I have created this site to help people have fun in the kitchen. I write about enjoying life both in and out of my kitchen. Life is short! Make the most of it and enjoy!
Author: ajeanneinthekitchen
I have worked in the restaurant and catering industry for over 35 years. I attended 2 culinary schools in Southern California, and have a degree in culinary arts from the Southern California School of Culinary Arts, as well as a few other degrees in other areas. I love to cook and I love to feed people.
I’ve been busy these past couple of days, and haven’t been in the kitchen or on the computer much. But I have been out walking. For the past two days, there has been a gorgeous red-tailed hawk perched on the roof of one our neighbor’s house. He stands so proud and so majestic. At first I thought he was a golden eagle, but then I realized he was too small and had too much white on him to be a golden eagle. None-the-less, he is still proud, majestic and beautiful.
Don’t be afraid to spread your wings and fly. Soar as high as you can go. The sky is the limit.
All the seasons have their beauty and charm. I love taking them all in. My favorite seasons are most definitely Spring and Fall, but I love the warm weather of the summer and the cool, chilly snow covered grounds of the winter too. We are lucky here in Colorado. We certainly get a lot of snow, but unlike many other snowy areas, our snow usually melts off in just a couple of days, bringing us back to sunshine and blue skies. Here are some shots that capture the blue skies and the snow covered grounds all at once.
Our lakes are blanketed in various stages of of snow and ice.
The geese are walking on the waters of the lakes.
Even the prairie dogs are out and about, running and playing in the snow.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring, so enjoy it all and make the most of everyday.
Because I have just exploded and gotten so fat, I am really trying my best not to eat a lot of desserts. Have you noticed that there haven’t been many desserts on my blog lately? But when people come over for dinner, I feel it is almost an obligation to offer something sweet after we eat. I guess that is just the hostess in me. I guess that part will just never change.
When Elizabeth came over, I needed to make a dessert, but I didn’t want to make too much because we headed out for Hays early the next morning. Ahi Tuna with a Creamy Southwestern Sauce She had brought over some caramel vodka a while ago and wanted to know what to do with it. So for dessert, I just threw something together real quick and used some of the caramel vodka in the sauce. One of my neighbors had given me a carrot raisin loaf, so I heated that up, added some ice cream and made a caramel sauce, using the caramel vodka as well. It was a win/win. Dessert doesn’t have to be fancy to taste good.
Actually, I had Elizabeth make the sauce.
Caramel Cream Sauce
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
4 oz butter
3 TBSP caramel vodka, optional
Mix everything together in a heavy saucepan. Cook on a medium high heat, stirring constantly in a figure 8 pattern. Cook until everything melts completely and the sauce turns a golden caramel color.
When the sauce is done, add the caramel vodka, if using, and mix in thoroughly.
This sauce can be used for any dessert you want to liven up a bit. You can make anything saucy. 🙂
My friend Elizabeth and I were once again in the kitchen cooking together. She is always so much fun in the kitchen because she loves to cook and try just about everything. She has a long list of things she would like to learn how to make. Every time we scratch one thing off the list, about 10 more new things appear. This time, she wanted to try her hand at making Southwestern Ahi Tuna steaks. So we did.
I marinated the tuna steaks in some cumin, sage, cayenne pepper and olive oil for about 30 minutes or so before Elizabeth arrived. Then we made the sauce together. As usual, it only takes a few basic and simple items that we almost always have on hand. I served the tuna steaks over wild rice, with green beans on the side, then topped it with our creamy corn and roasted Hatch pepper chili sauce.
Creamy Southwestern Sauce
This sauce can be used to top just about anything that can handle a bold and strong sauce. It would be great on chicken, steaks, pork, and as you can see, Ahi tuna or swordfish as well.
2 cups corn
1 red bell pepper, diced fine
1 -1 1/2 TBSP garlic
4 roasted Hatch chilies or 1- 2 jalapenos, diced fine
1/2 red onion, diced fine
1/3 cup lime juice
1-11/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp dried sage or 1 TBSP fresh sage, chopped fine
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
2-3 TBSP butter
oliver oil for cooking
Elizabeth is hard at work, cutting everything to perfection. She always has this big infectious smile, no matter what she is doing. 🙂
Cook the corn, onions, bell pepper and garlic together in the olive oil for about 2-3 minutes, or until the pepper and onions soften.
Add the lime juice and seasonings, and continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the cream and the roasted Hatch chilies and combine thoroughly. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer, and continue to cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro and the butter towards the end of the cooking process.
Elizabeth is tasting the final product to make sure all the seasonings and flavors are just right before we serve it over our tuna steaks.
Perfection! It’s ready to go over the tuna. We also let it flow over our green beans as well. I served it with a buttery chardonnay to make the meal complete.
We just returned home a little while ago. The funeral was a beautiful service and tribute with a military salute since Larry’s brother Jim was a Vietnam Vet. Thank you all for your thoughts and prayers. They mean so much.
On a positive note … We got to meet Baby Juneau, or Juni Bug, today on the way home from Hays. She and her siblings were born in Edson, KS, which was right on the way home, so we stopped in to meet our new baby girl. It was love at first sight. She is absolutely beautiful, just as we already knew she would be, as are her siblings and her momma and her daddy. Momma Kiera came over and gave us her stamp of approval. She knows we will be a good mommy and daddy to her baby girl. But the best news is that she will come home to us this Saturday. WHOOOOO HOOOOOOOO!!!! She will be just 6 weeks old. Here are the pictures we took of our new baby girl. Yes, we are definitely proud parents. 🙂
This is the first picture we got of her.
Momma Kiera with all her babies. Baby Juneau is the gray one on the far right.
Baby Juneau is already snuggling with Daddy.
Mommy is holding Baby Juneau and Daddy is holding one of her sisters. If I could, I would bring her home too.
Mommy and her baby Juni Bug.
Yes, there is no doubt about it. We are proud new parents. But Vinnie is still our number one big boy.
Larry is the youngest of 9, and his oldest brother Jim passed away suddenly on Monday. We will be back in hays for a few days for the funeral. The Kitchen will be closed for a few days until we return home. RIP Jim. You will be missed.
This is Larry and the five of his brothers on our wedding day. Jim is the 2nd to the right.
Yes, there is bacon in the bread! Say no more. Bacon AND bread combined together. I was in Heaven and you will be too! This bread is a hearty bread that is both sweet, from the maple syrup, and salty from the bacon and caramelized shallot. In a word … YUM!
Originally, I was making this bread to go with my Caribbean casserole, Casseroles = Leftovers but as I was making it, I realized it had to sit in the refrigerator for 24 hours to proof. So plan B. I served with soup instead. I used the rest of my leftover black-eyed peas and leftover ham to make some soup. New Year’s Good Luck with Black-Eyed Peas and Ham Soup This delicious sweet and savory bread was a perfect match for the soup and served with a crisp, citrusy chardonnay on the side, it was a simple meal that was simply delicious.
Maple, Bacon and Shallot Bread
Make this bread ahead because it needs to proof in the refrigerator for 24 hours before baking.
1-1 1/2 cups water at room temperature
2 TBSP maple syrup
2 1/4 tsp dry active yeast
3 cups flour
3 TBSP butter, melted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 lb bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 shallot, minced and caramelized
Spray a 9×5 loaf pan with cooking spray.
Cook the bacon until crispy. Then drain and crumble.
Cook the shallots in the bacon grease until they just begin to caramelize. Then drain.
Combine all the ingredients into a stand alone mixer and mix with the dough hook until the dough becomes smooth and elastic (or you can mix by hand).
Form the dough into a ball and let it rise in a lightly oiled bowl for 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a square. Fold the one side into the middle.
Then fold the other side over. Pinch the dough together to seal it.
Shape the dough to fit into the loaf pan. Rub a little oil on top. Cover with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator to proof for 24 hours.
When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350* F or 170* C.
Bake for 1 hour or until the dough is hollow when tapped. Allow the bread to cool before slicing, then enjoy it smeared with butter.
Casseroles from leftovers means more leftovers of the casseroles. Casseroles and leftovers are a perfect match. They just go together like peanut butter and jelly. The best leftovers make the best casseroles too.
The definition of a casserole is really pretty vague in and of itself. It is defined as “any mixture of foods cooked in a metal, glass or pottery baking dish”. HUH? But in reality, a casserole is a layered dish made with either potatoes, rice or pasta and other ingredients that are all combined to make a one-pot dish, that are cut or spooned onto the plate, rather than being self contained, such as an enchilada. The casserole fillings are endless, and as I mentioned above, more so than not, they are made with leftovers. By combining the ingredients together vs. serving them side by side, you change the arrangements and the structure of the ingredients, which also changes the tastes of the ingredients.
Dinner last night was a casserole I made from my New Year’s Eve leftovers, so it was a Caribbean casserole. Ringing in the New Year. I served it with a small salad and some warmed bread to make for a simple yet tasty meal.
Other than my jalapeno-cilantro cream sauce, the whole dish was from leftovers of this and leftovers of that. The main ingredients were the rice, some of my black-eyed peas and chicken, all from our New Year’s feast. I also added some leftover vegetables, then made a jalapeno-cilantro cream sauce to bind everything together and topped it all with breadcrumbs.
Because there was no actual recipe, and I was literally just making it up as I went along and just trying to use my leftovers, I am only going to walk you through the steps of how I made my casserole. The basic steps are the same, regardless of the ingredients you actually do use.
I cut my chicken into thin strips and mixed it with the rice and black-eyed peas. I diced the rest of my vegetables and sauteed them in olive oil for 7 minutes, then combined them with the rice and chicken.
Jalapeno-Cilantro Cream Sauce
2-3 TBPS lime juice
1 jalapeno, diced fine
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3-4 oz jalapeno jack cheese
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine
2-3 TBSP butter
Preheat the oven to 350-375* F or about 1170-190* C
Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray
Saute the jalapeno, then add the lime juice and cook for about 3-4 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Then add the cream, cheese and cilantro and combine well. Let it cook down for a few minutes, then add the butter towards the end and mix in for a good creamy finish.
Once the sauce is made, combine it with the rice, chicken and vegetable mixture. (Had I have known I was going to be photographed, I would have dolled myself up a bit. 🙂 )
Pour it all into a 9×13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spread it out evenly.
Sprinkle bread crumbs over the top of the casserole and dollop with butter.
Bake uncovered for about 45 minutes, or until the breadcrumb topping turns golden brown. Remove from the oven and let set for about 5-10 minutes then spoon it up.
I made a little side salad that I served alongside the casserole. I had some leftover mango dressing that I topped the salad with, to really make the whole meal completely from leftovers and completely Caribbean. 🙂 It was a colorful Caribbean style meal.
Julia Child was an inspiration to the world in many ways. She most definitely has had a major influence on me and my career, plus we also have a lot in common. She and I are most definitely kindred spirits.
We all know about Julia Child’s culinary influences on the world, but I bet a lot of people don’t know how she also liked to offer words of wisdom through her fun little quips. She was always coming up with something fun and witty. “Julia herself loved to quip. She was even known to quote herself, sometimes changing her words just enough to leave the ‘original’ to each person’s memory”.
Over the holidays, I bought myself a cute little book called “People Who Love to Eat Are Always the Best People” by Julia Child. I could not agree with this statement more.
None of us just wakes up one day as a great cook or a great chef. It takes years and years of practice and hard work. It takes getting your hands dirty and doing the work. It takes trial and error. It takes just getting in there and doing it.
Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. Mistakes are part of the process. You have to learn to fail before you can learn to succeed.
Go in there and give them all you’ve got. Go in there and say “what the hell”.
Hope you all have a great day. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.
The lakes have been pretty quiet these days. It is after all, winter, so a lot of our feathered and furry friends have gone else where for the time being. But if you look up high in the trees or on the streetlamps, you just may see quite a few birds enjoying their birds’ eye views of the world.
The pigeons and the black birds liked the lamp posts and street lights.
Then there was an American tree sparrow up high in the pine tree.
But again, my favorite is the American Kestrel who was posing high up in the tree by one of our lakes.
Never take your days for granted. Enjoy them all and make the most of them. Tomorrow is never guaranteed.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 