Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

I laugh every time I hear someone say they want to be a chef because they think it is a glamorous life. Or that they think they will become rich and famous. HA! HA! HA! Too funny! That only proves they know absolutely NOTHING about what it is really like. Do they really know about the personal costs? Do they really know about the LONG hours, NIGHTS, WEEKENDS and HOLIDAYS? I don’t think so. In order to graduate from culinary school, it was MANDATORY to actually work in a restaurant for at least 6 months to really understand a chef’s life. Most people can’t hack it. It is definitely NOT a lifestyle choice for the weak or faint-hearted. The food industry, and particularly restaurants, is a BRUTAL business. You have to be tough and made of the right stuff to survive.

When I was in restaurants, it was still an early time for a lot of women in the industry, which made it even tougher. It is very much a man’s world. I had to work twice as hard and be twice as good just to get half the respect. You have to quickly learn how to play with the big boys or you won’t make it. And don’t even think about crying or showing weakness. You will be eaten alive and thrown out with the trash in a heartbeat. If you are a woman in this man’s world, you have to be even tougher than the men, and believe me, that is saying a lot.

I found these kitchen quotes that really sum up the life of a chef perfectly.

These don’t even go into all the burns and cuts we get on a daily basis either. I have been to the doctor a few times for major burns and/or cuts, and then went right back to the kitchen.

Believe me, these are all very true. Recently Larry and I were watching the movie Burnt, with Bradley Cooper, and he asked me if that was a true representation of the kitchen life. Um, YEAH! Very much so. We also have a favorite word that is used A LOT in the back of the house. This word is NEVER used in the front of the house, but it is a standard part of our vocabulary in the back of the house. It starts with an “F” and ends with a “K”. I’ll let you fill in the blanks. 🙂

So if you still think being a chef is living a glamorous life, think again. Do your research and actually work in a professional kitchen for awhile first. It is NOT the same as cooking from home. This is definitely a labor of LOVE. If you are not passionate about this job, DON’T do it! It will take everything you’ve got and then some if you let it.

I hope this helps all you want-to-be chefs out there. Enter this business with caution if you dare. You either have it in you or you don’t. But if you do have what it takes, it gets in your blood and there is no turning back.

Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Gingersnap cookies are very popular all throughout Europe and America. They are cookies that have their roots in Dutch, German and English ginger cookies that were originally pressed with a “stamp”. They were first created in Lebkuchen, Germany around 1296. It is believed they were created by the Medieval monks in Frankovia, Germany as Christmas cookies, and their popularity spread from there. Gingersnaps were named from the German or Middle Dutch word snappen, meaning “to seize quickly.

Gingersnaps are the popular snack based American biscuit which is flavored with ginger. Gingersnaps are known by various names such as Ginger biscuits and Ginger nuts in other parts of the world. In reality gingersnaps are improvised version of gingerbread cookies. Gingersnaps are normally prepared as round shaped cookies. Gingersnaps are mostly prepared in varying thickness. In the US and UK this thickness varies between 3mm and 6mm. In Scandinavia gingersnaps or pepparkakor are also known as ginger thins. These ginger thins are rolled thin and are even crispier than their American counterparts. The pepparkakor are often prepared in decorative shapes and are more spiced than their American counterparts.   In America the gingersnaps are prepared with prominent cracks on the top.  Normally molasses, brown sugar, and ground spices (cloves, ginger and cinnamon) are used in the preparation of gingersnaps. The gingersnaps turn crispier when they are baked for longer time. What is the difference between molasses cookies and gingersnaps? They are the exact same base dough with molasses and ginger, but molasses cookies are soft and chewy and gingersnaps are historically crispy and crunchy, hence the “snap”.

Today, there is some form of ginger cookie found all over the world, with many different varieties and recipes. As you know, right now, it is fall in the United States, and fall means pumpkins, lots and lots of pumpkins. I found a recipe for pumpkin gingersnaps that I just had to make. They were so good too.

Pumpkin Gingersnaps

1/2 cup softened butter

1 cup sugar + more for rolling the cookies in

1/2 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup molasses

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

2 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp salt

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

Combine the dry ingredients well and set aside.

Mix the butter and sugar together until creamy, then add the egg and mix again. Next add the vanilla, molasses and pumpkin and mix together thoroughly, then add the flour mixture 1/2 at a time, mixing in between. Don’t over mix or you will have tough cookies.

Once the dough is ready, form into round balls then roll into sugar. I like more flattened cookies than rounded cookies, so I usually press them lightly to flatten them out a bit. I also “double dipped” them in sugar. Once I pressed them, I dipped them in the sugar once again for another sugar coating. Place the cookies on a cookie sheet spacing them about 2 inches apart.

Bake for about 13-15 minutes or until done, and allow them to cool slightly before gobbling them all up. You actually are looking for a slight crack on the tops of the cookies, at least with the American version.

I loved the subtle flavors of the pumpkin and molasses combined with the ginger. Everything just comes together so well and taste oh so good. Good luck with eating just one. I bet you can’t. 🙂

Happy Halloween. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

It is that time of year again when ghosts and goblins join forces with pirates and princesses, and all other kinds of fun creative types, to go around begging people for candy. This year I saw a lot of sharks and super heroes as well. It’s Halloween of course.

Instead of kids going from house to house, as we all did when we were growing up, more and more kids are going to organized trunk or treats all around town. It is a safer option, with lots of fun activities for the whole family to enjoy. Once again, our church hosted a very successful Trunk or Treat, with about 500 people in attendance. We had more than enough candy his year, as well as hot dogs, popcorn and cotton candy.

Once again, I was the church photographer and took a ton of pictures. I took well over 400 pictures for the event, but I will NOT share them all with you today. I will just give you a little snippet of all the costumes and fun that I saw. All the kids looked great. Some were cute and some were scary, but everyone had a great time, and that’s what it’s really all about. 🙂

It was a family affair, for kids of all ages to enjoy. I don’t know who had more fun, the adults or the kids.

Lacy is the creative genius who planned this fun event. Here she is with her best guys.

We had quite a few cars that participated and they were all so creative.

This one with the 101 Dalmatians theme was fantastic.

As well as this one with The Under the Sea theme.

Wendy’s donuts were deliciously fun too, as well as her daughter Zoe’s 1950’s diner theme.

Everyone had loads of fun, but it is always the littlest ones who bring the most joy to me. I love seeing them all dressed up with the bags of candy and big smiles.

The Count.

A cute little duckling.

A rainbow kitty.

And a green stegosaurus.

These two are giving me their best super hero poses.

To infinity and beyond.

The dragon slayer.

Our beautiful little Bambi.

This is the cutest shark I have ever seen, and I have seen a lot of sharks too.

This beautiful monarch is more than ready to spread her wings.

We had all kinds of games for everyone to enjoy too.

We had face paintings.

And we had hot dogs. Larry was the dog master.

James is serving up the dogs.

Don’t eat this dog though. Elijah might bite back.

We even had a taco.

Our pastors like to get in on all the fun too. Pastor Michael, our Musical Director, and his family.

Pastor John with his family, his mom Peggy and Lacy. Lacy is our Young Kids Director.

And our Lead Pastor, Matthew giving some sage advice to these trick or treaters.

I was busy taking pictures, but my black panther, Nicky (Nicodemus) wanted to get in on the Halloween fun too. We took a picture right before meeting all the trick or treaters. She says BOO!

As you can see it was a great day and we got so many people to participate in all our games, activities and fun. Everyone left with lots of candy, lots of fun memories and lots of smiles. Happy Halloween Everyone. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Most of our beautifully colored trees have now lost their leaves. There are still a few trees that are holding onto their leaves, but for the most part, most of them have gone for the season. It sure was beautiful while they were here though. Now we are preparing for winter. These are some of the last of this season’s beautiful colors. Enjoy them whole you can, because soon they will all be gone.

These are all that is left on my tree, and soon, they will be gone too.

Have a great day and make the most out of today and all your days.

I love fall baking as much as I love the season of fall itself. Having the oven on warms the house and all the delicious aromas warm the heart. This time, there was an apple raisin cake in the oven, with warm smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, apples and raisins filling the house. Thank you once again foodzesty at https://foodzesty.com/ for the inspiration for this fabulous festive fall cake. It was definitely a winner.

I love raisins but I am finding more and more people who don’t like raisins, so I am reluctant to add them to things any more. When I do use raisins, I usually use the golden raisins now, for this same reason. The golden raisins in this cake really brought it to life.

Apple Raisin Cake

Believe it or not, I actually ALMOST followed this recipe exactly. 🙂 I did make a few minor changes though. I used golden raisins. I HATE walnuts, so I substituted pecans instead, and I did not have buttermilk, so I substituted sour cream instead. It all works and the cake was most definitely a winner.

Preheat the oven to 375* F or about 190* C.

Spray a bundt cake pan with cooking spray and lightly dust it with flour.

3 cups flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

3 cups apples, diced small

1 cup raisins – I like the golden raisins

1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 1/2 cups vegetable or canola oil

2 cups sugar

3 eggs

2 TBSP vanilla

3 TBSP buttermilk, yogurt or sour cream

Mix all the dry ingredients together and set aside.

Mix the oil, I used canola oil, eggs, and sugar together, then add the vanilla and souring agent and mix until it is all smooth and creamy. Then add the flour mixture 1/2 at a time, mixing in between.

Fold in the apples, raisins and nuts .

Then evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

Allow the cake to cool completely, then you can top it with either powdered sugar or a glaze. I had some lemon glaze leftover, so I drizzled it over the top before slicing it up. It was YUMMY!

Enjoy the season. Bake to your heart’s content and share with friends and family. Everything always tastes much better when shared with loved ones.

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

Larry says, and rightly so, that I don’t know how to cook in small amounts. This means I always have leftovers. Because I prefer NOT to eat my leftovers the same way I had them as firstovers, I get very creative when re-purposing them. I always have. Even back in my restaurant management days, my chef and I actually planned meals from our leftovers and had them on the menus. I guess it is just a gift. 🙂

Who says leftovers have to be boring? Turn them into something fun and just as delicious as the firstovers. My latest leftover recreation was from my roasted fall vegetables, steak and chicken. Roasted Fall Vegetables They went from being a side dish to a main dish with the wave of my magic wooden spoon, and a few other added ingredients. I turned them into pot pies.

I made my dough for the pot pie toppings, and let it set in the fridge for about an hour before using it for my pies.

While the dough was setting, I cut my steak and chicken into cubes and mixed it with the remainder of the vegetables and heated them all up with a little olive oil. At first I was just going to make the pies with either chicken or steak, but I didn’t think I had enough of either to do that. It turned out I was wrong. Oh well. We had them for dinner and Larry had a couple for lunches too. He always says I have a gift of turning leftovers into even more food that what I started out with. You have to go with your gifts I guess. 🙂

Next I added about 1 cup of heavy whipping cream and about 1/2 cup of flour to the mix and adjusted my seasonings a bit for the sauce. I let it all cook for about 5-10 minutes, while stirring frequently. When adding flour you want to make sure it is well incorporated into the mix and cooked, otherwise you will taste the flour, which believe me, is not a good taste on its own.

Preheat the oven to about 375* F or about 190* C.

Spray the ramekins with cooking spray.

Once everything was cooked and blended together, I spooned the mixture into my ramekins and covered them with dough to make my pot pies. Then I added a few slashes to the tops to allow the gases to release while baking. I added a little eggwash to the tops to help with the browning and baked them for about an hour or until they were golden brown.

And voila! The Queen and I have done it again. We always have so much fun recreating from the leftovers. Re-using my leftovers has always been something I have been very good at, but especially now, when the price of food has skyrocketed so much, I definitely re-use all of my leftovers as much as I can. I do my best to NOT let anything go to waste. Waste not want not you know.

Have fun in the kitchen and definitely play with your food. In the meantime, stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

If anything has the name “curry” in it, chances are I am going to love it. And it is fall, which also means it’s pumpkin season. So combing pumpkin and curry, well, that just goes without saying. I am definitely on board with it. Larry came across a recipe for just that, a pumpkin and chicken Thai red curry. Thai curries are some of my favorite curries too. So this dish was a must for me to make, and of course, I personalized it like I always do too. I also got to use up some of my leftovers, which always makes me happy. I actually made this dish right BEFORE we left for Virginia, so I was really glad I was able to use up my leftovers too.

Pumpkin and Chicken Thai Red Curry

1 can coconut milk

1 TBSP red curry paste

1 can pureed pumpkin

1 TBSP packed brown sugar

1-2 TBSP honey ginger balsamic vinegar, optional

2 TBSP sambal sauce

1 lb chicken breast, cut into strips

1 shallot, sliced very thin

1 cup sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup pumpkin or squash , cubed

1 cup asparagus, cut into small pieces about 1-1 1/2 inches

1/2 cup bell peppers, any color, sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

Combine the first 6 ingredients well and set aside.

As I said, I was using up all my remaining leftovers, so a lot of my ingredients were already cooked ahead of time. But if you are starting fresh, cook the asparagus separately, then set aside until later.

Saute the peppers, mushrooms, squash and shallots in hot olive oil for about 5 minutes, or until tender.

Add the chicken and asparagus, and combine well.

Add the pumpkin mixture, mix together well, and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 7- minutes, stirring frequently. Add in some of the chopped cilantro at about the last 2-3 minutes. Then served everything over some cooked rice and top with the rest of the cilantro.

If you are a curry lover, you will love this recipe. It will just melt in your mouth. It is slightly sweet, but not too sweet. It has a bit of heat, but not too much. It’s creamy and almost buttery and is just loaded with goodness. It is definitely a winner and is perfect for fall.

As I write this, I am looking out the window and we are getting our first light snow of the season. It is really more of a slurry at his time, since it is more like a combination of rain and snow, but I will take it. It won’t stick though since we have had warm, mild weather all season. There is something magical about the first snow of the season. This curry dish is a perfect dish for days like this. It will help warm you up from the onside out.

Stay warm, stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

As I have mentioned many times I the past, I get my inspirations from all over the place, from many different sources. I love recipes that show pictures, then I can easily figure out the rest on my own. I almost always change the original recipes too, making them my own. It’s just what I do.

The original recipe for this delicious festive fall side dish of artichokes, garlic and potatoes came from our very own foodzesty at https://foodzesty.com/. Thank you for the inspiration. That original recipe sounded oh so good, so I just had to try it on my own. But alas, it quickly became my own recipe. First I didn’t have all the right ingredients to make it exactly the same, and second I had other things that were just begging me to add them to the recipe too. So, once again, I made this delicious side dish my own. It was definitely a big hit too.

I used the smaller potatoes and cut them in half. Instead of using artichoke bottoms, I already had artichoke hearts, that I just cut in half. I also added pumpkin, since it is pumpkin season after all, and tomatoes because I had a lot of delicious fresh tomatoes straight from Janet & Bob’s garden that I wanted to use. Gift From The Garden So once again, a little of this and a little of that, and VOILA! A new side dish was created.

For this one, I didn’t measure anything (though I rarely do), I just knew I was cooking for four people.

I can artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half

1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

1 1/2 cups pumpkin, cubed

1 1/2-2 TBSP garlic

2 lbs small potatoes, cut in half and par cooked with boiling water and vinegar

salt & pepper to taste

enough olive oil to coat the vegetables

Preheat the oven to 400* F or 200*C

First I cut the potatoes in half and boiled them for about 10-12 minutes in boiling hot water with a dash of vinegar. This is a little trick I learned not too long ago. It helps crisp up the potatoes when roasting them. I will use this new method from here on out too. It makes the potatoes come out just perfect.

Once the potatoes were semi-cooked, I drained them, then tossed them in olive oil, salt and pepper and garlic, along with the pumpkin and roasted them in the oven at 400* F or about 200* C. for about 20 minutes.

After about 20 minutes, stir the potatoes and pumpkin mixture, then add the artichoke hearts or bottoms and tomatoes and combine well. Put it all back in the oven and continue to bake for an additional 15-20 minutes.

When the potatoes and pumpkin are tender, it is done. Serve these tasty fall vegetables alongside your favorite main dish and enjoy. We all did. And I created something entirely different with the leftovers too. You ‘ll just have to wait and see what I did next. 🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

El Five is another restaurant owned by the restaurant group Edible Beats.  We just went to El Five, a Mediterranean Tapas house, with Janet, Bob, Mike and Lauren. We were still celebrating the two birthday girls. The Birthday Party Janet, Bob, Larry and I have now been to 4 out of the 6 restaurants in the Edible Beats group. We still have yet to enjoy Ophelia’s, as well as Root Down DIA. Ophelia’s is most definitely on our bucket list, however, I don’t think Root Down DIA will be, though definitely not because of the food. We like to experience the restaurants together, and haven’t traveled with each other yet. Besides, Larry and I usually get the o’dark hundred flights in the early hours of the morning, so it is highly unlikely we will be experiencing Root Down DIA anytime soon.

The Edible Beats Restaurant Group are known as the “renegades of flavor and masters of of remix. [They are also] known for responsibly-grown and innovatively simply sourcing veggie-forward fare.” The restaurants are all creatively named and grouped to spell out L.O.V.E.R.R. A Trip To Linger

L – Linger

O – Ophelia’s

V – Vital Root

E – El Five or El 5

R – Root Down

R – Root Down DIA

El Five is nestled high above LoHi on the fifth floor of 2930 Umatilla, El Five boasts spectacular, unobstructed city views of the downtown Denver skyline, and a wide frame of sprawling highlands for an unrivaled sunset view. The Large open-air patio sits adjacent to its big sister: Edible Beat’s concept Linger.

The views from the rooftop of Denver and Bronco Stadium at Empower Field.

This is the entrance to El Five. It was a little hard to find at first, since we had to go through the parking lot and then enter the lobby. From the lobby, we had to take the elevator up to L5. Once we got off the elevator, we entered into the fabulously fun world of El Five, the Restaurant.

The Kitchen

The Bar

The Bathrooms

El Five was a new experience for all of us, but Janet, Bob, Larry and I all at least had an inkling of what to expect. It was all completely new to Mike and Lauren though. They have some catching up to do. 🙂

The Mediterranean Sea has a rich export culture, all connected by one region : The Strait of Gibraltar. Like the port, El Five is a melting pot of all the Mediterranean regions, creating dishes without a home country, that taste like favorites from each one : Tapas De Gibraltar. El Five is a restaurant that specializes in tapas, or small plates. Tapas are small plates of food that are meant to be shared amongst friends. The more people you have to share with, the more fun it is. We all ordered something different and then we all enjoyed small samplings of everything. We all had little bits of Heaven with each bite, starting with fabulous Portuguese wine, Macanita, recommended to us by our fabulous server and sommelier, Anton.

Since there were 6 of us, the first bottle of wine didn’t last very long, so we all felt inclined to purchase another bottle. It was a special occasion after all.

Our server Anton was such a delight. He was on top of everything and thought of things even before we did. He was there to take care of everything, and that he did too.

Anton, as well as everyone else, including the Manager Frank, were all so helpful and truly made our evening an experience to remember. Some of the delicious wine was accidentally spilled, and Anton and Frank, as well as the rest of the staff were right there, on top of everything, within seconds.

Since we all ordered something different, it seemed like there was an endless supply of food coming our way. Just as we would finish one dish, another would take its place. Everything was out-of-this-world delicious too.

We started off with a couple of platters of the Lebanese Garlic Dip and Vegetables.

Next came the goat cheese croquettas and rabbit confit crujientes. These were our starters.

From the starters, we moved on to the “main entries”, which included Patatas Bravas,

Iberian pork loin,

pork cheeks,

and the seafood paella.

Yes, it looks like A LOT of food, and it was, but it wasn’t at the same time. We all enjoyed little bits of everything. We were all full and very satisfied, but none of us were too full. It was just the right amount.

And because we had two birthdays that were celebrating, we also ordered some desserts as well, once again to share with everyone. We ordered the malabi, which is an orange blossom, sesame tuile, pistachio butter, strawberry compote,

and the chocolate terrine, which was a combination of caramelized white chocolate with Turkish delight, candied orange and a passionfruit coulis. The birthday girls each also received some spiced dragees, or dark chocolate coated hazelnuts.

Everything was just perfect. We are all still talking about the fabulous dinner, the spectacular views, and the tremendously fun evening we enjoyed together. It was definitely a fun night to remember. We can’t wait to go back.

El Five is located on the 5th Floor at 2930 Umatilla Street, Denver, CO. Definitely make reservations before going. You can contact El Five at (303) 524-9193. You will definitely be in for a delightful evening that you will not forget. El Five is a treat for all the senses. It will make for a magical evening indeed. You will most definitely be glad for the experience.

Food is meant to be enjoyed, and it is better enjoyed when shared with friends, family and/or loved ones. This is definitely the definition of living the good life. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.