Quick, Easy (and Affordable!) Crab Cakes

Crab season is finally here, so it’s time to make crab cakes! Yes, I know cooked, dipped-in-butter crab is the way to go, but this is an economical way to get that delicious crab fix without making your wallet feel violated: Canned Crab Claw Meat. I’m not talking about the little cans stored next to canned tuna year ‘round. Believe me, I’ve tried it and there’s absolutely no taste or texture. You might as well make a 50’s casserole out of it.

I'm talking about cans of fat, juicy lumps of the very best of the crab, claw

meat. You really need to wait until late December when this treasure

shows up, and it’s so worth it. Look in the refrigerated seafood/meat section of the grocery store for cans that specify ‘premium claw meat’. You can usually get four crab cakes worth of meat for about $10.

Here’s how to do it:

Crab Cakes

1 Egg (beaten)
2 tablespoons Brown or Dijon Mustard
1 tablespoon Mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
1/3 cup Finely Chopped Red Onion
1/3 cup Finely Chopped Green Onion
2 tablespoons Finely Chopped Red Bell Pepper
1 12oz. can Premium Crab Meat
2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
1 ½ cups Panko

(found in the Japanese/Ethnic Foods section of the grocery store, DON’T use Italian Bread Crumbs!)

2 tablespoons Butter
2 tablespoons Olive Oil

Garlic-Cayenne-Cilantro Aioli

5 cloves Crushed Garlic
½ cup Plain Yogurt (low fat or fat free)
½ cup Sour Cream (low fat or fat free)
1 teaspoon Cayenne Powder
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt
½ teaspoon Freshly Ground Pepper
¼ cup Finely Chopped Cilantro

Aioli:
Place garlic in a ramekin with about a teaspoon of water, and heat on high in the microwave for about 40 seconds. We’re not trying to cook it, per se, just ‘kill it’ a little. The water keeps it from drying out. Mix the garlic with the rest of the ingredients, seasoning to taste. Keep chilled in the fridge until ready to serve.

Crab Cakes:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Mix the first five ingredients well. Add the onions, peppers, crab meat and old bay, mixing thoroughly. Roll this mixture into 3-inch round balls. One at a time, shape them into patties and press into panko, making sure they’re coated well and evenly.

***Party Food Alert! You can shape the crab into 1/2 –inch to 1-inch balls, then form into bite-size patties for a party crowd!

Crab Cakes Continued: Heat skillet with butter and olive oil to medium-high heat. If your skillet is on the small side, I recommend doing this in batches, so use half the olive oil and butter for each batch. Have a cookie sheet ready. Cook the crab cakes for about five minutes on each side, or until the panko has turned a golden brown. Place them on the cookie sheet and finish in the oven, about 8-10 minutes.

To Serve: Place one crab cake flat in the middle of a plate, and lean the other on it. Spoon a dollop of the aioli around them, and garnish with a sprinkle of leftover cilantro.

Dinner of Christmas Past: Beef Tenderloin Roast

I may have stressed out about having enough chairs and table space when my Christmas Eve dinner ballooned from 8 to 13 people, but the one thing I didn't worry about was the main dish. You may remember, from an earlier post this summer, that I'm a huge fan of the Beef Tenderloin. It's a super economical way to feed everyone filet mignon. A few months ago, I bought one and carved it out into individual steaks. This time around, I treated it like any other roast, then cut it just prior to serving. It was easy, tasty, and looked really pretty with a scattering of chopped tarragon.
Here's sort of what it looked like. I was really, really busy that night and honestly didn't have the forethought to bring the camera to the table. So, I scavenged a photo from the web, and it's a pretty close approximation of the roast.
Now that all the big dinners of the season are done, we've got New Year's Eve to look forward to, and you know what that means: party food! In the coming days I'll be toying with some ideas and will definitely post what I come up with.

Guest Post: Andy's Beef Wellington Bundles

This has been the most requested recipe in recent memory, and I'm so honored I was able to enjoy the dish at last month's birthday bash. Andy whipped up a fabulous appetizer that disappeared quickly and left guests clamoring for more. Take it away, Andy:

Andy's Beef Wellington Bundles

Ingredients:
(For duxelle)
1 large shallot, finely chopped
½ pound assorted mushrooms, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
Approximately 1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon flour
1/3 cup heavy cream
Salt and pepper to taste

(For bundles)
4 beef tenderloin steaks-approximately 4 ounces each
Olive oil as necessary
6 sheets refrigerated pie pastry (3 boxes)
2 eggs, beaten
Salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Make a mushroom duxelle by heating the olive oil in a 12 inch sauté pan over medium high heat. Add your finely chopped shallot and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add your mushrooms and the minced garlic and cook thoroughly. Dissolve the flour in the heavy cream and add it to your mushrooms and shallot with the butter, add salt and pepper to taste. Cook until mixture has thickened and remove from heat.

I like to use portobello and porcini mushrooms for my duxelle, but you can use any variety you like. I list the ingredient as 1 tablespoon of olive oil, but if the mixture seems a little dry when you’ve added your mushrooms, add a little more in ¼ teaspoon increments so you don’t add too much. You will ruin it if you add too much oil.

Season your beef steaks with salt and pepper and heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a heavy sauté pan over medium high heat. You may need to add more or less olive oil. The goal is to sear the steaks, they aren’t called Beef Wellington Bundles for nothing, but only cook them to what you’re comfortable with. The steaks are going into a hot oven next, so it’s hard to undercook them.

It is however, easy to overcook the steaks at this stage so be careful. I like to sear each side of each steak for 1 minute; use tongs to hold the steaks on their sides to sear the sides. Remove them from the pan and let them cool enough to safely cut the steaks into 1 inch cubes.

Unroll your pie pastry and cut each one into squares. You could use puff pastry but it’s a lot more expensive. The pie pastries unfortunately come in circles. If you can get square or rectangle shaped pie pastry it is easier to cut the squares. You can get 4 large squares out of each pie pastry but your bundles will be borderline doughy. If you use 4 large squares then cut your steak cubes a little larger than 1 inch square. Otherwise shoot for 6 squares of pastry from each circle. Some may not be perfect squares, but I’m sure you can make it work.

Put one cube of beef in the middle of each pastry square and top with about a teaspoon of duxelle. Use some judgment here. You want to be able to bring the opposite corners together and pinch the seams together to form a tight seal. If you pack the bundle with too much duxelle, or if you don’t pinch it closed tightly, the bundle will pop open in the oven and all your hard work will dry out. Wasting a tenderloin fillet like that should probably be a crime, just be careful.

Place each bundle on a well-greased cookie sheet and brush each one with the egg wash (2 eggs, beaten). It’s very important to grease the cookie sheet, or you’ll destroy your bundles when you have to pry them off the cookie sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for about 18-20 minutes. You’re looking for the pastry to be golden brown, and you want the pastry to be flaky but the insides to be juicy.

For a little extra flair, you can sprinkle some shredded parmesan cheese on the bundles after the egg wash before you bake the bundles, and add a small (about a ¼ teaspoon) dollop of horseradish sauce to each bundle-or keep some on the side and let guests add it themselves.

***Note from Jamie: I'll post a photo of Andy and/or the bundles soon!

Garnish goes LIVE!

Thanks to Arty the Party, "It's All About the Garnish!" was featured tonight across the Napa Valley on local television! Jamie presented some fantastic drinks for the audience and I tasted behind the scenes. Wow they ROCK and I'm so excited to make them both at my next shin-dig.

We're working on a more regular tv spot so stay tuned!! Jamie is going to post the link to the show when we get it. Until then, get creative in the kitchen and serve up some classy 'mocktails' for your friends! Tis the season to offer non-alcoholic choices and enjoy!!!

Mocktails and More!

I'm proud to say I've been invited to present some non-alcoholic cocktails, or mocktails, during the N.A.P.A. show Wednesday evening on Napa TV.


It's my first foray into public life as a Garnish Girl, and I'm so excited! Here are the recipes:

Pomegranate Sparkler

- A perfect balance of bitter and sweet, with a surprising twist!
* 2 Large Lemons

* 22 oz. Pomegranate Juice (non-carbonated)

* 10 oz. Tonic Water

* 2/3 Cup Sugar (or flavored, purchased cocktail sugar)

Peel lemon rind into thin, 1 ½ inch long strips. You can do this with a potato peeler or paring knife. You can even cut the lemon in half, scoop out the fruit, and cut the rind that way. Whatever you’re comfortable with! Place them into an ice cube tray, fill with water and freeze. Put your pitcher in the freezer as well, for good measure.

You can start making this cocktail as soon as the ice cubes are frozen. Using the lemons that you peeled before, squeeze into a cocktail shaker. Fill the shaker the rest of the way with some of the pomegranate juice and shake. Strain into the pitcher and add remaining pomegranate juice.

Pour the sugar onto a saucer or small plate. Dip the rim of the glasses into the mixture and rub into the sugar so the rim is evenly coated. Stand glasses upright and set aside.

Pour the tonic water into the pitcher and stir gently. Fill each glass and garnish with two or three lemon ice cubes. Makes 4-8 drinks.

Reindeer Fuel

-A smooth and fruity concoction, with bubbles and spice!

* 4 cans diet cola, cream soda or root beer (make sure it's diet, you don't need more sugar with this!)

* 1 Cup Low- Pulp Orange Juice

* 1/3 Cup Grenadine

* 2 Tablespoons Vanilla

* 1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon

* 8 Sticks of Cinnamon

Mix orange juice, grenadine and vanilla in a cocktail shaker and shake well. Pour the mixture evenly into each of the glasses. Add the soda until the glass is 1 inch from being full. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon, and garnish with a cinnamon stick.

Bacon/Cheese/Garlic Mashed Potatoes: The BEST dish to bring to an office Christmas party!

This winter, times are a little tight. Businesses are downsizing and/or tightening the budget belt. And, that correlates directly to the fanciness (or lack thereof) of The Office Christmas Party. What used to be a catered affair is now most likely a potluck effort, and you and your coworkers will be invited to bring a dish to share with others.

I normally don’t have a problem with potlucks (hosted one last weekend, in fact), but when you’re asked to do so during the workweek, when you have many other things to do after work and you certainly don’t want to get up early, it chafes a bit. What can one make ahead of time that will hold, be easy to heat up and not cause an outbreak of botulism? I’ve got your answer below. AND…it can serve as a side dish for your own dinner the night before (just take out your portion) so you’re really not doing any extra work.

Special equipment note: You must have a crock pot for this!

* Boil red or white potatoes in salted water until tender when poked with a fork, about 45 minutes to an hour. How many? I calculate two medium red potatoes per person, and figure that not everyone will have some. So, if there will be 20 people, I would suggest cooking for 10, about 20 potatoes. Remember, the other ingredients will bulk this up.

* While you’re boiling the potatoes, prep this:

1 package bacon (cook then chop into bits)
½ cup chopped green onions
8 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp Kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper

* When the potatoes are done, drain them and mash them with:

½ cup milk
8 oz. whipped cream cheese
1 stick butter

* Add the rest of the ingredients and mash some more. Take out whatever you’re going to have with dinner, and put the rest in the crock pot. Put the lid on the crock pot and let the whole thing cool down for an hour, then put it in the fridge. The next morning, take it out, put it into the heating element and bring it to work. Plug it in on low, stirring every 45 minutes.

* Just before serving, garnish with a few sprinkles of gorgonzola or stilton cheese.

Fun-Size Gourmet(or, how to make quick and easy Cornish Game Hens)

Last week, I was telling a friend I felt like making Cornish Game Hens that night for dinner when she exclaimed, "Holy cats! Doesn't that take a lot of time and effort?"

I replied, "Nah, you just stuff 'em, tie 'em, wrap 'em and cook 'em."

The thing about Cornish Game Hens is that they are SO tasty, and make a gorgeous presentation.
And, this is one of those times when we can really believe the saying that beauty is on the inside, as it’s the things we’re going to stuff inside the hens that make them pretty delicious.
Here’s how to do it:

Pick up a couple of Cornish Game Hens at the grocery store.

They’re sold in two-packs most of the time, and this works out perfectly.

You can either serve a party of four normal eaters half a hen each, or let one whole hen suffice for most of the meal for two. It really just depends on how you want to do side dishes.

Make sure they’re properly and completely thawed out before beginning. Because they’re quite dense, they’ll take about three to four days to thaw in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 450, or the grill to medium heat.
Have at the ready (to avoid cross-contamination):
10 cloves of garlic
8 purple pearl onions
Chopped herbs mixed with softened (not melted) butter, salt and pepper, about 1/2 cup.
Two 1-foot lengths of kitchen twine

Stuff everything into the two hens, dividing the ingredients equally. Tie the legs closed.
Wash your hands!
Sprinkle with Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

***Garnish tip: for extra points, slip a little herbed butter between the skin, OR brown quickly in a pan on both sides***

Wrap each in double-thick aluminum foil, making it a ‘pocket’ so there’s space between the foil and hen.

Throw them in the oven or on the grill, and cook for 45 minutes. Unwrap and pull a few of the garlic cloves and onions out so they rest attractively next to the hen on the plate. Sprinkle with a few pinches of chopped herbs and enjoy!

Thanks for the Roast

Finally! I have pried my fingers from their death-grip on the wineglass and posted about our amazing Thanksgiving Roast. Recipe to follow below, but first a word about why we cooked a Standing Rib Roast for Thanksgiving instead of a turkey.

I believe there's one reason and one reason only why gravy was invented: to give flavor and moisture to turkey. I hate turkey. I do think it's The Devil's Bird. It smells funky, has no discernible taste unless you lard the heck out of it, and is a dry wasteland of culinary defeat. So, much to my mother's horror, I bucked tradition and made a Standing Rib Roast. It was easy, delicious, and I share it with you here:

Jamie's Standing Rib Roast

1 cup bacon fat
1/2 cup freshly crushed garlic
2 tablespoons Old Bay seasoning
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
1 whole standing rib roast
* You can of course make a smaller one for a party less than 12 adults, just adjust accordingly.

Take the roast out of the fridge at least an hour before you plan to put it in the oven. This will allow it to cook evenly. Unless you're weird and like it black on the outside and red in the center.

Preheat the oven to 550, or as hot as you can get it. Place your roast, rib side down, fat side up, on a rack in the roasting pan. Mix the bacon fat and garlic and give your hunk of meat a good massage with it, making sure to coat every inch, even the ends. Sprinkle with the seasonings.

Put it in the oven at high heat (noted above) for 15 minutes. This will give it a nice crust and sear the flavor in. After 15 minutes, lower the heat to 300 degrees, and cook it about 10 minutes for every pound. When you think it's close to being ready, stab it through the center (not touching bone!) with a meat thermometer. Take it out at 118 and cover it with foil. Let it rest while you have your first course (about 15 minutes), and have at it.

Here's my most manly husband giving it a good carving:Let me know if you have any questions!

Bitchin' Burgers

Yes, I said 'bitchin'. I'm trying to bring it back.

Anyhoo, I'm lagging on posting the Thanksgiving photo/rundown, so thought I'd throw you a baby post on burgers...

I made this, and it was heaven------->

Burgers are so subjective. You can add things like eggs and bread crumbs, which just make it sort of meatloaf-y (and icky, in my opinion). You can add things like Worcestershire sauce and seasonings, to pump it up a little, or you can go old school and add Liption Onion Soup Mix. However you do it, I'm not going to sway you in one direction or another. Burgers are like art; you like what you like.

HOWEVER...

Your garnish can make all the difference. Want to serve a pedestrian, ketchup and mustard topped lump of meat? Whatevs. Suffer the absence of taste and extravagance in silence. Do it my way and go gourmet.

The Sauce:

5 garlic cloves, crushed and microwaved for 30 seconds
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (some people hate cilantro, so use a strong herb)
1/3 cup light mayo
1/3 cup light plain yogurt
1/3 cup light sour cream
Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
A little Crushed Red Pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Lemon Juice

Spoon some on the burger. On top of that, throw:

Sauteed Mushrooms:

2 Tablespoons Butter
8 Large Criminis (No White Buttons! Gross! 70's! Might as well put kidney beans and Thousand Island Dressing on your burger!)
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Freshly Ground Pepper to taste
1/4 cup Red Wine
1/4 cup Green Onions

Sautee the first four ingredients slowly. When you salt mushrooms, it makes them give up their liquid and make their own sauce. Very cool. When they're the way you like them, turn up the heat. When you hear the crackling of buttered things over high flame, add the wine. It will deglaze the pan, make the onions less greasy, and add flavor. Stir constantly for a minute or two. Turn the heat off and add the chopped green onions.

Enjoy! Thank me later!

My Dad the Chef

As you know, I celebrate my birthday for an entire week. The weekend before my birthday, I host a bacchannalia of sorts for my close friends. The weekend after is reserved for dinner with family at my parents' house. While the drinkfest with buddies may be over-the-top festive, it's the dinner that I most look forward to. My Dad cooks for the entire day, conjuring up a meal that is unmatched in its taste and execution. The side dishes may vary from year to year, but there is always one constant: The Standing Rib Roast.

Dad's got connections with the butcher, and together they select the choicest cut of beef. He takes it home and does something to it, much a fabled mystery that I may unlock as I get older, that transcends anything else. I don't know exactly what he does to it, but what I do know is that it is loved and tended after as if it were his own personal entry into the Meat Hall of Fame.* (Original photo of Dad has been redacted, as he thought he looked evil. I thought it was more Evil Genius, but whatever. He makes me awesome food, who am I to argue?)

When he places it onto my plate, it's like my own personal slice of gourmet love.
No, I don't have a recipe for you in this post. I just wanted to share the greatness of Dad.

The Easiest App

Jeannie celebrated her new housewarming and new beginnings in her life, and I am so thankful for her friendship and love in my life. So of course I made a fun new dish for the housewarming party event. I researched online and ended up combining a few different ideas together to make something that I thought our group would enjoy. We all watch carbs and fats. One of us is vegetarian. We all loooooove heavy and rich and succulent dishes. So I made a hot mushroom and cheese dip...

You, too can make this and appear to be a rock star. This dish is ridiculously easy and reminds me of how a few simple ingredients can really be all you need. In a saucepan:

• One container of sliced mushrooms (crimini for more flavor but I'm not sure it would matter either way)
• one small onion chopped
• 1/4 cube butter

Bring this in a saucepan to a mushy mess (five minutes??) and add two tablespoons of flour (stir it in!!!), a cup of low-fat sour cream, a few squirts of lemon, a tablespoon or so of parsley and a shake or two of salt and pepper. Here we would say "salt and pepper to taste" but to be really clear, you will need to first taste your dish, then add a shake of salt, then taste again. And don't go crazy. Stir and taste and add and repeat. Like a tango in your kitchen. And definitely note that we'll be adding a lot of parmesean cheese over the top of this and stick it in the oven. This means a lot more salt will be added, as parmesean cheese is a very salty one! So be super careful with seasoning.

I can tell you that its going to be smelling quite good. So don't eat yet though. This entire process took hopefully ten minutes right? Now that you have reduced the mixture on the stove and added the key ingredients, you will transfer this from the saucepan into something that may look like a serving dish and be appropriate to be put into the oven. A Corian bowl or something. Sprinkle a generous amount of parmesean cheese over your mixture. Cook for 15 minutes. And serve with thinly sliced bread or crackers. The key versatility perk here is that you could take this from the saucepan to a "holding pattern" (fridge, car, whatever) for a few HOURS and then stick it in the oven for 15 to serve as a hot dip. I recommend for holiday parties and for fun. Plus with low-fat ingredients and all, this is not that bad for you. Not that you'd ever know........

The "A-B-C's" of Soup

I am a huuuuuuuuge fan of vegetable soup. Homemade only. Or probably any homemade soup, but I haven't had much experience in others. Stew, yes. And yum also.

My mom (and hopefully she's not reading...) is a fan of diets. When she went on one, we all were able to 'benefit' from it. Hmmmm.... Well luckily some of the new recipies ended up on the family recipie list. Vegetable Soup. It is so good. Sorry Jamie but suprisingly it has NO garlic in it. Some Italian dishes ask that you not include it and this is one. Isn't that interesting?

This veggie soup has complex carbs, protein and definitely your share of vitamins and minerals for the day. And it is so good. Fresh romano cheese grated on top. Buttery french bread on the side. (I'm so bad!). The weather just changed here in Napa and I think I'm craving winter!!!!

In a LARGE pot:

• 1 shallot
• 1 onion
• 4 carrots chopped or (easier) almost a whole bag of baby carrots
• 3 stalks of celery chopped
• Splash of olive oil (small)

Brown these ingredients until the smells meld together and things don't get soft but you've let them go for a good 5 minutes.

Add:

• 1 cup of white wine and let it burn off the alcohol for a minute before adding the rest (and stir)
• 2 cups of water
• 2 cups of chicken broth (or one carton of chicken broth will work too)

And for the remaining 45 minutes of cooking you will simply simmer any of the following, depending on how much you like each:

• Zucchini (probably 2 small ones)
• Mushrooms (add now or they'll not combine with other flavors, and only add a half-carton or so)
• Swiss Chard (TRY IT!!!! This is bigger in Iron than spinach and is a traditional Italian flavor that absolutely makes this recipie awesome. Please don't leave it out simply because you've never used it! Chop it like lettuce and leave out the white stems. It will rock. Serious.)
• A can of kidney beans (for protein and for consistency - it will make the broth a bit thicker and heartier. Rinse and strain first! Also consider using low-salt because of how much salt is in the broth)
• Following their package's cooking guidelines: Rice, noodles or barley. (okay. You are definitely scared of the barley reference. It is my favorite grain and I recommend it completely. You will have to keep checking for when it is done but it is a low GI whole grain and is really yummy. I like it way more than rice.)

Remember, I am not one of those health-nuts or vegans. I was raised on a beef farm (well, kind of. Close enough for this arguement). And I attest that this dish is hearty and filling and soooo comforting. Try it!!! Serve it with a side of ribs for all I care. I'm just telling you, you're gonna love it.

From the Dinner Party: Shallot-Sage Smashed Potatoes

I love this dish because

1) It's easy

2) It's delicious

3) It seems fancy with semi-exotic ingredients

If you can boil potatoes, scoot things around in a pan, then mash them all up together, you can do this. Here's how to make enough for four:

* Put 8 medium sized red potatoes in a large stockpot and add water, enough to cover by a few inches. Add a tablespoon of salt and boil for 45 minutes, or until a fork poked in them slides out easily.

* Meanwhile, sautee four to six thinly sliced and chopped shallots in about a teaspoon of butter. When they've wilted and the edges begin to turn golden, throw in a teaspoon of chopped sage, a teaspoon of sugar, and a tablespoon of rice wine vinegar. Stir for about five more minutes, and remove from heat.

* When the potatoes are done, drain them and put them back in the pot with a cube of butter, half a brick of light cream cheese and the shallot sage mixture. Smash everything up with a potato masher, and add liberal amounts of salt and pepper.

* Garnish with sprigs of sage and serve!

Happy Birthday to Me! (Or, "Cooking Lots of Food for Lots of People")

This past weekend, I was honored to celebrate my birthday with my favorite people, with a big dinner for sixteen people.

That's my dining room, to the right. So much more fun with friends!

All night, guests remarked that they couldn't believe how I was able to calmly orchestrate such an endeavor. Now, I'm an old hand at cooking for a crowd, so it's sort of easy for me. I do also understand how it can be intimidating. With the right planning, and the right dishes, it's really not that hard. And, with the holidays coming up, I know some of you are nervous about cooking for a crowd. Let me help!

First, pick three dishes that you like to cook, are good, and easy to multiply. I simply multiplied one of my favorite meals by four so I could serve sixteen:

* Barbecued Tri-Tip with Horseradish Sour Cream
* Shallot-Sage Smashed Potatoes
* Caesar's Goat Salad

Have your friends help by bringing the more annoying dishes to make: appetizers and dessert. My good friends Rachel and Andy brought a creation called "Beef Wellington Bites", which I'm hoping they'll share here soon. And, Jen saved the day with decadent "Heart Pounder" chocolate cupcakes. I'll ask her to post that recipe, as it's the perfect end to a big meal.

I'll post the steak and potato recipes soon (Caesar's Goat is way down below), but I just wanted to make a quick note on how you can make a big dinner party or holiday gathering special and fancy without tearing your hair out.

* Use candles or twinkle lights. It's easy, cheap, flattering, and doesn't highlight your lack of dusting/vacuuming.

* Forgo the china and bring out the nice paper plates. There's no reason you should have to cook and do dishes. And, you know how your friends/family members get up at the end of the meal and say they'll take care of the dishes because you cooked? It's nice of them to say that, but they don't want to scrub plates any more than you do, especially after gorging themselves on fine food.

* Add yummy touches to the table like a small plate of specialty bleu cheese to crumble onto the steak, or a bowl of sauteed onions, bacon and mushrooms as a topper.

* I cannot stress the importance of place cards enough: it keeps mouthy/argumentative/always think they're right/funny/cute people away from each other, and splits up any hen parties or dude fests. I also like to split up the couples, because it gets people to have more interesting conversations.

More recipes to follow! I still need to vacuum up the wayward confetti!

Weeknight Cocktail Hour

Hi all,
It's me again! I'm racing out the door this morning with a short shopping list in hand for tonight's festivities. I've got a few friends coming over to see my new house (yes this is why you haven't heard from me lately...). They're coming right after work so I'm going to be very strategic in what I provide for appetizers, so I don't have to scurry as I get home! Here are a few options that you could provide in a similar situation:

Easiest

Fruit and Cheese Tray:

• Blocks of fancy cheeses
• Multiple cheese knives and a fancy serving dish or butcher block
• Crackers and bread
• Fruit and nuts (grapes, almonds, etc.)

Pretty Easy

Dips and Dunkers

• There are so many dip recipies that take two seconds to make, or pick one up in the deli section. Put the dip in a fancy dish and make your guests feel special.
• Dunk carrots, celery and other creative veggies.
• Dunk sliced bread or crackers (or chips if you want to be naughty)
• Warm dips are even fancier and often you can prepare ahead and reheat when guests arrive

Not Easy

I don't recommend the following if you have to work during the day

• Homemade hot wings or any other meaty appetizers
• Stuffed mushrooms (fabulous but labor intensive and they don't hold up well if you do them the day before)
• Anything else from scratch. Hey the guests don't need to know. Just make it APPEAR that you spent tons of time on things, don't actually do it.... :)

Just remember that they are there to see you, visit with each other, and relax. The food is just a perk. Make the presentation special and the food simple--- they'll love it.

Autumn Onion Soup

You may know it as French Onion Soup, but I really don't see what's French about it. It's been recorded as a meal since Roman times, though France's King Louis was the one who made it famous. And, the grande dame of French cooking, Julia Child, ate it shortly before she passed away. Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, let's get on with my version, which I'll call Autumn Onion Soup:

This is a dish you can get going in about 15 minutes, then leave on the stove for another hour and go do something else, so forget everything you've heard about it being time-consuming.

Chop one yellow onion, one red onion and two shallots. Throw them into a large pot with two tablespoons of unsalted butter and cook on high for ten minutes, stirring frequently.

When the onions are brownish, and the edges are even darker, turn the heat to medium and add another tablespoon of unsalted butter and stir to melt.

As soon as the butter melts, add two tablespoons of flour. Stir rapidly, making sure flour is completely absorbed and that the mixture doesn't rest on the bottom of the pot for too long.

Stir in 1/2 cup milk. The mixture should be kind of gummy now. Slowly stir in 1 cup of beef broth and mix until totally blended. Add another cup of beef broth. And, one more. Mix well and turn the heat back up to high. Once it's boiling, cover it and turn the heat to low. Let it simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. About midway through, I like to chop another two shallots and toss them in. A little parsley never hurts, either. Think about layers of flavor, and aromatics.

Now, a word about the garnish. The usual thing is to put a giant crouton (i.e. big piece of toasted bread) on top, cover it with gruyere, and melt it in the oven. This results in a decadent and gooey presentation, but is just a major impediment when you try to eat it. My solution? Regular (home-made of course) croutons, topped with shaved bits of whatever melty cheese you desire. Put the bowls on a cookie sheet, slide it under the broiler for a minute, and slurp.

We had this last night with some awesome bruschetta topped with tomatoes, garlic, basil, balsamic and gorgonzola.

FINAL Puff-Pastry-Related-Post of 2008!

This post is all about laziness. My love of fancy garnishes on otherwise simple food comes from being too lazy to spend five hours on a single dish. Thusly, my love of puff pastry is directly derivative of my love of all things quick, pretty, impressive, savory and flaky. As of late, it's become my fancy-food crutch, and I promise this will be the last post about it this year.

But until then...

We're heading to a friend's party on Saturday, and she's asked me to bring an appetizer. Now, because it's going to be cold, and there will be an equal number of men and women, I need to make something semi-hearty yet pretty. That means it's time for my Carmelized Shallot/Proscuitto/Bleu Cheese Puff Pastry Squares. Name them whatever you wish, but do this:

Preheat your oven to 350.

Thaw out your puff pastry sheets (you get two per box). Roll them a bit with a dough roller, making them about 1/3 larger. Using a pizza cutter, slice bite-size squares.

Spray a couple cookie sheets with something greasy (i.e. olive oil), place the squares an inch apart and bake for ten minutes.

While the pastry bakes, thinly slice about five to ten shallots, depending on how big they are. You're going to need enough to sprinkle on all the squares. Dump them in a skillet and cook on high heat, until the edges brown.

Tear a package or two of proscuitto into very small pieces. Don't try cutting proscuitto unless you want to spend valuable cocktail time pulling the slices apart with tweezers.

Sprinkle the proscuitto and shallots on the squares and top with crumbled bleu cheese. Chop some flat-leaf parsley and put it in a zip-top bag. Cover cookie sheets with cling wrap and take them to the party! Throw them in the host's oven for 10-15 minutes, sprinkle with the parsley and serve! Accept compliments graciously.

Old-School Caesar Salad

We had a friend over for dinner last night, and at one point, he began rhapsodizing about my Caesar salad and asked if I still made it on occasion. I do, but not as much as my new favorite, Caesar's Goat (posted much earlier on this site). He asked for the recipe, and I thought I'd just make it easier on everyone by posting it here:

Using a Cuisinart, toss in 6 - 8 garlic cloves and 6 - 8 anchovy fillets.

Grind well.

Add an egg yolk (or a tablespoon of mayo if you're weird about egg yolks) and blend.

Add a tablespoon of dijon mustard and a tablespoon of red wine vinegar.

Shake in a few drops of Worcestershire sauce and blend again.

Dribble in a little olive oil and blend. Add another 1/2 cup of olive oil, a little at a time, blending well.

I like to let the dressing sit for at least a few hours in the fridge, giving the flavors a chance to marry. At the last minute, I add some freshly chopped parsley and give it a quick whirl in the cuisinart.

Toss it with crisp romaine lettuce and top with homemade croutons (buy the boxed stuff and feel my scorn!) with a little shaved pecorino or asiago.

A word of caution: This is NOT for wussie palates. There's a lot of garlic in this thing and you WILL feel it. I reccommend pairing it with wine, as beer or anything carbonated will make your tongue hurt. Trust me on this.

Curing the Blue Cheese Blues

On the topic of salad dressings yesterday I remembered that I have a great and really simple recipie for homemade blue cheese dressing that kicks the butt of any store bought brand. I think it rocks because of the amount of blue cheese that actually goes into the dressing - more of the good stuff. I am 100% certain that this simple and inexpensive freshly-made version of your favorite dressing will change your shopping habits from now on...

• 1 carton of crumbled blue cheese (no need to go with a high-end brand here, we are spicing it up with other stuff)
• 1 small container of buttermilk
• 1 cup of sour cream - I use fat-free to counteract all the blue cheese. :)
• 1/2 cup of mayo (again, low-fat is fine for this)
• 1 tablespoon of cider vinegar
• 1 pinch of garlic powder
• Salt and lots of pepper to taste

Mix one cup of loosely packed blue cheese and one cup of buttermilk together with a fork. The mixture will start to loosen up and turn an ugly shade of moldy blue/green. It will look more appetizing soon, don't worry! Mix in the remaining ingredients and be sure to add a fair amount of pepper. This is my favorite part of the dressing. Before proclaiming it finished, stick it in the fridge for a while, at least an hour, and let the flavors meld together. Retaste- you may need to add more spice. This lasts for at least a few days and is soooooooo good.

Potato Bomb

No, 'Potato Bomb' isn't the name for some awesome starchy dish stuffed with fried and fatty things. Unfortunately, it's what we had in our kitchen last night after a mishap with a couple of tubers.

In my haste to get a couple of Idaho baking potatoes into the oven, I forgot to poke them. Thusly, without a 'blow hole' to let steam out, the steam escaped via explosion. Don't let this happen to you:The blast was so loud, the husband and I were convinced someone was directly outside the house shooting skeet. From now on, no potato will go un-poked.

Precocious Pasta

I'm so glad Jen's back! Her recipes and pointers are always a fun read and leave me inspired to do things prettier, fancier and better.

The husband has been craving my homemade pasta sauce lately, so I'm going to cook it tonight. Before you roll your eyes and move on to another cooking site, WAIT! I swear, you don't have to be old, Italian and hairy to be able to make your own pasta sauce, and no, it's not going to take forever. I started making it when my brother came back from living in Italy for a year and couldn't believe I was using jar sauce. He showed me how to make it simply, easily and quickly, and I now pass it on to you:

Get out two saucepans. It's key to having your flavors and textures work. In one pan, swirl a little olive oil to coat and toss in:
About five or six ripe red tomatoes, chopped, salted and peppered.
Sautee on low to medium heat, stirring occasionally.

In the other pan, swirl a little olive oil to coat and toss in:
Three to five cloves of crushed garlic
Half a minced yellow onion
Eight to ten sliced crimini mushrooms (or not, if you're a weird mushroom-hater)
Anything else you like, such as olives or bell peppers

Sautee on medium heat for about ten minutes. Dump all of this goodness into the tomato mixture and cook on medium for about five more minutes, adding a little red wine if you'd like.

Spoon it over cooked and drained pasta, and top with asiago cheese and a basil chiffonade.

(Wanna know how to chiffonade like a pro? The word merely means "ribbons" and here's how you do it: Stack your basil leaves on top of each other, roll into a tight tube and slice. You'll have 'ribbons' of basil. Easy and pretty, just the way we like it!)

Appetizers for the Angels

I am such a faker--- sitting here watching the 12th inning (yes, for those who are not familiar with baseball, there are only supposed to be nine) of a division series game (again, for non-sports types, this game is a big deal), and I'm not actually cooking. Or doing much of anything except hanging with the dog. But let's pretend I am hosting a raging down-home cold beers and greasy chips shin-dig. Here are a few key ingredients. Different from my typical recipie post-- I'll get back to that for the next blog.

Must Have #1. Something that is totally related to the game and super cheesy. My Seal Beach crowd would be the best example of this. I remember Matt and Eddie with probably a full roll of scotch tape and two colors of streamers, and decorating the entire room with their team colors. It was football. Don't remember the team of course. But it was horrible. And fun.

Must Have #2. Cold drinks. Depending on the crowd and the vibe, this may be a cold keg (water down your ice around the keg to keep it super-cold), a fridge full of options, or a wild punch creation. Remind everyone as they are invited and again as they come into your house: those who drink do not drive.

Must Have #3. Food! This is my favorite part. The strategy: don't miss the game and don't miss the fun. Prepare things ahead. Make them accessible and easy to eat. Bring out something after the 7th inning stretch that is new. I like to ask everyone to bring something. You'll get dips and chips, mostly. So prepare a crock pot of meatballs or weiners. Kick out some chili and accessories. Just remember-- we're here for the game.

Breakfast in bed - ooh la la.

Why isn't there a company that delivers breakfast? Like Dominos but better... I was thinking about breakfast in bed this morning. I'm a fan of whole grain and low sugar breakfasts. And coffee. Lots of coffee. We rarely celebrate the 'event' of breakfast. I love breakfast in bed, or breakfast with the family before opening presents on Christmas morning. My dad likes to do "short order cook" breakfasts with pancakes and eggs hot off the grill. By the time the last set of pancakes and eggs is made, the others have gone cold. So our tradition is to eat them as they come. Informal. Good.

So how do we make breakfast special but easy? It's a tricky meal. The cook will not want to be up for hours preparing things. Here are a few easy shortcuts for making it work:

• Fruit salad. Prepare everything the night before EXCEPT the bananas and strawberries. Add those in the morning. Toss with fruit juice to freshen it up. Plop some whipped cream on top.
• Strata. If you're cooking for a big group, breakfast strata is elegant and hearty. There are so many great recipies for this traditional breakfast dish. It's like a breakfast lasagna. Layers of bread, spinach, sausage or bacon, cheese. A one-pot meal. The great thing about strata is that it must be drenched in beaten eggs overnight to soak the entire dish, and pulled out to bake in the morning. Hard to mess this dish up!!!
• Coffee bar. Spice up the morning coffee with a selection of accessories (garnish!) such as cinnamon, cocoa powder, whipped cream, or the fixin's for Irish Coffee. This also works with tea.
• Fresh squeezed anything. Carrot juice mixed with raspberries. OJ with a hint of strawberry. Mango lemonade. Anything. Unique, homemade but really quick and simple (if you have a juicer....)
• Decor. Throw on a tablecloth and dress up the table with some white roses. Pull out those funny little bowls you've never used, or the teacups your grandmother gave you. It doesn't take much!

One last sage piece of advice. Don't forget to brush your teeth. :)

What a Crock.

I know, the title is a groaner, but I'm in an old-school frame of mind.
The weather is turning cooler, and I've been getting busier. And, I like meat.
So, what to do? Bring out Ye Olde Crock Pot!

Cooking via crock pot doesn't have to be an exercise in banal/boring midwestern food. You can make it totally posh with the ingredients you use, and of course, the garnish.

Throw all of this in the pot:

A couple pounds of beef ribs
A few glugs of wine
A can of broth
Garlic gloves, salt, pepper, soy sauce, worcestershire sauce and anything else you can think of that will go with these flavors.
Put the lid on, turn it on low, and go do something else for eight to ten hours.

When you're ready to eat, place the ribs prettily on a plate, and sprinkle with cilantro.
I accompanied mine with garlic bread and blue-cheese-topped broccoli.

Don't worry, this is not a harbinger of things to come; I will NEVER encourage you to make meatloaf.

Savory Tart

A while back, Jen made her "Saucy Tart" (which says quite a bit about the author, natch), and it was good. But now, because Fall is in the air, I wanted to make something a little more meal-like with the puff pastry languishing in my freezer.
The thing to remember about tarts, galettes and the like is that there are no rules. They're really just open-faced pies.
Simply take a bunch of flavors you like (that you think will go together), chop them up, and sprinkle them about. Here's what I did:* Thaw out your puff pastry first, as it's super hard to deal with and will crack if it's still frozen.
* Preheat your oven to 450, and bake a sheet of it on a (greased) cookie pan for ten minutes.
* While it's pre-baking, gather and chop your fillings.
I chose:
Carmelized Red Onions
Tri-tip (leftover from the night before)
Tomatoes (salted and peppered)
Chopped Green Onions
Crumbled Bleu Cheese
* Sprinkle your fillings evenly over the pre-baked sheet of puff pastry.
* Take another (raw) sheet of puff pastry and cut it into whatever shapes suit your fancy and place them on top.
* Bake for another ten minutes. Slice and serve!

I'm back, bitches!

Okay. Yes, I know Jen and I have been remiss in posting lately. I got a new job and have been busy doing stuff after work that I normally did during the day instead of work. You know...groceries, cleaning, relaxing, etc. And, Jen has been busy doing...whatever it is she does. So. We had a party a couple of week ago, and I made some awesome nibbles.
I really don't have a name for it, as I made it on the fly. If we must, let's call them "Avocado Won Ton Bites". Happy?
Do this:
In a blender, cuisinart, whatever, blend:
5 cloves of garlic
A couple green onions
2 avocados (chop them up before adding them)
2 teaspoons of lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 cup whipped cream cheese
Whip it, whip it good.
On a cookie sheet, take some of those won ton sheets you see in the grocery store and fold them so they resemble little shovels, or into some sort of shape that creates a handle, and spray them with olive oil. Sprinkle with cayenne pepper and bake at medium heat for about 6 to 8 minutes, or until they start browning a bit.
Put all your avocado mixture into a ziploc bag and cut off a corner, so you can use it as a pastry bag. Squirt this green goodness onto the won tons.
Chop a bit of red cabbage and sprinkle it on top. Serve and revel in your image as party goddess.

5-Minute Side Dish

I had a really awesome girls-nite bbq party last night and I made the fastest and yummiest side dish. You must try it. It uses a few exciting ingredients, and because you really can't screw it up, this recipe is a great starting point to introduce these new items into your kitchen...

Spicy Mango Couscous Salad

• 1 jalepeno pepper
• 1 large (or two small) mangoes
• 2 or more green onions
• 1 box of plain couscous
• 1 fresh lime
• Olive Oil
• Garlic Salt

Prepare the couscous according to the box, or by adding one cup of dry couscous into 2 cups of boiling water, remove immediately from heat, add a splash of olive oil and garlic salt, and cover for a few minutes (it's done!). In the meantime, chop two or more green onions and set aside. Cut the jalepeno in half and pull out all the seeds (seeds are super spicy, not good for this recipe). Very finely chop a small amount of the jalepeno. At this point, you need to check and see how hot this pepper really is. Touch it to your tounge and decide for yourself. A little goes a long way so I usually use about 1/8 teaspoon (a pinch). Put this and the green onions into your covered and steaming couscous, and stir. The couscous will start to absorb the flavors of these ingredients.

Cutting a mango is kind of tricky. First, they are really slippery. But they also have this weird flat core, and they are hard to peel. So what I have found works best is to cut into the fruit like a pie. Cut about 8 sections to the core and then use your fingers to peel the skin down from each section. Once it's peeled, start chopping it from the core and leave somewhat large chunks. Add these to the mixture, stir, and put the salad into a bowl and into the fridge. It doesn't take long to cool down. When you are ready to serve, taste it for salt. And squeeze the lime over it for a little kick!!

Ummmm.... I need to mention also.... whatever you do, do NOT touch your eyes or go to the bathroom without very thoroughly washing your hands. :) Your leftover pepper can actually be chopped and frozen, or kept in the fridge for a few days to use in other things. Used in small amounts, it doesn't overwhelm recipes and actually adds some subtle spiciness to recipes and can be really awesome.

Turning Down the Heat

Congrats Jamie and Family for sweeping the fair contests! Woohoo!!! And she didn't mention that it was one of the hottest weeks we've seen here in the Valley. This week, completely tired of the 100+ degrees (and a horrible a/c), I decided to do a weeklong ban on cooking. With my stove, grill and oven off limits, what is there to make? I made some fantastic salads, sandwiches, got creative with leftovers, and overall had a fun time experimenting with cold options. One of my favorites-- instead of baking a dessert for the 4th of July, we had a fantastic fresh fruit salad with raspberries, plums, peaches and melon (all really sugary and sweet), and spooned large quantities of homemade whipped cream on top. To make it a little more classy, I added a splash of Grand Marinier in the whipped cream. Wow it was good. And not that bad for you either.

I also went very rustic one night for dinner, pulling out the old-school Italian sandwich idea and revamping it with a Napa flair. I bought a skinny baguette and fresh (in water) mozzerella, clipped some fresh tomatoes and basil, and made a really nice and basic sandwich. I mixed up a clove of minced garlic and a large amount of fresh chopped basil with some olive oil, salt, pepper and balsalmic and let it sit for a while. In the meantime, I thinly sliced the cheese and tomatoes and then tossed them in with the mixture. I let the whole thing marinate for a while and put it on bread. Wow so good. And really fresh flavors. Very filling and balanced meal - carbs, protein from the cheese, veges. Sometimes simple is a really good thing. In a smaller quantity this could easily be an appetizer, but why not make it a meal?

Family Sweep at the Grilling Contest!

Woo Hoo! Each one of us placed in our category yesterday, which was quite an accomplishment.

It was a hot day in Calistoga, at the Napa County Fair, and 25 dishes were entered. Dad was up first, and had a beautifully plated dish of Drilled Pork Tenderloin, garnished with grapes and rosemary.

How did he do it? First he froze tightly compacted pork tenderloins. He then used a 9/16 wood drill bit to carve a tunnel through the meat. Then, he par-cooked (that means halfway) some thick-sliced bacon sprinkled with brown sugar. He added some garlic, spices, olive oil and love, then marinated the stuffed tenderloin in yet more garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and pepper for a day or two. Grill it over high heat for about 20 minutes, rest for a few more, then slice into the beautiful pieces you see to the right. And, he won second place in the Pork Category! Yay Dad!

For me, the day was finally here. A dish that I had tried, tweaked, and practiced over and over was finally to be put to the ultimate test, a grilling contest. The stakes were high; I was a past winner, I came from a culinarily-minded family and I had told everyone I knew I was doing it. To not garner some sort of victory would be a crushing, embarrassing blow. So, with some assembly assistance from Mom, quiet encouragement from the husband and lots of bacon fat, I was able to persevere.

The Deconstructed Beef Wellington was success due to a few last-minute factors. I knew that the key to awesome filet mignon was adding fat, so I fried up some bacon the day before and slathered the meat with the fat prior to grilling. I also used the tarragon horseradish cream as garnish (see post below), and the
great people at HALL Wines gave me a bottle of their spectacular Merlot to pour. I ended up winning first place in the Beef Category. Yay, Me!

Finally, it was Mom's turn, for her Grilled Lime Margarita. She and Dad sprinkled some fresh, thick-cut limes with Kosher salt, and grilled them over high heat on the barbecue. She also mixed up some home-made guacamole. To garnish her margaritas (which are a family secret, I'll ask if I can share), she placed the standard glasses on a plate. Two large leaves of endive were filled with the guacamole, and positioned next to the base of the glass. the grilled
limes were put on the rim of the glass, and garlic flowers were sprinkled on the plate below. The judges, who had been tasting 23 entries of fish, pork, game and beef all afternoon, were excited to have such a pretty, refreshing cocktail. Word spread around the grounds that this was an awesome margarita, and a line formed in front of our table for a sample. The crowd was quite impressed. So were the judges; Mom won third place in the Vegetarian category for her Grilled Lime Margarita. Yay, Mom!

None of us won best of show, as that honor went to a guy who actually has owned restaurants and has been a professional chef. BUT...we got what we came for: a ribbon in each category entered, and a fun day with family and friends!

(Sorry about the wonky photo placement; I'm still getting the hang of this thing!)

Practice, Practice

So, tonight I decided to practice the new garnish I wanted to do for the grilling contest. As you'll remember, I wanted to do the same flavor profile for the Deconstructed Beef Wellington, but I wanted to make it prettier. So, instead of using red wine to reduce the duxelle, I used white, and it was fabulous. I also layered it underneath the beef instead of on top. For the big garnish, I did a tarragon creme fraiche with horseradish. Sounds fancy, right? It's just a 1/3 horseradish, 2/3 sour cream mix to which I added a tablespoon of fresh chopped tarragon. I then used a spare tarragon sprig to top it, as you'll see in the photo. That was our dinner tonight, and it was quite yummy. More posts on the grilling contest to follow!

Lay Down the Smackdown!

Summertime, and the grilling gets competitive.
Two years ago, my Dad and I entered the BBQ Contest at the Napa County Fair in Calistoga. The entries are separated by meat type: I entered Spicy Shrimp (slathered in a spicy butter, covered with basil and wrapped with proscuitto) and my Dad entered his Sizzling Lamb Chops. We each won our own categories, and I won Best of Show (and a mini Webber Grill). We weren't able to enter last year, but have eagerly awaited this year's contest.
This year, I'm entering the Beef category, and will attempt a prettier, grilled version of the Deconstructed Beef Wellington from the Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party two weeks ago. Still mulling over the plating/garnish for this one. Ideas? Let me know!
Dad, however, will raise the bar with his Grilled Pork Tenderloin. And, Mom is going for the cuteness by entering the Vegetarian category with her Grilled Lime Margaritas.
I feel good about our entries, but am a bit nervous about the Best of Show prize. Honestly, I'll be happy as long as it goes to family, but anyone who knows me will tell you I'll have my game face on this Saturday. Wish me luck!

Saucy Tart

Baking and cooking require time, technique and personality. If you haven't guessed already, I'm not a detail-oriented person and I love recipies that allow creativity in presentation. So rather than putting together a tart (often these look like super-glazed thin pies with meticulously arranged fruit designs on top), I like baking galettes. A galette is the messy version of a tart. And it sounds so French. So fancy. So now we make a free-form tart, using the following technique, and involving ANYTHING you want for the filling (I'll explain later).

Savory Galette Appetizer:

• 1 frozen pie crust
• Crumbled fresh goat cheese or crumbled gorgonzola (small package)
• 6 or more fresh ripe plums or figs
• Fresh thyme or rosemary
• Splash of olive oil, pinch of salt and sugar if needed

Lay out the frozen pie crust on a cookie sheet. In the end, we want to fold the edges up and over the filling, by about an inch. Crumble a generous layer of cheese into the middle of the pie crust. Chop and crumble a nice amount of fresh thyme or rosemary on top of this layer. In a bowl, combine thinly sliced fruit, olive oil and salt. Taste and add sugar if needed, based on sweetness of the fruit. Put the fruit on top of cheese in a thin layer and wrap the edges of the crust up and around the fruit. Pop it in the oven at 375 for about 40 minutes, maybe more(check it after 30 to make sure the crust isn't overcooked). This is soooooo good. I made it last night for a dinner party and tried three different combinations. Goat cheese gets really creamy when it is cooked, but the flavor of the gorgonzola and figs with rosemary was the crowd favorite.

Now the great thing is that this Galette idea is super simple, and can be modified to be a dessert. Thinly slice apples. Add cinnamon and sugar, perhaps some currants too. Add about two tablespoons of flour. Toss and use this as your filling. The only secret you need to know is that when you use a runny fruit (apples get really juicy when you cook them - and peaches may just not work for this), you need to add some flour. Otherwise you will have serious issues with the crust, and may have a big puddle in your oven when you're done.

Going Bananas for the Bread

I had a request today! I'm heading over to a bbq reunion tomorrow with my leadership class, and we're all assigned to bring either a dessert or an app. My friend asked me to bring my infamously fabulous banana bread. I was of course flattered, but also a little embarrassed. It's so easy to make!

The only trick is to have some super-ripe bananas on hand. At a minimum the bananas should have dark speckles on the skin. For sugar content, for consistency, and for other reasons too I bet. For this reason, banana bread is something that demands to be made, rather than being able to seek it out. One rather gross but completely effective alternative is to freeze your bananas as you go. Before they rot, stick them in the freezer, and let them defrost before you begin this recipe. I've saved them for up to two months and they are totally fine. Be prepared though- the skins turn black in the freezer and look disgusting.

• 3 really ripe bananas


• 1/4 cup nonfat sour cream


• 2 eggs


• 6 tablespoons butter


• 1 tsp vanilla

(Mash the bananas well, and add the rest of the ingredients above in a large bowl)

• 2 cups flour


• 3/4 cup sugar


• 3/4 tsp baking soda


• 1/2 tsp salt


• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Without stirring, put all these ingredients in the bowl- on top of the wet mixture. Give a superficial stir to the dry ingredients to make sure the soda and salt are mixed into the other dry ingredients. After this is done, then softly mix the entire bowl (Yes! ONE bowl to clean!!). If this, or any, dough is mixed too long, it will become very dense and chewy (like pizza dough, which is thrown around the room before it is baked). We don't want that here. So mix it only until you have to!

Pour this mixture into a greased loaf pan and pop it in the oven for probably 55 minutes on 350. Baking requires a much more evenly heated oven than cooking, so I suggest turning the pan every 20 minutes or so. The toothpick test (or a clean knife) can be used to see if this is done- if it comes out looking pretty clean, you're done. Isn't it embarrassingly simple???

Recipe from The Dinner Party: Smoked Salmon Pate Crostini

You wouldn't guess it by the way I've been totally obsessed with the main dish from The Big Dinner Party, but there were other courses. So, let's talk about the first course, which was Smoked Salmon Pate Crostini. I know, it sounds very posh, but it was easy peasy. Here's what you do:

Slice some French bread thinly, whatever width and length you'd like. Spray a cookie sheet with some sort of lubricant (I use spray olive oil), put the bread on it, and bake it until semi crispy, about 15 minutes at 300 degrees. Take it out and let it cool.

Meanwhile, use a food processor to mix the following:

* 6 oz. smoked salmon
* 3 oz. cream cheese
* 2 Tbsp. lemon juice
* freshly ground pepper to taste

Also, finely chop half of a white onion and put it in a mixing bowl. Once you've blended the other ingredients, dump that mixture into the bowl with the onions and mix well.

Smooth the spread onto the toasted French bread, which is now called crostini (see? fancy!). For the final flourish, chop some cilantro (or anything else green and pretty) and sprinkle on top.

Serve with a crispy Sauvignon Blanc!

Fancy-Schmancy Dinner Party

I'm sure you're wondering how the dinner party went, and while I'm still recovering from it, I can at least give you a quick overview:
When we last visited this subject, I was still toying around with ideas on how to do the deconstructed Beef Wellington. I came up with a solution that worked and it tasted wonderful, but was really ugly, as you can see in the photo. Here's what I did:
I cut puff pastry sheets into four squares each (I had ten guests, but made twelve in case some came out badly) and draped them over upside-down ramekins placed on a cookie sheet. I cooked them until golden. I also made a mushroom duxelle, with criminis, onion, basil and garlic. As for the filet mignon, I marinated them in red wine, olive oil, garlic, soy sauce and worcestershire sauce for a few hours. Then, about an hour before guests arrived, I put the filets in a couple of large skillets and sauteed them for about five minutes. I turned the heat off, let the pans cool down, then threw them in the fridge for two hours. When we were ready to serve the filets, I put them back on the stove, on high heat, for another seven minutes, turning once. I then placed them in the puff pastry cups, topped with the duxelle.
The taste? Simply divine. The look? Simply tragic. Because of the wine, the duxelle was purple. The filets were odd-shaped because I didn't think about making them round and holding them together with toothpicks. So, I will continue to play with this recipe, trying to find a way to make them prettier. Garnish ideas, anyone?

Cheater's Chili

I have a friend who makes a big, grand, fabulous-smelling entrance at football game parties, fall bbq's and other potluck events with his huge crockpot of homemade chili. I mean this stuff is spicy and tender and just the ultimate pot of yummy. Finally I hear the secret-- "... okay well you start with a base of CANNED chili and doctor it up". Now, I don't know if you've ever seen canned dog food, but this is basically what he starts with. Chili from a can!? Unacceptable.

There are really, really hard and lengthy recipies for chili. In fact, there are insanely large prizes at local, state and nationally televised chili cook-off competitions. Chili is an art and a science, with true connoiseurs and a practically-cult following. This dish is on the limited list of "manly" potluck dishes. So if you know absolutely nothing about how to make it, don't cry like a sissy. Read below and see how very simple life can be. It can become your foundation to create your own little chili-man legacy.

Cheater's Chili:

• 1 pound of lean ground meat (you can use turkey here as a healthier alternative, or go for the real thing- beef)


• 2 - 14oz cans of kidney beans that have been rinsed of all goo


• 1 - 14oz can of tomato sauce


• Splash (or more) of red wine


• 1 chopped cooking onion (yellow, of a medium-ish size. Cut this to pieces that are the same size as your pinkie fingernail)


• 3 cloves of garlic (crushed with a garlic press or chopped till they are mush)


• 2 teaspoons of chili powder (buy it and you'll use it for everything - a cheap and good investment)


• Salt and pepper

Here's the secret: chili is basically spaghetti sauce with beans. Chili without beans could be easily poured over pasta and be called an italian slow-simmer sauce, especially if you added some oregano, tarragon or basil. So basically, chili is meat sauce with different spices. So the real lesson today is, "how to make a meat sauce". In this case, with chili powder and beans. But think of the base as a completely adjustable canvas that you can paint with lots of different colors.

Back to the cooking-- you know the most important thing to me is to get it done in the shortest amount of time possible, with the least amount of steps, and with the biggest applause at the end. Hmmm.... now that I think of it, that's basically the motto of my whole life. But I digress. The first step here is to brown the things that need to be browned. If you put the meat in first, the natural juice would create water in the pan that makes it harder to brown your onions, so we do onions first.

Throw the onions into a large saucepan with a teaspoon of olive oil, over high heat. Continue to stir and brown for a couple minutes, or until the smell changes to be less spicy and more sweet. Throw in your crushed garlic and a splash of red wine.

To this mixture, add the ground meat. Season with a small amount of salt and a bigger amount of pepper. Continue stirring until you have removed all pink from the meat. Now turn the burner to medium, pour in the sauce and the beans, and continue cooking.

"Her emotions simmered below the surface". What does simmering really mean? Because that's what we need to do now with this sauce. Simmering, first of all, is generally done on low or almost-low heat. To simmer is to have a movement of your sauce, but no bubbles. So you're at a lower heat than boiling, but your sauce isn't sitting still. The traditional cooking method to achieve solid simmering is to bring it up to a boil then turn it down. This creates a universal heat that will continue... yes you guessed it.... below the surface. So get this baby pissed off at you for a good 20 minutes, and up to an hour or more. Your beans will start falling apart if you go too long, so really this is another quick timeline for preparation.

So this is the most simple and basic version of chili that you can possibly create. Feel free to change up the beans (remove them, use other kinds, whatever), throw in some different spices (try fresh hot peppers from the store, but test each before you add), use different meat (ground beef is just a start- people use all kinds of meats in this including steak or the ultra fatty/fabulous rib meat). This is a totally basic recipe, so you're going to want to garnish this to make it appear fabulous to the naked eye. Luckily, chili is one of the best foods to garnish, besides the potato of course. Pull out the shredded cheddar (or other exotic cheese to really entice), the sour cream (cool and tangy), chopped onions (green are pretty), strips of bbq steak (mouth watering), really cold beer (wow). This was the first meal I cooked on my own. I give it to you. You can't screw it up - promise.

Flaming Yawn

Or, Filet Mignon, as it's properly spelled. I went to Costco today (retail Disneyland!), shopping for beef for The Big Dinner this weekend. I looked at the ribeyes, sirloins and anything else that was red, but was uninspired. The only thing that caught my eye was the filet mignon, but the price was prohibitive. But then I saw the Beef Tenderloin, which is basically a beef log, made up of tenderloin, which you just cut up yourself, at a substantial savings. Now, all I have to do is cut off the junky stuff and slice it into 2-inch thick rounds. I'll also throw them into zip-top bags with my standard red wine marinade, as these guys aren't as big on flavor as they are on tenderness.

While I'm here, I might as well tell you about my thoughts on how I'm going to prepare this particular dish. Because I'm doing a three course tasting menu with wine pairings, I'm not going to be able to hang out in the kitchen while these steaks are cooking. I'm thinking I might use the principals outlined in the procedure for Beef Wellington: sear the meat, then chill it until ready to use, then cook it in the oven. I think I'll ask Dad. (BTW, if you haven't met Dad, I'll introduce you to him later, but suffice it to say he's where I get my cooking craziness.)

Any suggestions? Use the comments function at the end of this post; I'd love to hear what you think!

Upcoming Cookery

I'm throwing a fancy-schmancy dinner party for my husband this weekend (it's his birthday), and I thought I'd share my battle plan. He recently was awarded a magnum of Clos du Val 2002 Cabernet Sauvignon, and I want to build a dinner around it. Three courses, wine pairings with each, and the grand finale with the cab. Here's my strategy:

1st Course: Salmon Pate Crostini with Source Napa Sauvignon Blanc

2nd Course: Shallot and Heirloom Tomato Salad with a Pinot Noir (TBD)

3rd Course: Sirloin in Puff Pastry with Mushroom Duxelle and THE CAB

Yes, it all sounds very fabulous, but if you really pay attention, it's not hard to do. I'll get someone to take pictures on Saturday, and soon after that I'll let you know how I did it, what pitfalls to avoid, and what garnish was the best!

Summer Drinky-Poo

Because I'm posting this on a Saturday, and it's a beautiful warm day, I'm of course going to post something alcoholic. But, when it's warm, and you want to be social without turning into a slobbering fool, you want to be careful with the hard stuff. With that in mind, I give you: The Sparkling Pomegranate Cocktail. Yes, it's been done before, and no, I don't think I'm being original. What makes mine special? The GARNISH! Check it out:

For One Pitcher:

1 glass pitcher

2 ice cube trays

1 lemon

1/2 bottle sparkling wine, chilled

8 oz. pomegranate juice, chilled

This is going to take a bit of advance planning, but other than that, it's easy.

Run your pitcher under some cold water, wetting thoroughly, and put it in the freezer, preferably not touching anything.

Fill the ice cube trays with cold water. Peel your lemon, attempting to keep the peels around the same size, cutting them if you have to, so you end up with enough small pieces to put one into each ice cube tray. Put them into the water-filled trays, and put the trays into the freezer. It'll take a couple hours to freeze, so make sure you have plenty of time before your guests come over.

When the ice cubes are frozen, dump one tray into the pitcher. Add the pomegranate juice, then slowly, slowly, SLOWLY...pour in the sparkling wine. If you do it fast, it'll bubble over and you'll lose some of the sparkling wine, and a waste of alcohol is just tragic.

Serve!

You'll notice we have another tray of ice cubes, half a bottle of sparkling and some pom juice left over, right? That's for your next pitcher! Enjoy!

***Other Garnish Idea: You can go with an organic pomegranate juice, which impresses the eco-crowd, or you can use a fancy sparkling if you're having grown-ups over. And, if you want to get really crazy, use Meyer lemons.

Super fast weekday grilling

Grilling Basics: Chicken and Asparagus

This is my favorite summertime dinner. If you use the right techniques, it is really fantastic and fast. It's 'low-carb' too. Unless you pair it up with a bottle of white wine. On your way home from work, swing by the store and grab a few chicken breasts of the same size (bone in/out and skin on/off is entirely up to you) and a bundle of asparagus. If you don't have fresh lemon and garlic at home, pick up some of those too.

Put your chicken in either a big ziplock bag or a pan to marinate. Prep the asparagus by washing and snapping off the bottoms, lay out in a pan. In a small bowl—combine the following and pour most of it on to the chicken, the rest on to the asparagus. Let this all sit a few minutes for a quick and fresh marinade.

• 2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed. If you don’t have a press, chop it until it’s mush
  


• The juice of a full lemon
  


• If you have a grater, use the finest grate and put a little of the yellow (only yellow, not the bitter white part) rind of the lemon into the mix
  


• Olive oil – judge how much lemon juice you have in your bowl and pour in a bit less than that of the oil
  


• Salt – not too much! Sea salt is really good here, but a little goes a long way.
  


• Pepper – same thing.

Throw the chicken on a hot (med-high) grill. Wait about 5 minutes (good dark grill marks), flip the chicken, and put the asparagus on a low-medium heat. These veges always cook slower than you think- I expect them to be done in two minutes but they take actually probably closer to 5-10 minutes. The chicken may take 15, so that’s why we put it on first.

With the asparagus, we’re aiming to create a nice charred taste, with minimal blackness. If you stick them on higher heat, they’ll become completely black. If you like them a little raw, don’t let them wilt too much, or if you like them fully cooked, wait until they flop when you pick one up.

Here’s what I have learned about grilling meat: don’t ever, ever use a fork or knife– use tongs or a flipper. If you break the outside crust you’ll lose juice the entire rest of the cooking time. And tongs make a great meat thermometer. When you squeeze, does the meat have any give? If it is really firm, it’s way overcooked. If it squeezes and seems jiggly, it’s raw in the middle still. Squeezing your meat isn’t bad for it at all so play with this. Love it. Learn it. Live it. And how will you know when it is done? Basically this is a big learning curve thing. So you pull it off and it’s raw? Well, raw is better than overcooked, because you can’t fix overcooked.

Before you celebrate and sit down to eat, give the chicken a good 5-minute rest. Open that bottle of wine. Spray a little more lemon over the asparagus and chicken. Or get fancy and garnish with a bit of fresh tarragon or basil. Delishhhh.

I’m such a blogger. Tee hee.

Hello world- my name is Jen and I am young 30’s (often get carded and have no grey hairs), love my job as a writer, very social/outgoing, currently single… hmmm--- this sounds like a personal ad. Start over. Welcome to our blog- I’m Jen and am here to share my innermost cooking secrets that will basically make you look like a rock star (like me!) without being hard (idiot-proof, not that you are an idiot of course). Jamie is my evil twin, also conspiring to make you look fabulous with smoke and mirrors. Great food isn't as hard as it looks. And if you royally screw things up, well, as we all know, sometimes it is “all about the garnish”….

Pork Chops Made Hella Easy

Here's the deal with pork chops: They don't have a lot of flavor unless they're riddled with fat, and they're hard to cook all the way without drying them out. Well, my friends, those days are over. Here's a super easy, fast and fancy-looking way to do it:

Pork Chops Crusted with Buerre Pain

("Buerre Pain is the French term for "buttered bread")

1 shallot

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1 C. panko (white Japanese breadcrumbs)

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 tsp. freshly ground pepper

1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil

4 boneless pork chops, 1 to 1 1/2 inches thick

2/3 C. beef broth

1/2 C. red wine

Preheat the oven to 500.

Peel and chop the shallot. Set aside.

In a medium mixing bowl, microwave the butter. Add the panko and half of the salt and pepper. Set aside.

Pour about two tablespoons of olive oil into a large skillet and heat to high. Coat the pork chops in the remaining olive oil and sprinkle with the remaining salt and pepper.

When the pan is hot but not smoking, add the pork chops. Cook for three minutes on each side and transfer to a large baking dish. Cover each with a layer of buttered panko, and cook in the oven for ten minutes, or until a thermometer reads 130. (I know, the Pork Council and others in the food safety business will tell you to cook them until they're at 160, but you'll just have lumps of sawdust for your dining pleasure. I live life dangerously and take them out at 130, or until they're barely pink inside. It tastes way better, and the way pork is produced nowadays, there shouldn't be any sort of problem.)

With the pan still on medium-high heat, add the shallots to the pan and cook until wilted, about two minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape the pan continuously for about a minute. Add the broth and cook on high while the pork chops continue to cook.

The liquid should have reduced to a nice little sauce. Pour some in a pool on the plate, and carefully place a pork chop in the center. Voila! Fancy-pants pork chops! You're welcome.