The Dreaded Question...What's For Dinner

We've all asked it.  More than that probably, we've all been asked it.  It's the dreaded..."What's for dinner?"...question.  My husband is usually the one who asks this question in our house since I'm the one who cooks more often than not.  We had to have a talk about that question before when he would call in the middle of the day and ask.  Then, when I would tell him, I would get some sort of not-so-enthusiastic response.  It was frustrating.  After all, I'm the one cooking...he doesn't have to...so he should be good with whatever I decided to make for the evening, right?  Well, being the good hubby that he is, he learns...and we don't have that conversation any more.  He now seems pleased as pie at whatever is on the nightly menu.  And if he's not, he doesn't tell me about it.  Yeah!  We all win!

Typically, I am a very good menu planner.  I've done it most of my life, so it's really second nature.  With my schedule getting more and more hectic with school, this has really become a saving grace.  Between school work, classes and my sweet little girl, I don't have time to fly by the seat of my pants anymore and my little weekly menu outline comes in extreme handy.  However, between making meals to practice for class and testing recipes to contribute to a cookbook, I've gotten a little overwhelmed from time to time about the whole cooking thing.  I mean, I love to cook, it's what I want to do for the rest of my life, but sometimes you need a break!

This such thing happened to me a few weeks ago.  Here I was after breakfast looking at my list of dinner choices for the week and I didn't want to cook any of them!  I decided that I would re look after lunch and maybe something would strike my interest...nope, didn't happen.  The worst part was I was in this weird funk.  I didn't want to whip up one of the fabulous Bertoli frozen dinners we had in the freezer and I didn't want to call out for pizza.  So I decided I would do the next best thing.  Find 6 ingredients in my pantry that needed to be used and make something.  I used to do this all the time when I was younger and responsible for cooking dinner once a week in my house.  The dish usually consisted of either beef or chicken and some other "stuff".  Aptly, I named these dishes "hamburger and stuff" and "chicken and stuff".  They were always a hit.

So I hit up the pantry and fridge and found 6 ingredients that I could throw together quickly and would please the hubby and baby girl.  It ended up being really good too, if I do say so myself.  So here is my latest addition of "Hamburger and Stuff".  When your in a cooking rut, give it a try.  6 ingredients, 20 minutes and your done with dinner.  How fabulous is that?

Hamburger and Stuff
Makes 4 servings

1 lb hamburger
taco seasoning
4 oz sour cream
1 can black deans; drained
1 can fire roasted tomatoes with garlic; not drained
2 c yellow rice; cooked

1 - Brown hamburger in a deep skillet.  Drain off fat.
2 - Sprinkle enough taco seasoning over the meat to cover it twice.  Stir to combine.
3 - Stir in sour cream, drained black beans and tomatoes (with the juice).
4 - Cover and heat through until bubbly.  I just left it on the heat until the rice was done cooking.
5 - Serve with a sprinkle of cheese...if it's in your fridge already!  ENJOY!

Looking at Recipes in a Whole New Light, the Bachlorette and Brussels Sprouts

Strange sounding post, I know...hang with me...this one comes in segments.

Segment One:
My first quarter in culinary school is almost over.  I have this week and next week...that's it!  Eleven weeks has blown by so much faster than I ever felt possible.  There have been some points where I have gotten so overwhelmed with everything going on in my life right now.  Almost like I am spinning on an out of control carousel and can't get off.  It's hard, especially this week with finals breathing down my throat, to look step back and look at the big picture.  Then something as small as looking at a recipe gives me a whole new outlook on how things are going. 

I have this cookbook from Food and Wine magazine...my favorite magazine in the world!  It is full of wonderful recipes and gorgeous pictures.  The only problem was, I didn't know what half of the words in the book were without having to look them up.  I found that I used the book very rarely, and only on special occasions, because I had to look up things in the recipe as I made it.  I pulled it out the other day and realized that I know most of those "big words" now.  Something so small felt like such a big accomplishment!  Guess what I am learning really is sticking in that ole brain of mine!

Segment Two:
The Bachelorette is being filmed less than a mile from my house.  A good friend of mine, in fact, lives in the neighborhood across the street.  She got this idea in her head about trying to get me on the show...cooking for the cast or crew...not competing!  The tents went up a few weeks ago, and rumor has it that they started filming this past Sunday.  I've done countless drive bys trying to figure out the best way to wriggle my way into this gated community and pass out some cards.  The problem because, I have my little girl during the day.  Which, cute as she is, having a baby strapped to your hip isn't the best way to pass out your business cards.  My next idea was to go at night when I get out of class.  Did I mention that I get out of class at midnight?  I've heard that they film at night, so you would think this would have been perfect.  Sadly, the one night I did park my car on the side of the road and walk in to this neighborhood, I couldn't find any one to talk to within about ten minutes.  And that was all I was going to spend walking around this multi-million dollar neighborhood after midnight.  The last thing I need is the cops being called on me!  So, I left some business cards with my friend that lives across the street in case she ever spots someone when she's out "walking".  I'm not expecting to hear anything...but you never know!

Segment Three:
I told myself when I started culinary school that I would keep an open mind about food.  I've never had an issue with this in the past, and there are very few foods that I don't like.  Still, I knew we would probably be going into unfamiliar territory and I needed to remain open.  A few weeks ago it happened for the first time.  We made...Brussels sprouts.  I see people buying these all the time.  I had eaten them once in my life before and they were TERRIBLE.  My grandmother cooked them once when I was little.  All I remember is the house stinking terribly when she was done...and them tasting like a mushy, burnt mess.  I dreaded the whole night.  I wasn't crazy about having to cook them, let alone taste them.  I realized at the end of the night exactly why my grandmother's Brussels sprouts tasted like a mushy, burnt mess....they were.  Brussels sprouts aren't meant to be cooked very long, just boiled in heavily salted water until fork tender.  They come out tasting like baby cabbages.  Even my hubby liked them.  Guess I can be thankful for giving things a second try.  My new memory of Brussels sprouts isn't gross at all.

It's Never To Late

The past few weeks have been difficult for me.  Nothing has changed, just been one of those past couple of weeks.  Maybe it's because I have birthday looming next week.  Maybe because I've started looking at preschools for my sweet baby girl.  Maybe it's the mile long to-do list that never seems to get any shorter no matter what I do.  Maybe it's the looks I get from some people when they hear I've gone back to school.  More than likely it's a combination of all those things.  The last one is the hardest one to get past.  I've been trying very hard lately not to let other people's actions affect me.  And it's harder sometimes than I wish it would be.

You know the look I'm talking about.  People give it to you for all kinds of things.  The first time I ever got the look was when I would tell people I was a stay at home mom.  You get this look, from just about everyone who hasn't been a stay at home mom, as if to say "Oh...I'm sorry" or "Must be nice to have a rich husband" or (my favorite) "That fulfils you?"  I got used to it after a while.  After all, I am very proud that I have had the opportunity to spend priceless time with my daughter watching her grow and develop.  It's been a challenge and we've had to sacrifice things as a family, but I wouldn't change it for the world.

For some reason the look I get now really gets under my skin.  It's as if people are looking at me like "You're in school now?  And you're how old?"  Then thanks to a very good friend of mine and pinterest I started to feel a little better.  She found a quote about Julie Child that stated Julie didn't start cooking until she was 37.  Thank you friend, I needed that.  I needed to hear that someone who is very accomplished in the same field I want to be accomplished in started at an "older" age.  She did other things before finding her calling as a chef.  If she could do it, than so can I.  And...if I can have even one ounce the success she did, I will be beyond ecstatic with my choice.  It's taking some time, but I'm slowly pulling myself out of this crazy funk.

So...in honor of being in a funk lately, I give you a sweet treat to munch on.  After all, what's better than chewy gooey brownies when you are down in the dumps?  I've been making this brownie recipe since I was 9 or 10.  It's quick, easy and ohhh so much chocolaty goodness.  This time, I made one little change.  I added some of my mom's jelly.  The extra moisture keeps the brownies extra moist and yummy even days after you make them...if they last that long!  I think this will become a permanent change in my trusty brownie recipe!

Chocolate Covered Strawberry Brownies
Makes 16 brownies

1/2 c butter; melted
1/2 c self rising flour
1 c sugar
1/3 c Hershey's cocoa
2 t vanilla
4 T Aunt Bunny's Chocolate Covered Strawberry Jelly
1 T milk
2 eggs

1- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2- Grease a 9 inch square, glass baking dish.
3- Stir together butter, sugar and vanilla in a medium bowl.
4- Add eggs and beat well with a wooden spoon.
5- Stir together flour and cocoa in a separate bowl.  Gradually add to the egg mixture, beating until well blended.
6- Stir in jelly and milk, making sure to break down all clumps. 
7- Spread batter evenly in pan.  Bake 20-30 minutes until brownies start to pull away from the sides of the pan and a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.
8- Cool completely and cut into squares.

Breaking the Valentine's Day Curse

It's become a joke between my husband and I that we suffer from a Valentine's Day curse.  When we first met, it was November.  As Valentine's Day got closer and closer, we both made the comment that hitting the drive through at Taco Bell would beat our previous Valentine's Day.  That's all it took to jinx us.  In the years that we have been together we have had a restaurant get overbooked and cancel on us on Valentine's Day, a restaurant close two days before Valentine's Day, and one that just wasn't good at all.  Last year was perfect...but then again...we didn't go out on Valentine's Day either, so that solved the problem right there.  We've always found a way to enjoy the night together, but it is comical how things just never worked out the way we planned them.

This year we decided to do things a little differently.  We went back and forth about restaurants we could go to or wanted to try, but our limited budget wasn't exactly working with those big romantic plans.  So we came up with an idea that was cost effective and still romantic.  A perfect combination for anyone, right?  We sent our little girl to spend the night at Nana's house and cooked together.  Now, this may be hard to believe, but we've never actually cooked together.  Sure my hubby's helped in the kitchen here and there when I ask him specifically to do something, but as far as both of us in the kitchen preparing a whole meal together, we'd never done it.  We planned the menu together, cooked together, and sat down for a wonderful dinner with a nice glass of wine.  After dinner we broke open a bottle of bubbles and cuddled up to watch...what else...Valentine's Day.  It couldn't have been better.  A nice quiet evening with good quality hubby wife time is hard to come by with two busy schedules and a little one running around, so this was just what we needed.  It was such a success, it may even become a tradition.  After all, we can't cancel on each other or close our own kitchen down, so it's guaranteed to break the cruse every year.  Of course, now that I've said that...something will happen.  Either way...here's what we made.  So mark a night off on your calendar to spend with your special someone and cook away.  You'll be glad you did!

Creamy Shirmp and Lobster Bisque
Makes 2 servings

1 lobster tail; shell removed and reserved, meat roughly chopped
2 T butter
1/2 onion; diced
2 stalks celery; diced
20-25 shrimp; peeled and devained (shells reserved)
1 bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp parsley
1 tsp paprika
2 cloves garlic; minced
2 T tomato sauce
2 T brandy
1/4 c white wine
1 1/2 c chicken stock
1 1/2 c half and half; heated
1/4 c uncooked rice
salt and pepper to taste

1- Heat butter in a large pot.  Add onion, celery, garlic, shrimp shells and lobster shell.  Sweat vegetables until the shrimp shells turn pink. 
2- Add bay leaf, thyme, parsley, paprika and tomato sauce.  Cook 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
3- Add brandy and wine.  Cook until reduced by half, stirring occasionally.
4- Add chicken stock and rice.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer.  Simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5- Remove lobster shell.  Puree mixture (including shrimp shells) and strain.  Return the soup to pot.  Add half and half, shrimp and lobster.  Simmer for 5 minutes, or until shrimp turn pink.  For a completely creamy soup, add the shrimp and lobster to the soup 5 minutes before pureeing, or you can puree the soup again after the shirmp and lobster meat are cooked
6 - Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Garnish with paprika.

Filet Mignon with Red Wine Mushroom Sauce
Makes 2 servings

1 T butter
3 T shallot; minced
1/4 lb shiitake mushrooms; stems removed
3/4 c dry red wine
5 oz beef broth
2 filet mignon steaks
1 1/2 t soy sauce
1 t cornstarch
1 1/2 t thyme
salt and pepper

1- Melt half the butter in a skillet.  Add shallots and mushrooms.  Saute for 3-4 minutes, stirring often.  Add 1/2 c wine and 1/3 c beef broth.  Cook 3-4 miuntes, stirring often.  Transfer mushrooms to a bowl and set aside.  Continue to cook the liquid in the skillet another 3-4 minutes, stirring often, until reduced to 1/4 c.  Add liquid to mushrooms, keep warm.
2- Season steaks with salt and pepper on both sides.
3- In the same skillet, melt the remaining butter.  Add steaks and brown for 3 minutes of each side.  Cook for an additional 1 1/2 minutes per side for medium rare (or longer for desired degree of doneness).  Remove steaks from skillet and keep warm.
4- Add remaining wine and beef broth to the skillet.  Stir to loosen the browned bits on the bottom.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for 1 minute.
5- Combine soy sauce and cornstarch in a small bowl.  Stir mixture into skillet.  Add mushroom mixture and thyme to skillet.  Bring to a boil, stiring constantly, boil for 1 minute.  Serve sauce over steaks.

Braised Collard Greens
Makes 4 servings

1 oz olive oil
4 strips bacon; diced
1/2 onion; diced
2 stalks celery; diced
2 garlic cloves; thinly sliced
dash cayanne pepper (more if you want spicy)
1 bunch collard greens; stems removed, torn into pieces
8 oz chicken stock
1 oz apple cider vinegar
salt and pepper

1- Heat olive oil in a large pot.  Add bacon and cook until bacon is rendered and crisp, 5-7 minutes.
2- Add onion and celery.  Cook 3-5 minutes until translucent.  Add garlic.  Cook for 1 minute.
3- Add cayanne pepper and collard.  Stir well.  Add stock and vinegar.  Stir well.  Season with salt and pepper.  Stir well.
4- Partially cover the pot.  Cook 30-40 minutes until greens are tender, stirring occasionally.
5- Season to taste.

Cookbook Creations

My mom makes jelly.  Awesome jelly.  And did I happen to mention it's made from wine?  How much better can that be?  She mostly sells it at craft and Christmas shows and recently has broken into bridal shows.  To give her a little edge at these events, other than giving her jelly out for samples, I've been coming along to help.  I've integrated her jelly into different dishes and have served those along side her samples.  I think that's helped make a few sells.  After all, who can say no to a free sample of Cranberry Chocolate Parfait...not me!

This year at the Yule Mart in Fort Bragg as we were passing out yummy food samples, along with the recipes of course, someone suggested that we create a cookbook with recipes using all the different jellies as an ingredient.  It was a total "why didn't we think of that moment"!  Of course, once I hear an idea like that, I can't let go of it.  Mom and I talked logistics and off we ran to begin the cookbook.  I guess I wasn't thinking so clearly on how much of a task this could be while I'm going back to school...but no rest for the weary...we're going full steam ahead!

With this cookbook creation comes taste testing.  I don't want to put anything in the book that I wouldn't want to eat, so therefore I must try all the recipes before they go in.  Some have been really good...others, well let's just say they could use some work.  My hubby has been hanging with me through this, though I know secretly he's thinking...when are we going to be done with jelly and go back to my manly tacos?  So today I offer for you a sneak peak into a recipe that's going in the book.  I adapted this recipe from a blog titled "Confections of a Foodie Bride."  I found her on Pinterest and her blog is wonderful!  I need to spend some time stalking her blog to find some more goodies.  So, here's my version.  Give it a try and tell me what you think?  Would you buy the cookbook with more yummies like this one?

Cherry Berry Balsamic Pork Tenderloin
Makes 4 servings

2 oz Aunt Bunny's Cherry Blend Jelly 
2 oz water
1 T olive oil
1 1/2 lb pork tenderloin
salt and pepper
1 T butter
1/4 c shallot; minced
2 garlic cloves; minced
2 tsp dried rosemary; chopped
3/4 c chicken broth
2 T balsamic vinegar

1- In a sauce pan on the stove, melt the jelly in the water.  Once the jelly is melted, add the balsamic vinegar.  Keep the mixture warm, but not boiling.
2- Preheat oven to 400.
3- Heat olive oil in an oven proof skillet.
4- Rinse, trim and dry pork tenderloin.  Season all sides with salt and pepper.
5- Sear pork in olive oil, about 2 minutes per side.
6- Put skillet in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.  Remove the pork from the skillet and onto a plate.  Loosely cover with foil and let rest.
7- In the same skillet the pork was in, add the butter, shallot and garlic.  Cook over medium heat 2-3 minutes.
8- Add rosemary and broth.  Deglaze the pan by scraping the browned bits of pork off the bottom. 
9- Stir in the jelly mixture.  Simmer, stirring often until the sauce has begun to thicken, about 10 minutes.
10- Serve sauce over sliced pork tenderloin.

13.1 Down...Many More to Go!

Let me begin by saying I am NOT a runner.  I used to be in college, but bad knees came along (dang that makes me sound old) and I can no longer run.  I have LOTS of friends who are runners.  Some have competed in 5Ks, half marathons, full marathons...anything they can compete in.  My hat goes off to all of them because I know I couldn't do it.  However, I can only imagine the endurance it takes to successfully complete a marathon is the same endurance it takes to complete culinary school.  I'm beginning to look at each quarter as a marathon (because this is what I would imagine running one would feel like).  I am now at the half way point through my first quarter, and I feel the way I would guess most runners feel at their half way point.  I'm tired.  I'm sore.  I think sometimes the end just isn't ever going to come.  I feel like there is so much to be done and not enough time to do it.  But then I take a breath.  I catch my stride.  I realize I'm doing something I love to do.  I realize the finish line is going to come way before I'm ready to quit.  And I move on.  It's been a juggling act of schedules and chores and errands and everything else since this started, but I know I'm going to miss it when it's over.

This week, on top of mid terms (YIKES...11 weeks is going by really fast!)...we tackled something that I have dreaded for a LOOONG time.  Eggs.  I love eggs.  I'm okay at cooking them, in my own way.  But I knew with eggs would come the one way of cooking them that I could never nail.  Poaching...oh yes...we cooked Eggs Benedict.  After the initial shock and horror of not wanting to screw up in front of my Chef instructor came and went, I decided to approach this little egg with my head held high.  After all, it's just an egg, how scary can it be...right?

As it turns out, I had been trying to poach eggs all wrong for years (go figure!)  It really is not that difficult at all if you have a few trusty tricks up your sleeve.  You need: fresh eggs, a pot of water with a lot of vinegar in it, and a pot of salted water.  Sounds yummy...I know...but hang with me for a second.  Boil one quart of water with 1/4 c vinegar on the stove.  You will cook your egg in this water.  It really doesn't matter what type of vinegar you use, so whatever you have handy will do just fine.  The vinegar in the water helps the egg whites to coagulate faster so you end up with a pretty little bundle of poached egg and not one that looks like it has stuck it's finger in a light socket.  You want to make sure the water is boiling, but not rolling...rolling bubbles will roll your egg...which is bad news.  Then, heat a smaller pot of heavily salted water next to it on the stove, not boiling...just hot.  I'm talking sea water salty.  This will be your rinse water so your lovely little egg doesn't come out tasting like vinegar.  The salt in the water actually helps flavor the egg so there's less for you to do...SCORE!

Now that you got your water ready, let's head for the egg.  Crack it into a ramekin or a small bowl.  Carefully drop the egg into the boiling vinegar water.  Don't be afraid...trust me, if I can do it, anyone can.  The white of the egg should come up and around the rest of the egg and form a little bundle.  If yours doesn't do that on it's own...mine didn't...just take a spoon and help it along.  Boil in this water for 3 minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and put into the salted rinse water.  Leave it sit in this water for a minute to get rid of that yucky vinegar taste...and your done!  Serve these little beauties atop a toasted English muffin, Canadian bacon and topped with hollandaise (see below) and you have Eggs Benedict.  Oh so yummy...and now not quite as scary (I hope!)

Hollandaise Sauce
Makes 6 servings

4 egg yolks
12 oz clarified butter (To get clarified butter, melt whole stick butter in a pot.  Once melted, scrape off the white stuff on the top - milk solids.  If you can't get it all, no worries.)
salt and pepper to taste
dash of lemon juice
2 tsp dill

Whisk 4 egg yolks and 1 oz cold water in a bowl.  Put the mixture over a double boiler and whisk slowly for 2-3 minutes.  Briskly whisk the mixture until it is a light lemon color and slightly frothy, another 2-3 minutes.  If the egg starts to cook around the edges of the bowl, remove it from the double boiler for a bit.  Remember...you control the heat in the kitchen...not the other way around.
Remove the whole double boiler from the stove.  Take about 1 oz of hot water from the pan and add it to your egg mixture.  Cover the bottom of the double boiler with a towel and put your bowl with the egg mixture in it back on top.  This will help keep it warm without continuing to cook.
Slowly whisk in the clarified butter.  The butter should mix well with the egg mixture.  If it looks like they are going to separate, stop adding the butter and whisk the egg mixture harder.  If the mixture becomes to thick, add a little more hot water.
Season with salt, pepper, lemon juice...and I like dill.  Or, flavor however you want.  After all, it's your sauce!!

Soup...It's Just Liquid with Stuff In It!

This was sauces and soups week in class.  Chef reminded us SEVERAL times that soup is really only liquid with stuff in it.  It's not complicated, it's nothing to be scared of, and can be one of the easiest things to throw together at the last second.  The book tries to make the whole process really difficult, using many different pots, doing everything separately and throwing it all together at the last second.  Thank goodness for Chef's outlook on making soup!  I LOVE soup!  I could eat it almost everyday.  I also have a daughter who LOVES soup.  But I'm a busy mom.  I don't have time to do twenty different steps in five different pots.  That's time I don't have and dishes I don't want to clean.  Not to mention what little miss princess might get into while I'm slaving away.  So, today I offer you the soup I made in class.  It's SUPER easy, uses one pot, takes 10-15 minutes to throw together...and then you leave it alone for 30 minutes or so (and hey, it probably takes at least that long to get everyone wrangled for dinner anyway!)  Oh...and I apologize in advance for the picture not being the best.  I do what I can with harsh overhead florescent lighting in the school kitchen!  ENJOY!!

Bean and Potato Soup
Serves 4-6

2 bacon strips; cut into thin slices
1/2 c dried beans; rinsed and soaked
1/2 c onion; diced
1/4 c carrot; diced
1/4 c celery; diced
1 c potato; diced
1 bay leaf
T dried thyme
1 garlic clove; minced
2 qts ham or beef stock (I used ham stock and added some of the meat from the ham hock into the soup)
salt and pepper to taste

Cook the bacon strips in a pot on the stove over medium until the fat is rendered (2-3 minutes).  Add onion, celery and carrot to pot.  Sweat the vegetables in the bacon grease for 2-3 minutes, stirring constantly.  Add all other ingredients (except salt and pepper.)  Stir well.  Bring the mixture to a boil.  Reduce the heat and simmer the soup for 30-45 minutes (or until the beans are cooked through).  Season with salt and pepper.  Serve!

We also made "croutons" to go with the soup.  Thinly slice French bread, top with Gruyere cheese, put on a cooking sheet in the oven at 400 degrees until golden brown.  YUMMY!