OMG

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

 Saturday was just a fantastic day.  My first hummingbird appeared at the feeder, which hopefully means we're going to finally see Spring here! But the best part of the day was my adopted nephew's 1st Holy Communion.  He looked just like he stepped out of GQ and it's probably the first and last time I'll see him looking angelic.  There were over 100 children receiving communion in his service and probably another hundred in the afternoon.  With all the friends and relatives in attendance it was standing room only and I'm sure the crowd put a dent in the wine budget.

I don't know when I've been to a better party.  I really don't think I have.  There were plenty of appetizers, a special Mai Tai, every booze you could imagine, kegged beer and especially for the communion boy, root beer on tap.  Not to mention the company and our fantastic hosts.  But the show stopper was the food truck- Chicago Pizza Boss.  I am not related, I only wish I was.  Obviously, they do pizza but this isn't your run of the mill stuff.  Margarita, Parmesan Basil Meatball, Tri-Color, Fig and Prosciutto, hot dog, and five cheese are just some of their offerings.  However, my absolute favorite was the pesto pizza.  My search is over for the perfect pesto pizza on exquisite crust. Their 24 hour proofed artisan dough is the perfect base for whatever is put on top.  In addition to pizzas they have deep fried ravioli, arancini (deep fried stuffed rice balls), meatball sandwiches, caprese salads, garlic fries that can be dredged in a variety of cheeses and dessert.   If I hadn't stuffed myself with pesto I might have tried their Scrappy Cocoa which is deep fried Nutella and smoked bacon wrapped in pizza dough.

All of this is made with love and it shows.  The couple responsible for all this are wonderful people, outgoing and gracious.  Giusseppe and Antonella Badalamente have a great pride in their food and it's reflected.  Check out the Chicago Pizza Boss.  It's well worth the trip.

Now on to my appetizer. When you view any cooking show there are at least two mandatory rules.

First is taste your dish and the second is never make a recipe for the first time to un-expecting diners.  Well I threw both of these out the window with this one.  First, I had never made this recipe before and I was taking it to a large party of food afficiandos.  After looking over the ingredients I thought "how could this turn out badly."  Second, I didn't taste it.  That's right, not one bite.  I love shrimp, in shrimp scampi, de johnge, diablo, fried, in other words, hot.  I don't like cold shrimp or cocktail shrimp.  I could say I cheated and had my husband taste it but that's not a true indication.  He did try it and said it was "Okay."  Now that could mean either it was great or just pallitable.  

Hod did it work out?  I never, but never, had such rave reviews or recipe requests for anything I had ever made before.  Even the food servers put in a request.  One comment was that the shrimp were as addictive as crack.  I'm letting that one slide but you get my drift.

It never hurts to go with your gut even if it hasn't tasted it yet.

 Bloody Mary Shrimp

Ingredients

• 2 pounds of peeled and deveined shrimp
• 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to taste
• Olive oil to coat bottom of skillet
• 2 shots of citrus vodka
• Juice and zest of 1 lemon
• 1 celery stalk (rib), chopped
• 4 large garlic cloves, chopped
• 1/2 cup of chopped Vidalia, or other sweet onion
• 1 cup of chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon of hot sauce
• 2 teaspoons of horseradish
• 1 tablespoon of chopped fresh parsley
• 1 teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (like Slap Ya Mama), or to tastePinch of granulated sugar
• Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

Instructions

Pat the shrimp dry with paper towels and sprinkle with the Cajun seasoning. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat, add shrimp and saute just until pink, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a glass bowl with the pan juices to cool. Add the vodka, lemon juice and lemon zest to the shrimp. Let sit for 15 minutes.

In a separate bowl, mix the chopped celery, onion and garlic, with the chili sauce, hot sauce, horseradish, parsley, Cajun seasoning, and sugar. Add the shrimp, mix and taste; season with salt and pepper and adjust other seasonings as desired. 

Transfer to two quart sized Mason jars, seal and refrigerate 24 hours. Spoon onto crackers, serve in a shooter glass, or on a bed of shredded lettuce in a martini glass.

 

 

Notes:  I doubled this recipe for a party of about 35 people.  There was none left over.  I didn't have Slap Ya Mama so I substituted Emeril's but to tell the truth it would have been great with just some paprika.

ARRGGHHH

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

 

Well I have made it through the tax weekend from hell---broken printer, buy new printer, defective new ink cartridge, buy another ink cartridge---you get the idea.  It was a nothing is going right and on top of that I have to deal with the tax man kind of weekend.  I think cranky would be an understatement and my husband could smell trouble from a mile away.  He gently suggested we go out for dinner.  I think he may have felt that at the rate things were going for me, the oven might explode.  He took me to "Claim Jumpers" where I thoroughly enjoyed my Parmesan crusted shrimp with lemon pasta and the two Stoli's that helped greatly in improving my mood.

Today is another day and it's an interesting one.  So far we've had over 9 inches of rain here and it's going to keep coming.  Expressways are closed, viaducts flooded, cars floating, houses literally under water, and a lot of commuters in the position that "you can't get there from here."  On the Eisenhower expressway a guy pulled over in his food truck and opened it up for business.  Not a bad idea as no one was going anywhere for hours and hours.

Happily, knock on wood, our house is still dry although the sump pump may burn out because it has been running for ten hours straight.  The end of our block is flooded so I'm thinking it's not a good day to venture out.  That being said, today was to be shopping day and I'm running low of milk and out of bread.  Certainly not tragedies but it does make me nervous.  What if I just have to have a sandwich or a bowl of cereal?  And, of course that is what I'll be craving because I can't have it.

Today just screams "soup day."  And one of my favorites is tomato.  However, that brings me back to the bread issue as it is probably against the law to have tomato soup without a grilled cheese sandwich.  Ask anyone. Aha, but I do have English muffins, so here's what I'm going to do.  I'm going to toast my English muffins, and then put them on a baking sheet, spread a little butter on the muffins, top with any cheese I have lying around and throw them under the broiler until the cheese begins to melt.  A "crispy grilled cheese."

And here's the soup to go along with it...

Tomato Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 cup chopped carrot

1/4 cup chopped celery

2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes

 3 1/2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

4 drops hot pepper sauce

 Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Saute onion and garlic until onion is tender,

Add carrot and celery; cook 7 to 9 minutes until tender, stirring frequently. Stir in tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce, salt, thyme, pepper and hot pepper sauce. Reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring frequently.

Easter Monday

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

 

Yesterday was Easter Sunday so now we are thoroughly stuffed with any food that we had given up for Lent.  It actually seems to me that on Easter you more than make up for whatever you deprived yourself of. for forty days.  Then there are all the sweets that called to you from your child's Easter basket.  How much fun is it to bite off the ears from those chocolate bunnies?  I think Easter is more about food than even Thanksgiving and that's saying something.

I feel like I have a food hangover and it's been 24 hours since the feasting began.  I wouldn't have a food hangover if I hadn't found it necessary to sample all of the appetizers and the five courses.  And I do mean sample.  If I had had what people consider serving sizes of all this food I would be in the hospital in a food induced coma.

Everyone knows of this great indulgence at Easter and as a result the amount of food that is prepared is overinflated as the host or hostess lives in fear that something might run out.  What could be more embarrassing than having an empty serving plate?  Better to have 50 pounds of leftovers.  

 

There also happened to be a well stocked bar, with delicious Sangria, vodka, wine, Jack Daniel's, beer and a great punch for the kids.  My niece wanted to play bartender and my husband was more than happy to teach her how to make "three fingers of Jack Daniel's."  I can't wait to hear about how well that went over in school,

 

Oh, did I forget to mention the sweet table?  You can't imagine a sweet that wasn't there.  The table was actually groaning from the weight.  Cheesecake, cookies, Easter pie, pineapple upside down cake, turtles, peeps, and white and chocolate cake frosted chicks.   There had to be 4 million calories sitting there.

As we were getting ready to leave my friend's son told me there rally wasn't that much left over.  I told him that was because he gave everyone a 12 pound bag of food to take home.

In case you still have some leftovers

Ham Salad

2 cups mayonnaise

1 cup pickle relish ( I use 1/2 dill and 1/2 sweet)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

2 pounds ham diced

1 small bell pepper diced (color of your choice)

2 stalks celery diced

salt to taste (be careful as the ham is salty)

2 hard boiled eggs diced.

Mix together and serve on your favorite bread.

And for all those hard boiled eggs you have colored that  are now sitting around with nothing to do

Egg Salad

8 hard boiled eggs chopped

1/2 cup mayonnaise

1 teaspoon yellow mustard (or if you like it with a little kick 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder)

2 Tablespoons chopped green onion

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Optional :  Capers and/or chopped green olives

 

And you can add a can of tuna and call it tuna salad.

Mix together and serve on your favorite bread.

Oh Maggie

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

 

I have a cat named Magpie.  To all her friends she's known as Maggie.  I have had four cats in my life and I know that Maggie in a previous life was a dog.  I know this because she comes when you call her, she's incredibly needy, she understands hand signals and she "talks."  I have had both dogs and cats and Maggie isn't your typical cat. but she may be your typical dog

Now this story isn't entirely about my cat ,although, I think she deserves her own book, it's about what is O.K. to eat.  I am not of the persuasion that people food is OK for pets.  Actually, I frown on it.  My Mother and my Husband always felt it was just fine to feed the critters from the table.  Guess who was the only one that didn't get begged from.  

But when I'm at the counter and my cat who thinks she is a dog starts crawling up my leg while I'm chopping an onion and screams at me, I might give in---just a little.  Do I give her the onion? No, that would be just another mess I'd have to clean up from the floor.  But I will admit to this, I have given her minuscule pieces of shrimp, lamb and beef.  Did she eat them?   Oh no, you would have thought I gave her rat poison.  What did she eat today?  A piece of newspaper.  I'm sure I'll hear the retching later.

Now everyone in their right mind is thinking who would pass up shrimp for part of the editorial column as a snack.  Well I think that this relates to what we are programmed to accept as edible.  Maggie's mom or peers never told her that newspaper didn't fall into the food pyramid, now the food circle.  

We all have differing opinions on what is acceptable to ingest and much of it is based on the "ich" factor.   The "ich" factor isn't the same for all people.  I have eaten Haggis and I liked it.  Many declined to even taste it based on their "ich" factor---that it contained various sheep parts, suet, oatmeal, stock and was cooked in the sheep's stomach.  My Mom was one who declined the offer.  This was the same woman that made me eat calves liver.

I have also thoroughly enjoyed kidney stew and blood sausage.  They aren't the grossest things out there but to some people I am not entitled to write about food because they feel some of the things I eat don't qualify as edible.  But I'm telling you don't knock it until you've tried it unless of course it's the New York Times.

I am not giving you a recipe with an "ich" factor.  You just wouldn't make it.  It is possible to "ich" this up by ruining it with a slather of orange, cherry or apricot sauce, just don't do it.

Roasted Duck

1 Pound Golden potatoes halved or quartered dependent on size

1 5 lb. duck

2 teaspoons salt

2 teaspoons parika

1 teaspoon black pepper

Pre heat oven to 375

Put potatoes in bottom of roasting pan.  Mix seasonings together and rub all over duck.  Set duck on top of potatoes.  After one hour baste with accumulated fat..After 45 minutes, baste again and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.

This is great with sweet sour cabbage.

Dueling Spoons

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

When my husband and I got married we rented an apartment that was very close to my Mom's house so we often had dinners together.  This is not to say we cooked together.  About the only thing that we allowed to be done for one another was the setting of the table.  My Mom and I were great friends until it was time to cook.  I didn't stir the pot correctly.  She didn't chop the vegetables the way I did.  "Don't use that knife."  "You're putting in too much salt."  "That isn't brown enough."  And finally, either of us at some point, speaking in a very loud voice, "just let me do it!"

We enjoyed each others company, food and drink but not sharing the kitchen.  I think that actually quite a few cooks get territorial when it comes to their kitchens.  A friend of mine won't allow anyone behind her counter.  I'll step back there just to make her insane.  But I'd never, ever offer to help her cook.  I know better.

Happily, when my Mom and my husband and I combined our living arrangements it was in the spirit of togetherness and yet maintaining our privacy.  We bought a two flat.  She had her kitchen and I had mine.  She could "tsk" all she wanted while I cooked and I had the same luxury when she was the chef.  But I didn't stir her pots and she didn't stir mine, if you know what I mean.

One of the things we enjoyed was our soup and bread night.  We did this once a week and either she or I would make the soup and the other would make the bread.  As a rule, I generally did better in the bread department and she did better with the soups.  

But there was one glorious, mark it on the calendar day when I heard "this soup is best one yet."  I made sure the next day that I actually heard it correctly, that I wasn't dreaming.  My husband confirmed it.  I had made the best soup .  I was ready to call off all future soup making.  I wanted to embroider that and hang it up in my kitchen and point to it the next time I was tsked in the kitchen.

 

Do I think this is the all time best soup recipe?  It doesn't matter, my Mom did.

Peanut Soup

 

 

2 ribs celery, chopped  

1 small onion, chopped

1 stick (4 ounces) butter

3 tablespoons flour

2 quarts chicken broth, heated

2 cups peanut butter

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 teaspoon salt

1/3 teaspoon celery salt

1 cup ground peanuts

Sauté the celery and onion in the butter in a large saucepan or Dutch oven for 5 minutes. Add the flour, stirring until blended. Stir in the hot chicken broth. Cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Strain, discarding the solids. Return the liquid to the saucepan. Stir in the peanut butter, lemon juice, salt, and celery salt. Cook just until heated through, stirring frequently. Ladle into soup bowls. Sprinkle with ground peanuts. Makes about 2 1/2 quarts.

 

 

 

  

Bits of info

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

 

I have been cooking for over 40 years.  I can't begin to imagine how many meals that amounts to or how many groceries have passed through my various kitchens.  When you do the same thing repeatedly you're bound to pick up a thing or two, or as Heloise likes to call them, Helpful Hints.  I hope at least a couple of these are new and helpful.  They sure were to me when I finally figured them out.

 

Fresh mozzarella can be very difficult to slice.  Put it into the freezer for 15 minutes and then use your egg slicer to slice it up.

 

Save your Parmesan rinds in the freezer.  Throw one into your next stew or soup recipe.

 

Never, ever, ever use bottled lemon or lime juice.  When citrus is on sale buy a few and zest and juice.  The zest can be stored in a freezer bag.  I have a plastic ice cube tray that I marked with a permanent marker for a one tablespoon measure.  After the cubes are frozen, remove and store in a freezer bag.  I also do this with oranges.  If  I happen to want to eat the orange, I zest it first.

If you're storing a tomato based product in a plastic (think Tupperware) bowl, try lightly wiping with olive or vegetable oil to avoid the annoying red stain that never comes out.

When measuring honey or peanut butter, lightly coat the measuring tool with a little vegetable oil to make dispensing easier.  Also do the same with a spatula when stirring a sticky dough.

I do not own a rolling pin.  Instead I use a 2 liter bottle filled with ice water.  It rolls just fine and keeps the dough from getting too warm.

There are lots of tips for returning rock hard brown sugar to it's original consistency (15 seconds in the microwave).  Better still, prevent this in the first place by keeping your brown sugar in the freezer.  It doesn't take long to thaw and keeps it lump free forever.

When you add raw onions to a dish it can sometimes be too overpowering and sometimes create indigestion.  Put the onions in a col lander and pour a little boiling water over the onions.  Drain and pat dry.  It tames the onions.

 

Don't have a fat separator?  Allow the liquid to come to room temperature.  Fill a zip lock freezer bag.  After fat floats to top, snip a small hole in the bottom of the bag and controlling the flow with your hand, stop when the fat gets to the bottom.

 

Hate curling pork chops?  Cut slits, 2 inches apart through the fat and connecting tissue.

 

The best way to cook bacon is in the oven.  Preheat to 375, place bacon on a cooling rack set inside a rimmed cookie sheet.  Bake for 15-18 minutes.  Bacon comes out perfect every time and there isn't grease spattered all over your kitchen.

 

If you insist on frying your bacon and you don't want it to curl, dip the slices in cold water before frying.

 

Are your eggs still fresh?  I have noticed that eggs keep well beyond the date stamped on the carton, so how to tell?  Put the raw egg into a bowl of water, if it floats, throw it out.  If one end is upright, it is getting old and should be used soon.  If the egg doesn't float, it is fresh.

 

A damp paper towel brushed downward on an ear of corn removes all the silk.

 

I am not good at separating eggs so I use a funnel.  The white runs through and the yolk stays in the funnel.

 

When you have a million dishes to make (think Thanksgiving) there is one thing you can safely do ahead.  Make your favorite mashed potatoes.  Once finished, put the pan inside a larger bowl that has one inch of water that has been brought to a boil.  Reduce heat to low, cover the pan and your potatoes will keep for hours.  Keep an eye on the water, adding more if necessary.

 

Charcoal works better than baking soda in removing refrigerator odors.  

 

This tip is for the leftover pork butt, slice it up, warm it up, put it one a Kaiser roll with some horseradish.  Um, Um good!

 

Roast Pork Butt

 

 salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder to taste

6 pounds pork butt roast

2 onion, sliced

20 new potatoes, raw

16 carrots, peeled

2 cups mushrooms, halved

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Heat a large frying pan over medium high heat. Sprinkle pork on all sides with salt, pepper and garlic powder; rub into meat. Sear the meat on all sides until lightly brown. Transfer to a roasting pan. Place onion slices over meat and in the roasting pan. Fill the pan 2/3 full of water. Cover and place in preheated oven for 3 hours. Add the potatoes and carrots; cover and cook 45 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook another 15 minutes. Remove and let stand at least 10 minutes before serving.

 

 

Really?!

 

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

  

 

This certainly won't come as any big surprise; I enjoy watching cooking and food shows.  I try to figure out what I would do with the basket mystery ingredients on "Chopped."  By the time I've come up with a recipe the chefs have already served the dish.  I like a lot of Rachael Rays shows.  I do think she cheats a bit with her "30 Minute Meals" as she has so many things already prepped.  Paula Deen  is probably one of my favorites.  Like her, I do not take good recipes and wreck them with low cal, no fat ingredients. 

What I am not a big fan of is reality TV.  Last week I watched "Worst Cooks in America"  where chefs Anne Burrell and Bobby Flay select teams from the worst cooks and, ultimately, turn them into gourmet cooks.  The premise isn't bad.  The reality is, because it isn't based on reality.  Anyone can pretend to be a bad cook.  I can make my macaroni and cheese with grape Kool Aid and it would be pretty awful.  I would expect that a chef or a TV show producer would realize that it was a scam.  

Here is what I was expected to believe---one cook thought a quarter cup was anything the size of a quarter.  I guess for a 1/4 cup of water she'd have to use an eyedropper to accurately place the water on the quarter.  Then there was the cook who didn't know that you peeled onions before you chopped them.  Another thought an asparagus spear was an artichoke,  One cook didn't know about washing his hands.  Come on, the kindergarteners know better.  But I have saved the absolute best for last, this cooks secret ingredient was, are you ready, dog food!

How is it possible that these people even know about the TV show as they have obviously never watched the Food Network?   Are they even capable of operating the remote?  Can these cooks read? And, why oh why, if  they really cooked food that poorly , wouldn't they buy prepared foods that you throw in the microwave?  Oh, I know, because then we wouldn't have this TV show.

And one of these horrible cooks will end up wowing everyone at the end of the season with their culinary skills, their sublime use of seasonings and impress a Gourmet Magazine restaurant reviewer with their expertise in creating a menu that is flawless.  And all of this is just eight weeks.

If this is reality, I am Julia Child.

Chicken Stew

3 lb rotisserie chicken

2 Tablespoons butter

1 onion diced

2 ribs celery sliced thin

2 Tablespoons flour

2- 14.5 ounce cans chicken broth

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

3/4 pound red potatoes, diced

2 cups frozen mixed vegetables

1 1/2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 Tablespoons butter

3/4 cup milk

2 Tablespoons dried dill

De-bone chicken and cut into chunks or shred. Set aside.Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large Dutch oven over medium heat; cook and stir onion and celery until soft, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle in 2 tablespoons flour and whisk continuously to make a thick roux, about 2 minutes. Slowly pour in chicken broth, whisking to remove any lumps. Add 1 teaspoon salt, black pepper, basil, thyme, potatoes, and mixed vegetable. Cover and cook the stew over medium heat until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in chicken meat and continue to simmer.  Meanwhile, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large bowl; cut in 3 tablespoons butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and dill. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls of dough into the simmering stew. Cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Cover and cook until the dumplings are tender, 8 to 10 minutes more.