Do you crave food?

It's OK sure you do, we all do. Some better for ya than others.


I woke up thinking about this salad dressing my sister introduced me to awhile back.  She posted the recipe  here


I remember that I made a fruit salad a few years ago that we really liked. I have the same ingredients on hand plus a few other items. Perfect for the salad dressing I have been craving.

Well I made this added some napa cabbage, a few pieces of gorgonzola cheese, pecan pieces, a few dried cranberries then added this wonderful dressing.

Try this, I know it's out of the norm.  If bannanas are not your thing add manadrin oranges, navel oranges or even fresh pineapple.  Let me know!!

And no I do not know where the name of this dressing came from.

A fitting name, The Oinkster

We don't usually do restaurant reviews but a post is a post so here's what we got into on a beautiful sunny Southern California Sunday. I'd heard about The Oinkster but Eagle Rock is about a 45-minute drive and nothing else out there I wanted to see but with two good friends wanting to go, we made a day of it.

Guy Fieri is to blame. After watching all the fun places he goes to I had to find a new one for us and thanks to Yelp, I stumbled on to this joint's website. First, let me say, I don't always believe everything I read on Yelp except when there are lots of current reviews. Most were positive with a few that thought the everyone was crazy for liking this place. We wanted to make up our own minds so off we went.

Driving there I'd remembered the area and talked about a fabulous Italian Bakery/Deli I thought was nearby. We searched the Garmin and sure enough, it was down the street. It's the Eagle Rock Italian Bakery and Deli. If you're in the area, it's quite a treat.

Lunch ordered we took a table outside. It was 12:30 pm and still not real crowded and a perfect day to eat on the patio.

Everyone ordered the Pulled-pork Sandwich with coleslaw and grilled onions. Their BBQ sauce, a vinegar-based Carolina style, came in a bottle. Not being a fan of the sauce I ordered the Rotisserie Chicken with Belgium fries and Roasted Garlic Aoili.
They make their own sauces and it's hard to say which one was better the Aoili or the homemade ketchup. I could have drank the ketchup but that garlic mayo was great too. Imagine it on a burger. Sigh.

What I wished to try, but didn't, was their House Cured Pastrami. It was as big a sandwich as the pulled pork and though a bit pricey, almost 9 bucks, it looks fantastic. I should have share it with someone. That doesn't mean my chicken wasn't delish, it was tender and juicy and full of flavor.

I might have been expecting something different with the Belgium Fries. They were soft but not greasy and a great way to get the ketchup into my mouth. They did have a very fresh flavor.

The menu also has beer and wine though we opted for soda and one of their handmade malts that was pretty hefty.

This place needs a return visit but being so far out of the way I'm not sure when. And the Italian Bakery? Yes, we stopped there and each got a loaf of their Italian bread. Oh brother was that good.

Christmas Guest Chef

We had a guest chef in the PBE kitchen this morning. She comes from a long line of fantastic cookie bakers. I felt honored just to be in the same kitchen let alone her helper.


Here are her 2009 Christmas Cookies. I'm sure they'll be copied as soon as the public sees them. I'm just hoping she lets me help her again next year.

Shut the door, I'm dressing!

One of my favorite cookbooks is The Junior League of Pasadena California Heritage Cookbook. I've had it since 1976. My dog, as a puppy, chewed the corner and many of the pages have stains. I love this cookbook. One of my favorite recipes is something they call Mexican White Dressing. Reading the recipe you might also wonder why it's called this, it's puzzled me forever.

This is one of those sweet dressings that goes well with avocado and citrus salads but the following is an old standby of mine. First, the dressing.

Mexican White Dressing
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon celery seed
1 tablespoon of powdered onion
4 tablespoons sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt

Mix all the ingredients in a 1-quart covered jar and allow to stand at room temperature for 24 hours. Refrigerate 1 hour before serving. Shake well just before using. This dressing will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator.

Now, the salad. It couldn't be easier. You can add candied nuts or Gorgonzola, whatever you enjoy. The sweet dressing is a wonderful compliment to the strong cheese.

Napa Cabbage Salad
Chop into bite-sized pieces a medium head of Napa cabbage.
To this add walnuts and crumbled blue cheese and toss with dressing.

Artichokes and cream: what's not to love

If life were perfect I would have created this dish but nope, it wasn't me. It was another food blogger, Ree Drummond at Pioneer Woman. She's just come out with a cookbook but I've been reading her blog all along. She takes a million photos of the process for each recipe and has fun doing it. She has a handful of home schooled kids and a working cattle ranch. She is way too organized but has an honest blog that is fun to read and is a damn fine cook.

Spaghetti with artichokes and tomatoes

She touts this as almost entirely made from the pantry and I did use canned artichoke hearts but I had enough fresh Roma tomatoes so I blanched and pealed them. I had thought frozen artichokes but they might be to watery and Trader Joe's has a very nice canned product. It is easy, quick and very filling. I like to have a meatless dinner ever so often and this fits the bill.

Ree added the cheese a bit differently. Hot pasta into a bowl, drizzle with olive oil and then sprinkle a fair amount of grated Parmesan. Then top with the hot sauce. I think that helped to incorporate the cheese better. And like her, I use tongs to help mix this all together. Where ever would I be without tongs. They are on my family crest.

Editor's note: I got so wound up about this dish I missed one thing. It was delicious! My beloved enjoyed it and didn't even miss the meat. I could have eaten the whole bowl but held myself in check. Red sauce is on for me but I really have trouble with the acid. This had a yummy tomato flavor without the acid-reflux I usually experience. Do make this. Go to the store right now.

Hot Fudge

Sometimes hot fudge sundaes for dinner is just what you need. I mean, really, let's throw caution to the wind and enjoy what we want. Life is stressful enough these days, but I'm an optimist; I feel we are getting better.

When my beloved decided he wasn't hungry for dinner I asked if he had room for dessert. He quickly agreed he had room for a hot fudge sundae. Friday we had friends over for dinner and since I don't bake much in the summer, we had a simple dish of ice cream with peach sauce for dessert. That meant there was ice cream left in the freezer.

A few days ago, in an unusual fit of cleaning, I ran across a recipe for my mom's hot fudge. This was not your usual chocolate syrup this was something divine. I had never made it but had asked mom quite a few years ago how she concocted this delightful pleasure. It is way too easy.

Hot Fudge
1 can of sweetened condensed milk (try some of the La Lechera that Doodles posted about)
powdered cocoa
milk
pinch of salt (optional)

In a small sauce pan heat the condensed milk slowly and whisk in enough cocoa powder to taste. Some people like it more chocolaty than others. As it heats, thin it to the right consistency with milk. You want to be able to pour the syrup. Add a pinch of salt. Heat and stir until it's smooth, no need to come close to a boil.

Pour over your favorite ice cream but pour enough you want a bite of that tasty fudgy syrup with each bite of ice cream.

It's September

Some areas of the country are beginning to feel some coolness to their weather, not where we are but hey Southern California always has to be different.

I read somewhere that September is National Fruits & Vegetable month. Well I know for a fact that there are some tasty fruits around this time of the year. Farmer's Markets have an abundance of fruits and veggies and for that I am so thankful.

But have you noticed in your market the vast supply of avocados, my word this must be a bumper crop year. Oh and where we are right now the price is very good thank you very much.

I love me a good avocado salad with red onion, chick peas, chopped tomatoes and for a dressing just fresh lime juice and good extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. I add chopped cilantro but not everyone likes this herb so leave it out if you want. If I have some red cabbage or even savoy cabbage, I slice that thin and add it, gives it a crispness Maybe add some fried/baked tortilla strips to use instead of croutons.

But one of my favorite ways to eat an avocado is to mash it with a little lime and salt and add just about a nickel size dollop of some pepper paste, you know that stuff you get in a tube, add that, then spread it on a piece of sourdough bread that has been under the broiler for a few seconds.

Well since it's still September I'm gonna go think of some fruits and veggies to share that is a bit out of the ordinary.................do you have some to share?..................email and I'll post them as well................stay tuna'd

Sweet

We had company the other nite for dinner...........friends were leaving so I made a pork roast with all the trimmings, nothing special just the carrots, onions and potatoes. What I liked the best was the gravy I made from the juice, quite tasty with the addition of the smokey paprika I rubbed on the roast.

But this post is not about the main meal it's about my new favorite desert or should I say desert addition. It was a bit too warm to bake a pie or a cake. And given the time of year and the great fruit that abounds in this area at
least.

Peaches are at the top of my list with a few blueberries and raspberries added as well as some toasted pecan pieces added after a drizzle of this delectable sweetened condensed milk. I just recently found this product and was quite pleased with the fact it is not as heavy sweet like the sweetened condensed milk I have been using for many, many years.
The wonderful locally grown peaches are spectacular, added to the peaches were some dried cranberries and some toasted sliced almonds.


Next up using this to make my key lime pie recipe..............that will be the real test I'm thinking.

Not enough butter in your diet? We have the answer

Buttercream Frosting! I was feeling like the blood through my arteries was moving much to fast so I decided to make honest to goodness buttercream frosting. This is a Cook's Country recipe and it's pretty easy though I'm sure very high in cholesterol. This recipe makes enough for a small cake or about 24 cupcakes. I cut it in half for 15 and I still had a bit left. What ever to do with a 1/4 cup of frosting?

Buttercream Frosting
4 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch table salt
1 pound unsalted butter, softened and each stick cut into eights

Combine eggs, sugar, vanilla, and salt in bowl of standing mixer, place bowl over pan of simmering water. Whisking gently but constantly, heat mixture until thin and foamy and registers 160 degrees on instant-read thermometer.

Beat egg mixture on medium-high speed with whisk attachment until light, airy, and cooled to room temperature, about five minutes. (I put an ice pack around the outside of the bowl because it was pretty hot in my kitchen.) Reduce speed to medium and add butter, one piece at a time. (After adding half the butter, buttercream may look curdled; it will smooth with additional butter.) Once all butter is added, increase speed to high and beat 1 minute until light, fluffy, and thoroughly combined. (Can be covered and refrigerated up to 5 days.) Do let it warm up and restir to make it fluffy and spreadable again.

I frosted the cupcakes and sprinkled some toasted sugared slice almonds. Just perfect. I kept them refrigerated until a few minutes before serving because that butter sets up solid when cold, just like it does in your arteries.

a new find.............goat cheese

Not a new find to me but to my dear husband. While checking out the local farmers market Mr Doodles found the goat cheese vendor. My word you would have thought he had found the hope diamond but he did find some killer goat cheese.

What Mr liked was the creaminess of the cheese with the additions of dried cranberries. Then there was a variety with the cheese in a jar with lemon juice,good olive oil, a sprig of fresh rosemary and some black peppercorns. Another variety was plain cheese rolled in a variety of items, one was cilantro very finely chopped. So because Mr was enthralled with the cheese he had to have a very long chat with the fellow who was also the owner,he and his wife are the owners actually, wife happened to be at another farmers market.

We went to lunch later and I was telling Mr about 'lil bird', my sweet niece, wanting to have a few goats and make some cheese. Well he laughed hysterically and said if only we were younger we would do that. We had one goat once upon a time, Doone was a very sweet goat. Mr reminded me a a cute photo of sweet niece feeding Doone but Doone decided he liked niece's dress she was wearing and started chewing on the hem. As I remember it was Easter and 'lil bird' was dressed in all her Easter finery. I think I'm gonna look for that photo.

Anyway back to the goat cheese,
one of the cheeses I purchased was the creamy goat cheese rolled in some wonderfully sweet and moist dried cranberries.

Gonna go look for some recipes that uses goat cheese............stay tuna'd.

Reprise of an old favorite: part two, the guacamole

You can hardly call this guacamole since there is so little avocado in it but that's what they call it at Cielito Lindo's. You can call it damn delicioso and put it on anything, well maybe not dessert.

Let's get this finished. I had so many pix for the first installment and my camera decided to be uncooperative for the second so we are gonna proceed photoless.

Take the approximately 3 cups of the Salsa Verde you made from the previous post and add one half a medium sized ripe avocado. Yes, that is correct, one half, 1/2, or medio; however you say it–it's just a tiny bit of the whole sauce.

Liquefy in the blender until smooth and bring to a simmer in a small sauce pan. Simmer for about five minutes. This cooks out the "raw" taste of the avocado. Not a bad taste but somehow different once you cook it.

Now thin with a bit of what's called in the restaurant biz, "profit". That would be water to us folks. This sauce is very thin, like a heavy tomato juice. Adjust the salt and let this cool; refrigerate and serve cold over the taquitos. It is also good on tacos and I love it mixed in with frijoles.

I hope this helps the readers who can't make it to downtown Los Angeles for their taquito fix and maybe spur someone else to try this classic Olvera Street favorite.

Reprise of an old favorite: part one, salsa verde

Editors note: Lots of photos on a blog site, not my thing but sometimes you need to show the process so if you have a slower computer, I sincerely apologize, there are many photos with this posting.

We've received a number of questions about the Guacamole Sauce used at a famous taquito stand in Los Angeles. Ok, two is a number, right? I posted about recreating the recipe and came pretty close. If you've been to Cielito Lindo's you know what the big fuss is about. Recently, we've had a few other questions and I thought it time to do a thorough post, with pix, to help everyone out. Since this can be a complicated recipe and would be too long for any sane person to read, I'll serialize it.

First you need to make the Salsa Verde. I rarely make it from scratch because I live near an ethnic Mexican market that makes it fresh but if you can't find this make this recipe or find canned, Herdez Salsa Verde. It works in a pinch. Do stay away from any canned Salsa Verde that has sugar, yuck. Once in a while I find canned tomatillos just packed in brine. This will work too but you have to cook the other veggies so why not do it all.

1 lb of Tomatillos, husked removed
Note: These look like green tomatoes with a papery skin. Peel off the skin and wash the tomatillos thoroughly. They are sticky, very sticky; they should make glue from tomatillos.

3 whole jalapeño peppers
Note: I use Fresno Hots because I grow them in the summer. These are hot mamma jammas and need to be treated, as all hot peppers, with respect. Seriously wear gloves and wash before you touch any skin, yours our someone else's. I also used one of my Anaheim Green chillies, they have such great flavor but you can make it with just jalapeños.

7 or 9 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 medium white onion, quartered (I know the photo shows a brown onion)
1 can of 14.5 oz. chicken broth
a small bunch of cilantro with stems, about a cup roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

Cut the tomatillos in quarters. See why? You can't tell from the outside if it's got a bad spot.
Cut the peppers in quarters and if they are really hot remove the seeds.
Cut onions in quarters and peel the garlic.

Everything, including chicken broth goes into a pot. Don't worry if the broth does not cover the vegetables. Bring to a boil and simmer with lid on for about 20 minutes or until everything is soft.
Because you can never be sure how hot your chillies are you can, in a separate pan, boil a few chopped and seeded chillies.

This will smell wonderful. I believe this is what heaven smells like.

I took this snap before I added the cilantro stems but don't bother chopping them everything will go into the blender when cooked. Give it a taste and if it isn't hot enough for you add a few of the extra cooked chillies. If it's too hot, I have no idea, it's never been too hot for us. It needs to have some heat. Adjust the salt.

Here it is finished cooking. Now, didn't that all go together nice? Yes, it did.Let this cool before you process it, please. I have had Salsa Verde colored kitchen walls before. You could use the salsa, to cook pork or chicken or a sauce for enchiladas. It is very versatile.
For our Guacamole recipe whir in a blender until completely liquefied. Strain the salsa through a fine mesh strainer while you push it through with the back of a spoon. I strain it this way because the tomatillo has those pesky little white seeds. You do what you want but the resulting sauce should be quite smooth. You should have somewhere near 3 cups.
You are halfway there. Stay tuned for the second installment of the recipe; making the guacamole. It is totally different from guacamole you eat with your chips in a Mexican restaurant. It is for dipping taquitos and licking the plate after.

Use one quart of the Salsa Verde in my version of Chilaquiles.

It's cantaloupe time

I don't know about you but I am quite fond of cantaloupe, especially now since I discovered this brand of melon. Did I tell you about this last year, well even if I have, it is well worth repeating.

Rocky Ford is an area in south east Colorado. If by chance you should run into a cantaloupe that has this sticker on it grab it, take it home and you will be thanking me forever. Now if you cannot find Rocky Ford cantaloupe, well I am so very sorry, wish I could send y'all some cause these melons are perfect just what a cantaloupe should taste like.

And yes I have made my infamous (in my own mind) cantaloupe salad and will be making it again for a friendly gathering.

Ridiculously short Shortbread Cookie

They do not travel well; you can hardly get them to your mouth in one piece.
Forget about putting them in a cookie jar, you have only crumbs.
Do not dip them in coffee; they disintegrate.
The better the butter, the better. (I love that sentence, read it again)
They must be beaten for 10 minutes; no more, no less and baked immediately.

Ok, that all the bad things about these cookies, here is the one reason you will run right out and make them: These are the lightest cookies you will ever put in your mouth. Do I have to say more?

Shortbread Cookies (this recipe can be cut in half very easily)

1 lb unsalted butter, softened but not too soft.
4 cups flour
1 cup powdered sugar
1 pinch of salt

Beat for 10 minutes with a stand mixer. Pip from a pastry bag with a large tip onto parchment.
Bake 350 for 15-17 minutes. Just brown on the edges. Let cool about a minute on cookie sheet and remove to a rack to cool.

Who needs a recipe?

For Lemonade, well, honestly–I do. If I just throw in sugar, water and lemon juice I'm futzing around adding more juice or sugar, oops, now it's too strong and I need more water so I adhere to a recipe.

Since I have a beautiful lemon tree right outside my door I don't have to buy lemons and usually by this time of the summer we are begging visitors to take bags home. Unfortunately the drought has hit close to home in more ways than one and my lemon tree seems to be suffering a bit. The lemons are smaller and not as plentiful but I did have a few dozen to make up a batches of concentrate to freeze for a later use.

This recipe is so simple I never change it.

1 cup fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
4 cups water
1 lemon sliced

I make a simple syrup from 1 cup of water and the sugar then add the water, lemon slices and juice. I have no idea how long it last because it's usually gone that day.

For the concentrate: combine sugar and lemon juice is a small container; mix until sugar is dissolved. Freeze. Defrost slightly and add the water and sliced lemon.

A tall glass with lots of ice is the fav here and on occasion, a shot of Raspberry Rum. Yum.

I have never met a biscuit I didn't like

But when I saw that Dutch Girl found a copycat recipe for the Red Lobster cheese biscuits I quickly went to print out her recipe. The photo of the gems were perfect and brought back some wonderful memories.

When I lived in South Florida and my Momma lived about a hundred or so miles north I ventured up the interstate quite often. We would go to a movie and then have a late lunch early dinner. One of Momma's favorite spots for lunch was to go to Red Lobster for lunch. Always ordered the very same thing a large bowl of clam chowder, a small Caesar salad and an iced tea. With any meal you receive a basket of these biscuits................dang they are good!!!

So if you like those biscuits then you are gonna love this recipe. Don't thank me thank Kay for bringing them to our attention.

Now for the recipe for Faux Red Lobster Biscuits
ingredients 2 cups Bisquick 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp garlic salt 1/2 tsp onion powder 1 1/2 cups grated cheese 2/3 cup buttermilk 3 tbs butter 2 tsp oregano Optional: 4 sun-dried tomatoes Use a large mixing bowl to combine the bisquick, garlic & onion powder, grated cheese and sun-dried tomatoes. Add the buttermilk and mix til the dough is firm. Drop spoonfuls on a baking sheet lined with baking powder. Melt 2 oz butter and mix in 1 tsp garlic salt and 2 tsp dried oregano. Brush half of the mix on top of the biscuit. Bake the biscuits at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove the biscuits from the oven and brush the remaining butter mix on top.

My notes for these biscuits..................I did not use sun-dried tomatoes since I had none on hand, next time maybe, also I would use fresh chives and I did not use oregano.

Kay I must say thanks bunches for the recipe my hips aren't pleased but my taste buds are. And thanks Kay for sending me the email and attaching the copycat cookbook.

attack of the killer zucchini

yes, i know it's been a month since we last posted, but you know what it's like. anyhoo, my friend annaluisa and her husband, jerry, have a garden and they're growing, among other things, some great zucchini. annaluisa was kind enough to share some of their crop with me. check this thing out, it's ginormous



i love the flavor of grilled zucchini, so, i dusted off the chicken crematorium, i mean, the barbeque, and grilled me up some zucchini, with a side of london broil steak. i made some caramelized onions to go on top of the zucchini and it really brought out the sweetness of the zucchini. one thing i learned about caramelized onions: i do not have the kind of patience it takes to make them. this is probably no surprise to anyone that knows me. ahem. anyway, here's the final product -



thanks, annaluisa and jerry for sharing the bounty of your harvest!

Not your Grandma's pie

This pie is so versatile and tastes good too. Always looking for different recipes and anything that includes tortillas go to the top of the must try list.

Layers of roasted pork, fresh tomatoes, grated cheese. roasted green chiles, beans, and the ever popular cilantro.

Found this recipe over on Simply Recipes and Elise has never failed when it comes to Mexican food. She calls this comfort food and I can readily agree.

For the beans I used a can of pinto beans that I cooked in some tomatillo sauce I had on hand. Buttering the tortillas is also the key to crispiness.

I made two and shared one with friends, when the pie plate was returned I was asked if I was gonna make another one of these.

How we do it: Green Chilies

There is really only one way to peel green chilies; roast them. I use a lot of the Anaheim long green chilies. The flavor is milder than say a jalapeno but it still has some bite and a terrific flavor.

Usually to roast them I rub a bit of oil on the skins and drop them on the BBQ grill while I'm cooking something else. You just turn them until they are equally charred on all sides and put them in a plastic bag. Their heat will cause them to steam a bit loosening the charred skin. When cooled the charred skin slips right off. Slice open one side and remove the seeds. I always snip off a piece to assess their hotness. If they are too hot for you remove the veins on the inside. That is where the heat is. Wear gloves if you are the least bit sensitive to the chili oil and whatever you do, don't touch your nose or eyes. That goes for any other chili you are handling.


When I only want one or two I turn on the gas burner and roast them there. It's quick and I love the smell in the kitchen of roasting chilies. Just remember to turn them carefully so all areas gets charred. Those odd shaped ones are difficult to keep on the burner so make sure to buy long straight ones at the market.

Cook them the same as above and remember when you are peeling off the skins and removing the seeds, don't do it under running water, it dilutes the flavor but do give them a quick rinse. I like to leave just a bit of the char on some of the chili to add some additional flavor.

We've posted a number of recipes with green chilies. Here are just a few.

Green Chili Quiche
Doodles Chili Verde

When in doubt

make two desserts I say. Recently hosted a small gathering for a dear friends birthday celebration. Small gathering meaning only about a dozen adults. Menu was going to be a BBQ of hot dogs , hamburgers, potato salad, baked beans and a broccolini salad I concocted. More about that later this is all about desserts.

Just realized sister moon and I have been doing a lot of desserts lately, must walk off those extra pounds next week.


So back to the two desserts one of which is red velvet cupcakes. I chose cupcakes because birthday sparkle candles look cute on cupcakes. The texture of the cupcakes are moist and delish. No fancy frosting just a buttercream that is my favorite. No need to post the recipe but here is the link to the original, which I might add is one of my very favorite sites for recipes. Know that Elise does not fail to come thru.

The second dessert is one I found over of P'Dub's blog. Pioneer Woman comes up with some fine concoctions and the desserts are usually butter laden. Pita apple crisp with a sweet cream sauce does not disappoint.

Click here for the recipe. No I did not use the wheat germ or the apple brandy. And when Miss P'dub says proceed with caution she ain't kiddin'. Wonderful desert for a crowd. I made the sauce that she posted and also made my Mommas sauce she used to make for her apple dumplings. Trust me folks eith one will get ya huge praises.

Sauce for Apple Crisp

1 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoon Karo syrup
1/2 cup apple sauce

Combine above ingredients, heat over medium heat till thickened, spoon warm sauce over apple crisp.

Might I tell you that the birthday girl took home the two cupcakes that were remaining and the husband of the guest of honor was quite disappointed there wasn't more apple crisp to take home...............guess everyone was happy. Glad I made two desserts.