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.
It was a perfect day to stay indoors and in the kitchen all day. Winter came and hit us with a vengeance. Our temperature high was 15-19* F or about -6* C. BRRRRR!!!!! It was COLD, COLD! The skies dumped about 5 inches of snow on us. But that’s OK! I was inside, in the kitchen for a good part of the day, so I was actually pretty warm. I made a batch of spicy Texas style chili to help warm us up from the inside out and some tasty coconut tartlets to sweeten things up. It was also video day.
My latest video shows how to make some coconut tartlets out of coconut almond balls that melted together when we were in Texas last week. Larry wanted to just throw them away, but why do that?! I can ALWAYS find a way to repurpose foods. 🙂 And this was definitely a delicious way to do so too. Enjoy!
As always, if you like what you are seeing, please subscribe to my YouTube page and share it with your family and friends.
In just a few minutes, the kitchen is going to be a very busy place, as usual. It’s snowing outside, and staying busy in the kitchen is a good way to help stay warm. Plus, another video will soon be coming your way. I will be in production mode in just a bit. 🙂 I thought I would keep you entertained with some more fun food facts while your are awaiting my next production. 🙂
To baste something means to “bathe” the food in its own juices. Basting comes in many different forms and flavors. Sometimes we call it brushing; sometimes we call it basting, but what we are really doing is keeping the food moist while it cooks.
2. Brining is the process of soaking foods, particularly meats, in a salt and water base for a period of time before cooking. Pickling is similar, although, brining is usually for meats while pickling is most often used for vegetables.
3. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, barley and rye. These grains are used most often in breads and pastas. Today, there are many people who cannot process these glutens properly and have developed a gluten intolerance.
4. Rolling lemons, limes and oranges on a hard surface before cutting into them will help the juices come out better.
5. If you freeze an onion for a bit before cutting into it, it will help cut down on the tears, or at least theoretically. I cry no matter what when cutting onions.
Hopefully these helpful hints will safe you a lot of time and frustrations the next time you are in the kitchen cooking.
Once it again, the seasons are changing. This time we are transitioning from fall to winter. The once colorful and abundant leaves have fallen from the trees. The trees are now barren for the most part, with the leaves now blanketing the grounds. Most of the summer animals are gone for the winter. The temperatures are dropping and tomorrow, there will be snow.
The gazebo stands alone.
There are still ducks and geese around the lakes.
And even a pair of hooded mergansers out for a swim.
There was a playful squirrel up high in the tree.
And a bunny in the bush.
Today we had sunshine. Tomorrow we’ll have snow. Life is always different from one day to the next.
Just like you, I learn new things about foods all the time too. I always considered fried green tomatoes to be a Southern dish, but they did not really become a popular dish in the South until around the mid 1940’s. And they really took off in the South after the movie “Fried Green Tomatoes” by Fannie Flagg, in the 1990’s. Today, they are second in popularity, with grits being the most popular Southern recipe and dish. Fried green tomatoes actually originated in both the Midwest and the Northeastern parts of the United States, most likely by Jewish immigrants and the Pennsylvania Dutch. Recipes for fried green tomatoes are found in Jewish cookbooks dating back to 1889.
Green tomatoes are tomatoes that have not fully ripened before being picked from the vines. They are green and are firmer than red tomatoes. Because of their consistency, they are breaded and fried, whereas the red tomatoes get too mushy when fried. In the Southern regions, they are most often breaded with cornmeal and in the Midwest and Northern regions, they are most often breaded with white flour. Green tomatoes have a slightly sour or tangy taste to them, which goes very well with being breaded and pan fried. The keys to making them perfectly crisp and not soggy or mushy are: 1) to cut them in slices about 1/4 inch in thickness; 2) use green tomatoes with no hints or red or orange; and 3) use very HOT oil with a bit of bacon grease. They are a popular dish at any time of day. They are best when fresh and from local areas, where they do not have to travel very far too.
When I made my fried green tomatoes, I served them with my Southwestern steak The Secret is in the Sauce and some smashed red potatoes. Smashed Red Potatoes. Everything went together just perfectly. It was a simple, downhome, just plain good meal.
Fried Green Tomatoes
2 eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk (I use the dried buttermilk that I mix with milk)
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
salt & pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, optional
5 medium green tomatoes, sliced about 1/4″ thick
vegetable or canola oil for frying
2 TBSP bacon grease, optional
Mix the cornmeal with the salt, pepper and cayenne pepper in a shallow dish. And set aside
Mix the eggs and buttermilk together in a separate dish.
Pat the tomato slices dry with a paper towel, then dip into the egg mixture and completely coat the tomato slices, shaking off the excess liquid. Then dip into the cornmeal mixture and completely coat, once again shaking off the excess coating.
Once the tomato slices are all coated, place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and refrigerate for about 30 minutes before cooking them. When the are ready, get about 1/2 inch of very hot oil and bacon grease (if using) very hot. You want the oil to be about 365*F. Carefully place the tomato slices into the hot oil. Do not overcrowd the pan. Repeat until all the tomato slices are cooked.
Cook them for about 2 minutes per side, or until they are golden brown and crispy. Drain them on a paper towel for just a bit, to remove the excess grease. I should have cooked these just a smidge more, to make them a bit more golden and crunchy, but we were hungry. Next time. 🙂
Serve them hot! “They ain’t good any other way but hot”.
I love a good steak. I love steak just about any way you can fix it too. Some people like a steak just plain with nothing on it. That’s fine. To each his own. But I think a good sauce will make a good steak a GREAT steak. I say, the secret is in the sauce. Since we were just down in Texas, which is part of the Southwest region of the United States, I thought a good Southwestern steak sauce was in order. Although we were in the Southeast part of Texas, closer to Louisiana, so we were really more in Cajun/Creole country, but it’s all good. Texas is so large, it is basically a region all unto itself. Sticking to the Texas/ Southwestern theme, I served my Southwestern steak with some smashed potatoes Smashed Red Potatoes, sauteed onions and peppers and fried green tomatoes, with a velvety red blend on the side. !Esta muy delicioso!
I used a T-Bone steak this time, but you can use it with whatever kind of steak you like. You can also use this sauce on chicken or pork as well. As usual, this sauce was easy-peasy and only required a few basic items. Cooking made simple; just the way I like it!
Southwestern Steak Sauce
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup cilantro
1 1/2 TBSP garlic
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 red onion
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp ajo garlic pepper, optional
Just throw everything together in either a blender or a food processor and process until it is thoroughly blended together. Then marinate your meat in it.
The longer you marinate your meat, the more flavorful and tender it will be. We like to grill our steaks, to a beautiful, very pink medium rare, and that is how we cook them most often, but you can cook your steak any way you like. Once the steak is done, add a bit more sauce to the top and your favorite side dishes and enjoy.
This time, I am adding a couple of fun underwater pictures that are NOT things you would see everyday. Again, that’s what makes this challenge so much fun. It’s all about seeing something different. 🙂
We decided to combine two sports while in Grand Cayman. Scuba biking. We didn’t go very far or very fast, but …
DIGITAL CAMERA
An underwater “glamour” shot in Cozumel.
DCIM\100MEDIA
If you have some fun pictures, sent them in. Let’s see what’s in your underwater world. 🙂
Stuffing foods, and particularly meats, has been around through the millennia. The oldest cookbook that we have is by Apicius, a Roman gourmet who lived some time around the 2nd century BC to the 1st century AD. In his cookbook ‘Apicius de re Coquinaria’, he has recipes for stuffed chicken, hare, pig, and even stuffed dormouse. Most of these early stuffings were of vegetables, herbs, nuts, spelt* and frequently, chopped liver, brains, etc. Stuffing foods is just as popular today as it was back in Apicius’ time. There are endless possibilities. All you have to do is use your imagination and creativity to come up with a delicious stuffed delicacy.
I had just a little bit of my spicy artichoke dip left the needed to be used up. Spicy Artichoke and Sausage Dip It was just the perfect amount to make some stuffed pork chops with. Lately, we have been buying a big pork loin and we cut our own pork chops from that. We like to make them nice and thick, which makes them just perfect for stuffing. I could have very easily just had the stuffed pork chops, but being the saucy girl that I am, I needed a sauce to add to the meat as well. I made a lemon, mint and caper sauce that went very well with the pork and the artichoke dip. To make the meal complete, I served it over a wild rice casserole with some warmed bread and a sparkling chardonnay. YUM!
I started off by searing the pork chops, just until they were browned on both sides. Then I slit them down the middle and made a pocket for the filling. You want to use a sharp, serrated knife.
Once the pockets were made, I filled them with as much of the filling as they would hold. Then I placed them all in a baking pan sprayed with cooking spray and topped them with the sauce. You can stuff these with any kind of filling you like.
Preheat the oven to 375* F or 190*C.
Then I made the sauce, which was very easy to make, and poured it over the pork chops.
Lemon, Mint Caper Sauce
3 TBSP olive oil
about 2 TBSP chopped mint
1 tsp lemon zest
1 TBSP lemon juice
1 TBSP capers (I also included some of the juice)
pine nuts
Parmigiano cheese
Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest and capers. Pour the sauce over the pork chops. It will also go well over chicken, seafood and pasta too.
Add the pine nuts and the Parmigiano cheese. Once the pork chops were filled and topped with sauce, it was time to finish cooking them. I roasted them in the oven for about 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature of the pork chops reached about 160* F.
Once the meat is completely cooked, serve it with your choice of side dishes. I served it over a wild rice casserole this time. I spooned a little of the sauce over the meat just before serving it.
You all know how much I just loving using up leftovers, and I really love dressing them up in different ways than when they were “firstovers”. This was a very easy, delicious way of dressing up those leftovers too. My favorite part of cooking, especially when using up leftovers, is being creative and coming up with new ways to serve them. As I always say, feel free to play with your food. Have fun! 🙂
I bet y’all never knew I LOVE jewelry, and especially old vintage jewelry, but I do. I love things that are different and unique, and the old vintage jewelry, or even the replicas, are definitely very unique. There is so much attention to detail. The pieces are works of art and are usually hand crafted and made to last through the ages. I have always loved older pieces of jewelry. They have both style and personality. I have so much of my mother’s old jewelry that I just love. I wear it as much as I can too. Most of my mother’s jewelry is “costume” jewelry, but to look at it, you would never know. Most of the old costume pieces are far more detailed than a lot of the real, expensive pieces you find today.
While we were in Texas, we stopped in for a visit to Candies Collectibles, that just happens to be owned and operated by my Aunt Janis’ sister, Candie. My Aunt Janis goes to the shop and helps her out everyday too, so it is a family affair. Candie has a wide collection of all kinds of “collectibles”, ranging from vintage jewelry to dishes to toys and fun stuff. She even sells vintage furniture.
Here is just a small sampling of some of the beautiful, unique finds you can get only at Candies. I just might have to get those red glasses at some point.
Though Candie has a wide variety of items available, her specialty is vintage jewelry.
Because I LOVE this kind of jewelry, of course I just had to buy some. These are the pieces I bought. I was keeping it all in the family too. Given more time though, I would have definitely bought a whole lot more; just don’t tell Larry.
But this piece was la piece de resistance …. I just HAD to have it. So much of the jewelry in Candies is so similar to a lot of the pieces I have that were my mom’s. They are reminiscent of bygone days and times.
This bracelet goes so well with a set that was my mother’s. I have always loved this set that was my mom’s and the similarity is what really caught my eye at first. It is just a striking piece. Now I have to go someplace fancy, where I can wear it and show it off.
Next time you are in the Orange, TX area and you are looking for something original and one-of-a-kind, stop in and say hi at Candies Collectibles. She is located at 1600 Strickland Drive, Orange, TX 77630. You can also call her at (409) 216-7052. She will be more than happy to help you out with whatever you are looking for.
Candie and Janis are busy minding the shop and catching up with all the day’s events.
As usual, I love taking pictures of all the critters I see, and also as usual, there were a lot of critters to see. My Aunt Janis has some resident raccoons and opossums that like to nibble on her cat food when the cat is done for the day. They are quite comfortable out on her back porch and are not shy about helping themselves. She lives in a very wooded area and the raccoons and opossums are all over the place. Charlene has even said she has seen wild boars on her property too. We didn’t see any of those this time though.
The opossum. The pictures are kind of grainy and out of focus because we did not want to use the flash to scare them away and also we were shooting through the window. (Also, Larry took most of them. You can usually tell who takes the pictures just by looking at them).
The raccoon. After dinner, he washed his hands.
They were plenty of birds too. We saw some familiar faces that we have at home, but for the most part, the birds we saw were very different.
These critters are what we saw in Sugarland, near Houston. This is a black buzzard.
These buzzards were feasting on a squirrel.
This is a Brazos Bend red-shouldered hawk sitting in the tree.
We saw some very exotic Egyptian water birds that were new to all of us.
There were lots of Muscovy ducks all around.
Are you going in? I’ll go in if you do.
There were even more Mexican whistling ducks, also known as black bellied whistling ducks.
I fully expected to see lots of birds and lots of water birds, especially around the ponds. What I was NOT expecting to see was an alligator in these parts. This is in the middle of the suburbs, although the Brazos River is not too far from here. But we definitely did see an alligator. At first he was sunning himself and then he went out for a swim around the pond.
You just never know what you’re going see or where you are going to see it. That’s what makes things so interesting and so much fun.
We’re back! We got home late last night, after a 2 1/2 hour delay of departure from the Houston airport, but we are back home once again. It was a very good, very long over due trip. This trip was all about seeing the family and paying tribute to our loved ones who are no longer with us. Through all this COVID pandemic mess, the most important lesson is that life is precious, and the gift of time is the best gift we can ever give to our loved ones. After all, none of us are getting any younger, and there are no guarantees about all the tomorrows the lie ahead. We have to make time today.
My mother passed away in 2006, but sadly, I do not get a chance to visit her grave as often as I would like because I do not make it to Texas very often. So a couple of my cousins and I made a special effort to go visit our loved ones who are no longer with us. I am so glad we were able to do this together. We were there to support each other. My mother’s maiden name was Wood, and there are a lot of Wood family members who are all buried at the same cemetery. They are protected by the four Apostles, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and most of them are within just a few short steps of each other. So even now, in their eternal resting places, they are still a very close family.
My grandparents, my Uncle Raymond and Aunt Gloria and my mother are all just a few steps away from each other.
My cousins David and Donna standing beneath their parents, Raymond and Gloria, and me with my mother. Our Uncle Charles has passed away as well, but he is not buried here.
This was the sad part of the trip, but also a necessary part of the trip. Don’t be fooled though, we still had plenty of fun and good times too. We were busy catching up, laughing, telling stories and reminiscing. We were also busy making new memories for the times ahead.
Before we all went to the cemetery, we gathered at Donna’s house for a delicious lunch. Donna made a very tasty taco soup with salad and garlic bread and a bundt cake for dessert. Her son Shane and his granddaughter Kleigha joined us for the family get together as well. Sweetie, Donna’s little Maltese, decided she needed to be in all the pictures, since after all, she too is part of the family.
We were also able to get together to share more than a few laughs and stories with my Uncle Clarence. My Uncle Clarence is my mom’s youngest brother. The rest of his family was unable to make it, so we will have to make sure we can all see each other next time.
For the most part of our trip, we stayed with my Aunt Janis, so we we able to spend a lot of good quality time with her, my cousin Charlene and her daughter Karleigh, as well as Charlene’s friend Amelia. And of course, Kitty had to be involved as well.
Donna, Janis and Charlene all live fairly close to each other, in the Vidor/Orange areas. My mother was originally from Port Arthur. All of these are located in The Golden Triangle area, which are on the Gulf Coast. When my mom and dad first got married, my dad was shipping out of Port Arthur, as well as Galveston, working on the oil tankers. To get from Janis’ house to Donna’s house, we had to cross over the Rainbow Bridge. It is nice and high because it is a draw bridge to allow the tall ships to pass through.
We finished our trip in Houston, visiting with David, his wife Becky and their daughter Wendy. I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of their cat, even though she too is part of the family. Again, we were not able to see everyone else, but we all still had a great time.
And of course, I got to visit with my mother too.
I love you Mom. Always and forever.
Spend time with your loved ones and show them how you feel while you still can. Love them now, so when they are no longer here with you, they will forever be in your heart.
A Jeanne in the Kitchen 