Foodies Untie

2012-01-29T22:31:00.000-05:00

Venison Medallions

with a Beef, Red Wine, and Black Raspberry Glacé

The Foodie Boyfriend gave us some venison medallions

that he had in turn received from a friend of his.

Thank you, friend of Foodie Boyfriend!

Venison medallions are cut from the tenderloin,

or backstrap.

As with other four legged animals,

this cut of meat does little work,

so the muscle is lean and tender.

Venison medallions should be cooked to medium-rare

so that they can be enjoyed at their best.

Five venison medallions
kosher salt
freshly cracked black pepper
1 cup beef stock
1 teaspoon tomato paste
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 tablespoon black raspberry preserves
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

Salt and pepper the venison and let the venison air dry. About 20 minutes before cooking, bring the meat out of the fridge and let the meat come to room temperature.

Pour the stock, tomato paste, and the wine into a saucier and reduce over high heat for about 15 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced by about about half. Stir in the black raspberry preserves and allow to reduce further. When the sauce has reduced to your liking, whisk in 1 tablespoon butter. Taste and add in a bit of salt if needed.

Keep warm while you prepare the meat.

In a large nonstick skillet over high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Once the butter stops steaming, add the venison. After 2 minutes, turn. Give the other side another 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from the pan, plate, cover, and allow to rest for five to ten minutes before serving.

The sauce is reducing.

Whisk in the butter.

The sauce is ready.

The venison medallions go into the skillet.

Plating.

Perfectly cooked.

This was good. This was sublime. Do not overcook venison. If you didn't know it, you might think that you were eating beef - except that there is that certain je ne c'est quoi there in the background, on the back of your tongue, tickling your tastebuds.

Now, if I could just figure out how to make a thick, non-gravy-like glacé. I need to work on that.

2012-01-29T12:22:00.000-05:00

Cod Gratin

I found a package of cod that was discounted

as it was close to the expiration date.

As a result of smart shopping

I saved $3.70 on this package

of perfectly good cod.

Don't be afraid to purchase food

that is marked down for quick sale.

Just be sure to either use it right away

or put it in the freezer when you get home.

You will have saved money

and saved food from being thrown away.

I started with a recipe from Ina Garten for Bay Scallop Gratin and jumped ship from there.

Cod Gratin

4 cod fillets

3 tablespoons butter, room temperature

3 cloves garlic, grated

1 scallion

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1 teaspoon kosher salt*

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup panko

3 tablespoons dry white wine

*This amount will be cut back to 1/2 teaspoon in the future

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Finely mince the white part of the scallion and chop the green part of the scallion. Set the green part aside for use as garnish at the end.

Place the butter, garlic, minced white scallion, lemon zest, kosher salt, and black pepper in a medium bowl. Mix on low speed with a hand mixer until creamy. Slowly pour in the olive oil until well blended.

With a spoon or spatula, stir in the panko.

Pour the white wine into the bottom of a baking dish and place the cod in the dish. Spoon the gratin mixture over the top of the cod pieces.

Bake in the oven for about 20 to 25 minutes or until no longer translucent. The time will vary, depending upon the thickness of the fish. If desired, the dish can be placed under the broiler for the last couple of minutes.

Top the finished dish with the chopped green scallions.

The butter/olive oil is mixed together.

And the panko is mixed in.

The gratin is placed on the fish before the cod goes into the oven.

Out of the oven and ready to be served.

Roasted green beans with bacon accompany our fish.

Dinner is served.

And how was this?
My husband still thought that there was too much lemon in the dish. The Foodie Daughter and I thought there was too much salt in the topping. So much salt that we couldn't taste anything but salt, and certainly not lemon. The men didn't mind the salt.

I will make this again, but I will cut back on the salt, probably to 1/2 teaspoon.

2012-01-27T22:08:00.000-05:00

A Special Treat for Dinner

Thursday night the Foodie Boyfriend was not with us,

so as I was out shopping for groceries,

I was trying to decide what we could have to eat for dinner

that evening.

Perhaps something that we couldn't partake of when he

was around, due to his shellfish allergy?

But what?

I had forgotten to take a container of our wonderful

gulf shrimp out of the freezer

and any store-bought shrimp would be vastly inferior in quality,

so that was out.

And then I spied it.

My quarry.

The elusive Manager's Special,

AKA, meat that is near its expiration date.

But look at the price reduction!

Two Maine lobster tails for $8.38 versus the original $13.98.

What a deal for land-locked Southern Indiana.

I grabbed two of these packages and

hissed loudly at anyone who dared near my cart.*

I apologize for the lack of preparation pictures,

but I hadn't planned on blogging this dinner.

Then the Foodie Daughter came into the room,

gave me 'That Look,' and said "you are blogging this, Mother."

Erm, yeah, of course I am blogging this.

*An over-dramatization of the event, to be sure. Or is it?

If you were to ask me what my last meal were to be,

I would tell you that it would have to be lobster.

I love those aquatic arthropods.

I find it quite amazing and somewhat

shocking that in colonial America,

lobsters were so plentiful and considered to be so pedestrian

that the indentured servants

and slaves protested against being fed lobster so often.

And before that, the Native Americans used lobsters

as fertilizer for their crops.

What were they thinking?

The first step was to turn the little bug's tails on their backs and

using a sharp chef's knife,

cut down the middle of the tail.

It is helpful to use the tip of the knife

to puncture the underside of the shell

and then to place the heel of the other hand

on the back of the knife to press the knife through

the flesh and the hard upper shell.

If needed, use kitchen shears to cut the shell apart.

Season with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high to high heat.

Add 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the skillet.

When the butter is bubbling, add the lobster, meat side down.

Allow to cook through for just a couple of minutes.

Lobster is like any other shellfish - it cooks very quickly -

and you don't want to overcook it.

Turn over and cook for another minute or so.

Serve with melted butter,

clarified if you are really feeling fancy,

and rice salad.

Now I'm happpy.

2012-01-26T18:53:00.001-05:00

The Cat's in the Bag

The Foodie Daughter ordered a new

bag to replace one that had broken

and Minx immediately had to check it out.

"Hmm, it's spacious..."

"Lots of inside pockets..."

"Comfy, and..."

"Hey, why you looking at me?"

Gotta love those curious kitties.

Photo credit goes to the Foodie Daughter
and her iPhone. Mwah!

2012-01-25T18:28:00.001-05:00

Homemade Ice Cream

Some people in the Foodie Household
have been complaining about the lack
of ice cream in the freezer.

My answer was that there is a 16 pound ham
taking up an entire shelf in my freezer
and there has been no room for ice cream.

However, I decided to be nice and provide ice cream
despite the shortage of extra-cold storage.
Luckily there is still some room to move things
around in my larger refrigerator.

So, this past weekend
I made ice cream.
If you are going to fulfill a wish,
you might as well do it right.

Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

3 cups Half & Half
3/4 cup granulated sugar (I used my stash of vanilla bean sugar)
1 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, to taste

The day before making ice cream, place the freezer bowl in the freezer.

In a medium bowl, combine the ingredients and mix with a hand mixer or whisk until the sugar is dissolved.

Turn the ice cream machine on and pour the mixture into the bowl.

Let the machine run 25 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture has thickened.

Transfer the ice cream to a covered storage container and place back into the fridge if a firmer consistency is desired.

The machine whirls away. I like the sound the machine makes as it works.

The ice cream is still soft at this point.

The person who was clamoring for ice cream had canned peaches (the good kind) on his ice cream.

If you don't have an ice cream machine, you really ought to consider getting one.
Making ice cream is easy and you can control what is in your ice cream. No guar gums or cellulose gums here. Just the good stuff.

2012-01-23T19:55:00.001-05:00

Welcome the Year of the Dragon

Today marks the beginning of the Lunar New Year,

better known as Chinese New Year.

The Chinese zodiac assigns an animal to each year

and this runs in a twelve year cycle.

We decided to make a stir fry tonight to celebrate.

Pork and veggies with ramen noodles

in a Korean barbecue sauce.

The ingredients for the stir fry:

Leftover pork loin in an applesauce and sherry sauce, cubed
ramen noodles
red onion, diced
carrot, peeled and sliced into diagonal coins
celery rib, diced
1/4 cup red bell pepper, chopped
green onion, sliced into 1/2 inch diagonal pieces
1 clove garlic, grated
Korean BBQ Sauce
Honey
Plum Sauce, not shown

Whenever making a stir fry, it is important to have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go before you turn on the heat. Once the skillet was hot, the dish cooked in about five minutes.

In the microwave, heat 2 cups water in a microwave safe dish to boiling. Crush up the ramen noodles in the bag and add the noodles to the hot water. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes, or until the noodles are soft.

Mix a bit of the Korean BBQ Sauce, honey and plum sauce to the remaining apple sauce and sherry sauce from the pork. Stir and taste. Adjust amounts until you are satisfied. You will need about 1/4 cup sauce.

Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of canola oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or wok.

Drain the noodles and add them to the skillet. Heat through for a couple of minutes. Remove the noodles from the pan and add more canola oil.

Add the carrot, celery and red onion and saute for about a minute. If desired, you can add about 1 teaspoon of sugar to help the veggies caramelize. Add the garlic at the very end. Stir and remove the veggies from the skillet and add more canola oil if needed.

Put the pork in the skillet and let the meat heat through. Add the noodles and the cooked veggies back into the skillet. Add the bell pepper and the green onion.

Turn off the heat and pour the sauce over the dish. Stir to mix in.

Serve immediately.

The ingredients for the sauce. I added these to the remaining apple sauce and sherry sauce from the pork loin, but you could simply use these or add your own extras to make your own unique sauce.

The veggies are prepped and ready to go.

The ramen noodles soak in the hot oil for just a minute or two.

Before they go into the skillet.

Then it is time for the veggies.

These only need to be heated through. You don't want them to become limp.

Then the pork, which was already cooked, went into the skillet. Again, the goal was simply to heat the food through.

Add everything back into the skillet and toss together before pouring on the sauce.

A light touch with the sauce ensures that the dish is not overpowered.

Easy, tasty and colorful.

Happy Lunar New Year!

2012-01-22T14:26:00.005-05:00

An Italian Dinner

This weekend I decided to make an Italian Dinner.

Yes, it was good enough to warrant capital letters.

First up was focaccia.

I started off with Anne Burrell's focaccia recipe

but I couldn't leave well enough alone

and decided to change out the toppings.

Hey, what else did you expect from me?

The ingredients:

Bread

1 3/4 cups warm water(100 - 110 degrees)
1 package active dry yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
5 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus coarse sea salt, for sprinkling
1 cup extra virgin olive oil, divided

Toppings

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped
1 teaspoon French grey sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper

Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl in a warm, not hot or cool, place until the yeast is bubbling, about 10 to 15 minutes.

In a bowl combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 1/2 cup olive oil and the yeast mixture. Mix with a stiff spatula for a couple of minutes until the dough has come together.

Then, pour the dough out onto a lightly floured board and knead it for at least 6 minutes, adding a sprinkling of flour to the board and to your hands whenever the dough becomes too sticky to handle. Work until the dough becomes smooth and soft.

Coat the inside of a large bowl lightly with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.

Coat a large jelly roll pan with about 1/4 cup olive oil.

Put the dough onto the jelly roll pan and begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pan. After you have stretched the dough to fit the pan, then stab the dough with your fingers. Stab it all the way to the pan. Do it again and again. This is what gives focaccia its characteristic dimpled appearance.

Put the dough in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Liberally sprinkle the top of the focaccia with some coarse grey sea salt, chopped fresh rosemary and freshly cracked black pepper. Bake the dough until the top of the loaf is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and let it cool before cutting and serving.

Add the yeast to warm water (100 to 110 degrees Fahrenheit). Add the sugar and stir.
Allow to sit for 10 to 15 minutes. If the mixture becomes foamy like above, then the yeast is alive and active. If nothing happens, then start over with a new packet of yeast.

The recipe directions directed me to mix this with my stand mixer's hook attachment. The only problem? I don't have a stand mixer. Guess I'll be doing this by hand. I did start out with a firm spatula, though.

Then I switched over to kneading by hand. Every so often I found that I needed to add a bit of flour to both the board and to my hands to keep the dough from sticking. I kneaded this for perhaps eight minutes until the dough was smooth and soft.

Then I turned the dough into a greased bowl and set it aside to rise. It took about an hour or so for the dough to double in size.

Chef Anne Burrell's recipe called for an additional 1/2 cup olive oil being poured into the baking dish before the focaccia dough was placed there.

I started out with about 1/3 cup olive oil in the pan.

The dough has risen.

And I turned it out. The recipe directed that I gently, but persistently push the dough out to the edges of the pan. And this is when I realize that the recipe has a flaw. Where is all this extra olive oil supposed to go?

Per recipe directions, I turned the dough over, but there was still a great deal of oil left in the cooking sheet and it was threatening to splosh over the sides of the pan. I decided to drain some of the oil from the pan before baking.

Allow to rest in a warm place for one hour.

One of focaccia's signature features is the dimpled top. This was achieved by pressing my fingers down through the dough and all the way to the bottom of the sheet pan.*

Before baking I sprinkled 1/2 tablespoon fresh chopped rosemary, 1 teaspoon grey French sea salt and 1/8 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper over the top.

*No sheet pans or focaccias were hurt in this process.

Bake at 425 for 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, I heated some extra virgin olive oil, some Herbes de Provence and garlic powder in the microwave for about 25 seconds.

Now we have a dipping sauce for the focaccia. Many people like to add some freshly ground black pepper and some freshly grated sea salt to the herbed olive oil.

After the focaccia was made it was time

to turn my attention to the rest of dinner.

I decided to make Baked Stuffed Pasta Shells.

So the first step was to make Ricotta.

Once again I am using Ina Garten's recipe for

Homemade Ricotta.

2 cups vitamin D milk

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar.

Set a large sieve over a deep bowl. Line the sieve with two layers of cheesecloth that have been dampened with water.

Pour milk and heavy cream into a heavy pot. Add the salt and heat over medium heat until boiling, stirring often. Turn off the heat and add the vinegar. Stir and let sit for one minute.

Pour the mixture into the sieve and allow the mixture to drain at room temperature for at least 30 minutes. The longer it sits, the firmer the ricotta will be.

Remove the ricotta to a container and discard the cheesecloth. Cover and refrigerate for up to four to five days if not using immediately.

The sieve and cheesecloth are ready.

After the mixture has come to a boil

the vinegar is added.

The whey separates from the curds.

Notice how much is in the sieve at the beginning.

After 30 minutes the whey has drained,

leaving only the curds,

or ricotta.

Now I can make the rest of dinner.

I found a recipe online that I kinda, sort of followed.

The ingredients listed below are what I used for the dish.

Baked Stuffed Pasta Shells

24 jumbo pasta shells

3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, grated and divided

1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated

2 cups ricotta

1 large egg

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, freshly cracked

1 clove garlic, grated

1 teaspoon dried parsley

1 teaspoon dried basil

3/4 cup pasta sauce

Bring water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 tablespoon kosher salt and the pasta shells. Cook according to package directions. Drain and cool immediately with cool water. Drain and place open side down on paper towels.

In a medium bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients except for 1/4 cup mozzarella and the pasta sauce.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Place a thin layer of pasta sauce in the bottom of a 11 x 7 x 1.5 inch baking dish.

Spoon the cheese mixture into the shells and arrange, open side up in a single layer in the baking dish.

Pour the remaining sauce over the shells.

Cover loosely with foil and bake for 35 minutes.

Remove foil and add the remaining 1/4 cup mozzarella cheese over the top.

Bake 5 minutes more.

The shells have been cooked and are now cooling off.

Stuff and place in a baking dish that has been coated

with a bit of the pasta sauce.

The shells are stuffed.

And now they are covered.

Bake according to recipe directions.

And dinner is served.

This is the best focaccia I have ever eaten.

It is not dry like most focaccia I have had at restaurants.

As a bonus, it was also very easy to make.

The stuffed shells were also good.

I loved the flavoring in the stuffing.

2012-01-20T16:26:00.000-05:00

Protests Can Make a Difference

My good friend and fellow blogger, Rosie Hawthorne,

of Kitchens Are Monkey Business fame,

just emailed me to let me know that

she had received word that SOPA and PIPA

had been dropped after the protests

that were waged on the Internet

and millions of people had sent

letters, tweets, facebook messages

and phone calls to lawmakers around the country.

Because of these peaceful

but powerful actions,

the right people heard our voices

and they listened.

This is how you run a protest.

2012-01-19T11:46:00.001-05:00

More Minx High Jinx

Cats are curious creatures

by natures

and Minx is no exception.

This often leads him into some

interesting situations.

This morning as the Foodie Daughter was

putting dishes into the dishwasher,

Minx decided to investigate.

He has been intrigued by this dishwasher

ever since we got it this past summer.

He's checking things out.

Now he's posing for the Foodie Daughter

who is also taking pictures of him.

It's a curious world to a cat.

2012-01-18T14:08:00.000-05:00

Stop the Madness

Today many major websites and some bloggers,

such as Cake Wrecks and

Kitchens are Monkey Business,

are voluntarily blacking out
or simply protesting SOPA and PIPA,

proposed legislation that would censor

the Internet and greatly restrict information

to regular users in an effort to

combat illegal piracy.

Of course, piracy is a bad thing

and should be stopped.

But stop it at its source

and not by restricting links

as these proposed legistations

are aiming to do.

That will hurt everyone, honest or not.

As a blogger, I frequently post

links to recipes and I even will

post links to Youtube videos

from time to time.

I even have a Youtube video imbeded

on this blog.

Even though I have never claimed

that these are my links,

my recipes or my videos,

and I always give credit where credit is due,

these would be illegal under the new legislation

and I could be shut down simply for having

those links on my blog.

SOPA and PIPA may have been proposed

for the right reasons,

but they are not the right answers.

Let your local lawmakers know that you are

opposed to these proposed legislations.

Go here to learn more
and to let your voice be heard.

Punish the pirates and not the Internet

and the many honest users.

As it is, SOPA and PIPA
are like using a Sherman tank to swat a fly.

And yes, I know I'm old-fashioned,
hush you.

2012-01-13T17:18:00.000-05:00

A Snowy Day on Indiana University Campus

Winter finally decided to visit us,

with temperatures in the teens

and a bit of snow.

We lucked out in that we only got about a half an inch of snow

instead of the one to two inches that had been forecast.

I had a meeting today at the IMU,

so I decided to take my camera with me

and get some shots of the winter scenes on campus

for those of you who crave snow.

The snow covered banks of the Jordan River.

Dunn Cemetery next to the IMU.

Beck Chapel in the snow.

Just be glad you weren't out in the weather with me.

The temperature may have been 19 degrees,

but the wind chill was about 5 degrees.

2012-01-12T18:07:00.003-05:00

An Anniversary Lunch at Farm Bloomington

Today is our 29th anniversary

and the Foodie Husband and I had business

in downtown Bloomington today.

We decided to have lunch together afterwards.

I gave him a choice of three restaurants

and he decided on Farm Bloomington

since it was the closest one.

Can't say I can blame him as it was cold and snowing.

Not many people are out today because of the weather.

The decor is interesting.

Those are bedpans on the wall - between the bathrooms.

Old quilts act as room dividers.

After perusing the menu, we ordered.

My husband ordered the omelet special of the day.

This had cheddar cheese, chorizo and ham.

It came with fries.

He liked the omelet very much.

I ordered the Jim's Pork Burger.

This was a "house-made Pork Patty with Apple Butter

on Pullman Bread."

The server suggested cheddar cheese and bacon

and a side of Farm fries.

That sounded good.

This is one tall sandwich.

I cut the sandwich in half.

The pork patty is filled with peppers.

It was nice and juicy and slightly spicy.

The apple butter was made in house,

and the bread was artisan-made.

The fries were hand cut and

even the catsup was made in house.

But in the end I had to take half my food home with me

as I was full after just half the sandwich.

I will definitely come back here.

Chef Daniel Orr

has written two cookbooks.

I may have to see about getting them.

My wonderful husband

even brought me flowers.

Thank you dear!

Happy Anniversary

and thank you for a lovely lunch.

2012-01-11T23:07:00.002-05:00

Rice Salad and Turkey Tenderloin

The Foodie Daughter and I are on a mission:

a mission to get fit and healthy and to lose weight.

So I am trying to find healthier side dishes for our meals.

I think I have found a winner.

As an unexpected bonus,

even the pickiest eater in our family,

my husband,

likes this dish.

I had an idea,

an idea for a mixed rice salad.

But of course I could not find a recipe online

that I liked.

So I winged it as usual.

Follow along as I create culinary goodness.

My mise en place:

Rice:

1 cup Royal Rice Blend (a mixture of white, brown, wild, and red rices)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups water

Cook according to package directions. Rinse under cold water and set aside.

Meanwhile prep the veggies:

1/4 cup frozen green peas
1/4 cup yellow pepper, diced
1/4 cup red onion, diced
1 rib celery, diced
1 carrot, peeled and julienned

After the rice is cooked and rinsed, add the rice to the veggies and mix well.

Finally mix the vinaigrette:

1/4 cup white wine vinegar
Pinch black pepper
Splash Tamari sauce, not shown
2 tablespoons more or less honey

Mix with a whisk and while whisking slowly pour in extra virgin olive oil. You will end up with about 1/3 to 1/2 cup vinaigrette. You will not need all of this vinaigrette for the salad. Only add as much as is needed.

And now you have a rice salad.

Veggies are prepped.

We have a salad.

And now we are talking turkey.

Tonight I decided to marinate the turkey tenderloin in a mixture of
2 tablespoons Tamari sauce
1 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons chardonnay, not shown
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
2 cloves minced garlic

Now understand that I do not measure these ingredients. I just pour them in. It's a freakin' marinade, not a delicate science experiment. But I do understand that some people are very uncomfortable with the idea of working without a net, as it were, so I attempted to approximate the amounts that I used this time.

What I can tell you is that I never make the same marinade the same way. I change it according to mood and whims and the alignments of the highway construction cones. So go ahead and play mad scientist and experiment with different flavors. I usually just start with an idea in my head and start pulling ingredients out of the cupboards and the refrigerator and before you know it I have a marinade. The one constant is that I always include an alcohol. If you are opposed to using alcohol, then use a vinegar instead. Just remember these guide lines: use an acidic ingredient, a sweet ingredient, spices, herbs, a bit of oil, salt in some form or another (if using soy sauce or Tamari sauce, then skip the salt), and garlic. Sorry, but as far as I'm concerned, you cannot make a decent marinade without garlic. And don't try to use that nasty jarred garlic either. Get the real stuff. The stuff that comes in the bulbs. You know, that stuff? You can find it in the produce section by the onions. But just have fun.

Always burp the bag and place the bag in a container so that the marinade can have full contact with all parts of the meat and you can be sure that any leaks will be contained.

Sear the tenderloin over medium-high heat before lowering the heat to low and covering. If you have a remote thermometer probe, this is the time to use it. Set the thermometer to 155 degrees and walk away. Rest assured that despite the fact that the over-cautious US Government standards call for turkey be cooked to 165 degrees, that at 155 degrees the turkey is cooked well enough.

I wouldn't recommend this temperature for chickens, though. But then again, I have a personal beef with chickens.

And now for the plating.

You have to try this rice salad.

Trust me on this.

2012-01-08T14:39:00.000-05:00

Lunch at Nadia's Bistro

A couple of weeks ago I had lunch at a new restaurant

in town.

Nadia's Bistro features Mediterranean

and Indonesian style food

as well as American food.

The chef is from New York.

It has taken me this long to post

because I didn't have my camera with me that day

and had to take these pictures with my iPhone.

Then I couldn't get the pictures to load onto

my computer.

I finally had to text the pictures to the Foodie Daughter

and then she emailed them to me.

Convoluted.

But it worked.

Nadia's Bistro.

It was fairly quiet the day I was there,

but it was also later in the afternoon.

The menu.

The lunch menu.

I asked for ice water with lemon on the side.

I got lemon on the left side.

I wanted it on the side.

Not on the side of the glass.

I also had to wait nearly five minutes for a straw -

after I had to ask for one.

A basket of freshly baked bread, both whole wheat and white,

was brought out along with a plate of extra virgin olive oil

with dried herbs.

This was nice.

I was told that the specials of the day were a soup and samosas.

I ordered the Brisket Philly Sandwich,

which was a "super tender Angus beef topped with

caramelized* onions and Swiss cheese. Served with fries."

The online menu notes that the chef keeps a secret stash of

cheese-whiz in the back if desired.

*By the way, it would behoove any restaurant

to carefully proofread their web site to catch any errors

as the description for this dish read "carmalized."

I asked that the fries be served extra crispy.

Instead, they arrived barely crisp.

In fact, the first one I tried was still slightly frozen.

Fail!

I had to ask for catsup for my fries

and again it took nearly five minutes for

the server to bring the catsup to the table.

The sandwich was very good,

if not particularly authentic,

as I do not believe that Swiss cheese is the cheese

of choice in Philly.

But I'm in B-town, so that's okay with me.

Towards the end of my meal

the hostess brought a survey to my table,

asking that I fill it out so that they can improve

upon their service and the restaurant.

So I let them know what I liked:

the sandwich and

the friendly and knowledgeable staff.

I also let them know what I didn't like:

the lemon on the side of the glass,

the wait for the requested items,

the not-extra crispy fries and

the fact that they had used frozen fries

instead of hand-cut potatoes to begin with.

However,

I do believe that overall this place has potential

and it can be good.

I will give it another try

- in a few months.

2012-01-04T22:05:00.000-05:00

Sunset over Southern Indiana

Capturing a beautiful sunset is more difficult

than one might imagine.

Often times the conditions simply are not right for

a lovely sunset.

Either there are no clouds from which the sun can reflect

as it sets,

or there are too many clouds and the sun simply

slides down behind them unnoticed.

And then on the rare occasion when the conditions are

just right for a beautiful sunset,

one might simply miss it, being busy with other things.

I finally caught a sunset this evening.

Enjoy.

Sometimes it's just a matter of being in the right place

at the right time.

2012-01-04T21:45:00.003-05:00

The Eight Days of Ham

- The Wrap-Up?

This year it seemed as if the Eight Days of Ham

would never end.

Perhaps that is because after eleven days

we still have ham left?

Yeah, that could be it.

I was left alone on New Year's Eve,

so I had a ham loaf sandwich

on the Seventh Day of Ham.

(We had ham sandwiches for lunch

and we went out to eat for dinner

on the Sixth Day of Ham.)

On the Eighth Day of Ham

I stuffed some ham in boneless pork loin chops.

First I cut slits in the pork loin chops

and then placed a bit of the ham and some

honey mustard in the slit.

Then the pork loin chops were seasoned with

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

These were sauteed in a bit of olive oil

over medium high heat until the internal temperature

reaches 140 degrees.

Remove from the heat and cover with foil.

Allow to rest and to bring the temperature

up 5 to 10 degrees.

If desired, deglaze the pan with a bit

of white wine or sherry.

Pour over the pork loin chops.

Moist and tender and perfectly cooked.

Served with coleslaw and this is my take

on the traditional German good luck

New Year's meal.

I was asked to make ham salad

with the remaining ham.

And so I did.

By this time I was so tired of ham

that I neglected to take pictures.

But by now you know

what the ham salad looks like.

We still have ham salad left.

Hopefully, someone else

with eat that ham salad for me.

2012-01-02T09:39:00.002-05:00

An Unexpected Snow

We awoke this morning to find some white stuff

falling from the sky despite the fact

that the Weather Channel insisted

that there was no snow in the forecast

and indeed no snow falling at that moment.

Sure.

Whatever you say.

Then how do you explain this?

And this?

Well?

I have been asked by the Foodie Daughter to pass along

a message to certain people (and you know who you are):

"Quit doing the snow dance.

I have people and I know where you live."

She's just kidding...

I think.

Kids, gotta love 'em.

Well, at least I'll get to find out how my new car drives in

snow today.

Happy winter!

2012-01-01T11:03:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year

From the Foodie Family

To Yours

May This Year Bring You Much Happiness and Joy

And May You Find Good Things

Coming Your Way

2011-12-29T23:19:00.000-05:00

The Eight Days of Ham

Day Five

On the Fifth Day of Hamness

we had Amish Ham Loaf.

And this time we have perfected the recipe.

It has only taken us four years.

Of course, given that we only make ham loaf

once a year,

one could argue that we have a fast learning curve.

Or one could argue that we like to refer to ourselves

in the Royal We.

Yes, We do.

You may now bow down in our presence.

Yes, we like that.

The ingredients for the new and IMPROVED! Amish Ham Loaf:

Loaf:

1 pound fresh ground pork
1 pound ground ham
½ cup bread crumbs
½ cup Graham crackers, crushed
2 eggs
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon onion, minced
1 teaspoon honey mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
¾ cup heavy cream

Sauce:

2/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons apple jelly
2 tablespoons honey
½ cup water
¼ cup cider vinegar

Trim the skin, fat and connective tissue from the ham. Pulverize in a food processor before adding to the ground pork and the remaining ham loaf ingredients. Mix well. Turn out into a baking dish, patting into a 2" deep shaped loaf.

Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour 15 minutes before proceeding with the next step. (Total bake time is 2 hours.)

Meanwhile, mix together the sauce ingredients. Pour over the ham loaf when there is one hour left to go.

In the last half hour, cover the ham loaf with foil, to prevent excess burning.

The ham loaf is out of the oven and ready to be served.

And what do you know?

After four years, we finally have the recipe right. Good for us.

We are so proud of ourselves.

We would like to thank the little people...

2011-12-28T20:22:00.001-05:00

The Eight Days of Ham

Day Four

On the Fourth Day of Ham

we had more ham salad

and Chunky Potato Soup.

The ingredients for the chunky potato soup are:

2 slices bacon

¼ cup onion,diced

2 tablespoonsflour

2 cups turkeystock

2 cups mashedpotatoes

Dash hot sauce

½ teaspoon dry thyme

¼ teaspoon OldBay Seasoning

Salt and Pepperto taste

3 mediumpotatoes

½ cup Half-and-Half

Cheddar cheese,grated, for garnish

Fresh chives,chopped, for garnish

Peel thepotatoes and cut them into cubes, about 1 centimeter in size. Place in a microwave-safe dish and add asplash of water before covering and microwaving on high for about 5 minutes.

Dice the bacon and sauté over medium-high heat in a large pot. Remove the cooked bacon and set aside to drainon a paper towel.

Leave about twotablespoons of the bacon grease in the pot and sauté the diced onion overmedium heat until softened. Add theflour to the pot and stir while cooking.

Add the turkey stockto the mix. Stir well.

Next, add themashed potatoes, hot sauce, dry thyme, Old Bay Seasoning, and salt and pepperto taste.

Then add the cooked, diced potatoes to the pot and pour in Half-and-Half. Allow soup toslowly cook over low heat for about 30 minutes.

Garnish the soupwith some grated sharp cheddar cheese, crisp bacon and chopped green onion ifdesired.

At this point I was too busy trying to multi-task to take pictures, as I had to make the mashed potatoes from scratch while I was working on the rest of the ingredients for the soup. At any rate, the soup was finished and the peasants danced for joy.

Garnish with grated cheddar, chopped chives

and the cooked, diced bacon.

Pair with a ham salad sandwich

and this is a hearty meal for a cold

winter's evening.

2011-12-28T01:12:00.000-05:00

The Eight Days of Ham

On the third day of ha-am, my true love gave to me,

a lovely ha-am salad.

Thank you.

I won't quit my day job.

And no it doesn't pay anything.

Thanks for asking.

Now I'm depressed.

Happy now?

Into a container, mix:

4 cups minced ham

1/4 cup diced onion

1 rib celery, diced

4 tablespoons pickle relish

1 teaspoon honey mustard

4 tablespoons mayonnaise

2 teaspoons sugar

Mix well and adjust seasonings o taste.

Ham salad sandwich with Grippo's Bar-B-Q potato chips.

I'm a happy girl.

Even if I do have to order the chips on line.

2011-12-28T00:44:00.001-05:00

The Eight Days of Ham

On the second day of ham we decided

to make it simple with ham sandwiches

and soup (not shown).

Remember,

my goal in the past has been to not repeat a

ham dish during this fest.

However, certain people have expressed

an unnatural desire for

ham salad all the time no matter the time.

We shall see.

2011-12-27T10:25:00.000-05:00

A Late Christmas Gift to You

Christmas morning dawned bright and clear

this year.

It was also in the mid to upper 40s.

Not a day suitable for snow.

This morning I awoke to find it snowing.

A late Christmas present, if you will.

As I know that I have a few readers

who are obsessed with the white stuff,

I thought that I would share this late gift.

Enjoy.

Fat, wet snow flakes fall.

The garden gains winter interest.

"My" barn is back in there, somewhere.

Winter architecture.

Minx was determined to go outside,

so I finally let him.

Notice how he kept close to the house.

A few snowflakes fell on his head

and then he bolted back to the door.

Smart kitty.

Hope you enjoyed your brief glimpse of winter.

2011-12-26T22:24:00.001-05:00

The Eight Days of Ham

Day One

Yes, it's that time of year once again.

And this year my dear husband received not one,

but two hams.

So we will be having two Eight Days of Ham marathons

in the next few months.

Fortunately, we now have a larger refrigerator,

so we can store one of the hams until spring.

By then we might - maybe - feel like

looking at ham again.

We started off with the smaller of the two hams.

This is a ten pound ham.

The second ham is fourteen to sixteen pounds.

Both are bone-in, fully-cooked hams.

I decided to use this one first as it was spiral-sliced.

It came with a granular spice mix.

The directions said to mix it with sugar.

First I brushed honey over the outside of the ham

and then sprinkled the mix over the top.

Cover with foil and bake in a 325 degree oven

for 45 minutes.

Uncover and continue baking for 15 minutes.

Well, that's according to the package directions.

Why do I keep listening to the directions?

The ham never warms up in that amount of time.

Silly me.

Note to self:

come back and read this blog post

before cooking the next ham.

Meanwhile, I had made homemade creamed corn

by melting one tablespoon bacon joos (fat) and

one tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet.

Toss in two slices of fully cooked bacon that have been diced.

Add in two tablespoons of finely diced onion

and saute for about five minutes over medium-high heat.

Add in about two cups frozen corn and heat through

before pouring in about two to three tablespoons

half and half or heavy cream.

Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook for about two more minutes before

removing from heat.

Add a bit of water to some of the spice and sugar mix

and heat in the microwave to make a glaze for the ham.

And Christmas dinner is served.

Simple but filling.

Thus ends the First Day of Ham.

2011-12-25T09:54:00.001-05:00

Merry Christmas

and

Happy Holidays

From the Foodie Home to Yours

May all your gifts be joyous.

2011-12-24T12:30:00.000-05:00

Pantry Staples - Cooking Oils

I now proudly present to you the second in this exciting series of essential cooking ingredients.

Yes, it's yet another riveting installation of pantry staples.

No. Not those kind of staples.

Who writes these scripts?

MInx!

Have you been typing on my computer again?

Cooking oils? Er, these are not cooking oils.
Please, do not attempt to cook with these oils.

Next slide, please...

There, that's much more like it.
Here we have unsalted butter, margarine and bacon joos
(or bacon fat for those of you who don't watch Sandra Lee).

Unsalted butter is the butter of choice. This way you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. You don't know how much salt the butter company has added. But you know how much you put into the recipe. Capice?

Tub margarine is only used at our house for buttering bread. And for the oddball recipe that insists that butter will not work in it. Otherwise I only use butter in recipes.

Bacon joos (blame Sandra Lee for that moniker) is kept in the fridge until needed and then brought out and used in recipes that benefit from the richness of that bacon goodness. Usually only a tablespoon or so is needed. I use this for potatoes, pot roasts, macaroni and cheese, etc.

And here we have the rest of the cooking oils
and fats that I keep on hand.
Clockwise from the back left:

Canola oil, use for shallow frying

Used vegetable oil for deep frying

Extra virgin olive oil, use for sauteing

Extra virgin olive oil that is kept out on the counter in an old green wine bottle that has been fitted with a pour spout. The dark green bottle is necessary to keep the light from breaking down the oil.

White truffle oil, use for finishing a dish. This imparts a slightly earthy, mushroom flavor.

Sesame oil, used sparingly in Asian dishes. This is a strongly flavored oil. Keep this in the fridge.

Olive oil in an aerosol spritzer

Spray flour and oil in a can for the odd time I bake and need to grease and flour a pan.

Spray oil for coating pans

Mineral oil for sealing cutting boards*

Shortening, used in baking

*Okay, technically this is not a cooking oil. But I do keep this in my kitchen, so I am including it.

In addition to these,
one can also find various flavored oils
in the store.

Or you can make your own
at home.
For instance,
if you want herbed oil,
then heat extra virgin olive oil
over medium heat and add the herbs.
Heat for 3 to 5 minutes,
making sure that the herbs
have not browned.
Take off the heat and
cool.

Be very careful if you want to make

garlic oil, however,

as there is the threat of botulism involved.

Danger, Will Robinson, Danger!

Each of these cooking oils has its place in
the kitchen.
Knowing when to use each in the kitchen
is half the battle and half the fun.

The one I use the most in my kitchen is
the extra virgin olive oil.
I don't bother with having different grades
of olive oils on hand as I think that is
a waste of my time and a waste of
valuable kitchen space.
Instead, I buy the good stuff
at a warehouse club so I can save money.

If I need to deep fry,
I use vegetable oil
as I have found that canola oil
will never give you that lovely
dark brown color that you want
from deep frying.

So there you have a brief tour into the
world of cooking oils.

2011-12-22T18:36:00.001-05:00

Lasagna Roll-Ups

Last week I was craving Italian food,

but not the usual spaghetti and meat sauce.

No, I wanted something a bit different.

I wanted lasagna roll-ups,

with homemade ricotta cheese.

Of course I did.

Now before you panic,

ricotta is very simple to make.

An added bonus is that it can be made in

the afternoon and be ready for that evening's meal.

What could be better?

I started with Ina Garten's recipe, but I halved the amounts.

These are the amounts I used:

2 cups vitamin D milk (otherwise known as whole milk?)

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons good white wine vinegar

Pour the milk and the heavy cream into a heavy stainless steel pot. Add the kosher salt. Stir and bring to a boil over medium heat. Watch carefully so that the mixture does not boil over. Stir occasionally. Once the mixture comes to a boil, remove from heat.

Add the vinegar and stir.

The vinegar will curdle the mixture, forming curds and whey.*

*Little Miss Muffet sat on her tuffet eating her curds and whey...

You can see it happening here.

Strain the mixture through two layers of dampened cheesecloth in a strainer over a tall bowl.

Allow to sit at room temperature for at least 20 to 25 minutes. The longer it sits, the thicker the ricotta will be.

The whey has drained out. This will be tossed.

And now on to the homemade pasta sauce for the dish.

I am winging it this time. so this is my recipe.

The ingredients are:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup onion, diced

1 small carrot, finely grated

1 clove garlic, grated

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 (15 ounce can) tomato sauce**

Fill 3/4 of that 15-ounce can full of dry red wine

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

salt and sugar to taste***

**My favorite is Red Gold, but I realize that this is a regional brand and may not be available in your area. This brand has no added salt and no added preservatives. Test drive different brands before you decide upon your favorite brand. Then use it faithfully like a groupie.

***I am not the boss of you. Only you know how much salt and sugar you like. Plus, each brand and batch of tomato sauce will be different and require different amounts of salt and sugar. Taste, taste, taste!

Now here is the interesting thing: if you find that you have gone too far one way and the sauce is too salty, just add more sugar. Or if it is too sweet, then add more salt. Sugar and salt are the perfect yin and yang.

That is the one fact that I forgot to mention in my salt post the last time. So now you know: if you have inadvertently over-salted something; just add in some sugar to counteract the salt. It works every time.

Heat a sauce pan over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil and onion and grated carrot to the sauce pan. Saute for several minutes, or until the brown bits just begin to form on the bottom of the pan. Stir every few minutes. There is a huge difference between caramelization and burning!

Add the grated garlic, the oregano and the pepper. Heat for one minute, stirring constantly. Do not let the garlic burn. Add the tomato sauce and the wine. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add salt and sugar to taste.

And now on to the ricotta filling. Here I have about one cup of homemade ricotta. To that I add one egg, about 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano, 1/2 cup grated mozzarella and 1 teaspoon dried oregano. Mix well.

Like so.

Meanwhile, soak several lasagna sheets in a baking pan in boiling hot water. I heated the water in the microwave before pouring over the sheets of pasta. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for about ten minutes, or until the pasta is pliable.

Then, take the pasta out and spread out some of the cheese mixture on top. Carefully roll up the pasta.

Lay the rolled pasta out in a baking dish that has first been coated with the tomato sauce. Unlike this dish. Note the lack of sauce on the bottom of the dish.

Now it's been fixed. Ladle more pasta sauce over the top and grate Parmesan and mozzarella cheeses on top. Bake in a 350 degree oven until the cheeses are nice and bubbly.

Meanwhile, cut a French baguette in half and then in half lengthwise. Grate one clove of garlic and microwave that with four tablespoons of unsalted butter. Brush that over the top of the cut sides of the bread. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes. If desired, grate Parmigiano Reggiano over the top before baking.

Dinner is served. Easy Peasy. And sodalicious.

2011-12-20T11:46:00.001-05:00

The Salt of the Earth

Perhaps one of the most important seasonings
in the kitchen is salt.

Salt is a mineral and is essential to animal life
as it helps to regulate the water content,
or fluid balance, of the body.

Salt is also significant in culinary history,
as it was once the primary way to preserve fresh foods.
Salt was used to draw moisture out
of meats and other foodstuffs,
so that the foods could be kept without refrigeration
for a long period of time.

In ancient times a Roman soldier was paid a 'salary'
so he could buy his weekly ration of salt.
You've got it: 'salary' is Latin for salt.

As late as the Victorian times,
an obvious sign of wealth was for a saltcellar
to be present on the dinner table.
And the fancier the better.

All salt on earth once came from the seas,
no matter how ancient
and no matter where those beds are now found.

Different types of salt found in the kitchen:

Kosher salt

Rock salt

Iodized table salt (ptooey!)

French Grey sea salt

Himalayan pink salt

Mediterranean sea salt

Extra course sea salt

On the top left: Iodized table salt.

This salt should only be on the table.

And even that is questionable.

Never use this salt in cooking.

Never!

Middle left: Course sea salt.

This is the salt that should be

on the table in a grinder.

This salt has more flavor and you will find

that you need less of it.

End of discussion.

Bottom left: kosher salt.

This is your standard cooking salt,

except if you are frying eggs.

Never try to substitute table salt

for kosher salt as the grains are different sizes

and the saltiness will differ.

Kosher salt is not a table salt.

And now for a very important cooking tip:

when cooking something like potatoes or pasta

(and yes, that includes noodles),

always! salt the water. Add about a tablespoon

of KOSHER salt to the water.

Remember, if you are draining the water,

most of the salt will go down the drain.

But some of that salt will be absorbed into the

potatoes or pasta.

And that is a very good thing.

Because no amount of salt later can ever

redeem the dish.

In the end you will find that you will have

added less salt to the dish.

And it will taste better.

It's a win-win.

Center top: ground sea salt.

This is the other cooking salt.

Use this when you need a finer cooking salt.

Center bottom: French grey sea salt.

This is strictly a finishing salt.

Treat this like gold.

This is a good salt for homemade croutons

or a salted caramel.

Right top: rock salt.

This is the salt you would use

for old-fashioned ice cream makers.

You can also use it to salt your driveways and walks

in the winter.

Don't eat it.

Right bottom: Himalayan pink salt.

This also is a finishing salt.

Bring this out when you want to impress your guests.

Pass around the grater and let each guest grate a bit

of the cube of salt over their food.

If you like them enough, that is.

And if you forget everything else,
remember this:
you do not salt food to make it taste salty,
you salt food to bring out the flavors of the food.

2011-12-14T23:39:00.002-05:00

Yet Another University Club Luncheon -

This Time with a Good Cause in Mind

Last Wednesday
we had our third Luncheon of the year.

This time we had invited Mr. Julio Alonso,

the director of the Hoosier Hills Food Bank,

to be our speaker for our luncheon.

This was especially important to me as

I know from my Internet friends that the option of

being able to take leftover unused restaurant food

and distribute that to needy families is most often illegal

in other parts of the US.

You would be shocked to know how much restaurants

and grocery stores have to throw out each

and every day,

simply because there is no other

recourse.

Unless your local food bank has been able to

work with the local health department and been

able to convince the restaurants and the retailer,
then all that food goes to waste.

And yes, in this day of litigation,

the food bank strives to reassure the donors that

under the Federal rules of something or other
or the Good Samaritan Act

that the restaurant and retailers
cannot be held liable for the donated goods.

Now, on to the food we got to eat.

On the menu was a traditional spinach salad

with sliced hard-boiled egg, mushrooms and

red onion with ranch dressing.

For the entree we had a choice between

Indiana Pot Roast with carrots, celery and onions

over horseradish mashed potatoes

or a baked acorn squash stuffed with wild rice,

spinach and mushroom pilaf in saffron

and potato chowder.

Obviously I chose the pot roast.

Dessert was a warm peach cobbler.

Lunch was good

and our speaker told us about how

Hoosier Hills Food Bank

works hard to take "the hunger out of poverty."

The members who attended the luncheon

donated non-perishable food items to the

food bank.

All in all, it was a good day for a good cause.

2011-12-09T20:07:00.001-05:00

Baked Shrimp Scampi

I have been reading several rave reviews online

about Ina Garten's Baked Shrimp Scampi

and decided to try the recipe.

Surprisingly for me,

the only changes I made to the recipe were

to halve it since I was making this for

just my daughter and myself

and to use dried parsley as the fresh parsley

has been killed by the cold temperatures.

Just remember to use 1/3 less of the herb if you are

using dried when the recipe calls for fresh herbs.

These are the amounts I used in the halved recipe:

1 pound large shrimp (16-18 shrimp per pound, from Fabian Seafood.)
1-1/2 tablespoons good olive oil*
1 tablespoon dry white wine
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
6 teaspoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/8 cup onion (or shallots), grated
1/2 teaspoon fresh rosemary, minced
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 large egg yolk
1/3 cup Panko bread crumbs
lemon wedges for serving

*Ina Garten will hunt you down if you dare to use anything less than good olive oil. Don't make her angry. She has money and can afford the good lawyers.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Peel, devein, and butterfly the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place the shrimp in a mixing bowl and toss gently with the olive oil, wine, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Allow to sit at room temperature while you make the butter and garlic mixture.

In a small bowl, mash the softened butter with the garlic, shallots, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon zest, lemon juice, egg yolk, panko, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper until combined.

Starting from the outer edge of a 6- in baking dish, arrange the shrimp in a single layer cut side down with the tails curling up and towards the center of the dish.** Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp.

**My note: this takes patience as shrimp, especially dead shrimp don't take direction well. Just be patient and do your best.

Spread the butter mixture evenly over the shrimp. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until hot and bubbly. If you like the top browned, place under a broiler for 1 minute.

The shrimp scampi is out of the oven and out from under the broiler.

We wanted a light dinner, so our side consisted of one-half of an apple. We are partial to Honeycrisps, so that is the apple de jour.

We thought that this dish had potential, but that it wasn't great. For one thing, the panko coating was simply too heavy, so the next time I will cut that back. Also, the lemon was a bit over powering. I am thoroughly convinced that Ina Garten suffered from scurvy in a past life and she is trying to make up for it now.

We had a bit left over and my dear husband got to eat the left overs when he got home late last night. He remarked that he thought that Parmesan cheese would be a good addition to this recipe.

So, here is my road map for the next time I make this recipe:
     Reduce the amount of Panko to 1/4 cup
     Replace the egg yolk with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
     Reduce the lemon juice to 2 teaspoons

I will report on how the revisions to the recipe work.

Meanwhile, Minx looks on from his new box.

2011-12-03T22:53:00.001-05:00

A Frosty Morning

I awoke early Thursday morning to find that it was quite foggy

outside.

Better than it being foggy inside, I always say.

Although, I do remember one morning many years ago,

when I watched the fog roll through the window screen

and into my bedroom.

Fascinating, that.

After the fog lifted,

we found that it had gifted us with some beautiful frosted

trees and other items.

A frost-covered willow tree.

A closer look.

The dracaena is covered in frost.

Close-up of the frost on the dracaena.

Frost on a spider web.

Welcome to winter.

Love it or not.

2011-11-29T19:54:00.001-05:00

Winter Comes Calling

This past weekend it was in the low 60s.

Now it is snowing.

Well, they say in Indiana that if you don't like the weather,

wait five minutes.

Early afternoon and the snow is beginning to fall.

Just an hour later and things are beginning to turn white.

Brrr.

Two hours later and there is about an inch of the

cold, wet, white stuff

covering everything.

I'm not ready for this.

2011-11-28T22:49:00.001-05:00

The Last Tailgate of the Season

This past Saturday was
the annual IU vs. Purdue (hiss) game,

otherwise known as the Oaken Bucket game.

The winner of the game gains possession of

the Oaken Bucket for the next year.

Each year, a link with the winning team's initial

on the chain is added to the bucket.

Then, the winning team's initial is proudly displayed

outside the oaken bucket until it is claimed by the

next winning team.

Enough of the football:

on to the food.

Our theme this week was "Thanksgiving Leftovers".

So I adapted my recipes to match that theme.

First up: Brie en Croute.

1 puff pastry sheet

1 8-ounce round of brie

3 to 4 tablespoons F.R.O.G (Fig, Raspberry, Orange, Ginger) Preserves

Allow the puff pastry sheet to thaw and roll out to a square.

Place the brie in the center.

Spread enough preserves on top to mostly cover the top of the brie.

Then, gather the corners of the pastry together and tuck in "artistically".

Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

Normally, one would let this sit for 20 to 40 minutes before serving with sliced apples and/or crackers, but this is a tailgate. At this point, the baked brie en croute went into the refrigerator. I will heat it back up over low flame on the mini grill at the tailgate.

Next up are the Krab Bites.

I sliced each fake crab leg into four sections. Then the "pre-cooked" bacon is cut in half crosswise. Each crab section is wrapped with a half piece of bacon and secured with a tooth pick.

The final dish of the day was Ina Garten's French Apple Tart.

1 puff pastry sheet
3 Honeycrisp apples
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup F.R.O.G. (Fig, Raspberry, Orange, Ginger) preserves
2 tablespoons rum

After thawing the puff pastry, roll out on a sheet of parchment paper on a baking sheet.

Peel, core, and slice the apples and arrange in diagonal rows on the pastry.

Sprinkle with sugar and dot with the cubed pieces of butter.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning halfway. If the pastry begins to puff up, stab with a knife (gently, not like Norman Bates would stab Marion).

Let cool for a few minutes before gently (there's that word again) prying off the parchment with a spatula. Wait any longer and you run the risk of the tart becoming one (and not in a good way) with the parchment.

Heat the preserves and the rum together until melted. Pour over the top of the cooked pastry.

After the tart has cooled, cut with a pizza cutter.

We really need to work on figuring out a way to prevent the spillage of the sugars over the edges, resulting in burnt caramelized edges. Ina doesn't address this problem. Well, this isn't the first time I've had problems with an Ina recipe. Too bad I don't work for her, because I could save her much embarrassment.

Can you believe it? The last Saturday in November and the temperatures were in the low 60s.

The feast is spread. Besides our contributions, our tailgate buddies brought regular chili and chicken chili, sliced BBQ pork loin, turkey, stuffing, iced pumpkin bars (cake, really), apples with caramel, and cheese spread and crackers. Later, more food arrived with more tailgate buddies.

Already, half the French apple tart has disappeared.

The crock pots are working their magic.

This is a mighty feast.

Meanwhile, our tailgate neighbors had made their famous spam and bologna egg sandwiches for breakfast and later had venison/beef burgers and brats. Sadly, I missed out on the venison/beef burgers.

Once again I opted to stay outside instead of going into the game. This allows the others to know that I am there to guard things while they are watching the Hoosiers lose once again, I was able to sit outside without fear of getting another migraine (after just finally getting rid of a month-long one) I had the chance to get some writing done.

After writing for a bit, I grew restless and wandered next door. Our very nice neighbors invited me over to watch the game on their TV and to eat some food.

And back to some food. I love stuffing. This stuffing was super moist and very well seasoned.

On the left is the brie en croute. It may not look pretty, but it is oh, so delicious. Especially on a thin slice of apple.

The tailgates were going strong.

Everywhere you looked.

Except for the student section. Seems that many of the kids were still at home with their families.

Despite a few sprinkles and a bit of wind, this was a wonderful day for a tailgate.

And yes, IU managed to lose yet once again. But hey, we almost managed to have a perfect season! A perfect losing season, that is. We won one game against a minor team from South Carolina. Whoot?

On the bright side, downtown is brightly lit.

I'm already looking forward to next year. Maybe we'll even have some wins to go with the good food and great company?

2011-11-27T20:53:00.001-05:00

Turkey Day Plus One

It was the day after Thanksgiving
and I was looking for something
to make for dinner.

Since we had steak and shrimp
for Turkey Day,
why not have turkey the next day?

Works for me.

The ingredients for a Spicy Rum-Maple Marinated Turkey Tenderloin:

Turkey tenderloin
2 tablespoons spiced rum
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon Tamari sauce (soy sauce can be substituted)
1 teaspoon chili flakes
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 clove garlic, grated

Please note that all of these measurements are approximate as I do not measure when I am making a marinade. I simply add a bit of this and a bit of that and then taste to test.

Pour the marinade in the bag and seal, removing as much of the air as possible.

I always place the bag in a container in case of leaks. Allow to marinade for at least a couple of hours. Before cooking, bring to room temperature.

Sear the turkey tenderloin on all sides in a bit of oil over medium-high heat. Place the pan in a 350 degree oven until the internal temperature reaches 155 degrees. Depending on the starting temperature of the turkey, this might be 20 to 30 minutes.

After resting, covered in foil, the temperature will rise to 165. At this point the turkey will be completely cooked, yet moist and tender.

Now for our second dish: Stuffin' Muffins.

1/4 pound mild or sage breakfast sausage
1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 cup onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
5 cups cubed bread or dried stuffing crumbles*
1/2 tablespoon poultry seasoning
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage or 1/2 teaspoon dried sage leaf, crumbled
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash freshly ground black pepper
1 cup turkey stock**

*I opted to use packaged cornbread stuffing crumbles this time.
**More liquid can be added if a moister stuffing is desired.

First I removed the casings from two breakfast sausages*** and broke the meat apart as it cooked. When no longer pink, remove to paper towels to drain.

***This is probably not 1/4 pound sausage, but it was what I had on hand.

Wipe out the pan and add the butter to the pan. Melt the butter and add the chopped onion and celery. Cook until softened, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, toss the bread with the herbs and seasonings in a large bowl.

Add the cooked vegetables and the sausage. Stir together. Pour in the stock and mix well.

Lightly grease twelve standard size muffin cups. Pack the stuffing into each cup.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes.****

****Do as I say and not as I did. Since this recipe is designed for regular stuffing (or dressing), I found a stuffing muffin recipe and went by that recipe's time and temperature guidelines instead. That recipe called for 375 degrees at 25 minutes. Next time I will lower the temperature to 350.

The stuffin' muffins came out crisp on the outside and soft on the inside.

And the turkey tenderloin has been sliced after resting.

This was a very nice post-Turkey Day meal.

The turkey was slightly spicy and very tender and the stuffin' muffins were nice packages of crispy bits juxtaposed with the soft interior.

2011-11-24T19:14:00.001-05:00

A Nontraditional Thanksgiving Dinner

It was just the three of us at home this Thanksgiving;

so we decided to do things our way.

We had the traditional Thanksgiving dinner last Sunday

with the husband's family

and we will be having a

"Thanksgiving Leftover" themed tailgate this Saturday,

so we wanted to do something different for our family dinner

tonight.

First on the menu was Carrot Souffle.

1 poundCarrots

Salt (to taste)

½ cupSugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla
4 ounces Butter

3 tablespoonsFlour

3Eggs

1 teaspoon Baking Powder

1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg*

*Not shown and a new addition to the recipe.

Peel carrots. Cut into 1 inch pieces and place in salted water and cook until tender. I cooked these in the microwave for about six minutes or so.

Meanwhile, add flour, baking powder and sugar to a blender or food processor. Pulse to blend together. Add the eggs and the vanilla.

Melt the butter. Add the drained carrots and the butter. Blend or process, until smooth.

At this point I decided to add the grated nutmeg to the recipe.

The mixture is ready for the next step.

Pour into a greased 2 quart baking dish. This goes into a 275 degree oven for 45 minutes. Remember that this is a souffle, so it needs to be baked low and slow.

Forty-five minutes later and the souffle is done.

The Foodie Daughter worked on the Pumpkin Muffins.

Makes: 2 dozenMini Muffins and 1 dozen Regular size Muffins OR 4 dozen Mini Muffins

1 Cup + 2 TB BrownSugar

¼ Cup + 2 TB Molasses

¾ Cup Margarine(butter will not work)

1 ½ Eggs(1 egg + yolk)

1 ½ Cups PreparedPumpkin (Pumpkin Puree not PumpkinPie Filling)

½ TB BakingSoda

2 Cups Flour

¼ tsp Cinnamon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream the Brown Sugar, Molasses and Margarine together.

Add the Eggs, Pumpkin and Baking Soda. (Dough will be a bit grainy)

Add the Flour in stages.

Add Cinnamon and mix well.

Put in muffin tins.

Bake Mini Muffins for about 8-12 minutes and Regular Muffins forabout 15-17 minutes.

Check with a cake tester. Let cool and Enjoy!

The large muffins are ready to go into the oven.

The mini muffins have just come out of the oven.

The mini muffins are ready to be served for dinner.

The main course for our nontraditional Thanksgiving Day dinner.

Rib eye steaks and gulf shrimp cooked on the grill.

Dinner is served.

Surf and turf, Carrot Souffle and creamed corn

with Pumpkin Muffins for dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours

from the Foodie Family.

2011-11-24T09:36:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving!

Enjoy the day

and remember to give thanks

for all that you have.

And thank you for following me
on my foodie journey through life.

2011-11-23T13:44:00.001-05:00

A Fungus Among Us
(or a Funky Fungus)

While walking around my garden today,

I spotted this unusual specimen growing

in the mulch under a tree.

It has been cool and wet lately,

so it is perfect weather for mushrooms

and fungus.

I'm really not sure what this is.

Our new neighbor's four year old son

said it looks like a milk bottle.

Oddly, it has a hole in the center.

It is 5" long and the stem is 1" wide.

I spent over half an hour searching on the the Internet

and still could not find out what kind of mushroom or

fungus this is.

Any ideas?

2011-11-21T21:48:00.001-05:00

Eating Out For a Good Cause

Two weeks ago a pizza delivery driver in our town
returned to his job only to find that a punk
was breaking into

his fellow employees' cars.

The driver confronted the thief and was shot.

He later died from his wound.

This young man left behind a fiancee,

a new born child and two other children that

he had sworn to love.

Pizza X, the company that this young man worked for,

devoted all its proceeds for three days to a fund

for these three children who would never know

this kind man.

We tried to partake of this deal,

but we failed to take into account

just how many other people

would also be eager to be

willing to help.

When we called at 6 pm,

we were informed that it would be a

two and a half hour wait.
Fail!

Then, the next week DeAngelo's offered to donate 100%

of its proceeds for one day to the fund for this young

man's family.

Sadly, we were not able to help then either.

But then the local newspaper reported

that another yet another local restaurant

was hosting a fund-raising event

for the pizza delivery driver's family.

I was available and I knew I had to go.

La Torre restaurant was donating

100% of their lunch proceeds for

the Adam Sarnecki fund.

I focused on the lunch menu.

Click here for a better look.

After ordering my usual

ice water with lemon on the side,

and wondering just what side the lemon would

land on this time,

the complimentary tortilla chips and salsa arrived.

My very nice server asked if I would like cheese

and/or guacamole.

I asked for the guacamole.

The chips and salsa were good, but not great.

In fact,

I took the guac back home to

the the Foodie Boyfriend

and he asked me to help "fix"

the guac so that it tasted as good as my mix.

The atmosphere here is more "family" oriented"

than El Ranchero.

El Ranchero seemed to be more "sports bar"

oriented with the flat screen TVs mounted around

the restaurant, despite the fact that no sound

from the TVs was to be heard.

I ordered the chimichangas.

This is an 8 inch flour tortilla stuffed with cubed beef

and deep fried.

It is then slathered with a cheese sauce.

The dish was accompanied with the

usual refried beans,

Mexican rice, lettuce,

pico de gallo and sour cream.

This was a good dish.

Tasty, and mildly spicy.

I will have to admit that Mexican and Tex-Mex

foods will never be my favorite foods,

but that won't stop me from trying to like this

cuisine.

I think that the problem is that I like

the juxtaposition of sweet and sour

and that just doesn't happen in Latin cuisines.

There is no Yin and Yang.

No delicate balance of flavors here.

Instead there is just a sledgehammer

demanding attention in your mouth.

The cubed beef, tomatoes and onions

spilling out of the chimichangas.

A Mexican textile hanging in the window.

The cost of this lunch?

$6.79 for the entree.

$3.19 for the guacamole

$3.00 tip

$.0.70 tax

$20.00 donation

I should be good for a decade or two.