Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

Apparently, my blog is working.  People are reading it, enjoying it, and are wanting to learn more about cooking and being in the kitchen.  WHOOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!  My friend Elizabeth has been following me and saw my recipe for the Curried Panang-style shrimp (on a previous post) and wanted to learn how to make it.  We finally hooked up yesterday, and I taught her how to make it.   She was my first “student” who wanted to learn how to make something specific after seeing it on my blog.  She was an excellent student and a very quick study.  I think she is a natural in the kitchen.   Besides making the shrimp curry, I also taught her how to make a light, relatively healthy fruit dessert, also with an Asian flair.  We made banana-kiwi spring rolls.  It was yet another fun day in the kitchen.

These banana-kiwi spring rolls are very easy to make and don’t heat up the kitchen, which is exactly what we want when the mercury is on the rise.

My student and Sous Chef for the Day, Elizabeth.  Our banana-kiwi spring rolls only have a few simple ingredients – bananas, kiwi, toasted coconut, cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar and wonton wrappers, with a little bit of egg white to “glue” them together.  Then add some hot oil, and you are all set.

Once the bananas are cut in half, peel them and then cut them in half again vertically.  Add some of the toasted coconut mixture, then add the sliced kiwi.  Put your banana lid on top, then wrap the stuffed banana in a wonton wrapper.  Wrap them tight, making sure to fold in the corners, then seal with a little egg wash around the edges.

Once the spring rolls are all rolled up, place them in a pan with HOT oil and let them brown on all sides.  They do not take very long to brown up.  I used a combination of canola oil and coconut oil.  If you place the spring rolls in before the oil is hot enough, they will absorb the oil and become greasy and soggy.  You want them to be light and crispy.  They are best when they are eaten immediately, while they are still hot.  I served them with a rum-cinnamon whipped cream and topped them with more of the toasted coconut mixture and more of the kiwi slices.

Banana-Kiwi Spring Rolls

4 bananas

3-4 kiwis

1/2 cup coconut, toasted

3 TBSP brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

8 wonton wrappers

1 egg white

oil for cooking

whipped cream, optional

Toast your coconut in a hot skillet on the stove, just until it is a light golden brown.  Once it has cooled a bit, add it together with the brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg and toss it well.  Slice and peel your kiwi into thin slices, then half each slice again.  Cut the bananas in half horizontally, then peel them and cut them in half vertically.   On one half of each banana slice, top with the coconut and sugar mixture, then add the kiwi and place the other half of the banana slice on top.  Repeat until done.  Before placing  the stuffed bananas on top of a wonton wrapper add a little of the coconut mixture then roll it tightly.  Take your finger and just go around the edges of the wonton wrapper and seal.  Carefully place the spring rolls into the hot oil and let brown, about 1-2 minutes per side, or until the whole roll is a light golden brown.  I used a combination of both canola oil and coconut oil.  Once the spring rolls are done, and have cooled slightly, add your whipped cream and top with more of the toasted coconut mixture and kiwi.  Serve immediately.  They were a big hit.  They are easy and delicious.  We actually decided to eat our dessert first, then had our curried shrimp after.  Life is short.  Sometimes you just have to eat dessert first.

Whipped Cream with Rum and Cinnamon

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

2-3 TBSP powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1-2 TBSP rum – I used a guava rum, but any kind of rum is fine, and you don’t have to use it all if you do not wish to.

Whip it all together in a mixer until it forms stiff peaks.   Chill any remaining whipped cream for a later use.

What do you make for dinner when it is scorching hot; you have been busy all day with not much time to cook; and you have leftovers that need to be used?   Well, there are really a lot of things that you can make, but I chose to make fish tacos this time.   They were super easy, hardly took any time to prepare, and I got to use up my leftovers as well.  Plus they were really delicious.   Served with a tasty margarita especial, they made a perfect summer meal to enjoy out on our deck.

I fried some catfish in the deep fryer, and as that was cooking I heated up some small-medium tortillas and melted some cheese onto them.  I like flour, but corn tortillas work just fine too.  We had some leftover beans and a corn-tomato salad (both of these recipes can be found on earlier posts of mine) that we added to the tortillas, then added the fish that I cut into strips.  We topped the tacos with salsa, sour cream and avocado slices.  I also made some garlic French fries that we served along with the tacos, and enjoyed our quick, simple meal with a nice cool, refreshing margarita especial.

Jeanne’s Margarita Especial

tequila

sweet and sour mix

grand marnier

a splash of lime juice

a splash of sprite or sparkling water

I prefer my margaritas on the rocks with no salt, but of course if you prefer them blended and served in a salted glass, that’s fine too.  Enjoy them however you like.

Two of my dad’s favorite foods were custard and strawberries.  If he were still around today, this strawberry custard cake would have been his favorite dessert.  I guess I am truly my father’s daughter, since love this cake too.  It is so cool and delicious, and is a perfect summer dessert.   The Swiss name for this delicious treat is Erdbeetorte.  I found it on another cooking blog, A little Swiss, a little Canadian.   Thank you for sharing and introducing me to this fabulous dessert.

I am really learning how to make my metric/standard conversions with some of these recipes.  Pretty soon, I just might have it down pat.  Again, I will be nice to you, and give you both measurement forms.

Strawberry Cake/Erdbeetorte

80 g or 1/2 cup sugar or honey – I used sugar.  I find it has a better consistency for baking

4 eggs, separated

1 TBSP lemon zest

pinch of salt

1 tsp salt

2 TBSP sugar or honey

100 g or 3/4 cup flour

40 g or 3 TBSP melted butter

custard

1 1/2-2 cups toasted almond slivers

honey

strawberries cored and halved

Custard (my custard recipe and the directions can be found on the post Jeanne Dear, Can You Make Me Some Custard)

2 sticks butter

6 cups milk

3 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup corn starch

Preheat the oven to 350*F or 180*C

Line a cake pan with parchment paper

Mix the sugar, egg yolks and lemon zest together until creamy.  Then add the melted butter.  Mix all the dry ingredients together and slowly add to the egg yolk mixture.  In a separate, clean mixing bowl, whip the egg whites with the salt and the additional 2 TBSP of sugar until they form stiff peaks.   Gently fold the egg whites into the creamy mixture.  then pour into the prepared cake pan.  Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until golden brown and an inserted toothpick comes out clean.  Every oven is different and the baking times may be different.

The batter and the egg whites.

Gently fold the stiff egg whites into the egg yolk mixture.

Once the cake is done, allow it to cool completely before slicing it in half.  Use a clean serrated knife and slowly slice the cake in half horizontally.  Add the custard to one half of the cake.  Put in as much custard as the cake will allow without over filling it.  Then gentle place the other half of the cake on top.  Brush some honey on top of the cake and all around the sides.  Gently pat the toasted almonds around the sides of the cake and press into the cake so they stick.  Add the berries to the top of the cake.  Melt some strawberry jam and additional honey if you like, then gently brush the melted jam onto the top of the strawberries to really make it shine and pop.  Chill the cake in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving, to make sure it sets.

While out in California, we ate a variety of good meals throughout our travels and our stay there.  We also enjoyed quite a few of the fantastic California wines as well.  Aside from the sad reason for the trip, we enjoyed good foods and wines with good friends and family, which is really what life is all about.

This was the breakfast spread my dear friend Andrea had waiting for us as soon as we arrived.  We had delicious breakfast burritos, donuts and sliced pineapple that was so sweet and so tasty it just melted in our mouths.  She also made us mimosas to help us jump start our day.  Even though you cannot really see it too well, the wine in the blue bottle is a wine we brought out to her.  It is one of our wines that we bottled from our favorite winery here in Colorado, InVINTIONs, A Creative Winery.

After this tasty breakfast, we headed up to some of the wineries in Los Olivos, which is about an hour outside of Santa Barbara.  We tried the wines at bout 4-5 different local wineries, and enjoyed them all.  We were splitting the wine flights, so we only had a taste or two of each wine, which was just enough to let us try them without having too much.  There are about 40-50 local wineries just in Los Olivos alone, so there is no way you can visit them all in one day.  Oh darn, I guess that means multiple trips out to the area to make sure no good wine is left untasted.  It would be wrong to not try them all, right?!    The Sarloos winery was one of our stops.  They offer a mini cupcake flight to accompany the wine flight, which is a fun, creative way to enjoy the wines and the company your are with.

After a long day and a few wineries later, we decided it was time for dinner.  We ate at the Los Olivos Cafe.  The food was so fresh and delicious, with a true California flair.  The bread they brought us before our meal was divine.  I could have easily made this my entire meal.  It was so light and airy and baked to perfection.  The rest of our meal was just as delicious as well.  I would definitely recommend stopping at the Los Olivos Cafe to anyone visiting that area.

Day two of our trip, we met with some more friends and again, enjoyed more tasty and delectable foods of Southern California.  This was at a little restaurant in Pasadena, where I am originally from, called Colette’s.  This was our brunch.   I had the fried chicken Benedict.  My friend Scott had a fried chicken sandwich.  His sandwich was so big, he was wondering how he was going to eat it, but somehow he managed and he ate it all with glee.  Again, the food was very good.  Collete’s is a fun place to eat and gather with friends, especially outside on their patio.

For my husband, no trip to California would be complete without stopping at In N Out, so of course, we had to oblige.

As you can see by the smile on his face, my husband is a happy camper now that he has had his In N Out fix.

I was not able to cook much while we were out in California.  We were there for a funeral, but we were also able to visit with quite a few friends while we were out there.  I was able to play in my friend’s kitchen for a bit.  My dear friend Leslie, whom I have known since I was in the 7th grade,  had said she wanted her own personal “Jeanne in the Kitchen”, so I granted her that wish.  I raided her kitchen and used what she had to create a delicious curried chicken salad that we took with us for a fun picnic at the beach.   Our curried chicken salad was served on a fabulous baguette, with fresh snap peas and a light and crisp Sauvignon Blanc that complimented the green apples and grapes in the salad very well.  Things don’t have to be fancy to be delicious.  The most important ingredient in any recipe is love.  Anytime I am either cooking for or with friends, the love is always there, and magical moments just happen.  Don’t be afraid to use your imagination and be creative, and you’ll be amazed at the results.   Who cares if you have exactly what you need.  Change things up a bit and add what you have.  Just let the good times flow and let the magic happen.

Leslie’s Curried Chicken Salad

We did not purchase anything.  We simply used ingredients that Leslie had in her kitchen.  I mixed and matched until we came up with a delicious combination for the salad.  She did not have enough mayonnaise, so we mixed what she had with Greek yogurt, which gave the salad a nice little tangy, zippy flavor.  Our creation passed her family’s taste test, and it was enjoyed by all.

cooked chicken

2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and diced

yogurt or mayonnaise

grapes, cut in half

chopped walnuts

ginger

fresh ground black pepper

curry powder

fresh basil, chiffonade

Cutting the apples and chopping the basil.

Adding the grapes and walnuts.

Scooter was my personal assistant for the day.  He was my special Sous Chef, just hoping we would drop something he could try.

I have been out of the kitchen and out of town for a funeral.  Jeanne will be back in the kitchen in a couple of days. I apologize for the sudden break.  Thank you all for your patience and continued support.

Yesterday, Denver tied a record for our area, with a temperature of 105*F.  WOW!!!!  That is hot, hot, hot.  There have only been three other times since 1898 that we have reached temperatures this hot in the Denver area.  If the temperature had been only one degree hotter, we would have broken that record and set a new one.  When it is this hot, I am not going to lie, I do not want to be cooking over a hot stove.  I want something cool and refreshing and easy-peasy.

When the mercury is rising and the temperatures soar, this is the best place to be.  Besides cooking and writing for my blog, I am also an aqua aerobics instructor and a swim coach.  So this is my office.   I also swim with the Masters.  I am trying my best to get back into the competitive mode after my injuries, but so far, I am still very much a work in progress.  I am also an avid scuba diver/rescue diver, and I dive anywhere and anytime I can.  When I am not in the kitchen, I am in the water.   This is my M-W-F Mermaid Club.  These beautiful ladies are all so much fun to work with.  I get paid to play.  I love it.  I am the one directly in front of the lady with the yellow hat.  But I am distracted …… Back to food.

When the thermometer outside reads this ….

This is what you eat ….

This cool, refreshing Tex-Mex salad was perfect for the sizzling temperatures outside.

Tex-Mex Salad

lettuce – I used red leaf, but you can use whatever lettuce you like

red onions, sliced very thin

cowboy beans (you have seen this recipe before on an earlier blog post)

corn

cucumbers, sliced thin

tomatoes – whatever kind you like, or you can mix and match, using different kinds of tomatoes

chicken, cooked – I used some of our left over smoked chicken

cheese – you choice (optional)

avocado

green onions, sliced thin

choice of dressing – my husband used A Catalina dressing and I had my salad with a chili lime dressing

I layered my salad and I tied to list the ingredients in the order I layered them, but it really does not matter at all.  What matters is the taste.  This salad is full of color and different textures and is very, very tasty.  Enjoy and try to stay cool in these dog days of summer.

These last few days have been real scorchers, and today is expected to be even worse.  So again, I want to minimalize my time in the kitchen and at the stove.  I put my thinking cap on to come with with a tasty, easy-peasy dish that would also be cool and refreshing on this blistering hot day.  Steak pita sandwiches was my thought for the day.  Besides, I had left over Romanian garlic steak that needed to be used, so this was a perfect choice.  I made some garlic fries and opened a bottle of a smooth red blend, and dinner was served.  I think my husband put to much sauce on his pita, but that’s the way he likes it, so who am I to say any different. And I have to admit, I like my food pretty saucy as well.  Other than frying the French fries in our mini- deep fryer and heating up the meat in the microwave, there was no additional cooking at all today, which is just perfect when the temperature soars and the mercury rises too high.   We added  garlic French fries, and voila, a simple, tasty, easy-peasy meal was served.  We love garlic French fries.  They are super easy to make as well.  Once they are fried, toss them together with minced garlic, salt and parsley while they are still hot.  Make them as garlicky as you dare.  These were an inspiration from the Gott’s restaurants found in Northern California.

Making the cucumber-tomato yogurt sauce.

Assembling the pita sandwiches.

These pitas were meant to be stuffed.  There are different kinds of pita breads, so make sure you purchase the “pocket pitas”.  Cut them in half, and fill them with your filling of choice.  I used red leaf lettuce, but you can use whatever type of lettuce you like.  Our pitas were stuffed with the red leaf lettuce, sliced tomatoes, red onions sliced very thin, the steak that I cut into small strips (it was a little under done even for me, and I love a good rare steak, but when we microwaved it, it cooked a bit more as well) and the cucumber-tomato-yogurt sauce.  I also added sliced avocado to mine.  If you like cheese, add cheese.  For this sandwich, and sticking to a Greek or Mediterranean theme, I would recommend using feta cheese, but again, use what you like.

Cucumber-Tomato-Yogurt Sauce

I did not have enough yogurt today, so I used a combination of yogurt and mayonnaise.  Don’t use miracle whip for this, just regular mayonnaise.  When cooking, yogurt and mayonnaise are often interchangeable in recipes.  If you don’t have one, use the other, or use a combination like I did.

3/4 cup yogurt

tomatoes, small dice

cucumber, small dice

1 TBSP garlic

red onion, small dice

1 TBSP lemon juice

black pepper to taste

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1-2 tsp paprika

fresh parsley, chopped fine

lemon verbena, chopped fine (optional)

Mix everything together and chill before serving.

Today, when I was coming home from work, my car thermometer read 101* F.  Man, it is HOT, HOT, HOT!  That old saying, “if you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen” could not be applicable than it is right now.  Thank goodness for grills and smokers, where you can do the bulk of the cooking, if not all of it, depending on what you are making, outside, while keeping your kitchen a bit cooler and more tolerable during these dog days of summer.  As much as I love to cook and to bake, I am going to be honest with you, I don’t enjoy it nearly as much when I am standing over a hot stove or by a hot oven, melting into a giant puddle as the mercury is rising to the boiling point.   So we got some whole chickens, put a spicy Cajun rub over them, put them in the smoker and walked away as they cooked.  We had them in the smoker for about 1 1/2 hours.  When they came out, they were so flavorful and tender.  Delicious!

Before putting the spicy rub on the chickens, I patted them dry with a paper towel to absorb all the excess liquid and extra moisture.  I removed the gizzards and neck, which I will add to “the kids” food, later.  (They love them.  I hate them).  Then I rubbed olive oil all over the chickens and applied my spicy Cajun run.  I made my rub with cayenne pepper, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, salt, black pepper, and a little paprika.  Just mix everything together and generously apply to your meat.  You can use this same rub for any type of meat.  It is rich, bold and full of spice.  The more pepper you put in, the spicier it gets, so kick it up as many notches as you like.  This makes a delicious dinner with minimal effort and your kitchen is still cool.  It’s a great way to cook when the temperature starts to soar.

Every time I make custard I think of this question my dad would ask whenever he would come to visit,  “Jeanne Dear, can you make me some custard”.  True to his Australian roots and heritage, he loved his custard.   Although he loved all of his sweets, custard was by all means his favorite.  He could easily eat the whole batch in one sitting if I would let him.  It’s funny the things you think of when a loved one has passed on.  My dad has been gone 11 years, and I still think of this with both a smile and a tear.  So every time I make custard, I know my daddy is close by, just waiting with a big spoon in hand to help eat his favorite dessert.

Aside from the fact that custard was my dad’s favorite dessert, it is also a very versatile dessert.  You can enjoy it just plain or with strawberries and/or bananas, or you can dress it up in many different ways.  When I make it, I make a fairly large batch of it, so I can use it for other things as well.  The other day when I made it, I served it with the left over kourambiethes from when I made my rice pudding and added fresh strawberries and whipped cream, making it like a strawberry shortcake.  It is cool and refreshing and with the addition of fresh fruits of the season, it makes a perfect summer time dessert.   The Arias port is the port we brought back Mount Felix Winery, in Havre de Grace Maryland.

My recipe for custard is definitely tried and true.  I learned how to make it way back when I was in culinary school, from one of my favorite Chef Instructors, Rudy Rosier, a master pastry chef who was originally from Holland.  I have made it for many, many years ever since.  It always gets rave reviews.

All the things you need to make the custard.

Combine the sugar, milk, salt and butter in a big sauce pan and bring to a scald, making sure all the butter is melted and all the sugar is dissolved.  Don’t stir it.  Just let it cook on it’s own.

Whisk the eggs, corn starch and vanilla together separately.

Once the milk and butter mixture has come to a full scald, take about 1-2 cups of the hot mixture and add to the egg mixture, whisking it all together quickly as you pour the hot liquid into the cooler egg mixture, so the eggs don’t cook and scramble.   This is called tempering.

Add the cool tempered mixture to the rest of the milk and sugar mixture.  Continue to cook at a medium heat, whisking the whole time until the mixture thickens.  This should only take a few minutes.

Once the mixture has thickened, pour it all into a 9×13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray and immediately cover with plastic wrap to prevent a “skin” from developing.  Once it has cooled slightly, put the custard in the refrigerator for at least a couple of hours to set.  Then use your custard however creatively you desire.  No matter how you decide to use it, the end result will always be the same – DELICIOUS!

I layered my dessert, starting with the kourambiethes or almond shortbread cookies, then topped them with the custard, sliced strawberries and whipped cream.  Dessert was a big hit.

Custard

2 sticks butter

6 cups milk

3 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

1 cup corn starch