¡inspiración!

This very minute my parents are probably leaving their house to drive to Sacramento Airport to drop off my Mom so she can go to her 30th High School class reunion in Aberdeen, South Dakota. I'm almost positive that I've gone a week without talking to her but since I've moved home, we talk everyday. It's making me feel anxious and antsy enough to where I questioned if I even needed coffee this morning.. but I can't say no to coffee!

So naturally, I couldn't let my Mom go off to a special event without going shopping and since she hardly spends any money on herself, even she realized that it was a necessity. As her fashion consultant, I knew she would be one tough customer but I promised her and myself that I would solider through! The day ended in success and we found 3 dresses (the reunion is a 3 day event- a picnic, a tour of the old and new Aberdeen Central, and a dinner/dance). Calvin Klein or "Cal" as she refers to him, really knows how to dress a woman!

While we were busy shopping, my Dad slaved away at making the best meal I've had in 2009! He found a bomb diggity Cuban recipe in "the Cron" but substituted the pork for chicken and added some tasty black beans. IT WAS SOO GOOD! It also co-incited with the book I'm currently reading (not Cuba, Dominican Republic but close enough.) This inspired me to cook a delicious meal for E and I based on a book I just finished. Side note: I just looked at some of the reviews on Amazon and boy are some people rude!! Sometimes you just want an entertaining, well written book, ya know?

Who better to ask about Spanish cuisine then Mario Batali...... wait Mario Batali? Yes, Mario is "the dude" when it comes to Spanish food. I recently (recently like in the past 6 months recently) watched a special on PBS called "Spain - On The Road Again" with Gweneth Paltrow, Mario Batali, Mark Bittman, and Claudia Bassols. It was awesome! Pilar Sanchez, an elderly home cook who lives in Asturias, taught Mario Batali and Mark Bittmanhow to make pollo cassero, a luscious chicken in rich white wine and pepper sauce. When they asked where she buys her poultry, Sanchez told them to go to her yard and listen for the "singing in the field" from the chicken she raises.



Chicken with Piquillos

recipe by Mario Batali

time: 2 hrs 15 min; active 35 min.
serves 4

One 3 1/2 lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces
2 garlic cloves. sliced
kosher salt
2 tablespoons EVOO
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
One 9 oz. jar piquillo peppers. drained
1 cup dry white wine ( I used Wildhurst reserve Sauvignon Blanc - the grapes come from my backyard!)

Rub the chicken with garlic and 1 tablespoon of salt. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour

(E's Mom gave us this for Christmas our 1st year together and it's pretty much amazing but make sure you're not topless when cooking with it. E's a repeat offender in this area, I, on the other hand, am not.)

Heat the EVOO in a large, deep skillet. Scrape the garlic off of the chicken pieces. Add the chicken to the skillet in a single layer and cook over moderately high heat, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 12 minutes. Transfer chicken to a platter.


Add the onion to the skillet and cook over low heat, turning occasionally, until very tender, about 10 minutes. Add the piquillo peppers and white wine and bring to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits.


Return the chicken to any accumulated juices to the skillet. Cover partially and cook over low heat until the chicken is tender and cooked through and the sauce is thickened, about 30 minutes. Transfer the chicken to a platter, spoon the sauce on top and serve!


Make Ahead: The chicken can be refrigerated overnight; rewarm before serving.

Enjoy!

Next up, the movie "Julie & Julia" and S's meeting with Julia Child!

All's well that ends well..

As I mentioned on the 4th, I hosted my first Book Club meeting this past Saturday and to say the least, it was an utter disaster! I created the Book Club in late April and thought it would be a fun way to get together and learn more about my closest friends and family and even meet new friends. I had done lots of research on how to orchestrate a Book Club and how many members is ideal. I originally thought I wouldn't have enough people to have a healthy club but quickly found out by all of the upbeat and excited e-mails that I might have too many! Today I have 15 book club members, all over northern California & one in L.A.

Finally the week came for the Book Club meeting and the e-mails started to trickle in about how a couple of the members couldn't make it or flat out had made other plans. I thought with a few people absent, the meeting would go better then planned and wouldn't last too long.

Before the meeting, E and I did a lot of planning, grocery shopping, and cleaning to accommodate everyone. E was just as excited as I was because he was going disc golfing and cigar shopping with the men. After much agony, I decided to make a raspberry lemonade, angel tea, scones, and a potato peel pie... of course!

As I found out, the meeting quickly turned into a small gathering. Only 3 out of 15 people showed up to the meeting! In my mad scramble to find someone to eat all of the food prepared, I called my parents and asked if they would like to join, expecting a quick no but was delighted to hear a yes!

In the end, I'm glad people canceled last minute and made other plans because I had a great time with just my parents and best friend. I wouldn't have invited my parents if people didn't cancel last minute. My parents especially enjoyed my friends, to which I was more than delighted to hear! My mother also enjoyed our BBQ sauce so much, she went and purchased some the very next day.

Here are some valuable things I learned this past weekend:

1. You don't need a lot of people to have a good time
2. I still need to work on my patience
3. Don't buy so much food!!

Anyway, here are my recipes that I made for the Book Club, I hope you enjoy!

Dad's Lavish Raspberry Lemonade
recipe from my father

3 (12 oz.) cans each frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
3 packages (10 oz.) each frozen sweetened respberries, partically thawed
6 tablespoons sugar
3 liters club soda, chilled
ice cubes

In a blender, combine lemonade concentrate, raspberries and sugar. Cover and process until blended. Strain to remove seeds.

In a pitcher, combine raspberry mixture, club soda and ice cubes; mix well.
Serve immediately





Angel Tea
recipe from Epicurious

1 cup sugar syrup
1 pint lemon juice
1 quart strong green tea
2 quarts white grape juice
1 block ice
2 quarts chilled club soda

Combine all ingredients except soda, and refrigerate for an hour or two. Pour over ice in a punch bowl and add the soda. Serve in 4-ounce punch glasses.

(My new pitcher I bought at the Pampered Chef party!)

Potato Peel Pie

2 cups raw, grated potato skins (I added some of the white part to keep the texture somewhat tender), use mashed potatoes for filling
1/3 cup grated onion
1 egg, beaten
3 Tbs flour
beetroot
sour cream (optional)
chives (optional)
butter (optional)
garlic (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a small pie plate. Mix grated potato peels with egg, onion and flour. Press the mixture into the pie plate and up the sides to form a crust. Bake crust for 20-25 minutes.

While the crust is baking, cook potatoes, drain and mash. You can add your favorite mashed potato flavorings here i.e. garlic, onion, milk, butter, salt, etc. Fill crust with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with beetroot. Bake in oven at lower temperature of 375 for 10 minutes or until browned.

** I would only suggest that you make this during a World War and rationing!**

Glorify the 4th of July!

In a funny and strange turn of events, I've been informed that about half of my friends and CA family are going back to South Dakota this summer, for totally unrelated occasions.This is big news considering South Dakota's population doesn't reach 1 million. My mother is going to her High School reunion at the end of the month, yay for her!

I love living in California, but the fourth of July festivities are embarrassingly meek! The Midwest on the other hand, takes their Independence Day celebrations quite seriously including lots of Main Street parades and firework shows. My two favorite fourth of July memories both took place in South Dakota. The first was at Uncle Wayne's summer cabin, watching the parade go by in the front yard and catching lots of candy!! The second is spending time on the fourth of July weekend in Battle Creek, SD (just west of Badlands) with Grandma Great at one of her flea markets selling antique jewelry.

To get me in the mood for the fourth, I decided to make something very "SoDak" and traditional since I didn't do anything festive because ice cream beckoned my name!!

Either way, I hope you had a wonderful fourth of July!! Enjoy!!

***Picture coming soon!!***





Glorified Rice
recipe from my Great Grandma or "Grandma Great"

(My Great Grandmother thought that the "great" sounded too old so she opted for the "Alexander the Great" motif instead.)

1/3 cup sugar
1 cup drained, crushed pineapple
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup rice, cooked
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons drained, maraschino cherries, chopped
1 cup whipping cream

Stir together sugar, pineapple, and vanilla. Then stir in rice, cinnamon, and cherries. Whip the cream and fold in. Chill 1-2 hours.

THAT'S IT!!!

Next up, Potato Peel Pie Book Club!!

Iran with the thought

With all of the political issues going on in Iran and all of the negative attention the country is receiving, I decided to focus on some of the positive things about Iran and there is many to choose from. From what I hear, Iran is extremely clean, serene, and the food ain't too shabby either!




Persian food, by and large, is not what you'd call "pretty". The stews, in particular, range from dark green and gloppy to dark, dark brown and gloppy. Regardless, if I had to choose one culture whose food I would have to eat for the rest of my life, it could possibly be Persian.

As I've gotten older, I've perfected a few dishes while still striving for my mother's touch in others. Ghormeh Sabzi, or "Green Herb Stew" is one of the few I've nearly perfected.

Ghormeh Sabzi is deliciously savory and loaded with the flavors of several different green herbs. It's traditionally served atop Polow, but I haven't had the time to sift through the recipes to find some good Polow!

So here's my Iranian stew, enjoy!







Ghormeh Sabzi

1 or 2 lbs. of stew meat
1 potato
1 1/2 cup of rice
1 small onion, diced
2 green onions
1 cilantro sprig
4 italian parsley sprigs
1 cup pinto beans
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup oil
salt & pepper

Chop parsley, cilantro, and green onions. Cook until dark green.

In a large pan, cook meat, beans, and onion. Add parsley, cilantro, and green onions along with lemon juice, salt and pepper. Cook 30 minutes.

Cook rice until 1/2 done according to package. Drain and rinse. Cut potato into 1/4". Layer pan with potato and rice over the meat mixture. Cover with a kitchen towel and lid. Cook until potato's are golden brown (around 40 minutes.)

Next up, "Glorify the fourth of July!!"

Intermission..

While in the midst of my morning haze, I saw NYC's P.S. 22 chorus perform on "Good Morning America." I was completely blown away by two things, how amazing these kids are and what an awesome teacher Mr. B is! I hope I can be as good of teacher as he is.



They have their own blog and it's my new favorite thing!

Rat-a-tat-touille

ra⋅ta⋅touille

  /ˌrætəˈtui, -ˈtwi; Fr. rataˈtuy^ə / Show Spelled Pronunciation [rat-uh-too-ee, -twee; Fr. ra-ta-too-y^uh ] Show IPA

–noun

a vegetable stew of Provence, typically consisting of eggplant, zucchini, onions, green peppers, tomatoes, and garlic, served hot or cold. "rata" is slang from the French Army meaning "chunky stew" "touiller" to stir

---

Origin:
1875–80

I'm not sure if I can say for sure when and where I started learning the joy of cooking but I'm sure some of the following helped it along:
- Cooking for 2 instead of 1
- Getting kicked out the house (not literally, that would hurt) for college
- Watching the little kid movie, Pixar's Ratatouille

Out of the MANY different kinds of animals I had growing up, from fire belly toads to rabbits to dogs, the one pet I never acquired was a rat. I'm still not sure why but I'm positive that I asked multiple times. E on the other hand, had only 3 pets growing up. Felix the cat (female), Baby and Charlotte... both rats. Watching old family Christmas video's of one the rat's climbing the stairs and having miniature stockings, brought up some familiar feelings of wanting to nurture a different species.

E was pretty dead set against any pets. So cleverly, I thought if we could get pets that E has already had experience with it wouldn't be so much of a hassle. So when someone dropped off a beautiful calico/tortoise shell cat at my parents house around my birthday, you better believe I swooped up the opportunity! After the 1st "no", I knew I needed to up my game. I made protest signs and put them all around the house and requested the cat for my birthday. Well, who can deny a cute girl?



Soon after Callie was added to the family. we started the tradition of going to the movie's to see Pixar films with my brother C. I FELL IN LOVE WITH RATATOUILLE! So cute, so French, and so creative! Pretty instantly, I knew we just had to get a pet rat. Sure enough.....




Callie and Remy have brought so much joy into our lives. Although they have no say on big family decisions, they definitely are apart of our little family. Without further ado...

Ratatouille
recipe adapted from "Emeril Live"

prep time: 20 minutes
cook time: 40-45 minutes
serves 6-8 servings

1 large head of garlic, top sliced off to expose tips of garlic
5 tablespoons EVOO
2 1/4 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 large ripe tomatoes, halved
1 small eggplant, trimmed & cut lengthwise into 1/2" slices
1 large zucchini, trimmed & cut lengthwise into 1/2" slices
1 small onion, peeled & sliced into 1/2" rings
2 bell peppers, stem, seeds & ribs removed, cut in 1/2" lengthwise
1/4 cup dry red wine
3 tablespoons freshly minced basil leaves
2 tablespoons freshly minced parsley leaves
1 tablespoon freshly chopped thyme leaves
grated Parmesan, for garnish

Preheat grill. Before preparing the veggies, roast the garlic. Rub 1 tea. of EVOO & a pinch of salt & pepper onto the cut side of garlic. Wrap in foil and place on grill. Roast until soft and starting to caramelize, turning occasionally, about 25 minutes. Remove from grill and let sit until cool enough to handle. Squeeze the pulp from the garlic skins and set aside.

Rub 2 tablespoons of the oil and pinch of the salt & pepper on the tomatoes. Place on the grill away from the direct heat (or on the upper rack) and grill until tender and starting to char, about 6 minutes, depending on heat. ( The longer the tomatoes are on the grill, the smokier the flavor.) Remove from heat and when cool, remove the skin and roughly chop.

In a large bowl, combine the eggplant, zucchini, onions, and bell peppers and toss with 2 tablespoons of the EVOO, 1 teaspoon of the salt, and 1/2 teaspoon of the pepper. Grill, turning until marked by the grill and tender, 3-5 minutes per side. Remove with tongs and let cool. Dice into 1/2" pieces.

In the bottom of a large bowl, mash the roasted garlic and 1 teaspoon of the EVOO to make a paste. Drizzle in the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons of EVOO, 1 teaspoon of salt & pepper, and the wine and whisk to combine. Add the chopped veggies, tomatoes, and the herbs and toss to coat. Serve at room temperature, garnished with Parmesan. (Ratatouille can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight to allow flavors to further develop.)

-you can put ratatouille over any kind of carb: rice, pasta, boiled cubed potatoes, or toasted bread

Enjoy!



Here's to my "little chef" who makes my life tasty!

Ice cream, you scream, we all scream for employment checks!!

Just a quick note:
I started my new job yesterday and it was so much fun! I'm working at a Lu Lu's Ice Cream Shop in downtown Kelseyville. So if you're in the neighborhood, stop by!