A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Where do I begin? I prepared quite a feast for my birthday. There was so much food. I would much rather have too much than not enough. 🙂 I am going to start with the steak empanadas. I made these ahead of time then deep fried them when we were ready to eat, so they were fresh and hot for everyone to enjoy.

We love empanadas and I cook them quite frequently. You can fill them with anything you like, from sweet to savory, and believe me, I do too. This time I filled them with steak and olives. Spanish food from Spain, is very heavily meat oriented. There is always lots and lots of meats served with any Spanish meal. I served them with a smoky salsa rojo or red sauce.

Empanadas are found in every part of the Latin world, as well as the Philippines. They originated in both Medieval Spain and Portugal and were more than likely influenced by the meat pies introduced by the Moors, with roots as a portable, baked dish. The word empanada means to wrap in bread. The earliest forms appeared in Galicia, Spain, where they were large, pie-like dishes meant to be sliced for travelers. Depending on where you are eating them, they are either baked or fried. I have had and enjoyed them both ways, but I prefer them fried over baked.

Steak and Olive Empanadas with Salsa Rojo

They key to great empanadas is to have a very light and flaky dough. The best way to ensure a light and flaky dough is to start with cold butter that is cubed when making the dough, then rolling it out very thin before filling them and shaping them.

There are many different dough recipes, but I stick with my tried and true go-to dough. You have seen this recipe many, many times for many dishes.

The Dough

I doubled the recipe for this one.

1 1/2 cups flour

6 TBSP cold butter, cubed

1 tsp salt

1 egg

5-6 TBSP heavy whipping cream

Pulse the flour, salt and butter together in a food processor until it resembles coarse sand. Add the egg and cream then mix until it forms into a dough ball. Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.

Steak and Olive Filling

2-3 lbs steak, cut into small cubes

1 red bell pepper, diced fine

4-5 garlic cloves, sliced very thin

1 cup olives, sliced and/or olive tapenade – I used both

1 onion, diced fine

1/2-2/3 cup toasted pine nuts

1 cup cooked rice

salt & pepper to taste

1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

olive oil

Cook the meat, onions, garlic, peppers and seasonings together until the meat is completely cooked. Mix in the rice and olives.

Let the dough rest at room temperature before rolling out and shaping. I used a round cookie cutter for these. Let the dough rest again for a few minutes, then roll out nice and thin again.

Add a heaping TBSP of filling to the center of each thin round then fold over in half. Crimp the edges firmly to seal. You can make these a couple of days in advance at this point, like I did, and just cover and refrigerate until ready to cook.

You can bake or fry these. If baking, preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C, brush with an egg wash and bake until golden brown. If frying, heat the oil to the same temperature, and fry for about 5 minutes. We have a small deep fryer that completely covers them. Do NOT over crowd the fryer and cook in batches. You can also fry them in oil in a deep skillet or pan.

Larry was frying them up, small batches at a time.

Smoky Salsa Rojo

There are many, many variations. For this particular version, I roasted my vegetables first.

3 TBSP olive oil

1 onion, cut in quarters

1 TBSP minced garlic

4-5 tomatoes, roasted – I used both Campari and heirloom tomatoes

1-2 roasted bell peppers

3 chipotle chilies, with sauce

salt & pepper to taste – I used my chipotle and bacon infused salt

1-2 tsp cumin

3-4 sprigs fresh thyme

2-3 sprigs fresh oregano

Roast the vegetables first, until nice and caramelized. I used my indoor grill that I placed over the burners of my my stove.

Once the vegetables are roasted to your liking, rinse and cut into large chunks, then place in the food processor.

Process until it is smooth and creamy.

Serve warm. I made my salsa rojo ahead of time as well, then heated it up when I was ready to serve it.

I used some of this same salsa rojo for my patatas bravas too, but more on those later. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

Thank you all for the fun birthday wishes. I had a great birthday and a deliciously fun party.

My party was a Spanish tapas party. Everything from the food to the wine was authentically Spanish. Tapas means small plates. I prepared a ton of food, and some of my guests brought things too. Everyone was very happily satisfied at the end of the evening, just as it should be. The really ironic thing though, is I actually barely ate. TRUE! It usually is too when I host a party, for different reasons, but more so than not, I get into restaurant/catering mode and I get busy making sure everyone else is happy and fed, and taking care of them, and I just forget to eat myself. I fixed myself a plate, but only took a few bites, then got busy again. Oh well. It happens. I can definitely afford to miss a few meals. 🙂

I like lots of color, so I set my table in a very colorful way. As you can see, I mix and match all the time too.

Most of the guests and the main tapas. The menu was:

• Roasted pepper salad with an herbed vinaigrette
• Mixed olives with hints of orange Olives and Oranges
• Steak empanadas with salsa roja
• Chicken peri peri (or sometimes piri piri)
• Garlic Shrimp
• Patatas bravas or spicy potatoes

These are just the dishes I made. We also had some eggplant roll-ups (Lauren), fig jam crositini (Laura), spinach balls (Les) and albondigas in a spicy marinara sauce (Janet).

Then of course, we had to have postres or desserts too, again, made by me.

• Smoky almond brittle Smoky Spanish Almond Brittle
• Pistachio and honey tart
• Fruit & Spanish cheese platter
• cookies
• various chocolates and sweet nibblies

This is just the over view of course. You know I will share all the details to everything I made. That’s just what I do. But sometimes, a little anticipation is a good thing too. 🙂

There were “prezzies” too. Even though I don’t need anything, we all like to unwrap presents. You already saw my beautiful big drawing of Juneau that Julia drew for me. An Early Birthday Present

My niece sent me a box of goodies a little early too. She knows I am always doing something creative with my hands, so got my an embroidery kit, as well as a bracelet and some bird magnets, since everyone knows I love my birds and animals in general.

I also got a lot of beautiful flowers, wine, an engraving kit and silver chains, both of which will be perfect for my jewelry class, a beautiful hand painted ornament and a new tapas cookbook. Ironically, I made quite a few dishes that were listed in the cookbook, though I had no idea I would be getting that. I made traditional tapas, which are in many different cook books, including this one. 🙂

It was a very fun, happy birthday indeed. Thank you all. I feel so special and so blessed. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

I have been busy cooking and will be in the kitchen again in just a bit. I also have to clean the house before our gran fiesta tonight. We are hosting for 20 people tonight.

One of the dishes for the big event is olives with orange zest and orange olive oil and orange vinegar. It is a tapas party, and you can’t have a Spanish or tapas party without olives. 🙂

Orange Flavored Olives

This is super easy to make and tastes great. I love to mix and match my olives any way, so this is right up my alley. 🙂

2 cups mixed pitted olives

1 TBSP orange zest or orange peel

4-5 garlic cloves, sliced very thin

1/4-1/2 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

2-3 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP orange olive oil, optional

1-2 TBSP orange vinegar or red wine vinegar

1-2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed

1- TBSP Peruvian peppers or red bell epppers, diced fine

2 sprigs fresh rosemary, chopped fine

2-3 sprigs fresh thyme, chopped

Mix everything together well, wrap in plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator until ready to eat. Pretty simple and easy-peasy, but or so good. 🙂

This is just the beginning. I have lots more delicious goodies coming your way. I just have to go make them first. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

My birthday party, or my gran fiesta, is tomorrow, on my actual birthday for a change too. Today I will be busy cleaning and getting everything that I can prepped ahead and done today. I made my main dessert already. I just need to “prettify” it a bit, which I will do later. As you know, I already made my Smoky Spanish almond brittle too Smoky Spanish Almond Brittle. I just made my dough for my empanadas, and I will make those up in just a bit, so they will be fresh and ready to fry up tomorrow. I am also going to make my salsas today as well. Needless to say, I have a busy day ahead of me. Of course I will share all the details with you. You just have to wait a little longer. Patience my friends, patience. 🙂

So since I will be so busy today, I am just going to share a little blurb that was just presented by Influential Women. Enjoy. 🙂

As a women in a man’s industry, I had to work twice as hard to be half as good. But I did it, and I earned the respect of all the male chefs I worked with in the process too. Anything worth while requires work, determination, grit and time. But never give up. If you really want something, you will find a way to make it happen. Just hang in there. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

We live in an area that has seven small lakes or ponds. There are four larger ones and three smaller ones, and we live in between the first and second lake. Each lake has it’s own personality, and they are all different. Some are full of life while others are quiet, and they shift all the time. Yesterday, the fourth lake was the crowded lake. There was a lot going on there. It was filled with tons of Canadian geese, Cacklings, Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, Ringnecks, Northern Shovelers, Barrow’s Goldeneyes and one Pie-billed Grebe.

Barrow’s Goldeneyes

Northern Shovelers

Ringnecks

Mallards

Hooded Mergansers

And a Pie-billed Grebe

It was a busy day indeed out on the fourth lake. I love seeing our lakes so full of all the varied wildlife our area has to offer. 🙂

When Larry and I visited Bella La Crema Bella La Crema, one of the butters we really liked a lot was the Morello Rum Melody Butter, but we forgot to select that when we made our purchases. Oh Darn! That just meant I had to back again. 🙂 🙂 🙂 Not only did I pick up the Morello Rum Melody butter, but I also came home with a couple more delectable butters too. This means more butter creations from me to you coming your way soon. 🙂

The Morello Rum Melody butter is flavored with rum, cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, sugar and molasses. It’s like a hot buttered rum in a tin. (But a hot buttered rum, using this butter would also be perfect for a cold, blustery day too. Just a thought. 🙂 ) I highlighted and enhanced those flavors with my pork chops, both in the marinade and in the sauce too. My sauce also included apples, red bell peppers and onions.

Marinating the pork chops was the first step. I coated the pork chops with cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, rum and a little lavender vinegar for about four hours before searing and cooking them. This would work for chicken too.

When I was ready to cook everything, I seared the pork chops first, to give them a nice crust, then covered them with foil and added some sauce and a little water to the pan to continue cooking them until they were done, with the internal temperature at 145* F or 63*C. Sear the pork chops for about 3-4 minutes per side or until a nice crust is formed to coat the chops completely. You might think they were burnt, but trust me, they were not. They came out just perfect, and very moist and tender. 🙂

Rum Cream Sauce

Apples and onions are perfect companions for pork, so I sliced them thinly, along with some red pepper strips, and added a dash of lemon juice to the apples, a little more cinnamon, nutmeg, lemon zest, salt & fresh ground black pepper.

After searing the pork in butter and olive oil, cook the apple mixture in the same pan, and add about 1/2 cup of spiced rum too, for more flavor and to deglaze the pan. I got some great flambe action going on this dish.

I CANNOT stress this enough, when flambeing something, be VERY, VERY careful and cautious. The flames die down after about a minute, but they are very intense while burning.

After the flames die down, cook the apple mixture for an additional 5 or so minutes before adding about 1/2-3/4 cup of heavy whipping cream. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for an additional 5-10 minutes, stirring frequently. You want the liquid to reduce by about half before adding the butter to finish the sauce.

Add the Morello Rum melody butter right at the finish and then incorporate it thoroughly into the sauce. Serve immediately, while hot. Finishing cream sauces with butter is a French culinary term called monter au beurre (“mounting with butter”), is the secret to achieving a glossy, velvety, and rich sauce. It involves whisking cold, cubed butter into a hot, reduced cream sauce just before serving to emulsify it, adding a luxurious sheen and body. No cream sauce is complete without adding butter for the finish. 🙂

Generously top the pork with the rum cream sauce, along with the apples, onions and peppers and enjoy. OMG!!!!! It was decadently rich and delicious. And don’t worry, I made sure to remove ALL the calories too. 🙂 I made the whole meal decadently creamy and rich, and served scalloped potatoes and steamed green beans and warmed bread, with a glass or two of a cool, crisp white wine. The acidity in white wines helps cut the fat from rich and creamy sauces. I mean if you are going to splurge, you might as well go all in, right?! C’est si bon! Delicieux!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it fantastic. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

Our squirrels have been actively gathering their nuts lately. As usual, squirrels are every where, but I have been seeing a lot of them in our trees lately. Did someone plant squirrel trees? 🙂

I even catch them on the ground before they can make it up the trees too, though they get up into the trees very quickly. 🙂

Almonds are grown all over Spain, just like olives. They are a part of the Spanish culinary culture. Spanish almonds, especially those from the Marcona Valley, are hailed as the “Queen of Almonds” for their distinctively short, round, and plump shape. Known for a sweeter, softer, and more moist texture compared to typical almonds, they are often blanched, lightly fried in olive oil, and sprinkled with sea salt. Primarily grown along the Mediterranean coast, they are a premium, often unpasteurized, staple in Spanish tapas and confections.

I will be cooking a lot of Spanish dishes and tapas this week. As usual, I am doing all the cooking for my own birthday party. My choice. 🙂 This year’s theme is once again, a Spanish tapas theme. At the end of the month we will be attending yet another Flamenco show, for one of my birthday activities, and I wanted to do both the tapas dinner and the show on the same night, but timing just didn’t work out that way. So I am having two official birthday celebrations, one on my actual birthday, this Saturday, and one on our night of Flamenco (and whatever else comes in between). 🙂

Spanish desserts are influenced by the Moors and The French, as well as many others. Some are very sweet while others are almost more like a light savory treat, often times accompanied by Spanish cheeses and fruit. As usual, I will be offering quite a selection of delectable dishes, so I am starting to make what I can ahead. The first thing I made was my smoky Spanish almond brittle. This will be part of the dessert offerings.

Smoky Spanish Almond Brittle

This almond brittle is not super sweet, and is instead smoky with a slight hint of spice. It goes down nice and easy, especially when served with a little port or sherry, Spanish cheese and fruit.

1/2 cup sugar

2 TBSP corn syrup

1 TBSP brandy or sweet liqueur

1 tsp salt

1/4 cup or 1/2 stick of butter

1/8 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp smoky paprika

1/4 tsp chipotle powder or Spanish chili powder

1/2 cup toasted almonds

Toast the almonds until they are lightly golden. You can toast the almonds in the oven at 325* F or 163*C for about 10-15 minutes, or you can toast them in a small skillet on top of the stove. I prefer to toast them on top of the stove. It is much faster.

Combine the sugar, corn syrup, brandy and salt in saucepan. Bring to a full boil, then reduce the heat and cook until the mixture turns golden brown.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Mix the almonds with the paprika and chipotle powder.

When the sugar mixture caramelizes, and turns golden brown, add the butter and the baking powder.

Add the almond mix and fully incorporate together, then quickly pour the mixture onto the parchment paper and evenly spread out.

Allow the brittle to completely cool and harden before cutting or breaking it into small bite size pieces. !Desfruitas! Enjoy!

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it great. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

I love cherries. When it’s cherry season, I can just eat them by the bunches. I am not alone either. Cherries are a worldwide favorite, and have been since at least 4000 B.C. It is believed they were first grown in Asia Minor, or what is now known as Turkey, and then spread into Europe and beyond. The name cherry is derived from the Turkish town Cerasus (now Giresun), an ancient region from which they were exported to Europe.

The Ancient Greeks were the first people to cultivate cherries, followed by the Ancient Romans. Before that, cherries were grown in the wild. Cherries are now grown all over the world, but some of the largest cherry producers are the U.S. West Coast (Washington, Oregon, California) and Michigan. Today, the United States produces over 650 million lbs of sweet tart cherries every year, with Washington and California being the largest producers. Other major cherry producers are still Turkey and Iran too.

There are many different varieties of cherries. In fact, there are over 1000 different types of cherries, grown all over the world. There are sweet cherries and tart cherries, and everything in between. In North America there are three main types of cherries – Bing, Rainier and Lambert. These three varietals account for 95% of cherries consumed in North America. We all have our favorites. My favorites are the deep ruby red Bing cherries.

Bing cherries were first produced at Lewellings Farm around 1847 in Michigan. They got their name from one of the Chinese farmhands, Ah Bing. Bing cherries are the most popular cherry type, at least in the United States, accounting for over 50% of sales, and now are primarily grown in California, Oregon and Washington. They are known for being sweet-tart cherries and are the standard for cherry flavor. One tree can produce between 50-100 lbs of cherries per year.

Rainier cherries were initially a hybrid between Bing cherries and Van cherries. They are known for their golden-red colors and their intense sweetness. Developed in 1952 in Washington, these delicate, heart-shaped fruits are known as the “champagne of cherries” due to their thin skin, intense, low-acid flavor, and short, early-summer, and high-labor growing season. They are often called the candy of fruits because of their intense sweetness. You can tell the intensity of their sweetness by the lightly colored “freckles” on their skin. Their freckles tell you the were kissed by the sun.

Lambert cherries are a popular, high-yielding, and reliable sweet cherry variety known for their large, heart-shaped, dark red-to-black fruit and rich, sweet flavor, ripening in mid-summer. Lambert cherries are the premiere cherries for making cherry pies and other baked cherry goods.

As with most fruits, cherries are very nutritious and very healthy. They are loaded with vitamins A, C, potassium, and fiber, and are particularly high in anthocyanins, which help combat chronic diseases like arthritis, diabetes, and cancer. They are also known to help reduce inflammation, aiding heart health, improving sleep quality, and accelerating exercise recovery. One cup of cherries is only 97 calories and provides all kinds of other necessary nutrients to the body:

• Carbs: 25 g
• Fiber: 3 g
• Vitamin C: 12% of the daily value (DV)
• Potassium: 10% of the DV
• Copper: 10% of the DV
• Manganese: 5% of the DV
• Vitamin B6: 0.08 milligrams (mg)
• Vitamin K: 3 micrograms

Cherries are stone fruits, which means their pit or large seed is in the middle of the fleshy, edible parts. As with anything, the key to including cherries as part of your diet is to consume them in moderation. There are always “pitfalls” to eating too much of anything. The disadvantages of eating too many cherries primarily involve digestive issues (bloating, diarrhea) from fiber and sugar alcohols, potential for kidney stones (oxalates), choking hazards (pits/stems), pesticide residues (non-organic), and allergic reactions, with tart cherry juice also containing added sugars or potentially interacting with medications. And cherry pits also contain trace amounts of cyanide or amygdalin. While swallowing a few intact pits is generally harmless, chewing them can cause poisoning. Symptoms include headaches, dizziness, and vomiting. Do not crush the pits before blending, and avoid eating them. The stones or pits of all stone fruits contain amygdalin, so this hazard is found in peaches, nectarines and apricots as well.

Bottom line though, there are many different varieties from which to choose, so there is something for everyone.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is a bowl of cherries. Eat up and enjoy. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

I invited my best kitchen helper and friend over to play with me again, “The Queen” or in this case, la Reina, of leftovers. This time we made our leftovers into something you would find in a Spanish kitchen.

We had just a little bit of our Costco rotisserie chicken left, and just enough rice for the two of us. Larry wanted to use those up for dinner. Cool beans! No problem. I just wanted to come up with something new and delicious. I looked through my library of cookbooks, but nothing was jumping out at me. So I just did what I always do, and made something up as I was going along. I came up with Spanish chicken with peppers and onions or pollo con pimentos morrones d’Espana.

It’s amazing what little bits of this and that can create. You just have to use your imagination and see what happens. 🙂

Spanish Chicken with Peppers & Onions

This dish was created by basically just rummaging through my refrigerator and using up my little bits of this and that needing to be used up. But it came out so delicious. If I didn’t tell you its origins were from leftovers, I bet you’d never know. 🙂

1 large chicken breast, cooked

1/2 red bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

1/2 green bell pepper, sliced into thin strips

4-5 garlic cloves, sliced very thin

1/2 onion, sliced very thin

1/3 cup mixed olives, sliced

1 TBSP Peruvian peppers

1 TBSP capers

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste

salt & pepper to taste

2 tomatoes, diced

1-2 tsp paprika

1-2 tsp each dried oregano, thyme and sage

1/2 cup brandy

1/2 cup dry red wine

1 cup chicken broth

olive oil

Combine the peppers, garlic, onions and seasonings together. Get a large skillet very hot, then add the olive oil and the pepper and garlic combination. Cook until the onions and peppers are softened, about 5 minutes.

Carefully add the brandy and flambe for about 1 minute, or until the flames die down. I got a good flambe going here, but it died down before I could get a good picture of the flames. But you’ve all seen them before. 🙂

When the flames die down, add the chicken broth, wine and about half of the tomatoes. I used a combination of red and yellow heirloom tomatoes and Campari tomatoes. I added the red tomatoes at this time.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add the olives, Peruvian peppers, capers and the rest of the tomatoes and the cooked chicken. This is when I added my yellow tomatoes. If you are cooking your own chicken, completely sear it first on all sides before adding. The cooking time will be longer if you are cooking your own chicken, to make sure the chicken is completely cooked. Cook until the chicken is completely cooked and the liquid has mostly evaporated.

When everything is cooked completely, serve it over a bed of rice, with some sauce on top of the rice, then the chicken and finished with a bit more sauce on top. Almost all Spanish meals are served with warm bread too, and I served it with an olive oil dip on the side. !Delicioso! Esta mui rica! And wine is a must with any Spanish meal, so of course I added a nice Spanish white wine to complete the meal.

Leftovers can be just as good as first overs, and no one has to know they are leftovers. Just be creative and let your imagination run wild. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Life is what you make it, so make it great. May 2026 be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.