Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

We are back from Kansas, where we went to go celebrate my mother-in-law Ollie’s 90th birthday.  Nothing Cookin’ at the Moment  Ollie had a great time and had about 150 people helping to celebrate her big milestone birthday.  It was a grand party.   Most of the family was there and everyone did their part to make it a fantastic celebration of life for Ollie.  In a way, the whole Billinger family were my guest chefs for this month.  They all did a FANTASTIC job!!!!!!  Hats off to the Billinger clan.

Ollie’s favorite color is purple, and Bingo is her game, so it was a purple Bingo party.

Ollie, in the purple, with all 9 of her kids.  This picture is a replica of a picture taken for Ollie’s 70th birthday.  Everyone is in the same position they were in 20 years ago.

My brother-in-laws Randy, Roger, Gordon, Francisco and James made most of the food.  James is a farmer and smoked all the meat.  He always does a great job with his smoked meats and always gets rave reviews.  Whenever we are at  “Billinger” event, there is always a ton of food, and this event was no exception.  No one ever goes home hungry after they have been to a “Billinger” party.  My sister-in-law Sheri made all the decorations, the cupcakes and the beautiful chocolate roses as a thank you gift for everyone to enjoy.  Our niece Paige made the beautiful cakes.  The party was a Bingo theme since Ollie is the Queen of Bingo.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

Classic Chocolate Cupcakes

B-I-N-G-O Cupcakes

Paige and Jake bringing in the cakes.  Paige did an AWESOME job on these.  The inside of the Bingo cake was a purple and white marble.   Larry’s oldest sister Linda also had a birthday, and turned 70, so Paige made her a Las Vegas cake as well.  When this cake was cut, Linda hit the jackpot, because it was filled with chocolate gold coins that spilled out.

The birthday “Girl”, the cake and pastry chef.

Chocolate Roses

Hays is the German capital of Kansas and Larry’s family are all part of that German heritage.

Ollie with all 9 kids plus the in-laws and the outlaws.  I am proudly one of the outlaws.  🙂

Ollie and the kids.

Ollie with the great grandkids.

Ollie in the middle with last of her own siblings, Marlane one the right and Mary on the left.  These “Girls” are still looking good.

Larry and his mom.  Ollie finally got a chance to rest.  Happy, Happy Birthday Ollie.   You are the best.  We love you with all our hearts.

I have been recognized and awarded this awesome award, The Blogger’s Recognition Award, by fellow blogger Sunipukadiyil at https://fragrantflowersandrecipes.blog/?author=1.  WOW!!!! Thank you very much.  I am very honored.

What Is The Blogger’s Recognition Award? [B.R.A] as explained by Ribana:

This award is a way of acknowledging the work load and creativity that bloggers put into their blogs. Running and maintaining a blog isn’t just about writing something and then knocking it out to the readership – that is the core element of blogging, but not everything. There is much much, more to keeping a blog running, functioning and being presentable each day of each week of every month.

Bloggers are very talented people – they work hard, they promote market, advertise, and run a busy site.

They organize all kinds of activities; they encourage, motivate, interact, engage and are community orientated. It matters not if they are shy and reticent or loud and personable – each actively progressive blogger is the same – they all work hard and passionately with their blogs, they put the hours in to deliver to their audience each day a welcoming location to read, absorb, learn and have fun.

To escape the hustle bustles of city life, or the begrudgeries of boredom – they entice readers to peruse their pages to look for entertainment.

That is what the Blogger’s Recognition Award celebrates.

HOW I GOT STARTED

My blog, “A Jeanne in the Kitchen” started from a kitchen conversation with one of my best friends.  She was telling me how she was always so impressed with how I could create something out of thin air and leftovers.  I thought everyone cooked this way.  I never gave it much thought.  I also never gave any thought whatsoever about writing a blog up until that point.  I really did not even know that much about the world of blogging.  I am still very much a work in progress, learning as I go.  I’ve come a long way since my humble beginnings, with a long, fun journey still ahead.

My Advice to Bloggers Both New and Old

1. Be Yourself.  Your readers will know if you are not being yourself or if you are not being real.  They are smart and sophisticated.
2. Know your subject matter.  Again, your readers are to smart and will know when you are trying to pull a fast one on them.
3. Be consistent.  Don’t play games if you want your blog to succeed.  It takes hard work and discipline to be successful.
4. Have fun.  If you are not having fun with your blog, or not receiving any benefit from it, put it away and give it a break.  You can always come back to it later.  If your heart is not involved with your blog, your readers won’t be either.

There are so many great bloggers out there, each with their own unique personality.  Everyone has so much to offer.  It is very hard for me to come up with only a few that I think really shine.  Everyone has their own bright shining star.  But here are some of my favorites.  I think you will like them too.

1. aguycalledbloke
   @aguycalledbloke
2. sonofabeach96
   @sonofabeach96
3. joypassiondesire
   @joypassiondesire
4. blackwings666
   @blackwings666
5. crushedcaramel
   @crushedcaramel
6. Huguette
   @huguetta
7. badfinger20
   @badfinger20
8. CarolCooks2
   @blondieaka
9. abetterman21
   @abetterman21
10. hawkfeatherstories
    @hawkfeatherstories
11. D.T. Osborn
    @pastordo
12. Gail’s Snapshotsincursive
    @gaildorna
13. bereavedandbeingasingleparent
    @bereavedandbeingasingleparent
14. Amanda Cade
    @amandacade
15. bottomlesscoffee007
    @bottomlesscoffee007
16. Sadje
    @saadiyanadeem51
17. Marc-André
    @medran001
18. itsgoodtobecrazysometimes
    @itsgoodtobecrazysometimes
19. the britchy one
    @thebritchyone
20. koolkosherkitchen
    @koolkosherkitchen
21. floatinggold
    @floatinggold

Once again, many, many thanks for this honor.  It is all possible because of all of you.  if you like what you see and what you are reading, come check me out at ajeanneinthekitchen.com.  Hope to see you all soon.

Jeanne

The kitchen will be closed for a few days.  We are going to be celebrating my mother-in-law’s 90th birthday.  All of Larry’s siblings will be there, as well as most of the family and Ollie’s friends.  Larry is the youngest of 9, and everyone will be there to celebrate Viola, who everyone calls Ollie.  I got VERY lucky in the mother-in-law department.  Ollie is an angel.  Everyone loves her and she loves everyone back.  We are expecting over 100+ guests to help her celebrate at her big shindig.

Ollie is up front and center, surrounded by all her kids.  This picture is a few years old now, but it is a great family photo.  Larry is in the back, 2nd from the right  (he is the tallest and the youngest one).  In order, bottom row, Linda, #1, Ollie – The Grand Lady herself, Lori, #5, Jean, #8.  In the back row, Left to right, Ken, #4, Randy, #6, Jerry, #3, Ron, #7, Larry, #9 and Jim, #2.

~ Happy, Happy Birthday Ollie and many, many more to come.  We love you lots. ~

As I mentioned in my post “A Man and His Grill”, everything we had for our grilled feast was cooked on the grill, at least to some degree.  A Man and His Grill  This potato salad was one of the side dishes I made that day, and yes, it too, was partially cooked on the grill.  It is a nice fresh and new twist to potato salad.  It is a lighter version, with no mayonnaise.  There are so many good versions of potato salad, and this is yet another good recipe to add to the list.

I did par-boil the potatoes for about 8 minutes and cooked the bacon on the stove as well, but after I had par boiled the potatoes, they went on the grill to finish cooking.  I did not get the grill marks I was hoping for, but then I was not the one on the grill either.  🙂   I cooked the bacon for about 8 minutes as well.  It was a nice, medium crisp; not soft, but not overdone either; just perfect.

While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the rest of your potato salad ingredients and make the mustard vinaigrette.

Grilled Potato Salad

2 lbs red potatoes, cut into small wedges

5 sliced bacon, cooked to a medium crisp, chopped

1/3 cup olive oil

1/4 cup wine vinegar

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 TBSP honey

2 tsp fresh thyme, chopped fine

1 red bell pepper, diced small

1 small red onion, sliced very thin

1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped fine

salt & pepper to taste

For the dressing, mix the olive oil, vinegar, salt & pepper, Dijon mustard, honey and thyme together thoroughly and set aside.  Mix the dry ingredients together as well, in a separate bowl and also set aside.

Grill the potatoes, either directly on the grill or in a basket for about 15-20 minutes, or until they are tender.  You are more likely to get grill marks if you place the potatoes directly on the grill, if that is what you are looking for.  The taste will not be affected though, if you do not.  Once the potatoes are completely cooked, gently toss them with the dry ingredients first, and then toss in as much of the mustard vinaigrette as needed to thoroughly coat the salad ingredients.  This easy-peasy potato salad takes you out of the kitchen a little faster, so you can enjoy more of the summer outdoors.  I used this same dressing to marinate my mushrooms too.  Everything came out delicious.

I never ate Brussels sprouts while growing up, so I always thought I did not like them.  Boy, was I ever wrong!  I LOVE them.  I guess it was just that my parents did not like them and did not cook them, so I never acquired the taste for them until much, much later.  We actually eat them quite often now, in many different ways.  So now, when I see a new recipe or new cooking method on how to prepare Brussels sprouts, I am all over it and can’t wait to try it.   I found this recipe for putting them on the grill that was one of those that was a must-do.  They were part of our grilled feast for Father’s Day.  A Man and His Grill  I thought they were great.  Larry liked them, but he said there are other ways I’ve prepared them that he likes better.  To each his own.

Only a few simple ingredients is all you need to make these very tasty Brussels sprouts.

Grilled Brussels Sprouts with Green Olive Sauce

16-36 Brussels sprouts, ends trimmed off – try to get them about the same size

3 TBSP olive oil

salt to to taste

1 cup parsley, chopped fine

2 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 cup green olives, pitted – any kind of olives will work, although I like the Cavatappi olives for this

a dash of sugar, optional – I found the sauce was a little to tart and bitter without the sugar

red pepper flakes to taste, optional

If using wooden skewers, soak them in warm water for about 30 minutes to prevent splintering.

Par boil the Brussels sprouts in boiling hot water for about 8-10 minutes, to soften them.  This makes it easier to skewer them.  When they are done, remove them from the water and let them cool enough to handle them and to skewer.

To make the olive sauce, mix everything together in a food processor until it becomes a light saucy paste and set aside.  If you do not have a food processor, a blender will do just fine.

Brush the skewered Brussels sprouts with some of the olive mixture and place directly on a hot grill.  Cook for about 5 minutes per side, turning them over at least a couple of times.  Cook until they tender and browned.  You want them tender on the inside and  slightly crispy on the outside.  Serve with the olive sauce either on the side to use as a dipping sauce or directly spread over the cooked Brussels sprouts.  Either way, they are very tasty and delicious.  I also topped my steak with a bit of the olive sauce as well, which was very good too.

I don’t know what it is about men and their grills, but there is this inseparable bond between them.  I like to grill, but it has never really been my thing.  I much prefer to bake or cook over the stove.  But men.  No, no, no.  They love their grills.  Larry is no different.  He loves to grill too.  So with yesterday being Father’s Day, he grilled up his own Father’s Day meal.  I made all the preparations, and he did the rest.  The whole meal was grilled.  There was actually very little that was cooked on the stove.  Larry wanted steak, again, so steak it was.  After all, it was his day.  I did some simple steaks with grilled onions and marinated mushrooms, grilled potato salad, and grilled Brussels sprouts.  It was a grilled feast.

At first, we weren’t so sure if we would be able to enjoy this grilled feast out on the deck, due to inclement weather.  But at the last minute, the sun came out, and once again, we were able to dine on our beloved deck.

Everything is ready to go on the grill.  The mushrooms went into the basket along with the potatoes, the steaks and onions went directly onto the grill, and the Brussels sprouts were skewered.  I par-boiled both the potatoes and the Brussels sprouts before putting them on the grill.  (Stay tuned for these recipes).

The grill master hard at work.  The Brussels sprouts need to cook about 5 minutes per side, the onions need about 15 minutes, and the potatoes take about 20 minutes.  The steaks vary depending on the cut and thickness of the steaks, and how you like them prepared.  We love a nice medium rare steak, which takes about 5 minutes per side.

After a hard day of playing golf, relaxing in front of the TV, to watch even more golf and grilling, Larry finally gets to enjoy his Father’s Day feast.  He added a hard cider to accompany his meal.

I hope all the dads out there were able to enjoy their special day.

To all of the dad’s out there, whether you have children of your own, or you are a step-dad, or a daddy to your fur babies, have a great Happy Father’s Day.  You deserve the best and today is your day to kick back and relax.  There are two great dad’s in my life.  My own daddy, who sadly passed away 12 years ago, and my husband, who is the best Daddy Dog out there.  I love you both.

I apologize for the poor quality of these pictures.  They are old pictures, and are pictures of pictures.  My dad was a life-long sailor.  He left Melbourne, Australia shortly after WWII, with the Merchant Marines, and sailed with the Merchant Marines his whole life.

This is my daddy in his Australian Army uniform right before leaving for North Africa.  Can you believe he was only 14 at this time?  This was in 1939.

The sea was a huge part of his life.  This is my favorite picture of my daddy.  I had given him a gift certificate to sail an old fashioned cutter ship along the Southern California Coast.  We had a blast.  I think this was one of his favorite days too.

This is my mom and dad on my graduation day from Culinary School.  My mom passed away 16 months before my dad.  They are both in Heaven, watching over me.  I miss them both so much.

This is the other great dad in my life.  He’s not my daddy, but he is the Daddy Dog to our fur babies.  Daddy Dog, Lucie and Vinnie are all cheering for their team, The Denver Broncos.

Happy Father’s Day to all the great dad’s out there.

Garam Masala is a mixture of hot Indian spices used in 1000’s of recipes and 100’s of cultures around the world.  It originated in Northern India, where the climate is much cooler than in Southern India.  Because this spice is used by such a wide variety of people, from many different cultures and countries, there are many, many different variants and variations, although no matter where it comes from, it almost always is made from these basic ingredients: cloves, cinnamon, cardamon, black and white pepper, mace, bay leaves and cumin.   Because this mixture of spices is so pungent, a little bit goes a long way, so don’t over do it.  Garam masala was created as a way to help warm people up due to the cooler climates found in Northern India.  It helps keep you warm by raising the metabolic rate, which raises your core body temperature.  The words garam masala literally translate to mean a mixture of hot (garam) spice blend (masala) that is made into either a dry rub or a paste.  Garam masala is an ingredient found in almost all curry recipes from around the world, and it is very heavily used as a staple in all Desi foods.  Desi represents the people, cultures and products from the Indian subcontinent, and their diaspora, which derived from the Ancient Sanskrit, meaning land or country.  The Desi people are represented by the people of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka.  There is a large Desi population and culture in the British Isles as well, since there was a massive influx of Desi immigrants from 1800-1950.  Some form of Indian food can be found in most places around the world, since like Chinese food, it is a very popular type of food everywhere.

You can make masala dishes however you like, whether they be vegetarian or vegan, or with chicken or shrimp, or any combination thereof.  I made my masala with both chicken and shrimp and I served it over rice, with some Asian dumplings on the side.  A dry white wine is best to go along with this dish, since it will help ease some of the spiciness and acidity of the food.  I chose a rich, fruity chardonnay, always my favorite choice of wine no matter what dish I am preparing.

The Masala Sauce

2-3 TBSP olive oil, for cooking

1 onion, diced fine

4 TBSP garlic

1 1/2 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp curry

1 1/2 tsp coriander

1 1 1/2 tsp cardamon

1 tsp tumeric

3 Roma tomatoes, diced fine

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt

salt & pepper to taste

Add the onions and olive oil to a hot skillet and saute for about 20 minutes, or just until the onions start to brown.  Mix together the herbs, tomatoes, and yogurt, then add to the browned onions.

The Shrimp and Chicken

1 large chicken breast, cut into strips

1 lb large shrimp or prawns, peeled and deveined

3 TBSP olive oil for cooking

1 can coconut milk

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine

1/4 cup fresh lemon vebena, chopped fine, optional

1/4 cup green onions, sliced fine

1 1/2 TBSP lemon juice

salt & pepper to taste

cooked rice

While the onions are browning for the masala sauce, cook the chicken and the shrimp, separately, in olive oil.  Then add the coconut milk and combine thoroughly.

Once everything is combined, add the chicken, shrimp, coconut milk and herbs to the masala mixture and combine well.  Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and let cook for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When everything is cooked, serve over rice and enjoy with a nice glass of chardonnay or your favorite dry white wine.

We had taken a beef roast our of the freezer a few days ago because we were planning on cooking it when the weather was a little cooler.  However, our plans kept getting rearranged and changed, as did the weather, so I had to come up with a good plan B.  Plan B was to grill it.  I had never grilled a roast before, and I wasn’t sure if it would cook right, so this was a new experiment for me.  But surprise, surprise, it worked, and came out just great, despite the fact that Larry almost burned down the house in the process.  He had the grill on high, and walked away for a bit, and when he came back to the grill, flames were dancing high all around the grill and he said the temperature gauge had reached its peak and then some.  He rescued it just in time though, and the roast actually came out just perfect.

I had marinated the roast in the refrigerator for a couple of days, which allowed the flavors to really soak in.  All I used was garlic, salt pepper, olive oil and fresh rosemary, but it didn’t need anything else.  I made a paste with all the ingredients and rubbed it all over the meat, making sure to coat it completely.  Then, like I said, our plans kept getting changed, so it sat in the fridge for a couple of days.  I served it with grilled potato wedges and the rest of my Brussels sprouts salad.  Brussels Sprouts Salad with Chicken  I put potatoes on the grill all the time too.  It is an easy way to cook the potatoes without heating up the house.

The meat is perfectly charred on the outside, and pink to perfection on the inside.  Delicious!

It only takes a few simple ingredients for the potatoes.  (Yes, there is other stuff in the background.  I was going to make some cookies, but once again, I ran out of time, and only had time enough to make the potatoes, so did not remove my other ingredients.  I will save those for another day).

Grilled Potato Wedges

2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp cayenne pepper, optional

2 TBSP garlic

1-2 TBSP parsley

3-4 TBSP olive oil

Toss everything together, making sure to completely coat the potato wedges, then lay the wedges in a single layer onto some aluminum foil.  Cover with another pieces of aluminum foil and seal tightly.  Your potato packet is now ready for the grill.  Grill for about 30 minutes or so.

Once everything is cooked to perfection, it is time to plate it up and enjoy.   I served a rich and fruity red blend (one of our own, that we bottled from our favorite winery, InVINtions A Creative Winery, that you can check out at  www.InVINtionsWinery.com )

Voila!  The end result was just perfect.  A beautifully delicious grilled roast beef, roasted potatoes and a Brussels sprout salad (no chicken this time), and a glass or two of fantastic wine.  We are definitely living the good life!