Author: ajeanneinthekitchen

Pork roast was our meat choice for dinner, since it was what we most recently took out of the freezer and was next in line in the meat rotation. It was a chilly day, and we are taking down all the Christmas decorations, so it just sounded like a perfect post holiday meal. To me, no meal is complete without a sauce, and the sauce makes the meal. I made a dry vermouth and shallot sauce to go with the pork. DELICIOUS! I served it with some roasted potatoes and green beans topped with tomatoes, with a cool, crisp chardonnay on the side.

My pork roast was between 3-4 lbs. After patting the roast dry with paper towels I coated it thoroughly with coarse salt, pepper and a little chili oil. Normally I would have let the pork rest with this coating for about 3-4 hours before starting to cook it, but I didn’t know this was what I was making for dinner until it was too late to do this. So I only let it rest for about 30 minutes instead. It all worked out fine though, as things usually do. I was worried that my roast would be tough because I didn’t have a chance to let the salt tenderize it. But I was wrong, and it was so tender, juicy and full of flavor.

Preheat the oven to 400*F or 205*C.

Spray a baking dish with cooking spray.

I let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes before searing it on all sides to give it a nice crust. I seared it for about 3 minutes per side in a VERY hot skillet with both olive oil and butter.

Once the pork was seared completely, I roasted it for about 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reached 160* F or 71*C.

While the roast was cooking, I made everything else for dinner, and then made my dry vermouth and shallot sauce, all while still wrapping up the Christmas decorations and ornaments too. 🙂

Dry Vermouth Shallot Sauce

1 large shallot, minced

1/4 cup dry vermouth

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup heavy whipping cream

freshly ground black pepper to taste

After removing the pork from the skillet, I drained off some of the oil and butter, then added the minced shallots and let them cook for about 2 minutes.

Next came the vermouth, that I let cook down for about 3 minutes after scraping the bottom of the skillet. You always want to deglaze your pan. Those scrapings are full of flavor and texture and they really add depth to your sauces.

Add the chicken broth and pepper, thoroughly incorporate and cook for an additional 5 or so minutes, or until it reduces by about half.

Add the cream, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently.

When the roast is at the internal temperature of 160*F, remove it from the heat and let it set for about 5-10 minutes before slicing. Slice into thin slices and top with the dry vermouth and shallot sauce and serve with side dishes of your choice. Top with chopped parsley and/or cilantro and green onions.

Like I said, I was afraid my roast would be tough because I didn’t let it rest and set like I usually do, but thankfully, it was so tender and juicy instead. It came out just perfect.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. Continued prayers to Californians in these scary and horrific times. ‘Til next time.

Yesterday, I was in a serious frame of mind and posted about the devastation of my hometown and hometown areas Phoenix Rising. I am still in shock and dismay. As my dear friend Priscilla so profoundly said, “I am both sad and mad about all that is taking place in California right now”. Priscilla too is from Pasadena. We grew up together, in the same area, going to the same school, and knowing the same people. But all we can do, especially with both us now living here in Colorado, is pray for California and Californians. Thank you all so much for the kind words, thoughts and prayers. They help more than you know.

But that was yesterday. Today, let’s lighten things up a bit. I am going to share some healing food thoughts that will hopefully bring a smile or two and hopefully bring a little healing therapy as well.

1. “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” – Hippocrates

2. “Healthy citizens are the greatest asset any country can have.”
― Winston Churchill

3. “Eating crappy food isn’t a reward — it’s a punishment.”
― Drew Carey

4. “The first wealth is health.”― Ralph Waldo Emerson

5. “No disease that can be treated by diet should be treated with any other means.” ― Maimonides, Jewish philosopher, jurist, and physician, the foremost intellectual figure of medieval Judaism

6. “In my food world, there is no fear or guilt, only joy and balance. So no ingredient is ever off-limits. Rather, all of the recipes here follow my Usually-Sometimes-Rarely philosophy. Notice there is no Never.”
― Ellie Krieger, “The Food You Crave: Luscious Recipes for a Healthy Life”

7. And my favorite – “If your arteries are good, eat more ice cream. If they are bad, drink more red wine. Proceed thusly.”
― Sandra Byrd, “Bon Appetit”

Have a great day and make everyday great. We all have bad days and bad things happen to all of us. It is how we deal with those things that defines who we are. I was always taught we have two choices – we can either be a victim or we can be victorious. I choose victory over victimhood all the time, everyday. And you can too. ‘Til next time.

Today, I am posting a different kind of post.

As you all know, I am from Pasadena, California. Pasadena is a major suburb of Los Angeles, about 13 miles northeast of the city, and is a major city in its own right. Pasadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Sierra Madre, and many other places in Los Angeles County have all been burnt to a crisp. The once beautiful areas now look like war zones. I know many people who have been affected by these horrendous fires. I have friends who were helping fight the fires to protect their homes and the homes of their neighbors. I have friends who have been evacuated. And I have friends who have lost everything. All they know right now is sheer and utter chaos and uncertainty. No one knows what tomorrow will bring, and many people have no idea if they still have a home or not. Many of the places that meant so much to us over the years are now gone forever, swept up by the flames. Everyone I know is devastated, whether we live in California or not. I also know that Angelinos are tough and resilient. They will rebuild. They will move on. They will prevail. And they will rise up from the flames like the Phoenix. God speed and God bless.

A phoenix rising in vibrant flames, emerging from smoldering ashes, is a symbol of rebirth and strength.

The “Queen” stopped over again to pay a visit. This time we were going Italian style, making fettuccine carbonara out my leftover ham and pasta. I love it when she come by to visit. We always get so creative. 🙂

Carbonara dishes are definitely Italian in origin, but no one is exactly sure what part of Italy it originated in. There is speculation and debate on this. Some people say it hails from Rome and the Lazio region, where others believe it originated in the Naples area because it closely resembles pasta cacio e uova, a Neapolitan dish of pasta tossed with melted lard, beaten raw eggs, and cheese, as documented in Ippolito Cavalcanti’s 1839 Neapolitan cookbook. The word carbonara comes from the word carbonaro, which means coal burner. It is believed it came about by men working outside for long periods of time, and was a hearty, easy to make meal for them. Others trace it to the Allied liberation of Rome in 1944, with American GIs bringing their daily ration of eggs and bacon to local restaurants to add to the limited Italian menu. No one knows for sure, and as with many things, it is surrounded by mystery and speculation.

Any type of pasta can be used for this simple dish, but most often it is spaghetti, linguini or fettuccine. It is a simple, poor man’s dish made from pasta tossed with a creamy sauce of raw beaten eggs, accentuated with crisp bits of guanciale, and finished with a shower of grated aged Pecorino Romano cheese plus freshly ground black pepper. I added ham instead of the guanciale, Italian bacon, and added peas and mushrooms as well. What can I say, I like stuff in my stuff. 🙂

Fettuccine Carbonara

16 oz cooked fettuccine

1/2 lb ham or bacon, cut into batons or thin strips

2 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks

1 cup shredded Parmigiano cheese

1 TBSP garlic

lots of fresh ground black pepper

1- 1 1/2 cups peas

1-1 1/2 cups mushrooms, sliced

olive oil for cooking

Combine the eggs, cheese and pepper together and set aside.

Get a large skillet very hot, then add some olive oil and add the ham, peas, mushrooms and garlic. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until everything is hot and the meat is cooked.

When everything is cooked, add the cooked pasta and toss everything together well.

Turn off the heat. Whisk the egg and cheese combination together and add to the pasta mix. Mix everything together thoroughly.

Serve immediately after, with a cool, crisp chardonnay, or Pinot Grigio on the side and enjoy. !Mangia!

This is a quick, easy-peasy, hardy meal that will keep everyone coming back for more.

Happy New Year everyone. May it be a healthy, happy, prosperous year for all. ‘Til next time.

We humans LOVE our sweets. We have for many 1000’s of years. Archeologists have discovered that we have been craving sweet tasting foods for at least 10,000 years. There are many theories behind our sweet cravings too.

One reason for our sweet tooth is because foods that taste sweet usually have a higher caloric count and provide an energy boost. The sugar high is real. Back in the early years of humans, these characteristics were helpful survival methods.

Another theory is that sweet foods helped people avoid bitter tasting toxic foods. It was thought the sweeter the food, the safer it would be. (Not taking into account all the problems we now know of that are attributed to eating too much sugar today).

Honey was the first form of sweet foods. Evidence supports that honey was gathered by the primitive peoples of the Mesolithic Period, over 10,000 years ago. Honey is thought of as one of the most prized foods in history. Today, honey is cultivated all over the world.

Honey is rich in nutrients and has many curative and healing properties for all kinds of ailments and wounds. In the early days, these healing properties often made the difference between life and death to many people.

Honey is also one of the few foods that NEVER really goes bad, if properly stored. Honey has been found in ancient Egyptian tombs, that is 1000’s of years old, that is still good and edible today.

In the tropics of New Guinea, there was another type of sweet produce that was growing wild. It was the native sugar canes. The New Guineans started cultivating this wild plant about 6000 BCE. Through trade, the popularity of this delicious sweet cane spread to Polynesia and India. The crude form of sugar was extracted from the sugar cane came from India abound 400 BCE. From there, sugar cane spread again, and is grown in warm, tropical climates all over over the world.

Brown sugar is another form of sugar, that is richer and darker than refined white sugar. Brown sugar is made by adding molasses syrup to boiling sugar crystals or coating white granulated sugar with molasses. It contains more moisture than white sugar, which is why it hardens over time and behaves differently in baking. While sugar beets and sugar cane are used to make white granulated sugar, only molasses from sugar cane is used in the production of brown sugar. Molasses from sugar cane is what gives brown sugar its color, with less needed to make light brown sugar and more for dark brown sugar.

During the Renaissance times in Europe, sugar was only something the very rich could afford. Sugar was known as white gold and a small bag would cost the equivalent of a day’s wages. It wasn’t until the early 19th century that refined sugar became popular amongst the average lay people. And that was after German chemist, Andreas Margraff, discovered the sweet sugar qualities from sugar beets.

In 1700, people consumed about 4 pounds of sugar per year. By 1800, people consumed about 22 pounds per year. By 1900, people consumed about 90 pounds per year. By 2012, over 50% of Americans consumed a half pound of sugar per day – or, over 180 pounds of sugar per year. We definitely have an insatiable sweet tooth! The more we have, the more we want.

Sugar beets are root vegetables that prefer colder climates, so they are grown all over Europe and Russia. With the discovery of the sugar beets, sugar became much more readily available and cheaper to everyone, thus becoming a staple in the 19th and 20th centuries around the world.

There is also maple syrup, only produced in Canada, New England and the Appalachian Mountains of the United States. There are roughly 128 different species of maple trees, but only a few are suitable for making maple syrup, with a high sugar content of about 2-5%. About 80% of the world’s maple syrup comes from the Quebec area of Canada. It is graded on the density and color of the syrup, that has been boiled down from the sap. The darker the color, the stronger the flavor.

So satisfy that sweet tooth, but in moderation. As we know, consuming too much sugar, or anything for that matter, definitely has its consequences too. Happy New Year. May it be safe, happy, healthy and prosperous for all. ‘Til next time.

The other day, when I made my mole beef short ribs, Mole Short Ribs I had a lot of mole leftover. You all know how I love to re-create with my leftovers, and I did once again. This time I used my mole to make enchiladas with chicken and vegetables o enchiladas con mole, pollo y verduras.

Enchiladas are very popular, and can be made savory or sweet. They lend themselves to just about anything. You can roll them or layer them. I do both. This time I layered them. I actually prefer them layered.

Preheat the oven to about 375*F or 191*C.

Spray a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray.

You can use any kind of vegetables you like, but I kept it simple, with Mexican style vegetables. I used red and orange bell peppers, garlic, red onions, jalapenos, and corn as my vegetable filling. I sauteed them until they were softened and tender, then added some leftover shredded chicken (already cooked). I added some cumin, oregano, thyme and salt & pepper to the mix.

When the chicken and vegetables were ready, it was time to start the layering process. I heated the mole sauce and lightly spread some on the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Then I heated up the tortillas (I just put them in the microwave for about 30 seconds) and placed them on top of the mole.

Next came a layer of the vegetables and chicken mixture, topped with shredded cheese. I used a Mexican blend.

Repeat until the pan is full, adding more mole sauce on top of the layers of tortillas, finishing with another layer of cheese. Then bake for about 40-45 minutes, or until the cheese is all melted and the internal temperature of the casserole is about 160* F.

As soon as the casserole was done, I added some chopped cilantro, green onions, and pickled onions on top. Pickled Onions

This goes well with rice and/or beans. I served it with some of my leftover black-eyed peas. Double Good Luck – Part 1 I am making the good luck extend as long as possible. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well, and if you are in the cold part of the country, definitely stay inside and stay warm. ‘Til next time. Happy New Year.

In a professional kitchen the Chef always has the last word – ALWAYS! Here are some words of wisdom from chefs that are words to live by.

Every chef wants the last bite to be as good as the first bite. We all strive for this level of perfection.

NEVER argue with the chef! NEVER!

A chef after my own heart indeed. 🙂

And perhaps the wisest words of all, from the founder of modern cooking himself, Auguste Escoffier.

Love what you do and do what you love. Have a great day and make everyday great. Happy New Year. May it be filled with happiness, good health and prosperity for all. ‘Til next time.

I love mole sauce. And there are so many different varieties of mole too. But the traditional mole, or at least one of the most popular versions, is a rich sauce made of many spices, herbs, Mexican chocolate, garlic and chilies. There are many different types of mole though. In fact, there are over 300 different types of mole sauce. Mole is more than just a type of sauce. It is a culinary story teller, where each version tells its own story of its traditions. Mole is a symbol of celebration. It graces the tables at festivals, weddings, and other momentous occasions in Mexican culture.

Mole had its origin in pre-hispanic Mexico, when it was called mulli, or chilmolli in nahuatland and was made with turkey and served in Aztec rituals and other festive occasions. One of the most treasured ingredients used in the mole is xocolatl – the Aztec word for chocolate. The ancient civilizations of Mexico, including the Aztecs and Maya, valued bold flavors and combined ingredients like chili peppers, chocolate, and spices to create intricate sauces. The arrival of Europeans brought even more new spices and ingredients that have been incorporated into the dish, modifying its flavors even more. Mole today has endless possibilities. Mole is considered to be one of Mexico’s national dishes. One of the most popular versions known today was created in the 17th century, by a group of nuns in the State of Puebla when they heard of the impending visit of Juan de Palafox, Viceroy of New Spain and Archbishop of Puebla. This is the Puebla Mole. The other very popular version is the Oaxaca, or mole negro, made from dark bittersweet Mexican chocolate.

Larry had smoked some short ribs, but they still needed more cooking, and they definitely needed a sauce. I hadn’t mole in quite a while and I came across a recipe for mole short ribs, so that was what I made. I just threw everything together in the slow cooker, and let it cook. I served it with some of my leftover black-eyed pea salad Double Good Luck – Part 1, with some of my pickled onions, Pickled Onions, Mexican style carrots with cinnamon and butter and some of our New Year’s pretzels. Double Good Luck – Part 2

Mole Short Ribs

2-3 lbs short ribs, par-cooked

1 TBSP coriander

1 TBSP cumin

1 TBSP dried mustard

1 1/2 tsp cloves

2 tsp cinnamon

1-2 tsp dried red pepper flakes

1-2 jalapeno, seeded and diced fine

3 TBSP toasted sesame seeds

2 tsp sumac

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp allspice

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 cup orange juice

1 TBSP orange zest

Place the short ribs in the slow cooker. Mix all the ingredients together,using only part of the sesame seeds and leaving out the pickled onions, and pour over the ribs, evenly coating them.

You can either cook them for a shorter period of time on a medium,-high setting for 3-5 hours, or you can turn the setting down to a low setting and cook for about8 hours. Either way, these will be so flavorful and tender, where the meat will just come right off the bones. When everything is cooked, just before serving, top with additional toasted sesame seeds, pickled onions and cilantro.

I am definitely more of a wine drinker than anything else, so I served it with a rich, full-bodied red wine. The sauce is full of bold flavors, so whatever you serve it with needs to be bold, strong and full of bold flavors as well, otherwise it will be overwhelmed by the rich mole sauce.

Happy New Year everyone. May it be a happy, healthy and prosperous year for all. ‘Til next time.

We are at the very edge of the states with severe winter weather warnings. We were supposed to get between 4-6 inches of snow in our area overnight, but we really didn’t get too much. It was and is still bitter cold, nonetheless. We did get frosted though. All the trees and shrubs look so pretty with a light blanket of fresh snow. Everything looks surreal and kind of mystical.

Every season has its own unique beauty and charm. There is beauty everywhere, in all things. We just need to open our eyes to see it.

It was a cold, frosty morning, but that didn’t stop people from coming into Yonutz! Donuts and Ice Cream Yonutz! vs. Donuts to help them celebrate their official grand opening in the city of Westminster, CO.

The Westminster Chamber of Commerce was there to officiate the ceremony, and gave Brian a pair of extra, extra large scissors to cut the ribbon. Brian and team are beaming with pride, as they should be.

And it’s official! Yonutz! Donuts & Ice Cream is officially open for business to serve the City of Westminster and more. The lady in the blue coat, Council Member Chavez, is one of the City Council members for Westminster Chamber of Commerce. She gave a short speech right before the ribbon cutting ceremony.

After a brief introduction, Ms. Chavez turned it over to Brian and crew, and Brian welcomed and thanked everyone for coming.

Yonutz! was packed, with a line going out the door. People were excited to help Brian Domann, the owner, and his family, donut team and friends celebrate their big day.

Brian and his family, with the help from the City of Westminster and the Chamber of Commerce, made this all happen,

but the real stars of the day are the delicious donut creations, handmade with love from Brian and his team.

Lots of boxes were prepared for people to take donuts home too.

Brian and Yonutz! are giving away prizes throughout the day to lucky winners.

There was even a cake for the celebrations. After all, you can’t have a party without a cake, right?!

And there were plenty of very happy customers, enjoying these delectable treats.

Ms. Chavez and her kids look like they are thoroughly enjoying their Yonutz! donuts. There were many happy people to help celebrate Brian’s big and happy day. 🙂

Congratulations Brian Domann and Yonutz! Donuts & Ice Cream! Welcome to the City of Westminster. We wish you a long, happy and successful relationship with the City of Westminster.