Category Archives: Dinners

Beyond Basil

“I’m over Basil!”…, I tell myself as I buy new pots of it for planting this spring. I can’t resist. A herb garden isn’t a herb garden without basil. I’m just bored. I want to try new flavors.

I’ve been stuck in a flavoring rut for some time now, becoming comfortable with the ease in which I can throw a dinner together in a short amount of time. If I didn’t care, I’d leave it be…, but I can’t. I enjoy food. I want more flavor; different flavor.

Finally, I am happy to say my palate has been experiencing so many variations of flavor since I joined the team of chef assistants at Cook’s Warehouse here in the Atlanta area.

As an assistant, I enjoy all the pleasures of working in a restaurant kitchen setting; having the esteemed pleasure in meeting new chefs, tasting the food they demonstrate, all without the hassles inherent to restaurants. In addition, I can pick and choose when I want to assist.

Each chef brings to Cook’s, not only the expertise of many years studying the world of food, but offers their own tricks and tips and preferences to the kitchen. I’ve gained a volume of information.

I decided to use this blog as an avenue for sharing my experiences as an assistant; introduce you to chefs’ and either duplicate or re-create recipes they shared during a demonstration.

This week, I introduce you to Chef Nancy Waldeck. Chef Nancy is all about healthy food with great flavors and great Wine to pair it with. Chef hosts a monthly Taste Club held at Cook’s Warehouse, where her Sous Chefs prepare an entire meal while she educates attendees on the pairing of wine from regions all over the world. Chef’s certification comes from London’s Wine and Spirits Education Trust.

Being a survivor of breast cancer, Chef Nancy, along with other Chefs, teaches cooking classes at Piedmont Hospital Wellness Center. In addition, Chef has joined together with Dietitian, Shayna Komar, in publishing weekly posts Living and Eating Well providing healthy tips. One column is “Spicey Tuesday” offering recipes, dedicated to spices and sharing benefits of same. I had no idea cinnamon could reduce your LDL cholesterol or cumin was a spice for anti-diabetic or reduces the proliferation of Lymphoma and Leukemia cancer cells. A volume of information is available on this website.

The recipe that I feature here is …Peach and Paprika Lamb Chops. I never liked Lamb Chops until I tasted her recipe from the Taste Club.

Ingredients:

1 Tbs. Brown Sugar
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Onion Powder
1 tsp Chili Powder
1 tsp Smoked Sweet Paprika
1/2 tsp dried Oregano
1/4 tsp Ground Allspice
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
8 Lamb Chops
Canola Oil or Grapeseed Oil
1/3 Cup Good Peach Preserves
Baby Greens for salad
Sliced Ripe Peaches, fresh or frozen
Oregano for garnish

Method:
Combine first 9 ingredients in a small bowl; rub spice mixture evenly over both sides of lamb chops. Set aside for 1-3 hours.

Ready to cook: Heat a cast iron pan over medium-high heat. Add the oil to cover the bottom of the skillet. When the oil is hot, not smoking, add the lamb chops to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes on each side. Then, brush peach preserves over each chop. Turn chops over and cook for one minute more. Brush chops with remaining preserves. Remove from heat.

Serve lamb chops on a bed of greens, garnish with peaches and oregano.

To compliment the meal I chose a Wine from the list Chef Nancy provided in her April Taste Club. It was flavorful, light and easy on the palate. It enhanced the flavors of all the spices used in this dinner I prepared and guess what? Did you notice??? No Basil.

In her book, Taste and Savor, Chef Nancy suggests being adventurous in selecting Wine. ”Go wild and crazy and buy wine with no forethought. Like the label? Buy It. The name makes you smile? Buy it. The color of the bottle matches your eyes? Buy it.” I like this philosophy.

It is my hope reader’s enjoy this new chapter of my life. When you’re in your 60′s, you stand around wondering what’s next on the agenda and thankfully, I’m fortunate to live where food is happening.

Enjoy,
Pam

A Dish Becomes a Do Over, Many Times Over

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Sometime ago, I threw together this meal and my husband was thrilled. When the meal was gone, he was looking for more.

It had been a rainy, stormy day (that sounds like the beginning of a mystery novel) and I just didn’t want to get out in it. I’m a weenie, what can I say.

I looked in the freezer and saw I had ground Italian Sausage. After that I looked in the fridge to see what I had to go with it. Of course, I always have pasta, so a plan was in place for dinner that night.

Because I am such a weenie about getting out in unsuitable weather, I make it a habit when shopping to buy double or in bulk when items go on sale. The Italian Sausage was in the meat counter sold by the pound and I bought 10 lbs.

When I get home, I divide it, bag it, tag it and date it. Dinner now becomes a lot simpler when there is little effort involved. Not only do you save price by the pound but you save a gallon or more of gas which would fund a gallon of milk, bread and… you get the idea on money management or what was once called Home Economics.

This recipe is really a no brainer…in this case I had the following but any vegetable will do.

Two carrots, sliced
One zucchini, julienne
Asparagus tips
Thin slices of red onion
Italian Parsley, finely minced
Parmesan Reggiano, grated
Pasta, any kind
1 lb. ground Italian Sausage

Either form small balls of sausage by hand or use a small scoop to form a ball.
Cook on medium heat turning and browning on all sides until done.
Set aside on paper towels to drain excess grease.
Cook Pasta according to directions.

Drain the grease from the pan used for meatballs. Pour liquid of choice (wine for me)
into the pan and scrape the crud from the bottom leaving same crud in the pan. If you don’t
like this idea, then your pan is now an easy cleanup but…you missed out on some yummy flavoring.

(Optional) Add the vegetables to the same pan and cook only a few minutes to acquire the
flavor from the meat. Or don’t cook them at all and eat them raw.

Prepare your dish. Drizzle a little salad dressing of choice (I use a vinaigrette) and you have
a quick, tasty meal.

Enjoy,
Pam

Chorizo and Cannellini Bean Casserole

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Spanish Translation: Cazuela de frijoles Cannellini y chorizo

Isn’t this a beautiful translation? It describes this casserole far better than the English words in the title of this post.

This past week I’ve been watching on Hulu.com, a PBS Cooking Show featuring Chef José Andrés of “Made in Spain”. It was part of the preview video coverage that I briefly saw Sausage and White Beans. It grabbed me. Chef Andrés never discussed this dish during the few episodes I had watched, so I sought out to make my own version of Spanish Cuisine in the form of a casserole.

Ingredients:

Five Links of Chorizo Sausage, cut in chunks
Three Ice cubes of Chicken Stock *
Two 14.5 oz cans Cannellini Beans
One whole red bell pepper, julienne
One whole yellow onion, thinly sliced
Three stalks celery, chopped, leaves left whole
One Bay Leaf
three sprigs of thyme
three sprigs sage
three sprigs rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste
Chorizo is spicy. I add pinches of chili powder or red pepper flakes to taste

* I like to use various flavors of stock for braising. But…I don’t need a lot. So I pour stock into ice-cube trays and when frozen remove from trays and put in Ziplock freezer bags.

In a hot skillet, pour just a tablespoon of Canola Oil. Place sausage on ends and cook for about two minutes and turn to other end for another two minutes. Then lay sausage on its sides and cook for five minutes more, rotating. Remove from skillet and set aside. Place ice cubes of chicken stock in pan to melt. Be sure to scrape/loosen crud from pan. The crud is flavorful. Add onions, cook for about five minutes. Add celery and bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Add beans and sausage back into skillet. Add bay leaf, and sprigs of herbs. Simmer for about 30 minutes allowing the flavors of Spain to fill your home.

I may never make it to Spain, so I brought Spain to me.

Bring all the flavors together by pairing this dish with a Spanish White Wine.

Enjoy,
Pam

Cream of Chicken Soup with a Drop Biscuit

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Many people make Cream of Chicken in the form of Pot Pie. They either make a pie crust or use puff pastry. I don’t recall my mother making Cream of Chicken in either form. It was always Cream of Chicken Soup with a Drop Biscuit prepared like a casserole.

It was the comfort food that Daddy and my four brothers devoured before Mama sat down to the table to eat. I wouldn’t be honest if I didn’t admit I, too, devoured this luscious meal.

What I like, is the simplicity of the soup, and the drop biscuits don’t have to be kneaded or rolled out.

The following recipe serves 9 unless each person wants more than one biscuit. Then, four servings.

Ingredients for Soup:

1 stick of unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
3 cups chicken broth
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, finely chopped
3 chicken breasts, cooked and pulled
1/2 cup frozen peas
Salt, Pepper and Celery Seed to taste

Ingredients for Drop Biscuits:

2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp. sugar
1 stick unsalted, cold butter
3/4 cups milk

In a large pot of boiling water, cook chicken breast for approximately 10 minutes.
When done, pull from water and set aside while preparing soup. Reserve this liquid.
In a separate pot, melt butter and cook onion and celery for about 3-4 minutes over medium heat.
Blend in flour. Gradually stir in chicken stock. (Note: should you find you have only
one small can of broth, use broth from liquid you reserved.) Continue stirring stock until it is smooth and thickened.Season with salt, pepper and celery seed.
In a smaller pan, cook carrots in water for about 10 minutes. Add frozen peas and cook an additional few minutes.
Take Chicken Breast and pull apart in pieces or chunks using two forks. Place the chicken in the soup mixture. Drain the carrots and peas and add to the soup. Taste and season accordingly.

To make the drop biscuits: mix together dry ingredients, cut in butter until mixture is course. Add milk and stir well until dough becomes soft. Pull a chunk of dough and drop the biscuit onto a greased pan. You will have to adjust as you go to achieve the number of biscuits desired. This recipe makes 9 easily.
Bake biscuits in a pre-heated 400° F oven for 18 minutes or until golden brown.

To serve: ladle soup into a bowl and place biscuit on top.

Note on biscuits: Ordinarily a southern biscuit does not include sugar. When sugar is added, it becomes shortcake. Use this same recipe with strawberries or any fruit compote. I chose sugar for this casserole to gain a sweet to the savory flavor of the soup. Biscuits can be made without the sugar, but a little added sweetness never hurt anyone.

Enjoy,
Pam

A Bereavement Basket, and Remembering My Granddog, Max

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This is my Granddog, Max. Recently, our son’s dog passed away. He was 13 years old. He brought, love, protection and a completion to the family as dogs do. Because Max meant so much to us, and ordinances prevented burial in their yard, we asked our son to bury him next to our dog, Prisky, who grew up with our kids and passed several years ago.

While preparing the grave, I prepared a basket of food for them to take home to indulge at their leisure. Comfort food is always the food of choice when somberness surrounds you. Pasta and tomato sauce are just the comfort one embraces.

The basket was filled with tomato sauce I had prepared last harvest season. I added a package of pasta, a loaf of Rosemary Bread, and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese for grating. For a garnish of flavor, I included cuttings of basil and flat leaf parsley that I placed in water tubes I keep handy for cut flowers. I happen to have Styrofoam squares I positioned in the bottom of the basket to hold the water tubes in place. Finally, a bottle of Wine was added because one always wants a glass of wine with tomato sauce and pasta.

When ready, all that has to be done is pour a glass of wine, prepare the pasta, heat the sauce, grate cheese, chiffonade the basil for garnish, chop the parsley to blend with olive oil for dipping bread. Ten minutes later, let the comfort and healing begin. It is an effortless, but therapeutic task to complete when your thoughts and heart are elsewhere.

Recipe for Tomato Sauce:

8 plum tomatoes, chopped
1 small can Tomato Purée
1 whole sweet onion, diced
pinch of salt,
pinch of red pepper flakes
fresh oregano, chopped
fresh basil, chiffonade for garnish

Cook onion until tender, add tomatoes and purée. Salt. Simmer for about 20 minutes.
Add oregano, more salt to taste and pepper flakes.
Simmer for another 10 minutes.

Note: At this time you can add 1/4 cup of red wine and bacon bits/pancetta for added flavor.
The prepared jar of sauce shown above does not contain these items. I prefer to add
these ingredients towards the end of cooking for a fresher taste.

Follow procedures for canning instructions should you use this sauce for storage.

Alternate Recipe:

If you do not prepare jars for winter, then use…a large can of Muir Glen Organic Tomatoes in place of plum tomatoes. You won’t regret Muir Glen.

Enjoy,
Pam

Shrimp, A Southern, Coastal Luxury

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We, here in the South, love our Shrimp. It’s okay with cocktail sauce but we make it a dinner when served with side dishes like, pasta, vegetables or in this case stone ground grits. If you would rather use quick cooking grits, that’s okay, but we’ll trash you behind your back because a grit isn’t a grit unless it’s stone ground and cooked for 20 minutes.

If you don’t want grits and I know people who, frankly, can’t stand the thought of grits, then try grilled shrimp with pasta.

Make up a lemon, butter, caper sauce and ladle over the shrimp and pasta for a pleasant tangy flavor.

If you don’t have a grill, then I recommend investing in a skillet like this.

This skillet has been very handy when I don’t want my shrimp or vegetables to be sautéed. Just spray the skillet with Pam © or another non-stick spray. Heat the skillet on medium high then lay the shrimp or vegetables on the skillet and cook to desired doneness.

Recipe for Grilled Shrimp and Vegetables:

Four to five shrimp, peeled and deveined with tail on or off.
OR cooked shrimp, peeled, deveined with tail on or off.
One Red and Yellow Bell Pepper, quartered.
One yellow onion, quartered.

Marinade:
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/8 cup whiskey or bourbon
juice from one whole lemon
pinch of freshly ground pepper
pinch of freshly ground rosemary

Place the peppers, onion and shrimp in a bowl and pour marinade over this. Cover and place in refrigerator for about 30 minutes.

When ready to grill, heat skillet, then place shrimp, pepper and onions on same. Cook and turn each until shrimp is pink and peppers and onions are cooked to desired finish. This should take no longer than five minutes for the shrimp and seven to eight minutes for the peppers and onions.

To cook grits: Follow the instructions of any package of grits you purchase. For stone ground you usually have to wash the grits. Very simply pour pre-measured, dry grits into a bowl and add water to about an inch above the grits. Stir and allow for sediment to rise. Pour off the water carefully allowing the sediment to drain off. Add water once again and repeat this procedure. When the boiling water you prepared ahead is ready, add the grits and cook for at minimum 20 minutes. Stir frequently.

For an artful plating, use a skewer made from Rosemary. Take that overgrown Shrub and cut the thicker stems, remove needles from the stem up to the tip. Be sure to keep the needles for aromatic uses or herbal uses.

Recipe for Shrimp and Pasta:

Grill shrimp as described above.

Cook Pasta of choice.

In a small sauce pan, melt a stick of butter add the juice from one whole lemon.
Add a tablespoon of capers.

Pour over shrimp and pasta.

Enjoy,
Pam

Roaster Chicken, Buy It or Bake It?

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Many years ago, I stopped roasting my own chicken because it was cheaper to buy from the grocer and I didn’t heat up my kitchen or run up electric bills. But…I stopped. Chickens were always dry and hard to chew and stuck in your throat. They were like the turkey in Christmas Vacation. I could no longer risk choking.

Finally, I just had to roast my own. I had forgotten the aroma that fills the house. Who cares what it cost? I will never buy another roast chicken from a store.

Such a simple dinner to prepare. It takes a dried up store bought chicken to appreciate the home cooked chicken.

This is a 7 1/2 pound free range chicken.

Remove giblets and place in a pot of water to boil. Boil about 20 minutes then simmer for 10-15 minutes. This will be used for making gravy.

Using a half a stick of unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt back in the butter, add a pinch pepper and a tablespoon of fresh herbs. I used sage and rosemary, finely diced.

Wash chicken inside and outside, or not. I don’t pay attention to the warnings by the FDA and USDA. I clean up my kitchen afterwards.
Pat dry with a paper towel.

Salt and pepper the cavity and stuff with cut up lemon. Add fresh herbs of choice. I used sage.

Liberally rub herb butter mixture over outside of chicken as well as under the skin.

Bend wings behind and tie legs loosely together.
Place on a rack over a pan to catch drippings. You may add root vegetables to the pan for more aroma and have as a side dish.

Place in a 425° preheated oven and cook for one hour or until meat thermometer reaches 165°. Note: This one hour time frame only applies if you don’t open the oven during that time.

If you have a meat thermometer, place in the breast down low near the leg portion. Set temperature to 165°. Clear juices should run out from chicken when done. You want a moist chicken. Any longer cooking period and the breast meat will be dry.

For making gravy from the now cooked giblets. Remove giblets and discard neck. Dice all the other pieces. This would be the heart, liver and kidney. Place these back in the broth. Using a bowl or nice size jar with lid, scoop out 1/2 cup broth from the pot. Pour into the jar or bowl and add three heaping tablespoons of flour. Now whisk or shake the jar. Add this to the pan of broth and giblets. Stir well. At this time season with salt and pepper, or any herbs you wish. Add chopped mushrooms or celery to the mixture. Allow to cook for a few minutes. The gravy should be creamy by the fact you added the flour mixture. If too thick for your pleasure, you can add milk to the desired amount you like gravy.

When my kids still lived at home they sat around the table to do their homework and I remember how they seemed calm and content. It was the aroma of the roasted chicken. I’m certain.

Enjoy,
Pam

Tasty Comforts of North Georgia

Cooking Food For Taste and Comfort

Category Archives: Dinners

Beyond Basil

A Dish Becomes a Do Over, Many Times Over

Chorizo and Cannellini Bean Casserole

Cream of Chicken Soup with a Drop Biscuit

A Bereavement Basket, and Remembering My Granddog, Max

Shrimp, A Southern, Coastal Luxury

Roaster Chicken, Buy It or Bake It?

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