Gourmet tips news

Even though I am not originally from Louisiana, Creole food feels like home cooking to me. This is one of my favorites, setting it atop garlic grits really takes it up several notches from serving it over white rice. Notes : Because you will be cooking the onions and peppers over medium high heat, you want to make sure you use a heavy pot- I use a large Le Creusset dutch oven. Cooking Creole is like a religion all its own around here- this is what I can tell you: 1.When things start to stick it is ok, remove from the heat for a few seconds and stir until the caramelized sauce on the bottom of the pot dissolves back into the sauce. 2. Dry seasonings are always added at the beginning with the onions so the vegetables have enough time to absorb all the flavor. Also, use the reddest ripest tomatoes you can find-- canned tomatoes are absolutely not allowed. (big no no!). All the vegetables should be diced to about 1/4 inch. This dish freezes exceptionally well. Serves 8-10. Serve with garli

I made biscuits this afternoon to serve with the Shrimp Creole, they were sort of an afterthought. But, they quickly became very popular...Jack came home from school precisely as the biscuits were coming out of the oven and I have not seen him (or any child) that excited about food not involving sugar- I think-- ever! He sat down and ate 5 or 6 of them with honey-butter, ( I barely had any left for the photos!). Which really makes me quite happy, because he is a very finiky eater. The dough is put together in layers, by folding it over and over. I borrowed the method I use to fold the dough for the scones and applied it to the biscuits- it worked perfectly as they are light and very flaky. Notes : I use a small 2" biscuit cutter only because of personal preference, you may use any size cutter you have. If you use a much larger cutter, you may have to increase the baking time a little. I sometimes mix the flour and butter together, cover it and leave it in the refrigerator overnig

I am always driven by a challenge, it's what keeps me going! Once I have one, chances are you will have my full attention. Being motivated by a challenge is not always a good thing, I sometimes make more trouble for myself because of it...life can just be simple sometimes (ok- repeat to self 100 times!) The good news is, I am very excited to have found a new outlet for my challenges-- by joining The Daring Bakers. Every month brings a new baking challenge, everyone uses the same recipe and this month it was Potato Bread. I am not an experienced bread baker, so it was a challenge indeed. This month was a little busy, so the pressure was on as I baked it yesterday...the day before it was due! (this is so unlike me, as I'm more than a little OCD, but I procratinated early on, then later in the month I really did not have much of a choice). The instructions were to follow the recipe exactly as it is written, which would normally be my first challenge, But since I am not an avid bre

Two years ago I planted a Meyer lemon tree in my back yard, last year it produced four lemons. But this year, my little tree must have really had a good spring and summer because I have more lemons than I can count! They are not only beautiful to look at as they grace just about every fruit bowl all over my house, they are delicious as well. I baked bread this afternoon and was looking for a small and easy project to make while the bread was rising, so I came up with these little shortbreads. It worked out really well since I needed the oven on to warm up the kitchen a bit so the bread would rise correctly. I used the Joy of Cooking shortbread recipe and added Meyer lemon juice and zest. Perfect day for it...it's nasty out, raining and a tornado watch, but I am sitting here cozily with my cup of tea and cookies. MEYER LEMON SHORTBREAD COOKIES 10 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1 1/4 sticks) 1/4 cup powdered sugar 1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 1/2 cu

I made Apple mince meat pie for Thanksgiving, it was my intention to post before Thursday, but life got really busy. Between cooking Thanksgiving meals for take-out at the restaurant and hosting Thanksgiving at home, taking photos of everything I baked didn't happen. Which also explains why there isn't a photo of the whole pie...just the last piece, (and yes, I know it's not the best photo- but I didn't have much to work with). For the longest time I did not understand mince meat pie- a dessert involving meat? Was it even a dessert to begin with? Needless to say the thought of eating one- much less making one never even crossed my mind. But, then I found this recipe- and wow! I love apple mince meat pie! I had it for Thanksgiving a couple of years ago and I've been hooked ever since. I searched for the origin of mince meat pie...I really needed to understand the meat portion of it and this is what I found: origin of mince meat pie . The recipe used to include liver

Last year for Christmas I made a great corn pudding, sort of a blend between pudding and cornbread. The recipe was wonderful and everyone loved it, the only problem is I cannot find the recipe. I have looked high and low and I'm absolutely clueless as to where it came from or where I put it. I have looked through the hundred plus cookbooks I own and yielded no results-- Oh well. On the bright side though, I found this one in the process and after I made a few changes , I was very pleasantly surprised. Putting a small dollop of sour cream on top made them very moist. And yes, this time I have saved the recipe...I knew this blog would come in handy for something! :) Very Moist Corn Muffins 1/2 cup flour 1/2 cup yellow cornmeal 3 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1 large egg 1 1/2 cups sour cream 2 cups frozen corn 1/2 cup sour cream for topping Preheat oven to 400 F 1. Butter or line 12 muffin cups. 2. Combine all dry ingredients in

The holidays are almost upon us, so for the next month I will try to post a few recipes which fall under the party-food category. Mascarpone stuffed dates are really delicious and have proven to be quite a favorite at holiday parties. I found these dates at a local market, the owner taught me about all the different varieties of dates, which was very enlightening. The ones I used here are sun ripened type which is why they have a smoother appearance and aren't as wrinkly (is that even a word?). I could not detect much of a difference in the taste, so if sun ripened dates are not available dried dates will work well. Whenever I am catering a party I always try to have a balanced menu, and while a variety of foods is very important, I also balance the menu out by the stages in which food needs to be prepared. This is most important to me when I am having a party of my own and don't have a big kitchen staff to do most of the work. All it takes is a little strategic planning-dishe

This year has just flown by, it seems like every year goes by faster than the one before. The holidays are usually an extremely busy time for me and I don't expect this year to be any different. In order for me to make it through the next month and a half without completely freaking out, I just have to be super organized. So today when I was entering into my daily planner all the events for December I realized Thanksgiving is in 9 days!! But, while it is busy and wild, I am not complaining- catering is the part of my job which I like best. I also like the way the atmosphere at the restaurant changes right around Thanksgiving, all of a sudden things just seem much more happy and festive. I think today was the day most other people figured out the holidays are near because my party load just about doubled! The phone rang off the hook this morning with Thanksgiving orders and I can certainly say that at least for me, the Holidays have arrived. This pecan tart is on the restaurant'

I love pancakes of any kind (as evident here ), but these potato pancakes are at the top of the list, (yes, in my head there is a list). I top these with apple-thyme sauce and creme fraiche- a very tasty combination- if I do say so myself! I set my oven at 200 F and place the pancakes on a greased cookie sheet to keep them warm while I make the whole batch. NOTES: Most of the time I use Granny Smith apples, but this time I combined them with Honeycrisp apples and the sauce came out better than ever and the texture improved because not all the apples turned into mush. If you don't have creme fraiche, use sour cream instead. Generously season the potatoes- the sauce is rather sweet, so the salt and pepper will balance everything out. The applesauce will keep in the refrigerator, covered, up to one month. Potato Pancakes 1 medium onion, chopped 4 cups grated baking potatoes (peeled) 2 large eggs 2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour sea salt and pepper 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning 2 Table

There is this little food shop in town called A to Z international foods, I buy pita bread for the restaurant there, so I go there fairly often. They have the most wonderful assortment of middle eastern and Spanish food...down to the Abuelita chocolate bars I used to love when I was very young, (as opposed to now of course, when I just feel very young while eating them!). Anyhow, they sell about 5 different types of feta and after sampling them all, I have decided I French Feta is my favorite. I've had French feta before, but I had never tasted it next to the others- it's mild and not as crumbly as the Greek, which means it will hold it's shape a little better when warm. In this dish, the feta is added while the chicken is still warm and the French Feta held it's shape well. I served the chicken set over Israeli cous cous cooked in chicken stock and it made for a very nice combination. The last time I had prepared this recipe, the chicken turned out a little tough-

I have for a very long time now been on the lookout for a very good banana bread, I am happy to tell you, I have found it. Some of the breads I made before were either sort of soggy-like on the bottom or not moist enough. Some were too dense and some had too many nuts, while I love nuts, I don't really like them in cakes of any kind. So, if you like nuts, add 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts to the recipe, I think it will turn out just fine. Also, remember whenever you use nuts, toasting them always enhances their flavor. I have also made this recipe into banana cupcakes with cream cheese icing on top. The same cream cheese icing I use for carrot cupcakes. I changed the original recipe which came from Epicurious, I added extra banana and replaced half of the sugar with brown sugar. I also added vanilla extract and of course omitted the nuts. My picky little eater has found a new favorite- and imagine...he doesn't like nuts either! The banana bread will come in handy for my 3:30

When I was a little girl, my grandmother used to make Pipianes Fritos, which are sliced mirlitons filled with cheese, coated in an egg batter, and then pan fried. They were unbelievably good, but not having the same type of cheese or that particular variety of mirliton available here, makes them very difficult to replicate. (and with me, it's either perfect- or not at all!) So, when I learned how to make Louisiana style stuffed mirlitons-- I was hooked. They involve a bit of labor, but I promise, they are very well worth the effort. If you were on the lookout for another vegetable recipe for Thanksgiving, look no further- this is it! NOTES: This is a great recipe to freeze. You can substitute a pound of shrimp for the crab meat and cook it with the stuffing. You can also substitute evaporated milk for the cream. Crab Stuffed Mirlitons 4 mirlitons 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 cups chopped yellow onion 1 cup chopped red bell pepper 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 tablespoon fresh Thy

I say, one can never eat too much cake! This dish was born out of a search for new desserts...yes, that's how I spend my free time. The brown sugar pound cake is an old favorite and the maple roasted pears I had previously eaten filled with Gorgonzola cheese. (over field greens with balsamic vinaigrette- yum!) With the first bite of that pear (so very long ago), I knew it would be delicious with cake- and I was right! I think the brown sugar pound cake, the French vanilla ice cream and the maple roasted pears make a delightful combination. The ice cream starts melting a little and mixes with the pear juices and maple syrup which then make a really nice sauce for the cake. Obviously I have thought this out a bit and you now know I am dessert obsessed! The pears are best warm, the cake at room temperature and of course the ice cream rather frozen. The brown sugar pound cake can be made up to three days in advance, kept at room temperature wrapped in aluminum foil. I hope you enjoy m

I am pretty much in charge of all the baking at the restaurant. We have a few staples like creme brulee and our white chocolate bread pudding which are prepared from my husband's recipes by the kitchen staff, but anything else is up to me to make. With the restaurant opening for dinner, the number of desserts sold in a day of course has gone up. Which is great for me as I very much enjoy baking, but last Friday, at 4pm (we open at 5pm) I realized the pastry case was rather empty- and that was not something I was excited about! I was a little stressed with the transition to dinner and we already had a few reservations so I knew it was probably going to be a busy night. I had to prepare something I could from start to finish have ready in less than an hour- Yikes!! So, to my rescue came this cake. In hindsight I should have just made some chocolate mousse or something I didn't have to bake, but in freak-out mode (yes, I freak out now and then) all that came to mind with was my v