A Jeanne in the Kitchen

The term meat & potatoes is a very comforting term in many ways. It means getting back to the basics, whether it be food related or just things in general. For food, meat and potatoes means good, basic comfort foods, and is quite literally meat and potatoes. The world has many different versions of this too. We all need comforting and we all have those go-to foods that take us to those safe places we are looking for.

Larry, being a Kansas boy, is very much a meat & potatoes kind of guy, though he allows me to indulge in just about any culinary experience I choose to explore. Me, being the California girl, I get bored with just meat & potatoes. I need something with more flavor and more pizzazz. So I compromised and made an Italian version of meat & potatoes. It was the best of both worlds. 🙂

I started off with a combination of both my own marinara sauce mixed with a store-bought version and went from there.

Italian Meat & Potatoes

4 lbs brisket or London broil

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

butter

2 celery ribs, diced small

2 carrots, diced small

1/2 onion, diced small

1 jar marianara sauce

3-4 tomatoes, diced

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp marjoram

1 tsp thyme

1/2 cup dry red wine

Cut the meat into strips and season with salt & pepper to taste. In a hot skillet or a Dutch oven, add the olive oil and a little butter to cook and brown the meat. When the meat is browned, remove it from the heat and set aside.

In the same pan, adding more olive oil and/or butter as needed, add the onions, carrots and celery and cook for about 3 minutes or until the vegetables are tender. Then add the tomatoes, garlic and herbs and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Add the wine and the marinara sauce and mix together well. Then re-add the meat to the mixture cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and continue to simmer for about 3 hours or until the meat is tender. Stir frequently.

When the meat is tender and everything is cooked, serve it all over some creamy mashed potatoes. I also added some garlic and herb cheese bread and a smooth red Malbec to complete the meal. !Perfecto!

Who says the basics have to be boring? Liven them up a bit and make life more interesting. 🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

I still have a few shots of the fabulous fall colors remaining. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do.

Even one of our “resident” turtles is dressed in his fall finest.

Everything is in the process of change right now. The leaves that are left are changing their colors once again. The temperature is changing, and now it is a little cooler and crisper than it was just a few days ago. The animals are changing too. I have lived and walked around my lakes for almost 15 years now, and I discovered a new friend today, or at least new to me. Today was the first day I have seen one of these. This is a Downey Woodpecker.

I just love making new friends and discovering and learning about new things. That’s what makes life so interesting.

Sometimes I almost like recreating leftovers more than I like preparing the “firstovers”. It’s become a fun game to me to see how I can recreate leftovers into something completely different than how I originally made them. I had some leftover filling from my pumpkin and sausage tortelets Spinach, Pumpkin and Sausage Tortelets but not enough to make more tortes, so I turned them into crepes instead. I also had just a little bit of pumpkin puree left, which became the base for the sauce.

I decided blue corn crepes would go well with the pumpkin and sausage and would make it a bit more rustic.

Blue Corn Crepes

2 eggs

1 cup milk

1/3 cup water

2/3 cup flour

2/3 cup blue cornmeal

salt to taste

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

2 TBSP melted butter

Mix the flour, cornmeal, salt and cayenne pepper together and set aside.

Combine the egg, milk and melted butter and whisk together. Then mix in with the flour mixture and stir just until everything is well combined. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour before using.

When ready to make the crepes, get a small skillet very hot, then add about 1/2-1 TBSP butter. Add about 1/3 cup of the batter into the skillet and immediately swirl around so the batter entirely covers then pan in a very thin layer. Cook for about 1-2 minutes, then carefully flip the crepe and continue to cook for another 1-2 minutes. Continue this until all the batter is cooked and the crepes are made.

Once all the crepes are made, start filling them. For this recipe, I rolled the crepes. Add about 2 TBSP of filling then tightly roll the crepe and place the filled crepes into a baking dish sprayed with cooking spray.

After the crepes were all stuffed, I made the pumpkin cream sauce.

Pumpkin Cream Sauce

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 cup heavy whipping cream

salt & pepper to taste

1/3 cup dry white wine

1-2 TBSP butter

Preheat the oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Mix everything except the butter, together and heat in a small skillet. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat and continue cooking for about 5-7 minutes, stirring constantly so nothing burns. Add the butter at the very end as a finish.

Once the sauce is done, carefully pour or spoon it over the crepes.

I add a little cheese on top and then finished it with the rest of the sausage and pumpkin filling.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the center of the crepes is hot. Serve them up how you like. I served mine over some couscous with a crisp, citrusy chardonnay on the side. C’est manifique! C’es si bonne!

Savor the day and enjoy it all. Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

There are still a lot of beautiful fall colors to see. They are changing once again though, and are showing more of the oranges, reds and rusts now, rather than the yellows, golds and greens. All the other colors are fading too, and soon will be dormant for the season. Once the cooler weather and the snows hit, our colors will be gone.

Often when people come over for dinner they think I make big elaborate dinners all the time and ask if that is how we always eat. A simple answer would be NO! In fact, most of the time, it is just the opposite. We eat a lot of quick and easy simple meals when it is just the two of us, although I do make more elaborate meals too. It really just depends on my mood, what I have on hand at the time, and how much time do I have to prepare dinner. Larry is pretty easy to cook for. He eats just about everything, though he prefers a lot of the more simple, basic meals.

I made an easy-peasy chicken and veggie skillet meal the other day that was a big hit. But then anything over pasta will always be a winner for me. I could eat pasta dishes 7 days a week and easily be happy.

Chicken and Veggies in A Skillet

1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, cut into thin strips

salt & pepper to taste

1 cup sliced mushrooms

3-4 sweet peppers, sliced thin

1 onion, sliced thin

1 TBSP garlic

1 lb asparagus, cut into pieces about 1-1 1/2 inches in size

1/2 cup sherry, brandy or chicken broth

2 TBSP butter

olive oil

red pepper flakes to taste

Add the salt & pepper to the chicken pieces and cook in a hot skillet with the olive oil until the chicken is completely cooked.

Once the chicken is cooked, remove it from the heat and add all the vegetables and garlic except for the asparagus. Add more olive oil and butter if needed. Cook for about 3 minutes. Then re-add the chicken to the mix.

Add the asparagus and continue to cook for an additional 2-3 minutes.

Once everything is cooked, removed it all from the pan, then add the sherry or brandy or chicken broth and scrape the bottom of the skillet. I used brandy this time because that what was readily available to me. Bring to a boil and cook for about 1-2 minutes or until the the liquid is reduced to about 1-2 TBSP. Return the chicken and vegetables to the skillet and coat with the remaining liquid. Add the butter and red pepper flakes, if using, and adjust the seasoning if needed, then mix together thoroughly. Serve either by itself or over rice or pasta. Add a fruity, citrusy white wine, some warmed bread, and your meal is complete. Easy-peasy and delicious; just the way I like it.

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

More golden colors of this fabulous fall season we have been enjoying this year.

Enjoy them while you can. They are going, going, and will soon be gone.

As I have mentioned a few times, I love anything pumpkin, Lamb and Pumpkin Pies. I still have a lot of pumpkin to use and I still have a lot of pumpkin recipes to try, or at least be inspired by, as well. So that means I am still making more delicious pumpkin dishes. ‘Tis the season after all.

Not only did I create a new pumpkin sensation, but I think I also coined a new term, “tortelets”. I was inspired by an actual recipe, as I so often am, but as usual, I made it my own and personalized it. I made it my own in a few ways. I made it even more of a savory dish and added chorizo sausage for one, and instead of making it as one large torte, I made them as individual tortes, or my new term, tortelets.

This is an Italian inspired dish, as so many of my dishes are, though I really love foods from all parts of the world. It is safe to say, I just plain love food, no matter what its origins. 🙂 I made these for a potluck meeting I was attending, which was the initial reason for making them as individual tortelets instead of one torte, but I think I will continue to make them this way because I like them better. They are easier to eat and to serve this way.

Spinach, Pumpkin and Sausage Tortelets

2 lbs pumpkin, peeled, seeded and either shredded or cut into matchstick size pieces

1 onion, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup spinach

salt & pepper to taste

1/4 cup olive oil

butter

1 lb ground chorizo sausage

1 cup cooked rice

9 eggs

1/3 cup heavy whipping cream

1 tsp marjoram

bread crumbs

1 cup shredded Parmigiano cheese

1 cup mozzarella cheese

pepita seeds, optional

Preheat oven to 350* F or 180* C.

Spray muffin pans or a 10″ springform cake pan with cooking spray

Saute the vegetables and seasonings in the olive oil and butter combination for about 5-7 minutes or until the pumpkin is softened and the onions are translucent.

Add the chorizo, mix in thoroughly and continue to cook until the sausage is completely cooked.

When the sausage mixture is completely cooked, add the rice and combine well.

Mix the two cheese together in a small bowl.

Sprinkle the bottom of the muffin pan with bread crumbs, then fill the cups about 3/4 full with the filling.

Whisk together the eggs and cream with a bit more salt and pepper and pour over the sausage and vegetable mixture. Top each tortelet with a little bit of the cheese mixture and add pepita seeds if you like. Bake for about 45 minutes or until the eggs are solid and the center is thoroughly cooked. If you are making it as one torte, cook for about 1 1/2 hours, or until the center is completely cooked.

These can be eaten either hot or at room temperature. They were a big hit at my meeting, and everyone thoroughly enjoyed them. Because they are individual tortelets, they travel very well, which makes them a great addition to a fall potluck or gathering. Enjoy! I know you will. 🙂

Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.

Some of the trees are still proudly displaying their fall colors, though more and more are beginning to shed their leaves. I am seeing more sights like this that trees still in full color right now. It won’t be to much longer.