We had lemon chicken last night with preserved lemons from my friend Brooke. They are preserved in olive oil and they have so much flavor. I seared the chicken in a little olive oil and butter and then deglazed the pan with some white wine and added the finely sliced lemons. It was so tasty. Maddie gobbled all of hers up and asked for more.
It was so cute today she was talking about mermaids (she is obsessed with Ariel from her princess book) and she said "mermaids are girls that wear fishy pants." She is a character.
I am working on compiling my cookbook. I want to get it all digital because while it is all in one notebook it isn't editable. Plus I would like to be able to share it some day. It is a long tedious process though.
We hope to go camping this weekend but we might have some people out to work on our new roof that is leaking (yipes!).
Monday, August 25, 2008
Visitors from Arizona
We have had a busy last couple of weeks. Some friends of ours Mike and Shelly came up from Arizona for a visit. The weather was fairly cooperative and we enjoyed taking them around to see the sites. Maddie loved the aquarium. I was almost arrested for child abuse as I forced her to touch a starfish in the touch tank but she has been talking about it ever since (I knew she would). She says "I touched a starfish" and I ask her what she was doing when she was touching the starfish and she says "screaming". But seriously this kid loves marine life in any form. We were thrilled with the octopus performance and got a great look at his underside and beak. We also went to Pike Place Market and sampled Beecher's Cheese which was fabulous. I got some pastry's from a bakery and some fantastic orange cinnamon black tea. It is so good with milk. Don't even need sugar it is so sweet.
This weekend we went over to our friend's Brooke and Jason's house and had an Italian themed dinner party. There was so much fabulous food we ate ourselves silly. I helped to roll out the pasta which was a new experience for me and one I think I need to practice. I made the filling for butternut squash ravioli and it was pretty good. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/butternut-squash-ravioli-with-sage-brown-butter-and-bittersweet-chocolate-recipe/index.html
A tad too sweet I think. Next time I won't add the molasses. The brown butter sage sauce was quite tasty and I am very fond of crunchy-fried-in-butter sage leaves. Cheslea made this delicious pesto and salad and Jill made an alfredo sauce that was so creamy.
Alfredo Sauce
2 chicken boullion cubes
1/2 c water
1/2 c butter
1/4 c flour
2 c half & half
1 c parmesan cheese
garlic powder, to taste
Dissolve chicken boullion cubes in 1/2 cup water.Melt butter over low heat in saucepan.Gradually, stir in flour.Continue stirring and gradually add half-and-half.Add chicken boullion.Increase heat to medium and continue stirring.Cook until thickened.Stir in parmesan cheese and garlic powder, if desired.Serve over hot pasta and garnish with parsley Jill says: I subbed 1 c of non fat milk for the half & half, and the first time I made it I used 1 c 1% and 1 c half & half. They both seemed to work fine. Also, I added bacon and mushrooms the 2nd time I made it, and at the same time I forgot to add the parm cheese! So I think if you're going to add bacon, don't add the cheese, or do very little, I think it would be very salty
We had Brooke and Jason's signature chocolate mouse cake for dessert.
Chocolate Mouse Cake
From How to be a Domestic Goddess cookbook.
11 oz best bittersweet chocolate
2 oz best milk chocolate
¾ C unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated
Scant ½ C light brown sugar
½ C sugar1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
9 inch spring form pan lined with (oven size) aluminum foil
Preheat the oven to 350 and put the kettle on to boil. Line the spring form pan with foil, making sure to press into sides and bottom of pan so that it forms a smooth surface. This will prevent water from getting in the cake when it is cooked in the water bath.Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or double boiler, and let it cool. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugars until very thick and pale, as creamy as mayonnaise; the mixture should form and fall in ribbons when you life up the whisk. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and then the cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form, then lighten the chocolate mixture with a briskly beaten in dollop of whites before gently folding the rest of them into it.Pour the cake batter into the foil lined spring form, which you have placed in a large roasting pan. Add hot water from the recently boiled kettle to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan and carefully put the roasting pan with its cargo into the oven.Cook for 50 minutes. The inside of the cake will be damp and mousse like, but the top should look cooked and dry. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack before releasing it from the pan. This calls for a little bit of patience, because you will need to peel the foil gently away from the sides. Just go slowly and remember that this is a very damp cake and you won’t be able to pry it away from its foil lined base – though its easy enough to tear off excess foil once you’ve set the cake on its plate. Dust with powdered sugar if you want, and serve with crème fraise and maybe some raspberries.
Maddie had a little visit with her friend she has know since she was 6 months old, Jennalyn. They had a great time at Penny park and they kept Jen and I on our toes. Both girls are tom boys and had their shoes and socks off in no time.
We can't wait for Grandma and Grandpa Peterson to come up and visit from California. We are also looking at planning a trip out to see my Grandparents in North Carolina some time in October or November.
This weekend we went over to our friend's Brooke and Jason's house and had an Italian themed dinner party. There was so much fabulous food we ate ourselves silly. I helped to roll out the pasta which was a new experience for me and one I think I need to practice. I made the filling for butternut squash ravioli and it was pretty good. http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/michael-chiarello/butternut-squash-ravioli-with-sage-brown-butter-and-bittersweet-chocolate-recipe/index.html
A tad too sweet I think. Next time I won't add the molasses. The brown butter sage sauce was quite tasty and I am very fond of crunchy-fried-in-butter sage leaves. Cheslea made this delicious pesto and salad and Jill made an alfredo sauce that was so creamy.
Alfredo Sauce
2 chicken boullion cubes
1/2 c water
1/2 c butter
1/4 c flour
2 c half & half
1 c parmesan cheese
garlic powder, to taste
Dissolve chicken boullion cubes in 1/2 cup water.Melt butter over low heat in saucepan.Gradually, stir in flour.Continue stirring and gradually add half-and-half.Add chicken boullion.Increase heat to medium and continue stirring.Cook until thickened.Stir in parmesan cheese and garlic powder, if desired.Serve over hot pasta and garnish with parsley Jill says: I subbed 1 c of non fat milk for the half & half, and the first time I made it I used 1 c 1% and 1 c half & half. They both seemed to work fine. Also, I added bacon and mushrooms the 2nd time I made it, and at the same time I forgot to add the parm cheese! So I think if you're going to add bacon, don't add the cheese, or do very little, I think it would be very salty
We had Brooke and Jason's signature chocolate mouse cake for dessert.
Chocolate Mouse Cake
From How to be a Domestic Goddess cookbook.
11 oz best bittersweet chocolate
2 oz best milk chocolate
¾ C unsalted butter
8 large eggs, separated
Scant ½ C light brown sugar
½ C sugar1 tbsp vanilla extract
Pinch salt
9 inch spring form pan lined with (oven size) aluminum foil
Preheat the oven to 350 and put the kettle on to boil. Line the spring form pan with foil, making sure to press into sides and bottom of pan so that it forms a smooth surface. This will prevent water from getting in the cake when it is cooked in the water bath.Melt the chocolate and butter in a microwave or double boiler, and let it cool. In another bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugars until very thick and pale, as creamy as mayonnaise; the mixture should form and fall in ribbons when you life up the whisk. Stir in the vanilla and salt, and then the cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk the egg whites in a large bowl until soft peaks form, then lighten the chocolate mixture with a briskly beaten in dollop of whites before gently folding the rest of them into it.Pour the cake batter into the foil lined spring form, which you have placed in a large roasting pan. Add hot water from the recently boiled kettle to come about 1 inch up the sides of the cake pan and carefully put the roasting pan with its cargo into the oven.Cook for 50 minutes. The inside of the cake will be damp and mousse like, but the top should look cooked and dry. Let it cool completely on a cooling rack before releasing it from the pan. This calls for a little bit of patience, because you will need to peel the foil gently away from the sides. Just go slowly and remember that this is a very damp cake and you won’t be able to pry it away from its foil lined base – though its easy enough to tear off excess foil once you’ve set the cake on its plate. Dust with powdered sugar if you want, and serve with crème fraise and maybe some raspberries.
Maddie had a little visit with her friend she has know since she was 6 months old, Jennalyn. They had a great time at Penny park and they kept Jen and I on our toes. Both girls are tom boys and had their shoes and socks off in no time.
We can't wait for Grandma and Grandpa Peterson to come up and visit from California. We are also looking at planning a trip out to see my Grandparents in North Carolina some time in October or November.
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Chai anyone?
Maddie and I went over to Shripal's house today for a playdate with Avinash. She offered me some chai and taught me how to make it. Turns out the Orange Pekoe tea that Sirisha brought me back from India last year is the black tea that they use as the base for chai. I got so excited about it when I got home I made my own masala (sp?) mix and brewed up some chai for myself. Maddie of course loved it as she is my little tea drinker in training.
I was able to use my mortar and pestle Scott got for me for Christmas last year as well which was a double bonus. Those cardamom seeds fly everywhere!
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon white pepper
Grind all spices together with mortar and pestle or you could use a food processor I suppose. Brew tea and add 2 heaping teaspoons to the hot water. Add milk to your liking.
Shripal put everything in a pot on the stove and boiled it and then added the milk and boiled it again. Then she strained out the tea. She had these really cool Orange Pekoe tea kernels and all I had was the tea bags so I had to adapt a bit. But the flavor was there. Now I have a little canister of ready to go chai mix. Yum!
I was able to use my mortar and pestle Scott got for me for Christmas last year as well which was a double bonus. Those cardamom seeds fly everywhere!
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon white pepper
Grind all spices together with mortar and pestle or you could use a food processor I suppose. Brew tea and add 2 heaping teaspoons to the hot water. Add milk to your liking.
Shripal put everything in a pot on the stove and boiled it and then added the milk and boiled it again. Then she strained out the tea. She had these really cool Orange Pekoe tea kernels and all I had was the tea bags so I had to adapt a bit. But the flavor was there. Now I have a little canister of ready to go chai mix. Yum!
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
A day of firsts
This is my first ever blog post. Thanks to my new friend Brooke for introducing me to it. I met Brooke over the weekend at her house where she hosted a fabulous dinner party. I ate my weight in homemade ravioli with gorgozola cream sauce. I am very much looking forward to future culinary events and getting to know Brooke and her family better.
Maddie and I went to Priest Point Park for the first time today and hiked down to the ocean. It was low tide and the signs all said something about not touching anything and showering thoroughly if you do. Of course the first thing Maddie does is bound off into the mud flats and get her shoe caught so she falls and rolls the back of her body in the mud. Good thing I am not a germ-a-phobe. What doesn't kill us...right? We did see our first Sand Piper not in a book and Maddie actually knew what it was. My budding ornithologist can remember bird names better than I can.
Another first was our dinner tonight. I picked some fresh zucchini from the garden and fried it up in wedges like I had once a hundred years ago at Red Robin. I think they used a beer batter and I just used an egg wash and panko bread crumbs so mine were tasty but different. I also roasted some beets and potatoes. So for the first time in a long time we had a vegetarian meal. We are sans Dad this week so we can be less carnivorous while our T-rex is at his work conference.
I saw my first swallow tail butterfly on our Budliea today but it was too late to get Maddie to have a peak. She is ready with her butterfly net. I just hope she can wield it carefully enough not to injure the beautiful creatures. Ever since Grandma Darlene bought her the Fancy Nancy Butterfly book she has been dying to try out her net.
I will close for tonight.
Maddie and I went to Priest Point Park for the first time today and hiked down to the ocean. It was low tide and the signs all said something about not touching anything and showering thoroughly if you do. Of course the first thing Maddie does is bound off into the mud flats and get her shoe caught so she falls and rolls the back of her body in the mud. Good thing I am not a germ-a-phobe. What doesn't kill us...right? We did see our first Sand Piper not in a book and Maddie actually knew what it was. My budding ornithologist can remember bird names better than I can.
Another first was our dinner tonight. I picked some fresh zucchini from the garden and fried it up in wedges like I had once a hundred years ago at Red Robin. I think they used a beer batter and I just used an egg wash and panko bread crumbs so mine were tasty but different. I also roasted some beets and potatoes. So for the first time in a long time we had a vegetarian meal. We are sans Dad this week so we can be less carnivorous while our T-rex is at his work conference.
I saw my first swallow tail butterfly on our Budliea today but it was too late to get Maddie to have a peak. She is ready with her butterfly net. I just hope she can wield it carefully enough not to injure the beautiful creatures. Ever since Grandma Darlene bought her the Fancy Nancy Butterfly book she has been dying to try out her net.
I will close for tonight.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
