Baked Apple BUT.....

with a twist........do it in a smoker. Hellooooooooooooo Seester Moon!!!

I just saw this on my local NPR Saturday morning cooking shows.

Take an apple must be one that will hold up to cook for one and a half hour approx.

Remove the core but do not cut thru the bottom as you are going to stuff the apple with the following:

a spoonful of apricot jam
a spoonful of cream cheese or mascarpone cheese
a spoonful of brown sugar
and finish off with a healthy (HA!!) pat of butter

Make a ring out of foil to hold the apple off the grate of the BBQ. Add apple chips if you happen to have any..........cook for an hour to and hour and a half.

VOILE!!! a baked apple with a twist. I bet you could do this while smoking something else. Try is cause I know y'all like baked apples.

Has anyone else done this - sure sounds tasty!

New diet: low carbon

The Cafe of the Getty Center has started something quite interesting. It's called a Low Carbon Diet. This is a committed program by Bon Appétit, a nationwide food management group to lower their carbon footprint. Basically they are will be buying local and reducing the amount of waste. This Palo Alto, CA company has over 400 cafes in 28 states, usually large companies and Universities.

Tired of feeling like you can't do anything? Here's a great way to get started in your own kitchen, What you can do. I also love their Top Five Low Carbon Diet Tips and a cool little search page for local, sustainable food in your area. Eat Well Guide. And finally, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has a pocket seafood guide so you know what fish is ocean-friendly and safe to eat. Don't forget to ask restaurants where their seafood was caught or raised and don't buy seafood that has to be flown in buy frozen when caught. Shipping fish uses less energy than flying it into your market, fresh-caught. If you can't see the ocean don't buy fresh-caught.

If you have some good ideas to lower your carbon diet, let's hear about them.

Salmon Patties

My dear husband and sweet husband of sister's loves salmon. Unfortunately my sweet sister Moon is allergic to all kinds of fishy. This would be great for sister to make for her beloved.

I topped it off with some mayo mixed with some chipotle sauce..gives the pattie a zing. Served with a coleslaw and there ya go. I must also add I have not made these in many, many years and had forgotten how tasty they are.

Salmon Patties

Ingredients

• 1 (14.75 ounce) can salmon, undrained and flaked
• 1 slice of bread, shredded
• 2 chopped green onion, including the green parts
• 1 medium garlic clove, minced
• half of a red bell pepper
  
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon smoky paprika
• salt
• pepper fresh ground
  
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil

Method

1 In a large bowl, gently mix together the salmon, bread, green onion, garlic, bell pepper, flour, egg, paprika, salt and pepper. Form into patties; each about 1/2 inch thick.

2 Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Cook the patties until nicely browned on both sides, about 3-4 minutes per side.

Chicken thighs Italian style

First I must apologize for being absent from PBE the last few weeks. We are in an area that is not close to any stores so my creative juices kinda dried up. But I must tell you a Farmers Market is starting up Saturday and every Saturday thru September. Really excited about that........so I'll be sure to have my creative juices stimulated.

Came home from work the other day to discover I had taken a package of chicken thighs out of the freezer but we were going to dinner with friends, OK they’d keep a day. Now it’s the next day and what the heck do I do with those thighs, something different? Sister woulda put those babies in the smoker that she just recently acquired. BBQ’d was not at the top of my list cause the weather was iffy and blowy. Then I remembered a recipe I saw on one of my favorite food sites Pioneer Woman. If y’all haven’t been there go and check Pdub out she’s a a very funny writer and a pretty darn good cook. Her link is over in the left column.

OK I fire up the computer and go look for the recipe and my WiFi is down. Dang!!! let me see if I can recreate this from memory.

Here is the original recipe with my attempt at recreation in red.

Olive Oil
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
I used 4 thighs
Salt
Pepper
1/2 to 1 medium Onion, chopped
Did not remember the onion in this recipe DUH!!!
2 to 3 cloves Garlic, chopped
used 3 fat cloves of garlic
1/2 cup White Wine (or Chicken Broth)
I used 1 cup of beef broth not only because beef broth was all I had but I think beef broth lends a good flavor to the crushed tomatoes
2 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
I used 1 can of Muir Glen fire roasted crushed tomatoes
Pinch of Sugar
Didn’t remember the sugar
3 to 4 tablespoons chopped Fresh Parsley
No parsley on hand
8 large fresh Basil leaves,
Had 4 fat basil leaves

1 package Linguine noodles, cooked
Fresh Parmesan Cheese, grated, in abundance

Boil a pot of water for the pasta. Cook linguine noodles until al dente.
Heat olive oil in a hot skillet, then add diced chicken thighs in single layer. Don’t stir around; just let them brown on one side. Flip over with spatula, allow to brown, then remove to separate plate. In same pan, over medium heat, add onions and garlic and stir to combine. Pour in wine (or broth) then scrape bottom of pan with whisk to loosen brown bits. Next, pour in crushed tomatoes, add salt, pepper, and pinch of sugar, then simmer for fifteen minutes. After fifteen minutes, throw in all the cooked chicken, including its juice from the plate. Allow to simmer for fifteen more minutes. Add chopped fresh herbs at the end, then pour over cooked linguine in large bowl or platter. Top with lots fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

I do agree with Pdub for the fondness of chicken thighs, love them. All in all my memory served me well and the meal turned out quite tasty. Added a nice lite tossed salad with garlic toast.

Check out my blog to see where we are and what we have been up to.

Work those thighs and butts

At seven A.M. on Sunday I fired up my new smoker. It's the Brinkmann, cheapo model but I wanted to test out smoking meat before I got any deeper in the sport. And sport it is, just visit our good food blog friend, Sylvie at Soul Fusion Kitchen and see all the honors her group has taken. I used her site as a tutorial for my new project. Many thanks to her for the encouragement and all the great into.

My first impression of using this smoker is how much smoke it put out. Yikes, I'd neglected to mention to my neighbors my plans and when I filled the neighborhood with smoke I quickly found one or two to assure them we neither cooking crack nor burning down our house. It does tame down after a while, whew, a relief. Here is something I learned later, wait until the smoke changes color before putting on the meat. Thanks to Jeff at Shifty Squirrel's BBQ for that one.

So what did I cook? I looked at three stores for a pork butt but all I could find was a 7 lb pork shoulder. I think they are pretty much the same thing. I'd promised daughter Maltese Parakeet, lil bird, and her beloved pulled pork sandwiches for dinner and I was aiming for that end. I'd also added a few chicken thighs just because I have two levels of grilling.

The pork roast was rubbed and it rested in the refrigerator overnight wrapped in plastic. My rub might have been a tad bit salty for my taste so I'll adjust next time. Rubs are a matter of personal taste. I did trim off some of the heavier layers of fat. After the fire got going I put the pork on the bottom grill and spent the next nine hours adjusting the fire. Only once did it get under 200 and not for long. I was like an old mother hen watching that thermometer.
Editors note: A remote thermometer was my birthday give from lil bird so I don't have to run outside so often to check, cool.

Chicken was the first out and after they cooled they went into the fridge for another meal. I used the same rub I'd used on the pork but I also brined the thighs for about two hours. They only cooked about four house and were very tasty.
The pork never got to that fall-off-the-bone stage I was looking for but when sliced it had a wonderful smoke ring, was tender and very tasty though I couldn't tell if it was smoky enough since I'd been breathing the smoke for nine hours. The family did agree it was smoky and quite good. I even gave my son-in-law a care package to take home.

Our menu was pork sandwiches with a coleslaw, I'll add that recipe at a different post because I thought it delicious, and baked beans. The bbq sauce was Rudy's, an import from Texas that lil bird picked up while in San Antonio. I've used their rub before, too and it's very tasty.

All in all I believe it was a success but I'll make some adjustments next time. I was very good not to lift the lid so I don't think that was the problem.

Things I did wrong:

• not enough coals in the beginning
• maybe a bit hotter temp
• cooled hot coals too quickly
  
• maybe longer cooking time
• different cut of pork

What's next? I love smoked turkey and can't wait to try it in my new smoker. So look for another post coming soon. Did I give up on the outdoor dutch oven? Nope. I just wanted to branch out a bit. I'm looking forward to my next project, outdoor biscuits.

It's a fine chop you've gotten us into

If any of my family can remember what I was going to use this pix for, please let me know. It seems a shame to let this photo go unused and I can assure you I did use the subject for something. I'd never let that lovely pile of fresh, finely chopped red onion go to waste. Some may keep a Kosher kitchen; I keep a Green kitchen as do the other cooks here in the PBE Kitchens. If you search "being green" here on our blog you'll get the idea.

What should I do with this scrumptious little pile of onions? This is not a contest, I'd just like some ideas. How do you use red onions? Raw, cooked, creamed or blanched. Maybe you never use them and I bet that's a good story. Give me suggestions, either e-mail (pbetouffee@gmail.com) or comments. I'd love to recreate that juciy little mountain of chop with my razor sharp Santoku.

Once a hobby, now an obsession

When will she ever stop?

Some people's hobbies can be annoying, you know collecting soda bottles or famous people's hair but mine, Outdoor Dutch Oven Cooking, is more than a hobby, it's turned into an obsession. Every time I fix a meal I try to figure out how long it would take to prepare outside? How can I convert that recipe. I must get help but until then here is my latest, Twenty-four hour sourdough bread.

Good ol' reliable Alton Brown actually had an episode on Outdoor Dutch Oven cooking. I'll not put in the recipe, it's called Knead Not Sourdough and can be found on Food TV's site. What I will talk about it the method. You mix flour, salt, a tiny 1/4 teaspoon of yeast, and water and let it set 20 hours, covered, on your counter. Then you do that normal punch down, turn around, and let rise another two hours thing to the dough. What could be easier, other than going to the bakery.


While the second rise is almost done it's outside to heat up the iron. Then toss your formed loaf into a pretty hot dutch oven to bake for 45 minutes. I'm all about the coals so I had what he suggested which I thought was way too many for the bottom. We are still in the experimental part of my obsession so I loaded on the coals.

After 30 minutes you could smell the bread, a good sign but I feared too early. The lid got lifted at 35 minutes and I gasped, yes literally, because it look so beautiful. This is food porn, folks. The temperature was in the range suggested so I hoisted it from the fire. Letting it cool for a few moments I then got some hand protection to remove the loaf. Now here's where it gets funny. It was somehow welded to the bottom of the pan. Would not budge. After I finally grunted and groaned and freed it from the iron it was pretty burnt on the bottom and the bread, though not a total loss, was still a bit doughy in the center. Alton never turned his loaf over, now that I think of it.

I now know I should have gone with my instincts and had less coals on the bottom and that would have slowed down the baking. It was also a bit saltier than I thought it needed to be so I'd cut the salt in half. Someone more experienced at bread baking might have sliced the top a few places before baking. I have no idea what that does but it always looks good.

Other than that it would be great to cook up a loaf of bread while camping. Imagine that lovely smell drifting through the campground. Hmmmm. Just bring me some butter.

Step aside Iron Man; Cast Iron Woman is here

My darling companion is known for many attributes--some more outstanding than others--but he is famous for his sweet tooth. He surprised his sister-outlaw, doodles with his keen detection of a full candy dish.

There's a whole long list of reasons why I want him to stay healthy and happy so I've been tinkering with a baked apple dessert. What I came up with wasn't even a dessert, it was breakfast but I'd serve this anytime; an apple pancake.

First of all you'll need an iron skillet or a pan you can use on the top of the stove and in the oven. It calls for bread flour but you can use all purpose. The high protein bread flour helps the pancake to rise.

Baked Apple Pancake

2 tart cooking apples, peeled, cored, and sliced into 1/4-inch slices
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 eggs, beaten and room temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup bread flour
1/2 cup milk, room temperature ( I used non-fat)
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
5 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 425° F. Place oven rack on the middle rack of your oven.

In a small bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon; set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, salt, flour, milk, and vanilla extract; beat until batter is smooth (the batter will be thin, but very smooth and creamy); set aside.

In a large heavy oven-proof frying pan or a cast-iron skillet over medium heat, melt butter, tilting pan to cover sides. Add apples and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon mixture. Stir and let cook for 5 to 7 minutes to slightly cook the apple slices; remove from heat.

Pour prepared batter over apples into pan. Place pan in preheated oven and bake approximately 20 minutes or until puffed above sides of the pan and lightly browned (it may puff irregularly in the center); remove from oven.

Remove pancake from the baking pan by flipping upside down onto a serving platter (apples and cinnamon will be on top). Once out of the oven, the pancake will begin to deflate. To serve, cut into serving-size wedges and transfer to individual serving plates. Makes 2 to 4 servings.

If you use egg-beaters and non-fat milk this is getting in the range of a healthy breakfast treat. It's the caramelized apples that make this so tasty.

Another healthy aspect of cast iron cookware is it leaches small amounts of iron into the food. There's a lot of discussion to whether anemics can benefit from this but a little boost of iron couldn't hurt most of us. Those with excess iron issues (for example, people with hemochromatosis) may suffer negative effects.

Here's a breakdown of the calories/fat. I got three servings out of this recipe but the count even less if you'd cut in into four servings. We were sort of pigs that morning.

• With non-fat milk, egg beaters and butter= 396 calories/19.6 fat grams per serving.
  
• With non-fat milk, regular eggs and butter= 440 calories/24.5 fat grams per serving.

The butter is what adds the heavy fat grams and though you could cook the apples in something other than real butter I wouldn't even try. Sometimes ya gotta just go with it.

Let's go Dutch

The Dutch I'm speak about is my new found love, Dutch Oven cooking. This is not that chic little Mario Batali number they sell at Crate and Barrel, nope it's the original outdoor cooking pot. They say the West would not have been settled without it. Since we do a lot of camping I decided I'd give it a try.

This will be a method much more than a recipe.

For hardware you need:

• Outdoor Dutch Oven with a flanged lid and bottom legs that allow you to place your coals
• Heavy gloves
• Charcoal and a way to light it, I used the chimney
• Long tongs
• A lid lifter; my darling made mine
• and all the other normal cooking tools

Here's the software:

• three chicken thighs
• three chicken Italian sausages
• fresh thyme
• chopped onion, celery, and garlic
• 1 cup of raw rice
• 2 cups chicken broth

Once I started the coals I put all 21 of them under the pot. This gave me enough heat to brown the mean and saute the vegetables.

I did remove the skin from the chicken thighs as it gets rubbery when cooked. After adding the chicken broth and bringing it to a boil I then redistributed the coals.

When you bake you want more on top than the bottom so 14 on top and 7 on the bottom should keep the pot at about 325/50 degrees.

Now to keep everything from burning I gave the lid a quarter turn each fifteen minutes and the pot every 30 minutes. After 30 minutes I lifted the lid and gave everything a stir. It was boiling, not simmer so I removed the lid to vent a bit of the heat. After it stopped boiling I replaced the lid for another 15 minutes. After 45 minutes I removed all the coals and let it set while I finished the rest of my dinner. Cast iron retains heat quite well so it stayed nice and warm.

Because I cooked the rice too hot it blew apart and was a bit mushy. I might cut back on the broth, too. Less coals is what was needed and more checking. There is a fine line with the checking; too much and you lose heat.

Chicken, rice and sausage, what was I thinking. It did need a little color and next time I'd add some red pepper or mushrooms and definitely some chopped parsley for a better presentation.

There is a lot of ash from the coals and I should have had a little whisk brush to get rid of them. I'll add that to my list. Also, lifting the lid must be done with care as not to add the ash to dinner. I never tasted any in this go around.

All in all, it was fun and I plan to take it with us next time we go out in the tear drop. I think I'll need more practice before I try making biscuits or rolls or maybe cornbread, though. When camping there were many who tried cakes and desserts. Some were good and other, well I'll have to try before I criticize.

Pineapple Pie; for breakfast

When I talked about what my eating establishment might be, if I had the guts to open one, it made me hungry for my favorite pie, pineapple. Our mom/grandma used to make it and I usually requested it for my birthday. Who needed cake if you have a great pie baker, and she was.

It is pretty easy and great for winter time as you can make this one when there isn't any fresh fruit in the markets.

Pineapple Pie
9-inch pie

Filling
2 cans crushed pineapple, drained
2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup sugar
The amount of sugar has to do with the sweetness of the pineapple. This is where you'll need to taste it.

Pie crust
2 cups flour
2/3 cup shortening
3/4 teaspoon salt
4-6 tablespoons ice water

Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender until it's the size of small peas. Sprinkle water over flour mixture a tablespoon at a time.

Big hint: This all has to be done quickly as the flour will absorb more water than necessary. Too quick and you don't get enough moisture in the flour. It just needs to hold together. It is all by touch so I don't use a food processor to mix the dough.

Divide dough into two parts. Roll out on floured board to desired size. Line pie pan with with one piece and roll out the top.

Mix filling well and pour into pie crust, brush edges with water. Dot with butter and top with second crust. Crimp the edges, slash the top, and bake in 450 degree oven for 10/12 minutes, reduce heat to 350 and bake another 40 minutes or until nicely browned.

Another big hint: I put a piece of penne pasta upright in the top, to vent the pie. This helps with boil-overs and a mess to clean up in your oven. Don't ask me why it works but it usually does for me.

Cool and serve.

Last big hint: For the shortening, of that cup I use Crisco and a few tablespoons of butter. I've never use lard but one of the grandmothers did and it was delicious, artery clogging but delicious. I believe you use less lard.

We had one slice after dinner and one for breakfast. Now the rest is wrapped to give to the neighbors. With only two of us here, I've found it's easier to just get it out of the house and they are pretty happy with the results.

What are you dreaming about?

Occasionally we review local restaurants but none like the one Sylvie at Soul Fusion Kitchen has just visited; The French Laundry in Napa Valley. This is a great post, she'd always wanted to dine there and she tells not only the menu, which is amazing, but all she had to accomplish just to get the reservations. Do give it a read.

This did bring something to mind. What would my restaurant be like, if I'd ever given it a try? If you are a foodie and you must because you're reading a food blog, or more likely, have a food blog--what would your restaurant be like? Be honest we've all dreamed of one. Would it be fancy, with a famous chef and linen napkins and a seating only by reservations made months in advance or a burger joint with one grill, you behind the grill, and a line out the door for the eleven stools at the counter? Would you serve home cookin' recipes from your grand mom or a menu like The French Laundry?

Me? A breakfast joint that also serves pie. My beloved loves pie for breakfast. I'd have specials for the day and always two or three pies to choose from. What's on the menu? The basics and don't forget the grits. Always biscuits and cinnamon rolls and pots of properly brewed tea. It would have to be small with a few tables, a counter, and a grill that was visible. Nothing like talking to the cook while while your breakfast is being prepared.

There are so many variations to choose, if you dream of opening an establishment share your dreams with us.

Glamorous: you're doing it wrong

This is a photo of our Tear Drop kitchen. My beloved and I love to camp and we are lucky enough to be about an hour from the beautiful blue Pacific ocean and have the means to sneak away for a day or three. If you are retired, why not? Plus for a few days I have a "Million Dollar View" of the ocean.

The teardrop is a 1947 Kitt Manufactured model but the last owner redid all the cabinets. They are quite fancy. My husband put in the stainless counter because there are always spill and the wood wasn't practical. The color is original but, if we ever have some down time, it will get painted the same color as our pulling vehicle, our '51 Chevy truck; green and black. We draw a crowd each time we pull into a campground but tours are easy to give. Yes, we sleep inside, notice the small door on the right.

Let me give a tour of our kitchen. On the right is a two burner propane stove which doubles as a water heater. On the left is a small bar sink and in one of the cabinets behind is a five-gallon water jug which feeds the sink faucet. When I'm cooking I try to keep a large kettle going for hot water to clean up.

The drawers under the counter hold everything I need and somethings I wonder why I brought but that's what happens with drawers. It's very compact and efficient. We do bring along a small gas BBQ because you just can't make toast on the stove, though I've tried for years and finally gave up.

We've had some pretty plain meals and a few fancy ones. Last trip, while our camping neighbors were eating cold hot dogs for dinner, I fixed grilled chicken and salmon, rice and a nice avocado salad. It's all in your prep at home. Our breakfasts are usually the plain meals since eggs are a pain to clean up. When you have a small dishpan for washing pans you are quite careful with what you cook.

Here's a tip for outdoor cooks. While shopping in a little town close by, Carpenteria, we stopped at our favorite bakery/deli Reynoldo's and purchased two fresh tamales for dinner. When we got back to camp I was trying to think of a way to heat them for our dinner. I usually only travel with a couple of pans and no steamer. All I did was crumple a large sheet of heavy duty foil and put it in my large kettle, then filled the kettle half full of water. I placed the tamales on top of the foil, put the lid on, and simmered those darlings to perfection. Now that was a yummy supper.

So, why would I do this? For this "Million Dollar View" of course. Wouldn't you?

Announcement!

We'd like to take a break from cooking to wish our very own, Maltese Parakeet, a Happy Birthday today.

Lil bird, Buddy is waiting to give you a big old wet kiss.

My brownies have wings

These brownies should be wearing Dolce & Gabbana because they have that much TASTE.

America's Test Kitchen recently had an episode on Lightening Up Chocolate Desserts. I almost passed it by. Most low-fat desserts that have been re-made usually leave me colder than a Montana morning. If you don't want the calories, either eat less or not at all. I, unfortunately, don't do either so I'm always battling the pounds.

When the episode started with that same sentiment, it got my attention. What the hey, I've got 30 minutes to kill. This is the usual ATK recipe in that they use way too many ingredients but this time it pays off. I've made the recipe twice, once for friends and once for the husband. Both approved.

ATK did not supply any info on how low-fat this recipe is but just making the recipe you know it doesn't have much. Being interested in the final count made me search online and, of course, there's a site to help you count each fat gram and calories in anything you make. The site is Calorie King and it's got great info and easy to use.

I did learn that vanilla extract has more calories than I thought. I use a vanilla bean paste by Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, Inc and did not find any info for that so I used the twelve per teaspoon figure for regular extract. What else, baking powder has one calorie, go figure.

If you are worried about carbs be aware of the sugar. There is more sugar because it's actually a "wet" ingredient, it melts when baked, so you need more to make this brownie soft. Hey, ya gotta have a trade off somewhere.

Ok, to my surprise, here are the results for a 2 inch brownie?

• Total fat 2.18 grams
  
• Total cal 102.25.
  

Wow

A basic recipe I'd checked had at least 112 calories and 7 grams of fat for a 2 oz brownie. Even though this is not low calorie it still comes in way low in the fat column, plus, THEY TASTE GREAT!

What are we up against

Here's a shocker:

• Starbuck's fudge brownie bite, 2 oz: 300 calories and 14 grams of fat.
• Mrs. Fields' double fudge 2.7 oz: 360 and 20 grams of fat.

Fudgy low-fat brownies
makes 16, 2 inch brownies

3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 ounces bitter sweet chocolate, chopped (I found some with zero fat)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons low-fat sour cream
1 tablespoon chocolate syrup
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg plus 1 egg white
1 cup sugar

Oven 350. Fold two pieces of foil to create a foil sling the size of your pan. I used an 8-inch square baking pan. Push the foil in the corners and to be safe, spray with cooking spray.

Whisk flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt together in medium bow. Melt bittersweet chocolate and butter in large bowl over simmering water until smooth. Cool 2-3 minutes they whisk in sour cream, chocolate syrup, vanilla, egg, egg white, and sugar. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into chocolate mixture until combined.

Spread batter into pan and into the corners, level surface with spatula. Bake until slightly puffed and toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few sticky crumbs attached, 20-25 minutes. Cool brownies completely in pan, at least 1 hour. remove brownings using foil and cut into 16 squares. To keep the brownies moist do not cut until ready to serve, then stand back, they will fly off the plate.

Mushroom Soup

and creamy tasty, silky texture that warms your bones...that's what I made last nite. Let me say that my sweet husband does not eat mushrooms in any way but he loves mushroom soup...........go figure.

I found this recipe over on Simply Recipes blog.....Elise adapted this recipe from one made by Wolfgang Puck. This is my adapted version........sorry no photo.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

• 1 pound regular white mushrooms, cleaned, quartered or sliced
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2 Tbsp minced shallots
• 1 Tbsp chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
  
• 1/2 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper (I like more pepper)
  
• 2 cups heavy cream (I used half & half and it was fine)
  
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock (low sodium)
  
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbsp water
• Minced parsley for garnish (no fresh parsley on hand, sprinkled a bit of the fresh thyme as a garnish)
  

Method

1 In a food processor, coarsely chop mushrooms and lemon juice.

2 Melt butter in (4-5 quart) sauce pan and lightly sauté shallots on medium heat. Add mushrooms, thyme and bay leaf, sauté over moderate heat for 10-15 minutes, or until the liquid that is released from the mushrooms disappears.

3 Add salt, pepper, cream and chicken stock and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

4 Add cornstarch and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. Correct seasoning and add more lemon juice to taste.

Serves 4. Serve sprinkled with a little parsley.

Lucky to have her as my daughter

My Mother's Day was a bit different this year. In past, lil bird has fixed some pretty great fare. Last year was a wonderful yummy brunch but this year I requested a knitting lessons. You can read about my knitting lesson on my blog, French Benefits.

One of my other requests was a cooking session together. I love that. I'd been watching Jamie Oliver at home and he had cooked a quick and terrific looking fresh pasta with broccoli and cheese sauce. I have a pasta machine, it was a gift from doodles, and what better than to whip up a nice lunch together. Dad gets to benefit from this holiday, too.

The recipe on Food TV is a bit different from what he made on the show and we adapted the process for our needs.
The sauce is made on top of the pan boiling your pasta water. How great is that for an energy saver?

Sauce

• 2 hand fulls of grated parmaesan and fontina cheese
• 2 heaping tablespoons of creme fraiche

place this in a heat proof bowl on top of the boiling water for the pasta.

• baby broccoli, sliced thin
• 2 large egg yolks
• chopped fresh herbs, we used thyme

Pasta

• 2 large eggs
• 80 grams AP flour per person

Add eggs and flour to food processor. Mix until the dough comes together. Now this is important, pinch some dough between your fingers. You are looking for dough that just holds together and isn't too sticky. If it is, add a tablespoon of flour, mix and then test again. You don't want the dough too stiff.

Give it a quick kneading on a lightly floured board and then into the pasta machine on the
widest setting; running it through about 4-5 times. It should start to become silky and smooth.

Now you need to reduce the thickness on the machine, rolling the dough twice each time, until you get to the thinnest. You'll need to cut the dough into more manageable pieces because it's gonna get real long, real quick.

Flour each sheet, fold and cut into the width noodle you'd like. Remember, they do get bigger when they cook. Toss to open up the noodles.



Yes, that is a bandadge on my finger and, yes, I cut it but I am wearing my favorite Dave Matthews Band t-shirt.




















Remove the dish with the cheeses they should be nice and melty by now. Toss the sliced broccoli and the noodles in the boiling water salted water and stirring bring back to a boil and cook for about two minutes. You'll need to test the pasta. Don't overcook or they'll get too soft.

Drain the pasta then put it into your serving bowl.Whisk in the two egg yolks and herbs into the sauce and quickly pour over the hot pasta. This cooks the eggs. If you are at all concerned about this you can use Davidson's Eggs. They are pasteurized so you won't get salmonella. Their website has a nice coupon because they're a bit pricey.





Serve this up quickly, Dad was waiting, with a bit of chopped Italian parsley. It couldn't taste fresher.

This is one of the basic recipes you'd like to make again. Lil bird thought it would be great with a bit of lemon zest in the pasta and maybe some crispy panchetta tossed in too.

It was a great Mother's Day, wouldn't have it any other way, me and my little chickie cooking together.

free rice!

check out this cool site called free rice. by playing a fun little vocabulary game, you can help donate rice to the un world food program.

what's it all about? from the site's "about" page:

FreeRice is a sister site of the world poverty site, Poverty.com.

FreeRice has two goals:

1. Provide English vocabulary to everyone for free.

2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the sponsors who advertise on this site.

Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your vocabulary can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.

Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you.

so pop on over and get clicking! we are lucky to live in a land of plenty where we have the luxury of access to such a wide variety and large amount of food that we actually have blogs dedicated to what we cook and eat. i know i don't need to remind you that many others are not so lucky. food bloggers unite against hunger!

just to make it interesting, we'd love to know if you visited the site, how many grains of rice you donated on your first visit and a fun or funny word that you learned. let us know in the comments...

Scalloped Potatoes

One of my sweet husbands favorites. I found this recipe several years ago on Food TV and have been a faithful user ever since. A very simple recipe but cooking the potatoes partially in the milk and water, I think, makes a big difference in flavor.

Potato Gratin
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons butter
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 bay leaf (no bay leaf on hand but did have some fresh rosemary)
1 cup grated Swiss cheese (I had gruyere cheese)
Salt & fresh ground pepper
Nutmeg (I didn't have fresh nutmeg but did use some smoked paprika)
2/3 cup heavy cream (I used half & half)
As you can see by my notes to the side of the original recipe this as is many recipes are quite adaptable to your tastes and what you may have on hand. I might also add I cooked this in my toaster oven, my new best friend since we are in an RV.Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Rub a baking dish with garlic clove and then with butter.

In a medium saucepan, combine potatoes, milk, water, bay leaf and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, stir, reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender.

Drain the potatoes and layer half of them in the buttered baking dish. Sprinkle on half of the cheese and season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Spread out remaining potatoes and top with remaining cheese and seasoning. Pour heavy cream over potatoes. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden and bubbly.

So what's your favorite scalloped potato recipe.........now I know this is not a low fat dish...maybe I should send it to Cooking Light magazine so they could adjust the calorie count.

Can food heal?

Chris at Mele Cotte is hoping it can. This is her second annual event, Fighting Cancer 2 and how could I help but participate. With so many being touched by this stinking disease maybe what we put in our bodies can help. If you make it healthy and tasty it can't hurt.

After seeing this interesting article about broccoli having an ingredient that may fight bladder cancer I set out finding a new recipe. Broccoli has been a fav at our house for ever but most of the recipes were heavy with fat and that's a definite no for someone with cancer. I needed to find something different. I tried a few different recipes but kept coming back to just good old steamed broccoli. Stumped I tried some sauces. Cheese, too much fat. I needed something lighter. While picking some lemons off my tree it hit me. Broccoli goes great with lemon. Here is a nice light sauce for steamed broccoli.

Soy Lemon Sauce
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons sugar
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons soy sauce. ( I used a reduced salt variety)
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 tablespoons salad oil
toasted sesame seeds

Place all the ingredients together in a small jar with a cover, shake well to blend, and let stand one hour. Shake sauce again and pour over two servings of steamed broccoli. Toss to coat and serve. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds.

My photo was crummy but the broccoli was yummy. None left. Serve up someone you love some healthy cancer fighting foods and visit Chris' blog to get some good ideas.

Taste and Create

Myamii's Taste and Create event pairs up participating food bloggers randomly and they get to taste-test one recipe from each other's blog.


This month, I was paired up with a blogger from One Hot Stove. When you go to her blog you too will be overwhelmed, as I was, with so many various tastes to create that are new to me and maybe new to you as well. Nupur features her ongoing fascination with Indian regional food, as well as little tastes of new flavors from around the world. One Hot Stove comes to you from St. Louis, Missouri, USA.

Hummus happens to be a favorite of the family and since PBE is a family blog I thought I would try her recipe ... roasted garlic hummus to be exact.


We did a few adaptions to the recipe one was chopped ciliantro to scatter on top, did not remove the skins from the beans, whisked the oil and the tahini together before pouring into the mixture. That seemed to emulsify and make the hummus a creamy texture. Also used cumin powder instead of cumin seed.

But this is a very creamy hummus that is sure to be a keeper recipe ... thanks Nupur.

Earth Day

It's Earth Day and because we at PBE care, we are sharing a super idea to recycle t-shirts. If you use your own bags at the market–and you should–this is a great way to make them and recycle something else, as well.

Here is our recipe for a great market bag:

• Take an old t-shirt and cut a half-circle out of the neck
• Cut out the sleeves
• Sew the bottom

Because of the knit in the t-shirt there is no need to hem any of the edges.

Need a small bag? Don't forget to recycle those kid's shirts. This is almost too easy. It would be a great project for kids especially if they hate getting rid of a favorite shirt.

Make up a few and keep in the trunk of your vehicle and be part of the solution, not the problem. There are way too many plastic bags in the landfill each day.

Here are some other ideas for Earth Day. It really is easy to get involved.

You know it's Spring

Aren't they beauties … no the lime is mine for my Corona!

My sweet sister Moon's lemon tree is bearing fruit and this spring I was able to take advantage of the beautiful lemons. This is not a young tree ... I think it's been decided that this lone tree is about 40 years old. For awhile sister and dear brother-in-law thought it was a gonner; like all things living it was showing it's age. It might have missed them when they took their hiatus to Bakersfield.

Luckily, they happened to have a landscape gardener that knew what to do; low and behold he whacked that tree way back to almost nothing. I believe that was about three years ago and now look what is coming around.

Nothing like fresh lemonade all summer long. Think of all the foods to prepare with a squeeze of lemon. My mouth is watering just to think about these gems.

Just in case you find yourself with some fresh lemons, here are some friend blogs lemony recipes.

Lemon Bars from Just Baking
Simply Recipes Meyer Lemon Sorbet
and from us, Lemon Pound Cake

Brought to you by Doodles and Moon

Carrot Cake/Muffins

Oh my word to me there is nothing better in the morning than a carrot cake muffin along side a cup of my favorite tea......well maybe a really good bagel

A couple a weeks ago I made the mistake of buying already made carrot cake muffins.....bad, really, really bad. They were greasy and that overpowered the carrot taste which was none, no taste of carrot at all. And they had raisins which I am not fond of in my carrot cake muffin. Then I found this recipe over at Baking Bites

One-Bowl Carrot Cake
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 large eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp orange zest
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice (I did not have allspice but I did add some fresh ginger)
1/4 tsp nutmeg (freshly grated, if possible)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups coarsely shredded carrot (from 2-3 large carrots), well drained

Preheat the oven to 350F. Lightly grease an 8×8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar and eggs until smooth. Beat in melted butter, orange juice, orange zest, vanilla, spices and salt. When combined, sift in the flour and baking soda (sifting helps evenly distribute the baking soda) and gently stir it into the batter until no streaks remain. Stir in shredded carrot, then scrape into prepared pan. Bake for 36-42 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Since I made muffins I started keeping an eye on the baking time about 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack before frosting.

Cream Cheese Icing Recipe
8 oz. cream cheese
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 Tbsp. vanilla
1 lb. powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually add melted butter until absorbed. Add vanilla, then sugar one cup at a time, beating well after each addition.

The usual suspects

The weather in Southern California has been interesting this week. Sunday was in the 90s and yesterday it barely broke 70. Today should be somewhere around 90, again. So, what to cook with roller coaster weather like this?

I had planned to BBQ chicken thighs on the grill but I really wanted something to warm us up. Yeah, I know, 70 isn't ice skating weather but when you drop more than twenty degrees it but a body into a tailspin. Here is what I did.

Chicken stew

Drain and rinse a can of cannellini beans. Mash half of them with the back of a spoon.
Brown the seasoned chicken breast in some olive oil then remove from the pan and let cool enough to remove the skin. Next go the onions and celery. There should be enough fat left in the pan. Toss in the mushrooms, don't forget to salt them a bit. When they get a bit limp add the rest of the cast of characters including the mashed beans and add some chicken broth. Reserve the unmashed beans for later. Adjust the seasonings and add the thyme. When I braise I want the liquid not to cover but to leave about a third of the thighs showing. Bring to a simmer, barely, cover and cook for about an hour until the chicken is done and the veggies are tender. Toss in the unmashed beans and stir to heat.

I served this with a mound of rice in the bowl and ladled the stew over top. The mashed beans thicken the broth a bit and add a nice texture. This is most colorful and quite tasty and you can really add whatever fresh veggies you have on hand.

Because I can't cook for only two I'm making soup from what was left. Shred the chicken, add more chicken broth and we've got soup for lunch.

Free is our favorite flavor*, **

For curiosity, we track how many people come to PBE. We use a nifty little free app called Site Meter. What I've noticed lately are where our visits come from.

Food Porn Watch
Blogs of Note Archive (we are eternally grateful for that mention)
Some other blog who have listed our link on their site; cool

Play with food
Refining Life
The Big Fat Indian Dream
Femme in the Green Sneakers
Carbs and Diet Coke
Joanna's Food
Kaylyn's Kitchen
C is for cooking
Mixed Salad Annie
Laura Rebecca's Kitchen
Soul Fusion Kitchen


Sorry if I missed mentioning anyone, these are the referrals that came up recently. We do appreciate the advertising and will reciprocate by adding addition blogs to our list, just e-mail us.

Editor's note:*"Free is my favorite flavor" is a quote attributed to lil bird and I've used it quite freely.

** note from lil bird: actually, i usually say "free is my favorite four letter word that starts with f." and if you know me, you know how liberal i am with the f-bombs! ;)

lazy sunday mornings

ah, a lazy sunday morning. was perusing my favorite food blogs and ran across kitchen wench's yummy looking scones but the pumpkin spice just wasn't doing it for me. lest we forget, ellie's smack in the middle of fall down there in oz, so pumpkin spice certainly fits the bill for her. here in (not so sunny) southern california, we're all spring-like and i wanted something a little, well, springier. what to do?

to the internets!

i found a nice little recipe for scones in the joy of baking and then found some dried bing cherries in my cupboard to mix in. i omitted the jam and, upon reflection, i also should've skipped the sugar carmelizing step as well. these scones were flaky, tender (as my boy alton would say, don't over mix!) and flavorful. the simple egg wash with some sugar sprinkled on top would've been sufficient as i think the carmelized sugar took away from the texture of the scone, which was the star of the show.

Blog hopping finds

can be very beneficial to foodies and I am truly one to search and find.

Now I have my favorites one of which is Baking Bites I have said this before that I'm not a baker by any stretch of the imagination, however Nic does review some products, some of which I have actually gone out and purchased. While poking around on Baking Bites the other day I came across this regular feature she does on Bites from other blogs This one caught my eye


Any time I see pecan pie I must take a look and oh Lord I am so glad I did. WOW!!! are these good. Although, they reminded me more of a muffin than a cupcake. These taste very much like pecan pie and are so incredibly easy to make. I made them in my silicone muffin pan and baked for 20 - 25 minutes.

Next time I'll make the mini size. This recipe is definitely a keeper. I can see making these for a gift during the holidays or a pot luck that requires a dessert. You'll get rave reviews I tell ya.

This year's Pullet Surprise goes to …

We put out the hunt for egg recipes for our second annual Pullet Surprise and here are our participants. We still haven't gotten many entrants but that makes the people who did enter all that more special. Thanks to them and with all the "events" in the food blogging world we do understand.

First up is Fab Grandma's entry is a Mushroom and Sausage Fritatta. This recipe is not only yummy, it's gluten free.

She has a fun site so do visit. Her and her husband are full time road travelers and have been since 2000.



Now here is an Indian recipe, Egg Biryani but Maybelle's Mom from Feeding Maybelle has a different twist. She makes a curry sauce to flavor this "pot pie" in a pastry. I checked some of her other recipes and she's quite adventurous.



Mechele has entered her BLT Fritatta and it can be found on her "What we eat …" section of her blog. She serves this one with a healthy handful of arugula splashed with oil and vinegar. Great photo. You can see more of her work on her blog and don't miss the vacation shots.





Irma's Rose Cottage is next and we have a recipe for Breakfast, Lunch or Supper. Migas is a dish that includes eggs, cheese and corn tortillas and was a favorite of our father/grandpa Gene here at PBE. This variation was prepared by Irma and served some some pretty fancy garage sale finds. Nice touch.



Sweet Pea's Posts did send us an entry and even though it had no photo or link back to use she tried real hard with this. She is new to food blogging so I'll link to her Sausage Brunch Bake. It's a variation on a strata and I love dishes you can prep the night before. Great for a large gathering. She says she'll be getting a camera soon but it looks like a large golden soufflé. Nothing wrong with that description.

Without further ado, here is what we chose for this year's Pullet Surprise.

Chris from Mele Cotte has made a fantastic Chicken and sun-dried tomatoe soufflé and one great photo. She's also having a second anniversary of her event Cooking to Combat Cancer. You've all got time, check her site for the rules.

As your "prize" you'll be able to use this banner on your blog for as long as you wish. We hope you weren't expecting a real Pulitzer.

Thanks to our submitters and all of our loyal readers. Next time, we'll be expecting something from you folks, too.

PBE makes breakfast egg soufflé

If you've ever eaten something in a restaurant and decided you could make that at home; read on.

When sister Doodles and I get together one of our favorite places for breakfast is Panera Bread. This tasty little breakfast-cafe-franchise seems to be popping up all over the country. I've only been interested in their bread and bagels but lately noticed a hot seller, baked egg soufflés, and thought what a great challenge for Doodles and myself.

The egg dish looks pretty simple. A soufflé/quiche like mixture baked in a puff pastry dough. Sounds easy enough but we did run into some difficulty. Here is our attempt.

Because there were only three of us for Easter brunch we used three two-cup oven proof bowls. I might adjust this to six 6 ounce custard cups next time.


Recipe
2 eggs
1/4 cup lite sour cream
1/4 cup fat free half and half
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheese
1/2 cup finely chopped ham or sausage
3/4 teaspoon chopped chive
3/4 teaspoon chopped thyme
salt and pepper
one sheet puff pastry dough

Pre-heat oven to 400 Cut pastry dough in five-inch square or to fit your baking cups. Divide cheese and ham between the three cups. Divide herbs and sprinkle on top of ham. Beat eggs and add half and half. Whisk in sour cream. Pour egg mixture over ham and cheese and bake in middle rack for about 35 minutes until eggs are lightly set. Don't overcook.


What we had was a lovely eggy soufflé with underdone pastry. That afternoon our darling Chef Teri stopped by and we asked her. She's worked in the food industry for quite a while and is a wealth of knowledge. She knew where we went awry. To get the puff pastry to "puff" you need to blast the heat in the beginning, then turn it down and cook your soufflés until the eggs are done. Also, she suggested using some paper soufflé that are sold at Sur la table. This is why we revere her so.

What did we learn? It's fun to try something new even if the results are not exactly what you intended. Try something new!