Back in the Kitchen Again (Cue the music!.. er, anyway...)

For some odd reason (psst, read the blog title!) I feel the need to head back to my culinary roots. But first, cue the gray tree frogs. Aren't they the cutest little things? And much nicer than my not-so-friendly neighborhood wasps, one of which promptly stung me as I went out on my deck today. Hmph. Whatever happened to manners?

Okay, enough of that. Now on to the food...

I decided to saute boneless pork chops for dinner tonight. However, timing is very critical with such a lean cut of meat, so I decided to hedge my bets as it were.

Here we have the components for the most basic of brines: kosher salt, whole peppercorns, water and sugar.

I microwaved one quart of water until boiling. I then added 1/4 cup kosher salt, 1/4 cup sugar and about 12 (well okay, I really didn't count them. Just get over it already) whole peppercorns. Stir until the salt and sugar dissolve into the water.

Add cool water and allow to come to room temperature. Add the pork loin and move to the refrigerator. Now this is important. Do not let the pork remain in the brine for more than an hour or so. This is not one of those times when more is better.

Remove from the brining liquid and rinse. Pat dry and return to the refrigerator if not cooking immediately.

Cook as usual (here, with salt, pepper and olive oil) and relax with the knowledge that the brine allows for a wider margin of error. Or simply accept that the meat will taste all that much better for your efforts.

Ooh, we are on to one of my favorite summertime treats: Insalata Caprese. For those of us who didn't study Italian, that's Capri Salad.

Here we have some of the first tomatoes from my garden. These are Roma tomatoes, which happen to be some of my favorite tomatoes. And we have fresh basil, also from my garden. And most importantly, we have a very high quality balsamic vinegar. Now, this is one of those times when you simply must buy the very best mid-quality balsamic vinegar [hey, don't blame me, it used to be much simpler: just pick a 25 year old balsamic vinager and you were done, but now the industry has done away with the age designations, so good luck in figuring out what you are looking for. And expect to spend much time standing in front of the balsamic vinegar display at your local store, frowning. Trust me, you will be. Write your congressman, write your somebody, and complain!] (and expect to pay $15 to $25 for a bottle). But, rest assured that this is a wise investment, as you will only need a little of this ingredient for finishing sauces, such as this. I also highly recommend a good quality extra-virgin olive oil for this dish. Believe me, your efforts (and money) will be rewarded. And lastly, you need a nice, aged Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Sigh, once again, quality matters in a dish such as this. Please, get the good stuff. Or make this once with the ordinary stuff and then immediately with the good stuff and you will understand. Trust me on this: with home-grown tomatoes and basil, the good balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil and Parmegiano-Reggiano cheese and you will be in heaven.

The tomatoes.

Chiffenade the basil. Roll lengthwise into a tight tube and thinly slice.

See how pretty it is?

Shave Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese over the top.

Other equally acceptable choices are a good quality (notice a trend here?) fresh mozzarella or a nice provolone cheese.

Drizzle the balsamic vinegar.

And finish with the extra-virgin olive oil.

Now, aren't you glad you went the extra mile for your very deserving family?

The final plating. Insalata Caprese, pork loin and canned creamed corn with butter. Chow and ciao.

Oh, and if you were wondering, the yellow pool by the pork loin is a quick mixture of one part yellow mustard to one part honey. A natural companion to pork. Trust me already.

Art in the Kitchen

I have to admit to a fatal flaw. Now, come on. Admit it. You didn't think I had any, did you?

Hmph, well, okay. So I might have one or... twenty-something or another...

Anyway. I love art and I love art that I can incorporate into everyday life. If you are an alert, faithful reader, you just might recognise a few of these pieces from my previous posts.

I just love this bowl from this artist. So much so that I bought it "twice". Be patient. You'll see later what I mean.

Unfortunately, I forget this artist's name. I will make the trip over to Nashville, IN later this year to find out for you, though, as I have several of his pieces.

I bought this at a pottery shop in Hannibal, Missouri in 2001. I frequently use this bowl for salads and such, when this bowl isn't being just another pretty piece in my kitchen.

And yet another piece from my favorite local (danged if I don't know who he is - but I know his work anywhere) artist. Please forgive me, kind sir.

He must really hate me about now. This is from the same collection. This happens to be a very nice spoon rest. It's almost too pretty to use, isn't it?

Er, yes. And this fine bowl has the dubious honor of being used as a ring holder in the kitchen.

And this was the piece that started it all so many years ago. I bought this fanciful gravy boat (which may have actually have been used as an actual gravy boat once in its illustrious career) several years ago. It's main purpose in life now seems to be to hold water bottle caps and lids. The poor thing.

Do you know how hard it is to find a really good utensil holder? And then for that utensil holder to really look good? I think I scored rather spectacularly here, thank you very much. And the fact that the thing was decorated with grapes just happened to be the icing on the cake, or whatever. Yes, my kitchen ended up with a grapes motif. It wasn't my fault. I didn't plan it. It just happened. How do these things happen?

This is one of my newer finds. Yet another local artist crafted this beauty. And if some pieces happen to cost a bit more, then by all means, put them aside for a Christmas present or for some other important occasion.

And we are back to my favorite local artist. Go back a few pictures and you will see that this is very similar to one of my earlier bowls I bought from this artist. So similar and yet so different. That is just one of the many things I love about hand crafted items.

I urge you to seek out local crafts persons and to augment your collections with some special items. You may not use them every day or even ever, but if you can, indulge and enjoy.

A Walk in the Daylily Fields

Our Master Gardener group had the opportunity to tour a nearby private garden filled with daylilies. How many, you ask? Even the owners aren't sure, but the number 3,000 did come up at one point. The owner started with just a few daylilies ten years ago and began to cross-pollinate some and save the seeds from those plants. The owners have never bothered to try to name any of these new varieties and apparently they only do this for the love of daylilies. Daylilies are of the genus Hemerocallis. As the name suggests, each bloom lasts for only one day.

Now, given that we were out in the middle of nowhere, according to my cell phone (despite the promise of more bars in more places tm), there was nothing to do but to wander about the huge beds of daylilies and admire the subtle differences between the blooms.

So walk along with me and enjoy. And lucky you - you don't have to swat at the bugs or sweat in the sun.

Now you must understand: no one picture could possibly convey the sheer size of this place. I had to risk life and limb to climb a hill just so I could get this photo for you. The lengths I go to for my faithful readers...

These beds go on forever (or at least to the edge of the property).

If you are missing any hummingbirds, they are hanging out around these many feeders. The owners can sit on their front porch and watch the little creatures flit around in search of food.

Believe it or not, this is one of the smaller beds.

Now, on to some of the individual flowers.

Can you tell that I love pink flowers?

Oh wait, here are some other colors.

While my fellow Master Gardeners picked out plants to purchase and take home, I contented myself with leaving with just photographs. I had no desire to bring home more deer food. And unless I also wanted to take home the owners' ten foot tall electrified deer fence (oh, my neighbors would love that - not!), that is exactly what would happen to the flowers.

Oh well, at least these photographs will always be beautiful.

Fun with Flowers

I have been practicing taking close-up pictures of my flowers. Want to see?

Echinacea Purpurea, or Purple Coneflower. This is a hardy native perennial.

Butterflies and bees love these flowers.

Cleome, or Spider Flower. This is a self-seeding annual.

Well, what do you know? The deer seem to have missed eating these Asiatic lilies. Darned deer.

Buddleia Davidii, or Butterfly Bush. These herbaceous perennial bushes die back to the ground in colder climates.

Dill weed in bloom above Canna leaves.

And more Echinacea in bloom.

A Special Thursday Dinner

I had a special dinner planned for my husband this evening as our daughter is eating out with a friend. Won't he be surprised?

First, the Twice-Baked Potatoes. I cleaned and poked steam holes in two nice sized Yukon Gold potatoes. The potatoes are already cooked in this picture. I also clipped some chives and parsley from my deck pots. I set aside 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter, some light sour cream, salt and pepper for later.

I cooked the potatoes in the microwave until they were cooked through. Carefully cut in half, lengthwise. Remember, there is a reason the children's game is called "Hot Potato".

Use a spoon to cut all the way around the potato half, leaving enough potato for a strong shell. Scoop the inner part out and place in a bowl.

Arrange the potato shells on a baking sheet and set aside. Mash the potatoes that had been scooped out and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted and season with salt and pepper. Add the chopped chives and mix in the sour cream. Add enough sour cream to make a nice, creamy filling.

At this point the filling is ready to go into the shells.

I decided to add shredded cheddar cheese to the tops of the potatoes. Chopped fresh parsley is then added to the Twice-Baked Potatoes before baking.

Here are the ingredients for the sauteed mushrooms.

I have 10 crimini mushrooms, some shallot, unsalted butter, the remaining chopped chives and parsley, white wine, salt, pepper, and vegetable stock.

After wiping the mushrooms with a dry paper towel to remove any debris, I slice them. An egg slicer can be used to get even slices. As it was, the mushrooms didn't want to be cut this way, so I sliced them with my chef's knife.

I ended up cutting about 1/8th of the shallot for this dish. I also opted to use just 1 tablespoon of the butter.

And here we have the stars of tonight's dinner. Two beef filet mignons. Sam's Club had a special on sliced beef tenderloin, so I bought a package of four. Upon arriving at home, I formed each into a round and wrapped bacon around each. I secured the ends with a toothpick and then froze them in packages of two.

Season liberally with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Meanwhile, heat some olive oil in a pan over medium high heat.

Sear on each side and then turn on edge so that the bacon can cook through. After all, no one wants raw bacon. Take care to not overcook as filet mignon is best eaten rare. This means the center will be red and cool.

Remove to a heat-proof plate and place in a warm oven.

Meanwhile, add more olive oil the butter and saute the sliced mushrooms. Once browned, add the sliced shallot and season with salt and pepper. Do not add salt to mushrooms until after they are browned as the salt will prevent proper browning. Add about 1/4 cup vegetable stock and a splash of white wine. Simmer until the liquid reduces. Add the chives and parsley.

Add about 1/4 cup vegetable stock and a splash of wine. Simmer until the liquid reduces. Add the chives and parsley at this point.

And now we plate.

Well, I'm ready to dig in now. The steaks were succulent and melted like butter in the mouth. I think I outdid myself with this dinner.