Category Archives: Recipe Ideas

These are ideas that can let your personality shine

Little Things Mean a Lot

Posted on August 28, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve done a lot of research and if my husband and I ever settle down I want a knot garden of herbs right outside my kitchen, surrounded by an errant country garden that includes a teak bench on a cobblestone round that has a small Italian water feature on the wall. Under shade trees, of course, for reading and writing and entertaining guests.

As I age, I know I’m in it for comfort, not speed. I may have arthritis and wear camo crocs and you may be fast in high heels but my brain will get me to the destination faster. Thank you, Al Gore, for the internet, te hee.

I keep designing my dream home and it gets smaller and smaller (2/2.5 with 2-car garage) with a guest house studio, 600 s.f. Of course the main house would have a patio with supreme grill, cabinets, burners, refrigerator et al. I don’t know where in the country so certain weather factors would come into play. A roof over a stone terrace with said outdoor kitchen would be great with seating, propane heaters and no shoveling.

Yes, we like the Rockies. Log cabin, perhaps. Lake or mountains, preferably a view of both. Ocean, of course, but only north of San Fran.

I know my kitchen, at least what I need but don’t have the configuration down. Clean, open space and get this, a galley kitchen. These Texas monstrosities drive me nuts, but these huge ones are just for show. They go out or order in, and don’t walk ten feet from oven to refrigerator to sink and really cook.

Oh, I’d have Uncle B craft us a state-of-the-art smoker so that we could have people over for brisket, ribs and chicken. All with a slice of Wonder bread and cheddar. On butcher paper. Or I’d cook up some of Lady Bird Johnson’s Perdenales chili, my way. ‘Tis Texas so there ain’t no beans in that dang chili.

Seeing as I’m going to spend $2 to win a super lotto prize and build the home of my dreams, the little things matter. I know I need an enclosed “butler’s pantry” to keep food away from the dog. Large, cool (granite or other cool surfaces) counters and glass-enclosed upper cupboards for glassware and plates, lower cupboards for pots and pans and bakeware.

There is an elevator ready to be installed. All is to be ready to be made ADA accessible, including supports behind bathroom walls for handrails and doorways are wheelchair-friendly as is the entrance to the home.

Most everything is on the first floor and if needed, the office can be moved upstairs so it is on one level as the office could become a bedroom with en suite bath and a closet. Laundry is important. I need to think about that because I’d normally place it in a large master closet but don’t want the noise. Nor do I want it in the basement. If on the 1st floor a handy chute is needed.

Yes, I could drive an architect and feng shui artist nuts but we’ll need both of them to make dreams come true. Just thinking of the little things. Still working on it as I’m stuck on a desert design I’ve thought of for decades. Think Alamo. Dee

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Seasonal Food

Posted on August 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

I do love seasons yet miss my mystery basket I used to get delivered to our door every week in our former home. It challenged me to cook with the most seasonal ingredients from local farms.

It is interesting that in the winter one craves fresh peas and asparagus, and in a cool summer I’m already thinking about winter stews.

I’ve decided to help a small grocery open a meat department. The owner agrees with my assumptions that their clientele includes mainly students on a strict food budget, and adults who can afford steak every night. The solution I’ve proposed is several recipes for students (they’re on their own for high-end meats) and making sure they have all the ingredients to make it easy.

My suggestions are: Mom’s Cheesy Meatloaf with sharp cheddar chunks and ketchup; skirt steak with chimichurri (they’d have to make the sauce and sell it separately or with the steak because these kids don’t have food processors); and for special occasions a whole roasted chicken with simple bread stuffing. I think I forgot one, I gave it to him on a post-it note yesterday and didn’t keep a copy. [No way I’m going there now as it’s pouring with very close thunder and lightning yet the forecast called for 80 degrees and decreasing clouds. There were blue skies at 6:30 this morning! Hmm, I’ll have to check with the weatherman on site.]

They’d have to market their new department and print up my recipes to place on the butcher counter to make student shopping easy. Maybe even package it with all the ingredients. Perhaps even give out a small container of chimichurri for the first week with the meat until they become addicted. Otherwise I’ll have to do a “serve with” guide and make sure they have everything on hand.

Wait, I just came up with another one! Slice a local sausage and saute it with onion and bell pepper, add a little tomato sauce. Cook some pasta and serve. Carbonara is a great pasta dish as well. Bacon, eggs, cheese and pasta. I think I’ll have to do a cooking class.

Whole Foods/Whole Paycheck is in the neighborhood and they won’t be able to compete with the WF new dry-aged beef but if they start small and don’t freeze meat, they may just turn a profit. Heck, half the store seems to be beer, I never go down those aisles. I guess a beer town needs its beer and students are a willing audience! Keep thinking, and cooking. Dee

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Pasta with Chicken and Sausage

Posted on August 15, 2013 | Leave a comment

Years ago I found a recipe for chicken and sausage in a tomato sauce with pasta, by Frank Sinatra. I remember it had a ton of olive oil in it. Unable to find that recipe now, I’d like to create a healthier version of it. Yes, olive oil is good for you but I think it had about a cup and a half in it and that’s insane, especially when cooking for two.

As a child I was in love with Frank Sinatra. My father was a violinist and we listened to “records” all the time. My favorite was and still is Come Fly With Me, and Isle of Capri as a single. They took me to see him at Carnegie Hall as a birthday gift, before the Chairman of the Board died.

Music was always a part of my life. My parents told me that as a baby, if I was crying and couldn’t sleep they’d play Jackie Gleason’s Music, Martinis and Memories. If that didn’t work they’d drive around the block and I’d be conked out. It’s interesting to see that Amazon and others still have the album/cd.

I was trying to remember someone’s name the other day and associated it with my grade school music teacher who often had us sing The Happy Wanderer. Yes, we’re still in touch and you have her recipe for Concord Grape Pie.

Things took a turn for the worse in high school when I started listening to old Beatles songs, Dave Mason, Fleetwood Mac, Joan Baez and of course, Dylan.

To her dying day (nearly five years ago) my mother said I liked dirges. A beginner folk guitarist, yesterday I worked my way through Woody Guthrie’s This Land is Your Land. Successful, but I don’t think it’s really our land anymore.

I like to get lyrics and work my way through a song. It’s an exercise, as is finding out Frank’s chicken and sausage recipe.

This land is NSA land, this land is TSA land, from California to the New York Island….. Dee

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Tailgating et al

Posted on August 15, 2013 | 1 comment

As I only went to games in the middle of winter in a northern state, I’ve never been to a tailgate party before. This weekend will mark my first.

The instigators have a block of tickets and guests each have an assignment. Mine is a side dish but I’m adding an appetizer while meats are on the grill. No rocket science here, but I did think about what would stand up to heat or rain and be easily consumed.

Dee’s celebration coleslaw was devised for July 4 and changes each time. Our nephew, now ten, would only eat frozen chicken “tenders” and he loved it. Any way to get a healthy food, calories and veggies into that boy was welcome. This time I’ll shred a small head of red, and green cabbage, carrots, and add radishes for color and tang. Salt, pepper, celery seed and I just add enough Ranch dressing (my husband’s favorite) to bind it together.

Then I’m making the old stand-by, spinach balls. I figure I can bake them beforehand and keep them warm, bring some toothpicks. Just google that one. Spinach, parmesan cheese, eggs, butter, bread crumbs and seasonings. I figure it’ll make six dozen and I’ll freeze half for another use and bake them later.

Marrying into a family tradition when our Thanksgivings were for a family of six to joining a party of over sixty was daunting but I started bringing things that were not on the dinner table or the lavish dessert spread (it is the South, after all).

I began with a simple Boursin cheese spread and crackers that changed every year depending on what herbs were on hand. That went on the kitchen table mostly for after-dinner snacks. Then I added spiced almonds and cashews (Epicurius, 1991) for the table. The guys watch the A&M game and gals congregate in the kitchen in the afternoon, then leftovers come out about six hours after “dinner” and everyone chows down again before the kids entertain or something else happens that keeps folks entertained until late in the evening.

Cousin Val the Vet used to spay or neuter a local stray cat some years, teaching the kids responsibility for animals, We have nothing but praise for her, as she took out our dog’s hips as a pup and Zoe is now about to be ten years old. She said we’d never get health insurance for Zoe, we do not have it, but I think of it the other way around. As she ages she’ll never have hip problems!

Old, easy family recipes are the way to go for many occasions. As an out-of-towner I’m not supposed to bring anything to Thanksgiving. Guys don’t bring or do anything but nap in front of the TV after the Big Game.

Over the years I’ve added, always deferential to my elders. I taught the kids to make Boursin, still bring the nuts, added spinach balls and gave that recipe to a new wife because everyone loves them.

Then I even brought in my northern and Canadian heritage and added mincemeat tarts to the Southern dessert panoply. Last year I added a brussels sprout and cauliflower gratin that even went on “the line” as this is a buffet. With over sixty people this is not plated service.

It’ll probably never happen again but a couple of years ago all the “grands” which are first generation grandchildren to the hostess with the mostest, laid down in a darkened, quiet living room. Jim was having back problems so laid on the floor, I laid on the sofa, and the others drifted in and we spent an hour or so telling childhood stories and enjoying time together.

When I think of young people getting married, I know that as of this week colleague Robin (my husband is Batman) has flown the coop. They’ve a lot of kitchen stuff on their registry and I figured they’d think of us when they use our gift. They have many years of joining each others’ families for weekends and events. I hope they have as fond memories as I do about the family I joined.

Cheers and say hello to your in-laws! Dee

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So-So Soup

Posted on August 9, 2013 | 2 comments

My roasted curry butternut squash soup is velvety and everyone seems to like it. Not wanting to go to the grocery today as I’m still watching over the dog and washing her bath towels like mad, I took a bag of carrots and roasted them.

I placed them in the food processor with chicken broth, then in a pot and added some half-and-half. While doing that I did toast some hot curry powder in a dry pan until our home smelled of India.

It ended up grainy, not with chunks but grains of carrot. It was tasty and spicy but next time I’ll put it in the blender for a more uniform consistency. Live and learn. Carrots are much more difficult than squash.

Oh, the dog is better, though I’m still keeping an eye on her as she is sleeping more than usual. I blamed myself for giving her hamburger, then finally my husband said that while he was talking to someone on a walk she may have eaten something dead from the sidewalk or path. That would explain things. She’s not going to die, at least not now. Thanks for reading! 74 posts until retirement! Dee

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Roller Coaster in the Sky

Posted on August 2, 2013 | Leave a comment

I’ve only seen it once, with mainly military planes but they won’t be here this year for the Air Show due to Congress and the sequester.

I enjoy “practice” because the pilots can go outside the box a bit. During the event it’s all routine. While I’ll miss the F-18’s and Osprey these old planes and their pilots, of course, are putting on a good show.

Every once in a while a seagull flies by and I marvel that they can do quietly (albeit with plaintive cries) what we need loud engines to emulate.

It’s a dogfight without the guns, it’s Snoopy being the Red Baron and Robert Redford playing The Great Waldo Pepper all rolled up into one. And we have a birds’ eye view of it all.

I know, m-i-l, it would have been cheaper to have no view and buy tickets to the event. But we’re saving you a front-row seat, one you bought and covered for us. It’s only one weekend a year and we may enjoy this view another 363 days.

Have a great summer weekend! I’m going to try my usual Friday “pizza night” homemade pie with perhaps some chorizo and nice melty cheese and perhaps roasted peppers. If it goes wrong I’ve some Romaine hearts and can make a nice salad instead. I know my dough will rise and be perfect as always. You have the recipe. Oh, I’ve a roasted chioggia beet from the other day. Thinly sliced, it’ll be great on pizza! Cheers, Dee

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New Recipe

Posted on July 3, 2013 | 1 comment

Yesterday I refreshed, and complicated, a recipe I used to make regularly years ago. It was vegetarian but I knew my husband would not be happy without a little meat so in the interest of home unity I added some.

Pasta with Chicken, Broccoli, Goat Cheese and Pignoli

Pasta (I used linguini yesterday)

1 bunch broccoli, florets in bite-sized pieces, blanched three minutes, shocked in an ice water bath and thoroughly drained

1 chicken breast, pounded out and sliced into thin strips against the grain, bite-sized

4 oz. good goat cheese, kept cold for crumbling in at the last moment

handful of pine nuts, carefully toasted in a dry skillet and cooled

Put on the pasta water. In a large skillet with a little olive oil, saute the chicken with a bit of salt and pepper and remove. Saute the broccoli (s & p) and add the chicken. Add a bit of the pasta water (or stock), drain pasta and add. Stir. Crumble in the goat cheese, season to taste and add the pine nuts last.

The goat cheese melts a bit and makes a salty, tangy sauce and the pine nuts give a nice crunch (my husband didn’t like them). You might want to add a pinch of red pepper flakes to the broccoli for some zing.

* * *

This “summer” has been unseasonably cool but I would rather that than 100 degrees in the shade. I read yesterday that the NYC food show’s wares include a tea popsicle in different flavors, all for under 50 calories and without refined sugar.

In the old South, I’ve read that before refrigeration only the rich had ice. Only the rich had sugar. So who would entertain on the front porch with iced tea with sugar? You betcha. It became a tradition that endures today.

As a Northerner, sweet tea, which is molecularly different than tea with sugar or sweetener added to cold tea, is too much for me. I’ve accidentally ordered it in a couple of Southern restaurants. I don’t boil my tea and prefer my own herbal “sun tea” which is actually refrigerator tea without any sugar at all. That’s what my husband drinks at home. Back at his Southern home, he’ll sweeten his mother’s tea and they use more ice than any people I know! Yes, they are rich with love and understanding for the boy who married that Yankee and lives up north.

* * *

I swear I bought Parmigiano Reggiano the other day at the store but can’t find it anywhere. The other day I was making my husband his favorite spaghetti and meatballs (all homemade except for the durum wheat pasta) and I asked him to pick up more cheese for me. He put the cheesemonger on the phone, who told me about a fantastic Parmesan that comes from Wisconsin and won several “best US cheese” awards so that was my choice. I have yet to taste it but will do so and research the company and let you know next time.

Hope your summer is going well and that you’re planning a festive 4th. My husband’s idea of July 4th is to ask me the night of July 2 whether I want to have a “big party” for the occasion. Two days in advance of an event that most people I know, ok old married folks, spend with their families with fireworks and sparklers and grilling. That means I plan the menu, shop, prep, cook, serve and clean up. My answer in one word, NO.

We’ve seen the best fireworks in the USA, the latest next door to Chevy’s Freedom Over Texas extravaganza. Pyro Paula runs those fireworks and our dog Zoe keeps in touch with her from time to time. I also love the fireworks back home sitting by a small lake watching the local fire company launch a small show.

Zoe, Jim and I will watch them from up high, probably leaning off the balcony if the pollen (him) and mosquitos (me) aren’t too much. We’ll have a simple dinner, perhaps my “Celebration Cole Slaw” and brats. The butcher let me know there’s a special sale coming up. It sure helps to know your butchers and cheese experts. Happy Independence Day! Dee

p.s. I created the Celebration Cole Slaw because our young nephew wouldn’t eat anything but one or two chicken nuggets. I just used red cabbage, grated carrots, a bit of scallion or chives (not too much for a kid) and a favorite dressing. Plus celery seed, of course. He loved it. I also made my mother’s baked beans, but I think the colors (nearly red, white and blue) attracted him to the slaw. D

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Pressure

Posted on June 21, 2013 | 5 comments

Dinner here, tomorrow night, for a colleague of my husband’s I’ve never met, and his gal, who neither of us has met.

That’s the trickiest kind of dinner to plan, even though I had Jim ask if there were any food allergies or “hates.” None, so that should make it easier, but it doesn’t.

My other half is painfully allergic to anything that swims, so I want to cook it. I’d like to have something I can make in advance and pop into the oven so we can attend to our guests.

Here’s what I’m thinking (it’ll change throughout the day). For the main course it’s en papillote, parchment paper packets with sauteed leeks on the bottom, three separate with pounded chicken breasts (the tenders will be cooked for our dog) and a veggie salsa to be determined, and a separate three of salmon on a bed of leeks with grainy mustard on top. That way I can just pop them into a hot oven ten minutes before dinner. Yes, then open windows and await the smoke alarm. Here, it’s actually a heat alarm. Open a hot oven and it sends out ear-piercing sounds.

I’d like to do a ribbons of zucchini and carrot salad (simple vegetable peeler) with a light Asian-inspired vinaigrette and a room-temperature Israeli couscous salad with some tomato and perhaps cilantro as I happen to have both on hand.

If a first course is needed, it will actually be a warm, summery day so a cold cucumber and yogurt soup would be good. Our guests are bringing dessert.

btw, I cut my parchment paper into hearts (fold and cut like you did when you were six and making a valentine for your parents) and do the French technique for folding so it should be quel surprise when opened. I’ll get extra so there is a choice between salmon and chicken, I choose salmon as I never get to cook it at home and the individual packets allow me to do so without cross-contamination. Don’t worry. I always have antihistamines around should hubby touch the wrong dish.

Being “Aunt Dee” the cook can be tiring at times, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Cooking for folks, writing, and researching what everyday should be in all pantries is enjoyable. The sun has been up for what seems like hours and it’s only 6:00  a.m. Enjoy the day! Dee

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Rhubarb Trifle

Posted on June 17, 2013 | 2 comments

It is an unusual ingredient. Great with strawberries. If you want to impress your friends on the beach this summer (not in the sand, please) try this.

First, buy a trifle dish. Not from Williams Sonoma, go to another store and get one for $10. It’ll be useful, no matter what, throughout the year.

Get a brioche, a frozen pound cake or lemon pound cake or some day-old croissants from the store. Buy a ton of whatever berries you can find.

Cook the rhubarb, cool it, then get 2-3 cups of cold cream and whip it up. Keep the rhubarb separate.

I add a bit of sugar, about 2T to my whipped cream plus about a tsp of vanilla as it mixes.

Layer starting with rhubarb, bread cubes/shards, rhubarb, whipped cream, berries. Twice more and top with berries and you’re done.

My husband only calls to say he’s coming home. We do not talk throughout the work day. Today he called to say the Trifle was a hit and that he only was able to get a couple of berries off the bottom of the dish.

It’s certainly not a first date kind of dish. It is something I used years ago to surprise our Nanny. That one was a riff on a Tyler Florence dish with blueberries and lemon curd. Check that one out on http://www.foodnetwork.com

Once you know how to make it the world is your oyster and you can choose the bread, fruits and filling. Happy cooking! Dee

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Lawyers and Recipes

Posted on June 17, 2013 | 1 comment

This site and a particular young writer on this site was vilified and threatened with lawsuits several years ago. I asked the company that owned a defunct magazine if I could print one decade-old recipe, with attribution. I was refused and was threatened with a potential lawsuit.

Now people (see Slate.com) are asking if jokes can be patented. The lawyer said I couldn’t print an entire cookbook in my name if I stole it from someone else. I have rules against plagiarism, ingrained from birth, so this blog only gives you my best new stuff and my ancestors’ old stuff. If someone copies it from any of these, I won’t bother to sue. I do expect a thank-you, however, an attribution, a note on your blog.

How about this? I made it up this morning and sent it, yes the entire trifle bowl, to work with my husband, my newest creation:

Rhubarb, Berry and Brioche Trifle

A neighbor gets a surprise package from her community farmers’ market every week. She gave me about eight stalks of rhubarb, that she doesn’t like.

I cleaned and sliced the rhubarb into 1/4 inch half-rounds and placed it in a large pot with about 1/4 cup of water and 1/2 cup sugar and let it simmer for about 20 minutes, then cooled.

I’d bought a loaf of brioche and got 2 pints strawberries, 1 pint each blueberries and blackberries. Also a quart of heavy whipping cream.

After the brioche was roughly cubed, I prepared the berries, slicing the strawberries and mixing everything tenderly by hand so assembly would be easy. Three cups of lightly sweetened cream (2T sugar) was whipped with a tsp. of vanilla.

I started the trifle with 1/2 inch rhubarb, added 1/3 of the loaf of brioche, topped with rhubarb, whipped cream and 1/3 of the berries. Add two layers, top with berries, cover and refrigerate.

Some folks want to eat it right away. I prefer to wait a bit. Wait a minute, I didn’t get any! Luckily there was a tablespoon of whipped cream in the bowl and a handful of berries. Who wouldn’t love that for dessert? Dee

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