evenly browned, top and bottom, I switch the loaves on the oven racks about 1/2 way through.

Christmas Morning Stuffed French Toast with Cherry, Orange, Maple Syrup
(click here for printable recipe)
French Toast
butter -- for greasing the pan
6 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons fresh grated orange zest
4 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1 jar cherry preserves
8 slices Christmas Braided Bread or Challah Bread

Cherry-Orange Sauce:
1/2 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cups fresh sweet cherries -- pitted and halved
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Grease a large 13×9-inch baking pan with a generous layer of butter.

Whisk together the eggs in a medium bowl with the milk, vanilla and orange zest until well blended. Pour into the baking pan and set aside.

Spread 4 slices of bread with cream cheese and 4 slices with cherry preserves. Sandwich together.

Place the "sandwiches" in the egg mixture. Let stand on each side for 5 minutes to absorb the egg mixture, and sprinkle the almonds over one side. At this point you can bake in a 400 degree preheated oven for 10 minutes, turn over the slices to bake for another 10 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and let cool slightly. Or you can cover the baking pan with foil and refridgerate overnight. In the morning, while the oven is preheating, remove the french toast from the fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.

To make the cherry-orange sauce, bring the orange juice to a boil in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the cherries and bring to a boil again. Turn the heat down to medium-low and cook for 10 minutes. Stir in the maple syrup, cornstarch and cinnamon, and continue to cook, stirring frequently, for another couple of minutes or until the sauce thickens. Reduce to a simmer until the French Toast is baked.

Serve the French Toast warm covered with hot cherry-orange sauce.

Go Gators!

2009-12-01T08:33:00.027-05:00

Last year, we began a new tradition in our home: the Annual Gator Golf Game, followed by the Annual UF/FSU Football Game Party. For those of you who don't follow Florida college football (yes Brie, people who don't watch Gator football do exist), The Florida – Florida State rivalry, sometimes called the "Sunshine Showdown", has been played since 1958 and is traditionally the Saturday after Thanksgiving. For us, the day begins with all those who wish to golf braving the cold temperature to tee off at 10:30 (it was VERY chilly this year, 60's with a light breeze, they had to start off in jackets)
While the golfers are out hacking away, some of us stay home and create. We create decorations, a cake and of course, orange and blue drinks. I create dinner the day before, because the more Orange and Blue beverages we create, the less motivated I am to cook. This year, we had Swamp Caviar, Crab Meltaways, Orange and Rosemary Chicken Legs, BBQ Beef Brisket, Marianted Ham and Cheese Sandwiches, Potato Salad and Pasta Salad. All I would have to do when our weary golfers came home was put out some appetizers, then just before half time, heat the chicken legs ham sandwiches and the brisket. Too easy!
Another tradition that started last year was our FL Swamp Stadium Cake! A couple of years ago for my birthday, our son presented me with a Nordicware Stadium Cake Pan. I love it. We baked the cake the day before and learned some things from the last year's mishaps. First, since the pan has so much detail inside, you really have to spray it well, everywhere! We used Baker's Joy, going around the pan twice. Last year, a portion of the stadium stayed in the pan and we had to "glue" it back with icing, this year it came out perfectly. Years ago, I took a cake decorating class and the instructor said that the best cake for decorating is a blend of two cake mixes, a pound cake and a regular cake mix. I am not one for mixes, but I must admit, I have been doing this blend for over 15 years and have never had a cake fall. I blended both mixes with all the ingredients listed on each box for about 2 minutes with my KitchenAid. Another lesson from last year, we did not fill the pan enough. It says 2/3 of the way full, but that is very hard to judge. This year, I filled the pan to the bottom on the "field". I knew the cake would raise out of the pan, so I put a cookie sheet on the rack underneath just in case. After about 40 minutes, the cake tested done, so we removed it and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for about 5 minutes, then took a serrated knife and trimmed off the excess so it would sit level. Last year, after we flipped the pan on the foil lined board, we realized that there was no field in the middle. So Brie quickly designed one on the computer and we printed it out. We decided to cover it with plastic wrap to keep the icing off while we were decorating. We had to lift the cake to get the field underneath, and broke the cake in two, a little icing and the crack was repaired. This year, we centered the field on the board, holding it in place with clear tape, we placed the board on top of the pan, lined it up from underneath, then holding it tightly, flipped it. To our amazement, the cake was centered and it released perfectly from the pan. Another addition this year, was to glaze the cake with my Southern Comfort Glaze. We decided to do it for two reason. First, even though the cake blend is good, without a lot of icing on it, it tends to be a little boring. Second, we figured with a glaze it would make the stadium look shinier and would help keep the crumbs to minimum. We were right on both counts. We poured half the glaze over the cake just after removing it from the pan, then poured the rest over the cake after it cooled. We covered the cake tightly with foil, all ready to be decorated the next day.
We made orange, blue and white dots for the gator fans. FYI, this is not a realist rendering of a home game in the swamp, the games are ALWAYS sold out! We did have to add a losers section, not everyone that comes to our party is a diehard Gator fan, I know that is VERY hard to believe.
This year, Brie decided to add a score board. She took some of the trimmings of the cake, cut them into into regtangles, glazed them and decorated them, it really added to the cake this year.

Another thing we added were the palm trees in the front. So easy using toothpicks that have the green frilled tops. We hot glued the toothpicks to the board, then decorated them with green icing. Everyone was warned not to eat them!
Maybe next year we will add a press box and jumbotrons:-)
Just a quick note on the cake batter, because we used 2 cake mixes, we had plenty left. I used the additional batter to bake a cake in my Wilton Christmas Cake Pan. After the cake cooled, I wrapped it in heavy duty foil and popped it in the freezer. I plan to use it during the holidays or chunk it up for a trifle. This cake freezes wonderfully!

We had so much fun doing this cake, don't they look proud?

A Dumpling By Any Other Name

2009-11-25T11:19:00.025-05:00

Hello everyone, my name is Brie Fisher. My mom has been after me for a bit to do a guest blog post, so here we go! It goes without saying that while living 18 years at home with the Saucy Gourmet herself, it was inevitable that I’d pick up some skills in the kitchen here and there. I don’t even pretend to put myself in the same league as my mom, but I’d like to think I’m a pretty decent cook. My husband Rich says I’m a great one, but I think the driving force behind that praise is the fear that he might not get fed if he says otherwise. Anyways, on with the blog post!

I’ve always had a soft spot for Asian cuisine, and my husband goes nuts for potstickers at the restaurants we frequent, so when I took a day off from work last week I figured why not try my hand at making some. Potstickers are the Chinese version of dumplings. The wrappers are stuffed with a mixture of ground meat (usually pork, chicken, or shrimp and veggies) and sealed by hand. The dumplings can then be prepared boiled, steamed, or pan-fried. The Japanese version of potstickers, called gyoza (pronounced gee-YOH-zah), differ most noticeably from the Chinese potstickers in that they are normally have a much richer garlic flavor and a thinner wrapper. Since my husband and I are big garlic lovers, I decided to go with the gyoza.

The recipe that I found contained a recipe for making the gyoza wrappers from scratch, but since I didn’t have quite that much time or desire to make them, I decided to look up some alternatives to the made-from-scratch route. Several sites that I found suggested purchasing ready-made gyoza wrappers, but since there aren’t any Asian groceries near me, I figured that would be a long shot. I finally settled on the suggestion of using wonton wrappers as a substitute to the gyoza wrappers. After a quick trip to Publix, I had all of my ingredients gathered and I was ready to get cooking.

My first task was deciding how to best make a square into a circle. The wonton wrappers were sold precut into squares, but in order to make the potstickers, I needed circles. As fate would have it, Publix was out of cookie cutters, and I didn’t have any at home. But what I did have were my metal measuring cups. I was able to cut several wonton sheets at once with my makeshift cookie cutter, making quick work of the 40 sheets. They weren’t perfect, but were close enough for the job.

I moved on to mincing the cabbage, tossing it with salt to help leech out the water, and letting it wilt for about 20 minutes. While the cabbage was wilting, I prepared the rest of the ingredients. My husband always teases me about watching the Food Network, but you can pick up some really great tips from their shows! One of my favorite came from Alton Brown's "Good Eats". I always had an issue when I grated fresh ginger because it would stick in the grater and I would cut my fingers to a bloody mess trying to get it out. His solution? Tightly cover the smallest holes with plastic wrap and then grate over it. Once you're done, simply remove the wrap, brush off any remaining bits, and voila! Perfectly grated ginger with none of the mess or blood! After squeezing out as much water as I could, I mixed the cabbage with the other filling ingredients, covered the bowl, and let it sit in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Then it was time for the fun part!

I scooped out a small amount of the filling and placed it in the middle of the wonton circle. After lightly wetting the edges of the circle with a wet finger, I pinched the sides of the wrapper together and began making small pleats on one side, working from the center to one edge. When I got to the end of the first side, I pushed in the end of the opening with my finger and pressed the two resulting pleats together.
After finishing the one side, I went to work on the other, making sure to press along the seam again when I was finished. After working my way through the rest of the wrappers, I was left with a nice plateful of raw potstickers. My makeshift wrappers were a bit smaller than a normal gyoza wrapper, so I ended up with much more filling than I needed. Next time I’ll remember to buy another pack of wontons! Also, since they were smaller, I didn’t wind up with normal sized gyoza, but instead got closer to bite-sized ones, which wasn’t necessarily a bad thing since they looked so cute! After each potsticker was completed, I dipped the bottom lightly in flour to help keep them from sticking on the plate while I finished making the rest of them.

I put a small amount of oil in a tall-sided pan and arranged some of the potstickers in a circle and put it over medium high heat for about 4-5 minutes, trying as hard as possible not to move them, until the bottoms were a crispy dark golden brown. After dumping in enough water to cover the bottom of the pan and popping on a lid, and steamed them for about another 4-5 minutes until the water evaporated. After taking off the lid, I let them the bottoms crisp back up a bit for about a minute or two (the recipe didn't call for this, but I thought it'd be a good idea) and then arranged them on a plate with my dipping sauce in the center.

I put the remaining uncooked potstickers on a cookie sheet, careful to keep them from touching, and placed them in the freezer for about 20-30 minutes until they were no longer sticky. Then I dumped them in a freezer bag and popped them back in the freezer to enjoy another day. I haven't tried a frozen one yet, but from what I've read, they should taste just fine. The frozen gyoza can be put in the pan straight from the freezer, they'll just need to cook longer for each stage. Hope you enjoy! Itadakimasu! (Let's eat!)

Gyoza (recipe from Wasabibratwurst.com)
(click here for printable recipe)
Yield- about 50 gyoza

6 cups minced napa cabbage leaves, shredded
1 1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 1/2 lbs ground pork
3/4 cup of garlic chives, minced (white and green parts of scallions can be substituted)
1/4 teaspoons white pepper
2 1/2 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 large cloves of garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press
3 egg whites, lightly beaten
1 package of gyoza wrapping skins (or in my case, wonton wrappers cut into circles)
vegetable oil and water for cooking

Toss cabbage and salt in colander and place inside a medium bowl. After about 20 minutes the cabbage will begin to wilt. Remove the remaining excess water from the cabbage (I squeezed handfuls in paper towels to do so). Toss the cabbage to separate and fluff. Combine with other filling ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold (minimum of 30 minutes, no more than 24 hours).

When working with the wrappers, keep them covered with a damp cloth until they are ready for use to avoid letting them dry out. Place one wrapper in your palm and put a small spoonful of filling in the center. Use enough of the mixture to fill out the wrapper completely without overstuffing it, keeping the edges clean. Place your index finger of your opposite hand into the water and use it to wet the edges of the gyoza skin. Fold the bottom half of the wrapper to meet the top half and pinch together. Work from one edge of the skin to the other, making pleats by crimping the bottom half of the wrapper to meet the top half. Once you get to the end of one side, you're left with a roughly teardrop-shaped opening. Push the end of the opening towards the middle and pinch together. Continue making pleats on the other side in the same manner, keeping the pleats all on the same side, until the filling is completely encased. You should have about 5-6 pleats total (I got a little pleat-happy, so I wound up with more). The gyoza should naturally curve as you’re working. Press along the pleats to ensure a good seal, dip the bottom of the finished gyoza in flour and set aside. Continue until all the wrappers have been used.

Lightly grease bottom of a 12-inch nonstick skillet with vegetable oil. Add gyoza to the skillet pleat-side up, being sure not to crowd. Place skillet over medium-high heat and cook for 4-5 minutes without moving, until the bottoms are golden brown. At this point, add just enough water to cover the bottom of the skillet and cover with a tight fitting lid. The intention is to steam the dumplings, so you don't need a lot of water. Cook for another 4-5 minutes. Serve with gyoza dipping sauce and eat while hot!

Gyoza Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
chili oil to taste (sesame oil and hot sauce can be used as substitute)
Dash of white pepper
Minced scallions (green parts only)

Do I Hear Hoofbeats?

2009-11-23T12:45:00.007-05:00

Hi, I’m Phyllis Gannon, a friend of Chef Shari’s. She asked me to do a guest blog --never done this before, so here goes!!

I’ve known Shari & Gordy for about three years now. We became friends at our local beach, where we walk our dogs every weekend. Shari & Gordy have two dogs and we have three. Our friendship grew from there and now there now several annual events that we attend together.

But, the one we all looked forward to the most has been cancelled! SIGH!!! We all loved to go to the Little Everglades Steeplechase in Dade City in March and have attended for several years. This year, though, they decided to cancel it and we were all crushed. BUT – we just found that they are doing sort of a substitute event in January. Little Everglades International Combined Driving Event from January 28 through 31, 2010. They will still have vendors and some of the other things we love. But most of all, we get to bring our own food and drinks. There are usually quite a few in the group, so we get to sample some yummy stuff. The recipes I’m sharing today are from Shari (my favorite chef!) and myself. The first is my is 8 Layer Mexican Dip – sort of a hybrid of the many 7 layer dips out there and the second in Shari’s Marinated Hot Ham & Cheese sandwiches, which we all love. ENJOY!!

8 LAYER MEXICAN DIP:

1 ½ pounds lean ground turkey
1 (16 oz) can refried beans
4 cups shredded cheese (I used a 4 cheese blend)
1 (8 oz.) container reduced fat sour cream
1 package reduced fat cream cheese (room temperature)
1 cup guacamole mild (I used Yucatan from Publix)
1 can black beans
1 (6 oz.) can black olives, sliced
1 package taco mix
1 head iceburg lettuce - shredded
1 bunch green onions (scallions) chopped
½ cup chopped tomatoes

In large skillet, brown turkey. Set aside to drain and cool to room temperature.
Spread the refried beans into the bottom of a 9x13 inch serving pan that is about 1/12 inches deep.
Sprinkle 2 cups of shredded cheese on top of beans.
Mix shredded lettuce with 1/2 the bunch of green onions (about ¾ c.) and spread on top of cheese
Mix the taco mix with the turkey and toss – then add on top of lettuce/onions.
Add black beans.
Mix sour cream and cream cheese until smooth and slowly top black beans
Top with 2 remaining cups of shredded cheese
Top all with mixture of tomatoes, olives and more green onions to taste

Can be heated, but I think it’s best at room temperature.

MARINATED HOT HAM AND CHEESE SANDWICHES
(click here for printable recipe)

Marinade:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1/4 cup sweet onion, minced
2 Tbsp poppy seeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
2 Tbsp hot or spicy mustard
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp chopped parsley

Sandwiches:
24 (about 2 x 2-Inches each) small dinner rolls (see Note)
Horseradish mayonnaise (see Note)
24 (about 3/4 pound) thin slices of deli ham
24 (about 1/2 pound) thin slices of Swiss cheese
Preparation:
Line two 9 x 13-inch baking pans with non-stick foil or butter traditional pans.

To prepare marinade, saute minced sweet onion in butter over low heat until onion is soft and translucent. Add poppy seeds, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and brown sugar. Stir until brown sugar is melted into the sauce. Remove from heat and stir in parsley. Set marinade aside.

Slice the buns in half. Spread bottoms of buns with a thin layer of horseradish mayonnaise. Fold ham slices to fit the bottom of each bun. Repeat with Swiss cheese slices, folding to fit buns. Replace bun tops. Place ham and cheese buns into prepared baking pans. Pour marinade evenly over both pans of buns. Cover tightly with foil. Refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake marinated buns covered for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

Notes: Use pre-baked dinner rolls. If you make your own yeast dinner rolls, all the better. If you're on a budget, adjust this method to use large yeast hot dog rolls, cut into thirds (you may need to adjust the baking time). Horseradish mayonnaise is easy to make at home, but there are decent commercial varieties to use as a shortcut. You can use regular mayonnaise if you need to avoid horseradish.
Yield: 24 appetizer servings

Oh No, Foiled Again

2009-11-20T00:33:00.008-05:00

A couple of weeks ago, I was out working in our back garden, cleaning out around our pineapple plants and trimming back some of the sun scorched flowers. When I got to the first pineapple plant we had planted, I thought that it is probably time to dig it out. It had all ready produced three wonderful sweet fruits, and I had read somewhere that the plant usually only produces twice and then starts to degrade, so I figured it was finished and time to be retired. I went over to give one last look and to my amazement, I was foiled again, it has not one but two crowns just starting to come out of the leaves, TWINS. Over the next couple weeks I kept my eye on the twins, wondering if the fruit would mature or not. One of our other older plants did produce a pygmy pineapple that we were not able to enjoy, as it was all core. Last Friday I picked one and chunked it up for a snack, boy was it sweet! I picked the other twin earlier this week, but wanted to try something different with it. I remembered an Old Bay recipe, Pineapple Shrimp Pyramids. What a perfect appetizer to go with our beef kabobs! I used my Vacuvin Pineapple Slicer which produced perfect slices, check out my October 22nd post on how to use it.

I placed my fresh pineapple slices in the center of the 4 pieces of foil, arranged 5 shrimp on top of each pineapple slice, sprinkled each with 1/2 teaspoon OLD BAY, 1 tablespoon red bell pepper and 1 tablespoon brown sugar. I topped each with 1 tablespoon butter. The directions said to "Bring the corners of the foil together up over each serving and twist to close, so that each packet resembles a large pyramid" I was foiled again, I do not have a flair for making pyramids, no matter what I tried, mine looked like large Hershey Kisses. Oh well, I love kisses!

Instead of putting them in the oven, I thought I would try them on the grill since I already had it going cooking the kabobs and potatoes (also foiled again). Grilled pineapple is so wonderful and I love grilled shrimp so how could this be anything but delish, and it was! Below is the recipe off Old Bay's website, I used fresh pineapple, and only 5 shrimp as I was serving them with beef kabobs and cooked them on the grill for about 15 minutes.

Pineapple Shrimp Pyramids from OLD BAY®
(click here for printable recipe)

Ingredients

1 can (16 ounces) pineapple slices, drained
1 1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
3 teaspoons OLD BAY® Seasoning, divided
6 tablespoons red bell pepper, finely chopped, divided
6 tablespoons brown sugar, divided
6 tablespoons butter, divided
aluminum foil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350° F. Cut 6 strips aluminum foil, each 12 inches long. Place one pineapple slice in the middle of each piece of aluminum foil. Arrange 6 to 8 shrimp on top of each pineapple slice, each sprinkled with 1/2 teaspoon OLD BAY. Add 1 tablespoon red bell pepper and 1 tablespoon brown sugar to each. Top each with 1 tablespoon butter.

Bring the corners of the foil together up over each serving and twist to close, so that each packet resembles a large pyramid. Place packets on baking sheet.

Bake 20 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Serve with great flourish!

Cranberry Scones, Perfect for Thanksgiving Morning

2009-11-16T08:58:00.017-05:00

What a wonderful way to start off a day of feasting ------- Cranberry Scones served warm with Cranberry Orange Butter! Or as an afternoon pick me up with a nice hot cup of tea while the turkey is in the oven!

For the last couple of months, every third Tuesday I have been teaching an Afternoon Tea Class at Rolling Pin in Brandon. It has been so much fun and a sell out every month. Matter of fact, I just got a call asking if we could please just add one more seat to tomorrow's Tea, of course I said yes, the more the merrier, right? (There are still 3 seats available for the Nutcracker Tea in December) The best part of doing the tea each month is it stretches my imagination, trying to match a scone, 3 tea sandwiches and 2 sweets with the holidays in the month. Since Thanksgiving is just around the corner, tomorrow's Tea is titled Falling Leaves and we will be making Cranberry Scones, one of my favorites. I love the tartness of the cranberries in the scones especially when they are served warm with the sweetness of the Cranberry Orange Butter. The scones are so easy to make and the best part is you can make the butter and the dough the evening before and then pat them out, cut them and pop them in the oven in the morning. They are wonderful paired with a sausage casserole (also, put together the night before)
First, I coarsely chopped the cranberries I would use for my scones in my mini food processor.
Then to save on dirty dishes, I just lightly wiped it out and made the butter. I started by creaming the butter first then pulsing in the remaining ingredients, scraping it into a covered serving bowl and in the fridge it went.

For the scones, I have tried the food processor, but not with much luck. Using a pastry blender or two forks in the best way to cut in the butter. Then stirring the cranberries and just enough buttermilk to moisten. Buttermilk is the best choice for this recipe but if you find yourself without, if is easy to make a quick substitute. Place a tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice in a liquid measuring cup. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.

I turned the dough out on my flour covered board, kneed it 8 times then divided it in half.

Patted each half into an 8 inch circle and using my pizza wheel, cut it into 8 wedges and placed on a Silpat lined baking sheet.
I baked them for 15 minutes, cooled them on a wire rack for about a minute, then served them with the flavored butter.
Just in case you are curious, tomorrow's Tea Menu will be
Cranberry Scones
Chicken and Cranberry Sandwiches
Cream Cheese and Spiced Currants Tea Sandwiches
Smoked Turkey and Roasted Red Pepper Tea Sandwiches
Pecan Tassies
Pumpkin Bars

Cranberry Scones
(click here for printable recipe)

Cranberry Orange Butter:
1 1/2 cups butter -- softened
1/2 cup cranberries -- chopped
2 tablespoons confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon orange peel -- grated

Scones:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cup butter -- cold cut into chunks
1 cup cranberries -- chopped
3/4 cup buttermilk

Cranberry Orange Butter: In small food processor or small bowl, cream butter. Pulse or stir in the cranberries, confectioner's sugar and orange peel; blending well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Scones: Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or two forks until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add cranberries. Stir in buttermilk just until moistened. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; gently knead 6-8 times. Divide in half. Pat each into an 8-in. circle. Cut into eight wedges. Place 1 in. apart on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned. Remove from pans to wire racks. Serve warm with cranberry-orange butter.

I Was Feeling Kind of Crabby

2009-11-13T09:36:00.012-05:00

I was in the store yesterday and was feeling kind of crabby, not because I was grocery shopping, I LOVE TO GROCERY SHOP! I was craving crab which was perfect, since the seafood counter had some I love. One of my favorite things about living in Florida in the fall is Stone Crab Claw Season opens! Oh don't get me wrong, my favorite thing is the weather, but these are a very close second.

Eating stone crab is much different than eating the blue crabs that I grew up with! First off, the flavor is much sweeter, more along the lines of lobster and you do not eat the whole crab, just the claw. These rare crabs have the unique ability to regenerate their claws and limbs, does that make them a renewable resource? Stone crabs are available for harvest between October 15th and May 15th.

When you purchase the claws in the store, they have all ready been cooked, so just a quick steam will warm them up and help them release from their shells. The claws are sold by size Medium: 6-8 claws per pound, Large: 4-5 claws per pound, Jumbo: 3 claws per pound and Colossal: 1-2 claws per pound. And just like shrimp the larger they are, the larger the price tag is. The ones we had were mediums, which worked out to 4 for each of us.
After steaming the claws, I need to crack them (the work part) to get the succulent meat (the fun part). I placed the claws on my cutting board and used a wooden mallet to firmly strike the center of the claw until it cracked. Oops, that was a bit messy so before cracking the rest, I covered the claw with a thin dish towel. Then I peeled away the fragmented shell pieces, pull apart the knuckles and pull the small pincher away from the big, bad one, and pick out the meat. There is a hard, cartilage like membrane in the thickest part which I discarded along with the shell pieces.
At this point, I was tired and hungry, so I put the knuckles in a bag and popped them in the fridge, what a great lunch that will be! There are plenty of recipes out there for stone crab claws, but my favorite is the basic one, dump the meat in drawn butter, that's it! Maybe next time I will try them with some flavored mustard or a hot marmalade sauce or I can marinade them in vermouth and lemon juice and serve them in a salad. Naw, I will probably enjoy them just as I do every time, straight up with some butter.

How to make drawn or clarified butter:

Melt unsalted butter in a small saucepan over low heat until the butter breaks down and three layers form. The top layer is a white foam or froth (the whey proteins) and should be skimmed off with a spoon. The milk solids will drop to the bottom of the saucepan and form a milky layer of sediment. What is left in the middle is a pure golden-yellow liquid called clarified butter. When you have skimmed all the white foam from the surface of the clarified butter, and it has stopped bubbling, remove the saucepan from the heat. Let the butter sit a few minutes to allow the milk solids to further settle to the bottom, and then strain the mixture through a fine sieve or a cheesecloth or coffee filter lined strainer. The liquid collected is the drawn or clarified butter. It can be served warm, delicious with seafood or can be covered and stored several months in the refrigerator. Chilled clarified butter does become grainy.

The Perfect Salad for a November Meal

2009-11-13T08:02:00.045-05:00

Yesterday, I decided I'd better use some of the pomegranates I purchased for the Oyster Shooter "photo op". I have read that a pomegranate will last six to seven days unrefrigerated or up to three months in the fridge. But I have to admit, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, my counters are getting cluttered and my fridge is getting kind of full. So last night for dinner, we tried another recipe out of my PAMA cookbook, Pomegranate Mixed Green Salad with PAMA Vinaigrette Dressing. I was excited about this recipe because it used the some of the pomegranate seeds in the salad.

The word pomegranate comes from the Latin "Pomum Granatum" and means "apple of many seeds". Pomegranates range in size from baseball to softball and range in color from a pale, reddish yellow to a deep, crimson red. Color and external blemishes are no indication of quality (The skin is very thick, protecting the fruit). When selecting a pomegranate, just remember, the heavier the fruit, the more juice.

Inside a pomegranate is about 700-800 tightly packed seed casings called arils that are deep red in color when nicely ripe. The taste of the juice differs depending on the variety and its state of ripeness. But basically, it can be sweet, sour or tangy.
To cut open the pomegranate you will need a sharp knife and a large bowl of cold water.

Cut off about a 1/2 inch of the top using caution, since the ruby red juice of the pomegranate will stain clothing and counters.

Make a shallow cut (score) in the pomegranate skin from the top to the base. Repeat this process so that you have 4 evenly spaced cuts. Gently pull the fruit apart, the pomegranate should divide where you made the cuts in the skin.

Holding the fruit underwater, gently push out the seeds with your fingers. The pomegranate seeds (arils) will sink to the bottom and any membrane or pith will float to the top of the water. Skim off the pith with a spoon or your fingers. After skimming off the pith, drain the water from the bowl or pour into a sieve. Rinse the pomegranate seeds briefly under cold water.

The seeds are now ready for use. I love to eat the seeds whole, it is kind of fun when they "pop" in your month and you get that wonderful tart burst! This year I am going to try and use them in some recipes. I may even try to obtain some juice by pushing the seeds through a sieve, if I can stop eating them long enough.
(If you are curious as to what is in the center of our dinner table in the first picture, check back in a day or two. I followed the recipe below exactly, but next time I make this, I plan to decrease the olive oil, we thought it overpowered the Pomegranate Liquer.

Pomegranate Mixed Greens Salad (click here for printable recipe)
Ingredients:
•1 shallot, minced (about 2 Tbsp.)
•1/2 c. olive oil (next time, I will decrease this amount slightly)
•1/4 c. PAMA Pomegranate Liqueur
•1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar (or vinegar of choice)
•1 tsp. salt
•1/2 tsp. (freshly ground) pepper
•1 firm-ripe pear
•8 c. (about 9 ounces) mixed baby salad greens, or greens of choice
•1/2 c. crumbled blue cheese
•1/4 c. toasted walnuts
•Pomegranate seeds

Instructions:
Put shallot, olive oil, PAMA, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper in small jar with tight fitting lid. Shake vigorously to dissolve honey and salt. Peel pear if desired and julienne or cut into thin slices. Put salad greens in large bowl, drizzle with half the dressing. Toss to coat the greens. Serve on individual plates and top with pear, blue cheese, walnuts and pomegranate seeds. Extra salad dressing can be used on another salad or as marinade for grilled chicken or beef. Makes about 1 c. of dressing.

Do You Know How Julia Would Make It? le beurre d'arachide et la fraise conservent le sandwich

2009-11-11T08:27:00.005-05:00

Honestly I am not sure she ever did, are you curious what it is? To be honest, it was something that I was craving since I got up yesterday morning,

A Peanut Butter and Strawberry Preserve Sandwich. (click here for my awesome printable recipe)
Not sure why it sound so good, but I had to have one! And oh it was such a good lunch. But now I feel I have disappointed Julia so I retrieved my signed copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking. Oh yeah, have I told you how I obtained my signed copy. A couple of months ago, my husband and I finally got around to going to the movie theater and seeing Julia and Julie. I really enjoyed the movie and I guess the whole way home, all I could talk about was experimenting with Julia's recipes. The only problem, I did not have one of her cookbooks. Boy, I sure would love to have a copy of that book, but I could not justify buying it as I had so many other cookbooks! Much to my surprise, there was a gift sitting on the dinner table the next evening. A present for me, and it wasn't even a my birthday! When I opened it up, there was a signed copy of Julia's cookbook, how wonderful. And what made it even more special, it was signed not by Julia, but by my husband, yes, he really is that wonderful!
Not sure how I ever got so lucky, but I am glad I did! So that evening, I took my new treasure and a my cup of tea, crawled into bed and savored every page. (well almost every page, I skipped the whole chapter on aspics and some other recipes I knew I would not have the guts to try) Of course, the next day, we had Julia's Bouef Bourguignon and it was wonderful! I don't feel I have to share the recipe on this blog since there are SO many post about it after the movie came out. I will only say, I have made it numerous time in the last couple months, it is a little time consuming, but well worth it and we LOVE it over mashed potatoes with crusty french bread.
Anyway back to yesterday's story. I had just made Bouef Bourguignon last week, so that wasn't going to work to change Julia's opinion of me, but I still wanted to make something rich and saucy! I decided to try her Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne (as long as I did not have to say it) I love mushrooms, I love beef, I love a Maderia sauce, add to that lots of butter and whipping cream, how could it not be wonderful and it was! I follow the recipe below almost exactly, the only changes, I used sliced baby bellas instead of white mushrooms, served it with mashed potatoes topped with the Madeira cream sauce, broccoli and we enjoyed a bottle of Merlot instead of a Bordeaux!
Just a note, since the time I was given my "signed" copy of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I have also acquired another "signed" copy of one of Julia's cookbooks. Julia Child & Company, signed by me, not then yet The Saucy Gourmet in 1978, it was a Christmas present to my mom:-) My mom has been my inspiration for my love of cooking and gardening, she has been there for me no matter what path I have followed. She has been my sounding board for my cooking classes, my personal chef business, for my blog and my life. Always ready to share a recipe, proof my blog or let me vent about life, thanks mom!!!! Don't get me wrong, my dad is incredible too, we talk Gator football, puppies, and the kids, he has traveled hundreds of miles to coach his grand children's lacrosse club, but as soon as my mom and I start talking food on the phone, he's outta there (oh, yeah, he proofs too) thanks dad!!!! Last time I was home, she passed Julia Child & Company on to me, so I can enjoy it too. Maybe, I will pass both cookbooks on to my daughter within the next 30 years! Brie, we are still waiting on your guest post, hint, hint. OK enough sentiment, here is the recipe.

Sauté de Boeuf à la Parisienne (click here for printable recipe)
(Beef Sauté with Cream and Mushroom Sauce from Mastering the Art of French Cooking)

“This sauté of beef is good to know about if you have to entertain important guests in a hurry. It consists of small pieces of filet sautéed quickly to a nice brown outside and a rosy center, and served in a sauce. The following recipe can easily be prepared in 30 minutes, or in less than half the time if the meat has been sliced and the mushrooms sautéed ahead. In the variations at the end of the recipe, all the sauce ingredients may be prepared in advance. If the whole dish is cooked ahead of time, be very careful indeed in its reheating that the beef does not overcook. The cream and mushroom sauce here is a French version of beef Stroganoff, but less tricky as it uses fresh rather than sour cream, so you will not run into the problem of curdled sauce.

Serve the beef in a casserole, or on a platter surrounded with steamed rice, risotto, or potato balls sautéed in butter. Buttered green peas or beans could accompany it, and a good Red Bordeaux wine.”

For 6 people
1/2 pound sliced fresh mushrooms
A heavy, 9- to 10-inch enameled skillet
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon good cooking oil
3 tablespoons minced shallots or green onions
1/4 teaspoon salt and a pinch of pepper
2 1/2 pounds filet of beef; the tenderloin butt and the
tail of the filet are usually used
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon cooking oil, more if needed
1/4 cup Madeira (best choice), or dry white vermouth
3/4 cup good brown stock or canned beef bouillon
1 cup whipping cream
2 teaspoons cornstarch blended with
1 tablespoon of the cream
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons softened butter
Parsley sprigs

Sauté the mushrooms in a heavy skillet in hot butter and oil for 4 to 5 minutes to brown them lightly. Stir in the shallots or green onions, and cook for a minute longer. Season the mushrooms with salt and pepper,
and scrape them into a side dish.
Remove all surrounding fat and filament from the filet and cut it into 2-ounce pieces, about 2 inches across and 1/2 inch thick. Dry thoroughly on paper towels.
Place 2 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon cooking oil in the skillet and set over moderately high heat. When the butter foam begins to subside, sauté the beef, a few pieces at a time, for 2 to 3 minutes on each side to brown the exterior but keep the interior rosy red. Set the beef on a side dish, and discard the sautéing fat.
Pour the wine and stock or bouillon into the skillet and boil it down rapidly, scraping up coagulated cooking juices, until liquid is reduced to about 1/3 cup. Beat in the cream, then the cornstarch mixture.
Simmer a minute. Add the sautéed mushrooms and simmer a minute more. The sauce should have a slight liaison (be lightly thickened).

Taste carefully for seasoning.
Season the beef lightly with salt and pepper and return it to the skillet along with any juices which may have escaped. Baste the beef with the sauce and mushrooms; or transfer everything to a serving casserole.
When you are ready to serve, cover the skillet or casserole and heat to below the simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, being very careful not to overdo it or the pieces of filet will be done rather than rare. Off heat and just
before serving, tilt the casserole, add butter to sauce a bit at a time while basting the meat until the butter has absorbed. Decorate with parsley, and serve at once.