What better place to write down foods you need to remember (but never do)?  We had a wonderful Oregon blue cheese today for a Christmas nibble:  Rogue Crater Lake Blue Raw Milk Cheese.  The cheese staff at Whole Foods were sampling it for the first time when I was rummaging around the cheese case looking for the Point Reyes Blue that no one seems to carry anymore.  They suggested this one and it’s lovely - both pungent and mellow in turns with a slightly creamy texture – somewhere between a Stilton (crumbly) and Blue Castello (creamy), but it has a flavor all its own and no residue or aftertaste that you can sometimes get with strong cheeses.

Years ago my friend made a salad and brought it to a potluck.  This had to be over 10 years ago.  Since then I have seen many versions of this salad, and I myself had made many different versions.  But for Christmas I am always asked by my husband’s family to bring this salad.

-A bag or two of Spring Mix

-A pear or two (chopped into pieces)

-Walnuts (chopped)

-Blue Cheese

-Balsamic Vinaigrette

Mix all the ingredients together.  Using as many nuts and as much blue cheese as you would like to make a good balance. 

You might be able to tell in the photo of my salad, I did not use spring mix.  I used a bag of heart of romaine and some baby spinach.  I didn’t use walnuts, I used pecans.  I also didn’t take the picture with the dressing on because I didn’t want to toss it until we were ready to eat it even though we were going somewhere not far from San Jose. 

It is a great salad.  I sometimes use apples instead of pears.  Whatever you have on hand is good to use.  I like to use walnuts or pecans, I have tried another nut, but I am sure it would work out.

Tonight called for a fast easy dinner with minimal clean up. I’ve been baking for the holidays all day and I’m just tired of being in the kitchen (if you can believe that!)

My honey was hungry and always wanting to try something new, I thought, hey how about a quick pasta recipe. One of Ryan’s favorite dinners is pasta carbonara. Although delicious, it’s pretty heavy and I’ve been eating, I mean baking, cookies all day.

So here’s what I came up with. Penne alla Ryan. It’s penne pasta with a quick combo of cubed hame, peas, shallots, and a blue cheese cream sauce. As with a lot of my posting, there is not really a recipe here. It’s more or less a combination of ingredients that suits your liking. Here’s what’s in there:

penne pasta (I used a little less than half a box)
ham, left over from last night’s dinner
1/2 of a medium shallot, sliced
1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (to start cooking the shallots)
about a 1/2 cup of peas, plus 2 tablespoons for garnishing (I used the steamfresh bag from Birdseye)
chicken stock (about a cup)
heavy cream (2 tablespoons)
danish blue cheese (about 2 oz)
salt and pepper to taste
and the secret ingredient… truffle salt.

Now if you don’t fret, but if you do, it adds a lovely richness to the dish. The final product was not too saucy or too thick, as carbonara can sometimes be. I know you can’t really call this carbonara since there are no eggs in the recipe, but it did have that rich, salty, umami satisfaction that you get from eating carbonara. It was an interesting paradox that was both rich and light, salty but sweet from the peas, and creamy but not fatty.

Oh and literally, it too 8 minutes to make. I’m not kidding or exaggerating. I know I move quickly in the kitchen, but everything for the sauce was just thrown into a sauté pan and warmed through while the pasta cooked. Actually, the sauce was finished before the pasta was! If you don’t have pre-cooked ham, use chicken or steak or whatever you have on hand. This one will definitely go into the rotation.

Always think about the next meal, (and when we’ll have this one again)

-Katie

Mike and I had a romantic dinner at home last night.  Thank goodness for Kevin’s friends, movie night at Stone Lake, a sleepover at the Hultgren’s.  We were empty nesters for the night.  There’s nothing more romantic than chopping and stirring together in the kitchen.  Bumping into each other can be fun. 

Last night’s menu is from epicurious.com, my favorite cooking website. Here’s what we cooked up:  Romaine Salad with Chives and Blue Cheese, Baked Herb-Crusted Chicken Breasts, Asparagus Risotto, and a Bottle of Chardonnay to cook with and finish off.   

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/menu/views/bamp_americanfavorites     

Everything was delicious.  Of course, we changed things up a bit.  I used an egg wash instead of brushing the chicken with oil and added grated parmesan cheese to the bread crumb coating.  It’s really important to pound the chicken to 1/4 inch.  I also baked the chicken on parchment paper and turned at the half way mark…about 9 minutes.  Mike had a great suggestion…after baking the chicken, pour some marinara sauce over it and then top with a slice of mozzarella and bake a bit.  This chicken recipe is a great base for an even better italian chicken parmesan.  Be sure to read the comments by other readers on the chicken.

We loved the Risotto.  Our Nugget Market has the best asparagus right now.  They’re incredibly thin and from Mexico.  We didn’t change a thing to this recipe.  The asparagus puree gave a great asparagus flavoring to the risotto.  I have to say, we’ve become pretty darn good in the risotto cooking world.  So the asparagus puree rocked us.  Okay…we’re goofy.  Connected to each other through food.

This past Monday, we took a personal day to do a bit of Christmas shopping without the crowds. It took us a while to get rollin, but we eventually made our way to our first stop in Bethlehem just before lunchtime. We wanted to see if a gift certificate to one of the Sands casino’s two new restaurants, Burgers and More by Emeril or Carnegie Deli, would make a good gift for my folks. We decided both spots were too casual to make a classy gift, but we were psyched to try Emeril’s for ourselves. We grabbed a seat at the bar and were handed the menus and two build-a-burger order forms. It’s nice to have the options clearly spelled out and there’s an implied reassurance that there won’t be any miscommunication with the chef. Hopefully you can read all of the choices in the pic.

My wife wasn’t in a burger mood, but went for the crabcake sandwich. The menu had a bunch of non-burger options including salads and a portabella burger for vegetarians. I do wish there was a veggie burger option on the build-your-own menu.

Design sidebar: It took me a while to realize that the BAM adjective in front of a number of menu items was an acronym of the restaurant’s initials and not just a reference to Lagasse’s trademark exclamation. Not sure why they didn’t play that up in the logo?

Our food took a while to arrive – probably due to the lunch rush – but the unique plating put a smile back on my face. You gotta love the fryer basket of extra thick and crispy onion rings. And the burger was great. Lots of toppings – a generous amount of blue cheese, and tasty balsamic-braised onions.

On my next visit, I plan to get the brisket blend burger with bacon, bbq sauce and cole slaw. And I heard the andouille barbecued white beans are fantastic. Though we may have to try the Carnegie Deli before the return trip to Emeril’s. Their dessert cases are a sight to behold.

This past Friday I hosted the 2nd (3rd?) annual cookie exchange for my very favorite girlfriends.  They brought the wine, I supplied the munchies, and a hilarious time was had by all.  Now, let me level with you here: we’re at T-10 days until the fat man falls down the chimney. Holiday time is a precious commodity.

Last week I participated in my very first meeting of Cooking in the Hood where I lit cheese on fire (dad you would have been so proud).  That will be posted over there shortly. The very next night was the Cookie Exchange. These were both weeknight events and contrary to popular belief this blog does not get the rent paid, so employment is necessary. So, the name of the game was advance preparation. I did every possible thing I could in the days before so all the dishes came together as quickly as possible.  Ergo, I recommend all of these for weeknight entertaining.

So here’s how this is going to work (remember that ‘time is of the essence’ thing?): you’re going to get the menu, my final products, and a whooole bunch of hyperlinks. Everything was devoured. The mushrooms and crostini were particular hits. And particularly easy.  At some point in the near future you will be bestowed with a similar-style post with allll of the lovely cookies exchanged.

Crostini with Hazelnuts, Blue Cheese, and Honey

Stuffed Mushrooms with Brie

Maple-Soy Snack Mix

Baked Chicken Meatballs

I also made some Taco Hummus but I didn’t have quite enough tahini so it was just…meh.  Hummis is also easily made ahead of time and actually improves as it sits as the flavors all meld.

And there you go! A great time with great girls, the festive evening was capped off with the physical exchanging of cookies that rivaled the “Who’s on First” routine and some…intimate caroling, thanks to an iphone and my stereo speakers.

Apples and pork are just meant to be… Hands down one of the best sweet/savory combinations’, in my opinion at least. Add in some blue cheese, bread it and bake it and you have one wonderful dinner. Now, if you are not a blue cheese person, and I know some people aren’t, you can always use goat cheese or cream cheese. I think either of those would make a wonderful substitute. Also, because my pork chops were so thin, I pounded them out and rolled them. If you have a thicker chop you could easily cut a pocket and fill that, which would let you add more filling! But would also mean you would need to increase the baking time.

The kittens played underfoot the entire time. They harassed us until roomie finally gave in and gave them food (it was the 3^rd time they had been fed today, guess they’re finally growing)!

Apple-Blue Cheese Stuffed Pork Chops

1/3 sweet onion, minced

½ red bell pepper

1 medium apple, chopped

1 tsp dill

Dash cayenne

¼ c blue cheese

2 – 4 pork chops (depending on size of chops, filling will easily fill 4)

½ c bread crumbs

1 egg

Pre-heat oven to 425°.

In medium sauté pan, over medium-high heat, cook onion, pepper, apple, and dill. Cook until onion is translucent.

Combine veggie mixture and cheese in a small bowl, mix until well combine.

Stuff pork chops, using toothpicks to hold them closed. Dip in egg, then bread crumbs, and place on a foil lined baking sheet. Bake about 20 minutes, until top gets well browned.

NEWS FLASH:  IT’S COLD OUTSIDE.

You shouldn’t go outside, for anything.  You should see if you can telecommute to work and then also sell your employer on the idea that you are helping keep the office germ and flu-free.  To circumvent the tundra and give the finger to Mother Nature/Father Winter you should stay snuggled up at home and make tomato soup.  Don’t even go  to the grocery store – you have everything you need (I think…) in your pantry and refrigerator.   This isn’t nasty canned tomato soup, it is spicy tomato and blue cheese soup.  Don’t like blue cheese?  You will.

I love making soups, especially since I have been adamant making my own chicken, turkey and shrimp stock this year.  It’s easy, practically free, contains no sodium (in the stock) and is far tastier than anything Swanson will sell you.  Even the AARP knows of my old lady tendencies since they routinely send me information about joining.

Aside from my love of homemade stocks, soups and old people, I love easy recipes, which this is.  So easy in fact that Amateur Gourmet and Michael Symon do not even expect you to have fresh tomatoes, but canned!  Tomatoes, onions, garlic, hot sauce, dried spices, salt, and chicken stock – oh my!  See what I mean when I say you have all of these things in your pantry!?  OK, you may not have blue cheese nor heavy cream, unless you are me, since I pretty much insist of keeping both in the house.  But just go get them.  If you don’t (think you) like blue cheese (Tracy, I’m looking at you), just buy the super market kind, the one in the plastic container by the gorgonzola.

All you have to do is sauté the garlic and onions in olive oil, then toss the rest in and let it simmer.  If you are particular about creating a smooth tomato soup,  you can use your immersion blender or food processor to blend.  Because our food processor leaks everywhere and I forgot we had a smoothie maker in a cupboard too high up (i’m short), it was determined that chunky tomato soup would be delicious – and it was.

soup and bacon sautéed brussel sprouts

MAYBE, since you are telecommuting, you could make a beautiful boule to accompany your spicy blue cheese tomato soup and even turn it into the adult version of grilled cheese and tomato soup?!?

Anything Wellington or En Croute always conjures up weddings for me.  It seems every wedding I’ve ever been to gives you a choice of some kind of protein along with some kind of protein and/or vegetable wrapped in pastry. 

When this month’s Daring Cooks challenge was announced, it was for a salmon en croute, with the choice of using another meat such as beef, a la Beef Wellington.  I love salmon, especially smoked, but unfortunately, so does everyone close to me (aka..the people I’d be serving it to), but ONLY smoked.  Can you believe it?  Every single person I might feed does not like salmon unless it’s smoked.  I always get the same line..”I just don’t like salmon unless it’s smoked..you know..lox”.  When inquired as to why, it’s also always the same answer..”I dunno, it just tastes too fishy..it’s weird”.  Well, apparently they’ve never had a good piece of salmon, but what was I going to do?  Prepare a beautiful salmon en croute and beg them to try it again?  No..I was going to play it safe and stick with good ‘ole beef.  Yeah, beef tenderloin is wicked expensive, but at least they’ll eat it!

 
The 2009 Daring Cooks challenge was hosted by Simone of Junglefrog Cooking. Simone chose Salmon en Croute (or alternative recipes for Beef Wellington or Vegetable en Croute) from Good Food Online. Thanks for a great challenge, Simone!

Now that I got that out of the way, may I say I had to wrestle with a cow to complete this challenge?  OK, a little bit of an exaggeration..well, a lot.   What went from four 5-6 oz center cut filet mignons, magically morphed into a whole beef tenderloin.  Yep..I decided to make individual Beef Wellingtons, and in order to do so, I had to clean (silver skin, fat etc) and portion up the tubular monster of  beef that was presented to me (“It was on sale, Lisa..$18.00 a pound!”).  I was initially going to post a few photos of the tenderloin and my butchering mastery (HA!), but reconsidered, figuring that most people had probably seen the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, or some Rob Zombie remake(insert favorite slasher movie) at some point in their lives.

Naturally, I really wanted to go a little off the beaten path with these, but it was imperative they be eaten without inquiries as to what the blue stuff was..OH WAIT, I did add some blue stuff, as in blue cheese, along with well seasoned, blanched spinach, roasted red bell peppers, strips of marinated, sauteed portobello mushrooms, and caramelized onions.  It was rich, but oh, so delicious. – a whole meal in a  flaky, buttery package.

I have a go to recipe for individual beef wellingtons that turns out perfect every.single.time, and I incorporated some of the fillings into the recipe Simone supplied, omitting the mustard, prosciutto and crepes (the blue cheese served as a sog blocker)..BUT, then the recipes are almost interchangeable, aren’t they?  Well, mine possess a great deal of beefy individuality.  Sorry, couldn’t resist the obvious.  Naturally, I used some of the leftover, wonderful puff pastry that I had frozen from the Daring Baker’s September challenge, but I had to incororate some PF PP, since I didn’t have nearly enough to cover and decorate 6 Welllingtons.  

Although it pained me, I had no choice but to cook to preference for one person, and truth be told, cooking beef tenderloin past rare (medium rare is the limit), is just just, just..well, like pissing on the Alamo (I suppose Ozzy likes his meat well done.)  I used to tell this cowardly person (I’m being kind here) I used to know that if he kept ordering good cuts of steak well done, or shall I say medium well… the chef just might spit on it.  As you can see below, I succumbed and doesn’t it look sad?  However, I did NOT spit on it, although I wish I could have spit on that person..LOL

All in all, this was one tasty challenge and there was not a crumb left (although I’ve got loads of beef tenderloin cuts in my freezer now).  To see other Daring Cook’s takes on ‘encapsulating’ the meat (and/or vegetable), click on the links to the blogs at the Daring Cooks Blogroll.  If you’d like the yummy recipes for Salmon en Croute and Beef Wellington, go HERE.

Blue cheese salad dressing is not just for salads!

There are doubtless as many people who intensely dislike blue cheese salad dressing as those who count this rich dressing as essential. I admit to being of the second convincing. While there are a couple of commercial brands suited to gourmet applications, you’re money ahead to make your own. Most huge supermarkets have a gourmet cheese section, with tubs of the sheer cheese. You can buy a 6-ounce tub of crumbled blue cheese for roughly $4.
So what do you do with this container of sheer blue cheese to concoct a better blue cheese salad dressing that won’t end up on a salad? Ah, many things. Let’s look at some of the delicious ways to use blue cheese.
If you have a bread maker, it’s a straightforward matter to knead the dough and add sprinklings of blue cheese to be integrated into the dough at the point at which you’d add fruits. You may also buy frozen pre-made doughs which only require permitting it to rise. This makes a brilliant sandwich bread, crammed with roast meat, pastrami, some alfalfa sprouts and spread with a little bit of mayonnaise. This bread also makes a nice pudding plate, served with baked pears, flecked with blue cheese.

here is a wonderful adaptation on the burger, employing a blue cheese salad dressing. Take your tub of blue cheese and break it up with a fork, for a smoother consistency to this thick blue cheese dressing. Mix just enough mayo, sour cream, or both to make a thick dressing. Saute or grill the burgers, adding a slice of swiss cheese to melt once you’ve turned the burgers. Toast the buns. Spread the buns with your dressing, put the burger on top and garnish with a slice of tomato and a few mesclun. Ooh-la-la, what a treat you have now!

You can apply this same blue cheese salad dressing recipe to a boneless chicken fillet. Cut a pocket in the chicken escallop. Stuff about 2 big spoons of your dressing, mixed with freshly snipped parsley, into the pocket. Arrange a variety of raw veggies,eg broccoli and cauliflower florets, julienned sweet red or orange bell peppers and button mushrooms. Set a tiny bowl of the blue cheese dressing in the center of the plate, with cocktail toothpicks for an impressive and healthy appetiser.
Another straightforward and succulent appetiser can be made with massive white or brown mushrooms, stems removed and then filled with a dab of your blue cheese mixture topped with bread crumbs. Saute until the bread crumbs are just browned and serve.
If you’re a blue cheese lover, try some of these methods of adding this mouth-watering food to your menus. Bon Appetit!

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“Like elephants at the circus, after a performance.”

That was what was conveyed to me about the “aroma” of stinky tofu.  I won’t even tell you what I found out on Wikipedia.

What the heck is it?  Well, it’s plain tofu marinated in a soupy blue-green “bacteria brine,” allowed to ferment for weeks or months.  But how bad could it be?  Blue cheese, after all, has veins of bacteria that give it that distinctive look and delicious taste.

Stinky tofu is said to have been sustenance for soldiers patrolling China’s borders.  Today, it is a popular street food found in markets and food stands all over Asia.

Here in the D.C. metropolitan area, you can find it at Bob’s Noodle 66, a very casual, cash-only Taiwanese eatery in Rockville.  New to stinky tofu myself, I was excited to order the “Crispy Smelly Bean Curd.”

The server, who didn’t speak a lick of English, shot my “American” boyfriend a curious look and asked if he would eat it. I replied that he would—proving, by the way, that when you go somewhere and you think they’re talking about you in another language…

We are.

The tofu looked innocent enough—fried to a light, airy crisp, topped with pickled cabbage, and splashed with soy sauce.  Taste-wise, it’s just like plain, fried tofu.  The odor however, was my worst germaphobic nightmare. The hairs in my delicate mucous membranes wilted like the silently disapproving looks I got.

By the fourth piece, I was so overwhelmed by the odor, I had to have the server come take it away.

Now that I’ve recovered, I would say that if I encountered stinky tofu again, I’d try it.  Maybe it could be better. I mean, there’s a reason why millions of people love it…right?

Bob’s Noodle 66
305 N. Washington St.
Rockville, MD 20850

An amazing thing happened on Friday night. A man came to our door and delivered and gigantic box of cheese. The cheese, a gift from my wonderful roommate’s wonderful mom, was from Murray’s in New York City – an amazing shop. The box contained 13 different kinds of cheese, ranging from a sharp craft cheddar, to a delicious Camembert, to a melt in your mouth triple cream goat cheese, to a super stinky (and delicious) Muenster, to multiple varieties of blue cheese, and many, many more.

Luckily, my roommate felt like sharing (though I suppose most people couldn’t eat 15 pounds of cheese all alone), and while I did no cooking, this was one of the best dinners I’ve had in ages. Cheese, fresh bread, salami, and some great wine, and we were set for an amazing night.

Thanks again, Carol – this is, so far, the best gift to arrive on our doorstep!

The chili and mango works together beautifully, and gives your taste buds something to get very excited about. Once again I tried to make a salad incorporating fruit with meat, and it not only tastes great, it also looks very fresh and healthy.

As you might have noticed I love using baby spinach leaves as salad leaves for many reasons, it looks great, the leave size is perfect and needs no trimming or cutting, and the most important reason of all, I have found that here in the tropics where I live, they stay fresher for much longer than any other lettuce leaves.

Ingredients

Chicken
300 g boneless chicken (cut into strips)
10 ml olive oil
1 tbsp dried chili flakes
1 tsp paprika

Fresh salad ingredients
1 avo
1 packet rocket leaves
1 packet baby spinach leaves
1 large mango
baby yellow and red tomatoes (halved if they are big)
1 Japanese cucumber (peeled and cubed)
1 handful fresh coriander
100 g blue cheese

Method

Place the chicken in an oven tray and mix together with the spices and olive oil. Cook in the oven for 10 – 15 minutes at 180 degrees Celsius or until the chicken is soft and cooked through. Combine with all the other salad ingredients and serve with balsamic vinegar and olive oil on the side. This makes a wonderful summer lunch.

Photo Credit: Marcus Nilsson

Elvis is not the only one who sings about a blue Christmas. I wouldn’t mind a big old wedge of this blue beauty in my stocking. I know it isn’t for everyone, but for those of us who enjoy the distinctive and pungent flavor of blue cheese, we’re happy when we see it on any cheese tray, on any holiday.

It’s great when paired with bread, crackers or fruit, and it shakes hands quite nicely with  port wine, robust red wine, dried fruit, bitter salad greens, pears, apples, melons, stone fruit, honey, nuts, or figs.

In an article written for Metropolitan Home, Janet Fletcher wrote about the up and coming American blue cheeses, “Artisan dairies from coast to coast are turning out blue cheeses destined for greatness, wheels that easily rival the Old World’s standard-bearers.” So try American Blue this year.

I love some of the clever names: Ba Ba Blue and Hopelessly Bleu.

Here’s a recipe for you, and have a bleu Christmas!

Mixed-Nut Honey Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp. pine nuts
• ¼ cup walnut halves
• ¼ cup pecan halves
• ¼ cup hazelnuts
• ½ cup honey

Directions

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Put all the nuts on a large baking sheet, keeping them separated by type, because the cooking times vary. Bake until the pine nuts are fragrant and lightly colored, 8 to 10 minutes. Set the pine nuts aside to cool. Return the baking sheet to the oven until the other nuts are fragrant and lightly colored inside, about 5 minutes longer. Let all the nuts cool.

Transfer the honey to a serving bowl and stir in the toasted nuts. Pass as a condiment with a wedge of blue cheese.

To keep longer, you can pour the honey into a clean glass jar and store it, or package it attractively and offer it as a gift. Serves 6.

Source: Metropolitan Home

Whenever I think of endives, I think of the year I spent in France.

During my junior year of college, I studied in Paris, at the Institute of Political Science, or Sciences-Po, as they called it.  While there, my classes were entirely in French – it being a french university and all.  I even took a Russian language course: nothing beats learning a foreign language in a different foreign language.

For the first semester, all of the international students – and there were a few hundred – went to lecture with the native French students, but then had smaller discussion groups among themselves.  The idea was to allow us to develop our French skills sufficiently, so that we could be fully immersed in the regular discussion groups by second semester.  It also allowed us a chance to meet the fellow international students struggling to learn the History of the Second Republic in French.

My Russian class, however, was the one class where I was completely immersed among the french students.  I was the only foreign student taking Russian.  I even bought the obligatory French-Russian Dictionary (c’est à dire, un dictionnaire Français-Russe).

One day, just as class had ended, the student sitting behind me, spoke up.  “Tavarish,” he began in Russian, “ti shutish smotret film snoy.”  I believe my response was simply, “Quoi?”  As difficult as English is for Frenchman, Russian is that much harder.  In French, the stress of a word falls on the last syllable; the same cannot be said for English or Russian.  To mix metaphors, listening to a Frenchman pronounce foreign words is like watching kids attack a piñata: there’s a lot of flailing around, with a few lucky strikes.

“Je n’ai pas compris,” I responded in French, eager to avoid pushing the conversation into English.  “Comrade,” he had said, “would you like to see a movie with us.”  I’d love to, I said, “J’aimerais bien.”

That night, I met Jean-Baptiste LeClere and his friends Jean-Rémi Cognard and Matias de Sainte Lorette (they were French alright) in front of the theater.  He had bought us tickets for Les Rois Mages, a movie featuring the comedy troupe, Les Inconnus.

You know you’ve mastered a language when you go to a movie and laugh along with the rest of the theater as the characters recite their lines.  That wasn’t me – at least not yet.  It’s an unusual feeling sitting in a crowd,  surrounded by laughter, wishing you knew what was so funny.

And yet, I had a great time.  I had made a new set of friends, with whom I would frequently get together.  The group, spearheaded by Jean-Baptiste, was ten to fifteen strong, and called itself Les Endivés – a play on words between a popular musical group, Les Enfoirés, and the vegetable native to Jean-Baptiste’s hometown.

Endive Gratin

Recipe adapted from Moira Hodgson.

PREP TIME: 5 minutes
COOK TIME: 35 minutes
YIELD: Serves 4

WHAT TO GRAB:
6 endives
Juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons butter, diced
3/4 cup water
Sea salt and Pepper
3/4 cup mild Gorgonzola, crumbled
1/2 cup plain, dried bread crumbs (recipe here)

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

2.  Peel the outer layers of the endives and arrange them tightly in a baking dish, along with the inner layers.  Add the lemon juice and water, and then sprinkle with the butter, salt, and pepper.  Cover the dish and bake for about 30 minutes, or until the endives are tender.

3.  Remove from the oven and turn on the broiler.

4.  Drain the liquid from the endives.  Sprinkle the endives with the bread crumbs and blue cheese.  Broil for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until the bread crumbs have browned and the cheese is bubbling.

Now that Thanksgiving (in all its mostly localness) is a mere memory, I am thinking of local dishes that might sustain us through the holidays. This maple cranberry sauce might be the exact thing and I am lucky enough to be living in the land of both cranberries and maple syrup. Yes this is a variation of a Thanksgiving staple, but it could be just as good with a stinky Vermont blue cheese, a roasted chicken, or sweetened up a bit and added to any number of desserts. Plus the color is a beautiful, festive red. 

Maple Cranberry Sauce
rinse 2 cups of local cranberries, discarding any that aren’t firm. Put into a sauce pan on medium light. Add 3/4 cup of maple syrup and maybe one T of water to get things going. Continue to cook, stirring often, until all of the cranberries burst and you have the consistency of sauce that you like (the longer it cooks, the smoother and more jelly-like this becomes). If cheating on your region, add zest and juice from half of a lemon to brighten the flavors a bit.

For the sause, use left over blue cheese, half a cup of cream and melt together in a pan on the stove.  Add about half a cup of water and mix well until the mix had combined well.  Drop the meatballs into the gravay and serve hot!

     Well, the decorations are up and the shopping has begun, so I am definitely beginning to feel the holiday mood all around me. It’s sometimes hard to get in the mood here in Florida because there is something about sweltering heat and Christmas shopping that just doesn’t work for me. Luckily, the past few days have been very nice, but it seems we always get those heat waves right before Christmas each year…which makes it great for the tourists, but for those of us who call Florida home, I think we look forward to dusting off those few sweaters we own and wearing them once in a while.

We can’t hope for a white Christmas, but I do hope we at least get a chilly one!

Back to the subject of “What’s for Lunch?”

Today’s special is The Bluebird:  It’s not your usual turkey sandwich! We start with a perfectly oven roasted turkey breast…we never use that processed stuff! Then we smother it in our homemade blue cheese sauce which I have been told is 2-die-4! Top that with some lettuce and tomato and this Bluebird of Happiness will take you away!   $5.00.

See you for lunch!

Don’t forget: if you would like to do a guest post on ‘Taste of Living’, see the end of this post for more information!

Good eats I’ve recently discovered or made:

Easy and good: I cooked some store bought tortelloni (filled with walnuts and three cheeses) and made a quick pasta sauce in the meantime. I cooked some garlic, an onion and a little bit of red pepper in olive oil, added a can of peeled tomatoes with lots of salt&pepper and let this simmer for a while. In the end, I mixed in soft blue cheese (I used gorgonzola) to make the sauce really creamy. Drain the pasta and serve with the sauce, finish with big pieces of blue cheese (they will melt into the sauce, mmm…).

Some jummy chocolate chip muffins I made. I love the fact that the mix I used contains lots of little chocolate chips, so the muffins have a lot of ‘gooey chocolate spots’!

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Realisation I’ve recently made:

A few people who are very close to made told me this week how happy and proud they were, to see me in a totally different state than last year. Healthy, laughing, enjoying good times…these holidays are gonna be so different. I’m so happy I’m able to do more and more of the things I love to do again…If anyone wonders if recovery is worth it, I can say yes. No…I can scream YES! Because it’s so, so worth it:)

I’ve been feeling a little blue lately.

After making the blue cheese souffle, I wanted to find another recipe for the pungent cheese.  With a crisp Fall day on hand, and several pumpkins beckoning, I decided to throw some pumpkin slices on the grill.  I marinated the pumpkin slices with ginger, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and then tossed them on the grill.  A few grill marks later, I combined the hot gourds with blue cheese and the salad regulars, for a real American salad.

Indeed, pumpkins are one of the continent’s oldest crops, having been first cultivated thousands of years ago by Native American tribes.  During the colonial era, the tribes routinely prepared pumpkin, yielding pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin porridge, pumpkin stew, and even pumpkin jerky.  Christopher Columbus must have sampled some of the pancakes, because he returned to Italy with pumpkin seeds.

Columbus was not the only European excited by pumpkin.  Peter Kalm, a Swede on vacation in 18th Century America, noted finding “pumpkins of several kinds, oblong, round, flat or compressed, crook-necked, small, etc.”  Most often, Kalm found the pumpkins were halved, the seeds removed, and then roasted and served with butter “while they are warm.”

And pumpkin was hardly the only thing on the menu; the Native Americans grew dozens of other squash.  “Squash” itself is derived from “askutasquash,” a Narragansett word for “green thing eaten raw.”  Though you shouldn’t take that advice: almost all squash must be cooked before being eaten.  “All squash” is not limited to the three of four varieties you might find in the vegetable aisle.

One side of the winter squash family includes acorn, buttercups, butternuts, cheese, golden dumplings, kabochas, pumpkins, and turbans.  This side of the family is the fun-loving, sturdy side of the squash family, known for its orange fleshes and strong flavors.  This side of the family works well in raviolis and soups, and it’s worth trying a kabocha tart or butternut squash bread.  Of all the varieties, butternut is probably the most well-known, and deservedly so; it yields the most meat per pound.  Cheese squash, with sweetness packed tight, is also good for the sweeter things in life.

The other side of the winter squash family is more reserved and cautious.  The carnivals, delicatas, dumplings, and spaghettis are still squash, but carry a lighter and more subtle demeanor.  Their smaller size and less distinctive taste makes them more suited for side dishes.  They prefer to be sliced, tossed with oil, and roasted until they caramelize.  Anything more elaborate and festive is best left to their more adventuresome cousins.

As the Thanksgiving Holiday approaches, I thought I’d honor the spirit of the Harvest with a

Grilled Pumpkin Salad

PREP TIME: 15 minutes
COOK TIME: 10 minutes
YIELD: Serves 4

WHAT TO GRAB:
GRILLED PUMPKINS
1 pie pumpkin
2 tablespoons olive oil or pumpkin seed oil
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground ginger

SALAD:
Fresh aragula or baby spinach
1/2 cup blue cheese, crumbled
1/2 cup toasted pecans
4 roma tomatoes, sliced
Homemade vinaigrette (recipe here)

HOW YOU DO IT:

1.  Preheat the grill to about 400 degrees.  Once ready, lightly brush the grills with olive oil.

2.  Slice the pumpkins in half and scoop out the seeds.  Lay the pumpkins flat on a cutting board.  Working from the top to the bottom, cut the pumpkin into slices about 3/4-inch thick.  Don’t peel the skin until after the pumpkin slices have cooked – it will be much easier that way.  In a large bowl, toss the pumpkin slices with the oil, salt, pepper, and ginger.  Mix until the slices are well-coated.

3.  Place the pumpkin slices on the grill, and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes with the grill covered.  Turn the slices over, and grill for another 3 or 4 minutes, still covered.  You want the slices cooked through, but not fully browned.

4.  Cut the pumpkin slices in half and remove the skin.

5.  To make the salad, toss the aragula or baby spinach on a plate.  Place the pumpkin slices on top of the greens.  Add the blue cheese, pecans, tomatoes, and top with the dressing.  Serve!

Ingredients:
8 cobs of Corn (about 4 cups of Corn)
4 slices Bacon
1/2 yellow Onion, minced
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 Jalapeño Pepper, de-seeded, minced
1 cup Heavy Cream
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 cup Blue Cheese, crumbled
2 Haas Avocados, sliced

Directions:

• Prepare the Corn: If using cobs, remove husk and silk, and boil for about 7 minutes. Use a chef’s knife to cut off one end of each cob, forming a flat edge. Place the corn flat side down, standing up on a plate. Use your chef’s knife and slice down parallel to the cob and remove the corn kernels. Rotate and repeat until the kernels are on the plate. Use the back of the knife perpendicular to the cob and slide down scrapping off any excess corn. Place in a bowl, and repeat for each cob.
• In a skillet, fry the Bacon until very crisp.
• Remove to paper towel, pat dry, and crumble.
• In the skillet, drain all but about 2 Tbsp of the drippings.
• Saute the Onion, Garlic, and Jalapeno in the Butter on medium-low heat until the Onion is tender.
• Add the Cream, Salt, and Pepper.
• Stirring constantly, heat for 7-10 minutes, allowing the cream to thicken. Depending on your skillet, the time may vary.
• Remove from the heat and toss in the Bacon crumbles and Blue Cheese crumbles.
• Garnish with the slices of Avocados across the top.

Serves 4.

NOTES: If you opt from using fresh Corn, do not use can, but instead get frozen corn. Before using it, thaw it out, and place in a large zipping storage bag, then crush it with a rolling pin, to break the Corn up.

Variations:
Creamed Corn (savory)
Sweetened Creamed Corn

I’m back and with a delicious recipe!  My boyfriend and I have been watching Top Chef.  One of their challenges inspired me.  They were asked to deconstruct a popular dish.  Now, I certainly wouldn’t call this dish “deconstructed”, but it does take an interesting slant on a classic dish – buffalo chicken.

Instead of sticky bar food, I came up with a decadent and classy replacement.  This dish is 3 parts, the quinoa base, a buffalo chicken main dish and a blue cheese sauce.  Each component is a part of the traditional buffalo wing meal.  The base has your celery, the blue cheese sauce mimics blue cheese dressing, and the buffalo chicken explains itself. It is a little more complicated than my past dishes, so I’m going to post it in increments.

First off, I should let you know, this dish serves 3.  Odd, I know.  It just ended up that way.  If you have a family, I’d advise doubling it, because believe me, you’ll want leftovers.

The chicken is lying on  a bed of quinoa.  I will, undoubtedly, be posting more quinoa recipes.  It is a delicious grain that is very high in protein and packed full of vitamins.  I use it in lieu of rice or pasta, as it is healthier and (in my opinion) tastier.  It is extremely forgiving and incredibly easy to make.  The taste is somewhat like rice, only a little nutty.  It is a little difficult to find, but most places that sell organic foods have quinoa.  Whole foods sells it for only a few dollars a pound.

Quinoa base:

1 cup of quinoa

2 cups chicken broth

1 Tablespoon of olive oil

2 ribs of celery, chopped

1 small onion, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon garlic, minced

salt and pepper to taste

This is really a great, simple recipe for anyone ready to try quinoa – plain or in this recipe.  Start by heating the oil in a small saucepan.  Once oil is hot, add chopped onion and celery.  Salt and pepper liberally.  Once onion and celery become translucent, add garlic.  Mix and cook until garlic is fragrant.  This should only take a minute.  Remove vegetables from pan.

Add quinoa and chicken broth to pan.  Turn heat to high until mixture begins to boil.  Then turn heat down to a simmer.  Let simmer until quinoa has absorbed nearly all the liquid.  This should take approximately 15 minutes.

When there is only a little liquid left, add vegetables back into saucepan.  Heat through until all broth is absorbed.

For the buffalo chicken, I took an easy approach.  I simply marinated 3 chicken breasts buffalo sauce for a couple of hours, then baked them the oven.  Nothing fancy.

This blue cheese sauce is not my recipe.  I used the Pioneer Woman’s recipe.  And let me tell you – this Sauce IS DECADENT.  I don’t even have words.

1 large onion

4 Tablespoons butter

1 cup heavy cream

1/2 cup crumbled blue cheese

Slice onion.  Don’t make any weenie mince or chop, either.  Go ahead and slice, they’ll cook down.  Melt butter in a pan over high heat.  Add onions.  Cook until caramelized.  They will look dark and brown.  Reduce heat to simmer and pour in cream. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, or until reduced by half. Stir in blue cheese until melted.

Assembly is delicious.  Place some quinoa on a plate.  Lay chicken on top.  Pour sauce on top.  Eat and ponder how wonderful life is.