Last night, the Jones family brought over venison chili, green salad, baked beans, potato salad, and assorted appetizers . This, to most people, would have meant that the Burches had the night off from cooking. Instead, this meant that we only did four new recipes.
First up were the cheese straws. I must confess to not liking cheese straws. Something about their dry texture and the thought that that much cheese coming out of the oven should be oooey and gooey, not dry and crunchy. I know that I may be in the minority here. The recipe was from the Commander's Kitchen cookbook. Jerry made the dough and we were supposed to either fill a pastry bag (which we have) or a cookie press (which we have) and pipe them onto a cookie sheet. We have a Pampered Chef squirter thing, and it had a huge star tip so we used it. Wrong. The dough was too thick and we were afraid of breaking the trigger. Jerry improvised and used his thumbs to force the dough through the tip and that worked. We baked some on parchment paper and some not and there wasn't a bit of difference between the two.
The next recipe was a two-fer. The Tangy Shrimp Dip starts out with a measure of boiled shrimp. Jerry doubled the shrimp so that we could do both. Folks, this was hands down the best boiled shrimp I have ever had. The seasoning used for the boil was the Commander's Palace seafood seasoning. We ended up using all of that we had so we will be making some more soon. The Tangy Shrimp Dip was great and easy and made entirely in a food processor. (They also made the cheese straws taste better, but I may be the only one who felt the need to do this!)
The last recipe of the evening was the Irish Coffee. I really wish we hadn't done this one. The coffee was sweetened with brown sugar, flavored with whiskey and topped with freshly whipped cream. It was wonderful and Jerry and I both feel the need now to purchase Irish Coffee cups. The tragedy is that there is NOWHERE to store the little guys and so they will have to languish at the store a bit longer. After all, I am feeling the need for a food mill first and my two new pans from three days ago are still sitting on the cabinet due to lack of a home.
Enjoy yourselves and cook something yummy tonight!!!
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Crepes, Cauliflower, and the Perfection That Is Veal
Last night was a revelation. We decided to cook veal for the first time and think it may be our new favorite! We selected our menu (Cauliflower and Brie Soup, Veal Kottwitz, and Lemon Mousse) and headed off to the grocery store. Unfortunately, we had waited sort of late to start and the store didn't have veal. We came home and unloaded what we did have. I started cooking as Jerry and Jillian headed out to get the veal. We were lucky that U had veal so they didn't end up in the West End again.
The mousse needed to get into the frig so it could set and so it was the recipe I started flipping to as Jerry was leaving. I spied a recipe for Crepes Souffle Praline and mentioned it to him. His thought was that it sounded better than the lemon mousse he had picked out and so we switched recipes and added a couple of ingredients to his list.
The new dessert recipe starts out with crepes. I made the batter in my new food processor (thanks, Jill...you pick the best Christmas presents) and the first one in the skillet flopped. The rest turned out beautifully and were embarrassingly easy. The meringue didn't turn out exactly right. It looked more like divinity candy, but with all the sugar and rum it was yummy anyway. Crepes were assembled and left to wait their seven minutes of oven time just before serving. On to the artichokes...
I know that I didn't do this correctly. Artichoke bottoms? I looked it up online so that I knew exactly what we were talking about. Still, the product I ended up with didn't have a good texture and tasted terrible. Good thing I kept the tender stalks and this is what we used in the veal dish. Jerry took the lead on the veal dish while I messed up the artichoke bottoms and generally chopped my way through the evening.
The Cauliflower and Brie soup was really good, but the general consensus was that it wasn't as good as the Oyster Chowder. Still, it was creamy and you could taste the brie. The texture was a little weird with the cauliflower and two runs through the food processor didn't get it as smooth as we would have liked. The brie melted like a dream and didn't cause a clean-up headache like some cheeses do in a pan.
The VEAL!!!! You all have to do this recipe. It was the best ever. We used the Creole Meat Seasoning on it and our new sauteure pan. Perfection. Fresh lemon...yummy. The artichokes were good in it too, actually. This may be our all time favorite recipe, as I can't imagine anything else tasting quite so perfect. Jerry's eyebrows went up when I reached for my third (partial) helping, so I quickly withdrew my hand from the dish. Still, I am really looking forward to leftovers at lunch.
The Crepes Souffle Praline dish was really good. Not too sweet. When we make this again (and we will), I will serve it with some vanilla ice cream and a warm praline sauce drizzled over it. The Bailey's was a wonderful little something to sip with it as well.
That is it for this meal. It was incredible!
The mousse needed to get into the frig so it could set and so it was the recipe I started flipping to as Jerry was leaving. I spied a recipe for Crepes Souffle Praline and mentioned it to him. His thought was that it sounded better than the lemon mousse he had picked out and so we switched recipes and added a couple of ingredients to his list.
The new dessert recipe starts out with crepes. I made the batter in my new food processor (thanks, Jill...you pick the best Christmas presents) and the first one in the skillet flopped. The rest turned out beautifully and were embarrassingly easy. The meringue didn't turn out exactly right. It looked more like divinity candy, but with all the sugar and rum it was yummy anyway. Crepes were assembled and left to wait their seven minutes of oven time just before serving. On to the artichokes...
I know that I didn't do this correctly. Artichoke bottoms? I looked it up online so that I knew exactly what we were talking about. Still, the product I ended up with didn't have a good texture and tasted terrible. Good thing I kept the tender stalks and this is what we used in the veal dish. Jerry took the lead on the veal dish while I messed up the artichoke bottoms and generally chopped my way through the evening.
The Cauliflower and Brie soup was really good, but the general consensus was that it wasn't as good as the Oyster Chowder. Still, it was creamy and you could taste the brie. The texture was a little weird with the cauliflower and two runs through the food processor didn't get it as smooth as we would have liked. The brie melted like a dream and didn't cause a clean-up headache like some cheeses do in a pan.
The VEAL!!!! You all have to do this recipe. It was the best ever. We used the Creole Meat Seasoning on it and our new sauteure pan. Perfection. Fresh lemon...yummy. The artichokes were good in it too, actually. This may be our all time favorite recipe, as I can't imagine anything else tasting quite so perfect. Jerry's eyebrows went up when I reached for my third (partial) helping, so I quickly withdrew my hand from the dish. Still, I am really looking forward to leftovers at lunch.
The Crepes Souffle Praline dish was really good. Not too sweet. When we make this again (and we will), I will serve it with some vanilla ice cream and a warm praline sauce drizzled over it. The Bailey's was a wonderful little something to sip with it as well.
That is it for this meal. It was incredible!
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
From the Commander's Palace
Jerry and I sat down yesterday morning and thumbed through our Commander's Palace cookbook. For those of you who don't know, the Commander's Palace is a New Orleans establishment and serves Creole/Cajun food. We haven't eaten at the one in New Orleans, but we had a fantastic meal at the one in Vegas.
Yesterday was enlightening. We went out to purchase ingredients. Jordan went with me. We had decided to do a whole fish dish and needed a pan (roaster with a lid) big enough to hold it. Of course, we wanted something of quality because we don't really like having to replace things after they go to heck. First, there are no roasters of any quality with lids. The roasters of quality were out of our price range so Jordan and I ended up with a really cool sauteure pan. Never heard of one before, but by gosh, it is large and has a lid.
Pan. Check. Fish. Whoa! Where did all the whole fish go? We couldn't find one and I started to freak out a bit around 2 when I still didn't have the ingredients for the meal. Jerry came to the rescue and started looking for the fish. He called and none of the fish markets had a whole fish. I (more than) half jokingly said to go to Whole Foods for a Whole Fish. He did. They had it and we were back in business. Next time, we will go there first to avoid all the anxiety.
Last night's menu was Oyster Chowder, Baked Fish with Oysters and Shrimp, Roasted Cauliflower, Commander's Palace Garlic Bread, and Chocolate Mousse.
Here's the break down:
Oyster Chowder - incredible, easy and one of my all time favorite recipes. I may have this recipe tattooed somewhere. Seriously, one bite and I couldn't believe that this was actually prepared in our kitchen and not dropped in by the culinary gods.
Baked Fish with Oysters and Shrimp - I think there is something wrong with this recipe. It was good and it was all gone at the end of the night. There was a point in the recipe where it said to bring to a boil, but there wasn't any liquid to boil. There also wasn't any fat (aside from 2 TBSP of olive oil) and so it was a little light and not enough flavor in my opinion.
Roasted Cauliflower - Robin said that it was her favorite dish and she doesn't like cauliflower. It was yummy and really easy!!!!
Commander's Palace Garlic Bread - The dill didn't do it for us. The garlic pieces were too large and so were spicy. Evidently, we are not picky as it was all gone, but I don't think we will make it again.
Chocolate Mousse - OMG!!!
Jerry said that he thought Julie was crazy to take on five hundred and something recipes in a year. After last night, he thinks it is doable. We made five recipes in one night. Two nights like that and you are on pace. I know mathematically he is correct, but we spent HOURS searching for that fish and the perfect pan. (Jerry and Jillian bought another pan - a roaster without a lid- while searching for the whole fish.) I need to plan the meals better so that I am not trying to equip the kitchen and buy groceries at the same time. Hopefully, what we cook tonight will require standard equipment and will not force a frantic trip to Whole Foods.
Yesterday was enlightening. We went out to purchase ingredients. Jordan went with me. We had decided to do a whole fish dish and needed a pan (roaster with a lid) big enough to hold it. Of course, we wanted something of quality because we don't really like having to replace things after they go to heck. First, there are no roasters of any quality with lids. The roasters of quality were out of our price range so Jordan and I ended up with a really cool sauteure pan. Never heard of one before, but by gosh, it is large and has a lid.
Pan. Check. Fish. Whoa! Where did all the whole fish go? We couldn't find one and I started to freak out a bit around 2 when I still didn't have the ingredients for the meal. Jerry came to the rescue and started looking for the fish. He called and none of the fish markets had a whole fish. I (more than) half jokingly said to go to Whole Foods for a Whole Fish. He did. They had it and we were back in business. Next time, we will go there first to avoid all the anxiety.
Last night's menu was Oyster Chowder, Baked Fish with Oysters and Shrimp, Roasted Cauliflower, Commander's Palace Garlic Bread, and Chocolate Mousse.
Here's the break down:
Oyster Chowder - incredible, easy and one of my all time favorite recipes. I may have this recipe tattooed somewhere. Seriously, one bite and I couldn't believe that this was actually prepared in our kitchen and not dropped in by the culinary gods.
Baked Fish with Oysters and Shrimp - I think there is something wrong with this recipe. It was good and it was all gone at the end of the night. There was a point in the recipe where it said to bring to a boil, but there wasn't any liquid to boil. There also wasn't any fat (aside from 2 TBSP of olive oil) and so it was a little light and not enough flavor in my opinion.
Roasted Cauliflower - Robin said that it was her favorite dish and she doesn't like cauliflower. It was yummy and really easy!!!!
Commander's Palace Garlic Bread - The dill didn't do it for us. The garlic pieces were too large and so were spicy. Evidently, we are not picky as it was all gone, but I don't think we will make it again.
Chocolate Mousse - OMG!!!
Jerry said that he thought Julie was crazy to take on five hundred and something recipes in a year. After last night, he thinks it is doable. We made five recipes in one night. Two nights like that and you are on pace. I know mathematically he is correct, but we spent HOURS searching for that fish and the perfect pan. (Jerry and Jillian bought another pan - a roaster without a lid- while searching for the whole fish.) I need to plan the meals better so that I am not trying to equip the kitchen and buy groceries at the same time. Hopefully, what we cook tonight will require standard equipment and will not force a frantic trip to Whole Foods.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Emeril's and the General Feeling of Anticipation
We dined at Emeril's yesterday for Christmas dinner. It was wonderful. It was worth every minute I devoted to fretting about what would be on the menu and what I would order. Seriously, it really was.
We arrived and were immediately seated. The team that took care of us was wonderful. They patiently placed napkins in our laps and then, heaven help and bless them because Jacob the wiggle worm was with us, folded and refolded our napkins each time we left the table to go to the bathroom. (Jacob goes whenever he is bored and since he is eight and not really into multi-course dinners, he was bored often.) Did I mention that they escorted us to the potty our first trips?
Bathroom breaks are not what I want to talk about, although in the grand scheme of things do seem to fit. I'll get to that later. We had an incredible meal. I can't wait to tell you all about it, but that will have to wait. You see, it was one of THOSE kinds of meals where the dishes weren't "Grandma's meatloaf" or "chicken spaghetti." No, these were "a dish of Maine lobster and North Sea scallops saute in a light butter reduction over squid ink infused angel hair pasta topped with shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese" sort of dishes. And there were three of them not counting dessert, 3 wine pairings and the coffee I indulged in with dessert. Yeah, I am seriously going to need the cell phone photo of the menu that John took. (Yeah, we really did that.)
The main things that I learned from my dining at Emeril's:
1. Each course was served with flourish and we anticipated each one. When it arrived, we savored and did not scarf, stuff our faces, or any of the other stupid things we tend to do with food. We actually slowed down and tasted and enjoyed. Cool, huh?
2. I came to a huge realization... and that is this: I don't really need an escort to the potty. Seriously, just give me some directions and if I don't figure it out eventually, I will ask again. Cooking is like that (not like a potty), I like to be given some directions and then left to my own devises to see where I end up. I enjoyed the Emeril experience (THANKS, JERRY!!!), but I am so ready to get started with our own cooking experiences to see where we end up.
Oh, and by the way to all my sweet friends, Jerry already bought a case of two of the wines we were served at Emeril's for a fraction of what we paid there. We are looking forward to sharing them with you!
We arrived and were immediately seated. The team that took care of us was wonderful. They patiently placed napkins in our laps and then, heaven help and bless them because Jacob the wiggle worm was with us, folded and refolded our napkins each time we left the table to go to the bathroom. (Jacob goes whenever he is bored and since he is eight and not really into multi-course dinners, he was bored often.) Did I mention that they escorted us to the potty our first trips?
Bathroom breaks are not what I want to talk about, although in the grand scheme of things do seem to fit. I'll get to that later. We had an incredible meal. I can't wait to tell you all about it, but that will have to wait. You see, it was one of THOSE kinds of meals where the dishes weren't "Grandma's meatloaf" or "chicken spaghetti." No, these were "a dish of Maine lobster and North Sea scallops saute in a light butter reduction over squid ink infused angel hair pasta topped with shavings of Pecorino Romano cheese" sort of dishes. And there were three of them not counting dessert, 3 wine pairings and the coffee I indulged in with dessert. Yeah, I am seriously going to need the cell phone photo of the menu that John took. (Yeah, we really did that.)
The main things that I learned from my dining at Emeril's:
1. Each course was served with flourish and we anticipated each one. When it arrived, we savored and did not scarf, stuff our faces, or any of the other stupid things we tend to do with food. We actually slowed down and tasted and enjoyed. Cool, huh?
2. I came to a huge realization... and that is this: I don't really need an escort to the potty. Seriously, just give me some directions and if I don't figure it out eventually, I will ask again. Cooking is like that (not like a potty), I like to be given some directions and then left to my own devises to see where I end up. I enjoyed the Emeril experience (THANKS, JERRY!!!), but I am so ready to get started with our own cooking experiences to see where we end up.
Oh, and by the way to all my sweet friends, Jerry already bought a case of two of the wines we were served at Emeril's for a fraction of what we paid there. We are looking forward to sharing them with you!
Friday, December 25, 2009
I am Not a Julie Powell Copycat
Okay, I know that the assumption will be that I am copying Julie Powell. I most certainly am not. True, we are both Texans living elsewhere, but I can promise you the language on this blog will be significantly less colorful. I am also not going to attempt to cook my way through Julia's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Seriously, I have no desire to attempt aspic (well, maybe just to see if I can do it) and I am not even remotely interested in learning new and exciting ways to make offal (there is a reason it sounds like "awful") palatable.
You only go around once, and while my life is full and happy and blessed, I am greedy and want more. I want more enjoyable evenings with friends. I want more corks for my cork collection and that means opening more bottles with friends and family. What I seriously need seems to be more time. Can anyone relate? I need to prioritize and get things rearranged so that what I am spending time doing is meaningful and enjoyable. For me, this is cooking and spending evenings with friends.
The purpose of this blog is not to set a deadline to accomplish some fantastic undertaking. Rather, it is to help me focus on getting things back in order so that I can do what I most want to do.
I am looking forward to having "Friends in Our Kitchen"!
You only go around once, and while my life is full and happy and blessed, I am greedy and want more. I want more enjoyable evenings with friends. I want more corks for my cork collection and that means opening more bottles with friends and family. What I seriously need seems to be more time. Can anyone relate? I need to prioritize and get things rearranged so that what I am spending time doing is meaningful and enjoyable. For me, this is cooking and spending evenings with friends.
The purpose of this blog is not to set a deadline to accomplish some fantastic undertaking. Rather, it is to help me focus on getting things back in order so that I can do what I most want to do.
I am looking forward to having "Friends in Our Kitchen"!
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