Daily Archives: August 6, 2008

No Lazy Chicken Tonight

Posted on August 6, 2008 by tdl1501| 1 Comment

Inspired by my trek to Penzey’s, I was writing and heard that Jim was coming home from his first day on the new job (it went well, thank you).

I had three half-chicken breasts, vastly different in size. I placed them on a half-sheet pan and sprinkled with salt and pepper and the new Penzey’s Greek Seasoning on both sides. I had limes, not lemons so did not use citrus but lemon would have been lovely.

The chicken breasts were placed in a 400 degree oven for 30 minutes then turned to 375 degrees as four red-skinned potatoes cut in wedges, seasoned with salt and pepper and oregano and tossed in Greek extra-virgin olive oil, were added to the oven in a separate pan. After ten minutes I took the potatoes out and flipped them and turned down the oven to 350 as the chicken was nearly done.

Ten minutes more for the potatoes. I took them out for another flip and moved them to the top shelf of the oven, having removed the chicken to a plate loosely covered with foil. Turned the oven back to 400 and blasted the potatoes for another ten minutes.

I bought a large, lovely ($$$) tomato at a specialty store today so cut it in wedges and placed in a bowl with salt and pepper, basil, olive oil and a splash of Balsamic vinegar.

Put it all together and keep the dog from jumping up and it was a great impromptu dinner!

Breakfast Plans:

I have some potatoes left that I can cut up and make home fries, maybe even unhealthy ones cooked in saved bacon fat! Next is an omelet with already-made duxelles and already shredded cheddar cheese. Two slices microwaved deep-smoked bacon from the butcher counter, grapefruit juice and hot herbal tea. That sounds good to me, how about you? No, I’m cooking here in the morning.

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Posted in Recipes

Penzey’s

Posted on August 6, 2008 by tdl1501| 3 Comments

This afternoon I went to Penzey’s herb and spice shop. It’s just a few miles away and they do mainly mail-order for freshly-dried items and whole spices (like nutmeg). What I like about having the shop close by is that by every item there is an apothecary jar you can open and smell the herbs.

This is especially good if there are two versions of the same herb. The difference between French and California basil is that I grew up with California basil and that aroma rings truer to my cooking. Another example is Turkish vs. Mexican Oregano. I don’t cook Mexican food very often or would buy the Mexican oregano for an authentic taste. Most of my dishes are of European origin so I use Turkish Oregano.

I generally stay away from spice blends but found two today that I chose to try in 1 oz. containers: Tuscan Sunset; and Greek Seasoning. When I opened the Greek Seasoning I smelled Greece. Incredible! They also have many mixes of grill seasoning including Northwest and Southwest, that I’ve been trying. Darn it, I forgot fennel seed and whole cardamom. I wanted to use my new KitchenAid spice grinder (the only one I’ve found where the bowl comes off for washing, so one doesn’t need a coffee grinder AND a spice grinder).

Chiles are abundant here and I’m just working my way through. Commercial chili powders are cut with turmeric and other fillers. I’ve started using pure Ancho chili powder, Aleppo peppers, and Chipotle powder (dried, smoked Jalapenos).

Over the past year or so they’ve added salt to their offerings, from Kosher to Fleur de Sel to French Gray and beyond. I use primarily Kosher because I keep it in a small bowl next to the stove and its irregular crystals make it easy to pick up with my clean fingers.  I also find that sea salt is much saltier so I’d have to measure and I don’t regularly do so.

Other luxury items include vanilla beans and three different kinds of whole Saffron stamens. These are things that you buy when you need them, and use quickly. If you need to mail order, plan for your special dinner party menu a couple of weeks ahead and order online (www.penzeys.com).

Hope you’ve had a great day. I spent part of it getting used to what might be our next car. It’s awfully big, as I literally looked down on a beloved Honda Accord, which we’ll keep.

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Posted in Education

Test Drive

Posted on August 6, 2008 by tdl1501| 2 Comments

I sold my Jeep Wrangler in California to help finance our voyage to Texas. For the past five years we’ve survived with one car. The first 9 months Jim worked 1/2 hour from home and he’d take the car or I’d drive him to and from work (a real pain).

For the past four years we live downtown, he worked downtown and could walk 1/2 mile to and from the office. Reality is I drove him in and he walked home. It worked great because on the way home he had time to “decompress” and relieve the stresses of the day, while watching the Muscovy ducks at a nearby park.

Today he starts work about 1/2 hour from home and we don’t want to be pressured to get a new car until we find the right one. Yesterday as I was preparing hors d’oeuvres for our non-event hurricane he arranged to rent a car for the week.

Not just a car, the very car we’re thinking of buying. A 2008 Toyota Highlander, which I’ll get to drive later on. He’s already done a test drive so is taking the old reliable Honda to work and I get to test the new Highlander. Still smells like a new car and only has 13K miles on it.

I’ll leave Zoe at home, wait until 10:00 and go to Penzeys for an herb and spice run. They sell mostly online but I’ve the luxury of having them just a few miles away. I try to go every three months or so and buy small amounts of herbs and spices so they stay as fresh as possible. Then I’ll run to the grocery store and drycleaner and see how the car runs.

The other possibility is a Honda Pilot. Jim says it drives exactly like our Honda so it was more important for me to check out the Highlander. I just need to know if he fits in the Pilot (at 6′ 4″ it’s a challenge).

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Posted in Editorial

Duxelles

Posted on August 6, 2008 by tdl1501| Leave a comment

Jim bought me roses the other day, in hurricane prep mode! How sweet. We haven’t had flowers around here for a while. I’m up late/early checking the news et al. Jim starts his first day at the new job in a few hours. I’ll see if I’m still the short-order cook I was a month or so ago!

Duxelles make an interesting vegetarian appetizer and comprise the filling for Beef Wellington, which few Americans make. It is a good thing to know how to make. I didn’t look up Julia Child or any others and just did it from memory (got that, recipe police???).

An explanation is necessary. When I first made this years ago (you don’t want to know how many) it called for placing the mushrooms in a clean kitchen towl and wringing like mad. I found that stained a good tea towel.

Mushroom Duxelles

2 pkg button mushrooms, briefly rinsed and placed in a colander

2 scallions, thinly sliced

salt and pepper to taste

pinch of fresh or dried thyme, optional

Place mushrooms and scallions in a food processor (two batches) and pulverize. Place butter or olive oil into a large pan, on medium-high heat. Process second batch and add to pan with the first. Season. Cook long enough for the mushrooms to give up their water (until the steam stops rising). You want them quite dry. Taste and re-season as needed.

Last night I used rye or pumpernickel cocktail toasts. I pre-heated the oven to 400 degrees and cooked the toasts for five minutes and flipped them. Then I topped each toast with a rounded teaspoon (small regular spoon) and when each had its fill, tamped it down to cover the toasts with the back of the spoon. I didn’t have any Gruyere or Italian Fontina so topped each toast with a sprinkling of Cabot sharp cheddar cheese and placed back in the oven for five minutes. Downside is they look kind of brown and could have used some chopped parsley or chives on top for garnish. They were tasty, though and I’ve more duxelles for another use.

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Posted in Editorial, Recipes