Dark Sweet Cherry Dressing

Ok Laura this is for you. I make this very wonderful dressing that is easy to do and always gets a great response.

1- 12 oz jar of Cherry Preserves (strawberry works well too)

1 cup balsamic dressing, I use a cherry flavored one

1/2 - 1 cup of brown sugar

Put the preserves, balsamic and 1/2 cup of brown sugar in a sauce pan, a reduction sauce pan if you have one.  Bring to a boil and then turn your burner to low and keep it at a simmer, stirring often,  for about 1/2 hour till reduced by about a cup, it should leave you with about 1 - 1 1/2 cup liquid. At this point, taste - carefully cause it is hot- to check the sweetness level.  You want to have a bit of tartness, but this is it so make sure it is not too tart to have on a salad.  If you decide to add sugar stir and cook a bit longer just to incorporate, and then turn off the heat and let it cool. As it cools, it will thicken to a syrupy consistency. At this point, you can use it (see below for a suggestion) or put in a container and store in the fridge for later use.

As a suggestion for a use, I usually get some field greens, washed and dried well.  Take a tablespoon or so of some good quality oil, I prefer avocado oil, but a good quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil will do and dress the greens.  Add a pinch of salt and pepper and using the tools that God gave you and get your hands in there and toss well. At this point I like to add some cheese, my favorites are creamy Gorgonzola or a Cambozola  cheese, but the last time I did this salad I took a roll of goat cheese and sliced it into 1/4 inch slices. I like the contrast of sweet from the dressing and the pungency of these cheeses.  If you like the goat cheese idea here is what  I did.  I dipped it into a store bought bread crumb and coated completely. I melted a tablespoon of butter and about a tablespoon or so of oil and just browned the slices and put on a paper towel to remove any excess oil.  Now back to the salad, I love to use candied nuts, pecans for me. Now for the drizzle of the cherry dressing.  Use enough to make sure you get the taste in every bite.  If you did the goat cheese, put your round on top at this point and time to eat!

Ok Laura so I thought about your problem, which was the dressing was so thick and it is true it is thick like a syrup or jam.  I have added it on my salad in spoonfuls after being dressed with the oil and then allowed each person to sort of toss it all together, but last night I had a thought. I took a couple tablespoons of the oil in a dish and added the dressing and stirred till it was fully incorporated, it took a while but it did thin out the dressing to make it more spreadable.

Winner, Winner Chicken Dinner!

There are not too many things more perfect then a properly roasted chicken, but it is always nice to find a new way to do an old thing. I had this thought one day that I would like to try to butterfly a chicken.  I have seen it done on cooking shows and it intimidated me but I figure, what the heck, it is only a chicken, what's the worst that can happen? 
Start by taking the chicken and place it back side up.  Take your kitchen shears, and it helps to have sharp ones, and cut along both sides of the back from neck to tail and remove the back bone. Flip the chicken over and  press down on the the chicken to flatten. I then make a paste of chopped garlic, shallots, fresh herbs of your choosing, juice and zest of one or two lemons, salt, pepper and some oil. Lift the skin gently to cause a separation between flesh and skin and stuff some of the mixture in the pocket.  Take the remaining mixture and if necessary add more oil to make it possible to rub over the exterior of the chicken, all sides all parts. Refrigerate and let it marinate for at least 3 hours.  I personally do not cover the container because I want my chicken skin to dry and have this marinade dry on the skin.  When it is time to roast, I take it out of the fridge and let it set at room temp of about 15 minutes.  There are many ways at this point to cook this, one would be to brown it skin side down in skillet and then transfer to the over to finish.  Or you can roast it in the oven, skin side up. Lastly you can throw it on the bbq.  Whichever method you choose, the internal temp for chicken should register 160 degrees F.  A test for chicken is bones moving freely in the socket and/or clear juices run from the chicken.  As far as cooking temperatures go, there are so many theories and boy have I tried them all, but I think for a chicken, I like to set the temp to 350 and the butterflied chicken should take about an hour, but everyone's ovens are different so just keep an eye on that internal temp.  
Once the chicken is out of the over, let it rest for about 15 minutes before cutting.  I like to move the chicken to a cutting board - take the roasting pan that it cooked in and add some chicken broth and let it sit on your stovetop and warm it up just a bit.  Take it off the heat or just turn the heat off. When you are cutting the chicken, put the cut chicken pieces in the broth, this will keep it moist and warm.  Once it is all cut cover the roasting pan with foil and it will keep for a bit while you finish up everything else.  At the last minute you can strain off the broth to make your gravy. 
LAST tip, save the bones, even those back bones from the beginning.  Freeze them and when you want to make some chicken stock you just need to pull them out and defrost! ENJOY! Until next time....Remember to savor the flavor or your labor!

Sunday..The end of the week or the start?

Sundays are always an interesting day.  I started this Sunday with a cup of coffee on the patio, watched the hummingbirds buzz happily in the Mexican Sage.  The real contemplation is Sunday- the end of the week or the beginning of it?  This question seems to be an inconsequential one, however I think the answer is a telling one about who you are.  It is the glass half full/half empty question.  It is the same glass/day, however it is your view or perspective of it that matters.  Today I have decided to call this the end of my week.  The day that I have the freedom to look back on the week and reflect as to its productiveness or lack thereof, to identify the items that still need to be on the "TO DO" list and be thankful for life I have had and as well of the life that is ahead of me. It is the proverbial "stop and smell the roses day" and I encourage each and every one of you to get out there and smell up a storm!

Mom's Lunch Part 2

Well after 2 days of preparation I believe I pulled it off! The table was set, the weather was beautiful, no one got lost, we started with 12 but the flu took it down to 10 guests and what a bunch of gusty gals!  My mom is in her 60's, widowed and more active then ever. Card clubs, travel clubs, social events, you name it, so this was one of her groups and they do lunch once a month and always try a new restaurant.   This month it was Cafe' Debbie.  I made fresh from my garden, Bruschetta and Brie with a honey and dried cranberry topping for appetizers with baguettes. I had the menu posted there so everyone could see what they would be HOPEFULLY enjoying. 

Let me talk about prepping for this.  I am not a caterer, I have had many caterers in my kitchen, so I tried to take my cues from them, but WOW, it is hard work, especially on your own. But if I were to give advice to anyone who wanted to attempt a party like this there are things to consider.

1. When choosing your menu, keep in mind food temperature.  If you are alone in preparation and serving, can you do it all and get everything out while still warm?
2. Portions, how many of what do you need and count on a bit extra for flubs or requests for seconds.
3. Anything you can do ahead, DO! I toasted my baguettes the day before and froze, only had to warm them in an oven. Marinated my lamb chops, and made all my raviolis the day before.
4. I try to make notes to myself on timing, I usually work back from the time the event is supposed to begin and decide how long I need for each thing and write down the times I should be starting each dish.
5. On the day of, make sure you calculate 2 important times into your time table, time for kitchen clean up  and body clean up! It is great to spend all that time making a beautiful event but if dishes are piled up and you smell, it sort of defeats the purpose!
6. Remember little details matter! Candles, flowers, I like to try to always provide a take home memory, it's the little things that set you apart and makes the event EXTRAordinary! One simple one-the day before my party, I slice lemons very thin, lay them on parchment or silpat on a baking sheet and freeze. These perfect frozen lemon wedges are now your ice cubes in your water glasses.

Needless to say, I had great intentions to photograph each plate but didn't have the time, so here you will see the dessert plate.  I couldn't decide between chocolate and fruit so I did both, I did my famous easy brownies, which is a box mix brownies and when you take it out of the oven use a wooden dowel and poke holes in the brownies and drizzle sweetened condensed milk and then a good quality jarred caramel sauce and let cool before you cut.  It is ridiculous!  For the fruit dessert, I decided on a pineapple upside down cake.  I have a great recipe given to me by a friend that I will post in another entry, but I wanted to make them individual servings so I used a large muffin tin.  One pineapple ring fit right into the bottom of each one, it was perfect. I put some of my caramel sauce in a squeeze bottle and made it look decorated! Super Easy and looks great!

Well another successful event down and I was so relieved it went well!  On a side note, I would like to remind any and all of you out there that whoever you consider to be an older generation to yours, pay attention!  These gals that came to my house, were all my mom's generation -60's and up.  They all had great stories to share and plenty of tips to pass along.  They were a terrific bunch of women and I admire all of them for getting out there, being active, having fun and enjoying life. You know the old saying, the youth is wasted on the young, HA these women prove it all wrong! They are living their lives to the fullest, lucky ladies!  Until next time....

Throwing a luncheon for Mom

So in order to throw the perfect party, whether it be large or small, I feel it is crucial to know your audience. I always try to find out if my guests have extreme dislikes, allergies, dietary restrictions and/or strong preferences. Once I have all the information, I can start formulating my menu. After many years of doing this I have my methods to do this in an organized manor. I start out with my menu page and on the side bar I use it as my shopping list.  If my menu is complicated I will also make a time frame just so I do not loose site of what I need to do and when I need to get it done by.  There is nothing worse then serving cold food or going to all the trouble of creating a special meal just to realize you forgot that one crucial ingredient.
Creating the menu is another issue altogether.  It is all about pleasing your guests, maybe trying to come up with a theme or pick a country, you know Italian, Mexican, etc... Try to make sure the courses compliment each other or don't overlap, for instance I wouldn't do a corn chowder and then a corn side dish to the main dish, unless of course corn is your theme, then be my guest.  Finally, if the meal was heavy, consider a lighter dessert and visa versa.
Ok on to the table, I like to use the season as my guide, but there are other items I might consider as well.  Is it casual or formal?  Do you want to match the theme? Will it be a buffet or will food be on the table? I am in fall mode, trying to will it to come so my table is decorated accordingly. I tend to really dress my table, I like for my guests to come in and see the decoration.  By the time they sit to eat, the extra decorations are gone from each setting. I also like to designate seating when I have a large party. It helps to alleviate any awkwardness about who to choose to sit by and lastly I always have the menu posted, either at each individual place setting or one for the table.  I love it! I think guests are impressed at the personal touch and I usually find people like to know if they should save room for something. Lastly, I do like to make sure the guests leave with something to remember their experience.  Sometimes it is simply a special chocolate in a box, bottle of wine or a little goodie bag of assortments.  Other times we try to match the gift to the theme, a lemon theme may have a small bottle of homemade lemoncello or lemon square. A personal get together may have a group photo in a cute frame or recipe from the meal on a decorative card.
Let me close by giving a bullet list of tips and ideas-

• A cool idea for a water glass, the day before, slice citrus fruit very thin and freeze on a sheet tray. Use as ice cubes for the water glasses.
• Try to match a glass of wine or cocktail to compliment each course.  There are many sites to get info from, but your local wine shop will be helpful too. This can really add to the experience.
• Always make sure you have a non alcoholic choice for drinks.
• Pick the plates you will use for each course ahead of time.  If it is salad plates,chill them, and be ready to get the hot plates warm ahead of time.
• Low volume background music or entertainment is very nice especially if there is a lull in the conversation, it isn't quite as quiet.
• This sounds silly, but I am a total freak about this one.  Check your bathroom, make sure there is plenty of tp, tissue, soap and the trash is not full.  This seems so obvious but it is often overlooked
• If butter is being used at all for bread, make sure it is room temperature.
• Remember, you do eat with your eyes first so try to make the plate look as appetizing as possible.
• As far as cooking goes, I like to do as much ahead of time as possible.  I chop veggies, make vinaigrettes, anything that can be done ahead of time.  A salad can be made by putting the dressing in the bottom of the serving bowl, then criss cross the salad tongs, then add the lettuce.  The tongs keep the lettuce from touching the dressing and not getting soggy. You can toss right at the last minute. I purchased small condiment bowls awhile back so I can use that to put my chopped veggies, garlic, whatever it is in there for a do ahead task.

Ok so yes, I am a freak! I love to entertain! I love to find interesting ways to do things. (I use little rock salt chunks with a scraper at the table instead of a shaker.) I love to cook and fortunately I think I do a pretty good job of it.  Although I have my moments.  A couple of years ago, I was entertaining some very important clients/friends and my in-laws.  They were wandering around the outside showing our guests the outdoors.  My son was inside, helping me put together my mini blt appetizers.  I had just lit the candles on the table and sent my son to fill the water glasses when all of the sudden he ran out of the house screaming for dad, saying there is a fire. Why he didn't stop and say this to me is still beyond me.  I ran to the table to find the whole center of my 150" table on fire with flames shooting up a couple of feet. My husband ran in the house, grabbed the fire extiguisher and was ready to blast my BEAUTIFUL TABLE! I screamed NOOOO and threw water on it and out it went. We removed the charred centerpieces and my husband, wonderful guy that he is, went outside and clipped some pretty branches to cover it all up. Our guests were so kind and understanding and we ended up with a beautiful dinner. So all this in mind this is my last suggestion. Photograph your table before your guests come.It is wonderful to remember each table you have done, that way you don't copy (unless you want to) and you see flaws that should be fixed.  Upon looking over my pictures of that table THE NEXT DAY, I noticed that some of the folliage I had on my table was right over some of my votives, hence fire!  Moral- look at the picture before the party to spot your flaws before they happen! I hope my tips help you have a great entertainment experience!

Sundays

Sundays, well what can I say? It is my most and least favorite day of the week! No sporting events to attend, only ones to watch.  No work, no school, usually no homework to nag about. It is the day that belongs to each of us to make of it what we desire, but somewhere around 3:00 the realization of Monday begins to creep in. It is like being on vacation and knowing the only thing left of it is the packing and traveling. Total bummer.

In any case, on one such Sunday, I decided to do something creative.  My idea of creativity is creating something edible.  Sometimes it is my day to make chicken stock to freeze up for future uses.  When my garden is in full swing, it is making a beautiful roasted tomato sauce that I can freeze for a future use or making a pesto before the basil goes to flower and seed. On one recent Sunday, I decided that a homemade ravioli was in order. I have a really wonderful pasta dough recipe that is heavy on the eggs, but it makes a nice firm ravioli which I like, holds up very well in the end.

Pasta Dough

Makes about 1-1/2 pounds

3 cups all-purpose flour
7 large egg yolks plus one whole egg
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil or other flavored oil if desired ( I use a garlic flavored avocado oil)
1/4 cup water
Bench Flour

In a food processor fitted with the metal blade, combine the flour, yolks, salt, oil, and 3 tablespoons of the water. Process until the dough begins to hold together. Stop the machine and pinch a piece of dough: If it feels too dry, pulse in up to 1 tablespoon more water, until the dough forms a moist ball.

Turn out onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until it forms a smooth ball. Loosely wrap in plastic wrap and let rest at room temperature for up to 1 hour before using. (While it is resting, this is a good time to set up your work area and make your filling)

Filling Recipes and Directions

I have two favorites, cheese and roasted butternut squash.

Cheese Filling-

15 oz container of ricotta cheese (my favorite brand is PollyO)

1- 8oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese

1- 8oz bag shredded Italian blend cheese

1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano

1 large egg, lightly beaten

1/4 heavy cream

1/4 - 1/2 tsp nutmeg

2 tbsp basil, chopped

salt and pepper

Combine all these ingredients, salt and pepper to taste.

Butternut Squash Filling

Heat oven to 425.  Take 2 butternut squash, cut down the middle, scoop out seeds, brush with vegetable oil, salt and pepper.  Place cut side down on a baking sheet and put in preheated oven.  Cook for about 30 minutes, till tender - a knife or fork can go thru with ease.  Take out till cool enough to handle.  Scoop flesh out into a food processor bowl.  Add to the bowl one 15 oz container of ricotta cheese, 1 8 oz bag of shredded mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup shredded Parmigiano Reggiano, 1/4 - 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp chopped sage. Process till smooth, if it seems dry add chicken stock, water or vegetable stock, a couple tbsp at a time till smooth.  Taste.  The squash should be somewhat sweet, but depending on how ripe it was it may need a tbsp or so of sugar added.

To prepare your workspace try to designate a section of counter top space for the process, in one section lay out a towel, preferably flour sack cloth, but any cloth towel will do. Lightly flour the cloth. As you make your raviolis, you will place them there to dry. You will need a small dish with one beaten egg and a pastry brush and a tablespoon for your filling, a cutter for the dough.  You can go fancy with fluted edge rollers or as simple as a tin can you took the top and bottom off of and cleaned well. I wuse a biscuit cutter. Personally, I like about a 4 inch round. You will also need to roll your dough out, either by hand or machine.  I have a machine, there are attachments for your kitchen aid mixer, or hand crank pasta machines.

Separate your dough into 4 pieces for easier management, making sure unused dough is covered in plastic wrap at all times. Take the first  of 4 and press down to make flat enough to go thru your pasta roller at the largest setting.  Roll thru and fold in half lengthwise and roll thru again, then move your setting down one size and do it again, no need to repeat, unless you are getting uneven sides or holes. Repeat till you are at the smallest setting.  Lay your sheet out and cut as many rounds as possible. Take one half of each round and put one heaping tablespoon of filling in it, take the other round and brush with egg wash. Place on top of filled side, I like to put it in my hand at this point and press the edges together, making sure to get as much excess air out as possible and sealing as well as you can. Place on your prepared cloth.  Repeat until you have used as much dough as possible.  I like to take the extra shreds of dough and let it dry, then throw in a ziplock bag into the freezer for future soup noodles. As you are preparing your raviolis, as you finish one of the 4 balls of dough, lightly dust the tops of the prepared raviolis with flour and then flip them, the idea is to let them dry a bit.

Bring the water to boil in a large pot.  When at a boil, salt the water, then add the raviolis, careful not to crowd the pot.  Reduce the heat to keep it at a gentle simmer, if it boils too hard, the raviolis will come apart and you will have empty pillows.  They should take about 5 minutes, they will start to raise to the surface.

As for toppings, the easiest thing to do is to melt butter in a skillet, throw in some fresh herbs and and then dust the top with some fresh shredded cheese.

THE DIP THAT MAKES YOU DIP!

Give this one a try! I will add a picture later, but I was reminded about how great this recipe is and how popular you will be if you make it and share!

Ingredients:

2 bars of cream cheese
Pace Picante Salsa (whatever heat level you want) – but I do not use the chunky one I use the original one.
1- Chipotle Chile
1/2 -1 cup of shredded cheese
one bunch green onions, chopped
1 med tomato, chopped
1 avocado, chopped
opt- 1/4 cup cilantro – chopped
opt-1 jalapeno, minced

Directions:

I put the cream cheese in the food processor ( it helps too if it is room temp) and blend till creamy. I add the salsa a bit at a time, I am more interested in consistency, but I will guess it is about a cup. You want it creamy and not too liquidy, although it does firm up a bit in the refrigerator so you don’t want it to be so firm that you wont be able to get a chip in there. With the processor running, add one chipotle chile and a little of the adobo sauce too( you find them in the hispanic food area called chipotle in adobo sauce). If you wanted to add a little more heat then you would add the jalapeno now too.Open your processor lid and toss in cheese, I either use the Sargento Lite Mexican Shredded cheese to lighten things up, or sometimes for a kick I use Shredded Pepper Jack and/or this Chipotle White Cheese (I have only seen this at Costco and it have a neat smoky taste without being too spicy) and the chopped green onions,. at this point you would also add the cilantro if you were using it. Place the lid back on and just pulse till mixed through. You don’t want to loose the texture of the onions and cheese. Take it out and place in your serving bowl, cover with plastic wrap. Doing this part early in the day is a good thing, gives it plenty of time to firm up and have all the flavors come together. When you are ready to serve, you can garnish with the chopped tomato and avocado. Serve with chips, cut veggies, crackers, anything dipable!

VARIATION -
Take extra large flour tortillas, spread the dip on the tortilla about 1/4 – 1/2 inch from the edge, top with the avo and tomato. Roll the tortilla fairly tightly. Get some sturdy paper towel and just dampen, you don’t want them wet, lightly dampened. Roll the paper towel around each tortilla roll and place in a sealable plastic storage bag and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Just before you plan to serve, unroll the paper towels and slice the tortilla rolls about 1 inch thick. Serve cut sides showing, and you can have some extra salsa on hand for dipping too if you want.