Phenomenal Fennel Chicken

Okay, okay, okay!  I know you've missed me.  I'm SORR-EEEEEE!  The spring got away from me....the summer got away from me...and here we are in the fall!  The kids are back to school and I KNOW you are looking for some ideas to spice up, or flavor-up the dinner table. 

Here's a good one that I have to say, I was quite reluctant to try.  It calls for an ingredient called fennel.  Fennel is similar to celery, with a licorice-like, anise-like flavor.  But PLEEEEZE don't let that scare you away.  Most people who know my food style know that I DO NOT LIKE LICORICE.  In fact, my top three NO GO foods are liver, lima beans and licorice.  That being said, fennel is something altogether different, especially when cooked.  It adds a layer of flavor that will make your tongue both think and sing. 

This delightful, sublime dish also calls for leeks.  Leeks are a milder, sweeter, wonderful member of the onion family.  Make sure you only use the white and the pale green part of the leek and WASH it very well.

The final key ingredient is cream.  The cream makes this dish luxurious.  Don't skip it. 

Here are the particulars:

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken, cut up into pieces
1 tbs. olive oil

3 tbs. unsalted butter
1 fennel bulb (about 1 pound), cored and cut into slices small enough to fit comforably in your mouth, about 1/2  inch slices
3 leeks, cut into 1/2 inch slices

1/3 cup dry white wine such as pinot grigio
1 cup heavy cream

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper.  In a large dutch oven or oven-proof saute pan, heat the oil over medium high heat.  Add the chicken in batches, skin side down, until golden brown, about 5-6 minutes.  Transfer to a plate, repeat until all the chicken in browned. Add all the chicken back to the pan, cover and put in the oven until the chicken reaches 160 degrees internal temperature.  Pour the fat and pan drippings into a gravy separator or a glass measuring cup.  Let the drippings sit a few minutes and remove the fat from the top.   Transfer the chicken to a sheet pan or a platter and cover with foil to keep warm. 

Turn down the pan to medium and add the butter to the pan.  Add the fennel and stir well to coat.  Cover and cook the fennel until it softens, about 5 minutes.  Add the leeks and cook, stirring occasionally until the fennel is tender, about 5 minutes longer.  

Add the wine, the cream, and the pan drippings. Raise the heat and bring to a boil, about three minutes.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve the chicken, and cover with some of the fennel leek sauce.  Garnish with fennel fronds if you are so inclined.


I served this with wild rice, as you can seen in the picture.  I was looking for a contrast in color and in flavor.  You might argue that you have your veggies covered with the leeks and the fennel, but you could serve this with sauteed mushrooms or a caprese salad to add some color.  And do let me know what you think!!!

Sweet Plus Savory: Sugar Snap Peas with Soy and Sesame

Greetings and salutations!  I hope you didn't think that I had forgotten you!  Somehow life just keeps getting more and more complex, but I am deep into food more than I have ever been!  I am now working part-time at Williams-Sonoma on their Culinary Team, and that has opened up a new opportunity for me to learn more about food.  In addition, I have been working with some local caterers on some television shows, so that has been very exciting.  Lastly, I have a new client that has requested low carb, high taste options for the family.  The good news?  You all get to benefit.  At the same time that all of this excitingness has taken place in my culinary life, my trusty camera died.  And a blogger is nothing without her camera!  :)  Anyway, it's high on the "to be purchased" list, so that should help increase my output to you! 

Many of you know that I am a carnivore.  Through and through.  But recently, I have backed off the flesh and am focusing on my inner vege.  With that said, I'm happy to share with you an easy preparation for sugar snap peas.  Right now, they are available in abundant supply.  Costco even has them.  You can eat the whole thing, or if you are fussy, you can string them.  You decide.  I like the expeditious approach...I eat the whole thing. 

Well, I was in a quandary about what to do with them.  I was thinking about stir-fry, but wasn't into the hassle.  Then I had an "ah-ha" moment:  Why not make THEM the stir fry.  I heated up a skillet with canola oil (or any other vegetable oil), and added the snow peas.  About a minute later I added soy sauce, a little sesame oil (a little goes a long way), a little fresh ginger and some minced garlic (you don't want to add garlic too early on high heat, because it will burn).  I tasted one, it was crunchy, yet soft (al dente, I guess) and that was my easy-breezy side dish.  Serve it with steak, grilled chicken or even pork and fish. The peas are sweet, the contrasting soy sauce is salty and savory. 


This dish is high in vitamins A, C, K, B6 and fiber.  The fiber means that it will help you feel full faster.  For those of you that follow the Glycemic Index, this dish is estimated to be extremely low on the Index.  That means it will not cause a significant spike in your blood sugar. Yummy goodness.  Enjoy! 

Grilled Veggies: Not just for Summer Anymore!

I must first say, please excuse my hiatus!  It's not that I haven't been thinking about you.  I've had the wonderful opportunity to explore the world of Gluten-free with a cient of mine.  It's a challenging task to make things taste good despite a long list of restrictions.  I will share some tips in the future.  Now on to the subject at hand...grilled veggies!

As a child, I must admit that grilled vegetables was not my idea of a party.  In fact, if you have children, try to expose them to as much of this kind of thing as you can while they are still young.  I encourage you to at least have them TRY everything.  If they don't like it, don't force them to eat it....just move on and let them know that in a few weeks they may like it, as their tastes evolve so much over time.

Grilled vegetables are really a simple thing.  And believe it or not, you don't even need a grill!  Just buy one of those square or round pans that has those "speed bumps" to create the grill or "hash" marks.  Pick the veggies of your choice...eggplant, zuchini, summer squash, mushrooms, asparagus, tomatoes......  Marinate them for about an hour in the fridge using olive oil, a little balsamic vinegar, Kosher salt, pepper and Herbs de Provence. 

Heat your grill to really hot.  Layer the veggies so they have enough room and are not touching eachother.  Once they have cooked on one side (peek underneath and look for that black grill mark), turn them over.  Once they are done on the other side, remove them and put them in a dish and cover with foil until all the batches are done.  They will "weep" and express water.  That's ok.  Salt and pepper to taste.

Serve with omeletes, steak, chicken or fish.  They are also nice over cous cous. With your indoor grill pan, it will feel like summer all winter long!!!!

Pan-fried Filet of Sole with Butter and Lemons

In 2011, I have purposed to eat more fish.  These days, I never eat fish.  It's actually a very strange phenomeon.  You see, I grew up in New England.  We ate fish about once a week.  Lobster, scallops, swordfish, bluefish, clams...the typical stuff.  Although, interstingly, no shrimp.  I'm not sure what that was about.  I will have to ask my mother.

But as I matured into busy adulthood, seafood has been in my diet less and less.  I guess I would attribute it to three things.  First, my favorite preparation of seafood is simple:  lemon, butter, salt, pepper.  Done.  But as you can imagine, that can get a bit monotonous.  Second, seafood is one of those things that is best eaten fresh.  And sometimes we get busy and don't have time to prepare it that day.  So it goes bad or goes in the freezer until we throw it out 3 months later.  I also regret that I did not put extra emphhasis on seafood when I had my children.  Now, they are reluctant seafood eaters, and that pushes seafood further down the dinner list.  Well, NO MORE, I say.  in 2011, I vow to experiment with and present new (to me) recipes with seafood.  If you have any suggestions of recipes that I should make or makeover, please let me know.

This first dish is made with some of those key favorite ingredients I mention above.  It has a nice, subtle flavor and is packed with good stuff: omega 6 and 9 fatty acids (essential fatty acids.  They are called essential becuase your body can not make them for itself and HAS to get them from food), antioxidants and FLAVOR!!!!

Ingredients


•1/2 cup all-purpose flour

•Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

•4 fresh sole fillets, 3 to 4 ounces each

•6 tablespoons unsalted butter

•1 tablespoon olive oil

•1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

•6 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (approximately 3 lemons)

•1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley

•1/4 cup rinsed capers (optional)



Directions

Combine the flour, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper in a large shallow plate. Pat the sole fillets dry with paper towels and sprinkle season with salt and pepper.

Heat 3 tablespoons of butter and olive oil in a large (12-inch) saute pan over medium heat until it starts to brown. Dredge 2 sole fillets in the seasoned flour on both sides and place them in the hot oil. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook for 2 minutes. Turn carefully with a metal spatula and cook for 2 minutes on the other side. While the second side cooks, add 1/2 teaspoon of lemon zest and 3 tablespoons of lemon juice to the pan. Carefully put the fish filets on the ovenproof plates and pour the sauce over them. Keep the cooked fillets warm in the oven while you repeat the process with the remaining 2 fillets. When they're done, add the cooked fillets to the plates in the oven. Sprinkle with the parsley, capers, salt, and pepper and serve immediately.

"Super" easy Salsa for the Big Game!!!!

OK, I admit it.  For most of my life, I have been lured in by those jars and plastic containers of salsa.  They're easy, pretty good for you, and, really, truly, not that bad. 

My life was changed about a week ago when I tried this salsa.  It's easy, it's fast and it's delicious!!!

There are 7 simple ingredients:  tomatoes, yellow onions, cilantro, fresh jalapeno, fresh squeezed lemon or lime juice and salt.  Salsa is packed full of anti-oxidants (beta carotene, Vitamin C, lycopene and quercetin) as well as fiber.  For those of you trivia buffs, Cilantro, also known as Chinese Parsley is called Corriander in Asian cultures. 

When you invite all your friends over for the Big Game, they don't need to know that you made it yourself, but, despite who wins or loses, they won't forget your hospitality or your salsa.  Go team!

Ingredients:

6 ripe roma tomatoes
1/2 medium yellow onion  
1/4 cup fresh cilantro
1/2 - 1 fresh serrano chile pepper or a fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded
2 tsp fresh squeezed lime or lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1-2 tsp salt, to taste

Quarter the tomatoes.  Cut the onions to a similar size as the tomatoes.  Put all ingredients in a Cuisineart or a blender and pulse until it resembles the texture you want.  Some like it chunky, some like it smoother.  Serve or store in the fridge immediately for freshness.

Beat the Chicken Doldrums with Tarragon Chicken

It's a challenge.  I get it.  We love chicken, but we find ourselves cooking it the same way each and every week.  And then we get tired of that which we love so dearly.  Enter Indulge Me to rescue you and the chicken (well...sort of....the chicken probably wouldn't agree!).

Chicken and tarragon pair wonderfully together.  There are a few other of my favorite ingredients:  fresh chives, proscuitto and wine. 

Here we go:


Ingredients:
4 boneless, skinless breast halves
1/2 cup AP flour for dredging
2-4 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil
8 oz. button mushrooms or white mushrooms
3 oz. proscuitto, sliced (if you don't eat pork, omit it)
1 cup dry white wine, like a Savignion Blanc or low sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs. Minced Chives

Instructions: 
Season chicken with salt and pepper.  Dust each breast with flour, shaking off the excess.  
Saute chicken in hot oil in a saute pan until lightly browned on both sides, about 5-7 minutes.    Remove chicken and set aside, covering or tenting with foil to keep warm.
Add mushrooms and proscuitto to the pan.  Cook until mushrooms soften and begin to brown, about 2-3 minutes. 
Add wine or broth and cream to the pan.  Return chicken to the pan, reduce heat and summer until sauce thickens slightly, about 7 minutes. 
Stir in tarragon,  and vinegar and cook for 1 minute.  Season the sauce with salt and pepper and garnish with chives.

Divine Chicken Piccata - It's all about the brine....

Chicken Piccata has some of my FAVORITE INGREDIENTS in it.  First off, lemon is my all around ace numero uno fave flavor.  Sarburst, Sourpatch Kids, Sweedish Fish...the lemon ones get reserved till the end so I can save the best for last!  And this savory winner packs a wonderful pucker.

Second, I have always been a sucker for pickled (now we use the word "brined") food.  Relish, pickles, olives, cornishons.  And the list goes on.  When I discovered capers, I just about lost my pickle-lovin' mind.

If you are like me, this will be one of your favorite go-to recipes.  It's not that hard to whip it up on a weeknight.  I like to reserve the seasoned dredging flour for the next time my life calls for pan-fried or fried chicken.  Have a separate one for fish, too.  Make it with the pasta, outlined below, and serve with a salad, or broccoli.  I would suggest peas, but the capers and the peas start to look alike and it doesn't quite have that visual appeal.  Enjoy!!!


Ingredients


• 2 boneless skinless boneless chicken breasts, butterflied, cut in half and flattened a little

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• All-purpose flour, for dredging and for sauce thickening.  I like to season my dredging flour with garlic powder, onion powder, a little salt and pepper.

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter

• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

• 1/2 cup chicken stock

• 1/4 cup white wine

• 1/4 cup brined capers, removed from brine.  You may rinse them if you choose.  I don't.

• 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Serves 4.

Directions

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off excess.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, melt 2 tablespoons of butter with 3 tablespoons olive oil. When the butter and oil start to sizzle, add 2 pieces of chicken and cook for 3 minutes. When the chicken is browned, flip and cook other side for 3 minutes. Remove and transfer to plate. Melt 2 more tablespoons butter and add another 2 tablespoons olive oil. When butter and oil start to sizzle, add the other 2 pieces of chicken and brown both sides in same manner. Remove pan from heat and add chicken to the plate.

Into the pan add the lemon juice, wine, stock and capers. Return to stove and bring to boil, scraping up brown bits from the pan for extra flavor. Return all the chicken to the pan and simmer for 5 minutes. Remove chicken to platter. Add remaining 2 tablespoons butter to sauce and whisk vigorously. Take 4 Tbs of the pan juice out and put in a small bowl. Add 1 Tbs of AP flour and make into a paste. Add the paste back to the pan sauce and stir till combined. Check the seasoning.  Pour sauce over chicken and garnish with parsley (optional).

Pasta Accompaniment:

1 lb. Low Carb Pasta (like Dreamfields), cooked al dente

½ stick butter

¼ cup white wine

¼ cup fresh basil, rough chopped

1 Tbs. minced garlic

¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese

The juice from a half of a lemon

Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

Cook the pasta in salty water, drain and add to a skillet. Add all of the remaining ingredients, and serve with the chicken.

Collard Greens: Good to the last drop!

I didn't grow up on collard greens.  I'm not sure I had them until after 20.  But I've made up for lost time.  My sister went to a southern college, so she probably first encountered them there, in Virginia.  She would  tell me stories about the cafeteria ladies and their funny accents (probably hypocryitcal coming from a Bostonian).  They'd say, "Want some grits, baby?"  "Any sweet potatoes, honey".  Yes, I'd venture to say that it's a safe bet that she had her first collard greens there.

It was a northerner named John who introduced me to collard greens.  A sweet young man from Philadelphia.  He taught me how to blend the greens to add texture.  How to cook them slow to extract all the flavor.  How to manage the "pot liquor" (the greens juice) so it turns out rich and flavorful!!!!  Cooking collard greens is not about a recipe, it's a process.  And make sure you have plenty of time!!!! 

Ingredients:

8 bunches fresh collard greens, washed thoroughly, stems and leaf's spine removed
2 bunches fresh kale washed thoroughly, stems and leaf's spine removed
1 bunch mustard or turnip greens, washed thoroughly, stems removed
2 yellow onions, slivered
2 smoked turkey leg or wing (usually there are 2 to a package)
1/2 jar Vlasic mild pepper rings, drained
Water to reach 1/3 of the pot
Salt and Pepper (not too much until you can  really taste the product)
1 Tbs. Minced Garlic
Crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Get a large stock pot, put the water, the onions the garlic and the turkey in the water, then pile the greens on top.  Add the pepper rings.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer.  Feel free to cook them overnight on a really low stovetop setting.  Cook until the collard greens and kale are tender, meat falls off the turkey bone and the pot liquor turns a brownish-green.  Salt and pepper to taste.  And don't be embarrassed when you pick up the bowl and drink the liquor.  This liquor is actually good for you!  That's where all the nutrients went!

Guiltlessly Perfect Summer Pasta

A friend of mine was coming over around dinner time and I remembered that she was a vegetarian.  I looked in my pantry and in my freezer to figure out something that both she and I (your resident carnivore) would enjoy.  I happen to love peas.  Not the shriveled, canned variety that tastes closer to Elmer's glue, the petite fresh or frozen kind.  Truth be told, growing up, my sister and I used to fight over peas because I tended to eat them as snacks after school and before dinner, leaving nothing for her. 

This is a wonderfully simple recipe that is as good in the summer as it is in the winter.  It calls for basil.  Did you know you can take your summer basil harvest and freeze it for gloomier days in the fall and winter?  Just stick your basil surplus in a freezer bag, eliminate all the air and put it in the freezer.  Take out what you need, chop it up and put the rest back in the freezer.

I also suggest low carb pasta, such as Dreamfield's.  It takes all the guilt out of this tasty meal. 

Ingredients:
2 Tbs olive oil
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs minced garlic
4 Tbs chopped fresh or frozen basil
The juice from a half of a fresh lemon
1 lb. petite peas (I like C&W or Bird's Eye frozen)
Salt and pepper to taste
- - - - - - - - -
1/2 lb. spaghetti
- - - - - - - - -
1 cup shaved parmesan cheese

Boil the water for the pasta and add salt so the water tastes like the ocean.  Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the box, al dente.  In a separate pan, saute garlic in the butter and olive oil for a few minutes without color. Turn heat to medium. Add chopped fresh basil. Add warm petite peas, add 1/2 lb of cooked pasta. Add the juice of a half a lemon. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss to combine it all and serve with fresh grated Parmesan to taste.

Summer Shrimp with White Wine, Lime and Jalapeno

It's hard to beat shrimp in the summer.  I don't know what it is.  Somehow, shrimp just begs to be consumed outside, on the porch, with friends and a light breeze!  Although this is a very light recipe, it has that "stick to your ribs" factor that won't leave you hungry two hours later.  Also, a few points of edification...those numbers in the shrimp department (16/20, 21/25) refer to the average number of shrimp per pound.  The lower the number, the larger the shrimp.  Also, this recipe calls for fresh lime juice.  To get the most from your limes, select limes that have a smooth, shiny skin.  Roll the limes on the counter to tear down the fibers.  Micorwave the limes for 30 seconds.  Careful, the lime juice may be hot when it first comes out of the mirowave.  

Ingredients:

1 lb. Jumbo Shrimp (21/25 or 16/20 ct), peeled and de-veined

- - - - - - - - - -

Marinade:

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

The juice of one fresh lime (see above for maximum juice)

1 Tbs. minced garlic

1/4 cup white wine

1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

3 Tbs. cilantro, chopped

- - - - - - - - - -

1/2 cup shaved parmesan  (more if you are a cheese-head!!!)

- - - - - - - - - - -

1 lb. low carb linguini, like Dreamfields.

Marinate shrimp in marinade for 1-2 hours.  Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Put shrimp in glass dish with marinade and cook for 7-10 minutes (depending on your oven and the size of the shrimp), until JUST pink throughout, turning shrimp after 5 minutes.  Serve over linguini and top with shaved parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste.  You can also serve this in tortillas with pico de gallo and cotija cheese.

Save the carbs for dessert!

Ok, ok, I admit it! I did try the Atkins diet at one point. As a bacon lover, I thought....what could be bad about this?!?!?!....all the bacon and cheese you can stand. That lasts for all of about 3 days. Then you stare at a cup of rice as if it were a juicy steak. The Atkins diet did, however, teach me about carbs and the glycemic index. One of the products that I discovered while watching my carbs is Dreamfields pasta. It boasts 65% lower glycemic index than regular pasta and is an excellent source of fiber (20% of the RDA, to be exact). Seriously, you, your guests, even your children will probably not notice the difference (especially if your pasta sauce is as good as mine!!!!). It's also a great idea for the diabetic in your life. It comes in spaghetti, penne and other pasta shapes and sizes. To get more information, check out the link.

http://www.dreamfieldsfoods.com/

Give me your tired, your dry, your old......

We all know that sometimes pound cake doesn't turn out as we'd like. In fact, I have been in search of the perfect pound cake for quite some time, and, I'll be honest...I haven't found it.

Believe it or not, you know who also hasn't found it? Le Cordon Bleu. As some of you know, I graduated from Le Cordon Bleu's program in Baking and Patisserie, and I just knew that I would come out of there with an amazing pound cake recipe....Nope. I just wanted to let the record show that I am still looking. Please, if you have found it, please (did I say that twice) let me know!!!!

In the meatime, our less-than-perfect pound cakes fail in many ways. They are dry, they are heavy, they aren't as flavorful as we'd like. Well here's a fix that's sure to be a hit at the breakfast table (yep, the breakfast table).

Pound Cake fixes:

Grilled Pound Cake

Heat griddle or saute pan on medium high heat. A drop of water should do the jig when you sprinkle it onto the pan.

Slather both sides of the pound cake with butter. Cook until browned on each side. Serve alone or with some of your favorite breakfast items.

Pound Cake French Toast

Heat griddle or saute pan on medium high sheat. Beat together two eggs and 2 Tbs milk. Sprinkle with 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Put in a shallow bowl, a Pyrex dish or a deep plate. Slice pound cake 3/4 of an inch thick. Soach each side of the pound cake briefly in the egg mixture.

Add to the pan and cook until brown on both sides. Serve with your favorite syrup and warm butter. Oh, and bacon, of course!

Open face, insert smile...

Spring is my favorite season. I think it has to do with growing up in New England and seeing the earth give back what it took in the fall and winter....the grass, the trees, the flowers. The awakening is truly astounding.

That being said, my favorite FOOD season is summer. I anxiously await its arrival every year. Fresh fruit in the summer is beyond compare. When you eat it, it's like a celebration in your mouth.

My ultimate summer fruit is peaches. Raw, cooked, broiled, cobblered, you name it...I'm game. That's why I was so excited when I discovered the galette. The galette is an open-faced pie that is fresh fruit's delicious companion. It turns summer fruit into an easy, quick and delicious dessert for company, or for the family.

Feel freee to come up with your own combination of fruits. I like this one because blueberries and peaches are such a power couple...tart marries with sublimely sweet. The blackberries add another dimension of texture and tartness that is unrivaled. Frozen (IQF) fruits are an option in the winter.


Ingredients:

1 cup fresh blueberries
1 1/2 cups fresh ripe peaches, sliced in thin segments with the skin on
1/2 cup fresh blackberries
2 tablespoons corn starch
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Dash nutmeg
1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar
1 (9 inch) refrigerated pie dough
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Instructions:

With oven rack in medium position, preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray (ideally, if you have two pans that are the same size, double the pan to protect the bottom of the galette from over cooking).

Stir together fruit, conrstarch, zest, juice, spices and 1/2 cup sugar in a large bowl until combined.

Unwrap pie dough and roll onto baking sheet. Spoon on fruit into the center, leaving about an inch and a half fruitless border around the edge.

Fold edges of dough over the blueberry mixture, pleating dough. Dot fruit with butter. Lighly brush dough with egg and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.

Bake until the filling is bubbling and the pastry is golden brown, approximately 25 - 30 minutes. Cool for 5 minutes and serve with a pie server. Spoon vanilla ice cream on top and indulge!!!

Remove the guess-work

Rare, Medium or Well Done. I'm a medium rare gal. Can't stand overcooked meat. Cooking chicken used to scare me. (Did I cook it long enough to kill all that nasty Salmonella?) How do you know when it's done? Bread? It smells done, looks done...but is it? Internal temperatures were soooo tedious.

Then I met the OXO Thermometer. I was actually fortunate enough to find it on sale after Christmas when folks were done testing turkeys. There are options for all kinds of "meat"....turkey, chicken, lamb, veal, fish....and there is also a manual setting for things like bread. Or if you just want to be a renegade and take the chicken out of the oven before it's fully cooked. Let's say, for example, the recipe says "when the chicken reaches an internal temperature of 155 degrees, baste it a final time and then put it back in the oven"....BINGO. This is the tool. It even gives you an alarm when it is 10 degrees away from the desired temperature.

You put the probe in the meat and the display sits on the counter or somewhere next to your stove and quietly does its monitoring while you busy yourself with other things. It's pretty easy to use, compact and versatile.

I've included a link so you can check it out. Let me know what you think!!!

http://www.oxo.com/OA_HTML/xxoxo_ibeCCtpOXOPrdDtl.jsp?a=b&item=79452

There's little better than butter

I've been a butter fan my whole life. In fact, I remember eating sticks of butter straight - no chaser- because it tasted so good...in my youth, of course!!!

During my first bout with Culinary School, I was introduced the the concept of "compound butter". That is, infusing butter with flavors to make it even better....if that were at all possible.

A few of my favorites are herbed butter (shown here) and honey butter. I just recently served them with fresh baked challah (a rich egg bread served by the Jewish people during several holidays and often on Fridays). Might I digress for a minute on the challah subject? Honestly, I think challah may well be the best kept secret of the Jewish people. That stuff is AMAZING!!! If you ever get a chance to try it, please DO....trust me, you will thank me. Well...maybe not....just one more thing to love and fantasize about!!!!

Here are a couple of recipes for compound butter. Feel free to come up with some of your own. And do let me know what you came up with!!! I like to serve the Herb Butter on top of a really good steak. Try adding blue cheese or another of your favorite soft cheeses.

Honey Butter

Ingredients

• 1 pound butter
• 1/4 cups honey
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Let the butter sit until it reaches room temperature.

Place butter into the mixing bowl and beat at low speed with the paddle Add the honey, cinnamon, and vanilla extract and beat until well combined, about 3 minutes. Remove butter from bowl and spoon or scrape onto plastic wrap. Roll into a log and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Herb Butter

Ingredients

• 1 pound butter
• Up to 1 cup of fresh herbs, minced (I used thyme, oregano, chives and a little rosemary)
  

Directions

Let the butter sit until it reaches room temperature.

Place butter into the mixing bowl and beat at low speed with the paddle Add the herbs and beat until well combined, about 3 minutes. Remove butter from bowl and spoon or scrape onto plastic wrap. Roll into a log and refrigerate for 2 hours.

This is so not hard - homemade croutons

There are some things in life that seem so difficult, yet when you attempt them, you realize that they are "no brainers".

Take croutons, for example. When I was first introduced to croutons in the 70's, I thought they were pretty darn good. Then the whole adulthood, low carb, "is it worth the calories?" concept came into my consciousness, and I began to pick these cubed hip-extenders out of my salads and kick them out of my life.

One day, just recently, I let croutons back in. I had just completed training on yeast breads and created some mouth-watering specimens of starch. But as many of you know, homemade bread has no preservatives (other than salt, but the scant amount in the bread doesn't really count). So what's a baker to do when faced with too many loaves of once yummy stale bread????....Duhhhh! MAKE CROUTONS!

Without consulting any of my hundreds of cookbook, I decided to wing it. Here's what I did: Set the oven at 350. Take out a shallow sheet pan (some of you might call it a cookie sheet) and line it with parchment (or wax paper in a pinch). Cut up the bread into cubes. Lightly toss the cubes with a little olive oil. Then toss lightly with your favorite herbs. I like Herbs de Provence. Salt lightly and put in the oven until the croutons are crisp (you, ultimately, decide the crispness). Allow to cool completely and store in an airtight container. Try mixing some of your favorite breads (wheat, pumpernickel, oat). Homemade croutons are an added bonus to any salad, or you may even find yourself eating them plain, uncontrollably. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Easter Leftover Problem Solved - Ham and Lentil Soup

Someone's been hiding this soup from me all my life. I thought lentils were pasty, starchy half-moons of torture. Then I got enlightened. This is a wonderful, flavorful soup that you could serve for an appetizer on a cold evening, or make a meal of it.

Easter is coming, and that usually means ham. Which in turn means leftover ham. Either make this soup after Easter, or wrap and freeze your ham bone until the dead of winter, take it out and use it in this soup. In fact, once you try it, you will be using all sorts of excuses to make this soup...a rainy day, a cloudy day, a partially sunny day when it MIGHT rain. Whenever you make it, you will not be disappointed.

Yield: About 3 1/2 Quarts

1 leftover smoked ham bone or 2 smoked ham hocks
1 pound lentils (about 2 1/2 cups), picked over and rinsed
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken broth
8 cups water
A few sprigs of fresh thyme

________
3 onions, chopped coarse
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
5 cloves of fresh garlic, sliced
1 Tbs. olive oil

In a 6- to 8-quart pot combine the first 7 ingredients. Take the remaining ingredients and saute them over medium heat in a skillet with the olive oil, some salt and pepper until they are slightly tender. Add to the pot. Simmer the soup, covered partially, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 hours (until lentils are tender and ham begins to fall off the bone). Discard bay leaf and cinnamon stick, as well as the stems from the thyme and remove meat from bone or hocks. Chop meat and stir into soup. Salt to taste.

The best cake I ever ate!

I'm over 40. It's hard for a cake to sneak up on me and become MY FAVORITE CAKE IN LIFE!!!! But this one caught me by surprise.

It's called the Dobos Torte. Traditionally, it's 7 layers of almond sponge cake alternating with 7 layers of French Chocolate Buttercream (oh, there's also rum simple syrup in there to hydrate the sponge layers). On the top is a layer of almond sponge cake covered in caramel and cooled, then cut into sections. The caramel sponge sections are propped up by rosettes of the chocolate buttercream and it is finished with slivered toasted almonds on the side. Yum and double yum. If you are allergic to nuts, I am SO SORRY. But this cake is amazing. If you EVER see it in a (high quality) bakery, you should get a slice. Make sure the buttercream is brought up to room temperature. Cold buttercream is no fun.

Good to the last drop

Have you ever tired to measure honey, or mollases for a recipe and gotten frustrated because you could not get all the product out of the measuring device? Well, if that is you, here is a simple tip to get the most out out of a viscous sweetener:

Use a pan spray such as Pam to coat the spoon (or measuring cup or whatever device you are using) BEFORE you measure. The product will slide right off and you will have the full amount in your recipe and not half on the measuring spoon.

Voila! How 'bout that?

Shrimp, Asparagus and Mushroom Risotto

Risotto is: 1) an incredibly therapeutic experience, 2) a labor of love, 3) NOT an overpriced regular rice dish with some fancy stuff added.

Risotto is made with the Arborio rice grain. It is an Italian short-grain rice. It is named after the town of Arborio in the Po Valley in Italy, where it is grown. Cooked, the rounded grains are firm, creamy, and chewy, due to the higher starch content. It is hearty and down right yummy when you do it right.

Unlike our traditional long-grain rices, it must be attended to, nurtured, if you will. Stay near and stir often. You incorporate liquid little by little until you have achieved the consistency/firmness you are looking for in the rice. Continue to taste your rice until it's done. It won't be soft, like Uncle Ben's. Look for more of an "al dente" firmness. Not crunchy, but a bit on the firm side. If you taste a little, and go back for another spoonful, it's probably done.

For this dish, make sure you have the ice water ready to "shock" the asparagus. It's a way to quickly stop the cooking process so that when you add it back to the final dish, the asparagus won't be mushy. Also, I'm not a mushroom fan (they are on my short list of things I don't care for), but they add a really nice heartiness to this dish. It's not overwhelmingly "mushroomy".

Makes 4 main-course servings

Ingredients:

6 cups chicken broth
1 cup water
1 pound thin to medium asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices, leaving tips 1 1/2 inches long
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
3/4 pound fresh mushrooms, stems discarded and caps cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
1 pound jumbo shrimp (21-25 ct)
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice (10 ounces)
1 cup dry white wine
2 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup)

Instructions:

Bring broth and water to a boil in a 4-quart pot. Add asparagus and cook, uncovered, until crisp-tender, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer asparagus with a slotted spoon to a large bowl of ice and cold water to stop cooking, then drain and pat dry. Keep broth at a bare simmer, covered.

Heat 1 Tbs. oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a 4-quart heavy saucepan/skillet over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 4 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a bowl.

Heat 1 Tbs. oil saucepan/skillet over moderately high heat, then sauté shrimp (adding salt and pepper to season) until they are just pink on each side. Do not overcook. Transfer to a bowl with the mushrooms.

Cook onion in 2 tablespoons butter in saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Ladle in 1 cup simmering broth and cook at a strong simmer, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue simmering and adding broth, about 1/2 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is just tender and looks creamy, 18 to 20 minutes. (If there is leftover broth for thinning, save it for thinning, if necessary.)

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup cheese, remaining tablespoon butter, and salt and pepper to taste. Gently stir in asparagus, shrimp and mushrooms, then cover pan and let stand 1 minute. If desired, thin risotto with some of remaining broth. Serve immediately with remaining cheese on the side.

Do let me know if you try this one, and how it came out.