tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70762346824725276442024-02-18T20:52:15.650-08:00Doing Laundry and other tasty bitesSallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.comBlogger106125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-78936644458365701282015-08-12T16:35:00.000-07:002015-08-12T16:48:05.542-07:00WSH is saddened to announce that Sally passed in 2015 after a long illness. Please enjoy her posts as long as you can. WSHSallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-84561485815458897162013-04-28T14:10:00.000-07:002013-04-28T14:40:30.730-07:00Consomme - or I now pronounce myself a cook.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I made my usual batch of chicken stock yesterday. </div>
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Thanks to the constant skimming, it came out relatively clear. For some masochistic reason, I decided I wanted to try to make it into consomme. I had read that one cannot honestly call oneself a cook until one has successfully made consomme. That's all it took. <br />
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I had to go to the store to get lean ground meat for this and needed to pick up some cheesecloth for the final clarification. Cristy asked me, where is THAT? In the cheesecloth aisle? I shouldn't have laughed. The angels of irony or maybe it was karma, got me. I couldn't find it. I asked an employee who looked at me as if I had just spoken in Martian. Our conversation went something like this:<br />
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Hi! Do you know if you carry cheesecloth and where I might find it?<br />
What is it?<br />
A loosely woven cotton cloth.<br />
Does it have cheese in it?<br />
No.<br />
What do you want it for?<br />
Straining stock, I made 15 quarts of chicken stock yesterday.<br />
Why did you do that?<br />
Because I didn't have anything else to do.<br />
She called the manager.<br />
Other employees spread out across the aisles on a store wide search for cheesecloth.<br />
We finally found it and they all asked me again, what I was going to do with it. I wanted to be witty, on the spot clever like I was making a dress or something, but I had nothing. I was drained already.<br />
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I knew the technique but I consulted the web for the correct proportions of ingredients for my amount of stock. So I mixed ground turkey (couldn't find chicken and was not about to add the extra step of grinding to this process) a carton of eggbeaters (about 10 egg whites--see, I didn't even want to break the eggs and separate them) and mire poix (carrots, celery and shallots).<br />
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I mixed all of that into a gloppy, sick looking mess. I held my breath and put it into the clean stock pot, then poured in my stock -- about 11 quarts of reasonably clear, delicious chicken stock that had taken 6-7 hours to make on Saturday. I turned on the heat and immediately went into a panic. What have I done? I've ruined my beautiful stock!! It looked like ... well, I won't go into details but it looked really disgusting. I was supposed to stir constantly while bringing it up to temperature, which means I stood on a step stool for about an hour stirring this messy, sick looking pot of ick. It takes a while for 10-11 quarts of cold stock to come up to a simmer. The number of new inventive phrases I found for demeaning myself was pretty impressive, if I do say so myself.<br />
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Ok, so I knew that theoretically, the glop was supposed to sort of congeal and capture the tiny impurities that will make a broth cloudy. It's called a raft. At this point, however, it didn't look good, I had no raft, only a murky sea.<br />
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To the web! Answers! Videos!<br />
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Sometimes less information is better. I found a video of a culinary class, yes he actually wore a toque (tall white hat) and the very first thing he said was "This is probably the coolest thing you'll ever do once." Oh boy. He gave a lecture and wrote on a white board and issued many stern warnings about how delicate the process was and if you looked at the raft wrong it would break apart and presumably your life would end at that very moment. What he didn't say was how to get the raft out of the pot, or the stock out from under the raft.<br />
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There was no turning back now, though, so I searched again. Eventually I came upon a <a href="http://video.about.com/frenchfood/How-to-Make-Consomme.htm" target="_blank">video</a> done by a young chef named Roble who clearly knew what he was doing but was way more relaxed and laid back than toque-head. This chef wore a backwards baseball cap. In other words, he didn't scare the crap out of me and I felt reassured in the knowledge that if my raft broke apart, I most likely would not die at that very moment. So, brimming with my new found confidence I marched into the kitchen, climbed up on the stool and what do you think I found? A raft! A life-raft! Doesn't this look delightful? <br />
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I let the stuff simmer for about an hour, but taking the toque-head warnings to heart, I did not punch holes in the raft... it just seems counter intuitive doesn't it? Who wants holes in their raft? When the time came to get the good stuff out, I took a spatula and cut through this inch-plus layer of souffle looking stuff (it was very much like a gross omelet) and I removed enough to fit my ladle in. Then I proceeded to ladle out 10 quarts of stock, straining each ladle-ful through a cheesecloth lined strainer. <br />
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And there you have it! Consomme. I am now a cook. And I agree with toque-head, once is enough.<br />
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See you soon.</div>
Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-58179626424843053312013-04-21T08:44:00.000-07:002013-04-21T19:20:39.575-07:00North CarolinaThe fine state of North Carolina is where most of my remaining family lives these days. This trip was a joyful one, despite the rain that pounded us all the way there. We drove to Charlotte on Friday and stayed in the Hilton at City Center. We arrived at supper time and not wanting to wander around in the rain and wind, we chose <a href="http://www.harpersgroup.com/mimosa.asp" target="_blank">The Mimosa Grill</a> . One of the cool things about Charlotte City Center is that you can walk about 4 blocks without ever going outside through a series of atria and skywalks and through various buildings. The Mimosa Grill is part of Harper's Restaurant Group, so while it isn't a real indie restaurant, it is very very good. I had salad with lemon vinaigrette that was so fantastic I pleaded for the recipe. (I keep checking my email.) The lemon was not overpowering and it had to be a Meyer lemon, it was so clean and fresh and delicious. My main was a flank steak with boursin cheese melted on top. It had been perfectly marinated and grilled, tender, full of flavor, just wonderful. No dessert. If you're ever in Charlotte looking for a friendly, flavorful meal, check out the Mimosa Grill. The service was perfect, too!<br />
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Saturday was a picture perfect spring day, it was breezy, sunny, slightly cool and a perfect day for a wedding. By the time we headed to Lexington, I was fully regretting my haphazard packing (if you could even call it that) I needed my Visine badly!! Spring is lovely but man all that plant sex kills my eyes and nose and lungs. Thankfully I brought my inhalers. But. I. Forgot. my. camera!!!!!! :(<br />
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We gathered at the Lake House seeing old friends, family, meeting new friends (Hi Rose!) and enjoying the day. Liz had decorated with white flowers all over the house, it was just lovely. As the time drew near Byron and Will gathered on the dock and friends and family were spread out across 2 porches and various walkways by the water. Their house is a full 18" from the water. Then the DJ (aka Alan) cued the music for the bride's procession. <u><em>Also Sprach Zarathustra Op. 30</em></u> (probably better known as the theme song to the movie 2001: A Space Odyssey). Liz, I don't care what you say, it is not a South Carolina Gamecock song. :P There they were facing one another, dressed alike in blue jeans and white starched shirts, saying their vows. No swarmageddon (cicadas coming out of the ground) no, rings dropped into the lake, only one vow misstep (by the preacher-he is a true Man of God and unfortunately combined unconditional and faithful) and the deed was done. They are now husband and wife. I wish for them many perfectly beautiful sunny days together.<br />
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See you soon.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-6109119464745394522013-02-06T10:26:00.001-08:002013-02-06T10:26:13.810-08:00Hi Folks, I have a post in the works, but I've been to lazy to edit the photos yet... Hey, at least I'm honest! In the meantime, here is a post from a really world class blog about some people in Atlanta whom I don't know personally but have been following for quite some time. I was never quick enough to get into one of the supper clubs, but surely wish I had been. Please read and send some positive thoughts Ryan and Jen's way.<br />
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Meet Staplehouse<br />
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<a href="http://www.livethefinelife.com/2013/02/meet-staplehouse-atlanta.html">http://www.livethefinelife.com/2013/02/meet-staplehouse-atlanta.html</a><br />
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See you soon<br />
Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-79153535603418323722013-01-25T03:03:00.001-08:002013-01-25T08:00:50.487-08:00Another Lovely Leisurely LunchHello again! Yesterday I thoroughly enjoyed another leisurely lunch with my dear friend Cristy (pictured on the left in my profile). No Bistro this time, just me and my kitchen aka the safest place on earth. Unless you count knife injuries, but that's another story. My kitchen is safe in the sense of warmth and comfort and freedom from judgment, at least to me it is, and since I spend more time in there than most people, it works for me. We had several treasures to review together and plans to make about ramping up the snail's pace of renewing the extra bedroom space so we decided it was best she come here. <br />
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The menu started out as a simple spinach salad with some lovely little extras: hard boiled eggs, bacon, blue cheese, toasted almonds, a pear and some sliced baby bellas aka crimini. The dressing was a warm bacon vinaigrette using a bit of bacon fat, some extra virgin olive oil, Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar, Balsamic vinegar and a touch of salt and pepper. Easy enough!<br />
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Salad ingredients:<br />
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Toss them all together and drizzle with dressing on serving plate.<br />
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I think it was Wednesday night I watched an episode of one of Ina Garten's shows and in it she prepared a dish with roasted asparagus, crisped prosciutto, hollandaise and a fried egg on top. I had to try it! So as a sort of last minute item, this was added to the menu as well. I'm so glad!! It was out of this world!<br />
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Place the asparagus on a baking sheet and drizzle with extra virgin olive oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast them in a preheated 400 oven for about ten minutes. For the last 4 minutes of cooking, slide the other baking sheet holding the prosciutto slices, in the oven to crisp up.<br />
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Meanwhile make the Hollandaise sauce:<br />
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Whizz up the egg yolks in a blender **** They must be at room temperature**** it takes several hours to accomplish this, so you should take the eggs out way before you do anything else. Ina said she sometimes leaves them on the countertop overnight. (As usual my chronology is screwed.) Anyway, whizz the egg yolks about 15 seconds, add the lemon juice salt and pepper (pictured above is Magic Unicorn Salt) and lastly, melt the butter (see chronology above) and slowly drizzle the hot butter into the whizzing blender through the hole in the top. When finished, the sauce should have a very rich, creamy consistency and look something like this:<br />
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The amount this recipe makes is really enough for 4 asparagus servings, but you couldn't do less than this in the blender. In fact, I probably should have done it by hand, because 2 egg yolks just don't provide enough volume for the blades to properly mix. In any case, it tasted rich and buttery with a slight lemon tang, sort of like... Hollandaise sauce! <em>Imagine that!</em><br />
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Last step in the prep is to gently (low medium heat) fry an egg to top the dish. To assemble, place the asparagus on the plate, spoon some hollandaise on top, crumble the crispy prosciutto and top with your just done egg. I added a few chive bits for jazz.<br />
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This is a GREAT low carb lunch enough to fill you up for the entire day. Cristy and I ate and talked and laughed and reviewed photos of my trip to celebrate my Uncle's 85th birthday. It was lovely. Then, to laugh off our memories of our shameful behavior in the early 70s we watched Nadia G's Bitchin Kitchen Rehab recipes episode! It was great fun and we're so glad we don't behave that way any more. <br />
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Both of these recipes are very easy. Don't be afraid of hollandaise, it has an unearned bad rep. Thanks Cristy, for stopping by to see me! I had so much fun! Thanks for all who read this and may be inspired to try it.<br />
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See you soon.<br />
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<br />Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-68961586030297263012013-01-19T09:03:00.002-08:002013-01-19T09:03:58.600-08:00The Salt of the EarthA lot has been said about salt, besides the one about Lot's wife being turned into a pillar of salt. Paraphrase: You are the Salt of the earth, if you lose your saltiness, what then have you become? An old wives' tale speaks of throwing spilled salt over your left shoulder to ward off bad luck. Thomas Keller says that <strong>the most important</strong> lesson for any chef (or home cook for that matter) is how to properly salt your food in cooking. Many chefs say that the best ingredients for enhancing flavor in a dish are salt and vinegar. Personally, I'd add fat to that list but that would be very non-PC. Except here. Thanks, Charlie!<br />
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My dear friend Audrey and I had a lunch in France yesterday. Well, ok, we weren't actually in France, but we took our time in a friendly Bistro talking, sharing stories for about 4 hours. That is the way to really appreciate a meal with friends. They had great music playing, great artwork and a nice aquarium to get lost in. <br />
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Audrey and I were having our belated Christmas/Birthday lunch. Her Birthday is in the same week as Christmas, so I used to wrap her Birthday presents in Pink and Blue so that they would be Separate From Christmas Gifts! This year her present was in lavendar, thanks to Cristy, and her Christmas gifts were not even wrapped -- I don't do the retail Christmas anymore. I bought a hand carved Nativity in Bethlehem when I visited Israel back in the early 90s and that's the only decoration I bring forth.<br />
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Anyhoo, back to salt... I have at least 6 different salts in my cupboard, Fleur de Sel, Regular non-french sea salt, hickory smoked salt, you get the idea. Audrey is so fantastic! She gave me a box of salts!! I was opening each one, saying OMG! They have cute names but great ingredients I can't wait to try.<br />
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<strong>Santa Salt</strong><br />
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Pure Ocean Salt, Rosemary, Pink Peppercorns</div>
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Suggested uses: Vegetables, Pasta, Eggs, Popcorn, Beef, Poultry, Seafood, Butter, Olive Oil, Shortbread, Salads</div>
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<strong>Rosemary Salt</strong><br />
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Pure Ocean Salt, Rosemary<br />
Suggested Uses: Spring Vegetables, Tomatoes, Eggs, Pasta, Fish, Pork, Lamb, Beef Poultry, Vanilla Ice Cream (if only) Shortbread, Grilled Corn, Popcorn<br />
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<strong>Magic Unicorn Salt </strong>(great name and great ingredients)<br />
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Pure Ocean Salt, Celery Seed, Rosemary, Granulated Garlic, Smoked Paprika, Lemon Juice Powder<br />
Suggested Uses: Anything. It's Magic.<br />
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<strong>Friends Forever </strong>(my favorite name and it smelled wonderful)<br />
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Pure Ocean Salt, Granulated Honey -- there are no carbs listed so it must not have any!! =)<br />
Suggested Uses: Popcorn, Sweet Potataoes, Lemon Chicken, Spinach Salad, Carrots, Ice Cream, Fancy Drinks<br />
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Just like compound butters, you can make your own salt combinations with spices and herbs. Why not give it a try?<br />
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See you soon.<br />
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<br />Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-11152013001732845032013-01-11T17:02:00.003-08:002013-01-11T17:02:58.881-08:00Balancing ActFirst , with great joy, enthusiasm and surprise, I must tell you something. I located a "Food Photography" setting on my camera! I hope I'll be able to find it again! What will they think of next? Ha - it only took me a year to find it; imagine what other wonders await my discovery.<br />
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One of the premises of this new way of eating is that the ratio of fat to protein should be more or less equal. In some cases, such as fish and lean meats, this can be a challenge. Tonight I am preparing Beef Tenderloins which are quite lean and as a result, sometimes lacking in the flavor department since fat = flavor. The same thing is true of other cuts such as sirloin, although sirloin certainly has more flavor than tenderloin.<br />
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To try to balance it out, I am making a compound butter to be used as a garnish on the steak which will increase the fat content and add a ton of flavor. Compound butters can be used on anything really: meats, fish, eggs, even vegetables. You can flavor the butter with anything you like, herbs, aromatics (garlic, shallots) cheese, spices, citrus zest, the possibilities are endless. I like the combination of beef and blue cheese so that's what I'm doing, with a touch of fresh parsley for brightness. As always, buy the best ingredients you can afford. All butters are not created equal! Maytag is my favorite domestic Blue, and yes, it's the same family who makes the appliances. My store was out of it so I just picked another medium blue, not too much bite.<br />
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You can use the food processor for this, or soften the butter at room temperature and mix it by hand. I opted for the processor. Before you begin, wash and chop some parsley. I used 1 stick butter, about 2.5 ounces blue cheese, 1/3 c chopped flat leaf parsley and about a teaspoon of freshly grated pepper.<br />
Mix it up! <br />
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When done, spread the mixture into a log shape on plastic wrap and roll it up in a tube. This will keep in the fridge for a week or so. Cut the desired amount and allow to come to room temperature before using.<br />
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When your steak or fish or whatever target is ready, plop a generous Tablespoon of the butter on top and let it melt as the meat rests. If you've never tried this, I highly recommend it. It can add a whole new profile to an old favorite and maybe dress up a dish that has become so familiar, you don't want to eat it anymore.<br />
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Nutritional Info for the butter is approximate because I'm sure different types of Bleu or Blue cheese vary. But here goes: Total 71 g Fat, 13g Protein, 2 g Carb 1 G Fiber and that is for 10 generous servings of a heaping Tblsp. each. Per serving: 7.1g Fat, 1.3g Protein, .1 Net carb.<br />
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I served the steaks with Aparagus spears which had been roasted in the oven at 400 for about 10 min, they were pretty thick.<br />
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See you soon!<br />
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Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-50774164026857385082013-01-07T10:37:00.000-08:002013-01-07T17:52:59.884-08:00A New Year, another chanceIt's been a while! If anyone is still here, and thanks to those who sent messages of encouragement, I am making some changes in my life that will ultimately result in a happier healthier me. My weight had gotten completely out of control and the age hammer kept beating down any attempts I made at reversing this through the usual routines. Late last year I came across a Facebook page compiled by a writer whom I follow in other areas of interest such as science, technology and the like. This page is a book called <a href="https://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/13Weeks" target="_blank">13 Weeks</a> where Charlie Martin is <strike>attempting </strike>doing the things that are making a big difference in his health. If you are interested in the science of metabolism and weight loss, I encourage you to check it out and "like" it on Facebook. There is far more to it than I'll talk about here--I know you guys want Food porn! The basic idea is that a calorie is NOT just a calorie and that refined carbs and sugar are the enemy. One thing I will note is that the elimination of gluten has completely eradicated my need for acid reflux meds. I have suffered from GERD for over 20 years and it's gone now just by that one simple step. Anyway, the page, his <a href="http://pjmedia.com/lifestyle/2013/01/05/13-weeks-week-nine-in-which-we-see-results/" target="_blank">PJ articles</a> and the author himself have been a great source of information and inspiration for me in the past couple of months. I started in November and it's gone fairly well, but as some of you know I was knocked over by bronchitis for a couple of weeks and the steroids and what not sure mess with your body functions, hopefully balancing out on the positive side. Today, I've decided that I'll survive. YAY me! <br />
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The meal shown here is one I made last spring and I thought it would be interesting to show the original and suggest some slight alterations that would better conform to a low carb way of eating. <br />
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On the menu: <br />
Pork Tenderloin with Apricot-Mustard glaze. (You'll need S&P and fresh thyme)<br />
Rice Pilaf<br />
**I'm sure we had a salad or something** (rolls eyes and whistles)<br />
Puff Pastry with Creme Patissierie, fresh strawberries and drizzle of dark chocolate<br />
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I'll try to be as authentically chronological as I can be with the exception of the dessert, which well, let's face it-- isn't in my life in that form, but it's still pretty and you might like to make it, n'est ce pas?<br />
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Pilaf Prep:<br />
Make rice. I use(d) Jasmine rice in this. Toast some almonds on a sheet tray in the oven at 250 until you can start to smell them and they turn golden. Set them aside. Other ingredients included chopped onions, garlic, and shallots but the photos were so blurry, even I could see they were blurry, that's pretty bad. But the main star on this stage is.... our fun guy friend Mr. Mushroom.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03HteTLkiv4j9cScxQYlrS4rY2Yv4c47YOWH8qxeuSxSN3Viz5EqxStlNzL5UkxBFVfbVHWgx6FPvXdNWIfKEMU0fAUY8yffh8yTGCE8J8BasUjdg572gETsWcWuvsL4RT8V9YnfQ5K0/s1600/pilaf+prep1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="269" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh03HteTLkiv4j9cScxQYlrS4rY2Yv4c47YOWH8qxeuSxSN3Viz5EqxStlNzL5UkxBFVfbVHWgx6FPvXdNWIfKEMU0fAUY8yffh8yTGCE8J8BasUjdg572gETsWcWuvsL4RT8V9YnfQ5K0/s320/pilaf+prep1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
This was one of those mixed wild mushroom packages that have a few oysters, some cremini, and redundant big portabellas, white button and if you're lucky some shitake. Chop em up!<br />
Heat a skillet with butter over medium and sweat the onions and shallots until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the chopped garlic and cook for no more than a minute. Remove the aromatics and set aside, in the same pan heat some more butter, 2 T, add the mushrooms and cook over high heat. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and they will release their juices, keeping the heat on high, keep stirring or flipping, depending on your skill level until the juices have been reabsorbed into the mushrooms; they may have a little brown crusty edge, and that's some tasty stuff! Now mix it all together!<br />
Add the cooked rice, toasted almonds, and sauteed aromatics to the pan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Please nominate me for the worst food photographer on the web. I so dearly want to top a list of something!</td></tr>
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<strong>To make this less carby.. you could substitute quinoa for the rice, it has slightly fewer net carbs plus a bit of protein. But that would still be higher than the less than 30 net carbs I'm doing. Realistically, I think you could use a mushroom-almond-onion side dish and maybe throw in a few bits of cooked bacon for good measure.</strong><br />
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The Pork:<br />
Buy a pork tenderloin (duh). I got the prepackaged one in this case but it's always better if you can find/afford it from a butcher. If you buy the prepackaged, get it "Plain" not marinated in anything, <em>please</em> for the love of all things good, don't buy pre-marinated meat. Thank you. The ends of the tenderloins are tapered so I usually truss them under with butcher's twine to try to even out the thickness... not shown in the photo below.<br />
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Let the tenderloins air dry in the fridge if you have time. If not, pat them dry with paper towels and liberally sprinkle with salt pepper and roughly chopped thyme leaves that have been heartlessly stripped off their nuturing little stems by your bare hands! Concerned about aging? Take it out on Thyme, because you can't do anything about time. I digress... This is what they look like:<br />
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As you can see my camera skills were no better last spring than last we met. It's on the list of things to do.<br />
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Heat a large ovenproof skillet (preferably cast iron) and when hot, add oil with a high smoke point, grapeseed or canola. Place the two tenderloins in the pan and sear all around until nice and golden brown. It gets a little tricky with the thyme, balancing out the searing of meat and not burning the thyme. This should take a bit less than 10 minutes total. When seared, put the pan into a preheated 400 degree oven and roast until the meat thermometer reads 135 (it only takes about 15 minutes so don't go clean out your sock drawer or anything) and take the pan out to rest. After about 5 minutes, remove the meat to a platter, cover and continue to rest while you make the glaze.<br />
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Glaze prep:<br />
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This is equal amounts of Apricot Preserves and grainy deli mustard. You can use whatever you like. The idea is the tang of the mustard a sweet finish of the fruit. Take the pan in which you cooked the pork and deglaze it (while hot) with a little chicken stock, about 1/4 cup scrape up the bits of fond (brown bits) until dissolved in the stock. Add the mustard and apricot and stir around until reduced to a sauce consistency.<br />
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I can't have a post without a <strong>glare</strong> shot now could I? See the little bits of thyme, and the pork maillard bits, with the tangy sweet mixture? It is really very, very good.<br />
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Slice your tenderloin into about 1/2 in medallions and spoon the glaze over, plate the pilaf.<br />
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This meat was more done than I like it to be but it was still tender and juicy and very flavorful.<br />
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<strong>To make this less carby I'd substitute a little balsamic reduction (10g carbs per Tbsp) or a nice vinegar I've been experimenting with from Trader Joe's. Orange Muscat Champagne Vinegar. It's really versatile and adds a touch of sweetness without a lot of sugar.</strong><br />
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OK on to dessert....<br />
Strawberries:<br />
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Take frozen puff pastry shells and prepare according to directions. <br />
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Make a creme patissiere (I don't know how to type in French on this keyboard) which is a fancy way to say pastry cream. I'm sure I have posted it somewhere in this mess of a blog but it really isn't hard and can be done a day ahead. The only carby bad guy in the recipe is 1/2 c sugar for 2 1/2 c pastry cream. So the cream may come back into my life as some sort of custardy reincarnation. But I am announcing now... that pastry and I have filed for a divorce; it's final by now I'm sure. It's heartbreaking, I know, all those memories of Pi day pies... But trust me, it's better this way.<br />
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Plating the dish involves opening the shell, plopping some pastry cream in, spreading the washed, sliced strawberries and drizzling with a dark chocolate ganache. I chose the least appealing photo I had on purpose. Because honestly, knowing what that pastry would do to me, makes me not want it anymore. <br />
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Anyway, Cheers! to all who read this far. I appreciate you all, welcome suggestions, and will do my best to keep you entertained in a healthier way this year.<br />
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--See you soon!<br />
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<br />Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-5342714086035384902013-01-03T11:35:00.000-08:002013-01-03T11:36:30.242-08:00Post postponedAfter spending half a day at the Doctor's office, I'm not up for a post today, probably next week. I'll be talking about low carb recipes and how one can posssibly live without pasta. I know. I know. Anyway, once I can breathe again, I will put something up here.<br />
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See you soon!Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-6245846360213317192013-01-02T16:25:00.000-08:002013-01-02T16:25:24.468-08:00Hi People! <br />
Is anyone still here? I am, believe it or not, and have decided I may start this thing up again. Best wishes to all in the New Year of 2013! <br />
See you soon<br />
SallySallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-546019232196827982011-05-30T11:31:00.000-07:002011-05-30T11:54:20.780-07:00Wild and Wacky Food AdventurersThis past week, I went on an expedition with my dear friend Cristy. Our husbands graciously accepted our invitation to drive us around and carry things for us. Destination: <a href="http://www.dekalbfarmersmarket.com/">Dekalb Farmer's Market</a>. I would have photos for you but there was a big sign on the door prohibiting photography...right next to the sign prohibiting firearms. I've been to the market many times but not in a long long time. Cristy, my world adventuring friend, had never been, so clutching our bottles of hand sanitizer we closed our eyes and stepped into the International World of Food. It's an amazing place filled with beautiful colorful people and produce, items from all over the globe and stuff you can't find anywhere else. We made our way through, oooh-ing and "look at this!" until the men asked if we could move on to the next aisle. Anyway, the most exciting part came in the seafood department where a murderous trout leapt out of the tank and tried to bite Cristy's and my face off. We both screamed and jumped about 3 feet back. We watched as a tiny old lady wrestled a blue crab into her bag. He put up a furious fight but really, there was never any question who would win that battle. Cristy attempted to hypnotize a crawfish with her finger and all he could do was stand up and stare at her as if you say "You lookin at me?" By the way, I read that our Federal Government spent a ton of taxpayer money on a study to analyze shrimp running on treadmills. It's <a href="http://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2011/05/28/500000-spent-on-shrimp-treadmill-study/UPI-10371306567800/">true</a>. <strike>(I was going to put the link but I can't find it.)</strike> Anyway, we eventually dragged all of our bags out to the truck, ate some bread with our hands in the parking lot, and laughed all the way home.<br />
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Emboldened by that adventure, I decided it was time for WSH and I to finally go to Bell Street Burritos and see if we could experience something we cherished years ago. It's a complicated story but I'll try to make it short. Tortillas was restaurant on Ponce de Leon. We loved their food. We and our coworkers ate lunch there at least once a week. Eventually Tortillas closed when a Moe's and a Chipotle opened nearby, but there remained devoted followers all over the city. So many, in fact that a man made a business recreating Tortilla's beloved burritos and delivering them once a week. Finally he had enough customers to open a brick and mortar, thus <a href="http://www.bellstreetburritos.com/www.bellstreetburritos.com/BELL_STREET_BURRITOS.html">Bell Street Burritos</a> was born. On Saturday afternoon, I decided it was time to give it a try. My timing is impeccable and I always have the best adventure ideas! As we drove down 85 South into the heart of Atlanta....OOPs the Auburn Ave. exit was blocked by police. Hmmm.. I noticed a HUGE crowd of people in the street. Jim said, we haven't come this far to be discouraged! And since he knows every single street and alley in the city I said OK! After 40 minutes of wrangling through traffic with side streets closed, we made it to the<a href="http://www.sweetauburncurbmarket.com/"> Auburn Avenue Curb Market</a> which is a seriously funky place. And because my timing is so good, we landed there right in the middle of the Atlanta Caribbean Carnival (23rd annual -- who knew?) By grace alone we found a parking space and marched inside the market. Looking this way and that searching every stall, we found it! We made it to the great Emerald City!! And it was closed. Yes. a little note on the counter Sorry Closed. Now before you look at their site and say Duh Sally, it says Mon-Fri... I am listed on their facebook and Matt had said he was opening on Saturdays and always sent a message when his schedule dictated otherwise. So there! I R not Stoopid. Well, we had to buy something and show a receipt to get out of the parking lot so we stopped at a produce stand and bought some absolutely beautiful Silver Queen corn. It was gorgeous. We were hungry and stopped for a burger at <a href="http://www.grindhouseburgers.com/">Grindhouse Killer Burgers</a>, which I'd read about , and they were really really good. The onion rings were perfection. The proprietors were friendly, it was a very pleasant meal after such a big letdown.<br />
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Back to the corn: <br />
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It was so tender and delicate I had to take extra care not to smash the kernels as I pulled off the silk. We cooked some ribs to go with it and they were good, but as Garrison Keiller once said, "Sex is good, but not as good as fresh sweet corn." Ooooh Baby this was the best corn ever. Back to basics... it all comes down the best ingredients. Summer has begun. Eat some corn....soon!<br />
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See you soon.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-50105067207569513342011-05-05T13:41:00.000-07:002011-05-05T13:41:08.373-07:00Chicken EnchiladasOnce upon a time, I was in a conversation with someone I love dearly and the subject of Cinqo de Mayo came up. She wondered aloud, "I wonder when Cinqo de Mayo is this year?" I couldn't help myself.... "probably on the 5th of May" I chortled. Of course she was wondering which day of the week it fell on but I've never let her live it down. I'm a good friend like that! And because she loves and needs easy delicious dinners, (she's a LOT busier than I am) this one's for her <smile><br />
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How far this recipe has fallen from the lofty heights of The French Laundry, but I must say, it IS a tasty bite. And while I normally use very few processed products, sometimes you can get as good or better ingredients pre-made and save yourself a great deal of time. Alton Brown said he buys Teriyaki sauce for that reason, and that's good enough for me. This is a quick way to make a really delicious and satisfying meal.<br />
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2 boneless skinless chicken breasts<br />
water<br />
chicken stock<br />
cumin<br />
chili powder <br />
garlic or garlic powder<br />
corn tortillas<br />
salsa<br />
monterey jack cheese<br />
green enchilada sauce<br />
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The corn torillas I use are from <a href="http://www.latortillafactory.com/">La Tortilla Factory</a> which I buy at Publix. They are actually corn and wheat tortillas and are thicker and moister than most packaged corn tortillas available. The salsa is my favorite <a href="http://gardenfreshsalsa.com/salsa_main.html">Jack's Special Salsa</a> (mild because I'm wimpy like that) which I've found in a number of stores locally. Be aware though, there are no artificial preservatives used so once opened, the refrigerator shelf life is much shorter than say, something that comes in a jar. The <strong>only</strong> Monterey Jack cheese I ever use is Whole Foods 365 brand. I used to hate MJ cheese because I thought it had no flavor, 365 does, and it is wonderful and resonably priced. Finally, the green enchilada sauce I used was Ingle's Laura Lynn brand (Foodies- "Don't hate! Celebrate!"). You can use anything made primarily with green chiles and tomatillos, or make your own. I like this brand because it tastes remarkably like my favorite Taqueria's Pork and green chile sauce, without the pork of course.<br />
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It's Cinco de Mayo and I know this isn't "authentic" Mexican food but hola! to my mexican amigos if you are still following. One day I'll do what it takes to make the perfect dark mole... that could be a lifetime goal and actually more complex than some French Laundry dishes. But for now, back to the Enchiladas!!<br />
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First you season a mix of water and chicken stock with the cumin, chili powder, garlic powder (or minced garlic) taste it before you put the chicken in and adjust to taste. Add the chicken breasts whole and SLOWLY bring them to a simmer, then turn the heat down. The idea is to cook them through to 180 without boiling, which makes them tough and dry. This can easily be done a day or two before then refrigerated or, you can use left over roast chicken for this. Once the chicken is cooked through, remove from the poaching liquid and when cooled enough, take two forks (or your clean fingers) and shred the meat into ... shreds. (Sorry no pictures of that part.) Add back to the pan (sautee some onions first if your initials aren't CMA or if you aren't in a hurry). Add the meat and add salsa to taste, season with salt and pepper. My chicken was a little dry so I added some wonderfully good <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schmaltz">schmaltz</a>, which I had on hand from making chicken stock, and fixed it right up. While all that's going on, bring the tortillas to room temperature.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBf9StoqbDaDSSyF8CId0KGPg-dQ3_PI_xF5wteoTqTm-M1nQkQaf-hE-bqS6Y-RRBWX9i7sGOCdF0oP1jHmlXC95BcL8fxeD5evBQLv4Zlh9ZW8NlUppBRuJQa4aLQypre342_KXYKA/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsBf9StoqbDaDSSyF8CId0KGPg-dQ3_PI_xF5wteoTqTm-M1nQkQaf-hE-bqS6Y-RRBWX9i7sGOCdF0oP1jHmlXC95BcL8fxeD5evBQLv4Zlh9ZW8NlUppBRuJQa4aLQypre342_KXYKA/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shredded chicken with salsa and seasoning</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Spray a baking dish with non stick spray. With clean hands take a tortilla and fill it with a bit less than 1/2 c of chicken. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKEJfvUceGUjx5cZBkoeFUVQrM_0m9YRG-8hqKXML-pUFOc2KO09v1o2NGmzjKZxbyPar_sgRA9H3v5u-vDZ2XScRcpIhdJBthuuVN7NjUQ5eRi4zaMcZvFRMmtW6TbfhYo9vWFZV37Y/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKEJfvUceGUjx5cZBkoeFUVQrM_0m9YRG-8hqKXML-pUFOc2KO09v1o2NGmzjKZxbyPar_sgRA9H3v5u-vDZ2XScRcpIhdJBthuuVN7NjUQ5eRi4zaMcZvFRMmtW6TbfhYo9vWFZV37Y/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Place it in the baking dish with the "seam" side down. It looks so lonely doesn't it? : ( <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdc18XlOMlD3ClY3MZJfQqsaay7MF4EV5iCr5JyKsDx_fbbZaKRdsg26cmm4rSfKjpEpz2Kow-60zNvWPjsxGo-_4H9LWquFs2A9zsiMYiFJTcjnqTwTfBelOXSxLSX1re22B3eY5upg4/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" j8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdc18XlOMlD3ClY3MZJfQqsaay7MF4EV5iCr5JyKsDx_fbbZaKRdsg26cmm4rSfKjpEpz2Kow-60zNvWPjsxGo-_4H9LWquFs2A9zsiMYiFJTcjnqTwTfBelOXSxLSX1re22B3eY5upg4/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm so lonely... No enchilada friends to play with...</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's better!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Then comes the dousing with green enchilada sauce. This stuff is mild and has just the right about of tang to liven things up a little.<br />
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Spread the freshly grated Monterey Jack on top. Pop into a 350 oven until it's a little browned and bubbly<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Could have browned a bit more. We were hungry!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Serve 1 or 2 and top with your choice of goodies. I used the salsa and a bit of creme fraiche which is the super sexy silky gorgeous sister of sour cream. Sloppy plating but as I said, we were hungry!<br />
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To stretch this out, you could serve with rice and black beans (yum!) or a salad. It's one of our favorite dishes and is super easy to make, reheats well and is just all round yummy.<br />
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Happy Cinqo de Mayo<br />
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See you soon.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-80438658259655762772011-04-25T10:29:00.000-07:002011-04-25T10:29:31.848-07:00Resurrection, New Life and PastaMy Mom always loved Lamb at Easter, a full leg of lamb (which was more like mutton). Not for me. Too umm.. intense? gamey? whatever. She loved it with Mint Jelly. She even wrote about it in her ponderings about heaven as she was dying. She came from a long line of Lamb eaters. I was a black sheep (har har).<br />
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Recently I re-connected with 2 friends from 30+ years ago. I LOVE these women. I don't know their stance on lamb but they are strong, they are unique, they are special to me in a way that no one else is, they are beautiful, creative, expressive and both of them have a piece of my soul in their heart, as I do theirs. We met and it was if we had seen each other last week. The only thing different was the size of our butts! (For those of you who have not seen my FB page.) It's impossible to catch up on 30 years of life over lunch even as fast as we talk, so I'm hoping to have Cristy and Larry over for dinner soon. Cindy lives farther away so we'll have to make a plan for that. <br />
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What shall I cook? Cristy loves sushi....me...not so much. And she doesn't eat much meat and hates onions. Can you imagine? Hating onions? She's feisty like that. So here's an attempt at a satisfying veggie meal, that hopefully we will share together soon. Minus onions of course. This was our Easter dinner.<br />
Anyway, I wrote about a dish before, roasted veggies with pasta, and all I had pictures of was the pasta. Here's the real deal. Cut up a bunch of fresh vegetables, anything you like. Here are Zucchini, Asparagus, Grape Tomatoes, Olives, Artichoke Hearts, Shallots, and Roasted Peppers. But you can use anything you want...eggplant even..<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlDRPW3Rc5uCOGi22jyFiqIjNgsUfANv9sgunjHBhKEyWpWie4qAyGcLAPe_NdiNsH1FoCPJnvgVXxGl87i_ArfiMWu_NbMDheUQCGw5bXzqEYGLtLap0CYu13Z7QvlNN-3yJHgqGkwY/s1600/026.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZlDRPW3Rc5uCOGi22jyFiqIjNgsUfANv9sgunjHBhKEyWpWie4qAyGcLAPe_NdiNsH1FoCPJnvgVXxGl87i_ArfiMWu_NbMDheUQCGw5bXzqEYGLtLap0CYu13Z7QvlNN-3yJHgqGkwY/s320/026.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>After that I cleaned a BUNCH of wild mushrooms and added to the mix. Cristy do you like mushrooms? Toss with olive oil and season with salt and freshly ground pepper and spread out on a baking sheet.<br />
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Roast in a 400 oven for about 15 minutes or until the veggies are roasty!<br />
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Meanwhile bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil for your pasta. Then, because I like details, I feel the need to tell you to add the pasta to the boiling water. Thank You for <strike>listening</strike> reading. I used the brand of pasta I showed in that other post about Strozzapreti. You know... the priest choker pasta made by monks.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMALsLqVJCAp1gEnSlfskNIleOjYehYi_wBnVXQazu83LBPSBsdWECdvHekSdpPLn_NNi2Ak-urK9vaqaoo6zRrD3oNNz35Nv06-yrWHpiWmEEHtUkBS_zqepwdr7EKns8d3iQ20fKfjY/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMALsLqVJCAp1gEnSlfskNIleOjYehYi_wBnVXQazu83LBPSBsdWECdvHekSdpPLn_NNi2Ak-urK9vaqaoo6zRrD3oNNz35Nv06-yrWHpiWmEEHtUkBS_zqepwdr7EKns8d3iQ20fKfjY/s320/033.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water lol</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5BzQx9PLfTDQHFJUr1JVo-mrtE7R0uLgNxVyhYVoe4Rx6Z-4hgwF6RQNs6i2DSH9t9RV-bMCwMNwI6770mOVf4HCjIzdozgEhSM0_Qim_ujPo9czpwEnME9ZrTBnuaxnf2kuQ_97shs/s1600/036.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiM5BzQx9PLfTDQHFJUr1JVo-mrtE7R0uLgNxVyhYVoe4Rx6Z-4hgwF6RQNs6i2DSH9t9RV-bMCwMNwI6770mOVf4HCjIzdozgEhSM0_Qim_ujPo9czpwEnME9ZrTBnuaxnf2kuQ_97shs/s320/036.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Why did I add this horrible photo?</td></tr>
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In a large skillet pour in 2 T Olive Oil 2 T butter and melt together, then whisk in some white wine and reduce. The wine is optional. Throw the roasted veggies and juices from the baking sheet into the skillet and toss it around. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgJdrjRZLUINcXMpzwDdMkgAf0PNG3wTWk9nDIhB6HMv503zujQRdC4XtOc-4puDqBwF2aZkd81vo_QFPO1QdTRYIL1SQoHzJgKKf3UhZg6YF7Q7JIdL-HUJH9c_sCGXWcjU3EAwLqP4/s1600/046.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEgJdrjRZLUINcXMpzwDdMkgAf0PNG3wTWk9nDIhB6HMv503zujQRdC4XtOc-4puDqBwF2aZkd81vo_QFPO1QdTRYIL1SQoHzJgKKf3UhZg6YF7Q7JIdL-HUJH9c_sCGXWcjU3EAwLqP4/s320/046.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
When your pasta is done (I like Capellini *Angel Hair* with this) save a cup or so of the pasta water and then drain the pasta. Add however much pasta you want to the skillet and toss it around with the veggies. Add some pasta water if it's too tight. Let the pasta and veggies get to know each other for just a couple of minutes. <br />
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Serve with a topping of your favorite cheese and/or chopped parsley, add garlic bread and you have a meal.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyujHDe438TYq60eRwPSrj_a3jObXQasr26xsk8IJvqK3gp8qcvD5MOdzPHMeKiRRLKSjfolVYFJvfFTASpQmUdfXV965SpoRQ8t7fqDr3vHj0O9QZNbuHPdUS0ZnHhmWACvQZX5Lel0A/s1600/052.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i8="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyujHDe438TYq60eRwPSrj_a3jObXQasr26xsk8IJvqK3gp8qcvD5MOdzPHMeKiRRLKSjfolVYFJvfFTASpQmUdfXV965SpoRQ8t7fqDr3vHj0O9QZNbuHPdUS0ZnHhmWACvQZX5Lel0A/s320/052.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Re-connecting with Cindy and Cristy has awakened a part of my soul that I thought was long dead. I haven't laughed the way we laughed together in decades. I felt loved and a sense of belonging that has long been missing from my life. (WSH love is always there but different). It was a resurrection of sorts and made the Holy Days beautiful and full of awe and wonder at the Greatness and Goodness of God. Thanks be to God for friends, laughter, love, memories and pasta!<br />
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See you soon!Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-33703264165088332622011-03-17T15:44:00.000-07:002011-03-18T09:12:56.063-07:00Strawberry Cream PieEdit : so cool! <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20238-pi-day-celebrate-pi-by-eating-pies.html">What Pi sounds like</a><br />
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It all started on Pi day. You know, 3.14. I was walking around the park, enjoying the beautiful weather and noticing the signs of a returning Spring, like 8 turtles lined up on a log, sunning themselves, and the new, fresh and tender foliage on the trees and in herb pots. It was gosh darn inspirational!<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea2Z7zBG-p1ANZ5z0k82WzjS2xw1V8Wr8tlz1jmpEfXBPwgwGooys2g9RQ_JQAuhL6Mwe2rruz1tUM9PfP10hmZJJ7WXE6fnAPryRaO4TDhSpa6YWeCTO6X6N_9HlQev-BiGrvr_I66o/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjea2Z7zBG-p1ANZ5z0k82WzjS2xw1V8Wr8tlz1jmpEfXBPwgwGooys2g9RQ_JQAuhL6Mwe2rruz1tUM9PfP10hmZJJ7WXE6fnAPryRaO4TDhSpa6YWeCTO6X6N_9HlQev-BiGrvr_I66o/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>So I went in search of Spring at the market, and guess what? There were berries berries everywhere-y. (Sorry). After sending the scientist son his annual Happy Pi day greeting, I began my search for a pastry cream recipe. This took longer than I thought it would and before you could calculate Pi out to the 8th decimal place, the day had passed.<br />
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Anyway, I intended to make a strawberry cream pie like they used to serve at a tiny little restaurant where I grew up named the Char House. If memory serves me well, it was a family run business. They made a really good burger, but the thing that anyone who ever tasted it remembers about the Char House was their strawberry pie. It was housed in a regular (but super flaky delicious) pie crust, had a layer of pastry cream (like custard or pudding) and gorgeous sliced strawberries. However, I was already late on my Pi Pie so I took a few shortcuts. I intended to make a graham cracker or chocolate cookie crust but I couldn't find the cookies I needed (and I refuse to dismantle that many Oreos) so I bought pre-made crusts. Let's just pretend I made them.<br />
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The pastry cream recipe was really easy.<br />
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Scald (warm) 3 c milk with the seeds from a vanilla bean. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBeJ15T5dOYHLhY-hakx737iyBfYjvCZrAJlFUcj8BYkpVciKoVymsTmC_NxgRVrpCpQlktgvU2uCu4t3-arZD8273dxT9-Q1G8SmhlT-DccJ0JTfO1oGwsGr0BXoiGrkt7G355xWm-8/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUBeJ15T5dOYHLhY-hakx737iyBfYjvCZrAJlFUcj8BYkpVciKoVymsTmC_NxgRVrpCpQlktgvU2uCu4t3-arZD8273dxT9-Q1G8SmhlT-DccJ0JTfO1oGwsGr0BXoiGrkt7G355xWm-8/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanilla Bean -- split lengthwise and scrape out seeds</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaXVfmTOvhe-i03-AibcEyxngfmgm_IIJyxOjCal7hFzB6Plc8z1eJVn9DZ4S1RAngRfZi8Fwz6f8wW7jMlsURnfZ7bCzJJwlpatfLHQOPngJacpXOpddqF20sx4mmfiuFsRgoOjgFB8/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicaXVfmTOvhe-i03-AibcEyxngfmgm_IIJyxOjCal7hFzB6Plc8z1eJVn9DZ4S1RAngRfZi8Fwz6f8wW7jMlsURnfZ7bCzJJwlpatfLHQOPngJacpXOpddqF20sx4mmfiuFsRgoOjgFB8/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All the little tiny vanilla seeds float to the top of the milk</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
Meanwhile whisk 8 egg yolks and 3/4 c sugar together until light in color. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2tP7NbXC3uAx7G54GWHonI40G3N5Mq_wev_Uonitf6oyRxGAstmYDpObyPEMxhvO2TOAfA5y8RkWrYEGKsd81-QuizkQJN_nCsWcPe8eZG0iYhPMd5GcrsyZ1mxt0PoDmyUfMdTouNQ/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjx2tP7NbXC3uAx7G54GWHonI40G3N5Mq_wev_Uonitf6oyRxGAstmYDpObyPEMxhvO2TOAfA5y8RkWrYEGKsd81-QuizkQJN_nCsWcPe8eZG0iYhPMd5GcrsyZ1mxt0PoDmyUfMdTouNQ/s320/005.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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Stir in 6 T cornstarch into the egg mixture.<br />
Pour 1/3 of the heated milk mixture into the egg mixture and stir it up to temper the eggs. Then pour the egg mixture into the milk pot and cook on medium heat until it comes to a slow boil stirring gently with a whisk the whole time.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznyQMRlahi0MCi1CfVe7Y_KaiTdEIQAU9-acmtb0Ik2_nvLUXqWi-T9XQ5CXIe74oM-aUZOh2qBq6JUgiOQ_tEs9a61dc4pgLRLgVBnl1EY2AqMIyC2gYJ962wgyH1Gbr5HpjBemIfsE/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiznyQMRlahi0MCi1CfVe7Y_KaiTdEIQAU9-acmtb0Ik2_nvLUXqWi-T9XQ5CXIe74oM-aUZOh2qBq6JUgiOQ_tEs9a61dc4pgLRLgVBnl1EY2AqMIyC2gYJ962wgyH1Gbr5HpjBemIfsE/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Strain your custard mix into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap touching the surface. Refrigerate. This can be done 3 days ahead.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3PZHS5n2nEPfrOyh6v7kDS6dHFrXpwUvktsIDl7RW54pYErZgDMyY7pQp_M9b-iZ3Oas4C_EgQdUltEjTDk3AFCmDP9pYH7lbK0H9R26BDV_M52ici62I4ashWmWMSOimacSt7szGEc/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr3PZHS5n2nEPfrOyh6v7kDS6dHFrXpwUvktsIDl7RW54pYErZgDMyY7pQp_M9b-iZ3Oas4C_EgQdUltEjTDk3AFCmDP9pYH7lbK0H9R26BDV_M52ici62I4ashWmWMSOimacSt7szGEc/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>I had expected my yummy pastry cream to set up overnight like a pudding. I was wrong...it was a bit more liquid than I'd expected BUT it still tasted wonderful, so I made the Spring Pi Pies anyway. I cleaned the berries and shaved a little dark chocolate and tried my best to make them pretty. (I need a food styling class to go along with a camera and phtography class). Anyway here's how they turned out. The smaller ones are in graham cracker crust and the larger in a chocolate coookie crust. The larger pie was the one presenting a challenge. I decided to freeze it for a bit and then cut it. That worked perfectly.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8tgH05ndJQwWc6esm6ydgwnEii8F6EaPUVtZYcqSuCkUZ6TXNXJ40NR0uOT8DN87IW-7Z2UY0BemgEvdjpmblZzcjVKyOqA5lwb8lKN9B5WMLeiSJponzZN5NxwEqh67dB-ivdShIBg/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK8tgH05ndJQwWc6esm6ydgwnEii8F6EaPUVtZYcqSuCkUZ6TXNXJ40NR0uOT8DN87IW-7Z2UY0BemgEvdjpmblZzcjVKyOqA5lwb8lKN9B5WMLeiSJponzZN5NxwEqh67dB-ivdShIBg/s320/029.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfuLtzWbD97LfzfeimaigNzQcuSSp-M1DdGRShUNz7wAWKF0vxzBGBa5KsiiRo1BIOEi5AKx4A5mmu7qvyrCoFZYzPCrA-EJm14i0bq1DYOomQFzfu1DCmAPadHHpgSu3I2TSnCLOUYE/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirfuLtzWbD97LfzfeimaigNzQcuSSp-M1DdGRShUNz7wAWKF0vxzBGBa5KsiiRo1BIOEi5AKx4A5mmu7qvyrCoFZYzPCrA-EJm14i0bq1DYOomQFzfu1DCmAPadHHpgSu3I2TSnCLOUYE/s320/025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Thanks so much to my neighbors who helped eat these! I think I got a seal of approval:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1Cw3A5DXLfvyvtCm5hkC3XKcUeCitCdnhA1hMFWIK5w-x1qcXYRkxW1mdPpcRGieQykY6DtbmM3-gwiGPJdBlHIXKz4TlU9xysy2TglPMOuOt0LgAQkXfxaa6zf0DpKQNg6YPU6s2T4/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" r6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjj1Cw3A5DXLfvyvtCm5hkC3XKcUeCitCdnhA1hMFWIK5w-x1qcXYRkxW1mdPpcRGieQykY6DtbmM3-gwiGPJdBlHIXKz4TlU9xysy2TglPMOuOt0LgAQkXfxaa6zf0DpKQNg6YPU6s2T4/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><br />
Happy Spring!<br />
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See you soonSallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-88345100635688049712011-03-06T08:15:00.000-08:002011-03-06T08:15:48.696-08:00Meatballs ... and some pastaWe used to travel to New Jersey once or twice a year to visit my adoptive Mother. It wasn't Trenton or Newark, it was the beautiful rolling hills and streams and trees in Hunterdon County very close to Pennsylvania. The dirt there is different. It is gorgeous! That's why it's called the Garden State... but I digress. <br />
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Every now and then we had a chance to get out and sample some local cuisine. In a strip shopping center we found a jewel: Frank's. I hear there are places like Frank's all over New Jersey, Italian-American restaurants that are not what experts would call AUTHENTIC Italian but rather, a cuisine that has evolved over time from Italian immigrants using the ingredients available in America. Frank's had everything you could want, but most impressive on the menu was anything involving Meatballs. During the past 10 years or so any time we sampled a meatball dish anywhere, it was judged as follows: "Are they as good as Frank's?" So when I watched Ina Garten making spaghetti and meatballs on Barefoot Contessa with the simplest of ingredients, I had to try it. By the way, I have made a resolution to try to be more like Ina Garten, she is ALWAYS smiling, frequently laughing and seems to genuinely appreciate the people and wonders around her.<br />
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Back to the meatballs Adapted from Ina Garten Back to Basics (this recipe makes 16 good sized meatballs)<br />
1 lb ground chuck<br />
1/2 lb ground veal<br />
1/2 lb ground pork<br />
1c fresh bread crumbs<br />
1/4 c dried bread crumbs<br />
2T Italian parsley minced<br />
1 egg beaten<br />
1/2 c grated parmesan<br />
2 tsp salt<br />
1/2 t ground pepper<br />
3/4 c warm water<br />
Ina throws in 1/4 tsp nutmeg... WSH has issues with nutmeg.. that's all I'm sayin.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1MsGb9OdtGypzRA2XyDF4nT2_HWeUsdu44zKjgZTEllKvt5lXQkQLWo6wkyphMqLUDPK8L2Jr409mmUfwn2NuI3DQ-s40JTE17CzxfBeT9eFPsD7sk3jCvIE3ClBJ_HZ_vtt-aumBFU/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD1MsGb9OdtGypzRA2XyDF4nT2_HWeUsdu44zKjgZTEllKvt5lXQkQLWo6wkyphMqLUDPK8L2Jr409mmUfwn2NuI3DQ-s40JTE17CzxfBeT9eFPsD7sk3jCvIE3ClBJ_HZ_vtt-aumBFU/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Mix it together with clean hands but handle it gently. Don't squish it through your fingers, just gently mix and fluff it. Form the meatballs and heat 1/4 in oil in a skillet. I used half olive oil and half canola for a higher smoke point. Cook them about ten minutes flipping over about halfway through. You want to brown the outside.,, not cook them through. When browned remove to a platter. Depending on the size of your skillet you most likely will need to do this in 2 batches to avoid overcrowding the pan.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QArmTusBjuQyw5iF5erBgLbMBiG5UhxQ4xT4PaGmbVge-V3MSs9GIizRikuDSUlvZoovmqJMljOdkw0ZXOF_x_Sgw9eojMBdk1FMDPZWx4E5S9JQAyFEwv2w8EiBSRBpjuwb1SAFprI/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9QArmTusBjuQyw5iF5erBgLbMBiG5UhxQ4xT4PaGmbVge-V3MSs9GIizRikuDSUlvZoovmqJMljOdkw0ZXOF_x_Sgw9eojMBdk1FMDPZWx4E5S9JQAyFEwv2w8EiBSRBpjuwb1SAFprI/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Once all meatballs are browned, pour off the excess oil but leave the brown bits in the pan. Add a little fresh olive oil to the pan and scrape up the bits. Then add the following:<br />
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Sauce:<br />
1c onion diced (cook ten minutes) then add<br />
1 1/2 tsp garlic minced (cook one minute do not brown)<br />
1/2 c red wine (I used veal stock instead)<br />
28 oz can of chopped, diced or pureed tomatoes<br />
1 T chopped Italian parsley<br />
1 1/2 t salt<br />
1 1/2 t pepper<br />
* I added about 2 T tomato paste for body and a little sweetness<br />
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Place the browned meatballs in the sauce and cook for 25-30 minutes.<br />
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Heat water in a large pot and add salt, then cook your pasta of choice as the meatballs reach the end of cooking.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjYj28Y-h8kHqovDUUujIWGG4uDVNggc8PpfxDHFIPoLiv9aRIlvTNZE5VlxkLBTqSGJIMmwR0FPLJ38H68-4WMmGZ2PaU5VP_Zoes-CPBKKYbRO6J5-r1qm489zUycz0Js-7L7HTubU/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIjYj28Y-h8kHqovDUUujIWGG4uDVNggc8PpfxDHFIPoLiv9aRIlvTNZE5VlxkLBTqSGJIMmwR0FPLJ38H68-4WMmGZ2PaU5VP_Zoes-CPBKKYbRO6J5-r1qm489zUycz0Js-7L7HTubU/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> I like to marry the pasta with the sauce in the sauce pan for a few minutes before serving. Reserve a cup of pasta cooking water in case you need to thin things out. I used Montebello Linguine and plated with a little extra parsley and some chopped basil leaves, also a sprinkling of parmesan.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFw824kHTooiybXBJL0X76kuqvJXiGvt5TSdSqCKujj-y7sECG1gFQJDuwN8cjimyp3sccVHzxVbwyODzaWqrluUnFWG5OTYB1MoObluLHNc7piT1zAqmCj5BV8Xv1YZ0JoM9v5gLYIq0/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" l6="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFw824kHTooiybXBJL0X76kuqvJXiGvt5TSdSqCKujj-y7sECG1gFQJDuwN8cjimyp3sccVHzxVbwyODzaWqrluUnFWG5OTYB1MoObluLHNc7piT1zAqmCj5BV8Xv1YZ0JoM9v5gLYIq0/s320/022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Kind of a messy plating but we were hungry! And the verdict? Are they as good as Franks? I am happy to say they are even better! That's a very good thing because as far as I know, there's nothing like Franks in the Atlanta area. <br />
Happy Meatballing!<br />
See you soon.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-48026102773501136742011-02-14T13:05:00.000-08:002011-02-14T13:05:21.057-08:00Pancakes!I was going to title this post Pancake Porn as a little inside joke but having had some random conversations with a SERIOUSLY amateur psychologist and his take on various strange sexual fetishes...well, let's just say my better judgment won out. There's no telling where my little blog might have been linked to!!<br />
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Jim loves pancakes. I couldn't make pancakes or biscuits for the first ten years of our marriage. Well, I could... but they were like rocks or hockey pucks. Fortunately for Jim, there is Alton Brown. On his show "Good Eats" Mr. Brown shines the light into the mysterious world of fluffy pancakes on an episode in which he wears his bathrobe most of the time. The recipe/short video can be found <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/videos/flapjacks/43578.html">here</a>. And as with most things he does, Alton makes this pancake recipe SOUND tedious, when in fact it isn't. It's really pretty easy. The key is to make the "instant pancake mix" ahead and use it instead of say, Bisquick or some other shelf mix.<br />
For four large pancakes I use: 1 c. "pancake mix" 1 egg, separated, 1 c buttermilk, 2 T butter plus a little more butter to grease the griddle.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmiClewphRHBhZ734dHCSG0ItqY5a1HKdGyN5J3J6qomJkmRF1LMI4CZ0TZowE09WqFYZUJvLqXOso-4OQZDIMBehpAG216zWFX3ClukTuddotjZWgSaIhDg3QEq3E2mdwLHH1nFakFE/s1600/004.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsmiClewphRHBhZ734dHCSG0ItqY5a1HKdGyN5J3J6qomJkmRF1LMI4CZ0TZowE09WqFYZUJvLqXOso-4OQZDIMBehpAG216zWFX3ClukTuddotjZWgSaIhDg3QEq3E2mdwLHH1nFakFE/s320/004.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The egg white is mixed in with the buttermilk. The egg yolk is mixed in with melted butter...something about protein molecules will combine better and fat molecules will combine better if combined separately. While you are melting the butter, why not heat up your real maple syrup... from vermont..not maple flavored PLEASE! I don't own a microwave so this is my work around solution:<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0SB6GIfYZrxxYKp5bPP0es1xUNQXKsxR4H93x1lDWeEyckJcG-1fRVCkNTMx6M10LUqDRnex7za42ZeIHwQDO0B7iqCwfKAtQcPODMUeYw3rbm2fpdpG1f59qi9RFBj8jr85LjiGLCY/s1600/006.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih0SB6GIfYZrxxYKp5bPP0es1xUNQXKsxR4H93x1lDWeEyckJcG-1fRVCkNTMx6M10LUqDRnex7za42ZeIHwQDO0B7iqCwfKAtQcPODMUeYw3rbm2fpdpG1f59qi9RFBj8jr85LjiGLCY/s320/006.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Once you have mixed the egg whites with the buttermilk, and the butter with the egg yolk, combine those liquid ingredients together. Now is the time to butter your griddle or cooking surface and heat it to 350.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi-03HEtf6ft38mBSxJSdcHvZVrLcknAAMKP_tBk1bIydlpZAllpZ01gXiP7k8T0Uaw6qHG0u3ESwmpx9TVzB0u9uewpVFdGYdAUVuQn9rKpDV45N-giipr5NaBAiD_Eob9aOc5z5rvQ/s1600/009.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBi-03HEtf6ft38mBSxJSdcHvZVrLcknAAMKP_tBk1bIydlpZAllpZ01gXiP7k8T0Uaw6qHG0u3ESwmpx9TVzB0u9uewpVFdGYdAUVuQn9rKpDV45N-giipr5NaBAiD_Eob9aOc5z5rvQ/s320/009.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2YLtSBw53OXeukOdUL57sHTEeW_-L2CRLH8DzweYpIrvGpcwz_SfcYUj_1Lnl-1ZoOPMyqSmt94n6X4GaZnSQD-HWGnBXxf11ghl4Q64iuc2ckEIy_-5dHX6K2_A-6q1-v597b5wUOo/s1600/010.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq2YLtSBw53OXeukOdUL57sHTEeW_-L2CRLH8DzweYpIrvGpcwz_SfcYUj_1Lnl-1ZoOPMyqSmt94n6X4GaZnSQD-HWGnBXxf11ghl4Q64iuc2ckEIy_-5dHX6K2_A-6q1-v597b5wUOo/s320/010.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Add the liquid to the dry flour mixture and stir just to incorporate. It is important not to overwork the batter. Lumps are ok! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_otXnkBlEfoGKnp-EacLdfQT8owSCet_ex9K-muzWZPmafoXG7XRAfnxZ5O_EBYA21QM6A9Lyum6ImQP3yqS0ruq5u2ewzUIkm6ZeSFKzIirqm2IC2XWlSJkODnW3QyI2xiN8AFjBmDs/s1600/012.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="216" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_otXnkBlEfoGKnp-EacLdfQT8owSCet_ex9K-muzWZPmafoXG7XRAfnxZ5O_EBYA21QM6A9Lyum6ImQP3yqS0ruq5u2ewzUIkm6ZeSFKzIirqm2IC2XWlSJkODnW3QyI2xiN8AFjBmDs/s320/012.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Pour and spread with a spoon or spatula your 4 pancakes. They will puff up so just a little spreading helps them cook more evenly.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7G8TyzeUuCrsnxNDFgjZ5FPtpBp7EUJeBNqYwTYF0c-RTmRNlIcMIxUKBCpdwa-d9SI3HJSeIqx1Cu1ISvBFoOBTWh2fmHJk0sCjwW1R9bjGtCttooIIc9mE0WkvV0IF6AgRzu-x_Vzc/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7G8TyzeUuCrsnxNDFgjZ5FPtpBp7EUJeBNqYwTYF0c-RTmRNlIcMIxUKBCpdwa-d9SI3HJSeIqx1Cu1ISvBFoOBTWh2fmHJk0sCjwW1R9bjGtCttooIIc9mE0WkvV0IF6AgRzu-x_Vzc/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kinda sloppy on the front one! Who Cares? They're pancakes!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Cook until bubbles start to form all over the pancake; you can barely lift one up to see that the underside has browned. If you are adding fruit such as blueberries, sprinkle them on the top of the pancakes before flipping. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hOyw7R7hnI24zc3tdu1bUOHEjmM86wMNHyY0Ik5IRhedJRmGkvgU1dP8WvWrcxA0Tg4VIFjy1Eyq8Zd5lBk3buyMr7lz_wVOiraunnLqM4in1liyv6jl8wWBZUNWep4o9Z1rwR1vhgA/s1600/016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2hOyw7R7hnI24zc3tdu1bUOHEjmM86wMNHyY0Ik5IRhedJRmGkvgU1dP8WvWrcxA0Tg4VIFjy1Eyq8Zd5lBk3buyMr7lz_wVOiraunnLqM4in1liyv6jl8wWBZUNWep4o9Z1rwR1vhgA/s320/016.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Carefully lift each pancake up and as gently as possible turn it over to the other side. The less "<em>splat</em>" the better.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7dOOvuS_wZdPDpBZLxqy0X1RlE52NKjhCrYTB5_IFpaz24EvCwemIth1z7gDBJBYj9kCUMQ8y2d1eAye73THnTZ17xRG1VhBFgqNcT8pslhwQ2ad1liq_gJ4jnko8H5eLAQmsbhMiAM/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiC7dOOvuS_wZdPDpBZLxqy0X1RlE52NKjhCrYTB5_IFpaz24EvCwemIth1z7gDBJBYj9kCUMQ8y2d1eAye73THnTZ17xRG1VhBFgqNcT8pslhwQ2ad1liq_gJ4jnko8H5eLAQmsbhMiAM/s320/018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>See how fluffy they are ?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0r7j1IDcjJ-wlqWmatpeGMEVMJ1D1CLRk9H67vojRWzP6tBETaV13axGUljY_zFW5hi9h2TL9VRpcV9OMrDlb6c8HDisLLICe3opnFB-D8EWzYEM7km1nztESdbXDIQD-8YUGJoW3wU/s1600/020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiv0r7j1IDcjJ-wlqWmatpeGMEVMJ1D1CLRk9H67vojRWzP6tBETaV13axGUljY_zFW5hi9h2TL9VRpcV9OMrDlb6c8HDisLLICe3opnFB-D8EWzYEM7km1nztESdbXDIQD-8YUGJoW3wU/s320/020.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Ummm fluffy light flavorful pancakes. I even like them and I'm not a pancake fan.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvq6S2XKoN1Yt5LfUV7Y0KKYmm8t8iz9ralzdAvgR22IHv1KkV1-23-Bpm_JWO7smrpa2PH2W_hGJAqP8hmvVFtSeHc45jahi9ayiDCaa7vmQUoi7FonqemxU-FKSoDyf-osLTucaafiA/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvq6S2XKoN1Yt5LfUV7Y0KKYmm8t8iz9ralzdAvgR22IHv1KkV1-23-Bpm_JWO7smrpa2PH2W_hGJAqP8hmvVFtSeHc45jahi9ayiDCaa7vmQUoi7FonqemxU-FKSoDyf-osLTucaafiA/s320/022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Serve with bacon (or not) and warmed maple syrup.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5oHHP95gtQ5vY-CvSO4-DlOX3ord_PK7q_AwtjwArZbTkMBlxuIDIIpSUzhvOVWVNdHRui0gc7zCJqzLa1HDCdIH79YeE12v8zOOzPvgzmkWFk-0s32BdvEdWSq5sSWIZ0ut-EWIcYI/s1600/024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5oHHP95gtQ5vY-CvSO4-DlOX3ord_PK7q_AwtjwArZbTkMBlxuIDIIpSUzhvOVWVNdHRui0gc7zCJqzLa1HDCdIH79YeE12v8zOOzPvgzmkWFk-0s32BdvEdWSq5sSWIZ0ut-EWIcYI/s320/024.JPG" width="320" /></a></div> Try it sometime! The pancake lover(s) in your home will be very grateful.<br />
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See you soon.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-61805663469390826342011-02-06T08:13:00.000-08:002011-02-06T08:18:50.990-08:00Improvisation - Osso Bucco (Bone with a hole)It's raining....still. We've been in the low 30's with rain / sleet for days now. I'm not complaining! I happen to like rainy days, and especially compared with the rest of the country, we are very lucky. But hey, that's one of the great things about living in the South.<br />
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Anyway, I've been <strike>pestering </strike> asking nicely for some veal shanks or meaty veal bones to make some more veal stock. Once you've lived with it, it's difficult to substitute. Besides, Michael Ruhlman, whose books have been my reading list for the past few months, says, " Stock is the first lesson taught in the kitchens of the best cooking schools <em>for a reason</em>. ... Ultimately, well-made stock is the ingredient that definitively separates home cooking from the cooking of a professional". (The Elements of Cooking pg. 3). He goes on to say how fine dining establishments make stock daily, but the home cook hasn't the resources to do that. (No Kidding.) BUT, since it freezes well, there is no good reason a home cook can't have veal stock on hand. Lord knows I do not aspire to be a professional cook but I'd like to be the best home cook I can be (and not just because I thought I was a Leo (arrogant and competitive) most of my life...only to find that I am truly a Cancer). I don't want my new favorite author Mr. Ruhlman to think less of me in case he ever shows up at my house wanting a meal, so I need veal stock...Pronto!<br />
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As is the case with many accomodating people, WSH Jim thinks if 1 is good 5 is probably a lot better. In this case, the last time I asked for veal bones, he brought me ten pounds of lovely bones, but they had no meat on them to speak of. Via The French Laundry recipe I made a lovely veal stock but it uses a huge amount of tomato paste and is <strong>ridiculously</strong> hard and time consuming. This time I asked for "meaty bones" and here's what he brought:<br />
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Isn't that gorgeous? <strong>Ten</strong> pounds which was what I asked for, of what would you say? Bony Meat? In any case, while veal stock is truly a worthwhile endeavor, I couldn't bring myself to dedicate all ten pounds of this beautiful veal shank to stock. Hence, we are improvising Osso Bucco; and there isn't much better food for a cold rainy day than a slow braised meat. Usually, Osso Bucco is made from shanks where the bone is 3-4 inches thick. These are cut thinner, but as I said, it's improv!<br />
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Start by making a bouquet garni, which is some aromatic herbs wrapped in cheesecloth to flavor the sauce and not incorporate pieces in to it. When it's done just pull the cheesecloth bundle out. This is 1 bay leaf, some rosemary and thyme, 1 clove and few peppercorns.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOcJQPJMYlOxhj4zsazCEURhzZVMXgFSIH5N4FRy3p4J371_wkxYx9b1uAW7vfrVVxx8g7QLLZu3CbcuIU-hCRi66rBeH3pDAnBf1kueP1gPckD2TTdh4KPXeLXwUoxg60vwAA6zPSRg/s1600/002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="264" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAOcJQPJMYlOxhj4zsazCEURhzZVMXgFSIH5N4FRy3p4J371_wkxYx9b1uAW7vfrVVxx8g7QLLZu3CbcuIU-hCRi66rBeH3pDAnBf1kueP1gPckD2TTdh4KPXeLXwUoxg60vwAA6zPSRg/s320/002.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Next heat some canola oil in a cast iron or heavy skillet until it shimmers. While it's heating, salt and pepper the shanks and dredge them in flour, shaking off the excess.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ArJj7jFpOX1CUf78bZCp5YR_n2ye4pX4fxtyKwFZDOKYrwBPRW-VrXhHG3520M29yxY8fwQJvieM-q3ulAGkYXB5WdWUqZoomuCSG9ox4161Dq1V1uNvFlhvq8y6eBH5GmT_kssABks/s1600/008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2ArJj7jFpOX1CUf78bZCp5YR_n2ye4pX4fxtyKwFZDOKYrwBPRW-VrXhHG3520M29yxY8fwQJvieM-q3ulAGkYXB5WdWUqZoomuCSG9ox4161Dq1V1uNvFlhvq8y6eBH5GmT_kssABks/s320/008.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Put them in the skillet and brown both sides, around 4-5 minutes each.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwLIu14sFhcMER9TbvbNUK1Vj93RJQdfOiQ9WX3831XbPGUqWdqiY43FAhyphenhyphenpDBLF0O4v7wl2Gz5H78DzdpXZQB6Yp4WhzEcLJVK49LY1WEkXnghTSWuHOZg9Q9DmuggxU8a_yVBW0VG8/s1600/014.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFwLIu14sFhcMER9TbvbNUK1Vj93RJQdfOiQ9WX3831XbPGUqWdqiY43FAhyphenhyphenpDBLF0O4v7wl2Gz5H78DzdpXZQB6Yp4WhzEcLJVK49LY1WEkXnghTSWuHOZg9Q9DmuggxU8a_yVBW0VG8/s320/014.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>When that's done remove the shanks to a platter and throw in chopped celery, onion and carrot and cook until translucent, just a few minutes. Then throw in a clove of minced garlic to cook for about 1 minute. longer.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuSjTsyN_0zHx3mlPjZoAEEDUcjN18ocbZqLNmCqGjbIKvaLuTFvAD9TrHtsDI0cjosvEG4qf6YqzIJw3yJlyZSjAHcJ-t9QV9z_mC_O3kfZ_TGBL7R07pnuWNJ9gD1pjxmthbm-E54U/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEuSjTsyN_0zHx3mlPjZoAEEDUcjN18ocbZqLNmCqGjbIKvaLuTFvAD9TrHtsDI0cjosvEG4qf6YqzIJw3yJlyZSjAHcJ-t9QV9z_mC_O3kfZ_TGBL7R07pnuWNJ9gD1pjxmthbm-E54U/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYdOnzSMIShK3cWVP43DExMvXEla1ejk03UcujBY2OmZg7t4LiKy7exuwcSIEqPVHJPKecmmKFZtSz6CUtLeoYDu8loNl0RHiFfje9dZlWXI1RqvCwpjqVv0W8LiOOZjmYrCSEafjVK4/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyYdOnzSMIShK3cWVP43DExMvXEla1ejk03UcujBY2OmZg7t4LiKy7exuwcSIEqPVHJPKecmmKFZtSz6CUtLeoYDu8loNl0RHiFfje9dZlWXI1RqvCwpjqVv0W8LiOOZjmYrCSEafjVK4/s320/017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>After the veggies have cooked a few minutes, add 2/3 cup of white wine and let it cook down. Remember to remove the skillet from the heat before you do this. In making my most recent pot roast I remembered this rule and chose to ignore it... at my own peril. We almost ended up with Sally Flambe! Anyway, let the wine cook down and add 2 cups of chicken stock (preferably homemade but low sodium if store bought) also add 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste. I buy the paste in a tube, because I think that's one of the coolest inventions ever... I never use more than a T or 2 of tomato paste and anything left over in the can goes to waste. Let all this simmer together a few minutes before adding the meat back into the pot - taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Once in, cover and simmer low and slow for about 2 hours. By this time your house will smell heavenly. Check the meat frequently and turn it over as needed. Add chicken stock as needed, liquid should always be a level in which 2/3 of the meat is submerged. When the meat is tender and falling off the bones, remove it from the pan and cut it into bitesized pieces. Meanwhile strain the liquid (or if you are lazy like me just remove the vegetables with a slotted spoon). Let it reduce a bit until flavors are concentrated.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlV5kgf0_FM8eTyULhVyRr0O5rDzZ2eI9jakWvLLPmAcDxtwgB_qfKOHEX99eKBx-jzZrjxOEAXsFnhPUdQLKb4OlFE65incys4BeBQICRni_EW4girt8g4733Q98lKdC5mKYxwELEHCk/s1600/022.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlV5kgf0_FM8eTyULhVyRr0O5rDzZ2eI9jakWvLLPmAcDxtwgB_qfKOHEX99eKBx-jzZrjxOEAXsFnhPUdQLKb4OlFE65incys4BeBQICRni_EW4girt8g4733Q98lKdC5mKYxwELEHCk/s320/022.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Add the pieces of veal back in the pan for a few minutes to heat through and get married with the new concentrated pan sauce. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper to taste. Oops missed a carrot I see.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqGbGHe99_J7nlpaspQ93Imru0uLWkz9dVxyp7nId6cgUf7lGmunZpoZ3A3EyLzX-wK5L3HKzWJSuFXtd9ehkZRB_blHCDbpi7WSNGpdrVDyMhNeDlH6ZC5qCtqsGa_Kh2vupK6vALGk/s1600/025.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxqGbGHe99_J7nlpaspQ93Imru0uLWkz9dVxyp7nId6cgUf7lGmunZpoZ3A3EyLzX-wK5L3HKzWJSuFXtd9ehkZRB_blHCDbpi7WSNGpdrVDyMhNeDlH6ZC5qCtqsGa_Kh2vupK6vALGk/s320/025.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>This magical stew is often served on Polenta. Being born and raised in the south, Jim prefers grits, and they are almost the same thing. I cooked up some stone ground grits and added just a touch of extra sharp cheddar cheese. To plate, spoon some grits into a shallow bowl, add the stew and garnish with chopped Italian parsley and a bit of lemon zest.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRy4VTbLEr8I4WvicCpjZQjkhuYbtfBSxyh-b1I1pss8vw5bo_VWRXtycaT-sX27364_TXerL8H_38l2n0Btcrml7gNysbAE6zwGA2EtdbZUbpgr3CzsNgtWweu6jGoQZznknaDKWyPxM/s1600/033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" h5="true" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRy4VTbLEr8I4WvicCpjZQjkhuYbtfBSxyh-b1I1pss8vw5bo_VWRXtycaT-sX27364_TXerL8H_38l2n0Btcrml7gNysbAE6zwGA2EtdbZUbpgr3CzsNgtWweu6jGoQZznknaDKWyPxM/s320/033.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>That's a bowl of goodness right there. The tenderness of the veal and it's delicate flavor are divine. The sauce has a good bit of veal flavor, kicked up by the bouquet garni. I actually liked the grits better than a polenta base for this. This is the first time I've made Osso Bucco, I really liked it. This recipe is a mix of several I found, all had roughly the same ingredients, all used this technique.<br />
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I can't post a Veal recipe without adding a note about Veal. I know a lot of people won't eat veal. I understand that, I used to be one of you. But ask yourself this: Do you eat Lamb? Do you know that the Chicken you eat lived just a few short weeks? When I heard John Mackay interviewed once (founder of Whole Foods and a vegan himself) he was asked if he had misgivings about selling meat in his stores. He said he didn't buy the animal death argument, because everything alive will one day die. It's the treatment of the animals during life and at the end that matters. I've often pondered that eternal paradox: that life requires death. OK too philsophical for a food blog but it's a worthwhile reflection. Bottomline on veal is, if you want to try veal...do it. Just buy it from a responsible and humane source. It costs more but to me, it's worth it.<br />
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I'll be doing more "other tasty bites" and less French Laundry because quite frankly it became boring. Thomas Keller is a genius, an artist and an inspiration, but I am not Thomas Keller. I'll still post things from Bouchon and Ad Hoc because they are more my style. I'll be busy making veal stock the next day or two, hopefully I'll find an inspiring recipe to share while it simmers on the stove. OH! and Jim gave me a fancy shmancy skimmer which makes my stock making so much easier! Thank you Jim!<br />
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See you soon.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-34097019880958053572011-02-04T15:04:00.000-08:002011-02-04T15:04:51.231-08:00Coming Soon!I only know of one person who still checks in here, and just to let that person know... I am working on a new post for this weekend. Hope my pictures turn out ok!<br />
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See you soon. No. Really.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-19354632849870487052011-01-05T18:48:00.000-08:002011-01-05T18:48:51.614-08:00Oops forgot the poemI wrote this when Bullet was very sick but not close to death, please indulge me:<br />
Let me lie down in the rain<br />
Nature fills in balance<br />
Drops will wash away the pain<br />
And Spirit shall be pulled on high<br />
<br />
Let me die right in the storm<br />
While wind and tempest toss<br />
The Trees take on a priestly form<br />
And lift me up above<br />
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In fear I sought the shelter here<br />
the roofs and rooms secure<br />
But as I die, put me outside<br />
In God's Almighty hand.<br />
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He intended our beginning and end on earth<br />
Who can claim his own birth<br />
Who can direct his own death<br />
None.<br />
God Bless us and Keep us all.<br />
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<br />
Love.<br />
Sally<br />
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Thanks for reading and any commentsSallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-4087392279171626002011-01-05T18:08:00.000-08:002011-01-05T18:08:40.299-08:00The EulogyOur Bullet girl died at 9:58 Decmber 29, 2010. She went peacefully and was ready to die. Up until the 27th she staging amazing comebacks, but by Wednesday morning it was clear that she was ready to go.<br />
<br />
I wrote a few words about how she came to us, I will write a few now about how she became Bullet the Wonder Dog and what has happened since she left this life. I have held off on this post because her boy, Ken, has been on vacation in Ireland and I didn't want to impact his time off, or let him learn of her death on a blog post.<br />
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The wonder dog:<br />
I never worked while she lived with us and we rarely take vacations, so I have spent more time with this wonder dog than I did with my Mom, or with my husband or even my son. She was at my side constantly; except in the summer when dogs shouldn't go to the grocery store in cars. She was with me when I gardened, she was with me when I cooked, she watched out the window for the school bus every day when Ken came home. She greeted Jim at the door every night he was not out of town. When Jim retired they walked 2 miles a day together every day until July of last year.<br />
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At 4:58 every single day, she did a dinner dance, in the play stance jumping and boucing to get attention for her supper. She upstaged Snoopy.<br />
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She never barked unless she was playing with Jim in a play fight over protecting me.<br />
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Every time her boy's car pulled in the driveway, she recognized it and wagged her whole body to greet him.<br />
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Every time we came home we heard the tick-tick-tick of her nails on the hardwoods with whole body wagging to greet us. We always ordered from the menu with Boo left overs in mind.<br />
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She sniffed, sniffed, sniffed, sniffed, sniffed everything<br />
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She was afraid of loud noises so July 4th and New Year's were bad nights for us. We cuddled to no avail.<br />
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Our neighbors said their eyes were filled with tears at the news, and all of them said she was the most happy, sweet, loving soul they had ever met.<br />
<br />
I hope to see her in heaven. God rest her soul.<br />
<br />
Amen.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-86005260681271057922011-01-03T17:16:00.000-08:002011-01-03T17:31:15.989-08:00A New Year, A New LifeLast week (which seems like last year--yes it's a joke and no it isn't for those of you familiar with the situation) I had a birthday lunch with my dear friend Audrey, who is 25. Well, she may be slightly older than that but she is one of the coolest people I know. Anyway, for her Birthday we went to Grace 17-20 which is a nice restaurant very close to my house. We exchanged a few gifts seeing as we missed our Christmas lunch and got to the business of ordering. Since Audrey was on vacation we started with a nice glass of Chenin Blanc . We had such a wonderful time! We laughed and talked and laughed and laughed. We discussed the deepest mysteries of the universe (hair treatments) and wondered why brothers give M&Ms for Christmas. It was one of the best days I've had in months. Thank you Audrey!<br />
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She ordered a spicy grilled shrimp on salad greens and I ordered a roasted vegetable Strozzapreti (pasta) dish. I looked up Strozzapreti and wiki tells me it literally translates to Priest Choker. I have nothing against Priests. In fact I have been quite fond of a few of them throughout my life. But I'd never had this pasta so it sounded interesting to me. Dear Friends, It was freaking amazing! roasted olives, peppers, zucchini, spinach leaves and maybe some other things were served in a big bowl with this amazing pasta and a white wine butter sauce. It was soo good I only ate half and then as we got up to leave, I left the "to go" bundle on the table :'( <br />
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So I had to try to make it. Roasted Veggies, no problem, do that all the time... err well, I used to. Getting it back together now. White Wine butter sauce was nixed due to NY resolutions so I opted for adding mushrooms to the mix and roasting with olive oil and salt and pepper to bring out the juices. Chopped up a jar of roasted peppers, smashed some pitted nicoise olives, cut up 2 zucchini and broke into manageable bits some wild mushrooms, tossed it all in Olive oil and a generous sprinkling of Salt and Pepper and roasted on a baking sheet at 400 for about 15-18 min. I don't have pictures, sorry. But WSH said at least 8 times what a fantastic meal it was, and the pasta was exceptional... it really was the star of the show, I felt I had to write.<br />
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And with no further ado here is the star:<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXzfDL_I5P06SGBLLCbArX_43Kx7h88Y-dAUuk8ekU3q2qKmIS4qHf2ieAXBbCYcVQ1Ql15h5GKu1KKHFRqLSmQWnTl4kMWgenJ4I6SqdZApY6L5Tz4-cWMfF6K4r3wj0EjaRMfcCr0s/s1600/005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWXzfDL_I5P06SGBLLCbArX_43Kx7h88Y-dAUuk8ekU3q2qKmIS4qHf2ieAXBbCYcVQ1Ql15h5GKu1KKHFRqLSmQWnTl4kMWgenJ4I6SqdZApY6L5Tz4-cWMfF6K4r3wj0EjaRMfcCr0s/s320/005.JPG" width="242" /></a></div>As you can see, my friends, my camera skills have not improved. But this pasta is truly extraordinary. I have eaten at some of the best Italian restaurants in this country, and I've never had a dish where the pasta shown through like this. This is Montebello Organic Strozzapreti. Established 1388!!! I bought it at Whole Foods and I think the 1 lb bag set me back about $3.50. It was so totally worth it. And the whole Priest Choker thing? What's really funny/interesting/weird is that the place where this pasta is made was once a monastery.<br />
A secret war between priests and Monks? Someone should write a videogame around that.<br />
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See you soon, getting better each day.<br />
Love<br />
SallySallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-5385487791104251222010-12-25T14:38:00.000-08:002010-12-25T14:41:20.271-08:00ChristmasI'm still here, are you? Belated Happy Hannukah and Merry Christmas. Time has flown by since my last post. I can't believe it was over two months ago! I've been cooking but all stuff I've posted about before. Most of our energies have been devoted to our beloved Bullet who enjoyed some Prime Rib this Christmas night. We have had more visitors this December than in the last 3 years combined! It was very moving to have people spend time and resources travelling to see us, just because they wanted to spend time with us.<br />
We are grateful for all our friends and family. <br />
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We watched our next door neighbor working his a** off for the last few days, wondering what the heck he was building in his backyard. At first I thought a sandbox for his 5 kids... but 2 are middle school age. So then I thought a raised bed garden. On and on he worked, from daybreak to twilight for 3-4 days. We watched and wondered until Christmas Eve. as he put the finishing touches on the trampoline, complete with safety nets. I don't think I've ever seen a father work so hard (physically) to make his kids surprised and happy. This morning they came tumbling out... all together with squeals of delight and JUMPING JUMPING JUMPING!! It was so incredibly heartwarming just to watch. <br />
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We had a minimalist Christmas, no tree, no lights, no baking or candy making, we did have a wreath, and a few presents, none wrapped. Jim was so clever... he placed my presents in inconspicuous places around the house so it was sort of like a treasure hunt... very thoughtful. I highly recommend the "less is more" approach, it allowed us to focus much more on the real reason for the celebration and strengthen our faith and together ponder Christmas for the mystery it really is. And to all those who didn't receive presents from us, you know we will catch up with you on another date. <br />
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Since this is a food blog, I'll tell you our menu. It was simple yet so declicious:<br />
3 rib Prime Rib of beef ( rarer than it looks in the picture)<br />
Horseradish sauce<br />
Mashed potatoes with St. Andre Triple Cream Cheese and Creme Fraiche<br />
Green Beans<br />
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</div>As I write this, a beautiful snow is falling in Atlanta, coating the ground. Besides a pony, a white Christmas is my inner young girl's biggest wish. Thanks, God! I needed it today!<br />
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Best wishes to all for a healthy and happy new year.<br />
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More posts in the new year I promise.<br />
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See you soonSallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-79231739020054331032010-10-19T13:35:00.000-07:002010-10-19T13:35:44.166-07:00Quiche Me Quick! Bouchon Quiche LorraineAdjusting to our new normal, I decided it was past time to do this recipe. With great resolve, I picked up the book, announced "I'm making that Quiche" and marched to the kitchen. I lugged out the Kitchen Aid stand mixer, measured my ingredients and went to take a picture. Hmm.....where did I put that camera? After about a 30 minute search and rescue mission, the camera was located. Relief! I composed my first shot and the camera refused... low battery. So I plugged it into the charger. A multitude of obstacles I had to overcome to bring you this Quiche, my friends, inertia being the biggest. Now that I am finished, and it took 3 days to make this... I probably would have chosen another recipe. Quiche Lorraine is filled with onions, bacon and cheese, only nothing is ever that simple with T. Keller and crew.<br />
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Two cups of sifted flour, (yes Loren, I see what you will likely see in that picture) 1 tsp salt, 8 oz. unsalted butter cut into not quite 1/4 in cubes. 1/4 inch would have make the process easier I think. You also need 1/4 c ice water at the end. <br />
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This is a pate brisee (I don't know how to do the french accents on the computer) which means short pastry. All the references I looked at compared it to pie crust, but this is really not at all like pie crust. In fact, in the ELEVEN pages devoted to Quiche in the Bouchon cookbook, the author makes quite a fuss about how Americans have never had real quiche. Assuming, that is, until Bouchon opened. He assailed the pie crust as absolutely wrong for quiche. In any case, devoting 11 pages to one concept tells you it is a very important concept within the confines of the cookbook and authentic French Bistro fare. Heck, I even had to search the city for a 9" ring mold 2" high. 8 3/4 by 1 7/9ths was as close as I could come and it was the only ring mold I found. Thank you <a href="http://cookswarehouse.com/productcart/pc/landing.asp">Cook's Warehouse</a>.<br />
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Ok so on with show--I mean dough. You place half your flour and all the salt into the mixing bowl with a paddle attachment fitted and on low speed, add the butter in small handfuls. The most important thing is to <strong>completely</strong> incorporate the butter into the flour. Once it's looking mixed, turn the speed up to medium and continue. <br />
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When fully incorporated, add the remaining flour and go back to low speed (unless you want a dusting). Over and over the recipe stresses that you must not have any discernable pieces of butter. This is where it differs from pie crust. Pie crust needs little pieces of butter for flakiness, this dough must not have them in order to keep it's integrity when filled with the custard. <br />
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At the last, add the 1/4 c ice water and mix until it "comes around the paddle" then shape into a 7-9 in disk, wrap in plastic and rest in the fridge for at least 1 hr, up to 1 day. I chose the overnight option ! (what a surprise!)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJJVZtr6Nmu8V7dX4_Xen55jhdTu37hjhH-rmQMwJe_JO6pwXwCNvM2Ce7F-ZmZzLdCM76xKGn8CLYkbib9ukdLTzSREiVCiNKuho_Ptqq58WamxIDFedUeUicXQyAXnkoNfO9ZPI7ts/s1600/019.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLJJVZtr6Nmu8V7dX4_Xen55jhdTu37hjhH-rmQMwJe_JO6pwXwCNvM2Ce7F-ZmZzLdCM76xKGn8CLYkbib9ukdLTzSREiVCiNKuho_Ptqq58WamxIDFedUeUicXQyAXnkoNfO9ZPI7ts/s320/019.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>On a cleaned and flour-dusted work surface, roll your dough out to about 14" diameter, it should be 3/16" thick.<br />
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Roll the dough up on your rolling pin and unroll it onto your ring. You're supposed to coat the mold with canola oil but I forgot. Gently work the dough downward to form a shell and use extra pieces of dough to patch and holes or cracks. Save the extra dough pieces for later patching. <br />
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Place a piece of parchment in the shell carefully working it to the the edges and then fill with pie weights or dried beans.<br />
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Bake in a preheated 375 oven on the center rack for 30-45 min. The outer crust should be lightly browned.<br />
Remove from the oven and carefully remove the parchment and beans (or weights if you're fancy). Inspect for holes or cracks and patch as needed. Return to the oven for about 25 min when the bottom of the crust should be a deep golden brown. Cool completely on the baking sheet. My shell won't win any beauty contests but I like its rustic looks. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSSQwLR64uQ1P78ani_XaELmwMkOn3It4OrGfemiJ_fxu-YUzmaZ_wdfferHbu0ZykgBGOe4YFpdr5SDb2YTTLLB4rEAWExOGqETLPF_s1pYZv-4LID-ZGqSO7WoUJo3_eut4eUThaHk/s1600/018.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqSSQwLR64uQ1P78ani_XaELmwMkOn3It4OrGfemiJ_fxu-YUzmaZ_wdfferHbu0ZykgBGOe4YFpdr5SDb2YTTLLB4rEAWExOGqETLPF_s1pYZv-4LID-ZGqSO7WoUJo3_eut4eUThaHk/s320/018.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>Meanwhile, start on the Onion Confit. Slice 3-4 large onions along the grain, thats root to tip. Heat 1/4 c water into a medium pan and whisk in 4 oz of butter, 1 tsp kosher salt and add a bouquet garni. I didn't have any leeks so I just made a sachet instead.<br />
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</div>Once the onions are done, combine the onions and bacon in a large skillet and cook through until warm, then drain on paper towels. Grate 1/2 c Emmentaler cheese. In a medium saucepan combine 2c cream and 2 c milk and heat until a skin forms on top; let the milk mixture cool 15 mins In your blender place 3 eggs, 3 gratings of nutmeg, some salt and white pepper, add half the cooled milk and blend away. <br />
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Place a layer of onion mixture on the bottom of the quiche shell and sprinkle half the cheese on. At this point it became obvious that I had waaayyy too much stuff for my rustic little quiche shell. So I decided not to make the other half of the batter. Now for the moment of truth! I poured my quiche batter into the shell......<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-_8o4dufQmRNDtJZr1ZjCShkDFltqQzVQt4F8OKTVbB0Xbeez1p6UHrRVWlIVAg1fxIVMy7OGoavR-P0-xmJrReabc7Y6ENF4ftrqjVUNAYyZUoDDbZgDs6C2DQDTlQhJC011IjCkvU/s1600/034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ex="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8-_8o4dufQmRNDtJZr1ZjCShkDFltqQzVQt4F8OKTVbB0Xbeez1p6UHrRVWlIVAg1fxIVMy7OGoavR-P0-xmJrReabc7Y6ENF4ftrqjVUNAYyZUoDDbZgDs6C2DQDTlQhJC011IjCkvU/s320/034.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>The shell had cracks (I made a thorough inspection and I never saw them) and it leaked and leaked and leaked... I wiped it up yelling... what should I dooooo!?!??? Cook it anyway? WSH said sure, the cracks will seal in short order. So I slid it in the oven and waited. That husband of mine.... he's so cool in a crisis and is (almost) always right. It turned out fine! I can't tell you what it tastes like though, because it has to cool to room temp, and then in the fridge for 1-3 days and then be reheated before eating. I think French cooks must be into some serious self-loathing.... Photo with burnt leaked eggs :(<br />
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Cleaned up nicely!<br />
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So if your quiche shell leaks, try it anyway and use the leftover fillings for omelettes! It's a win-win!<br />
Thanks for reading! I'll have something new next week.<br />
See you soon!Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-66907729616483538892010-10-06T12:20:00.000-07:002010-10-06T13:18:11.251-07:00Making it day by daySorry for the lack of posts. We have been pretending to be professional hospice workers at home. Bullet is very, very ill but doing very well. I realize that doesn't make any sense. But she is the toughest little pup I've ever met, and stubborn as a mule. She has had 3 close encounters with death and has bounced back from each. This is, needless to say, very difficult for us to deal with emotionally, physically, psychologically and every other ally. But anywho, she is with us, and most of our energy goes to caring for her. We've never loved a pet like this, she is a very unusual dog. But I guess everyone has that one special pet in their lives.... there will never be another Bullet. **Edit: Just so you know, she is walking, eating, tailwagging and doing all those other doggy things. We are not holding on to her while she suffers, we wouldn't do that.<br />
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In the meantime.... we must eat. Not Keller, thank you. Look in the cupboard and the freezer, what's there? Actually I stood in the kitchen staring at a package of defrosting chicken for a good 15 minutes thinking oh dear.... But I looked around and found canned black beans, rice, salsa, onions garlic and corn tortillas. Starting to come together here!!! Defrosted the chicken and cut it into chunks and marinated it in olive oil, chopped garlic, cumin and some chopped onion. The marinade went on about 30 minutes. <br />
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Make the rice" 2 parts water 1 part rice , a pinch of salt and a drizzle of white vinegar. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, but still boiling, cover and cook exactly 12 minutes... dont peek. After 12 minutes remove from heat and let water absorb 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork when ready to serve.<br />
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Black Beans: heat some canola oil in a pan and add onions, cook till translucent about 5 min. Add garlic (chopped) and cook for 30 secs more. Add beans. Salt and pepper and cumin to taste. I added some Ro-tel. Chopped jalapenos are good too but I didn't have any on hand. Simmer for about 30 minutes.<br />
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I am off the chart into canned stuff on this one, usually not my preference at all.<br />
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Put a littke canola into a nonstick skillet and fry up your corn tortillas. A little goes a long way. Just brown them up and flip and then remove to drain.<br />
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FINALLY, heat canola in a large skillet and on hight heat sautee the chicken and marinade mixture. I like having the chicks brown but if you have too much liquid, they won't. It doesn't matter, do it either way, it will taste great.<br />
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SERVE: Rice, beans, chicken grated monterey jack, salsa, and fried corn tortillas. <br />
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AWESOME... I am serious... It was really really good. And sometimes presentation just isn't all that important!<br />
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See you soon.. pat your pets, hug your special peopleSallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7076234682472527644.post-57607678497602129522010-09-11T09:03:00.000-07:002010-09-11T09:03:03.331-07:00The French Laundry - Heirloom Tomato Tart with Nicoise Olive Tapenade, Mixed Field Greens with Basil VinaigretteThomas Keller's cooking philosphy is really very simple and is shared by most renowned chefs I've read about. It can be summed up thusly: Use the finest ingredients, use quality hardware (pots and pans for you non-Alton Brownies), and have every piece of the recipe ready, make a list and proceed in an orderly fashion. <br />
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In this journey through this crazy making cookbook, I have become a MUCH better cook. Seriously. I owe that improvement to that philosophy having been built into my subconscious. When I was looking through the index of recipes and saw that I had only highlighted 15 e-gads! I figured I'd better get going. This recipe looked easy enough from the title and a brief reading of the ingredients list, but having completed it, I'd like to offer an addendum to Chef K's philosophy. It is quite possible that the adddendum is specifically for me, or it may be possible that it will apply to you as well. (Edit: I think it's not just me, one of these things is usually the undoing of at least a few of the participants in those chef competition shows. I think seasoned chefs have built some sort of barrier that doesn't allow their mood or circumstances affect their food.)<br />
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Don't cook something special when you're pissed off. Or grumpy. Just don't do it, order out or make a standard from your repertoire. You'll thank me for it. It's true that love shows through in food, sadly, so does anxiety, frustration and irritability.<br />
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Don't assume you remember what the directions said as you set the oven temperature. This has burned me more than once (har har).<br />
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Know your limitations. This recipe called for puff pastry and directed me to the page<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>s </strong></span><span style="font-size: small;">for his recipe. Nada. Not even gonna try. Trader Joe's sells a lovely frozen puff pastry and it's inexpensive as well. </span><br />
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OK so here goes our simple recipe. We'll start with the olive tapenade which can be made 3 days ahead. First you find 1 oz, (roughly 6-8) salt packed anchovy fillets. That task took several trips to specialty stores and finally a phone call to the <a href="http://www.e48stmarket.com/">E. 48th St.</a> market in ATL had them, and many, many other more beautiful and enticing Italian specialities as well. Their bread in unbelieveable. Anyway, you take your little fish home and rinse off the salt. That's when you fully realize they are actually fish. You have your husband, or neighbor, or anyone who will, debone them. They will look like this:<br />
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No we don't use kalamatas, or some other large olive you can buy already pitted, we have to pit these tiny little nicoise. One. at. a. time. OK, when the anchovies are soaked x 3, take them out rinse and pat them dry. <br />
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Measure 1/4 tsp dijon mustard and 1/2 c. Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Put the anchovies, olives and mustard into the food processor and turn it on (best to use the small bowl processor if you have it) and slowly pour the olive oil in through the feeding tube. Your final tapenade will look something like this and can be stored in the fridge up to three days. This is WAY more than you need for this recipe, btw.<br />
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Next up: tomatoes (5 medium sized heirlooms) . This was easy, and would have been especially easy had I rechecked the oven temperature. Slice 2 of the tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices about 3 per tomato. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and coat it with 1 T olive oil, place the tomatoes down and sprinkle them with salt and pepper, thyme and 2 T of the oil. Place into a 250 oven for 45 min to an hour. They should be somewhat dried but retain some moisture. This can be done ahead and stored in the fridge.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PwicmYC5_UG4GS5kuiQnjCVGbW0jBAnzFxa3hJ8v2FcUVefjE1C-Q6qwyji_i3yxgjqPz8F7D0VCCUOwrBwVbfzb9WR749BqYpIhJ0CUVIKwsWWkF-Ej7DYzGgbp8CJ7vS2d9EaqWBA/s1600/027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1PwicmYC5_UG4GS5kuiQnjCVGbW0jBAnzFxa3hJ8v2FcUVefjE1C-Q6qwyji_i3yxgjqPz8F7D0VCCUOwrBwVbfzb9WR749BqYpIhJ0CUVIKwsWWkF-Ej7DYzGgbp8CJ7vS2d9EaqWBA/s320/027.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before</td></tr>
</tbody></table>On my first try, I used some stunningly beautiful tomatoes, they were just over the top. I placed them on coated <strong><em>aluminum foil</em></strong> and put them in a <strong><em>350</em></strong> oven. It wasn't pretty.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfzdSdqIKC1Lg9I281BR4-Pv9Iu-eHoyL9sVn3K3cU9PgRxAeo_bo-X1RkbFJmKH0764qX52Tv0xhjC7XfgYjDDlqfcBc77xiM1xC4Et13CQUOXwbL9FfkPxoBMSpCQDAxO54hVoEQuE/s1600/039.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMfzdSdqIKC1Lg9I281BR4-Pv9Iu-eHoyL9sVn3K3cU9PgRxAeo_bo-X1RkbFJmKH0764qX52Tv0xhjC7XfgYjDDlqfcBc77xiM1xC4Et13CQUOXwbL9FfkPxoBMSpCQDAxO54hVoEQuE/s320/039.JPG" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take #2 - after</td></tr>
</tbody></table>OK then I redid that. In the meantime, slice the rest of the tomatoes into 1/8 in slices and line a baking sheet with a clean dish towel. Line the slices up and sprinkle with S and P and 3 T of Olive oil. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 hr up to 5 hours. ** At this point I ask, who has that much refrigerator space?<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQ_4nGhjzrtF8n-YG1zZTjgT6nrl9O9E3PqSLg88rRIdkHUW_y0PfQ0FWDWajLRBgG05smgFsJwzQZ7SiUnozBfbg6PgLlCBLSoz_Y9mo0MT8tUuwy3GS0xaQAQCtsiCtnjYXfCtruo0/s1600/029.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikQ_4nGhjzrtF8n-YG1zZTjgT6nrl9O9E3PqSLg88rRIdkHUW_y0PfQ0FWDWajLRBgG05smgFsJwzQZ7SiUnozBfbg6PgLlCBLSoz_Y9mo0MT8tUuwy3GS0xaQAQCtsiCtnjYXfCtruo0/s320/029.JPG" /></a></div><br />
So far so good. Next up the basil vinaigrette. Take 1/2 c packed basil leaves, 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil, 3 T balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper. Blanch the basil leaves in boiling water for 1 minute and then quickly remove them to cool running water to stop the cooking. Lay them on paper towels and pat them dry. Put them in the food processor and puree as best you can (there isn't much volume left after being blanched). Slowly drizzle the oil in and let it keep processing until you can't see basil bits. I got impatient after about 5 minutes. Set aside and at the very end you will introduce Mr. Vinegar to Miss Basil puree and they will fall in love. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglR2f9g694WihH4Qrl66HfVA5_hOu83Gs7mWEpevb_wL5KsHNS6cKVRYfG1IT09ZQwFL_6ouuFGnC3imctCldgwy8MRXzabYBRN-bpnZ-2F5xUQ_3vYW2PnSutmiZgLeRbuLK7avgEqsA/s1600/037.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglR2f9g694WihH4Qrl66HfVA5_hOu83Gs7mWEpevb_wL5KsHNS6cKVRYfG1IT09ZQwFL_6ouuFGnC3imctCldgwy8MRXzabYBRN-bpnZ-2F5xUQ_3vYW2PnSutmiZgLeRbuLK7avgEqsA/s320/037.JPG" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_4C9IwKtyohdyATUwvF3u2xHhWeqUM9vqdk7RUyX_K5YxZlnpLUHF3yLISdQYC7CwHNdoiAwUNOlv65KgUsC6cHBAhhWCcImbScSiceq87_p4zEW68plWLWqxIm8juRalH0l_xxCVQk/s1600/042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" ox="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc_4C9IwKtyohdyATUwvF3u2xHhWeqUM9vqdk7RUyX_K5YxZlnpLUHF3yLISdQYC7CwHNdoiAwUNOlv65KgUsC6cHBAhhWCcImbScSiceq87_p4zEW68plWLWqxIm8juRalH0l_xxCVQk/s320/042.JPG" /></a></div>We're at the final turn here! Take your puff pastry out of the freezer (even if you made it you need to freeze it). Cut 3 inch rounds. I used a hamburger patty form as a guide, so it's a bit larger than 3 inches. Prick the dough with a fork, unless you, as I, value your sanity and bought frozen dough.. it's pre-pricked.<br />
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Place on top of each round 1 or 2 slices of the baked tomatoes (depends on the size of the pastry round and the size of the tomatoes). I don't know about you, but things in my universe rarely match up perfectly. Place the rounds on a parchment lined baking sheet into a preheated oven. The recipe calls for 375, I followed the directions on my pastry box and went with 400. Bake for 25-30 minutes until they are crisp and the bottoms are well browned. This can be done ahead, refrigerated and reheated for 10-15 minutes when ready to serve<br />
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Arrange 3 overlapping pieces of the cold tomato on top and top each with a 1/4 tsp of the olive tapenade.<br />
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To finish: Mix the vinegar and basil oil and add salt and pepper to taste. Lightly dress your baby lettuce leaves (mixed field greens-- remember them from the title?) so that each leaf is barely coated. Top each round with a portion of the greens and drizzle a little vinaigrette around the serving plate. (Which I neglected to do in these fuzzy pictures).<br />
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Verdict: These were really tasty and different sort of pizzas. To make it more accessible I'd say, definitely use frozen pastry and substitute a commercial olive tapenade you like - there are lots of brands out there. Trader Joe's (who doesn't know me from Adam so this is not a promotion) has a nice one with a blend of olives and some peppers and a hint of garlic. I found the nicoise olives a little bitter, and the best I can say about the anchovies was I couldn't really taste them! If you want to try these, they would be great for a party because so much of it can be done ahead. And if you don't want a salad on top of your pizza, by all means sprinkle a little cheese.<br />
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I hope you've made it this far in this post because there's something I want to share with you. The date on this post is September 11. I know you all know exactly where you were and what you were thinking and doing as the news reached you. But today, WSH was headed to the Peachtree Road Farmer's Market. It's open from 8-12 on Saturdays. He was stuck in traffic (yes there is always traffic in ATL) and he watched as a man pulled his car into an empty lot and got out. He stood there and donned bagpipes and shortly after 9 began to play Amazing Grace. All by himself. Think about that. What moved him? Who was he playing for? What a remembrance. May we all carry such a remembrance in our hearts today and in all the days to come. Love, Laugh, Cry, Remember. Live.<br />
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See you soon.Sallyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08509575810914565014noreply@blogger.com0