Friday, June 29, 2012

Can you believe it's the end of June already? Time certainly does fly....(I must be getting old, lol).

Monday I had a catering job making dinner for a business meeting. Orange Teriyaki Beef Tenderloin, Morrocan Couscous, Asparagus with Zesty Orange Sauce and for dessert, Strawberry Icebox Cake. And what part of this meal do you think they remembered most? The DESSERT, lol! And it was so easy. Jordan couldn't quite figure out why I would want to make a no bake dessert, since I like to bake, but there is something magical about icebox cakes. You start out with crispy graham crackers or chocolate wafer cookies, add whipped cream or pudding, and end up with a dessert that tastes like cake. And it looks so pretty!



The recipe is from www.kitchn.com. I made a smaller version with leftovers from the dinner I made for myself and Jordan. Here's the recipe:

No-Bake Strawberry Icebox Cake
serves 8 to 12
2 pounds fresh strawberries, washed
3 1/4 cups whipping cream, divided
1/3 cup confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon rosewater (optional)
4 sleeves (about 19 ounces, or 24 to 28 whole crackers) graham crackers
2 ounces dark chocolate, finely chopped

Take out a few of the best-looking strawberries and set them aside for the garnish. Hull the remainder of the strawberries and slice each berry into thin slices.

With a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, whip 3 cups of cream until it just holds stiff peaks. Add the confectioners sugar, vanilla, and rosewater (if using) and whip to combine.

Spread a small spoonful of whipped cream on the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking pan, or a similarly-sized platter. Lay down six graham crackers. Lightly cover the top of the graham crackers with more whipped cream, and then a single layer of strawberries. Repeat three times, until you have four layers of graham crackers. Spread the last of the whipped cream over the top and swirl it lightly with a spoon. Add a few more strawberries.

To make the ganache, heat the cream until bubbles form around the edges, then pour over the chopped chocolate. Let it stand for a few minutes, then whisk until the mixture is thick and glossy. Drizzle this over the layered dessert with a spoon, or transfer to a squeeze bottle and use that to drizzle.

Refrigerate for at least four hours, or until the crackers have softened completely. Garnish with additional berries.


Tuesday was my usual personal chef day. This week's offerings were Cherry Papaya Orzo Salad served with Citrus Chili Glazed Cod,



Chicken with Goat Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes, Double Potato Mash (a savory mix of sweet potatoes and baking potatoes), Herbed Vegetable Ribbons, Mango Rice Salad with Grilled Shrimp, Milk Pork (a Laura Caulder recipe),



Mashed Potatoes, Garlic Sauteed Spinach, Chicken Tostadas with Avocado Sauce, Penne with Roasted Tomatoes, Garlic and White Beans,



Loaded Spinach Salad and Rice and Lentil Salad. This weeks dessert? A Paris-Brest Cake. A Paris-Brest is a ring of Pate aux Choux dough that is filled with whipped cream (usually) but in this case, I followed Jacques Pepin's recipe and filled it with Chocolate Pastry Cream topped with whipped cream. YUM!



The rest of the week was filled with errands and work for Jordan. Oh, and also my latest culinary job-making healthy meals for one of the local orthopedic offices. They had a wellness fair today and I provided lunch. They asked for three (!) hotel pan-sized main dishes: Mexican Lasagna served with a Mixed Green Salad with Lime Vinaigrette, Shrimp with Toasted Couscous and Ginger-Orange Sauce and Island Pork Tenderloin Salad. I started prep yesterday after going shopping. I did a lot of the work yesterday but was still up at 5am today to make sure I could deliver everything by 8:30am this morning. Starting July 9, I will be delivering meals (not less than ten on any given day) for interested staff members (of which they have 175!). It's a nice program they are offering.

And did I mention I am also trying to start a cookie business? I took the first steps toward getting the recipes analyzed and ready to be sold. This preliminary step will take at least a month, maybe two. Wish me luck!

Saturday, June 23, 2012

I changed my personal chef day to Wednesday this week because of working my nursing job. It was nice of my client to let me do that!

This week's dessert was Sticky Toffee Pudding, an English dessert that is made up of dates and flour (and a few other things) that is baked in a cake pan. Once it is done baking, you pour a sauce (made up of cream, butter and brown sugar) over the top the cake and put it back in the oven under a broiler. The sauce bubbles up and caramelizes the top of the cake and the extra liquid turns it into a pudding. Yum!

This week's menus were Lancashire Cheese and Onion pie (another English dish); a BLT Steak Salad; Grilled Pork Tenderloin with Pineapple-Mango Salsa and a Strawberry and Candied Pecan Salad;



Almond Crusted Chicken and Nectarine Salad with Buttermilk-Chive Dressing; Garbanzo Bean and Zucchini Salad; Chicken, Green Bean, Corn and Farro Salad with Goat Cheese;



Italian Flat Bread with Fontina and Proscuitto; Shredded Pork Summer Rolls and Eggplant Gratin. Makes even ME hungry going back over these menus, lol!

As for my nursing job, it's been nice working with other nurses again, especially since I've been a worker bee and don't have to worry about managing staff. I only work when they need extra help, so my schedule is not set. I'm ok with that. And the extra money is nice!

I was approached by one of the local physician groups to provide healthy lunch meals to their staff. The group is launching a healthy lifestyle program and want to provide affordable lunches for the people who want them. The CFO is the one who came up with six week's worth of menus along with the recipes. She did most of the work. They asked that I deliver the meals for $5 each. I am willing to try it for a few weeks, but I told her I did need to make money on this venture, not just cover my costs with groceries and, of course, my time. I think the cause is a worthy one, so I am willing to give it a try for six weeks. We'll see if their staff stays interested in the program. I did ask for a minimum of 10 people on the three days during the week I'll be providing meals. We'll see....

My sister and brother-in-law made it safely to Portland, Oregon. My sister, Corie, is very impressed by the lush, green the environment. A new start for them-I hope it works out well for them.

Today, I've given myself the task of making my own puff pastry. I am going to use Jacques Pepin's recipe. It seems simple enough, albeit time consuming (the chief complaint with puff pastry-not complicated but time consuming). I will then compare the handmade puff pastry with store-bought puff pastry to see how different they taste.

I made shortbread cookies earlier today. I'm thinking of dipping them in chocolate when they've cooled enough to cut. And I am putting my bread machine to use by making Oatmeal bread. The recipe is on the back of Bob's Red Mill Rolled Oats. It looked interesting, so I filled the machine's inner container with the ingredients and let the bread machine do the rest! I usually make Jim Lahey's No Knead bread (mine and Jordan's favorite). It takes very little work to make and is such a lovely, crusty bread. The weather has taken a cooler turn so today seemed a good baking day.

Until next time......

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

A week has gone by since I've written! My how time flies! I worked at GIC Thursday. I continue to be amazed at how nice everyone is. Granted, everything is not all hunky dorry, but everyone seems happy to work there.

Friday I had a doctor's appt which took some time,as he was runny very late. Jordan and I went out to dinner at the Gas Lamp. Jordan calls it his new favorite restaurant, lol.

My sister, Corie and her husband, Stu, arrived on Saturday (so you also know I cleaned the house in anticipation of their arrival!). I cooked dinner Saturday evening. Beef Kebabs, Duchess Potatoes (The Pioneer Woman's recipe), Brussells sprouts with bacon, corn on the cobb, grilled broccolini and for dessert...Individual Peach Blueberry Cobblers. Everyone seemed very happy with their meal! We stayed up talking for a while but everyone was very tired, so we went to bed pretty early.

Sunday we all went out for Sunday brunch at the El Dorado. Nice buffet, although I don't think I've ever been there that early! (9:30am). After we ate, Corie and Stu left so they could stop in Sacramento to see his cousins. This was a quick trip. They are moving to a suburb of Portland, so I hope everything works out for them.

Monday I worked as a nurse, another nice day with nice patients. Today is usually my personal chef cooking day, but we changed it to Wednesday as I thought I might have to work late. So tomorrow I will be regalling you with my culinary adventures, but not today, lol. Today I shopped for supplies and also made a Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake my my client tmorrow. Very English!

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Today was my personal chef day. It is always a good day when I get to bake and cook!

Today's offerings were Spicy Salmon served with a Citrus Vinaigrette;



a Citrus Salad with fennel, grapefruit and orange sections topped with a basil vinaigrette;



Coq au Riesling-chicken legs in a mushroom-Riesling sauce;



Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto-grilled chicken breast topped with a pesto made of spinach, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan cheese;



Carmelized Shrimp over steamed rice-large shelled shrimp sauteed in a sauce base of carmelized palm sugar, ginger and garlic;



Colorful Lentil Salad with Walnuts and Herbs-green lentils tossed with red bell peppers, onions, garlic, parsley, mint, parmesan cheese and a pomegranate molasses;



Roasted pork-the pork was browned then roasted with white wine and mushrooms; Mediterranean Veggie Saute-zucchini, onions, and red bell peppers tossed with a balsamic vinaigrette; Apple Coleslaw-shredded cabbage, carrots and apples tossed with a lemon-mayonaise; Moussaka-a Greek dish made with eggplant, potatoes, Swiss chard, a lamb-tomato sauce, layered then topped with a cheesy custard and baked;



and last but not least, a Hazelnut Roll, one of Laura Caulder's French recipes.



It is a sponge cake made by mixing 3 eggs with a 1/3 cup of sugar, which you then beat with a mixer in a double boiler. Once you have done that, gently fold in a half cup of ground hazelnuts and 2 Tbsp flour. Pour it into a parchment lined 8x12 inch pan and bake for 10-12 minutes. Flip the cake out and roll it in a damp towel while the cake is still warm (makes it easier to roll the cake in the final stages of putting this all together). Unroll it when it is cooled and spread with whipped cream that has been flavored with a little cinnamon and vanilla extract. Looks impressive, lol. Pretty darn tasty too!

Only thing better than cooking all day would be to have someone clean up after me, lol! No chance of that though...

Sunday, June 10, 2012

It was a long week, albeit good. I had fun at my new job, back in nursing, at least per diem. When Jordan got back to town Friday evening, we went out to dinner with our friend, Ric. We had dinner again at the Gas Lamp. Great food! I had the Italian Seafood Stew with polenta and Jordan had a Steak Ceasar Salad. Ric had the Grilled Pork Chop that is Gas Lamp's specialty.

But I was back to baking this weekend. Saturday I made a Blueberry Mascarpone Cheesecake. I had been given the recipe by The Baddish Group, a PR firm in NYC. Because I am the examiner.com Reno Food Examiner, I get contacted by them intermittently with promotions. May 30 was National Blueberry Cheesecake Day and Driscoll's being one of their clients, they of course offered me a recipe to try and some coupons for $5 off Driscoll berries. Nice! The crust is made up of ground almonds, sugar and a little butter. It then gets baked for 10-15 minutes until golden brown.



The filling is made up of cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, eggs, one vanilla bean (scraped of the seeds), and liquid vanilla. Mix it all together, pour it over the cooled crust and bake for 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees. Once it's baked, it gets topped with blueberries that have been cooked in a simple syrup on the stovetop for about 5 minutes.





Today I tried a new Palmier recipe. I still used sugar, although I went with vanilla sugar but brushed the puff lightly with a beaten egg wash. I also cut them 3.4 of an inch, put chopped pecans on half the batch and left the other half plain. I then dipped half of the palmiers into chocolate. I am a little obsessed with making palmiers right now but guess I am going to have to try my hand at home made puff now that I have tried all the store bought puff pastries out there.







We had dinner at a friend's house and I took both desserts over there. They barbecued lamb and flank steak on the grill, which was fabulous. It was a nice evening...

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Yesterday was my cooking day in the midst of orienting to my new job at GI Consultants (back to a little nursing). There was lots of cooking to do. My Dacqouise was done Sunday so I took that over to my client's home along with all my cooking supplies and groceries.

This week's offerings are Slow cooked Lamb with Pistachio-Honey Dressing, Couscous with Apricots and Toasted Cumin, Easy Ratatouille,






Creole Chicken, Thai Pork and Noodles, Grilled Pork Steak with Peaches and Herb Puree,



Green Giant Soup (yes it is packed with veggies), Tomato and tasil Tarte Tatin (baked in an 8 inch frying pan, then flipped out onto a plate)





and the birthday dinner: Beef Tenderloin with Port Sauce, Rosemary Fingerling Potatoes and Roasted Tomatoes on the vine.



And for dessert? Le Cote Basque Dacquoise! Look at those layers!



Should be good eating this week!

I do feel like I have improved quite a bit over the last year. My meringue is better, after my chocolate class, my ganache is better and although some things are still a challenge, they are not as trying as they used to be. That's a good feeling, I must say.

Sunday, June 3, 2012

After a day spent working on the computer(between doing work for Jordan and looking a recipes-such a surprise to find me doing that, lol), we had dinner at the home of someone Jordan works with. Elizabeth works for the State of Nevada in Carson City and is in charge of emergency planning. She is also originally from a small two in Mexico. So dinner was authentic Mexican food. She served some sort of bean dip and a green salsa with corn chips. For dinner, we had Enchiladas Plaza, a dish apparently original to her home town area in Mexico. She asked me to help her put the meal together as some of it was "a la minute"-at the last minute.

Elizabeth had made home made corn tortillas, which she toasted on a flat hot plate on the stove. She then dipped the corn tortillas in home made red sauce, then fried them. You take them out of the oil, put a spoonful or so of a queso cheese and onion mix, then fold them over. These are served with cooked pork on the side as well as boiled potatoes and carrots that are topped with more queso cheese and yogurt (which takes the place of sour cream). Very tasty! It was a pleasure helping out! I had made Cinnamon Apple Empanadas earlier in the day and brought them with us as a gift. We had some of those for dessert. Everyone enjoys a little sweet at the end of a meal.

Today I tried the banana ice cream I have been reading about. The only ingredient in the "ice cream" is bananas. I kid you not! It's like magic! You slice two bananas into coins, place them in the freezer (for me, that was overnight) until they are frozen solid. Take them out of the freezer and let them sit 5-10 minutes, then put them in a food processor and whooze them around. The texture comes out exactly like ice cream! It's low calorie, dairy free, gluten free, sugar free-can't get much healthier. (Other than not eat at all.) I got the recipe from www.thekitchn.com. There are all sorts of "mix-ins" you can do to change the flavor-Nutella, peanut butter and honey, and strawberries were just some of the options they mention. The "secret" is in freezing the bananas, it changes their structure.





Afterwards, I started making my Dacquoise. The recipe is from Le Cote Basque, a now closed famous restaurant in NYC. A Daquoise is a French layered dessert much like a layer cake but the layers are made with meringue instead of cake. In this recipe, the meringue is flavored with ground almonds and ground hazelnuts, then baked for four hours at 250 degrees.



They look like giant cookies, don't they, lol? Next you make chocolate ganache using 1 cup of heavy cream, 3 oz of milk chocolate and 5 oz of bittersweet chocolate. While the meringue layers and the ganach cool, make the Coffee Buttercream frosting. That consists of simple syrup boiled until it reaches 250 degrees (so it "cooks" the egg whites in the frosting), meringue. unsalted butter and coffee extract. While it is a very time consuming recipe, the taste is worth it!

Next you spread one meringue layer with the ganache, and two with buttercream.



Then stack the three layers-



and finally (almost finally, anyway) frost it all with the coffee buttercream frosting. It needs sliced almonds to complete it, but I will add those later.

The Dacquoise must be refrigerated no less than five hours before serving, but cuts better if you freeze it first, then cut it and let the pieces come to room temperature before eating. A cake fit for a king! (It's a birthday cake, so I guess that qualifies, lol!)



But now it's bedtime. I start a new job in tomorrow and have to be at work at 7am. Nighty-night!

Friday, June 1, 2012

April 15, 2012 marked the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. The passenger facilities aboard the Titanic aimed to meet the highest standards of luxury. The ship could accommodate 739 first class passengers, 674 second class passengers and 1,026 in third class. Her crew numbered about 900 people and in all the Titanic could carry about 3,339 people. The interior design was a departure from that of other passenger liners, which had typically been decorated in a rather heavy style. The Titanic was patterned after a much lighter style similar to that of contemporary high class hotels, such as the Ritz Carlton. First class cabins were furnished in the Empire style.

The ship was designed for comfort and luxury, with an on-board barber shop, gymnasium, swimming pool, libraries, high class restaurants and opulent accommodations. Titanic also had a powerful wireless telegraph provided for the convenience of passengers as well as for operational use for the ship's crew.

Fares aboard the Titanic varied enormously in cost. Third class berths from London, Southampton or Queenstown cost $847 (adjusted to 2012 dollars). Second class cabins began at $1,306.50. The cheapest first class fare cost $2,658. The most expensive first class stateroom suites were to have cost up to $101,772.

On her maiden voyage, passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as over a thousand immigrants seeking a new life in North America. Although the Titanic had advanced safety features such as watertight compartments and remotely activated watertight doors, it lacked enough lifeboart to accommodate all of the people on board. There was only enough room for 1,178 people, slightly more than half of the number travelling on the maiden voyage. On that first and final voyage, the ship carried 2,224 people.

The RMS Titanic sank on April 15, 1912 after colliding with an iceberg. The sinking of the Titanic caused the deaths of 1,514 people in one of the deadliest peacetime marine disasters in history. The Titanic sank in just two and one half hours. Passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly full.

Last Dinner on the Titanic, published in 1950, was the first book to discuss food service on the Titanic. It contains recipes, menus, dinner service placement and food inventory, giving us an amazing picture of the food eaten 100 years ago.

For what would be their final meal on the Titanic, first class passenters were served a nine course dinner. First class meals were presented in a classic French progression. Below is what was the final menu:

First Course-Hors D'Oeurves: Oeufs de Caille en Aspic et Caviar (Quail eggs in Jelly with caviar)
Second Course-Potage: Consomme Olga
Third Course-Poisson: Homard Thermador (Lobster in cream and cheese sauce)
Fourth Course-Entree: Roast Sirloin of Beef Forestiere/Duchesse Potatoes (Beef in mushroom sauce with baked potatoes)
Fifth Course-Punch or Sorbet: Punch Rose
Sixth Course-Roti: Cailles aux Cerises (Quails with cherries)
Seventh Course-Legume: Asperges Print Anier Es, Sauce Hollendaise (Asparagus and boiled eggs with Hollendaise)
Eight Course-Entremets: Macedoine de Fruits/Oranges en Surprise (Fruits in their own juices, orange gelatin)
Ninth Course-Assorted Fresh Fruits and Cheeses
After Dinner Coffee and Cigars

For the dinner we had on Wednesday evening at Fine Vines, they served a slightly updated first class menu, taking into account today's tasting palate.

We had Poached Salmon with Mousseline Sauce (Smoked salmon pate with Mustard Watercress Sauce), Consomme Olga (Pheasant Sonsomme), Asparagus Salad with Champagne-Saffron Vinaigrette (Asparagus, butter lettuce and Manchego cheese), Intermezzo Punch Rose (Earl Gray Blackberry Sorbet), Roast Sirloin of Beef Forestiere with Duchess Potatoes (Filet Medallions, Mushroom Demi-Glace and Duchesse potatoes), Peaches in Chartreuse Jelly (Peach shorbread and ice cream with Chartreuse Chantilly) and Assorted Cheese, Chocolates and Port.

A lovely meal prepared by local chef Jane Townley. We had a different wine with each course-all French wines-which is what they would have served on the Titanic. During dinner the chef gave a lecture on both the wine and the food. They had the book, Last Dinner on the Titanic, displayed so people could look at it. Truly a beautiful book, and it did indeed have pictures and recipes and menus and talked about the Titanic food experience. I may look it up to see if I can buy it. A little bit of history!

So there you have it, dinner on the Titanic (although we did not sink!).

The rest of my day will be filled with errands, and work for Jordan. Not quite as exciting as dinner, lol.