Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I have been seeing a lot of posts about National Puppy Day. Well I LOVE dogs, of all kinds, so how could I resist showing off some of our “puppies”? We have had and loved a lot of dogs throughout the years, and still do. We’ve always said that “rescue” is our favorite breed and because we get so many rescues, we rarely get puppies. I have had four puppies in total, including Juneau, but Juneau is the only puppy that Larry has ever had. Though technically, Dorrie was and still is a puppy for a little longer. She is 1 1/2 years old and we got her when she was about 8 months old, but she is quickly growing out of her puppy stage.

Here are some pictures of our current “puppies” Juneau and Dorrie.

As soon as we brought her home, she curled up and fell asleep in the kitty box.

Juneau and Nicky, with Juneau in the kitty carrier.

Juneau and Vinnie

Dorrie (Andorra)

When we first met Dorrie and she knew she was ours.

Dorrie meeting her sister Juneau for the first time.

Her first snow.

Our big girls, Juneau and Dorrie

And puppies we have lost – Lucie (Luzerne) and Vinnie (St. Vincent)

Kodi (Kodiak)

Kodi and Taipei – Taipei was one of my puppies.

Chopstyx, was another puppy. I met her when she was just 2 hours old and could fit in the palm of my hand.

Me with my very first dog, who we had for over 15 years. She was about 3 when we first got her. I got Daisy when I was 3. I am with Daisy and Nosy, my first rabbit as well.

There is always room in our hearts for more puppy love.

While I was planning my menu for my Irish shindig, My Irish Shindig I came across so many good recipes and dishes I wanted to make, but I could only do so much. It was just a small get together, after all. One of those dishes was a pork pot pie. I added the barley to it after doing my research on the Guinness stew, and saw how some places in Southern Ireland add barley to their stews. So, yes, this dish is Irish inspired, but is “A Jeanne” creation.

Meat pies of all kinds have been around since at least the Medieval times. Foods were often cooked with a pastry crust as a way to help preserve the fillings and add a little more shelf life to them. My pork pie was vastly different than the traditional pork pies, and I think much better too.

I made my normal go-to crust, then filled my ramekins with filling and topped them with the dough.

Pork and Barley Pot Pie

When Larry smoked the corned beef, he also smoked a pork shoulder. We thought about adding it to our Irish menu, but we already had a wide variety of Irish foods, so we saved it for later.

Jeanne’s Go-To-Dough

1 1/2 cups flour

6 TBSP cold butter, diced

pinch of salt

1 egg

5-6 TBSP heavy whipping cream

In a food processor, pulse the salt, flour and butter until it resembles sand. You can also do this by hand. Add the egg and the cream and beat together until it forms into a ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for at least 1/2 hour before using.

The Filling

1 1/2-2 lbs cooked pork, diced

2-3 carrots, cubed

1-1 1/2 cups cooked barley – cook according to package directions

5-6 mushrooms, sliced

1 onion, diced

1 1/2-2 cups beef broth

1 TBSP tomato paste

salt & pepper to taste

4-5 sprigs fresh thyme

olive oil for cooking

Preheat the oven to 375*F or 191*C.

Spray 4-6 ramekins with cooking spray.

Cook the barley according to the package directions.

Get a pan very hot and add the oil, then saute the carrots, mushrooms and onions until soft, about 5-7 minutes.

Combine the beef broth, seasonings, thyme and tomato paste together and mix well.

Add everything together and mix well.

Fill the ramekins with the filling. Roll out the dough and shape to fit the tops of the ramekins. You want the dough to be about 1/4 thick. Press it firmly onto the tops of the filling, and take a serrated knife and make a few slits in the top of the top. Brush with an egg wash.

Bake for about 45-60 minutes, or until the top is golden brown. Let cool slightly, then enjoy. Slainte.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

You can tell spring is in the air, and the ducks and geese are all out house hunting. They are all looking for that perfect place to call home and to raise their kids. This couple wanted some water front property and are looking in the reeds, at the water’s edge.

It looks like they are going to take it.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

This recipe is the last of the menu items I prepared for my big Irish Shindig. My Irish Shindig. We needed more vegetables, you can never have to many fresh vegetables, after all, so I made a big salad with roasted vegetables and a lemon vinaigrette. It was so pretty and colorful, not to mention healthy and delicious too.

Roasted Vegetable Salad with Lemon Vinaigrette

It came out mostly purple because of the red beets, but I had red beets, golden beets, carrots, and parsnips all roasted and tossed together for this deliciously colorful salad. They were all tossed together with olive oil, salt & pepper then roasted to perfection. Simple, yet simply delicious.

1 head of lettuce – any kind

1-2 large carrots, sliced

1-2 parsnips, sliced

1 red beet, cubed

1 golden beet, cubed

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil – enough to thoroughly coat all the vegetables

Preheat the oven to 400*F or 200*C.

Peel and cut all the vegetables and toss them together with the salt, pepper and olive oil. Spread them out on a baking sheet, in a single layer. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Decorate a large serving platter with the lettuce. I used red leaf lettuce, but you can use any kind you like. Allow the vegetables to cool slightly, then spread out over the lettuce. Top with the lemon vinaigrette. Use just enough of the vinaigrette to give flavor to the vegetables and to the salad without drowning everything in dressing.

Lemon Vinaigrette

1/2 cup olive oil

2-3 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar, optional

3 TBSP apple cider vinegar or boiled apple cider

2-3 TBSP lemon juice

1 tsp lemon zest

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tsp dry mustard

salt & fresh ground black pepper to taste

Whisk everything together well until it is fully emulsified together. Pour over the roasted vegetables and salad.

This fresh and zesty dressing will go well with just about anything. Lemon brings out the fresh flavors of all kinds of vegetables, chicken and seafood. This is a very versatile dressing, that’s perfect for spring and summer.

Make your day deliciously colorful as much as you can. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

I was able to get some good shots of my first Northern Flicker of the season, though they are out and about pretty much year round. It’s been awhile since I’ve seen any though, so I was excited. He was sitting up high in the tree, just singing away to his heart’s content.

Life is always better if you follow and listen to the music in your heart. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

On her arm she had a garden trug filled with globe artichokes which she held up to show him. “Did you ever see anything as perfect, James? Such a blend of purple and green. They’re a different variety from all the green ones we have been growing. They are supposed to be more succulent. They’re certainly exquisite looking, aren’t they? They remind me of those porcelain ones we went near to buying in Paris”.

“A Marriage” from A Family Likeness ~ Mary Lavin

My next recipe, for Artichokes and Asparagus in a Cream Sauce, comes from an Irish cookbook with a literary twist. It is an Irish cookbook with the favorite foods of Irish writers and poets, called A Trifle, A Coddle, A Fry, by Veronica Jane O’Mara & Fionnula O’Reilly. Having my BA in English Literature, as well a Culinary Arts degree, and a passion for both writing and food, I thought this would be a fun little twist.

Ms. Lavin was an American born writer who moved to Dublin with her Irish mother at the age of 9. She lived and wrote in Dublin from that point on, until her death. She wrote of ordinary tales from ordinary people, and a lot of her writings featured her favorite foods. This recipe for Artichokes and Asparagus in a Cream Sauce was among her favorites. It reminded her of her family vacations in France. She said “artichokes always [made her] think of good times, when [they] all ate too much and didn’t care a bit”. (p. 188)

Artichokes and Asparagus in Cream Sauce

Of course, I took some poetic liberties and adjusted the recipe to make it more my own. Would you expect anything any different? 🙂

I used fresh asparagus, whereas Ms. Lavin suggested to use canned asparagus. Why on earth would I use canned vegetables when fresh is so much better????? Because I used fresh asparagus, I had to blanch them first. I blanched them in boiling water for about five minutes, or just until they were mostly tender. Then I ran them under ice cold water to stop the cooking process before cutting them into spears about one inch long.

2 cans artichoke hearts or bottoms, drained and rinsed

1 bunch asparagus

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

6 TBSP butter, divided

4 egg yolks

salt & pepper to taste

2 TBSP lemon balsamic vinegar

1 shallot, diced fine

2-3 TBSP fresh tarragon, chopped

2-3 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped

Once the asparagus is cooked and cut, toss it together with the artichoke hearts.

Saute the shallots in 2 TBSP of butter for about 3-5 minutes, or until they are softened and translucent.

Then add to the asparagus and artichoke hearts.

To make the cream sauce, I actually made it like I would make a hollandaise sauce, since it is very similar. Melt the remaining butter in a separate container. Combine the egg yolks and cream together and place over a pot of boiling water. Add the melted butter to the cream and egg mixture, while stirring constantly so the eggs to cook or scramble, and keep stirring just until it begins to thicken. Then add the lemon balsamic vinegar, tarragon salt and pepper and parsley and mix in thoroughly.

Heat the vegetable mixture to make it hot, then pour the sauce over the vegetables and serve immediately.

Everyone loved this unique combination of vegetables and flavors, and you will too.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Well, actually, it was two geese on the roof, rather than one, but “Goose On A Roof” had a better sound than “Geese On A Roof”. 🙂 I think they were home shopping for the upcoming spring season.

It looks like they are discussing it.

Don’t you walk away from me when I am talking to you!

I think they made a decision.

I guess home shopping for the geese is just as stressful as it is for us. 🙂 Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

As you all know by now, I had quite a feast for St. Patrick’s Day, and offered a wide variety of traditional Irish foods for the day’s events. One of the dishes I made was some baked cod in a creamy butter and chive sauce. Needless to say, it was a big hit. None was left over at the end of the feasting, which is ALWAYS a good sign. 🙂 I don’t think anyone was expecting fish, but everyone was glad I made it.

We love fish and eat fish often, particularly when we are traveling. Offering fish, and particularly cod on this day, was a light and refreshing option, since everything else was pretty heavy.

Baked Cod in a Creamy Butter Chive Sauce

The recipe called for salmon but I went with cod instead, and I am glad I did too. All of our guests were glad for the cod as well. I also added some sauteed shallots to the dish, to perk it up a bit more. Since we had a big menu, with a lot of different options, I cut my cod pieces in half and made them small.

6 pieces of cod

1 large shallot, diced fine

1 cup dry white wine

salt & pepper to taste

4 TBSP butter

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped fine

1.4 cup chopped parsley

beurre manie – equal portions of butter and flour mixed together as a thickener

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180*C.

Spray baking dish with cooking spray.

Saute the shallots in butter for about 3-5 minutes, or until softened and translucent.

Spread the cooked shallots on the bottom of the prepared pan. Add the cod on top of the shallots.

Season with salt and pepper and add the butter on top of the fish. Then add the wine.

Bake for about 15 minutes.

When the fish is cooked, pour some of the juice into a pan, and add the buerre manie. Cook until the buerre manie is completely incorporated into the juice and the sauce begins to thicken. Add the chopped chives and parsley. Pour the sauce over the fish and serve immediately. This dish got rave reviews from everyone. It was a big hit.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

When you see Robin’s, it is a sign that spring is coming soon. I have been seeing a few Robin’s out and about lately, so I think winter is coming to an end and spring is on its way.

Every season has its beauty. Enjoy all that you can. 🙂

The Irish Americans began to celebrate their homeland and culture in their home away from home, America. And of course, there was a celebratory meal in honor of their heritage – corned beef. Though, in Ireland, bacon was the meat of choice, NOT corned beef. Corned beef is an Irish American tradition. This was served with potatoes and the most affordable vegetable, cabbage. Corned beef and cabbage seems to be an American favorite for St. Patrick’s Day, though I admit, neither are my favorites, and I rarely cook them for St. Patrick’s Day. I will cook them, on occasion, just usually NOT for St. Patrick’s Day. But because I was having a big Irish feast, and because they are popular choices, I did prepare them this year, though with a definite twist.

Larry decided to bring out the smoker and smoked the corned beef for about four hours, then he put it in the slow cooker for another four hours. It came out so tender. Before smoking it though, he washed off most of the brine (the brine is the part we don’t care for) and made a mustard and pepper rub for it. I don’t have much of the details, since the smoker is Larry’s deal. But it came out so good.

Mushy cabbage is also NOT a favorite of mine, and so often the cabbage that is prepared for St. Patrick’s Day is brown and mushy. To me, it usually tastes as bad as it smells. I don’t mind cabbage if it is cooked right though. Since we were cooking the corned beef in a different way, I decided to cook the cabbage in a different way as well. So this time I roasted it in the oven. I think I might prepare it this way from here on out.

Roasted Cabbage

This is so easy and very tasty. It’s definitely a new way to enjoy an old “classic”.

1 head green, Napa cabbage, cut into wedges

salt& pepper to taste

olive oil

garlic olive oil or roasted garlic

Preheat the oven to 400*F of 200*C.

Oil a baking sheet with olive oil and place the wedges directly onto the oiled pan. Add salt & pepper and the garlic olive oil and/or the roasted garlic.

Roast for about 40 minutes or so, or until the edges are crisp and browned, almost caramelized. And that’s it. It couldn’t be much easier than that, but it was so good. It was salty, crispy and tender all at the same time, plus it is something different, which is always appealing to me. 🙂

Walk on the wild side and branch out. Do something different. It doesn’t always have to be done the same way all the time. Try new things. Try new ideas. Be creative. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.