Turkey leftovers

Leftover caramels from our non-existent caramel apples at Halloween and leftover sweettart bones made the perfect turkey drumstick dessert for Thanksgiving. I came up with this one on my own, and I'm quite proud.

Simply score the corner of the carmel with a knife to make an opening to stick in the candy bone. Then press the carmel around it and shape it by molding in the corners (pressing it against a plate was a quick solution).

Cute!

Halloween Spooktacular 2010

Our first Halloween party went eerily well. Mua ha ha ha... 

A few looks at some of the food goodies:

Brain Cupcakes

Cheese Brain Dip

Broken Heart (Fennel bulb with celery stalks in dyed water)

Baby Mummy Fingers (ginger in dyed water)

Pickled Brains (Cauliflower in dyed water)

Can't wait until next Halloween!

Lil' Pumpkin Baby Shower

I believe today is the day the world will welcome a new baby into Jake's family. We're so excited to see you, baby!

Just 2 weeks ago we had a baby shower for your mom with a cute little pumpkin theme.

Uncle Jake made the food and I baked lil' pumpkin cookies to give away as favors.

Everyone got to take home two yummy pumpkin cookies as well as a mini pumpkin.

Your daddy's Auntie S even made a cute Pumpkin Bear cake!

Colonel Mustard greens

Colonel Mustard, in the kitchen, with ... the greens! Yesterday Jake and I tended to the garden and brought home a lot of mustard greens. To start using them up I made stir-fry tonight. I combined carrots, red peppers, broccoli, egg, chicken, and mustard greens and then made a hodge-podge orange sauce with fresh squeezed orange juice, worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, a bit of flour and some oil. Not too shabby for a throw together meal! 

The greens have a very distinct flavor. I like them in small quantities, but there is definately a LARGE quantity of them remaining in the fridge. Maybe I'll try wilted mustard tomorrow. Copious amounts of bacon make anything wonderful, right? :)

My cookies were gobbled up!

My turkey cookies were a hit this Thanksgiving! I definately need some more practice in the kitchen though. At my current pace (3 dozen cookies baked and iced in... 4 hours!) I will never be a force to be reckoned with in the cookie world. Must. Learn. To. Decorate. Faster.

And the beet goes on...

Fresh beets! These beauties were my first attempt at roasting beets. I washed them, trimmed the greens and any long roots, and placed them in some tin foil on a baking sheet. I sprinkled them with some kosher salt and covered them with another piece of foil, making a pocket. They cooked at 350-400 for about 45-50 minutes - I don't recall - just until they were tender. After they cool the skins slip right off, and you have delicious beets! 

Next time I think I'd have kitchen gloves or something when peeling them. My fingers were an interesting brownish-red color for a a day or two. 

Election Night

What were you doing when the historic announcement was made that Barack Obama will be our new President? I was in the kitchen, making Obama cookies.

Tasty treats

Happy Halloween! Jake and I celebrated last night by making a bunch of donuts with his family. In total we made four different kinds: pumpkin, apple, vanilla, and chocolate. Yum! Of course Jake spruced up the frostings... the white is white chocolate with chambord and the other is chocolate cognac icing. What a tasty treat.

About 5 years ago I decided to start a tradition of making creepy finger cookies for Halloween. This year they continued to impress. Here's a picture of my handiwork from one of the first few years of making them...

Teriyaki Salmon

This past Saturday was Jake's night off so we went to Whole Foods for a treat. The result? A delicious homemade meal! Teriyaki Salmon, fresh cooked spinach, and penne/farfalle and prosciutto with an heirloom tomato salsa. 

The All-Thyme Wurst Robber

Apparently a robber entered some Fresno, California, farmworkers' home, stole some money, rubbed spices on one guy in his sleep, then proceeded to hit the other guy with an 8" sausage before fleeing. Yes, this was an actual event.

In light of the sausage weapon, here's a pic from our very own sausage making event last year. Of course, Jake was at the reigns of this project, but his sister and I were very good sous chefs.

[Image from April 3, 2007]

Fish and Fennel

I felt the urge to make myself something healthy for dinner, so I cooked a salmon steak with a touch of lemon. In the background is my side of sauteed onion, apple, and fennel (with garlic, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon juice - quickly becoming my fave side dish - jake tipped me off to it), rosemary portabellas, and herbed goat cheese on crustinis. Not too shabby for a quick meal. It's amazing how much better good food makes you feel. Half of the salmon steak was enough for a meal, so hurray for leftovers!

Supreme supreme

Supreme - (su-PREMM) v. to remove the skin, pith, membranes, and seeds of a citrus fruit and separate its wedges. Also as noun, a wedge of citrus fruit.

After watching Jake concoct so many salads with orange supremes, I decided to try my hand at it. I did fairly well I think! I mixed these with some roasted beets, and apples for a fresh little taste treat.

Camping coulis

Most people would associate hot dogs, brats, and potato chips with camping food. While at the cabin up in Wisconsin this past weekend, I helped Jake make this meal of noodles with gremolata (parsley, garlic, and grated lemon peel) and pork chops from a local farm, served with a mango coulee and balsalmic reduction.

After dinner snack was Beet Carpaccio with orange supremes, goat cheese, and balsalmic reduction.

Dessert was homemade bread pudding with fresh peaches and a butter topping.

Yes, this is considered just another everyday meal. Aren't I lucky?

A Wedding Shower to Devour!

Congratulations to the "Bride and Groom"-to-be!

Jake jumped at the opportunity to cater the wedding shower for his brother and future sister-in-law. After much planning - including numerous conversations revolving around millions of food ideas - the food turned out amazing. It was great that Jake recruited some top-notch Sous Chefs to aid in the kitchen that weekend, and during the shower (yes - this is a nod to Sous Chef K and myself).

Guests were dazzled with an impressive spread - all homemade and from Jake's heart:

Olive Medley in olive oil, lemon peel, fennel, and garlic
- gaeta, kalamata, picholines, niCoises, arbequinas, moroccan oil cured, and green olives.


Cheese Platters, Fruit Platter, Vegetable Platter


Hors d'Oeuvre Trio
- Pepper-crusted filet with chive flower butter
- Whiskey-glazed ham, mustard butter, sour pickle
- Cucumber and curry butter

Faux Sushi Due
- Amaretto fig gelee, marscapone in risotto with prociutto wrapper
- Asparagus, portobello, and goat cheese in truffled risotto

Mesculn Basket - baby salad greens in homemade bread bowl
- served with bleu cheese crumbles and candied almonds


California Chicken Salad sandwiches

Pulled Carnitas sandwiches slow roasted chili-rubbed pork shoulder cook with oranges
- served with cilantro pesto and pineapple salsa on mini hawaiian roll

Cucumber Mint Shrimp


Goat Cheese Crustini

Sugar, sugar...

Jake's latest dessert creations:

We Fondue, do you?

It was a retro fondue pot kind of Valentine's Day. Jake surprised me with the idea to fondue at his house (BEFORE he knew if he still had a fondue pot!). We had quite a few tasty veggies and thinly sliced pieces of aged beef to fondue in some rosemary-garlic infused oil. Dessert consisted of quite possibly the best chocolate ever with fresh fruit and angel food cake.

Fondue - from the French "fondre" (to melt); past tense "fondu" (melted)