Baby Yorkshire Puds and Smoked Trout Pate

Oh Jamie, Jamie, Jamie.

When you bragged that this dish was an outrageously delicious bit of heaven you weren't joking.

Baby Yorkshire Puds and Creamy Smoked Trout and Horseradish Pate

Mini puds and lemon wedges

Creamy trout pate.  Just the exact right amount of kick.

So simple and so delicious

When we'd eaten up all the little puds,
we dipped our artichokes in the pate.
Now there's a great combination!

Cheesy Bacon Pulls

Football season is here!  This is what you should be eating tomorrow after church while you watch the game.

1 unsliced loaf of round sourdough bread
8-12 oz. sharp cheddar, thinly sliced
6 oz. applewood smoked bacon, cooked and crumbled
1/2 cup melted butter
2-3 Tablespoons chopped fresh herbs (basil, chives, parsley, etc.  Whatever you like!)

Using a sharp knife cut the bread going both directions.  Do not cut through the bottom crust.

Place cheese slices between the cuts.  Sprinkle with bacon and herbs, making sure they get in the cuts.

Pour melted butter over the bread, evenly.

Wrap the entire loaf in foil and place on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.  Unwrap and return to the oven.  Bake until cheese is fully melted, about 10 minutes.

For a little extra kick add sliced jalapenos with the fresh herbs!

I warn you.  You will be hooked.

Comfort Food

My Grandfather recently passed away.  Not living in the same town anymore I wasn't able to help much with funeral preparations.  So, I volunteered to cook.  It was an act of love for my Grandpa whom I love and miss dearly (he loved to eat), for my Grandma, and for my Mom.  And, to be honest, it was something I did for myself.  I needed some good comfort food and cooking is therapeutic for me.

I had some lovely help the day before with prep, namely my cousin Liz and my Aunt Becky.  Several ladies of my parents church pitched in and made dozens and dozens of delicious cookies and served the day of the funeral.  I cannot thank them enough.

Feta Olive Tarts with Rosemary

Antipasti

Breadsticks (from Trader Joes) with roasted garlic

Layered Salad

Baked Ziti

Homemade french bread with whipped butter and herbs

Cookies, lovingly made by the women of The Revival Center

Cheesecake and fruit

 "I sometimes think the chef end of cooking is not the real end of cooking.  Cooking is all about homes and gardens, it doesn't happen in restaurants."  --Delia Smith

Food has a way of bringing people together.  Diners let their guards down over the appetizer.  Over the main course cares ease and the mind starts to be refreshed.  Over dessert and coffee people bond and heal and share their lives.  Sometimes it feels as if one had the right menu we could reconcile the world.

Christmas Eats

Now you will see where I get my intense foodiness.  This is the feast my mother prepared on Christmas!

Salad with pears, pomegranate seeds, and candied walnuts

Rustique Bread

Burgundy Mushrooms





New potatoes with parsley and tons of butter

Beef Wellington

Yule Log, a family favorite. 
It would not feel like Christmas dinner was complete
without a slice of this and a cup of tea!



We like my Mom's Yule Log so much, she has to make three!

In The Kitchen With Meg

This morning we put in our winter garden.  This afternoon we spent time under a blanket on the couch reading The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis while the kids made paper crafts.  It just felt like a Fall day, a perfect Fall day.

We needed an appropriate meal!  Meg had this meal in mind for weeks having dreamed it up on her own.  So, today we had a hearty pork stew seasoned with herbs from the garden and a hint of nutmeg.  Served in a pumpkin.  After creating the stew we stuck it in the pumpkin and baked it for about 15-20 minutes so the pumpkin got just tender.  Then when you scooped out your stew you could also get a bit of fresh pumpkin off the sides.

When prepping the pumpkin, Meg very thoughtfully cut a notch for the ladle.  What a girl!

And then Meg said, "Mom, this needs bread.  Some sort of bread that's good with lots of butter."  It wasn't time to start a loaf of french bread, so we made some buttery biscuits.  They came toasty from the oven at the same time as the stew.

Mmmmm, mmmmmm, mmmmm!

An Autumn Dinner....despite the heat

We are having a little heat wave in the Golden State.  But, this is what I had planned, so this is what I made.  Plus, I am feeling a bit under the weather and soup is the ultimate comfort food.

Homemade Wheat Herb Rolls

Roasted Sweet Potato Soup

The bread recipe can be found here.

Here's the soup recipe:

Approximately 2 pounds sweet potatoes, baked

Approximately 4 Tablespoons butter

One large onion, chopped

Two stalks of celery, chopped

One medium potato, chopped

Six cups chicken broth  (you can use vegetable broth if you are vegetarian)
One-third cup pure Maple syrup

Approximately 1/4 cup half-and-half and a little more for garnish

Chives fresh from the herb garden for garnish

After you bake the sweet potatoes, scoop out the insides and set aside.  Discard the skins in your compost bin.

Saute the onions and celery in the butter until tender.

Add the broth and potato and cook about 10-15 minutes until the potato is soft.

Add the sweet potato mash and the syrup and stir.  Here is where I took the immersion blender (hand blender) to it.  (If you don't have a hand blender you can puree it in batches in your food processor or blender.)  Puree until smooth.  Reheat while stirring and then add the half-and-half.  Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper to taste.  Depending on the broth you used, very likely you will not need to add additional salt.  Serve with a dollop of half-and-half and a few sprigs of chives.

Have I ever mentioned how much I adore beautiful food?

The Picnics

We spent 10 days in Europe--France and Italy to be exact.  As everyone knows, two things are true of Europe.  1) It's expensive.  2) The food is wonderful. 

Our answer to these two things is PICNICS!  First thing in the morning we'd go to a little market or shops and buy the fixin's.  Wonderfully authentic things like cheese, sausage, fresh bread, fresh pesto, local wines or beer.  After a busy morning of sightseeing when we were ready for lunch, we'd find a spot (from the edge of the Seine, to a courtyard of an old church) and have a picnic!  (Thanks to Rick Steves, we took a few essential picnic supplies with us: small tablecloth, cups, knife/corkscrew/bottle opener, salt and pepper, forks.)  It saved a lot of money and really, how can anything beat a perfect picnic?!

Details of the trip are on the Family Blog.  But, here is a visual taste of the best, tastiest and most romantic picnics you've ever seen.  Please don't drool on your keyboard.

Grilled Squash, Corn and Bean Salad, and Rustique Bread

Cut squash lengthwise in half.  Drizzle with EVOO and sprinkle with sea salt and garlic powder.  Grill on both sides until slightly tender and toasted.  Serve hot.  Then hear your son say, "Mom, I never thought I'd say this, but can I please have more squash?"  Was the best squash I've ever had.  Helped that it was fresh--really fresh, like not even 12 hours off the plant.

Pinto beans, raw corn fresh off the cob from Farmer's Market, tomatoes, hot peppers (from the garden) and cucumbers (from the garden).  With a very light dressing made from the herb and lemon infused vinegar made especially for me by Kristina from iFit Gourmet!

Happy National Donut Day!

Today being Donut Day, we made homemade cake donuts.  I ate five.  Not proud of that, I'm just saying.

Poori

(puffy Indian bread, Originally from The Book of Curries and Indian Foods)

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole-wheat flour
pinch of salt
¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
2 T. vegetable oil
about ¼ cup warm water
oil for deep frying

Sift flours and salt into a medium bowl.

Stir in cardamom and 1 T. of oil; mix in enough of the water to make a soft dough.

Knead dough five minutes on a lightly oiled surface, with a little oil rubbed into hands to prevent sticking, until dough is soft and pliable. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 8 pieces; roll into balls. Dust balls with flour and cover with damp cloth. Roll each ball out to a 3-inch round, keeping unrolled balls and finished rounds covered with a cloth.

Half-fill a deep pan or a deep-fryer with oil and heat to 375F or until a 1-inch piece of bread browns in about 50 seconds. Fry poori one at a time, turning over once, for 30-60 seconds. Keep patting top of poori gently with a slotted spoon as they cook in order to make them puff up. Serve at once.

With the poori, we had curried cauliflower and potatoes (so yummy--with coconut milk and just enough lime), keema. (Basic recipe below, although I didn't have any okra so I made it without.) and rice.

Pakistani "Lady Fingers"

(Keema)

1 pound minced lamb or beef
3-4 T of oil
4 medium onions roughly chopped
5 cloves garlic minced (or mashed with mortar and pestle)
1 inch piece of ginger, finely chopped
2 medium ripe tomatoes
Tomato paste
A sprig of fresh coriander, roughly chopped (or a sprinkling of dried)
8 oz or more of okra, “Lady Fingers” (fresh or frozen)

Dry Masala:
1 cinnamon stick
2 teaspoon ground cardamom
2 cloves
1 bay leaf
a pinch to half a teaspoon chili powder
¼ teaspoon turmeric
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon cumin

Cook the meat in a medium sized sauce-pan with 3 onions, garlic, ginger and tomatoes. Add all the dry masala. Add ¼ cup water. Cover with a lid and cook on low for 15-20 minutes until the meat is cooked.

When all the water has evaporated and the color of the meat has changed to a pale brown, add the oil and let it “roast” stirring it with a wooden spoon.

Add some tomato paste to taste and coriander.

In a large pan fry the okra and the onions gently (about 4-6 minutes). Add to the meat (keema) and mix gently.

Put in a casserole dish with a lid. Serve with brown rice, naan, or poori and yogurt.