This place is great, just for the names of the dishes, OMG!

Food carts are the most trendy thing right now, next to bacon, sourcing food locally and thick nerd glasses.  This is a food cart in Portland, OR - I know, I know, I don't live there, hell, I've never even set foot in the state (not because I don't want to, but because my travels have never taken me there).  But I saw this on the Cooking Channels' 'Eat St.' and it looked really good and greasy - greasy in a wonderfully fulfilling way.

If I ever get to Portland, I want to visit this mecca and pay homage to the Food Gods of Goodness.

http://www.brunchboxpdx.com/menu.php

I especially like the 'Redonkadonk Burger' and the 5-oh!

Yum!

Peanut Butter Blossoms with Chocolate Ganache

So the other day, Tommy asked for cookies.  I haven't been making granola bars, I've been making cookies to pack with his lunches.  I started checking the cabinets for specific cookie ingredients and I saw the fresh jar of creamy peanut butter.  Hmmm, I said to my self, that would work for PB Blossoms.  Only one problem; no kisses.  What can I use for the topper if no kisses??  I had baking chocolate, semi-sweet and unsweetened.  I had cream, I had melting bakers chocolate; I could make Chocolate Ganache.  It sounds fancy and complicated, and the pastry chefs of the world want you to think that its hard to make, but no, no, no...  Super easy.  Here's the sequence of events for Ganache.

Equal parts cream (heavy whipping cream and / or light cream)
Chopped chocolate (bakers sweet or semi sweet)
So if you have 8 oz of chocolate, you will need 8 fluid ounces of cream.

Put the cream in a heavy bottomed pot.  Warm the cream, but don't let it scald, just let it get warm.  Take the pot off the heat and add your chopped chocolate and swish the cream and the chocolate around in the pot.  Then leave it alone for about 10 minutes.  You will want to poke at it, but set your timer and wait.  While you are waiting, you can work on your cookie mixture.  I generally just use the recipe on the back of the Hershey kisses bag.  However, I do modify it a little bit.  (Cookie recipe below)  When your timer dings, get your whisk and gently stir your mixture.  At this point it will look as though its not going to come together, but be patient.  Use your whisk and start to slowly blend your mixture.  You can put it back on the heat on low, but make sure to move it on and off the heat, as needed.  Mix and wait, mix and wait, mix and wait.  I neglected to say that this takes patients.  You will know when this becomes Ganache because it will look like really thick Hersey's syrup, but when it cools, it will harden. 

Back to the cookies:
I use the recipe on the back of the Hersey Kisses Bag, but in case you don't have one handy, here is the recipe:

1/2 C Shortening (Butter, Butter flavored Crisco or Margarine - they all work well)
1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter
1/2 C Sugar
1/2 C packed Brown Sugar
1 egg
1 1/4 C flour
1 tsp Baking Powder
3/4 tsp Baking Soda
1/4 tsp Salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine shortening, peanut butter, sugar and brown sugar.  The add the remaining ingredients and blend well.  Scoop onto parchment covered cookie sheet.

I generally use a Cookie scooper and it makes the most perfect round dollar-coin size cookies.  And, as always, use parchment paper on your cookie sheets.  It makes for effortless removal of the cookie. 

When the cookies come out of the oven, use the bottom of your tablespoon to make an indent in the warm cookie so as to make little spot for the chocolate.  Use your cookie scooper to place about a 1/3 scoop of Ganache in the little crater. 

Ta-DA Peanut Butter Blossoms with Chocolate Ganache.  The Ganache will have to cool and harden, but you will have a fantastic treat that everyone will love.

Mango Salsa - versatile and delicious

New York Strip with Mango Salsa

One of my favorite things to make when we will be having dinner company is Mango Salsa.  Its so versatile and delicious that you can serve it with anything and it would be a great accompaniment to your dinner.

A few weeks ago my friend Katherine was visiting from Seattle.  I said that I would be making dinner, as I had a marinating flank steak in the fridge.  So the menu for the evening was Marinated Flank Steak, Mango Salsa, Dirty Rice and a fresh leaf lettuce salad with cucumbers from the garden.  I want to give the lowdown for the Salsa.

So here goes:  Mango Salsa


Mango Salsa



The trick to a good fresh salsa is a mix of crunchy and savory ingredients and you have to cut all of the ingredients really small.  So you will be spending more time at the cutting board.  But it's ok, you have an awesome salsa to add to dinner.

So I started with two mangoes; a half of a large seedless cucumber; red onion, a half of a unripe pear, half of a red pepper and a large bunch of parsley.  You can use flat leaf, italian, curly leaf or even cilantro.  Whatever your taste is, work with that.

Dice everything really small, with the exception of the mangoes, make then twice as large as the rest of the ingredients and add to a mixing bowl.

Add your additional ingredients which are Balsamic Vinegar, about two tablespoons, Kosher salt (please don't forget the salt!), about a teaspoon, coarse ground pepper, Olive Oil, about two tablespoons and a dash of soy sauce.  At this point, I wold encourage you to not use measuring implements.  Instead, use the a little bit less that you think would be enough and taste it.  If its not enough, add more and taste.  You have to make it to your liking, because you are the one who will be eating it!

Mix everything to coat and you can let this marinade in the fridge, or you can serve it right away with your grilled chicken, flank steak, tuna steak or pork tenderloin!

Most important, enjoy what you made!

Grilled Tuna Steak on a bed of Mango Salsa

I love Aprons

I love aprons.  Frilly ones, fancy ones, plain ones, big ones and little ones.  A lunch lady apron or a diner waitress apron, they come in so many different shapes and cuts, its impossible to not think they are fun and cool.

I remember cooking when I was five.  I distinctly remember dragging a chair over to the stove, getting my tiny, one egg frying pan with the wood handle and making an egg.  I really remember that I was unsupervised and I was all jazzed that I could use the gas stove all my self.  I also remember rummaging through the napkins, dish towels and kitchen towels to find an apron when I wanted to make some breakfast for myself.

My dad has always cooked, for the family and just for fun, so my mom liked to buy him aprons.  But he never liked them.  They would go in the pantry and I would find them and wear them.  There was one apron that I really liked and I always wore it.  It was a Tobasco apron with the big McIlheny Tobasco symble on the front. 

The real reason that this has come to mind is my mom bought me super cool apron while she was in Califorina and I totally love it.  Not only is it a black and white print, but it has a ruffle at the bottom and it makes me feel like a 1950's housewife.  Except with better appliances.

Grilled Rubens - Not just Diner Fare

A Ruben is a sandwich that I will always order in a Diner because I don't make them at home.  I also don't make club sandwiches at home.  I rarely have square white bread and cooked bacon readily on hand in my kitchen, so this is another that I will order in a Diner.

So back to Rubens - a simple sandwich with complicated set of ingredients, but put them all together and you have the best thing ever.  Here's the list of what you need to make a great grilled Ruben.

Corned Beef.  You can make your own. Its easy, but you will need about 2 weeks to really make it good.  This is a Brisket that's been cured for 7 - 10 days in a  mixture of cureing salt, brown sugar, bay leaves and whole pepper corns and then simmered on the stove for three hours.  Cool and cut and you have your own corned beef.

Rye Bread - Just buy some.  Really, its easier and unless you have plenty of time on your hands or a dad that makes rye bread for a living.

Sauerkraut - Buy some and make it the bagged stuff.  Not the stuff in the cans.  When you buy the bagged stuff and you are all ready to assemble the sandwich, open and empty the bag into a colander or strainer and wash the juice off.  Then let it drain a little bit so you don't make a soggy sandwich.

Swiss Cheese - Get good stuff, its OK of you pay a little bit per pound for it.

Thousand Island dressing - you can make your own: ketchup, Mayonnaise and relish.  Or you can buy it, its your preference.

Butter - for the grilling part

A grill - I mean it, a grill.  You will have to work fast, but it'll be really good.

Now, for the assembly.

Butter both sides of the bread, as if you were going to make a grilled Cheese Sandwich in a frying pan.  Take all of your ingredients out to the grill.  Make sure your grill heat is set as low as possible and place both pieces of bread, butter side down on the grill. 

Now time to layer.  Cheese on both, then on one slice; generous corned beef slices, then a sauerkraut layer (make sure everything is even), then Thousand Island Dressing.  Then place your other piece of bread on top and squish everything down.  At this point, if you can, flip the sandwich, and flatten. 

Lastly, cut in half and enjoy!

Just as a side note, I cooked and cooked a lot this weekend.  I think I cooked for 12 people in two different shifts.  I made all sorts of different and fun stuff and I forgot to take a picture of ANYTHING!  I was so involved with filling everyone's bellies that I forgot to grab the camera and snap away.

I will do better next time and remember to take pictures to decorate my entries.

As always, love your kitchen, it'll love you back!

Pesto - Fantastico!

Fresh Basil

Anyone who knows anything good, knows about Pesto.  Its expensive to buy, time consuming to make and the ingredients are expensive.  That being said, here is a recipe that will not break your bank and will make you fall in love with the simple Basil plant.

Generally the ingredients for pesto are:

Basil
Pine Nuts (expensive)
Reggiano Parmesan Cheese (expensive)
Olive Oil (Expensive but you should buy it by the gallon anyway)
Kosher salt

In this recipe, I am going to keep only the most important ingredients - The Basil, Olive Oil and Salt.  Everything else is just fluff.

Basil Leaves in the food processor with salt and oil

If you have the ability, grow Basil in your garden.  If you don't have room for a garden, grow it in containers on you patio or terrace.  Its doesn't need a whole lot of care, just water and sunlight.  What I'm trying to say is procure yourself a lot of Basil.  The amount that you have will condense down to 1/3 of what you started with.

Dig out your food processor, you can can even use a blender, but I recommend a food processor.  After you pick and wash your Basil, spin it in a lettuce spinner and place ALOT in the food processor, like all the way up to the top.  Sprinkle with Kosher Salt - 2 teaspoons and add a generous dose of Olive Oil.  Put the top on and pulse the processor until the Basil mills down.  Take the top off and scrape the sides.  Pulse again.  Empty into a large bowl and fold in some cracked black pepper.  Taste for salt and put into storage containers.  One word of caution, you will have to work kind of quickly.  The Basil will oxidise and turn dark, so once you get the Basil milled down and in your bowl, add a dollop of oil to keep it from being exposed too much.  You can freeze this for up to a year. 

1/3 of what you started out with

 When you want to use the Pesto, get it out of your freezer, place in the microwave to warm it up. After you boil your pasta, add some Olive oil to the bottom of your pot add your pesto, add your pasta, toss to coat.


Garnish with grated Parmesan Cheese and enjoy!

As always, love your kitchen, it'll love you back!

Pizza. And don't be afraid to make your own dough! (D-Oh!)

As the daughter of a baker by hobby and profession, one would automatically think that I could bake bread, pizza crust Cinnamon rolls, whatever. Wrong, not a chance. I had to really learn the technique to making a successful pizza crust and loaf of bread. Sure I could drive to my parents house and take a few balls of dough, but what fun is that?

So, making the pizza dough has been a little bit of a learning lesson. I have listened to my dad tell me about the technique, the this and the that, but all for naught! I finally figured it out and its EASY! Rapid Rise Yeast. That's IT! Fleishmann's Rapid Rise Yeast. It like it was sent from heaven.

Let me give you the rundown:

The yeast has basic directions on the packet. Heat water to between 110 and 120 degrees in a tea kettle or in a pot on the stove. This will help to get rid of the chlorine in the water if you have public water. Pour the water into a measuring cup and add one packet Rapid Rise Yeast for every one cup of water. One cup of water will make one thin about 10" crust.

To make the yeast happy, because they are little organisms that need food, add 2 tablespoons sugar and one teaspoon salt. This will 'feed' the yeast and in about 10 - 15 minutes this will make a bubbly concoction in your measuring cup. When it does that, you know the yeast are happy and making more yeasties in the cup.

Pour this mixture into a large stainless steel, plastic or ceramic bowl, preferably one that has a lid. Add enough flour to make it thick and stewey looking. Keep in a warm place for about 2 hours. If you have a gas oven with a pilot light, put it in the oven with the temperature off. This will be enough heat to make the yeast grow. If your house has air conditioning and its hot outside, just put the bowl outside, that should be enough heat.

In about 2 hours take a peek at the dough, it should have risen and look puffy. It will have little holes in the top of the dough. With a large tablespoon, scrape the sides down. Now it will be about half its size from the risen state. Add more flour and cut it in with the side of the spoon, kind of folding the flour into the dough.

Cover and set aside for another two hours. Then do the above once more. Let rise and you have dough to make pizza.

I use a rolling pin to roll it out and I prefer not to really knead the dough. By not keading too much, you will have a more tender dough. The more flour you add and the more working of the dough you do will make it tough. Not good.

Once you roll it out, place it on a cookie sheet dusted with corn meal or flour, add your toppings and bake for about 15 - 2o minutes.

If you really want the bottom of the crust to be crunchy, heat up your gas grill on low to medium and take your pizza out of the oven. Use a cookie spatula to gently slip it off the cookie sheet onto the hot grill. Close the lid and stand next to the grill. If you walk away, you will burn it. Wait about 3 -4 minutes. You can check the bottom for grill marks to your liking. Gently slide the cookie sheet back under the grilled pizza and let the pizza cool for about 5 minutes.

Making your own dough is not scary. AND if you screw it up, you have about $1.00 of ingredients invested. As Julia Child said, just throw it away and try again.

As always, love your kitchen, it'll love you back!