Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

My little mini vacation is over. 😦 Karen left this morning and she is already back home, in California now. We had such a good time and covered a lot of ground while she was here. We took her to and did as many places and things as time would allow while she was here. We had a blast. It just flew by so quickly though.

The first thing we did was to have a “Girls’ Day” at the Dushanbe Teahouse, in Boulder. There were eight of us who celebrated high tea at Dushanbe (you’ll just have to wait for another post on this one. I know, I am such a tease. 🙂 ). Before we met everyone at Dushanbe though, we stopped in a Bookcliff Vineyards Winery, also in Boulder, for a tasting. Bookcliff Vineyards in Boulder Our wine tasting crew was Janet, Lauren, Karen and myself. Janet and I have been to Bookcliff many times, and are/were both members. It was the first time for both Lauren and Karen though. John, the owner, was there and showed us around a bit, which made it even more special.

The barrel room.

John and the Girls.

Ladies day out.

Bookcliff is a local winery that actually grows and produces most of their own grapes too. They grow their grapes in Palisades, over on the Western Slope, outside of Grand Junction, Colorado. They also do tastings and events there as well. Their Boulder location is at 1501 Lee Hill Drive, Number 17
Boulder, CO 80304.  Their phone number is 303.499.7301.  They would love it if you go visit and taste. Give them a call, or stop on by next time you are in the neighborhood. 🙂

Hope you al enjoyed your St. Patrick’s Day festivities. We were supposed to go out and celebrate Irish style, but because of the weather, Karen’s flight was delay considerably. So Larry and I ate the rest of our corned beef as Reuben sandwiches while we waited to go pick Karen up from the airport. They were still really good too. But now all our corned beef is gone. I guess I will just have to make some more. 🙂 I did get dressed up for the occasion though. I was proudly displaying my Irish roots.

Instead of green, we got snow. It snowed all day, but not much of it stuck around for to long; just long enough to delay Karen’s flight for about 4 hours. They kids enjoyed it while they could though. They love playing in the snow. They say, let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. 🙂

Once Karen arrived safely, we went home and stayed up talking and enjoying a nice bottle of a cozy pinot noir until the wee hours of the morning. I may not be posting for the next few days. I am going to be enjoying my friend and showing her as much of our beautiful state as I can in the time she is here.

They kids love their Auntie KK.

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

There is a large Irish culture here in the United States. People of Irish heritage are the second largest ethnic group here in the States, representing roughly 33.3 million people. St. Paddy’s Day. We have certain foods that are always associated with certain holidays. For instance, most Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving and roast beef at Christmas. We also eat a lot of corned beef and cabbage on St. Paddy’s Day. In Ireland, pork or lamb and cabbage are traditionally served on St. Paddy’s Day rather than beef, but when the Irish immigrants came to America, beef and potatoes were substituted because they were cheaper and more readily accessible than pork and cabbage at the time.

The Irish immigrants were very poor when they came to America and their traditional foods were hard to find or were to expensive to buy. So of course, substitutions were made, and those have since become traditional Irish foods here in America. What we now know as corned beef, and as a “traditional Irish food” was actually kosher beef bought from the Jewish butchers and delis in New York. It was thrown into a large pot with cabbage and potatoes and slow cooked. It was usually a brisket, which is a cheaper, tougher cut of beef that is best when slow cooked. The potatoes and cabbage were also cheap and affordable foods that go a long way in feeding the hungry.

How did corned beef get its name? There is no actual corn in the beef, but it got its name as “corned beef” from the dry curing process that was used to preserve the meat. A slice of beef was covered in “corns” (large, coarse pellets of salt), which would draw out the moisture and prevent the growth of bacteria.

Corned beef is NOT one of my favorite foods, but I do eat it every now and then. Larry likes it a lot more than I do. I do usually cook it around St. Patrick’s Day, but not always on the day. I prefer many of the real traditional Irish foods instead. This time, however, I did actually prepare corned beef. I made it with a slight twist, and then made a tarragon mustard cream sauce to top it. Rather than boiled potatoes, I served it with Irish champ (mashed potatoes with parsley) and sauteed carrots and green beans in a ginger butter glaze.

I slowed cooked the corned beef for about 6 hours at a low heat. It came out so tender and juicy. Even I have to admit I liked it quite a bit.

Tender Corned Beef with Tarragon Mustard Cream Sauce

The Beef

4-5 lbs corned beef, with the pickling spices

2 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 TBSP garlic

2 TBSP sugar

2 bay leaves

salt & pepper to taste

water to cover only about 25% of the beef

Place the beef fat side up in a slow cooker. Add the spices, garlic, sugar and vinegar and evenly cover the beef. Add just enough water to cover about 25% of the beef on the bottom. Add the water at the sides of the slow cooker. Add 2 bay leaves to the sides as well. Cover and cook at a low heat for about 6-8 hours or until the beef is browned and tender.

I cooked my carrots and green beans separately and just sauteed them in a ginger honey balsamic vinegar and butter, with some sliced shallots and salt & pepper.

I made a tarragon mustard cream sauce for the meat. I just put everything together in a small skillet and cooked it at a medium heat for about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the butter at the end as a finish to the sauce.

Tarragon Mustard Cream Sauce

1 cup heavy whipping cream

1-1 1/2 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 TBSP tarragon

salt & pepper to taste

2 TBSP butter

We had the corned beef a wee bit early, but we will be celebrating Irish style tonight, at an Irish pub. My friend Karen is coming in to visit, and she is flying in tonight. Her request was to celebrate the day in the traditional ways of the Irish, or at least the Irish at heart. And celebrate we will too.

“Cheers” in Irish is sláinte which is pronounced a bit like “slawn-che”. Sláinte means “health”, and if you’re feeling brave, you can say sláinte is táinte (“slawn-che iss toin-che”), meaning health and wealth.

It’s that time of year again, when everyone celebrates being Irish. Even those who are not Irish celebrate the day. It is St. Patrick’s Day, of course. With a name like Jones, you know I have a lot of Celtic blood running through my veins. I am a true American mutt, with a lot of different nationalities mixed together, but I am predominantly, Irish, Scottish, Welsh and Australian (a combination of all of these nationalities too). It is estimated that roughly 33.3 million Americans have Irish roots, or roughly 10% of the population. Irish Americans are the second largest ethnic group in America, followed by German Americans.

Why do we celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? “He returns to Ireland and brings Christianity with him. He is who made the Celts and the pagans into Christians.” St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17, the day he is assumed to have died. The holiday originally was tied to religious ideals but now is also a symbol of Irish pride.” The day commemorates Saint Patrick, a missionary who arrived in Ireland during the 5th century and introduced Christianity to the Irish people. March 17 is widely believed to be the day he died, and Ireland has been at the forefront of celebrations commemorating its patron saint on that day since the ninth century. St Paddy’s Day started as a religious celebration in the 17th century to commemorate the life of Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland. This “Feast Day” always took place on the anniversary of Patrick’s death, which was believed to be March 17, 461 AD.

Today, it is not celebrated so much as a religious holiday, but a day to honor the Irish and Irish pride. Today, it is a festive event with parades and everything green and orange. The green is said to represent the Catholic population and the orange represents the Protestant population of Ireland. Every year on March 17^th, St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated in Ireland and all across the globe. It’s the time for shamrocks, costumes, parades and of course, leprechauns. 

Dancers in traditional Irish costumes.

An Irish bagpipe corps marching in stride.

Leprechauns everywhere. Leprechauns are often associated with riches and gold. What happens if you catch a leprechaun? The rule is, if you’re lucky enough to catch a leprechaun, you can never take your eyes off him or he’ll disappear. In one tale, a man managed to catch a leprechaun and forced the fairy to divulge the secret location of his treasure. But in folklore their main vocation is anything but glamorous: they are humble cobblers, or shoemakers. Where’s the fun in celebrating a humble shoemaker though? It is much more fun to try to catch the trickster who is full of shenanigans.

Whether you are Irish or only Irish for the day, celebrate the day in style and a wee bit of fun.

Our Colorado weather is being true to form, meaning it is being completely unpredictable, once again. Yesterday I was in shorts. It was a beautiful, sunny day with the temperature in the low 70’s (F). Today, the skies are gray and over cast and we are expecting more snow again tonight. Go figure.

I took advantage of our beautiful warm weather and went walk-about around our lakes, as I do as much as possible. The ducks were out too. We had so many ducks and geese out, all of whom were enjoying the beautiful day as well.

Of course our mallards were out,

as were our Canadians,

along with their close cousins, the Cacklings. There was one lone Wood Duck swimming along with the Cacklings too. Look closely, and you will see him.

I zoomed in on him and made him stand out so you can see his beautiful colors. I didn’t see him at first either. It was only after I was editing my pictures that I noticed him.

We also had some Hooded Mergansers out and about,

as well as some Common and Barrow Goldeneyes.

And last but definitely not least, we had some buffleheads out too.

It was fun seeing so many different ducks out and all together. I LOVE my lakes. You just never know what you are going to see or who you are going to meet. Everyday is a gift.

It is believed that corn was first cultivated in Mexico around 7000 years ago. It morphed into the corn of of today from a wild grass known as teosinte. It was then brought up to North America and has been a staple in the lives of Native Americans ever since. To the Native Americans, corn is known as maize. Corn comes in all colors of the rainbow. Each variation has a slightly different taste and subtly different characteristics, but in the end, they are all good.

In many parts of the world, corn is used as grain for stock animals’ food. It is also used to produce ethanol fuel. It is also used to make starch, sweeteners, corn oil, beverages and industrial alcohol. And believe it or not, it is loved and enjoyed by most Americans, whether they are are from North America, Central America or South America, just for the pure, delicious, goodness of this sweet grain. We love and eat a lot of corn, prepared in many different ways, though I have to admit, one of my absolute favorite ways to enjoy it is POPCORN!

When I made my Southwestern BBQ Chicken pizza Southwestern BBQ Chicken Pizza with Blue Corn Crust I had a lot of the sauce leftover. I used it as a marinade for some chicken breasts. I wanted something with a Southwestern or Spanish personality to go along with it as a side dish, so I made some wild rice and my maize a la Mexicana to serve with my chicken. It was a quick, easy-peasy, delicious meal that was full of color and full of flavor.

I was making up my maize a la Mexicana as I went along and didn’t think about taking pictures until later. I boiled the corn or maize and lima beans or habas together until they were cooked. While they were cooking I started preparing the spice mixture.

Maize a la Mexicana

2 cups frozen corn

1 cup frozen lima beans

1 shallot, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried orgeano

1 tsp chili powder or specialty chili powder – I think I used adobo chili

1 jalapeno diced fine

salt & pepper to taste

a dash of cayenne pepper

butter

olive oil and/or lime infused olive oil

toasted pecan pieces, optional

crumbled cotija cheese, optional

Combine the corn, lima beans and enough water to completely cover the corn. Bring to a rapid boil on high heat, then turn the heat down to a medium heat and continue to cook for about about 10-15 minutes, or until they are done. When the are cooked, drain the liquid off and set aside.

While the corn and beans are cooking, in a separate pan, start the spice mixture. Get the pan very hot then add the butter and oil. Combine all the rest of the ingredients into the pan and saute for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Once the spices are cooked and the onions and peppers are softened, add the whole mixture to the corn and mix together thoroughly. You can also use red bell peppers, but I didn’t have any at the time. Once everything was done, I added some toasted pecan pieces as a topping too.

Serve alongside your favorite main dish and a tasty dinner is served.

I like color and I like texture so I am always mixing and matching things until I get them just right. As I always say, don’t be afraid to play with your food. You just never know what you’ll create. 🙂

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

Cherries and almonds make a great flavor combination that has been enjoyed around the world for many centuries. They still are. I love cherry anything and almonds are some of my favorite nuts, so for me, combining them is just a given. To borrow a phrase, it is “two great tastes that taste great together”. This time I combined them to make little cherry and almond bites. It was very similar to a cherry frangipane, which is like a cherry cake. They were part of this week’s feature for the coffee cart, along with some toffee scones and festive cupcakes decorated in green, purple and white for St. Patrick’s Day.

Cherry Almond Bites

I started with a pate sucre, or a sweet pastry dough. Once the dough was set, I lined a 9×13 baking pan sprayed with cooking spray and a sprinkling of almond flour on the bottom then formed the pate sucre on the bottom and sides of the pan.

Sweet Pastry Dough

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup almond flour

6 TBSP cold butter, cubed

2 TBSP powdered sugar

dash of salt

1 egg

5-6 TBSP heavy whipping cream

Place the flour, butter, salt and powdered sugar in the food processor (you can also mix it together by hand or with a pastry cutter too) and pulse until it all resembles a course sand. Then add the egg and flour and mix again until it forms into a ball. Wrap the dough ball in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using. When the dough is ready, shape it how you like.

The Filling

1 cup pitted cherries, quartered

1/3 cup orange juice or orange balsamic vinegar

2/3 cups + 2 TBSP sugar, divided

1 1/2 cups almond slivers, divided

2 eggs

1 stick softened butter, cut into TBSP portions

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/4 tsp almond extract

1 TBSP flour

While the dough is setting, cut and pit the cherries and mix them with either 1/3 cup orange juice or Cara-Cara orange balsamic vinaigrette. Heat in the microwave for about 1 minute, mix everything together once again, then let rest before using.

Preheat the oven to 350*F or 190* C.

Place 1 cup of the almonds and everything else in the food processor, except the cherries, and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse sand.

Add the cherries and the liquid and pulse again. I also added the additional sugar at this point too.

Once everything is combined well, pour it into the pasty shell and evenly spread it out to fill the shell.

Top the filling with the remainder of the almond slivers.

Bake for about 40-50 minutes or until the dough is golden brown and the center is set.

Allow to cool completely before adding the glaze and cutting into bite-sized squares.

The Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 TBSP heavy whipping cream

1/4 tsp almond extract

Combine everything together and drizzle over the pastry. Then cut into squares.

If you like the cherry and almond combination like I do, you are going to love this. Once again, it was a big hit. Everyone loved it. This was absolutely cherrilicious.

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

Boy, time sure does fly when you’re having fun. Can you believe it was 4 years ago today that “A Jeanne in the Kitchen” was created? I can’t either. I actually thought it was five, but WordPress sent me something today saying it was 4. Either way, it has just flown by and I have had such a blast. So it is time to celebrate!

In these past 4 years, “A Jeanne in the Kitchen” has grown a lot. There have been 1,789 posts, 40K comments, and we are at 8,762 followers and counting. These are all great accomplishments, and we’re just getting started. Stay tuned. There is still so much more to come.

I am hoping for at least another 4 more years, and then some. These past years have been filled with lots of fun cooking, delicious recipes and lots of fun travel experiences, and I have met so many wonderful people in our blogosphere, with plenty more adventures and delicious dishes still yet to come. None of this would be possible without all of you. So thank you all. Let’s all celebrate together. Crack open some bubbly and laissez le bontemps roulez. WHOOOOO HOOOOOOO!!!!!

It was another fun day with my two mini sous chefs, Micah and Asher. We always have a lot of fun together. In fact, their mom said they look forward to all our cooking days, and our cooking classes are some of their favorite things to study. 🙂 We already have a couple of recipes in store for our next few sessions, but this time we made some loaded baked potatoes.

The boys love cheese, so we made these potatoes nice and cheesy. Then we added a lot of broccoli, tomatoes and bacon too. These potatoes were definitely loaded potatoes. They were a meal all by themselves. No need for anything else here.

The first thing we did was to clean the potatoes, then rubbed them with some olive oil and salt and pepper. Once they were ready, they went into the oven at 350* F or 190* C for an hour. Our sessions are only for an hour, though sometimes they get extended a bit, because often times things may need to cook a bit longer, but we often run out of time long before the fun is over. My point is, your potatoes may need a little additional cooking time. So keep them in the oven until they are soft.

Once the potatoes were in the oven, we prepared everything else. They boys were busy cutting up the broccoli into small florets, dicing the tomatoes, cooking the bacon and making the cheese sauce.

Asher is cutting the bacon, making sure it is just right.

Micah is having way to much fun stirring the cheese sauce.

Loaded Cheesy Baked Potatoes

5-6 russet potatoes or more as needed, cleaned

salt & pepper

3-4 TBSP olive oil

The Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups milk

1/8 tsp nutmeg

1/8 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp thyme

8 oz cheddar cheese

salt & pepper to taste

3 cups cooked broccoli florets

5-6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled

2 tomatoes, diced – we used a couple of different kinds of tomaotes, including some orange sunburst tomatoes

Rub the cleaned potatoes with the salt, pepper and olive oil then place on a baking sheet and bake for at least an hour, or until they are soft.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare everything else.

Cut the broccoli into small florets and add to a bowl that is safe for the microwave. Add 2 TBSP of water to the broccoli. Microwave at high for about 4-6 minutes, uncovered. Then remove and set aside.

Combine the butter, milk, flour and spices in a pot and cook at a medium/high heat until the butter is all melted and the sauce thickens. Stir constantly. Once the sauce has thickened to your desired thickness, fold in about half the broccoli.

When the potatoes are cooked, let them cool for at least about five minutes, then cut them in half and fluff them up a bit by squishing them together from the sides. Add your toppings and enjoy. Micha and Asher loaded them up with more broccoli, tomatoes and bacon. YUM!

You can use this same exact sauce, with or without all the additional toppings for mac ‘n cheese as well. All you need to do is substitute the potatoes for cooked pasta, and voila.

My camera just loves these two. They are both so full of personality. They become more and more animated with each session. We always have a lot of fun in the kitchen. 🙂

Always do your best to have fun in the kitchen, as well as out of the kitchen. Life is what you make it, so make it fun. 🙂 Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

As most of you know, I am always open to trying new things, new restaurants and new dishes. This time, my new dining experience was in K-Town (Korea Town) for some delicious Korean style BBQ with my friend Su Yeun. When trying new places like this, it is always way more fun to experience them with a native to the culture and the traditions. This way, you get the best experiences, which are the most fun. Our Korean adventure began when went to Seoul Hot Pot and BBQ in Aurora for lunch.

We were seated by a seating robot that took us to our table. Sometimes “she” is used as a food server too, though not this time. Those of us who were not used to this were completely awed. She is moving from place to place here. Our server was Young, and she was fantastic. She took such good care of us.

Seoul Hot Pot is like two different restaurants in one. One side of the restaurant is designed for the hotpots. You choose what you want from their vast selection of fresh vegetables and meats and then you cook them right at your own table. Every table has its own set of individual hot pot stoves.

We chose the other side of the restaurant this time though. The other side is set up for Korean style BBQ, where again, each table is set up with its own little grill and everything is cooked to order at your table.

Since I was clueless on how this works, I sat back and let Su Yeun order our lunch. She ordered two kinds of pork short ribs. We had some that were marinated and some that were not. Both were so tender and full of flavor.

There was a wide array of traditional Korean side dishes that came with the meat too. Of course I had to sample everything, and everything was delicious. Everything is brought to you on a cart and then beautifully displayed around the grill.

Can you believe we ate almost everything too? And it was just the two of us. I don’t know about Su, but I didn’t eat anything else for the rest of the day. I was so full.

We had a very fun lunch and a very nice visit. After lunch we went to some of the Korean shops around the area too. I had an excellent tour guide and learned some Korean history as well. Maeu gamsahabnida Su, or for those of us who don’t speak Korean, thank you very much for a fabulous day and fun experience.

If you are looking for a fun and delicious new dining experience, this is definitely worth trying. The food and service were amazing, plus it was loaded with new adventures for me. I highly recommend Seoul Korean Hot Pot & BBQ, which is located at 2080 S Havana St, Aurora, CO 80014. They open at 11:00 AM and are open for both lunch and dinner. You can make reservations or just stop in. You can give them a call at (303) 632-7576. There is another Seoul Korean Hot Pot & BBQ located in Northglenn, but they are only open for dinner.