Dining Out

• 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 friend that will need smelling salts when she reads the next sentence.  In the last three months my husband and I have only dined at a restaurant three times.  Actually that's a little more than average...usually it is three times in four months.  I like to cook and it is always to my liking when I do it myself.  I always prefer doing family and friend gatherings at home.  There is no waiter prancing about waiting for you to leave.  If you want to linger over dessert and coffee for two hours, nobody cares.  You can be as loud or as silly as you want.  I just really love dining at home.  Tonight, however, it will just be my husband and I and we'll be celebrating a private anniversary.  Because  it will just be the two of us and I'd like to have dinner without him reading the paper, we are going to dine out.  But there are issues with restaurants that I'd like to get off my chest.

1)  I know the Chef thinks that the food is perfectly seasoned but don't make me have to ask for a salt and pepper shaker.  His taste might not be the same as mine.

2)  Give me a complete set of silverware.  I know you think I might not need a spoon but when I'm in the restaurant that charges me an extra 50 cents to have my drink on the rocks, I need that spoon to fish the ice out of my ice water that is free.

3)  Do not remove anyone's plate before all have finished.  This is just so rude I can't even begin to explain.  I can't imagine having folks over for dinner and removing plates while someone is still eating.

 

4)  When the waiter/waitress picks up the check with the your cash inside, don't ask me if I need change.  I'll let you know if you can keep the leftovers.  I paid a $30.00 bill with $100.00 and the waitress asked me if I needed change!  No, I'm going to give you a $70.00 tip, are you crazy?

 

5)  Do not always assume that the guy is picking up the check.  This has driven me nuts in more cases than I care to remember.  I do have to admit that I loved it when my husband told the waitress "give it to her, she's the one with the money."    I have been treating male associates  and it  was  not comfortable when I had to fight for the check.

Now, to be fair, there are a couple things a few restaurants get right.   

1) A white napkin when you are wearing white and a black napkin when you are in dark colors.  I can't tell you how many times I have left a restaurant with the contrasting lint on my lap.

2)  When you call to make a reservation and they ask if it is a special occasion.  Morton's is wonderful for this.  You'll have a special menu and a picture to capture the special day.

3)  Allowing, or even encouraging, the sharing of plates without an extra charge.  I love it when a waiter/waitress tells me "you may want to share as the portions are quite large," and there is no attitude that you're being cheap.

Now, I don't know where we're going to dine tonight but I do know it won't be at my all time favorite restaurant because we need airline tickets to New York.  That would be Peter Luger's.  Give me their steak, sliced tomato with Peter Luger sauce, creamed spinach and the only fried potatoes I would ever have with a steak, and I'll be in heaven.  I won't be going there tonight but I bet my baby brother will take me there when I visit him in the fall.  Til then:

I'll grab a porterhouse steak.  Throw it on the grill ( blazing hot) sear on both sides.  Move to a cool zone to finish.  Partially thaw some Stouffer's spinach souffle, add some pepper jack cheese, complete cooking.  Slice up some tomatoes, top with some balsamic dressing.  Skip the potatoes and imagine I'm at Peter Luger's.

Return to Normal

• 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

 
  

 

We have returned from the parallel universe where I was making desserts.  All is right with the world and I have been asked to bring appetizers to a Memorial Day barbecue.  You can have the greatest appetizer anyone has ever tasted but the trick is getting them to taste it.  For this you must know your crowd.  It just so happens I know this crowd very well and it presents some challenges.  These are the dislikes, some of them shared, some of them singular to one person:  cream cheese and sour cream (there go the dips), spinach, mushrooms, ricotta, herring (there goes the herring salad )and spicy (no buffalo wings).  This may seem to be impossible but with some forethought it can be done.  I've made whole dinners for this very same group of friends.

Everyone likes cheese (except for the ricotta)  and I have discovered the most remarkable cheese selection at Pete's Fresh Market in Oak Brook Terrace.  You name it, they have it and the staff are most helpful when you're not sure about a particular cheese.  So I'll buy some different types and make up a nice cheese plate. It doesn't count as a recipe but they will taste it.

Next up is an appetizer that I don't think anyone has ever not liked.  It is Candied Bacon.  To make it you need 1# of thick bacon, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard and  1/2 cup of brown sugar.

Preheat the oven to 300.  Place a rack inside a baking sheet lined with foil .  Place bacon on rack and bake for 30 minutes.  Mix the mustard and brown sugar.  When pan has cooled remove foil with bacon grease.  Re-line pan with foil and place the rack with bacon back on the pan.  Distribute the mustard, brown sugar mix on bacon by hand.  Return to oven and bake for another 20-30 minutes.   And if you like bacon and eggs you could whip up some deviled eggs to along with this.  The bite from the deviled eggs and the sweetness of the bacon work well together.

Another crowd pleaser is simply cutting up some cantaloupe and wrapping the slices with prosciutto.  Here is one that goes pretty fast at parties.  Slice a baguette or small loaf of french bread, top with slices of  Havarti  or Gruyere and sprinkle with seasoned salt.  I use Aunt Jane's Krazy.  Stick under the broiler until cheese begins to melt.  

My next invite is for Father's Day and this is a different crowd.  They like spicy and they like cream cheese so for that party I just might make

Buffalo Chicken Dip

8 ounces cream cheese softened

1/2 cup crumbled  Blue cheese 

1/2 cup Frank's Red Hot Sauce (see note)

1/2 cup Blue cheese dressing

1/2 cup shredded mozzarella

2 12.5 ounces canned chicken drained

Preheat oven to 350.  Mix all ingredients in oven safe dish.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Stir before serving.

Note:  This recipe comes out just right with the measurement for hot sauce if you use Frank's.  If you choose another hot sauce please be aware you may have to adjust the amount.

Just Desserts

 
  

• 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 am not a dessert person.  Give me appetizers, meats, pastas, salads and I'm a happy camper.  My idea of dessert is a chocolate martini.  Because I am not crazy for sweets I am often not asked to bring them to dinners.  You see, people are reluctant to eat food that the cook won't eat.  I am also not very good at desserts.  For a combination Cinco De Mayo/Kentucky Derby party I attempted a Derby Pie.  It turned into more of a Derby pudding.  It was good but it wasn't pie.  So imagine my surprise when I have been asked not once but twice in the last two months to bring dessert.

The first was for my friends who had invited us for dinner.   I looked at all the dessert recipes and decided this was one I couldn't screw up and so easy that it's almost embarrassing to call it a recipe.

Creamsicle Pie

 You go to the store and buy a pre-made graham cracker crust, a pint of vanilla ice cream, a pint of orange sherbert, some Cool Whip, and a small can of mandarin oranges.   You soften the vanilla ice cream and put it in the pie shell, then you top that with the orange sherbert and top the orange sherbert with frozen Cool Whip.  Sprinkle on some mandarin oranges, pop it in the freezer for a couple hours and you're good to go. Take it out about ten minutes before serving.  This really does taste like a Creamsicle.  You can skip the crust if you want and just spoon into custard cups.  I'm thinking of trying a frozen Almond Joy version with chocolate almond ice cream, coconut sherbert, and sprinkling  almonds and chocolate shavings on top.  Maybe an Oreo crust for that one.

My second request came with an invite to my friend's Mother's Day celebration.  I was asked to make brownies for the kids.  That is easy enough,  you go to the store buy quality brownie mixes, add the ingredients and bake them like the instructions tell you to.  Just be careful you don't over bake them.  Since this was ridiculously easy and not a recipe I felt guilty.  So I whipped up an adult dessert more to my idea of what dessert should be.

Prosecco Jello Shots

• 2 cups (9 ounces) fresh raspberries
  
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, divided
• 1 750-ml chilled bottle Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine), divided
• 3 1/2 teaspoons unflavored gelatin (measured from two 1/4-ounce envelopes)

• Place raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a medium bowl; toss gently to combine. Let stand at room temperature until raspberries release their juices, tossing occasionally, 20-30 minutes.
• Place 1/2 cup Prosecco in a small bowl. Sprinkle gelatin over and let stand 5 minutes to soften. Bring 1 cup Prosecco to a boil with remaining 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat; add gelatin mixture and stir until dissolved.
• Transfer gelatin mixture to a large pitcher. Add raspberries with juices, remaining Prosecco, and  remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice, stirring to dissolve any sugar.
• Using a slotted spoon, divide raspberries equally among coupe glasses or other small wide, shallow glasses or cups. Divide Prosecco mixture equally among glasses, about 3/4 cup per glass. Chill until firm, about 3 hours. Can be made up to 2 days ahead. Cover and keep chilled.
  
  Instead of putting this into shallow glasses or cups I bought plastic shot glasses and served them individually.  This will make about 30-35 shots dependent upon the size shot glasses you buy.  
  
  
  
  
  Now I'm afraid I'll get asked for more dessert contributions and I think that will be pushing the envelope.
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
  

Guilty Pleasures

• 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

 
  

 

In most cases I prefer home made food to fast food or some restaurant food.  But we all have our guilty secret pleasures.  In the restaurant category there is one that stands out above the rest and it's Carson's Au Gratin potatoes.  Many of the Carson's restaurants have closed and Boston Blackie's which also served them has closed too.  I can't begin to describe how wonderfully cheesy these potatoes were and the texture was divine.  Unlike some au gratin recipes, the potatoes weren't sliced, they were cubed.  I have been tinkering with recreating this recipe for the last six months and when I think that it is as close as I can get I'll post it for you and you can see what I mean.

My fast food guilty pleasure- Jack in the Box tacos and I'm not the only one.  I used to deliver these for friends when I was lucky enough to have a Jack in the Box one half mile from my house.  All the Jack in the Box restaurants in my neck of the woods have closed.  The closest one to me now is 4 1/2 hours away and I am seriously considering planning my next vacation based on this location.  They are definitely not your Mexican restaurant tacos.  They're greasy, mushy, with American cheese and chopped lettuce with a mild sauce.  In other words wonderful. 

Before I started this post I did an internet search to see if I could come up with clones for these recipes.  When I entered the search for Jack in the Box tacos I saw that a few recipes had been removed due to the "U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act."  I guess someone got really close to the true recipe.   I'm going to be doing a post about recipe copyright and patents soon.  Some recipes remained so I can only assume that they're missing something from the original recipe.

I am printing one of those recipes here and hope that the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act doesn't come looking for me.  Warning: I haven't tried this recipe yet but when I do I'll let you know if it comes close.

Jack-In-The-Box Tacos

1 Pound Ground beef
1/3 Cup Refried beans
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Chili powder
1/4 Cup Ortega Taco Sauce -- Mild
12 Each Soft corn tortillas
3 Cups Cooking oil
6 Slices American cheese (each cut in half)
1 Head Lettuce -- chopped fine

Slowly brown the beef over low heat, using a wooden spoon to chop
and stir the meat, keeping it very fine and smooth. When the beef is
brown drain the fat. Add the refried beans and use the wooden spoon
to smash the whole beans into the mixture creating a smooth texture.
Add the salt, Chili powder, and Taco Sauce to the mixture.
Remove from the heat.

In another skillet heat 1/4 inch of oil until hot. Test with a
small piece of tortilla - it should bubble when dropped into the oil.
Spread 1/2 of the beef mixture on the center of each corn tortilla.
Fold the tortillas over and press so that the beef fillng acts as an
adhesive and holds the sides together.

Drop each taco into the pan of hot oil and fry on both sides until
crispy. When cooked, remove the tacos from the oil and place them on a
rack or some paper towels until they are a little cooler.
Pry open slightly and add 1/2 slice American cheese and some lettuce.
Top with additional Taco Sauce to taste.

When I try this recipe I'm going to ask the butcher to do a fine grind on the ground beef.  The texture in this taco recipe is really important.