tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-55917608626852486012024-03-04T23:44:12.815-08:00Notes from Home PlatesDinners inspired by the fruits and veggies found in my CSA box. <br>Random thoughts inspired by my husband, friends and dogs.ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.comBlogger117125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-16112732882316564472010-03-15T14:10:00.000-07:002010-03-15T14:12:35.735-07:00My blog has moved...and can now be found here:<br /><br />http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-803841976544848132010-03-15T13:51:00.001-07:002010-03-15T13:51:58.054-07:00The feed for this blog has movedthe new feed is at:<br /><br />http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/feed/Ken Bromanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335445821410404766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-15342505457182522402010-03-13T19:34:00.000-08:002010-03-13T19:35:01.013-08:00This is a testOnly Testing. please ignore.Ken Bromanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09335445821410404766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-86337297059666167142010-03-11T13:21:00.000-08:002010-03-11T19:04:55.948-08:00Lavaman ... Lost<span style="font-family: verdana;">I have been putting off writing this for a while. I was holding on to a glimmer of hope that I would be able to participate in Lavaman this year. But today, the door closed on that possibility.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">It all started about three weeks ago (well technically it started about </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/2009/02/fun-at-dog-park-until.html">13 months ago</a><span style="font-family: verdana;">). My coach and I decided that I was over-trained so it would be a good idea to take a few days, maybe a week off from training (and if your coach, who loves pain, tells you to sit down for a week, you do it). So there I was, relaxing on the couch, wiggling my ankle around a little, when suddenly I felt a pop (and then there was much pain).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I still had a few days before I needed to get back to training so I figured I'd give it a little rest and lots of ice and it would be good as new. A week later I was still in pain. I called my physical therapist and she recommended a week, maybe two of treatment ("probably just a little tendinitis, we'll get it worked out"). When I was still in pain three weeks later we decided it was time for a specialist.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Through all of this, I was convinced that I would be able to participate. Sure, training would suffer a bit, but I would be able to make it though. I continued my swim training and started doing all of my running in the deep end of the pool (I was in the pool so much I was starting to feel chlorinated). The one thing I couldn't do was bike. Every Friday I would try out my bike on my trainer, hoping that I would be able to ride with the team on Saturday, but I was always disappointed. I could only make it about ten minutes before I was in too much pain to continue.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is when my pity party started. I was so mad at the situation. I mean really, how do you hurt your ankle while you are just sitting on the couch, c'mon! Still, I continued to hold out hope. Even if I couldn't train, I would still be able to participate. Sure, I would be in pain during the event, but it would be fine. As long as I wasn't going to cause myself permanent damage, I could deal with pain.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Today I saw a foot and ankle specialist. He had already talked to my physical therapist so he knew what I wanted, some kind of quick fix to get me through the event. Well, he shut that down right away. He wiggled around the good foot, then wiggled around the bad foot, then made a face. "Don't ship your bike to Hawaii, it will just be a waste of money. You can not do a triathlon on this ankle. I'm not sure yet what is wrong, but you can't do a triathlon on this ankle."</span> <br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">He sent me off for a set of stress x-rays. In case you have never heard of stress x-rays (because I hadn't) it's where the doctor turns the ankle to the side as far as it will go while they shoot the x-ray. They do this on both ankles for comparison. Well, we'll just say the comparison wasn't good. The amount of movement my ankle allows shows that there is definitely something not good going on in there. I had an MRI as well so that the doctor can get a better look at what is going on with the soft tissues but I won't know the results of that until my follow-up next Thursday. So, a definite diagnosis is still to come, but the word surgery was bandied about quite a bit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Long story short, I have to sit out the Lavaman Triathlon this year. The very tiny bit of good news is that almost all of my fund raising can be rolled into another TNT event later this year. I'm leaning towards Lavaman 2011!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am so grateful to everyone who has been so supportive of my endeavor for the last few months. I have been in awe of the generosity of time, talent and (especially) money that I have experienced. I have had more people than I can count tell me that they are proud of me or that I am an inspiration to them. I can't help but feel that I am letting all of you down.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I'll still be traveling with the team to Hawaii. It's going to be really hard to see the rest of my team crossing the finish line, but I want to be there to cheer them on. Plus, I can get a good look at what I'll be in for come next year.</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-86463032125157776602010-03-10T18:00:00.001-08:002010-03-10T18:09:50.372-08:00What's in the Box?<a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/031010_box-744833.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/031010_box-744681.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">Usually I customize what comes in my box, but this week I neglected to do that, so I received a few things that I'm not too excited about. I usually don't get spinach because the husband really doesn't like it and I already have a bunch of lemons in the house. Plus, I'm going to really have to work to get through that much fruit (I usually only get two kinds of fruit, not three in the box).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Green Cabbage</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 Hass Avocados</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1.5 pounds Russet Potatoes</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Cucumber</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Bunch Baby Leeks</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Bunch Carrots</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Green Leaf Lettuce</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">.33 pound Baby Spinach</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">.4 pound Mushrooms</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 each Lemons</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 Pinova Apples</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 Navel Oranges</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 each D'anjou Pears</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-39454244343613325642010-03-07T15:54:00.000-08:002010-03-10T17:06:11.437-08:00Happy, Happy Birthday<span style="font-family:verdana;">Yesterday my uncle wished me a happy birthday and told me that he hoped I didn't have to make my own cake. I replied that making my own birthday treat is the only way to ensure that I get to enjoy exactly what I want. This year, that was <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Momofuku's</span> Crack Pie.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">At <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Momofuku's</span> Bakery and Milk Bar in New York City they sell this <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">ooey</span>-gooey pie for $44 each. Making it at home cost much, much less than that (and you get two pies).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I cooked this over two days, making the oat cookie for the crust one day and finishing the crust and the filling the next morning. The result is a really sweet creamy filling in a slightly salty cookie crust. A delicious contrast.</span><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/031010_CrackPie2-724120.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 305px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/031010_CrackPie2-724110.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Happy Birthday to me!</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Click </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/foodwine/2011121888_crackpie20.html">here</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> for a link to the recipe in case you want to try this deliciousness at home. </span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-23667024912409601172010-02-22T14:25:00.001-08:002010-02-22T18:41:36.541-08:00A Tale of Two Chickens<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">This week I decided to take on a couple of recipes from Thomas Keller's </span><a style="font-style: italic; font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Ad-Hoc-Home-Thomas-Keller/dp/1579653774/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266877617&sr=8-1">Ad Hoc at Home</a> <span style="font-family:verdana;">Cookbook. The recipes from Ad Hoc are intended to be family-style "you can make this at home" recipes. I like this idea because some of the recipes from say his </span></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >French Laundry Cookbook</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" > which might call for something like, an entire pig's head (not really an everyday ingredient) or require three days of prep are not too accessible for the casual cook and are certainly not intended for weeknight dinner type cooking (at least not at my house). Not to say I don't cook from it, or from his other cookbook </span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >Bouchon</span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">, because I have and everything I have made has been phenomenal, it's just not "everyday" cooking.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I had lots of tasty root vegetables waiting around so I decided to start with the recipe for Whole Roasted Chicken on a bed of Root Vegetables. Out of respect for the author, I'm not going to reprint the recipe here, but if you have the book (and if you don't I recommend it) you'll find the recipe on page 22.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The thing about Thomas Keller recipes is that they are precise, explaining exactly how each ingredient should be trimmed and cut. The thing about me is, I'm not that precise when it comes to chopping vegetables, I mean, I cut everything pretty close to the prescribed sizes, but I certainly am not as exact as he is.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I did make a couple of changes to the recipe. First, it calls for leeks, rutabagas and turnips in addition to carrots, onions and potatoes. Well I didn't have leeks and I just flat out don't like turnips (and I am a grown up so I don't have to eat them if I don't want to). It's been so long since I've had rutabagas I can't remember if I like them or not. If I get the opportunity to get them in my CSA box I will happily try them again, but I had no interest in a special trip to the store to pick up a item I may or may not like, so I left them out too. What I did have was parsnips and golden beets, and since I like both of those things, into the mix they went.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Otherwise I followed Keller's instructions. I pulled out my ginormous cast iron pan and deposited my olive oil dressed vegetables along with my trussed chicken which I had rubbed the inside of with fresh thyme and garlic. Then I but 4 TABLESPOONS or butter on top of the chicken (along with some salt and pepper) and popped it into the oven. The thing is, I must have been really sleepy when I was making this because after I trussed the chicken I stupidly put the chicken into the pan breast side down instead of breast side up.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021810_RoastChix-753127.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021810_RoastChix-753038.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, while it cooked just fine, the yummy crispy skin was on the wrong side of the chicken (sad). However, the chicken itself was wonderful, moist and gently seasoned. While the vegetables were really good, I personally think that 4 tablespoons of butter was at least 2 tablespoons to much. A little too greasy and not quite crispy enough for my taste. So when I make this again I think I'll go with less butter and maybe a few less vegetables in the pan (I think they might brown better if they weren't as crowded).</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, one chicken down, one to go. Each year I cook dinner for two of my best friends, their family and of course the husband and myself as my birthday gift to them (their birthdays are on two consecutive days so I can get away with one dinner as two gifts). The recipe that seems to get the most attention from this cookbook is the one for Buttermilk Fried Chicken. Because I had heard so much about this recipe I asked if I could put it on the menu. I like to try out new things on this group because they are always (luckily) a forgiving group.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">This recipe is really easy to find online (in fact it is on the Amazon sale page linked above) so I'll leave you to find it for yourself. You can also buy it as a </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/ad-hoc-fried-chicken-kit/">kit</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> (which frankly seems silly to me, but you know, to each his own).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Keller specifically calls for 2 1/2 to 3 pound chickens stating that you may need to go to a farmers market to find them. However, I did not have the time to search out tiny chickens, so, I went for the smallest chickens I could find at my local QFC which were 4 pounds each.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, once again I followed the instructions. Brined the chicken overnight, combined all the ingredients for the coating then packed everything up to prepare at my friends house.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Once there I set up two pans with oil (one for light meat and one for dark) as well as a dredging station (the chicken goes through the flour coating, then into buttermilk, then into a second batch of coating, then onto a parchment lined baking sheet until each piece was coated) and a cooling rack. This took A LOT of room.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So into the oil went my first two batches of chicken (one with thighs and one with breasts). This is when I started having serious heat control issues. A lot of the coating came off and even though the chicken was cooked to temperature the skin wasn't even crispy. Sad fried chicken.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_FryChix1-753241.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 247px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_FryChix1-753172.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">This is when I started to get despondent (and thankful for a kind group of friends (and my cocktail)). Time for a few adjustments. We turned off the kitchen fan, readjusted the temperature controls and waited for the oil to come back up to temperature. In went the drumsticks, a second batch or breasts and once they were done, the legs.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_FryChix2-764463.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 303px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_FryChix2-764379.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Success (mostly). As we gathered around the table I encouraged everyone to try the drumsticks first (as they were the most golden brown and delicious) then the breasts, then the legs (I didn't even serve those first two batches, bleaagh). I was supposed to have fried up some fresh thyme and rosemary to sprinkle over the top, but at this point I was just happy to be getting something edible on the table so we decided to just dig in.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">You can see from the picture that I also served a tower of biscuits. What not pictured is some very delicious macaroni and cheese (which my 5-year old picky-eater Goddaughter actually approved of) and a salad made with greens, the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/2009/11/small-batch-canning.html">white-wine poached pears</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> that I canned in November, blue cheese and glazed nuts.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The chicken was really good. The brine kept it really, really moist (and added a great flavor) and the coating was lightly seasoned, crispy and delicious. In the cookbook Thomas Keller says that once you try this chicken you'll want to add it to your weekly routine. Well, while it was very good, it was a lot of work. It might make an every six months routine at our house.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">To end the meal I served cake balls (similar to </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/2009/03/happy-birthday-to-me.html">these</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">). One of my diners was almost two-year old Rowan. He was cracking me up while he was eating them so I snapped a few pictures (yeah, they're a little blurry but it was a little dark and little kids move fast).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here's the approach.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake1-789303.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake1-789297.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Next a few nibbles off the bottom.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake2-789400.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake2-789394.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Then the whole thing went in.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake3-770138.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake3-770132.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">He looked like a chipmunk hoarding nuts.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake6-777585.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake6-777580.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Too cute.</span><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake5-777532.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 284px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/022010_ILikeCake5-777525.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /></span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-58708831847253455142010-02-16T10:11:00.000-08:002010-02-17T17:43:07.281-08:00Bacon Buttermilk Pancakes<span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >Mardi Gras has never really been a big deal for me. Maybe it's because I'm a bit of a homebody (going out with a mass of drunken idiots just isn't really my kind of fun). But I think it's more likely that because I was raised Lutheran, and we never gave anything up for Lent, the idea of having to "get stuff out of my system" was never present.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />However, In the past couple of years I made the discovery of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrove_Tuesday#Pancake_Tuesday">Shrove Tuesday</a>, also known as Pancake Tuesday. Well, an excuse to eat pancakes for dinner. That I can get on board with.</span><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br /><br />I</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" > </span><span style="font-weight: normal;font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >used a recipe for Gale Gand's buttermilk pancakes that I found online. They called for a cup of blueberries, but lately I've been hearing about bacon pancakes, and well, that sounded interesting. So I replaced the blueberries with crispy-cooked bacon.<br /><br /></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021610_pancakes-780242.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 312px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021610_pancakes-780103.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><br />The pancakes themselves were delicious. I don't often make pancakes from scratch (probably because I usually make them in the morning when I am extra lazy and a mix is easier) but this was a great recipe. I was a little surprised that they weren't baconier (is that even a word), it was more that they had a salty undertone (which was good, don't get me wrong). The maple syrup was an absolute necessity and a delicious addition. I need more excuses to make pancakes for dinner, yum.<br /><br /></span> <h4 style="font-weight: normal;font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">Here's the recipe (adapted from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/0307406989/?tag=serieats-20&link_code=ur2&creative=9325&camp=211189">Gale Gand's Brunch!</a>)<em></em></span></h4><h4 style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></h4><h4 face="verdana"><span style="font-size:100%;">Bacon Buttermilk Pancakes</span></h4> <p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><em>- makes 10 3-to 4-inch pancakes -</em></span></p> <p style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-size:100%;">1 cup all-purpose flour<br />1 tablespoon sugar<br />1/4 teaspoon salt<br />1 teaspoon baking powder<br />1/2 teaspoon baking soda<br />1 large egg<br />1 cup buttermilk<br />1/4 cup whole milk<br />2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking<br />12 slices bacon, diced and cooked crisp<br /></span></p><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. In a separate bowl, beat the egg with a fork and then mix in the buttermilk, milk, and melted butter. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and combine with a wooden spoon, leaving plenty of lumps. Transfer the batter to a pitcher with a pour spout.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><strong><br /><br /></strong></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >Heat a griddle or a large skillet over medium heat (after you've cooked a few pancakes, you may want to turn the heat down to medium-low so your pancakes don't brown too quickly. Melt 1 teaspoon butter on it (when the griddle starts to get dry as you're cooking, add more butter, 1 teaspoon at a time) and heat the butter until it foams.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><strong><br /><br /></strong></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >Pour about 3 tablespoons of the batter onto the griddle to make each pancake, leaving space in between for spreading. Sprinkle each pancake with about a tablespoon of bacon. When the top of each pancake is done bubbling and no longer looks wet and the underside is lightly browned (about 3 minutes), flip the pancake and cook it on the other side until golden brown, about 2 minutes.</span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" ><strong><br /><br /></strong></span><span style=";font-family:verdana;font-size:100%;" >Serve immediately, or keep warm on a plate in a 200-degree oven while you cook some more pancakes.<br /><br /></span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-68462391158002644592010-02-11T11:27:00.000-08:002010-02-12T15:17:23.525-08:00Sausage and Peppers Fettuccine<span style="font-family:verdana;">So I had peppers, I had onions, I had sausage. It seemed like a sausage and pepper sandwich might be in order. But what I didn't have has bread.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I decided to take the idea and instead make a pasta sauce (because what I did have was a package of fresh pasta).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here's the ingredients:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_mise-773255.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 315px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_mise-773180.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">4 hot Italian chicken sausages</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 red bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed and sliced</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 onion, peeled and sliced</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">6 clove garlic, sliced thin (I forgot these in the photo)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 teaspoon dried oregano</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">red pepper flakes to taste</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Tablespoon tomato paste</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">3/4 cup white wine</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 cup chicken stock, or water (also not pictured as it was a last minute addition)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 pound fresh fettuccine</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">6 leaves fresh basil, julienned</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">grated Parmesan cheese</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">To start I fired up the grill and cooked the sausages through. Once they were cooked through and then rested for a couple of minutes I sliced them, then set them aside. Now if you are not a winter time griller like me, the sausages could be fried up inside or the sausage could be removed from its casings and browned in the same pan just before adding the peppers.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">While the sausages were on the grill, back inside I heated a little olive oil in a large saute pan. </span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step1-774105.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step1-773388.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">When it was hot, I added the peppers and onions (and I should have added the garlic, but I forgot)...</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step2-715950.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step2-715891.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">...and let this cook until the onions were cooked softened and translucent, which took just under 10 minutes.<br /><br />I added the garlic, oregano and pepper flakes and cooked while stirring for about thirty seconds. </span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step3-716065.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step3-715997.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Next I added the tomato paste and cooked this for another minute or so (this caramelizes the tomato paste just a bit, making it sweeter). </span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step4-743124.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step4-743062.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Finally I added the white wine and the chicken stock...</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step5-743232.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step5-743170.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">...and the cooked sausages...</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step6-766863.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step6-766800.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">...and let the whole mixture simmer gently for about fifteen minutes.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">While it simmered I cooked the fettuccine according to the package instructions. When it was cooked I drained it, saving a bit of the pasta water and then added the cooked pasta to the sausage mixture. It seemed a little thick so I added a few tablespoons of the reserved pasta water.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step7-766974.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_step7-766907.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I portioned out the mixture onto a couple of plates (with enough left for a hearty lunch) and then sprinkled each with a little basil and Parmesan.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_finished-791446.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/021110_finished-791428.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">This came out pretty good. Sweet and spicy. The husband picked out all the garlic (without even trying it, hmph) but he said he liked it too. I wouldn't have minded a few more pepper flakes, but over all I really enjoyed this. It's definitely going on the to be made again list.<br /><br /></span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-54392783070799981752010-02-04T18:03:00.000-08:002010-02-08T18:08:01.005-08:00What's in the Box?<a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/020410_box-749344.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 243px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/020410_box-749287.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">.5 pound Snow Peas</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Golden Bell Pepper</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1.25 pounds La Ratte Potatoes </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Cucumber </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 pound Full Circle Bagged Carrots </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 pound Parsnips </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 Lemons </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 bunch Green Onions </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Delicata Squash </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 head Romaine Lettuce</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">0.4 pound Cremini Mushrooms</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 D'anjou Pears </span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 Braeburn Apples</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">I also ordered this from the green grocery:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/020410_box2-749482.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 317px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/020410_box2-749407.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">Truffle & Salt: Incredible black truffles from Abruzzo combined with adriatic Italian sea salt from the small town of Cervia to make the ultimate must have seasoning.</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-7605508040873312702010-01-31T11:20:00.001-08:002010-01-31T12:44:10.150-08:00Sausage and Rice Stuffed Acorn SquashI've had an acorn squash sitting in my pantry for a couple of months (luckily squash are forgiving when it comes to going bad). Now, I love squash so I'm not sure why it has been sitting there taunting me for so long, but that is just the way it goes some times.<br /><br />I decided that it was finally time to cook the thing. And since it had been waiting patiently for me to cook it, I decided that I wanted to try something new and maybe a little special.<br /><br />Here's the ingredients:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012610_mise-799899.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012610_mise-799837.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>1 cup rice, cooked (I used a brown and wild rice mix, but any old rice would work)<br />2 chicken sausages, casings removed (I used a hot Italian variety but another kind of sausage would work too)<br />1/2 onion, diced<br />5 mushrooms, sliced<br />2 clove garlic, minced<br />4-5 leaves sage, chopped<br />2-3 sprig thyme, chopped<br />2 Tablespoon <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Alfredo</span> sauce (yes, I could have made a little <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">bechamel</span> sauce here but I had half a jar of sauce leftover from a lazy/tired night of cooking dinner, so I used that instead, and it worked great, so why go to the extra effort)<br />1-2 ounces Parmesan cheese, plus a little more for the top<br />1 acorn squash, cut in half with the seeds and what not scooped out<br /><br />To start, I cooked the rice in my rice cooker. While that was going I browned the sausage along with the onion, then after a couple of minutes I added the mushrooms, garlic, sage and thyme (some rosemary would have been great too, but alas, the super cold week we had here killed off my rosemary) and continued to cook the mixture until the onions were translucent and the mushrooms were browned. I removed this from the heat and stirred in the cooked rice, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Alfredo</span> sauce and Parmesan cheese. At this point I cooled the mixture down and stashed it in the fridge (I had a big spurt of cooking energy so I cooked this filling while I made a different dinner), but I could have easily continued on at this point.<br /><br />A couple of days later I continued on with my cooking. I stuffed the rice mixture into the cavity of the squash and then piled some more on top for good measure. I made a couple of rings out of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">aluminum</span> foil and placed each of the squash halves on each of the rings so that they couldn't roll around while they were in the oven.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012610_step1-799704.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 248px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012610_step1-799632.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I covered this <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">loosely</span> with a piece of aluminum foil and popped it in a 350 degree oven. After an hour of cooking, I took the foil off and added a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese. After another 20 minutes the squash was cooked through and the rice mixture was nice and bubbly.<br /><br />I served the stuffed squash alongside a pear and romaine salad.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012610_finished-799791.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012610_finished-799784.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>This turned out really good. With each bite a little bit of rice, a little squash and a little sausage, yummy. The husband really liked it too, a lot. And he is not a huge squash fan so that surprised me a little. I can imagine a few variations on this meal (different rice, different meat (or no meat), different cheese) and I can hardly wait to try them.ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-55759690562754907592010-01-25T12:57:00.000-08:002010-01-25T14:18:13.973-08:00Glazed Carrots and ParsnipsOriginally I intended to write this post about my take on Pioneer Woman's <a href="http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/06/crash-hot-potatoes/">Crash Hot Potatoes</a> (and I will add a few notes on those later) but the vegetable side dish I made turned out so delectable that I decided to write about it instead.<br /><br />Here are the ingredients:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012310_VegMise-764290.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 295px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012310_VegMise-764220.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>2 medium carrots<br />1 large parsnip<br />2 teaspoon butter<br />1 Tablespoon brown sugar<br />2 Tablespoon pecans, toasted<br /><br />I peeled the carrots and the parsnip then cut the carrots on the bias into 1/4 inch slices. I sliced the parsnip in half lengthwise and removed the woody core before slicing each of the halves on the bias into 1/4 inch slices.<br /><br />In a saute pan, I melted the butter and then added the vegetables to the pan along with a little salt and pepper. I added about a tablespoon of water and covered the pan so the vegetables would steam through. After a couple of minutes I removed the lid and added the brown sugar, stirring until the sugar had melted and the vegetables were cooked through, about another minute. I tossed in the pecans, gave it one last stir and that was it.<br /><br />I served the carrots alongside a flat-iron steak with balsamic caramelized onions and the aforementioned potatoes (with a couple of tweaks). I used purple potatoes and Yukon golds as the potatoes, thyme instead of rosemary, and added a little sprinkle of blue cheese during the last couple of minutes of baking.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012310_Finished2-764502.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012310_Finished2-764355.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Seriously, these were so good (and the potatoes and steak weren't have bad either). I'm sure they would be good with all carrots or all parsnips or with almonds instead of pecans. These were so easy to make too. I highly recommend these for your favorite vegetable lover (or maybe even a vegetable hater, they are that good).ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-57329253179582762732010-01-22T17:04:00.000-08:002010-01-22T17:08:04.298-08:00Treats for Your Sweet<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012110_CakeOpenBox-749944.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012110_CakeOpenBox-749937.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />As part of my fundraising efforts for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program I will be making delicious Cake Truffle Balls for purchase. </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />To order, print out and fill out the attached form and return it, along with payment to D. Ted or Jennifer Harris by Feb 5.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />All proceeds will go directly to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">To find out more about my Team in Training event please visit my fundraising Web site http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/lavatri10/chefdjen</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.</span> <br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/ValentineTreatOrderForm.pdf">ValentineTreatOrderForm.pdf</a>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-29863955321482400122010-01-21T08:49:00.000-08:002010-01-21T10:01:13.013-08:00Bad Blogger, with Good Reason<span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Lately I've been a bad blogger, but I've had good reason. Last week as part of my fundraising for my Team in Training event and the </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:verdana;" class="body_text" >Leukemia and Lymphoma Society I threw a Hawaiian Feast. I spent a fairly sizable amount of time menu planning, finding door prize donors, creating gift certificates, coordinating volunteers, making signs, etc. It was more work than I imagined (but in the end it was totally worth it). This left me with little energy for cooking much less blogging.<br /><br />The menu for the feast consisted of lots of yummy traditional Hawaiian food. Here's what I prepared (with the help of some great volunteers):<br /><br />Spam Musubi (think sushi but with fried spam instead of fish)<br />Ahi Poke (pronounced po-kay)<br />Kalua Pork<br />Chicken Luau<br />White Rice<br />Hawaiian Macaroni Salad (trust me, it's different from mainland macaroni salad)<br />Tropical Fruit<br />Cupcakes (from New York Cupcakes, delicious)<br /><br />I also made Haupia which is a coconut milk pudding/gelatin concoction, but it never set so I couldn't serve it.<br /><br />My favorites from the night were the Kalua Pork and the Ahi Poke. I thought I would pass along the recipes.<br /><br /><br />Traditionally at a luau the Kalua Pork would be a whole pig, cooked all day in an underground imu. Obviously that is not practical for most cooks. I used pork shoulder which is not only cheap, but also very tasty. This recipe is from Epicurious.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Kalua Pork</span><br /><br />5 pound boneless pork butt roast<br />2 Tablespoon Hawaiian sea salt or course sea salt<br />3 frozen banana leaves, thawed<br />4 cup Water<br /><br />-Sauce<br />2 cup water<br />2 teaspoon Hawaiian sea salt or course sea salt<br />1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke<br /><br />Instructions: Preheat oven to 350°F. Using small sharp knife, cut 1/4-inch-deep slits 1 inch apart all over pork roast. Rub 2 tablespoons sea salt all over pork. Unfold 1 banana leaf on work surface and place pork roast atop leaf. Fold up leaf around pork, enclosing completely. Repeat wrapping pork in remaining 2 banana leaves, 1 at a time.<br /><br />Tie with kitchen string to secure, then wrap roast in foil. Place pork in roasting pan; pour 4 cups water into pan.<br /><br />Roast pork in oven until very tender when pierced with fork, about 5 hours. Unwrap pork and cool slightly. Shred pork and place in large bowl.<br /><br />Bring remaining 2 cups water and remaining 2 teaspoons salt to boil in small saucepan. Add liquid smoke; pour over pork and stir to blend. Let stand 10 minutes to allow liquid to flavor pork. Serve.<br /><br />Ingredient tip: Hawaiian alaea sea salt is available at specialty foods stores and online from Hawaii Specialty Salt Company at hawaiisalt.com. Banana leaves are available at Asian markets and Latin markets. Liquid smoke is a smoke-flavored liquid seasoning available at many supermarkets and specialty foods stores.<br /><br /><br />My other favorite from the night was the Ahi Poke. There are lots of different recipes around for Poke, but the one I used came from a blog called <a href="http://chaosinthekitchen.com/2009/09/hawaiian-poke">Chaos in the Kitchen</a>. Click the link to see her beautiful poke photo (which in the end was a large part of the reason I chose that recipe). I used frozen Ahi Tuna (QFC had donated a gift card for me to use for the event and frozen was all they had) and it actually turned out great (and was substantially less expensive than fresh would have been). I cut the tuna into 1/2 squares while it was still partially frozen which made it really easy to do. My version of the recipe makes 12-16 appetizer size servings.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Hawaiian Poke</span><br /><br />16 ounce sushi-grade tuna<br />1/2 sweet or red onion, julienned<br />2 green onion, diced<br />1/4 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated<br />2 clove garlic, minced<br />2 Tablespoon soy sauce<br />1 teaspoon sesame oil<br />2 teaspoon black sesame seeds (or toasted)<br /><br />Combine onion, green onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sesame seeds and oil in a bowl.<br /><br />Add bite sized pieces of tuna, mix well.<br /><br />Chill the mixture for 15 minutes before serving so flavors can mix. Check for salt before serving, the soy sauce can be pretty salty without needing any additional salt.<br /><br /><br />Now that my event is in the books I can get back to blogging. I picked up my CSA box yesterday and I've already got some ideas brewing about what to make. A new entry will be coming soon, I promise.<br /><br />P.S. I raised $706 for LLS with the Hawaiian Feast. A little less than I was hoping for, but not too bad. </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:verdana;" >The thing that really touched me was the willingness of my friends to give of their time and talents to help make my event a success. Some friends gave amazing door prizes, others spent hours in the kitchen helping me prep and serve, another spent the evening as our DJ (setting an awesome tropical mood) and a few helped collect money at the door, sell raffle tickets and bar tend. I could not have had a successful event without all of their help.</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);font-family:verdana;" class="body_text" ><br /></span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-77552612912003110722010-01-20T19:50:00.000-08:002010-01-21T07:56:04.263-08:00What's in the Box?<a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012010_Box-742704.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 219px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/012010_Box-742649.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br />0.4 pound Cremini Mushrooms</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 pound Roma Tomatoes</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1.5 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 Yellow Onions</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Bunch Carrots</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 Red Bell Peppers</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Acorn Squash</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 pound Zucchini</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 pound Parsnips</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 head Romaine Lettuce</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 Cucumber</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 D'anjou Pears</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 Pink Lady Apples</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-23705620503214683172009-12-31T20:56:00.000-08:002009-12-31T21:27:17.239-08:00Briny Pork Chops with Caramelized Pears and Sage-Roasted Potatoes<span style="font-family:verdana;">Other than one meal when my mom visited during December I cannot recall having cooked at home in almost a month. First I was sick (really, really sick) and the little that I did eat was made (read warmed up) by my husband. Then I got busy with work (which, since I am a chef, involved lots of cooking) so I really wasn't up to cooking when I got home (so lots of take-out). Then we went out of town (which is exhausting under the best of cases). I even cancelled delivery of one of my boxes because I knew I would get to it.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I woke up this morning determined to cook. I picked up our box yesterday so I knew I would have lots of delicious new produce to choose from (plus, I still have lots of root veggies, which take much longer to go bad, stashed away too).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">After a delicious "ladies lunch" out with one of my best friends and my Goddaughter I stopped by the </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" style="font-family:verdana;">QFC</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> to pick up some sort of protein. Torn between chicken, pork or lamb I </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" style="font-family:verdana;">texted</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> the husband for advice. Pork (with applesauce) was the reply (although I knew applesauce was not to be in the husband's future). I considered a pork roast, then a pork loin before spying some thick-cut pork chops in the butcher's case. Alas, they were boneless (and meat cooked on the bone is just better) so I asked the butcher to cut some special for me, bone-in, about 1 1/2 inch thick.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">So, pork decided as the protein, I took a look in the fridge and pantry for potential counterparts. I turned up some garnet yams, and some pears (as a stand-in to the applesauce the husband wanted). I snipped a little sage from the herb garden and I was on my way.</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here's the ingredients:</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For the briny pork chops:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_pork-743974.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_pork-743918.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Tablespoon kosher salt</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Tablespoon sugar</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">6 leaves sage</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">3/4 cup water</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 thick-cut bone-in pork chops</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For the sage-roasted yams:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_Tatoes-781138.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_Tatoes-781072.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 pound yams (garnet or otherwise)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Tablespoons or so olive oil</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">10 leaves sage</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">3 cloves garlic, lightly smashed</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">salt and pepper</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">a cast-iron pan (trust me, this is important)</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">For the caramelized pears:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_pears-700450.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 206px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_pears-700398.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Tablespoon butter</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 pears, peeled and chopped</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Tablespoons sugar</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">juice and zest from 1/2 Meyer lemon</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/4 teaspoon salt</span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Now, I was cooking everything at once, so these instructions are gonna jump around a bit.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I started by making a brine for the pork chops. I combined the sugar and the sage leaves in a </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" style="font-family:verdana;">mortar</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> and used a pestle to crush and bruise the sage a bit.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_porkStep1-744098.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 265px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_porkStep1-744017.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I then put this into a </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" style="font-family:verdana;">Ziploc</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> bag, added the sugar and the water and shook the mixture until the sugar and salt had dissolved. Then I added the pork chops and tossed the bag in the fridge for a couple of hours (turning it once).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">A half hour before I was set to cook, I removed the pork chops from the brine, dried them off, then set them aside for a bout a half hour so the middles of them wouldn't be too cold when I cooked them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Next I put the potatoes in the oven. Here they are all sliced up and ready to go.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_TatoesStep1-781257.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 289px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_TatoesStep1-781188.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">The potatoes were inspired by a </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.food52.com/blog/337_tads_roasted_potatoes">blog entry</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> from the Food52 Website. I followed the method just about verbatim so I won't repeat it here (but they took about 45 minutes total). I haven't tried it with regular potatoes (as it is written) but that will be up very soon.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">As soon as I put the potatoes in the oven, I heated up a grill pan, then brushed the outsides of the chops with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper. I seared the chops on one side, then flipped them and put them in the oven (alongside the potatoes) until they reached an internal temperature of 150 degrees (yeah, I know, USDA says 160 degrees, but that's just gonna result in dry pork chops). They took about 25 minutes to cook through and they were done before the potatoes, so I just took them out of the oven and covered them with some foil until the potatoes were done too (at least five minutes of resting is important anyway).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Once everything was in the oven I started on the </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" style="font-family:verdana;">caramelized</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> pears. I started by melting the butter in a saucepan over medium-high heat. I added the chopped pears and sauteed for about 5 minutes. Then I added the lemon zest and juice, the sugar and the salt and </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" style="font-family:verdana;">continued</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> to cook the pears until they were golden brown and delicious.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">To serve, I plated a few of the potatoes alongside a </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6" style="font-family:verdana;">ginourmous</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> pork chop then </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7" style="font-family:verdana;">topped</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> the pork with some of the </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8" style="font-family:verdana;">caramelized</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> pears, a bit of the tasty </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9" style="font-family:verdana;">caramelizing</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> sauce and a few of the crispy sage leaves.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_finished-700361.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 287px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_finished-700352.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">How was it? Well, basically the whole time I was eating I was saying "</span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10" style="font-family:verdana;">nom</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11" style="font-family:verdana;">nom</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">, </span><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12" style="font-family:verdana;">nom</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> this is so good". The husband agreed and said that the </span><span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13" style="font-family:verdana;">caramelized</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> pears were way better than any applesauce would be.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">This is definitely a case where really simple ingredients, cooked well, resulted in something fantastic.</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-29231469515384656162009-12-31T10:13:00.000-08:002009-12-31T10:14:47.209-08:00What's in the Box?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_box-727880.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 217px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/123109_box-727820.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 Yellow Onions</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 bunch Green Onions</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1.25 pounds Purple Potatoes</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 pint Red Grape Tomatoes</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 pound Baby Golden Beets</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 Hass Avocados</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 pound White Satin Carrots</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 Bunch Orange Carrots</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 Cucumber</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 Meyer Lemons</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 Mango</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />4 Valencia Oranges</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />3 D'anjou Pears</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-88821556183373103072009-12-18T12:38:00.000-08:002009-12-18T12:48:53.133-08:00Screw the Resolutions Hawaiian Feast for LLS<span style="font-family:verdana;">As (hopefully) the final part of my fund raising efforts for my Team in Training event I am planning a "Screw the Resolutions Hawaiian Feast" to benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for Jan 14, 2010 at Starry Nights in Kirkland Washington.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I've been spending a lot of time planning the event and recruiting donors and kitchen help. I just want to take a minute to thank all of those who have thus far agreed to generously donate their time and talents to help make my event a success.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I'm still looking for more items to use as door prizes so if you (or someone you know) owns a restaurant, is an artist, or has some other talent they may be willing to share, I would love to hear from them.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Thanks to:</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Matt Jones, Starry Nights Catering ~ www.starrynightscatering.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">QFC</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">and all my fabulous donors:</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Teresa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">Ritzhaupt</span>, Executive Home Cleaning ~ urbancougar@gmail.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">D. Ted Harris ~ mysituationalawareness.wordpress.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Bill <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Reimann</span>, Spotlight ~ www.12vspotlight.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Fred Good ~ www.ubermini.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Jalene</span> Hernandez ~ www.jalenedance.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Jean Avery, Mary Kay ~ www.marykay.com/jeanavery</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Dana Sullivan ~ web.me.com/danajsullivan/DanaSullivan/Home.html</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Brian <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Vann</span> ~ www.etsy.com/shop/bvann</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Vanessa <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Wilke</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Amanda Downing</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">and all my fabulous kitchen volunteers:</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Conni <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Brownell</span> ~ www.charmedradish.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Jay <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Delong</span> ~ www.canapechefservices.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Cindy Hilliard ~ www.briarlaine.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Debra Lane ~ www.mychefdelivers.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Betsy Rogers ~ www.ovenstobetsy.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Karen Rosenzweig ~ www.incrediblechef.com</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Tom <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Rzegocki</span> ~ www.tomsinhomecooking.com</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-79715972372845753062009-12-03T18:37:00.000-08:002009-12-05T09:47:53.177-08:00What's in the Box?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/120209_box-795388.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 223px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/120209_box-795334.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 Broccolette</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 Cucumber</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Hass Avocados<br /></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">.4 pound Cremini Mushrooms </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1.5 pounds Colorado Rose Potatoes</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1.5 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1.5 pounds Jewel Yams</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 bunch Red Beets </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 Celery Root </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 Red Onion</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 bunch Orange Carrots </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 Asian Pears </span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 Pomegranates </span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-21748433173012640602009-11-22T11:26:00.000-08:002009-11-22T11:32:34.451-08:00Small-Batch Canning<span style="font-family:verdana;">Over the past few weeks, I have been putting up a bit of my produce. Quite a few people seem to be afraid of canning. But if you follow a few simple rules it's quite safe and relatively easy to do.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />The </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/publications_usda.html">USDA</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> has several canning guides available so I won't go into too much detail about procedures. All of the canning that I am doing uses the boiling water method. Since I am mostly working with fruits (and the occasional pickle) which are high acid, boiling water canning works easiest and is perfectly safe. Low acid foods such as meats, poultry, fish and vegetables (except tomatoes) are low acid and require a pressure canner (which is not something I ready to dive into).</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />The only special equipment that I have is a jar lifter, jar funnel, a magnetic wand (for sterilizing lids) and a rack to keep the jars off the bottom of the pot.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_Tools-740904.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_Tools-740851.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">A total investment of about $10. You can buy a special </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.amazon.com/Back-Basics-Piece-Water-Canning/dp/B0018OZFR0/ref=sr_1_22?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1258839168&sr=1-22">canning pot</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">, but I have found that the stock pot I already own works just fine.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />I started with some peaches that were not really good out of hand (they had kind of a weird texture) and some plums that were just starting to go wrong. I hate to be wasteful so I decided to turn them into sauce then can them for later use.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Here's the ingredients for the Spicy Peach Sauce:<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PeachMise-723529.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PeachMise-723461.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">5 ripe peaches, peeled and diced</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1/2 cup sugar</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />3 star anise</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">a few shakes of cayenne</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />And here's the ingredients for the Spiced Plum Sauce:<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PlumMise-726906.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 185px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PlumMise-726863.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">5 ripe plums, peeled and diced</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1/2 cup sugar</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />3 allspice berries</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 cloves</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 stick cinnamon</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">The method was the same for each of the sauces. I combined each of the fruits with the sugar and spices in a heavy non-stick saucepan.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PeachStep1-723417.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 279px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PeachStep1-723231.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Peaches<br /><br /></span></span> </div> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PlumStep1-783209.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 285px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PlumStep1-783141.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Plums</span></span><br /><br /></div> <span style="font-family:verdana;">I let each of them cook, stirring frequently for about 20 minutes, just long enough for the sauce to thicken. If I was making jam or jelly, I would have cooked the fruit quite a bit longer (until 220 degrees, which can take up to an hour) but since I didn't need the sauce to gel too much I didn't need to cook it for very long.<br /><br /></span> <div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PeachStep2-727035.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 319px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PeachStep2-726966.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Peach sauce</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" ><br /></span><div style="text-align: center; font-family: verdana;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PlumStep2-783091.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 294px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_PlumStep2-782305.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Plum sauce</span></span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"></span></div><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" ><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Next I removed the spent spices from each of the pots. Then, using a ladle and my jar funnel I filled each of the sterilized (and still warm) jars with sauce. It's important to leave about a 1/2 inch of space at the top of each jar. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">I actually didn't have enough jars for all my sauce, so I just stuck the extra in a couple of Gladware containers and popped them in the fridge to use right away (within 3 weeks or so).</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_FruitStep3-769985.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 262px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_FruitStep3-769926.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I sterilized each lid in the boiling water for about 10 seconds, putting each on top of a jar as they were done. Next I added the screw lids, then each of the jars went into the pot of boiling water for 10 minutes to process. Once the time had elapsed I removed the jars from the water bath to cool.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Now comes the moment. Either a vacuum is going to form resulting in a "pop" as the lid sucks down (it's just the best sound when you are canning) or it's not. If the jar doesn't seal, you can try to process it again, but if it doesn't work the second time you can just pop that jar in the fridge and use it right away instead of three months from now.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_finished1-711003.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 318px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_finished1-710925.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I used the peach sauce as a topping for vanilla ice cream (I love that spicy sweet thing). I haven't actually tried the spiced plum sauce, but I think it's going to be great on chicken or pork.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />Next up, pickled beets.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">I've talked a bit before about the husband's love of beets. But even if a person loves beets, sometimes you can only eat so many of them. So, I decided to pickle a bunch of them so we could enjoy them all winter long.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />I combined a couple of recipes into the method I eventually used. The pickling liquid is a little sweet, kind of sweet pickle style.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Here's the ingredients for the pickled beets:<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsMise-751720.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsMise-751659.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">7 medium red beets (about 4 pounds)</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 onions, sliced</span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 cups vinegar</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 Tablespoon salt</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 cup sugar</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 cinnamon stick</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">6 whole cloves</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />6 allspice berries</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />I started by boiling the beets until they were just cooked through.<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsStep1-751617.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 289px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsStep1-751543.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">While the beets cooked, I combined the vinegar, salt, sugar and spices in a stock pot, brought the mixture to a boil, then let it simmer very gently, covered, until everything else was ready.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Once the beets were cool I peeled them then sliced them into bite-size pieces then sliced the onions.<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsStep2-711102.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 216px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsStep2-711044.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I layered the beets and onions into each of the jars (beets, onions, beets, onions, beets), packing slightly. I strained the pickling liquids to remove the spices then poured the hot liquid into each of the jars, again leaving 1/2 inch of space at the top of each jar. Lids on, bands on, then into the boiling water for 10 minutes of processing.<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsFinished-786241.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 301px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_BeetsFinished-786234.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">We took our first try of these after about a week. Delicious. Sweet and tangy. I think if I were to make these again, I would boil the onions for just a minute or so. They were still quite crisp (just a little too crisp) but not enough that they were inedible. They were perfect as an accompaniment when I cooked some of the </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/2009/10/bierocks.html">Bierocks</a><span style="font-family:verdana;"> stashed in the freezer.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />Finally we come to yesterday's canning extravaganza (a cantravaganza, if you will).</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />In this week's box I got four pears and two Asian pears. Well, since I hadn't even eaten the pears and Asian pears from the last box I decided to take a preemptive strike and can the pears right away.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I also decided to try using the two week old fruit. They were quite soft so I decided to make them into pear butter (even though the recipes all say not to use soft fruit).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">In addition I received a wealth of grapes from someone in my hand bell choir. Two gallon-size Ziploc bags of red, green and purple grapes. With those I decided to make a </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/search?query=conserve&submit.x=0&submit.y=0&submit=submit">conserve</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />First up the poached pears. Again I used a few different recipes as reference. Most recipes for wine-poached pears use red wine, but since I prefer white wine, I decided to use it instead.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />Here's the recipe I came up with for the Wine-Poached Pears:<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112009_PoachedPears-786343.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 253px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112009_PoachedPears-786286.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">4 pears (in this case, I think it is important not to use old or soft fruit)</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 cups white wine (I used a chardonnay)</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 cup sugar</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 stick cinnamon stick</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />1 teaspoon vanilla</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />I started by combining the wine, sugar and cinnamon stick in a small stockpot. I brought the mixture to a simmer (stirring to dissolve the sugar), then left it on low heat until the pears were ready.<br /><br />I peeled, cored and quartered each of the pears and packed them into my jars. Two of the jars ended up with 1 1/2 pears, one of the jars only had one pear.<br /><br />Off the heat, I added the vanilla to the wine, then filled each of the jars with the wine mixture. Lids, bands, then 25 minutes of processing in the water bath.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />I haven't tasted these yet since all my jars sealed, but I am imagining using them in a salad with greens, blue cheese, some nuts and a nice vinaigrette.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br />Next up, the pear butter. I peeled, cored and diced the pears and Asian pears, discarding the really bruised parts.<br /><br />I followed the recipe for <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Caramel-Pear-Butter-350119">Caramel-Pear Butter</a> from the Epicurious Web site so I'm not going to repeat it here. I did, however, cut the recipe by a third and substitute white wine for apple juice (because I didn't have any apple juice and I had wine open for the poached pears).<br /><br /></span><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112009_PearButter-712833.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112009_PearButter-712752.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:verdana;">I used 6 pieces of fruit and it resulted in 1 1/2 cups of pear butter. Not a lot of product for the amount of effort involved, but it is delicious (and I was going to throw the fruit out anyway). I'm thinking pancakes, with pear butter, next weekend.<br /></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Lastly I made the grape conserve. Here's the ingredients (and sorry, I don't have a photo):</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 gallon-size Ziplocs of grapes, about 8 cups (most grape jelly and jam recipes call for concord grapes, but I just used what I had)</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />6 cups sugar</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />2 Tablespoon lemon juice</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />4 cups walnuts, chopped</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />A lot of the conserve recipes that I consulted called for cooking the grapes with a small quantity of water for about 20 minutes, then running the grapes through a food mill to get rid of the skins and puree the grapes. Well, I wanted pieces of grape in my conserve. That, unfortunately, meant that I had to peel all of the grapes (yes, you read that right).<br /><br />Several Web sites suggested freezing the grapes overnight then running the frozen grapes under warm water to get the skins to slip right off. Well, this worked, kind of. I wouldn't exactly say that the skins slipped right off, but it was somewhat easier (except for those purple grapes, those skins stayed tight, grrr). This process took about three hours.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I cut each of the grapes in half (and removed the seeds from the red grapes) then put them in a large, heavy stockpot along with the sugar and the lemon juice. I brought this to a boil and cooked it until it reached a temperature of 220 degrees (this took about an hour). Then I stirred in the walnuts and ladled the mixture into eight 1/2 pint jars (with about 1 1/2 cups left over, but I have Thanksgiving plans for that). Once again, lids, bands then into the boiling water canner for 10 minutes.</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br />This stuff is tasty! I'm thinking this would be yummy on waffles (hmmm, maybe I'll make waffles instead of pancakes for breakfast).<br /><br />For Thanksgiving I planning on cutting a wheel of brie in half (lengthwise) loading up the middle of it with some of this conserve, then wrapping the whole thing in puff pastry to make a delicious baked brie. I'm really excited about it (and I'll try to get a picture of it before it gets devoured).<br /><br /></span> <a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_Finished3-770066.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 285px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/112109_Finished3-770053.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />If you've never tried canning, I highly recommend it. It's so nice to have so many tasty goods stashed away for last minute guests or for an easy dinner (or breakfast).</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-26902531939787982512009-11-18T16:46:00.000-08:002009-11-18T16:50:12.331-08:00What's in the Box?<a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111809_Box-721910.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 233px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111809_Box-721852.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 bunch Golden Beets</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">.4 pound Cremini Mushrooms</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 bunch Baby Carrots</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 Cucumber</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 bunch Red Radishes</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 Hass Avocados </span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1.25 pounds Purple Top Turnips</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 pound Yukon Gold Potatoes</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Red Onions</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 Asian Pears</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">4 Bartlett Pears</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-42448978838740782822009-11-14T16:29:00.001-08:002009-11-14T17:22:24.244-08:00Smoky Potato and Leek Soup<span style="font-family: verdana;">I feel like I haven't cooked in forever (but really it's only been about a week). After training this morning I went out with the team for coffee. A couple of people asked what I was going to do today, and with nothing else pressing to do, the only thing I could think of was "cook".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">We met this morning at 8 a.m. and it was only 30 degrees. Even though I eventually worked up a sweat, I ended up chilled to the bone (a weird sensation, to be sweaty and cold at the same time). A nice, steamy bowl of soup sounded like just the ticket for warming up.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here's the ingredients:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_mise-701049.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_mise-700983.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/2 onion, chopped</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 leeks (white and light green part only), cut in half then sliced</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 clove garlic, minced</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 teaspoon mustard powder</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 Tablespoon flour</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 cup chicken stock (veggie stock would work too)</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 large yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1/4 kubocha squash, peeled and chopped (while this isn't rally necessary to the dish, I had it left over from the risotto last week, and it did bring a tiny bit of sweetness to the dish)</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 Tablespoon cream (also optional, but it adds a nice touch of creaminess to the soup)</span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 teaspoon smoked paprika (a last minute addition so it's not in the picture)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">To start I warmed about a teaspoon of olive oil in a 3-quart pot. When it was warm I added the onion, leeks and a sprinkle of salt and cooked until they were softened and translucent. I added the garlic and cooked it for about 30 seconds longer.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step1-701170.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 271px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step1-701096.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">I sprinkled on the mustard powder and the flour.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step2-742798.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 266px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step2-742738.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then stirred it for about a minute to make a roux.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step3-742924.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 267px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step3-742860.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">Next I stirred in the chicken broth (making sure to get rid of any lumps) then added the squash and the potatoes.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step4-786053.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 270px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_step4-785986.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">I brought the mixture to a boil then let it simmer until the potatoes and squash were cooked through, then added the cream. I tasted for seasoning, and it was just missing something. Something like bacon. Sadly, there is no bacon in the house (I do not know how that happened). I realized that smoked paprika might just give the soup the bit of smokiness that I was looking for, so I added some to the mix (along with a hearty helping of fresh ground pepper). It worked (and gave the soup a beautiful tint).</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_finished-786116.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 299px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/111409_finished-786102.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family: verdana;">To serve, I topped the soup with a few of the pickled peppers (as well as a bit of the pickling liquid) that I made with my chef group about a month ago.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">How was it? Well I was a little worried about this soup as I was tasting it as it cooked. It just didn't have great flavor. But, the addition of the smoked paprika really turned it into something great. Filled my belly and warmed my bones quite nicely. Delish.</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-25932380243179316662009-11-13T13:36:00.001-08:002009-11-13T14:17:16.329-08:00Holiday Treats<span style="font-family:verdana;">As part of my fundraising efforts for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program I will be making delicious holiday treats for purchase. If you live in the Seattle area please consider buying some white-chocolate candy clusters or chocolate-caramel graham crackers. All proceeds will go directly to </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/HolidayTreatsOrderForm-772487.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 309px; height: 400px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/HolidayTreatsOrderForm-771832.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/HolidayTreatsOrderForm-789550.jpg"><br /></a>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-60539949697890484392009-11-06T11:42:00.001-08:002009-11-06T13:20:53.870-08:00Risotto-Style Barley with Kabocha Squash, Caramalized Onions and Sage<span style="font-family:verdana;">This week my Team in Training team started training in earnest. We meet every Monday and Wednesday night (plus Saturday mornings) plus I have hand bell choir practice on Tuesday nights. Well, frankly, I am not used to having to go out in the evening quite so much. So, I have been an extra lazy chef this week. Well, yesterday I had the day off, and nowhere to go in the evening, so I decided to take advantage and make a slightly more complicated meal than I have been making this week.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I wanted to use the Kabocha Squash that was in my box two weeks ago before it started to go squishy. My original thought was to roast it, but I didn't have anything to go with roasted squash to make it a meal. As I looked through the pantry I found pearled barley and decided to use that to make a risotto-style barley (which would make a delightful meal). Whenever I make risotto, I use barley instead of arborio rice (mostly </span><a style="font-family: verdana;" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/2009/03/risotto-style-barley-with-roasted-beets.html">because that's the way the husband likes it</a><span style="font-family:verdana;">).</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here's the ingredients:</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_mise-752062.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 225px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_mise-751920.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 onion, divided, half diced and half julienned</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">3/4 of a kabocha squash, diced (I was going to use the whole thing, but it was just too much)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1 cup barley</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">1/2 cup white wine</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">4-6 cups chicken broth (veggie stock would work too)</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">14 sage leaves, divided, half minced and half julienned</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">2 ounces Parmesan cheese</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">In a stockpot, I brought the chicken broth to a boil, then turned the heat down to low. In a saute pan I heated a little olive oil and added the julienned onion to caramelize. In a saucier, I heated a little more olive oil then added the diced onion and squash. I let it saute until until the onion was cooked through. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">Whew, that's a lot of pots (glad I don't have to do the dishes).</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step2-795291.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 241px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step2-795224.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I added the barley to the saucier and let it cook, stirring often, for another minute or so.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step3-733205.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step3-733168.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">Next I added the white wine and let it simmer until it was almost gone. Then I added a ladle of chicken broth and let it simmer until it was almost gone.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step4-733292.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 255px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step4-733261.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">I continued this process of adding a ladle of broth, then stirring until gone, over and over. The photo above is at about the 20 minute mark, which is when I added the julienned sage to the onions and the minced sage to the risotto.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step5-759944.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 252px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_step5-759910.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">After about 40 minutes, the barley and the squash were both cooked through, so I added the Parmesan cheese and tasted for seasoning.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">I ladled the barley into a bowl and topped it with some of the caramelized onions.</span><br /><br /><a style="font-family: verdana;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_finished-751893.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 268px; height: 320px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_finished-751850.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;">How was it? Well, this was not one of my finest moments. While the flavor was good, the risotto got really thick as it set and the onions were a little bit over-caramelized (read slightly burned). So, while not an epic fail, things could have been better. Still, a tasty meal for a stormy night. If I made it again, I would add a bit more broth right before serving to held with the thickness problem and keep a better eye on the onions. Plus, I think a little sausage or maybe some bacon would have made this meal really shine.<br /><br /></span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5591760862685248601.post-12839547848822356942009-11-04T17:57:00.000-08:002009-11-05T15:36:40.149-08:00What's in the Box?<a style="font-family: trebuchet ms;" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_InTheBox-704074.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 257px;" src="http://blog.notesfromhomeplates.com/uploaded_images/110509_InTheBox-704044.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 White Acorn Squash</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 bunch Orange Carrots</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 Leek</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 Yellow Onion</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 bunch Baby Red Beets</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1.5 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 pound Red Thumb Fingerling Potatoes</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 bunch French Breakfast Radishes</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 each Napa Cabbage</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">.2 pound Shiitake Mushrooms</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">1 pound Zucchini</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">3 Asian Pears</span>ChefDJenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05384394941892529173noreply@blogger.com0