Blog on!

Here is the book that my friend had signed. Cool, huh?!? I've been overwhelmed with how thoughtful people have been this Christmas. Debbie (from this blog) had her hand in this too.

I flipped through it and saw a few recipes I'm willing to try. I like how this one is organized, it has a table of contents in front and an index in the back. The Express Lane Meals book I just got from the Nabisco promotion isn't as "put together" as far as being easy to use as a reference book.

The other cookbooks I got this Christmas were "French Women For All Seasons" and the King Arthur Flour's "Whole Grain Baking." I'm such a Francophile, even though I don't really speak French, all I had was one year when I was something like 6 years old. It has been pretty chilly this week so I'm hoping I'll have a chance to get started on reading all these books.

BTW, here's another photo that Sharon took at the VA booksigning.

Virginia Booksigning

My friend Sharon went to Rachael's booksigning in Vienna, VA, on Monday. She took this photo, and reported back that...

"In a nutshell ...She was 45 minutes late getting there -- traffic is awful here, and she got stuck in it. She looked sharp - black shirt, black skirt, black boots ... she didn't talk about the book - just signed and talked to people as they walked up. She was very pleasant, and nice. I told her that you have a blog for her, and gave her the site. Not sure she'll stop by, but she has the address. I told her you were in Texas, and she said 'oh, I was just there". I couldn't remember what part of Texas you were in (brain freeze!!) but I said I thought you were in some small town and couldn't make it to Dallas."

Anyway, I found an article online about the Dallas booksigning, and there were over 400 people there!

Thank you to Sharon for getting a book autographed for me. I wish I could have gone in person but this is the next best thing.

While on the subject of books, I got my "Express Lane Meals" from that Nabisco offer, in the mail yesterday. I feel like a "loser" in that I have most of the items on the pantry list, but there are many times when I feel like I have nothing to cook for dinner. I hope this book helps a little.

Now begins the holiday crunch...not sure how much I will be online in the next week...so Happy Holidays everyone!

Sister Act

My sister had a cookbook review published in her local paper! I'm so proud, her article is superb. I think it's weird (in a neat way) that we both write about recipes for fun, guess it is in the genes.

All-American Favorites

By Denise

The following review is by a reader who was given a cookbook from the Times. The included recipes were selected and prepared by the reader.

What intrigued me most about "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook" was the book's "promise of sorts" to deliver more than 1,200 recipes guaranteed to be a success in home kitchens. Operating out of a 2,500-square-foot test kitchen, recipes are developed by test chefs after conducting blind taste-tests of recipes culled from other cookbooks. Further testing and tasting is done, culminating in what the Test Kitchen believes to be the best version of that dish. As if this is not enough, each recipe is further tested up to 40 times with variations in equipment and ingredients to mimic what might be found in a typical home kitchen.

Recipes are formatted with easy-to-follow directions, including step-by-step pictures, as well as prep time and total cooking time. Ideas for variations and make-ahead directions are also provided. Recipes designed to be "30 minutes or less" are easily identified by a red icon. The book's 700-plus pages are contained in a binder, with dividers for easy reference to each section. There is even an entire section devoted to slow cooker and pressure cooker recipes, and another for light recipes.

Several features of the book help the cook to understand how and why recipes work. Throughout the pages are sidebars referencing Test Kitchen tips, test cook favorites, cooking 101s, menu planning, equipment testing and ratings of ingredients. I learned that Minute Maid Premium Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice was the top-rated supermarket OJ, beating out the chilled carton version. The double pasteurization used in carton juices heats the juice, which in turn destroys its fresh flavor, making canned frozen the fresher-tasting choice.

Choosing recipes to test was not an easy task, given that I had more than a thousand to choose from. I'm lucky that my family is always willing to be test subjects and are supportive of my efforts, providing feedback in terms of "keepers" or "don't make again."

Up first was the Best Spaghetti and Meatballs. I couldn't resist testing the theory that mixing sandwich bread with buttermilk would provide tender and moist meatballs. I followed the recipe as stated, choosing the recipe's option to use jarred pasta sauce over homemade. I also added diced homegrown tomatoes to the sauce. The results were a unanimous thumbs-up. The meatballs were tender, flavorful, moist, holding together with a great texture.

I proceeded to make Quiche Lorraine. The recipe had me partially bake the pie shell and then pour the egg batter into the warm pie shell in order to achieve a crisp bottom crust and to ensure even cooking of the batter. Since I did not have the time to make my own pie crust, I used ready-made pie crust from the refrigerated section at Trader Joe's. The end result was a nicely browned crust filled with a delicious egg custard that was silky and luscious, far from the tough and rubbery quiches I have produced in the past.

Next up, Beef Stew. The Test Kitchen states that contrary to popular belief, flouring chunks of beef before browning does not properly brown the meat. In addition, the flour hinders the flavor of the sauce because there are no browned bits (fond) in the pan to use as flavor for the sauce. I followed the recipe, using the picture of properly browned meat as my guide, and made the stew, finishing it in the oven. The end result was a rich, flavorful sauce with fork-tender pieces of meat.

I hit a bump in the road with Asian Spiced Chicken Wings. The recipe was time-consuming, as it required deep-frying the cornstarch-dredged chicken wings in batches. I used my deep fryer in order to monitor oil temperature, but the end result was disappointing, producing wings that were soggy and pallid. Although the sauce was tasty, my chicken looked nothing like the enticing picture in the book, which showcased dark, crispy chicken, bathed in sticky sauce.

For dessert, I made the Classic Apple Pie. Since I have an ample supply of Golden Delicious apples from the tree in my backyard, I used these apples instead of the combination of McIntosh and Granny Smith apples called for in the recipe. I found the visual instructions very helpful in making the crust and assembling the pie. The pie was delicious, with a tender and flaky crust. The only change I recommend is reducing the lemon zest, as its presence was a bit overwhelming in relation to the apples.

Because of numerous past failures with light recipes from other books, I am a bit reluctant to try any light recipes. However, bearing in mind that I was promised a foolproof recipe, I went ahead with the Light Fettuccine Alfredo. According to the Test Kitchen, cornstarch along with half-and-half is the key to achieving a creamy sauce comparable to the kind made with heavy cream. Other than substituting dry pasta instead of fresh, I followed the recipe as stated. As promised, the recipe delivered a rich, creamy sauce with 11 grams of fat versus 43 grams in the full-fat version in this same book. The pasta should be served and eaten immediately after it is prepared, as the sauce tends to congeal if left to sit. However, adding a little reserved pasta water to the sauce restores its creamy texture. I'll be making this dish again, next time adding green peas or chicken.

This is a great, basic, all-purpose cookbook perfect for both aspiring and experienced cooks looking to hone their skills. I definitely recommend this cookbook. With its tips, techniques and an endless supply of recipes, I'll never be at a loss for something to cook.

• BOOK: "The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook" ($34.95, America's Test Kitchen, 726 pages), more than 1,200 recipes.
• AUTHORS: The editors at America's Test Kitchen, led by Christopher Kimball, host of the PBS series "America's Test Kitchen," editor of Cook's Illustrated magazine.
• REVIEWER: Denise will try almost any recipe once.

Risi e Bisi

I started out making Risi e Bisi (risotto with peas), then changed my mind at the last minute and substituted broccoli for the peas (since that’s what I had on hand). I also had some chicken leftover and threw that in as well. I’ve never had risotto before, much less cooked it. My usual recipe for rice is throw it in the rice cooker and hit the "on" switch…voila.

This was easy, though. The hardest part was trying to figure out how much salt to add. I was afraid to add too much, since there is chicken broth and parmesan cheese already in it. Anyway, it tasted good. (It needed salt but it’s so much easier to add it than to take it away.) One of my favorite dishes is Campbell Soup’s "Glorified Chicken" which is chicken cooked with cream of mushroom soup, served on rice. The risotto tasted like a glorified version of that. Now I want to try the risotto cacciatore that’s in the December issue of the magazine.

P.S. Half the recipe calls for 1/2 cup of arborio rice. It may not look like it will be enough, but it made plenty. I didn't think it was enough so I put in 3/4 cup. Of course, it soaks up all that liquid and expands, and it would have been fine with the original amount.

Chicken Francese with Lemon and Wine

I still have a bunch of lemons and have been looking at recipes to use them. I love chicken piccata but the last recipe I tried (from Penzey’s One) had a ton of butter in it. It tasted good, naturally, but I didn’t feel good eating it. This recipe from Rachael’s "365" cookbook sounded promising. It’s not exactly a piccata and not exactly francese, a little bit of both.

I used chicken thighs instead of breasts, and pounded them out thin. Then they are dredged in flour, dipped in egg, and then pan fried. I added a tiny minced clove of garlic and mushrooms to the sauce, and used chicken broth instead of wine. Everything went on top of some egg noodles.

The chicken was moist and the sauce had lots of flavor. The egg coating added a rich taste to the chicken. And even though it has butter in it, I felt good eating it, it was very light-tasting. As Rachael would say, "You could certainly entertain with this dish" - it was pretty on the plate, I thought.

It took me about 45 minutes to prepare. I did a mise en place this time, since everything comes together quickly in the end. It saved a lot of frantic scurrying to get ingredients ready while something was cooking. Everything was chopped, pounded, sliced, and ready to go. I think that’s why Rachael is able to do her 30 minute meals, so gets everything as prepared as possible beforehand.

She is coming to Dallas next week for a booksigning at Borders. I don’t think I will be able to attend. The tour schedule is online at http://www.rachaelray.com/bookTour.html. She’ll be in cities from Boston to Seattle, and every town in between. I wish she were signing books somewhere closer to me but she is only doing Dallas and Houston. I’d love to hear how it goes if anyone gets to attend in their area.

Baking with Rachael and Paula

I was disappointed that on Rachael’s "Thanksgiving in 60 II" she didn’t bake the pecan pie, since there was a recipe in the November magazine. But…she made up for it by baking last week on her talk show. Personally I have to measure ingredients because I tend to underestimate when I eyeball things.

Anyway, yesterday I baked a lemon meringue pie with lemons we brought back from CA. For the crust I followed Rachael’s recipe that went along with the pecan pie. It was easy to put together, no cutting in shortening with a pastry blender. Her recipe has 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil, and 3 tablespoons of milk. I found a similar recipe in Joy of Cooking that recommends this sort of crust for pies that don’t require baking the filling in it for a long time, since the oil gives it a strong flavor. (I didn’t think it tasted bad, just different.) Joy also says you can pat the crust in the pan, which is even easier (I rolled mine out). I blind-baked it for about 14 minutes at 425° F.

For the pie, I used Paula’s recipe from Lady & Sons Too. It’s a typical lemon meringue pie, except for the order in which you mix together the filling. Her recipe calls for mixing in the lemon juice & rind at the very end. Most other recipes, you mix it in and cook it with the rest of the ingredients.

The lemons were not very tart so the filling didn’t have a strong lemon flavor. I like how the meringue topping came out. For the filling, I think next time I’ll add the lemon juice & zest earlier and cook it all together, maybe it won’t be as soggy that way. I was surprised Paula’s recipe only called for a tablespoon of butter, I think Joy’s recipe has four tablespoons. I felt like something was missing, I’m not sure if the butter made that much of a difference or if it needed more lemon zest. It tasted like lemon meringue pie! I guess what was disappointing was that it wasn’t anything outstanding, just OK.

Ravioli Lasagna

Last shopping trip, I had the ingredients for lasagna in my cart until I remembered Rachael’s Ravioli Lasagna, that was featured on the Rachael Ray Show. Anything that tastes like lasagna without the hassle sounds good to me, so I went around the store again and swapped a few things out (put back the ricotta and picked up cheese ravioli, etc.).

I substituted sweet Italian turkey sausage and a package of Boca crumbles for the mixture of beef, pork & veal (Don didn’t know until I told him). And I halved the recipe but still used a whole can of tomato sauce, and added extra cheeses (mozzarella and asiago). When I tasted the sauce it had that "missing something" taste so I added some fresh sage and Italian seasonings, in addition to the fresh basil.

I thought it tasted better this way, in a casserole, vs. cooking ravioli and spooning sauce on top. The flavors mixed together. I’m not very organized so it took me about an hour to throw this together. I think it would have taken me just as long to make a regular lasagna. On the other hand, there were fewer dishes to clean up.

One comment I have is that I used about 2/3 of a package of ravioli, for half the recipe (which calls for 3 family size packages). That was more than plenty. I'd go by eyeballing the amount rather than a particular quantity stated in the recipe.

Another keeper!

Pantry

Today's Sunday paper had a ton of coupons for Thanksgiving-related products, that are on Rachael's pantry list. Things like chicken stock, canned tomatoes, flour, sugar - real basic kitchen essentials. It inspired me to try to organize my pantry and stock it a little better. Right now quite a few of the items are on sale for the holidays too.

Rachael is everywhere! Her picture was also on the cover of the TV listings in the Dallas Morning News today. At the grocery store, there is a sort of "flag" with her picture in the cracker aisle, for Triscuits and Wheat Thins.

Oh, and in the coupon section, there's a coupon for those kinds of crackers, along with an offer for her "Express Lane" cookbook (only $4.99 plus product purchases).

I'm horrible at keeping a well-stocked pantry. There's lots of cans & boxes in there but I still have a hard time coming up with something to make for dinner on a whim. My other problem is that I'll buy something and not use it and by the time I think about it again, the expiration date has come and gone. I guess that'll be one of my New Year's Resolutions, to maintain a better pantry.

Fish Stick Po'Boys

The other day I made this sandwich from the MP of the October issue of "Every Day With Rachael Ray." I only had a few fishsticks left, not enough to serve for dinner, so it was a good way to use up a small bit. There were no surprises here, it tasted like what you would expect…I mean that in a good way. I put spicy mayo on it like the recipe said, but I like relish too so I added a small squirt of tartar sauce. That gave it more of a Filet-o-fish flavor. Tomatoes would have been good, as in the recipe, but they are out of season and they want a small fortune ($2.89 a pound!) for them right now.

I’m looking forward to tomorrow for Rachael’s "Thanksgiving in 60 II" on the Food Network. I just finished watching "Day to Day With Rachael Ray" - and thought what was that all about?!? While I enjoyed it, I kept wondering what does this have to do with food and cooking. There's also "Iron Chef" on Sunday with Ray vs. DeLaurentiis. Can't wait to see that!

Rachael’s new cookbook "2,4,6,8" is out now. I’m anxious to hear how others like it. We are not big eaters so even though I scale down her recipes, they still make a lot. This sounds like a cookbook more suited to my family’s eating habits.

Be Nice

This week Manilow fans have been treated to a MMF (Manilow Media Frenzy), with Barry doing the talk show circuit to promote his current release, "Greatest Songs of the Sixties." Rachael did a great job interviewing him, even admitting she was so excited she had to write down notes so she wouldn’t get flustered.

One of Barry’s mantras is "Be Nice." Unfortunately there were some not-so-nice comments made by Martha Stewart (directed towards Rachael ) when she had Barry on her own show. She was upset that Rachael’s show with Barry apparently was originally scheduled to air Friday, while Martha’s show (live) was on Thursday, but the schedule was changed such that they both aired at the same time in the New York area. I thought the whole thing made Martha come across as petty and mean. The shows are not on simultaneously everywhere!

There’s more about in some articles online:
Martha Stewart and Rachael Ray Feud...Over Barry Manilow!, Martha Bitchslaps Rachael Over Barry and Rachael, Martha Split Barry

Anyway, I loved seeing how much Rachael was enjoying Barry’s performance, especially when he was crooning directly to her. She looked like she was going to melt and explode all at the same time.

If you liked what you saw on Rachael’s show, and are even thinking of buying the album, think about buying it now! Barry’s fan club is trying to get this one to chart at #1 just as his "Greatest Songs of the Fifties" did earlier this year. We have until Saturday night (tomorrow) for our purchases to count. It’s on sale this week a stores such as Target (which has an exclusive Dual Disc version), and Walmart (which has an exclusive bonus download plus a free year’s membership to the fan club). Or if you don't have time to run to the store, you can get it for only $9.72 at Amazon.com.

By the way, I had wanted to be at the taping of this episode, and even got a phone call from the Rachael Ray Show, for a brief interview. I guess I didn’t come across as the fanilow they were looking for, but it was fun anyway.

Go buy the CD! "Greatest Songs of the Sixties" You won’t be disappointed.

Barry Manilow on the Rachael Ray Show today!

According to the Manilow Hotline...

..." see Barry perform "CAN'T TAKE MY EYES OFF YOU" and "WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE" on THE RACHAEL RAY SHOW (ABC)!"

Check your local listings for air times!

Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes

Today I wanted to bake something but didn’t want to deal with cookies or pie, this was kind of in between. It’s from Paula Deen’s "Desserts" cookbook, one of the variations of Ooey Gooey Butter Cakes. I used spice cake mix, and followed the recipe for pumpkin. I read the reviews on FoodNetwork.com but I’ve become skeptical of the opinions. I do think it is a good place to get practical tips (learn "things to do next time" before you make the dish). Most of the positive reviews went along the lines of these cookies replacing pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. I thought the bars were good but I think I’d still want the "real thing." It’s kind of a cross between pie and a cookie and a cheesecake, all in one. The spice cake flavor was good but a little overpowering. (Paula mentioned using yellow cake mix too.) Next time I think I'll try adding less pumpkin too, so that the cream cheese flavor stands out more.

I was reading Rachael’s November magazine and saw that she has a "Thanksgiving in 60 II" coming up. I’m looking forward to that and seeing what some of the dishes look like on TV. I like her magazine, that it has lots of pictures. I’m one of those people that likes cookbooks that have photos of every dish.

Turkey Burgers

This was my version of the New England Turkey Burger with the Works, from the October 2006 issue of Every Day With Rachael Ray. Basically I tried to follow the recipe, using what I had on hand. For the burger, I had bought a box of Jenni-O turkey burger patties. Since they were pre-formed, I couldn’t add the apple but I sprinkled a little poultry seasoning on top. For the topping, I didn’t have green onions so I put some chopped regular onion on top along with some homemade cranberry sauce. I love Thanksgiving leftovers and this sort of reminded me of that. I’ll definitely be making this again, especially since I have 11 turkey burgers left in the freezer! It was one of those days when a bargain is not really a bargain if you are stuck with more than you want. I usually eat Boca Burgers but got tired of them, and was looking for a change. Next time I’ll try grilling or pan frying the burger. I had used the sizzle pan in the microwave and you can see that the patty turned out anemic-looking, even though it was cooked through. The apple part sounds good, I’ll probably mix some in with the cranberry sauce instead of with the meat.

There was another article about Paula Deen in the Wall Street Journal on Saturday! The topic was restaurants and celebrity chefs. The journalist was disappointed because after the long wait in line, he felt he could have gotten a better meal at another restaurant. Some of the charm had been lost when the restaurant was expanded from 85 seats to the bigger version (I can’t remember the exact figure, I want to think it is 350 seats). If/when I make a trip to Savannah, I still would like to try her restaurant, just to say I’ve been there.

Baked Potatoes

We’ve finally had some cooler weather, which for me, translates into baking. Last night I made a pork loin roast (in a Romertopf clay pot), and Guy Fieri’s (he won the Next Food Network Star and his show is called "Guy's Big Bite") "The Bomb Bakers" baked potatoes. His recipe calls for brining the potatoes for 2-8 hours in a 1:8 solution of salt water. It’s supposed to make the potatoes crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. I’ve never been able to get baked potatoes to turn out like they do in a restaurant, so I wanted to give this a try. The recipe says not to puncture the potatoes but I read online that people had problems with their potatoes "bombing" (popping) in the oven. I pierced mine with a fork, which may be why they were a little dry inside. The skin did get crispy, but I think I’ll go back to my method of greasing the outside with a little butter, and add Guy’s touch of seasoning the outside as well.

For the pork roast, I followed the basics in "Joy of Cooking" and added the Rachael touch of a little Montreal grill seasoning, fresh sage and garlic. I normally have the world’s worst memory when it comes to remembering to put fresh herbs on things. Rachael repeats tips a lot, like using fresh herbs, microwaving a lemon for 10 seconds, and seasoning pasta water, and I think that’s what helped me to remember this time.

The other recipes I’ve tried lately include Rachael’s "Super Sloppy Joe’s" and Ellie Krieger’s ginger hot chocolate. Instead of tomato sauce for the sloppy joe’s, I used chili sauce (which was in the recipe on the package of ground turkey). It kind of turned out a little on the sweet side, maybe Rachael’s tomato sauce would have been better. It was still a lot better than Manwiches. I remember eating those when I was a kid and liking them, and awhile back we tried some but I guess over the years the taste memories change, and they were not as good as I remembered.

The ginger hot chocolate sounded good but I didn’t care for it. Some people probably love it, and even though I like ginger, I didn’t like the combination with chocolate. My own version that I make, which is not a healthy recipe, is to heat up some milk, stir in a spoonful of peanut butter and a packet of Nestle’s hot chocolate, then put some mini marshmallows on top. (I found that recipe on the packet of hot chocolate.)

I've been watching some of the new Food Network shows. I like "Nigella Feasts" a lot, especially the English words she uses that sound so charming compared to American English. My favorite part so far has been when she licks the spoon from chocolate pudding, and says, "Don't tell me you wouldn't." As for "Paula's Party," I like the girl-talk chat and the cooking, but find myself cringing when she overdoes the saucy part. Last week when she was licking the spoon with the audience member, well, I thought that was one of the most disgusting, low class things I've seen on the Food Network. My favorite new show is Bobby Flay's "Throwdown" - somewhere I read it was like "Three's Company" with the two test kitchen chefs, and that's a good description. Those two girls aren't afraid to say anything to keep him in line, it's cute!

Way to go, Rachael!

I kind of feel like I missed the opportunity to give my first impression of the "Rachael Ray Show." I was going to list the things that I like and the things I don’t like, but after reading some articles online, that has already been done. Rachael is everywhere!…on TV, in the paper, and of course, analyzed all over the place online. After watching the first episode, I almost felt speechless, there was so much going on. The new set, Rachael in front of an audience, the 60 second snack and 7 minute meal, the videos and testimonials, and of course, all the screaming. It seemed to slow down a little bit on the second day, when Oprah was there and Rachael was showing her around the set and explaining the different areas. I understand now the initial visual assault and fast & frenetic pace, I’m sure they wanted to hook viewers on the first day. I thought the garage where the bands will play was too cute. In the back of my mind, I was hoping that someday she’ll have Barry Manilow as a guest, but I just can’t picture him as the grunge singer in the garage.

After three episodes, Rachael seems to have adapted to interacting with and speaking in front of a crowd. The first day she was constantly shouting, and now she has "found her voice." The kids yesterday were so adorable, especially the little girl! I’m kind of disappointed that a lot of the recipes have already been in the magazine. The good part, though, is that I won’t have to go online to look them up. I guess that's the trend, to have online tie-ins. I noticed that with the CBS Evening News with Katie Couric, there is a lot that they encourage viewers to pursue on the website, for more information and/or details. I live in the country where DSL is not available. Even though I have internet access, the bandwidth-heavy material is not anything I have the patience to wait for. I’ll have to look up the "pizz-o" recipe, that looked easy and delicious, and something different than regular pizza.

Anyway, I’m definitely on Rachael overload (that's good, not bad!). Part of me feels "possessive" of her, I felt like she was "ours" on the Food Network and now she has a whole new audience with her talk show. Of course I wish her all the success in the world, and this is such a great opportunity for her to get exposed to the mainstream public. Her down-to-earth personality comes through, for example, when she sat down in the kitchen with a cup of coffee. She’s everybody’s friend.

I hope she finds her own voice once she is more comfortable with her show. I recognized bits & pieces from other shows, like the phrase "in the house" from "Emeril Live," and her "favorite things" like Oprah does. By the way, this is the first talk show that I’ve watched regularly. I’ve seen a bunch of them but mostly in the context that Barry Manilow was doing some promotional appearance.

I’ve enjoyed seeing more of the personal side of Rachael, on her own promotional appearances, such as "Larry King Live." The segment where she took him shopping was adorable. Some of his questions were off-the-wall but I thought she handled them well, answered them intelligently vs. giving a beauty queen superficial and tangential answer.

Overall, I give the show a thumbs up. It’s such a pick-me-up and I catch myself smiling while I’m watching it. It seems the sort of show that if I’m feeling down, I know that after an hour I’ll be feeling better. I'm looking forward to seeing what the Food Network comes up with for Paula Deen's new show.

Reading List - Part Two

Today I got a bunch of magazines in the mail, now I have a big pile to read (I just love the anticipation of having that much to read!). On the other hand, there are many times when I don’t know what I want to have for dinner! "Gourmet" and "Penzey’s One" are both coming up for renewal. I’m probably not going to renew Penzey’s and am still thinking about "Gourmet." It’s not that I haven’t enjoyed Penzey’s, I just want to try something new. I’d previously subscribed to and enjoyed both "Cooking Light" and "Everyday Food" - but I never really cooked much from either of them. I asked Anna from Cookie Madness what magazines she likes, and she had positive things to say about "Eating Well," so that’s what I’m leaning towards.

These are the magazines that I currently subscribe to:

"Gourmet" - I consider almost the industry standard for food magazines. I loved their fiction supplement they had this summer, I wish more of their magazine was like that. Then the next issue was their 65th anniversary with a rehash of old stories, which was a letdown. I miss Laurie Colwin’s writing. I enjoy Jane & Michael Stern’s articles about "Roadfood" as well as anything Anthony Bourdain writes.

"Saveur" - what I like about it is that it is more of a travel magazine, like National Geographic for food. Lately some of the places they’ve written about are not really anywhere I want to visit so the interest was not there. I used to enjoy every issue but nowadays it is more hit or miss. I also used to try more of the recipes, like pecan pie and peach cobblers, now the foods are more exotic and nothing I would ever consider cooking (for example, water buffalo yogurt panna cotta).

"Every Day With Rachael Ray" - what I like about the magazine, more than the cookbooks, is that there are photos of lots of the dishes. It’s an entertaining magazine, more "fluff" than "Gourmet" but way fun to read. I especially enjoy the celebrity revelations that are different from the standard interviews - what’s in so-and-so’s refrigerator, and what people eat during the course of a day (and subsequently what their daily routine entails). What I don’t like is the "faves" items that are more expensive than anything I’d want to buy (boots for $375 and jeans for $210). I saw Rachael on Larry King Live last night, and she was talking about how none of her cookbooks cost more than $20 - less than a CD. I’d like to see more budget-minded things in the magazine like that. Her unpretentiousness is what drew me in to watch her shows in the early days. Don flipped through the latest issue and said they should call it "Rachael's Family and Friends" since that is mostly what it's about. I’m still thinking about what to say about her new TV show (which premiered yesterday). I enjoyed it but it's hard to think about saying either "love it" or "hate it" based on just one episode. The absolute worst part has nothing to do with the show, it’s the local TV station! Every single commercial break has a commercial for an ambulance-chasing attorney or big law firm. I’m not kidding, there were probably 10 commercials for law firms during the entire show. Thank goodness for DVR’s.

"Penzey’s One" - I don’t remember how I started getting their catalog (probably an article in the San Francisco Chronicle), back in the days when it was on newsprint with no photos. Their recipes and anecdotes make it as much fun to read as a magazine. So then they came out with a magazine, with photos and profiles of regular people. I like the magazine, the recipes seem down-to-earth and surprisingly I enjoy reading about people I don’t even know. What bothers me about this magazine is their political opinions. It’s not even so much the opinions either. I know everyone has a right to free speech and I respect the differing thoughts, and I read these types of things in the newspaper, it’s just that this is not what I want to read in a food magazine. (But that’s just my opinion, I’m sure there are folks out there who are looking for exactly that.) I love Penzey’s spices, the catalog is informative in regards to ideas on what to use them for.

"Kraft Food & Family" - this magazine is free! It’s pretty much all advertisement for Kraft food products, but it is full of ideas on how to use them, simple ideas for things like sandwiches, and mix-and-match charts for dishes like pasta & veggies, or grilled sandwiches, or even pudding pies. I did decide on what to have for dinner, I made the Country Salisbury Steak, that has hamburger and Stove Top stuffing instead of breadcrumbs, and a barbecue sauce gravy. The recipe seemed lacking a little in seasoning so I "Rachaelized" it by adding Worcestershire sauce and Grill Seasoning. Not exactly gourmet but it hit the spot. Yum-o.

Reading List

Sometimes you marvel at the thought of the people you know, because of a path you took sometime in your life. At least I do. I think about the people I more than likely, never would have met, if I’d never turned on the TV in 1977 and watched "The First Barry Manilow Special." I know it sounds kind of corny, but you'd be amazed at the places I've been, people I've met, etc. because of Barry Manilow.

One person in particular is Dylan Schaffer, who became initiated into the world of Manilow fans with his two critically acclaimed books, "Misdemeanor Man" and "I Right the Wrongs." He enlisted the help of other local Barry Manilow fan clubs, to help generate publicity for them. Many of us had the chance to meet him at his booksigning he had in Las Vegas in 2004, which coincided with Barry’s "One Night Live" performance.

Mr. Schaffer has a new book which will be in bookstores shortly and is available for pre-order online. It’s called "Life, Death & Bialys: A Father/Son Baking Story." He writes about the story of a week-long baking class he took with his dad, who was then terminally ill. Check out his website for more information about the book, appearances, a bialys recipe, and more.

When it gets cool enough to bake around here, I’ll definitely give the recipe a try.

I’m accumulating a list of books to read. Here’s what I have so far:

• Life, Death & Bialys: A Father/Son Baking Story by Dylan Schaffer
• Heat: An Amateur's Adventures as Kitchen Slave, Line Cook, Pasta-Maker, and Apprentice to a Dante-Quoting Butcher in Tuscany by Bill Buford
• The Nasty Bits by Anthony Bourdain
• Words in a French Life by Kristin Espinasse
• Two for the Road: Our Love Affair with American Food by Jane and Michael Stern
• My Life in France by Julia Child
• The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Towards Perfection by Michael Ruhlman
• The Making of a Chef: Mastering Heat at the Culinary Institute by Michael Ruhlman
• The Reach of a Chef: Beyond the Kitchen by Michael Ruhlman
  (I read "Soul" many years ago and want to read his new book, so I might as well start at the beginning again and read everything in chronological order.)
  

How cool is that?!

Last night at the 2006 Emmy Awards, Barry Manilow won Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program for his role on "Barry Manilow: Music and Passion."

Barry is what brought Debbie and me together, and we've been friends for something like 23 years. We were co-directors of the San Francisco Barry Manilow Fan Club, as well as running our own local chapters (when we weren't living in the same area).

To tie him in to the food theme, he recently did an interview on KMXB radio in Las Vegas, talking about his arthroscopic hip surgery he is having today. The DJ's were joking with him that "his people" would be doing everything for him, and Barry emphatically said, "I make my own breakfast!!". He said he has cereal (Raisin Bran), coffee and a bagel.

Congratulations, Barry, and best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Awesome!

Congratulations to Rachael for her nomination in the cooking category, of the second annual Quill Awards.

Here's are the nominees in the Cooking category:

Heat, Bill Buford
Julie & Julia, Julie Powell
My Life in France, Julia Child
Rachael Ray 365: No Repeats, Rachael Ray
Silver Spoon, Phaidon Press Editors

You can vote online through September 30th.

Recipe #252 - Croque Monsieur

Tonight we had grilled ham and cheese sandwiches for dinner. I've been wanting to get more back on track with cooking Rachael's recipes, and I remembered her croque monsieur sandwiches from TV. The recipe is in her "365" book. I used some leftover mornay sauce from the Bobby Flay breakfast sandwiches, the sauce is very similar to the bechamel in Rachael’s recipe. I put marbled colby jack cheese on it instead of swiss/gruyere. So, the sandwich was pretty much sauce, cheese, ham, and the bread spread with butter and grated cheese on the outside. I love how the outside turned all crunchy from the cheese. It added lots of flavor. Next time I’ll add more sauce. I’d put on a thick schmear but when the sandwich heated up, it kind of melted into the bread. It made the sandwich moist without being greasy, very rich tasting. The recipe in the "Gourmet" cookbook is similar but they put more sauce on the outside of the sandwich and ran it under the broiler. I had a sandwich more like that, at La Madeleine in Dallas, and while it was good, it was almost too decadent and rich. I like Rachael’s cheese-crusted version better! Don just came in and asked me how many calories I thought the sandwich had. He put mayonnaise on his as well, so I told him his probably had at least 1000. I still feel that what we cook at home is better and better for you than what you would get at a restaurant.

Paula Deen in the Wall Street Journal

Wednesday’s Wall Street Journal included an article about Paula Deen! The article’s title is "As Stars Lose Spice, Food Network Bets on Sassy Southerner." Mostly it is about the Food Network’s attempt to "augment fading stars, fend off competition from rival networks and attract a younger audience." Paula will have a new show called "Paula’s Party" that airs on September 29th. She also has a new cookbook coming out October 10th (Paula Deen Celebrates) and is writing her memoir, to be published in April. Her magazine was also mentioned briefly.

According to the article, some of the originally highly watched programs ("Emeril Live" and "Food Nation with Bobby Flay" - to mention two) have seen a drop in ratings. Yet Paula’s evening specials have drawn great ratings. Furthermore, other networks are venturing into the food territory with their own shows.

I can’t help but wonder if this is the Food Network’s response to Rachael’s new talk show, to have one of their own, with Paula.

I’ve been enjoying the new shows they’ve started this summer ("Road Tasted," "Feasting on Asphalt" and "Throwdown with Bobby Flay") - they all have that spunk that got me hooked on the Food Network in the first place.

Speaking of other networks, I watched "Anthony Bourdain in Beirut" on the Travel Channel, and thought it was a great piece of journalism. What I liked the most was seeing the events going on there, from his point of view, not just what we are fed in the media by reporters. He conveyed how everyone was feeling and what they saw. I'm not sure if I would go so far as to say it was worthy of an Emmy, but I do think the episode should qualify for some sort of journalistic award.

B, L & D

Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever made any Bobby Flay recipes, partly because I’m not all that much of a meat person. Recently he made some breakfast sandwiches that looked more like something Rachael would make, but with an Iron Chef’s touch.

For breakfast, I made his scrambled sandwich with cream gravy. The original recipe calls for sausage, and the browned bits & fat are poured into the cream gravy. I used Canadian bacon instead. I didn’t print out the recipe and because of that, forgot to put in fresh sage at the end. (I was mad at myself for forgetting, since I actually had some sage to throw in there.) I’m sure it would’ve given it a "gourmet" flavor. I love breakfast sandwiches, especially homemade ones, since you are in control of the grease. Don made his with a fried egg instead of scrambled. He surprised me by putting the gravy on his too. He proclaimed it "pretty good," which is a high mark on his rating system. The gravy part (basically a bechamel sauce) reminded me of Rachael’s Croque Monsieur recipe that has a similar sauce. I have a feeling her sandwich would be good too, although I have to admit that I never tried it since the way she described it didn't sound good (describing the sauce as "glue").

For lunch, I tried Bobby’s nutella & banana sandwich. The bread is pan-fried cinnamon toast, then you put it sugar side down, spread nutella on it, and sliced bananas. My toast turned out sticky (although it hardened after it cooled a little) so I put mine sugar side up. Instead of bananas I put leftover cream cheese frosting. There’s a bite taken out of my toast in the photo because Don sampled the bread while I was putting this all together. The bread is from the King Arthur Flour website, it’s "Harvest Bread" and has sweet potatoes, cinnamon, raisins, and whole wheat flour, it’s very good. Anyway, this was a good sandwich too, or would make a good dessert. Very indulgent and over-the-top.

The "D" here refers to "Dessert." Ellie Krieger made carrot cake cupcakes on Saturday’s show. What I liked about her recipe is that it doesn’t have tons of oil like most carrot cake or zucchini bread recipes do. I made half a batch which yielded 6 cupcakes, and it only required 2 tablespoons of oil. The cupcakes were very moist, I’m sure the applsauce helped. The frosting was very cream cheese-ey, since it was only cream cheese and powdered sugar, and most recipes for that sort of frosting call for butter (which would dilute the flavor some). Don didn’t like the frosting but liked the cupcakes. I liked the whole thing. I did feel that it was missing something, though. I had read the reviews and someone had suggested raisiins, so I did throw some in with my batter. Maybe it was missing pineapple or coconut. These sorts of cakes always taste better the second day and I haven’t tried them yet today, to see if the flavors have blended a little more.

Oh, my favorite Anthony Bourdain made a Barry Manilow reference on his "No Reservations" show! He was in Vegas, and made the comment that "If you hit Barry Manilow’s face with a drumstick, it gives a sound much like a snare drum." Poor Barry. Tony seems to have no mercy when it comes to other celebrities, though. On the other hand, I was watching "Feasting on Asphalt" and while cooking breakfast in someone’s RV, Alton Brown was going through their spice cabinet and came across a jar of Emeril’s Essence. His reaction was hilarious, but he made it fun by doing the "Bam" thing, in a good-hearted way. As opposed to Tony, who would have gone on a rambling tirade about Emeril.

Chili-Rubbed Steak Tacos

Between me and my husband, I’m definitely the more adventurous eater. Not in terms of trying exotic foods, rather trying something different. Don has his favorites and doesn't like to change the menu or the recipe. The regular tacos I make, I take chuck roast and put it in the crock pot with some taco mix, salsa, and onions, then cook it until the meat shreds easily. I wanted something more like fajitas so this recipe from Ellie Krieger looked good to me.

I wasn’t too sure about how the cinnamon would taste so I only put half the amount called for. I looked at the spices for fajitas in another cookbook I have, called the "Tex-Mex Cookbook," and they all pretty much have chili powder, garlic and salt. Ellie’s recipe doesn’t say what temperature or how hot a grill to cook the meat on, so Don set it at 350.

I liked it, thought it would be better cooked at a higher temperature so the outside is more crispy. I didn’t much care for the cinnamon. Maybe because I knew it was in there, I was more aware of the flavor. I already had pre-made guacamole so I didn’t make the Avocado Lime Salsa, but I did chop up some cucumber - that was surprisingly good.

Don didn’t like it, my heart fell when he said, "I like regular tacos better. Don’t ever make this again." It can be frustrating cooking for a picky eater!!! Arrrgh.

Changing the subject, I just finished the audiobook for "Julie and Julia." It seemed a little different than the blog (which I’ve only skimmed through). I had read reviews saying there was too much drinking and swearing, and although there were both in the book, I wouldn’t have paid attention to it. There’s way more drinking and swearing in say, Robert DeNiro movies. I loved how Julie Powell’s personality seemed to come through, especially with the audiobook, since she read it herself.

When she talked about hearing Julia Child’s comments about her blog, that reminded me of how I think Barry Manilow must think of me. He goes on in his life and "fan club" must seem like an annoying mosquito buzzing around him that he can’t ignore. Yet I’ve spent a lot of time and effort and years keeping the local club going. Just like Julie had kept her blog going, only to find out that Julia was not exactly what you would call an admirer. Anyway - I do wish him well with his upcoming bilateral hip surgery he is having in a few weeks. And I hope he wins that Emmy!

Triple Chocolate Cookies

These looked good on TV, on Ellie Krieger’s "Healthy Appetites." I think a lot of what she cooks both sound and look more appetizing because of how she describes things. For example, these cookies were on an episode about ingredients that were once bad for you, that are now considered good. She brings up chocolate, and how the flavenoids "sweep away the toxins." It makes chocolate sound downright healthy. Don was watching with me, and she went on about wine and how men can have 2 glasses a day, women are allowed 1. Next thing you know he is opening up a bottle of wine. Mighty is the power of suggestion.

Anyway, half the fat in these cookies is from butter, the other half from canola oil. I used that Smart Balance oil that is a combination of canola, soy and olive. I don’t have whole wheat pastry flour so I used regular whole wheat.

I baked them in my toaster oven and they got too burned on the bottom, but I'm sure they'd be better in a regular oven. It's just too darn hot right now. They were good, more cakey than brownie-like. I was wondering how they'd turn out because the only leavening in them is egg, no baking powder or soda. I only made 6, like Ellie did, and rolled the rest of the dough into two small logs (I figure each log will make a dozen cookies), and put them in the freezer. Next time it’s cool enough to bake I’ll make some more, or I might try my microwave that has a halogen light for browning.

The cookies were tasty, not overpowering on the chocolate, just the right balance. She mentioned taking them out even though they don’t look done, and I think that’s an important point, otherwise they will be too dry. I’ll definitely be making these again. I like that the whole recipe makes only 2 dozen, it’s small enough to throw together a small batch. Sometimes I make a bunch of cookies and freeze them. These are the kind that are good still warm from the oven, all ooey gooey.

Meatballs with Sage

Earlier this week Rachael made a cheese menu with veal meatballs & sage, with a gorgonzola walnut sauce. She suggested substituting chicken for the veal. For dinner last night, I had some turkey (still poultry) meatballs I had frozen, so I chopped up some fresh sage and mixed it in. Don said he doesn’t like gorgonzola so I made a cream of celery sauce instead (can of Campbell’s with half a can of water). The moment I started chopping the sage, it smelled like Thanksgiving. I had about 15 meatballs and put in 6 chopped sage leaves. It was a little strong. The herb sure perked up the meatballs, they were really good. It would go well in a meatloaf too.

I also pan fried a couple of sage leaves for garnish, I’d seen that in a magazine or on TV somewhere. That didn’t taste as good on its own but it looked nice.

Since I didn't make the cheese sauce, I served everything on brown basmati rice. Don, who has endured all of my cooking experiments, was saying the other day that he thinks with Rachael's recipes you definitely have to adjust the recipes to ingredients you like. I'm kind of torn. I agree to a certain extent, except how do you know if a recipe is good unless you try it at face value. That's how you discover things you don't know you might like.

Portland

We just got back from a trip to Portland, OR. I was excited because the latest "Every Day" Rachael magazine featured the city, plus the "Tasty Travels" episode had just been on TV. To be honest there wasn’t really any place I was enticed to go to, except for Moonstruck Chocolate Café. One restaurant sounded OK but when Rachael said the meal was under $30, that was more than I would want to spend.

In the end, I didn’t eat anywhere Rachael went, but I was able to stop by a few places. I went to the Chocolate Café on NW 23rd, supposedly it is popular also because of Oprah and the Academy Awards puts their truffles in their gift bags. I am a bonafide chocoholic but I could not bring myself to pay $3 for one piece of candy. There wasn’t anybody in the shop either.

On the way back to the hotel from dinner at a diner type restaurant (shrimp dinner for less than $9 - nothing fancy but it was rather more that you got what you paid for, I think it was called "Joe’s"), I saw "Anna Bananna’s" and vaguely remembered it from the show. The next day I checked it out, it looks like a coffee house, very comfortable inside, with places to sit and all kinds of newspapers. Our hotel had coffee and I’d had my quota already.

We stayed at the Inn at Northrup Station. It's a funky place in the Nob Hill section, the kind of place that seems like it would have been featured on the show. It's very clean, has a good continental breakfast, and has jars of taffy on the tables in the lobby. "Not Yo Mama's hotel" comes to mind, as far as the furniture goes. Definitely not your typical hotel decor.

While in Portland, there was a letter to the editor about a recent article in the Oregonian, about Rachael’s Portland "Tasty Travels" episode. Apparently people were disappointed that she did not go to what they thought were the primo places, they thought she went to the second-place spots. I found the original article online. It mentioned that one featured place, Valentine’s, was given an assignment of making a sandwich and a latte for the camera…except they didn’t have an espresso machine and couldn’t afford one and didn’t want one. Yet in the episode, the article goes on to say, "Valentine's did make the final cut billed in Ray voice-over as a place for lunch and . . . a latte. Yes, right after seeing the restaurant's signature brie and sauteed greens sandwich sizzle in a panini press (rating a "Yum-O!"), the camera magically transitioned to milk steaming in an espresso machine. ‘It's surreal,’ Bokros says of the virtual latte. This sleight-of-hand was only part of the strangest Portland restaurant piece ever, as mostly second- and third-tier places were hyped as stand-outs. (You wonder if all cities are this poorly chosen.) Ripe had closed, as producers knew, but the Ripe segment went on anyway, though the food looked terrific."

The "Hollywood magic" aspect of Rachael’s show was interesting to me, that what was on TV was not what reality is. So far I haven’t eaten at any place she has recommended, has anyone else? I did go to a restaurant in Austin that was shown (but not mentioned specifically) during the "Tasty Travel’s" for that city. I liked the food there, unfortunately can’t remember the name of it, it was very "California-ish" with healthy sandwiches on wheat bread, in an outdoor setting.

Anyway, we stopped by the Farmer’s Market, and they had all kinds of good-looking produce there. At the time it seemed expensive, but it turned out to be reasonable. Peaches were something like $1.99 a pound, and at Whole Foods around the corner, organic peaches were $4.99 a pound. I saw the Indian food cart around PSU that was shown in the magazine, and people were lined up for gyros and sausage sandwiches.

Great city! No trash on the roads. Businesses even are pet-friendly and have water bowls out on the sidewalk. Public transportation worked like a charm. I miss the West Coast soooo much.

Oven-Baked Corn Dogs

This was on TV not too long ago, from Rachael’s "365" cookbook. I’m all for anything that is a non-fried alternative to my favorite junk foods. I only made half the recipe, since the package of hotdogs I had came in two resealable packages. Rachael’s recipe (for the whole batch) calls for 2 boxes of Jiffy corn muffin mix and 1 ¼ to 1 1/3 cups of milk, plus oil and eggs, so for half the recipe (1 box) the milk required would be just over ½ a cup. The recipe for the muffins on the box calls for 1/3 cup of liquid, which is less. Unfortunately I threw everything into the bowl before I started mixing it up, I should have added the liquid gradually. The batter was a lot thinner than what was on TV, in fact, almost like pancake batter. I didn’t have another box of Jiffy mix to thicken the mess up so I added a small amount of cornmeal and flour. I didn’t want to mess with it too much for fear of throwing off the leavening. The batter still slid off the hotdogs into a puddle. I noticed that the remaining batter (incidentally there was enough for the whole package of hotdogs, even with the recipe halved) that had been sitting in the bowl for about 15 minutes, had thickened. If I were to make this again, I’d let it sit a little before dipping the hotdogs.

Anyway, my end result did not look anything like on TV or the photo in the cookbook. It still tasted good, though. I heated up a can of Hormel chili and put some of that on top like a sauce. The breading was tasty, I will have to remember to use the same seasonings for regular cornbread.

The Emeril cookbook I had given to my nephew had a similar oven-baked corn dog recipe, except he used one of those cast-iron muffin pans with the corn-shaped molds. That would have worked with this recipe too, and looked more appetizing.

I didn’t make the O&V slaw since Don doesn’t like cole slaw. Recently I had some broccoli slaw from a local deli, and it was even better than cabbage slaw. So instead I grated up two broccoli "stumps" I had in the refrigerator, and put some homemade cole slaw dressing on it (mayo, vinegar and sugar). I learned that the packaged broccoli slaw you see in the store is a good value! It took forever to peel the stems and grate them, and I only got about half a cup of shreds.

I got my "Every Day" magazine today. It’s so vibrant, it’s fun flipping through it. There’s a jazzed up s’more recipe in there that looks to-die for. I loved seeing what’s in Diane Sawyer’s fridge. I didn’t know she is a southern girl. She seems down-to-earth, even bringing her own lunch to work.

Pecan Pie Bars

My latest obsession is bar cookies, since they are so easy to throw together. This one is from Paula Deen’s "Too" cookbook. The crust is a cake mix mixture (cake mix, butter, egg), and the filling is basic pecan pie (a little of the cake mixture reserved, corn syrup, vanilla, egg, pecans). It looked like a pecan pie when it came out of the oven. The cakey crust gives it more of an ooey-gooey brownie texture. If you like pecan pie, you will like this cookie. I put a squirt of whipped cream on mine! Yum. We watched "The Matador" the other night and in one scene, they are eating pecan pie "naked" - that is, with no whipped cream. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference but for me, I hafta have it. Anyway, this would be a great cookie to take to a pot luck. It’s almost like a pecan pie that you can eat with your hands.

Speaking of Paula, I loved her "Paula’s European Vacation" that was on this past weekend. I’ve only been to Paris once, I’d love to go again. I think it is even more the mystique and glamour of it that appeals to me. When I was there I experienced some of the "snobbery" that you hear about (or to be fair, maybe it is just a difference in cultures). I loved seeing places to eat that weren’t Michelin Star restaurants for the rich and famous. I was crying at the end when her family surprised her. Debbie is so much like that, she is always thinking of her family even when she is away from them.

Crepe Quiche Lorraine

This is an Alton Brown recipe, that I saw on "Good Eats." I don’t watch his show regularly but when I do happen to see it, it’s so engrossing. The scientist in me likes how he has explanations for why things happen or why you add certain ingredients and in what order.
We had crepes last week and I had two leftover. What to do with them. For once I remembered a recipe I had filed away many months ago. Instead of using muffin tins, I used small casserole dishes, and used what vegetables I had on hand, plus some ham.

Don ended up doctoring his up with loads of cheese and salsa. We both liked it, especially the crepe "crust" that was not as heavy as regular pie crust. Unless I’m cooking for a crowd, I don’t think I will make regular quiche again, this was so much easier.

I’m looking forward to his upcoming new show later in the month. It looks like a "road" show where he’ll be in different places. Speaking of new shows, I was kind of disappointed with Guy’s second episode last weekend. The pasta dish looked like it tasted good but it looked like a heart attack on a plate. And everything was "key." Maybe he won’t be as manic once he settles in.

Chicken Sticks

Cooking with Rachael and Food Network Friends Ellie Krieger is my new fav foodnetwork chef. Diane turned me on to her and I bought her book and TIVO her show. She is all about low-fat, healthy eating and cooking. In her most recent episode she demonstrated how to walk into any store, including a convenience store, and come out with a healthy breakfast - granola bar, apple, low-fat milk. Stuff like this is extremely helpful with my dieting. Last night I made her version of chicken sticks. My granddaughter Rachel is visiting and I knew she'd eat these. First I cut up chicken breasts, then marinated the strips in low fat buttermilk. Then I rolled them in crushed up wheat cereal and baked them. Ellie said to bake them for 8 minutes at 400 degrees. That made me a little nervous, so I cooked them for twice as long. I served them with her honey mustard dip and a fruit salad and a southwest salad. Everyone liked them, even Rachel. I thought the buttermilk made them a little gooey and tangy tasting, a weird sensation. I'm not sure I'll make them again.

Vegan Oat Cookie

I got this recipe from the Cookie Madness blog. This is the blog of Anna - the winner of the last Pillsbury Cook-off. You've gotta love a woman who just won a million dollars but writes about trying to buy last minute discount airfares on priceline.com. Anyway, this cookie is a "vegan" cookie, I guess because it doesn't use any eggs. It caught my eye because it uses mashed bananas and I always have ripe bananas lying around. Everyone who commented on the cookie raved about how good it was. So I got up and made it for breakfast and it was incredibly good - not too sweet, moist, chewy, even my granddaughter (who hates when I add nuts) chowed down on them without mentioning the walnuts. Could be she didn't even taste them because of the oats. Here's a link to the recipe.

Everything Lo Mein

Tonight we had "Everything Lo Mein" which was on "30 Minute Meals" last night. I had a bit of leftover angel hair pasta, and for the rest of the veggies I used what I had on hand (mushrooms, broccoli, snap peas, green onions, garlic), plus leftover pork chop, and Morningstar Farms Veggie Steak Strips. Don insisted I include the egg too. Instead of scrambling it, I make it like a crepe and then slice it into ribbons, and I didn’t use nearly as much oil as Rachael did. I also threw in a few frozen pot stickers.

For the sauce, I went by Rachael’s recipe & proportions, and used 1 tbsp. (since it was not a whole batch) of hoisin sauce, 1 tbsp. of soy sauce, 1 tbsp. Water, a liberal squirt of Sriracha (instead of Tabasco) plus a dash of sesame oil and about half a teaspoon of chopped ginger. The sesame oil and ginger are, to me, key ingredients and add that "authentic" flavor.

Don had not been too keen on the recipe when I told him what we were having for dinner, but in the end he pronounced it "pretty good." I get burned out on salad so I liked that this was an alternative way to get my veggies.

Banana Bread

Cooking with Rachael and Food Network Friends I can't stand throwing away ripe bananas ... such an excellent source of potassium. I remembered that Paula Deen has a banana bread recipe in her cookbook, so made that. It made a light, bright yellowish bread, really delicious. I tried to serve it with cream cheese, but that made it too sweet. Butter worked much better, although it was so rich that you didn't really even need to add that.

Coconut Macaroons

This is a Paula Deen recipe, it caught my eye on TV because the egg whites were beaten so that the cookie batter was fluffy. Her recipe calls for almond extract but I used vanilla, and I threw in some mini chocolate chips instead of having to deal with dipping them in melted chocolate. I baked them in the toaster oven. They browned on the bottom faster than on top, you can see the one I turned over in the photo, that looks like a latke. Mine didn’t turn out as fluffy as Paula’s did, when I folded in the egg whites the batter kind of got deflated. I think my coconut was too old and dry, not moist enough, so it required more mixing and handling. Still tasted good, though.

I watched Guy’s show on Sunday, and enjoyed it. I want to try his tater tot recipe, and his grilled romaine salad looked good too. I’m sure he was nervous, sometimes he would "talk to himself" too much (I noticed that because I catch myself doing the same thing) and said "OK" a lot, but he managed to get his personality through. I didn’t like how grey and blah-looking the background of his kitchen is. And I was wondering if it is some legal thing that all Food Network folks have to emphasize hand-washing after handling meat. I know it’s a good thing to know and practice, but it seems like they almost "showcase" it.

Strawberry Cream Shortcake

The other day, Walmart had strawberries on sale for $1.50, so I bought a box. When I got home, Don’s sister had given me some too. We’ve been eating them with our cereal and still have a bunch. One of Paula’s cookbooks has a recipe for Strawberry Cream Shortcake. I had frozen a small piece of Tiger Cake (chocolate and vanilla swirled poundcake), and I used that instead of the Sara Lee poundcake that the recipe called for. I used half a 3.4 ounce box of pudding, which is 1/3 the amount in the recipe, and adjusted the other ingredients accordingly. Instead of putting it in one big dish, I assembled everything into 4 individual-size dishes. Don thought it looked fancy, like it was an elaborate dessert.

The cream part is similar to the banana pudding mixture, except there is no cream cheese. The texture is really rich. Both of us liked it but thought the chocolate flavor of the cake I used overpowered things a little. On the other hand, the cake was not too sweet and it balanced out the sweetness of the filling. (I think if you used an overly sweet cake, the whole thing would be too sugary.)

Since I made 4, we have 2 leftover for tomorrow…yum.

I guess it is the combination of both pack-rat and shopaholic genes, that I tend to accumulate a bunch of ingredients and overload my pantry, yet sometimes I can’t find anything to cook. Not too long ago I cleared out a bunch of stuff, and now I find I need to do it all over again. I’ve started a list of things that I put in my freezer, on an index card that I keep in a drawer next to the refrigerator, so I know what’s in there without having to open it up and poke around. In my kitchen, I have some hot links, Canadian bacon, arborio rice, Jello, hot dogs, ham hocks, ricotta cheese, provolone cheese, pasta, Panko bread crumbs, a can of Coco Loco, and a foil pouch of Chicken of the Sea Crab Meat, for starters. I’m too embarrassed to put a picture of my pantry on here because it is such a mess!

Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Cooking with Rachael and Friends I've been trying to follow a low fat diet so bought one of the lower fat cuts of pork - a pork shoulder tenderloin. I put it in the crockpot all day with a sauce that came from one of those envelope mixes. You mixed the seasonings in the packet with apple cider vinegar, ketchup and brown sugar, all non-fat and let it cook on low for 8 hours. When I got home from work, I shredded it with two forks and sprinkled some flour on the meat, then put it back in the sauce. The sandwiches came out excellently, we had them for dinner two nights in a row. Today my doctor put me on a carbohydrate lowering diet, which he's sending me in the mail. I have no idea what to eat now, but am supposed to be avoiding sugar and salt and taking flax seed and/or fish oil capsules. Once I receive the diet, I think I'll make an appointment with a nutritionist and find out how to eat from now on.

Toaster Oven

I bought a toaster oven today, I had a coupon for Bed Bath & Beyond for 20% off, which made it only $25. It’s in the 90’s here and too hot to bake. I’m thinking with the toaster oven I can make things like English muffin pizzas, small batches of cookies and muffins and banana bread, etc. I made some no-bake desserts like a fancy pudding that was really good. I used a boxed Jello pudding mix, followed the ingredients for pudding pie, put about 2/3 of it into dessert dishes. Then mixed in some Cool Whip with the rest of the pudding and put it on top, with some crushed Oreos in between. It tasted and looked like a glorified pudding. Tomorrow I’m going to make 1-2-3 Jello, which is Jello and Cool Whip mixed in a blender, and when it gels, it separates into layers.

Tortellini Salad

Last night I made Laura's Tortellini Salad for dinner. It's a chilled pasta salad, which I served on lettuce with hot bread. Laura is a friend of my daughters who lived with us for a year or two. Her recipe is to cook any kind of tortellini as the package instructs and then chill it, which I did. Then I mixed up some Italian dressing, about a cupful, with about 1/4 a cup of orange juice. I added a small drained can of sliced black olives, some shredded carrot and put it back in the fridge. While I finished setting the table, the tortellini puffed up and soaked up most of the dressing. I served it on lettuce and added a couple spoonfuls of fresh Italian dressing which reawakened the flavors. Mmmmm. Everyone agreed that it was easy, light and delicious. I used low-fat Italian dressing and whole wheat tortellini, to keep it healthy.

Gorilla Bread

I’ve been wanting to try this Paula Deen recipe for awhile now. It’s just been way too hot to turn on the oven. Debbie reminded me about using a crockpot to cook with and not heat up the kitchen, and that in turn reminded me that I have a bread machine that has a "bake" function. Instead of baking the bread in the oven I put all the little balls in the bread machine. It cooked it fine, aside from the sauce being a little too chewy.

Don did not like the cream cheese in the middle…at all. He pronounced "YUCK!!!" for this one. I was really disappointed, I guess I take it too personally when something doesn’t turn out well, especially if it takes some effort to put the dish together. I didn’t think it was bad, if you ate around the cream cheese. I think it would be better if the cream cheese had the sugar mixed in, or if the filling was something like apple chunks or chocolate chips.

I saw a commercial for Guy’s show next Saturday (6/25), "Guy’s Big Bite." I’m glad they didn’t go with that "Off the Hook" theme. I’m anxious to see what kind of "vibe" his show has.

Cucumber Kim Chee

I’ve been watching Anthony Bourdain’s "No Reservations" on the Travel Channel. It’s similar to his "Cook’s Tour" on the Food Network, and it’s even better because it's an hour vs. half an hour. My favorite parts are when he has meals in people’s homes, "real" food, with "real" people. Last week he was in Korea. They showed how kim chee is made. I’ve never tried it but have always wanted to. It didn’t sound all that appetizing on the show, though, with fish sauce and oysters to help ferment it.

Anyway, Carol gave me some cucumbers from her garden. Instead of the usual cucumber salad, I looked through a cookbook my aunt gave to me. It’s an Asian cookbook, the "community" style that Debbie had mentioned, put together by the Japanese American Services of the East Bay (JASEB). It's my favorite Asian cookbook. Whenever I want to put an Asian twist on something I'll see what goes into the dish, like teriyaki or wonton. Since it's by regular people (Asian-Americans living in America, cooking Asian food with what's available in the USA) and not chefs, there aren't too many complicated ingredients or procedures. There was a recipe for Cucumber Kim Chee in it, without any unappetizing ingredients.

I used the Benriner (it's an Asian mandolin slicer, my brother calls it the "finger slicer - I've always been intimidated by it) to slice the cucumber paper thin, salted it, poured hot water over the mess and let it sit 30 minutes, then drain. I put it all into a jar and covered it with a sauce of water, vinegar, sugar, sliced garlic, and chili powder. The next day, it looked like kim chee. It reminds me of tsukemono (the pickled cabbage you get at Japanese restaurants) with a kick. Yum. I think it’s an acquired taste, though. I’ve been missing California and good Japanese food, so this helped with the homesickness a little bit.

Coconut Pecan Bars

Cooking with Rachael and Friends I found an old cookbook at a thrift shop. It was one of those books put together by chuch ladies and published in 1968. That's the year I got married and started cooking. It's been a blast from the past - keeps requiring ingredients like oleo and Dream Whip. I made dessert from it tonight - Coconut Pecan Bars, as submitted by a Mrs. Jane Wilelms - because I happened to already have all the ingredients. Among other things, you add a cup of butter and 2 cups of brown sugar. It turned out really well - very moist and yummy. You were supposed to sprinkle powdered sugar on top but I didn't have any of that and it didn't really need it. I weighed in at Weight Watchers today - lost 3.6 lbs on my first week. Even with eating two of those PD Southern Sloppy Joes! Go figure!!!

Sloppy Joes

Cooking with Rachael and Friends This weekend I watched a burger episode of the Paula Deen show and she made the southern version of sloppy joes. I couldn't stop thinking about them, so ran out tonight and bought the ingredients. It was so quick & easy that I had dinner made by the time Kate finished putting the groceries away! I fried up some ground beef, added some flour, a can of french onion soup, spread some mustard on 4 slices of bread and put some cut up sweet onions on two of the slices. I scooped up the ground beef mixture on those pieces, put the other slices on top and * voila * two southern sloppy joe sandwiches! They were really good, we gobbled them right up, flirted briefly with the thought of having seconds, but decided to behave. Mmmm. Kate thought that the onion slices should have been fried up, but there are little bits of onion in the soup. I have to confess, the one item I thought we had for sure - mustard - we didn't. But we had dijon and it tasted mustardly enough. Very, very good for a quick, hearty dinner. Paula also made tuna burgers on that show and I bought the ingredients to make that too. I found the tuna burger recipe in one of her cookbooks but have only seen the sloppy joe recipe on TV. In another episode this weekend, she made fried doughnuts out of canned biscuits. I can't wait to try those!

Oatmeal with 'Nanas and PB

Once in awhile I like to "detox" and have things like salads, grains, drink lots of water, etc., especially after holiday weekends of ribs and banana pudding. For breakfast I tried Rachael’s recipe for "Oatmeal with ‘Nana’s and PB" from the June/July issue of "Every Day." Instead of instant oatmeal I cooked up a heart healthy portion size of Quaker Oats (3/4 cup oats). I had never thought about putting peanut butter into oatmeal but it was good. The only thing I didn’t like was that the raw bananas in the hot oatmeal kind of "cooked" and changed the flavor. Next time I’ll just put them on top.

This was an "Isaboo" recipe so I gave the taste-tester dogs a bite. It didn’t pass muster with them. They licked it and then looked around for something better on the plate, then walked away. I was kind of surprised because there isn’t much that they won’t eat. They’ve been spoiled lately with the bones from the ribs so maybe they are just being picky.

Taco Salad

Cooking with Rachael and Friends

We went to a Memorial Day Barbq at my daughter's house in Beaumont, CA. They had emailed an invitation to all their friends and had no idea how many to expect. So I made a huge taco salad and Paula Deen's Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding. The taco salad was based on one we had at a graduation party a week ago. It was so good and rather than ask for the recipe, Kate and I just sort of poked around at it and figured out what was in it and made our own version.

I cooked about 3 lbs of hamburger - one of those logs, and seasoned it with a dried packet of Taco Seasoning sauce mixed with water. Then I put the mixture into a small 1.5 qt crockpot to keep it warm. I drained a large can of kidney beans, a small can or corn and 2 small cans of sliced black olives. Into a big wooden bowl I put a bag of lettuce, added the drained beans/corn/olives and poured a 2 cup container of mild chunky salsa over it all. It's the kind of salsa where it looks watery and you can actually see chunks of tomato and onion in it. Right before we left the house I poured the hot taco meat on top of it all. Once we got to our destination I added a broken up bag of Dorito nacho cheese chips and two cut up avocados, as well as a bag of shredded mexican cheeses. It was a huge hit. It went over as well as the pork ribs & chicken our hostess grilled.

Needless to add, everyone died over the banana pudding. I had also brought brownie bites from the grocery store - they are the size of a small muffin and have a dollop of cream cheese on top and are SO GOOD.

Barbecued Ribs

Yesterday we went to a BBQ at Don’s sister’s house, her husband had some friends over. My contribution was Paula’s "Not Yo Mama’s Banana Pudding." I mentioned this to Debbie and she said she too was bringing it to the get-together she was attending! I’d say the pudding is hands down the best recipe from the cookbook, so far. Darlene said, "This is definitely not from a box" and at first I said "no" but realized that the pudding part is from a box. Carol liked the chess cookies. I think the fluffy texture makes it sumptuous, as well as that it just plain tastes good.

We were given some leftover ribs. Gary had put a rub on them but we wanted them saucier. I ended up making Paula’s "Barbecued Short Ribs" recipe but using the leftover ribs instead of short ribs, and cooking it in a crock pot. They ended up fall-off-the-bone tender and the sauce made it tastier, but parts of it were dry. It was definitely better than just reheating them in the microwave. (The photo is what it looked like in the crockpot.)

My niece and nephew both have birthdays coming up so I ordered some kids cookbooks for them. I got Rachael’s "30 Minute Meals For Kids" for my niece, and Emeril’s "There’s A Chef In My Soup" for my nephew. Rachael’s book is not as flashy as Emeril’s, and it is smaller and the recipes not as complicated. My niece is only 7 so I think it’ll be appropriate for her, I hope she likes it. My nephew already watches the Food Network and I hope he likes the Emeril book. It is more detail-oriented and better-suited to someone older (he’ll be 9). Claire is a picky eater and I hope she might be more adventurous in trying foods if she has a hand in preparing them.

I got a renewal notice for my Rachael magazine subscription. The notice says 1 year is 10 issues, but the cards inside the magazine say 1 year is 6 issues. I called and asked which it is, and was told that the next year of the magazine will be 10 issues/year. Yay. I haven’t cooked a Rachael recipe outright in awhile, but I do find myself employing ideas she has on the show, like grilling my sandwich instead of eating it just plain, or experimenting with different condiments.

A Paula Deen Mothers Day

Cooking with Rachael and Friends

For Mother's Day partner Kate made me a nice little breakfast; croissants, scrambled eggs and ham. That night we had middle daughter Emily, her partner Robin and granddaughter Rachel over for a birthday party for Emily's 34th. Emily & Rach are picky eaters, they like their food bland and childlike. I figured I couldn't go wrong with Paula Deen's Southern Fried Chicken, Cheesy Biscuits, mashed potatoes, chicken gravy, and corn on the cob. I'm always worried about chicken being cooked all the way through. Robin, who is an excellent cook, said that even she has trouble with fried chicken - burning it on the outside, while it remains raw on the inside.

First I washed and seasoned the chicken with lots of seasoned salt and a bit of garlic salt and put it back in the fridge for a couple of hours. Then I heated fresh Crisco in two big pans. I made way too much chicken as usual - an entire fryer and a separate package of thighs. As the recipe instructed, I put the pieces in an egg/water mixture, then dredged them in self-rising flour that I'd added lots of fresh ground black pepper to. I fried the pieces until they were golden brown, then put them in baking dishes in the oven for 350 degrees (that last part was a deviation from the recipe, but I wanted to make sure the pieces cooked all the way through and it didn't seem to hurt or alter them in any way.) I left them in the oven for about half an hour while I cleaned up and made the rest of the meal.

The Cheesy Biscuits are the very same ones that Paula Deen serves people waiting in line to get into her restaurant. I messed up though, I didn't remember to save some of the Crisco to put in the biscuits, so had to improvise with butter. They also turned out good, no one seemed especially thrilled by them though. I'm going to retry that recipe again some time with the proper ingredients.

It all turned out very well. The chicken got all around raves. Everyone agreed that it didn't taste greasy at all. I think that some of the grease may have drained out of the pieces while it was heating in the oven. I think that the trick to cooking good fried chicken is having your grease hot enough. Messing with hot grease is always an adventure though. Our little female daschund Maggie was right under foot the entire time and I was worried about her getting spattered. We both ended up covered in flour but didn't get burnt.

The mashed potatoes were from a package at Wal-Mart. Not a box, an actual package of real mashed potatoes in the deli section. No one seemed to notice that they weren't home made, as people can usually tell with boxed, rehydrated potatoes. I also use canned chicken gravy - sorry but I've only ever made real gravy once in my life. I just always use canned and again, everyone seems to like it.

For dessert we made cupcakes and also purchased a little decorated cake for the actually blowing out of the candles. This little square cake was probably about half the size of a 1/4 sheet cake. It was perfectly sized for our group. Usually we get those huge cakes at COSTCO, which are yummy but then everyone has tons of cake left over.