A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Whenever it is time to go for a wine run, it is also a fun excuse to make a bunch of delicious nibblies to take along with us, not that I really need an excuse though. This time was no different. We went a-wining last night and I packed us a tasty spread of Italian antipasti to enjoy with our wines.

I made some fresh olive bread or Pani con le Olive, a Pure di Ceci al Limone or lemony garbanzo spread and Peperoni Arrosti or roasted peppers in balsamic vinegar, to go with the olive bread. I also sliced up some salami and had a can of dolmas or stuffed grape leaves to complete our antipasti platter. !Delizioso! We enjoyed our wines and our antipasti thoroughly. There was not much left at the end of of wining expedition. We were all very content.

Of course you will get all the recipes for these healthy and tasty dishes. Have I ever held back??????? For those of you who know me, what kind of a silly question is that? 🙂

Today, I will start you with the Peperoni Arrosti. I served it on top of my Pure di Ceci al Limone and the Pani con le Olive, but you can also serve it on its own or as a side dish to compliment something else as well. It is definitely my kind of recipe. It is quick, easy, healthy and VERY tasty, plus it only requires a few simple and basic ingredients too. Splurge a little and use a really good quality olive oil and balsamic vinegar for this. You will be really glad you did too.

Peperoni Arrosti or Roasted Peppers in Balsamic Vinegar

8 bell peppers – I used red, yellow and orange

8 TBSP extra virgin olive oil

1 TBSP garlic

2 TBSP good quality balsamic vinegar

1-2 tsp crushed black peppercorns

a sprinkling of fleur de sel or about 1/2 tsp salt

fresh parsley, chopped

You can either oven roast your peppers or fire roast them. If you are oven roasting them, cut the peppers in sections and seed them. Place them on a baking sheet and roast in the oven at 500*F or 260* C. Brush the peppers with olive oil, skin side up and roast for about 20 minutes or until the skin in completely blackened and charred. I prefer to fire roast my peppers by placing them directly on an open flame with no oil and I get the same effect, though I keep my peppers whole. Either way is fine. Once the peppers are blackened and cooled, completely remove the charred skins and seeds with your finger tips and rinse the peppers. Then slice them into thin strips.

Mix all other ingredients together. Add the peppers to the balsamic mixture and coat completely by rolling them around in the sauce. Because I wanted to keep my colors separated, I coated my pepper strips 1 color at a time.

Place the peppers on your serving platter and sprinkle with the parsley. I think these are best when served at room temperature.

!Buon Appetito e Mangia! It’s like a little bit of Italy with every bite.

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

It was time to clean our the fridge again, so once again, I invited my dear friend, the “Queen of Leftovers” to come help out and offer some inspiration. This time around, I had some ham, vegetable casserole An Irish Vegetable Casserole and some cut vegetables from when we had our Carnivores’ Gathering A Carnivores’ Gathering. Since the vegetables already had curry-like seasonings, it was real easy to make the whole meal a curried meal. All I had to do was cook up some pasta and add some coconut milk and throw it all together. The rest was already cooked. We had a great meal and now I have more room in my refrigerator for the next round of leftovers. 🙂

I could have served this dish over rice, but we just had couscous, which is very similar to rice, so I chose angel hair pasta instead. Again, there is no real recipe for this since it was all just leftovers thrown together. But hopefully I can inspire you on how to creatively recreate dishes just by looking inside your refrigerator and using what you have.

This few simple ingredients were all that was needed to make my curried ham. It went from this

to this in just a few short minutes.

All I had to do was combine everything together and cook it up. I am always amazed at what can be done with just a little bit of creativity and imagination. I just have so much fun when I can create like this. 🙂

I served everything with a cool crisp chardonnay and then dinner was served.

Play with your food. Be creative. You’ll be amazed at what you can come up with. 🙂

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

There is a very large Armenian community in Pasadena, CA, where I grew up. And because there is a very large Armenian community, there are a lot of restaurants that offer some great Armenian dishes as well. You will know where they are once you walk into these restaurants and are instantly greeted with all the fabulous aromas of all the fragrant and aromatic spices that are used. One such restaurant I loved and frequented was Burger Continental, on South Lake Street. The foods they served were a combination of Armenian, Greek, Lebanese and Mediterranean. No matter what time of day, it was always packed, and on the weekends, there was always live music and belly dancing.

Armenia is a small country located in Eastern Europe. It borders Turkey to the east, Iran to the south and Georgia to the north. All these countries influenced the foods and customs of the Armenian people. There are also influences from all the Mediterranean counties and the Middle Eastern Countries as well. In sum, the Armenian culture is multi ethnic in its roots. “Throughout history, as they migrated from their lush homeland in the center of the spice route and on to new worlds, Armenian cooks have embraced new foods, integrating them into their daily fare to create a rich and varied cuisine”. (p. 9, The Armenian Table, Victoria Jenanyan Wise).

We had some ground lamb that was in our meat rotation, ready to be cooked. I had to do it justice, so I went through my ever-growing culinary library and found a perfect way to cook that ground lamb. I decided on an Armenian recipe, making them into spiced lamb meatballs with a tomato-spinach sauce. It was a great choice too. We both thoroughly enjoyed this spicy, exotic lamb creation.

Spicy Lamb Meatballs with Tomato-Spinach Sauce

The Meatballs

3/4-1 lb ground lamb

1 1/2 TBSP garlic

1/2 white or yellow onion, diced fine

2 small red chili peppers, diced fine or brunoise cut

1/2 tsp cumin

dash cinnamon

1/8 tsp cardamom

2 tsp orange zest

olive oil for cooking

Mix all the ingredients together well and form the meat into meatballs about the size of a walnut.

Place the meatballs on a a piece of parchment paper and place in the refrigerator anywhere from 30 minutes to overnight, to set.

The Sauce

2 TBSP butter

4 tomatoes diced medium – I like to mix and match my tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine

1 cup fresh spinach, rough cut

1/4 tsp crushed Aleppo pepper (from Aleppo, Syria)

dash of salt – I used my fleur de sel

When ready to cook, take the meatballs out and let set at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Then heat the olive oil in a large skillet. When the oil is hot, carefully place the meatballs without overcrowding them. Cook until they are completely browned on all sides. Once they are cooked, removed them from the skillet and set aside.

As you can see, I had an eager little helper too.

Add the butter to the olive oil and add the tomatoes and spices. Cook over a medium heat until the tomatoes start to break down, then add the spinach and the cilantro. The spinach and cilantro do not take long to cook.

Add the meatballs into the mixture and roll them around to get them nice and saucy. Once the meatballs are thoroughly heated, serve everything on top of a bed of couscous. I also served it with pita bread and hummus, along with a delicious Malbec on the side.

Lamb is an acquired taste and not everyone likes it. That’s OK. You can always substitute ground beef instead.

Your taste buds will really come alive with this spicy, aromatic, exotic dish. Hamegh or delicious in Armenian.

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

According to the calendar, it is Spring and Mother Nature is wasting no time in showing off her Spring beauties. Most of the snow has melted, and the skies were a little cloudy and over cast, but the temperature wasn’t too bad.

My irises are starting to pop up and soon, they will be in full bloom.

My groundcover is staring to come up too.

I heard a whole bunch of birds singing today, from the red-winged blackbirds and common crackles to the chickadees. But they were all still very camera shy today. The only birds that would pose for my camera were birds that look most like Savannah sparrows, but it was hard to get a good shot and or view so I am not really sure what they are.

There were a few ducks and geese out, but still not too many. There were some ring-necked ducks and some mallards, I didn’t get any good shots of them though. But there were some hooded mergansers out and about, both males and females, that were ready for their headshots.

Soon my lakes will be once again filled with all kinds of geese, ducks, birds, squirrels, and all kinds of other fun and interesting neighbors.

I am still using up portions of the meat we smoked from our Carnivores’ Gathering A Carnivores’ Gathering, and as usual, I am trying to use it in as many different ways as I can. This time, I made chili con carne, and believe me, it was full of carne or meat. I used some of the smoked brisket and the rest of the smoked bacon wrapped pork loin as well to make this very hearty, meaty, delicious stew.

Chili is a thick soup or stew containing chili peppers (sometimes in the form of chili powder),meat (usually beef), tomatoes and kidney beans. Other seasonings may include garlic, onions and cumin. The dish originated in Northern Mexico and Southern Texas. There is NO ONE way to make chili. In fact, the possibilities are endless. Carne is meat. Since beef was the main meat consumed by the Spanish colonizers at the time when they were in Mexico and South America, beef is the primary meat used for chili con carne. Chili largely originated with working-class Tejana and Mexican women and soon spread to the masses and became a staple all over Texas and Northern Mexico.

Because there are so many different varieties of chili, and I make it different all the time too, I am not going to give you an actual recipe. But I used all the traditional ingredients – beef, pork, garlic, onions, tomatoes, green bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, cumin, chili powder, kidney beans, oregano and thyme. As always, it came out very filling and very tasty. It was a meal all by itself.

I diced everything up and placed it all in the slow cooker, then walked away and forgot about it until it was time to eat. I like to add the meat first, then the vegetables and I mix all the wet ingredients together and then pour them over the top and mix it all together. Everyone has their own ways and they all work just fine too.

We love chili at our house. As I have said many times, my mother was from Port Arthur, Texas, which is definitely chili country, so every time I make chili con carne, I am honoring my mother and my Southern Texas roots.

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

When we had our Carnivores’ Gathering, we smoked A LOT of meat. A Carnivores’ Gathering Larry thinks he smoked about 50 lbs of meat in total. We ate as much as out tummies would hold. We gave a lot of it away to our guests. And we still have A LOT left over. There was no way we were going to go through 50 lbs of meat all at once. Some of it we put in the freezer, to pull out for another time, and some we are eating right now. One of the things we left down was the bacon wrapped pork loin.

I hadn’t made pizza in quite awhile, especially a pizza with BBQ sauce, so that was what I decided to make. I used my South Carolina mustard BBQ sauce Saucing It Up, our bacon wrapped pork loin and some of my caramelized onions from when I made my caramelized onion tart, Olive and Caramelized Onion Tart along with some mushrooms and yellow bell peppers. It was definitely a yummy combination and our tummies were very happy.

I made my pizza dough BBQ Pork Pizza then started layering it up with all kinds of goodness, most of which was just using up my leftovers. 🙂 You would be amazed at how many compliments and comments I get about how I am always creatively using up my leftovers. It’s a gift. 🙂

Pressing the dough onto my pizza stone was first, followed by the sauce and cheese. I used both cheddar and mozzarella. Larry likes cheddar and I prefer mozzarella.

Next, came the toppings followed by more cheese. I sauteed my mushrooms and peppers with a little garlic first though, to soften them up.

Once the toppings and the cheese were loaded up onto the pizza, it was time to bake it at 375* F or 190* C for about 40-60 minutes, or until the dough was done and all the cheese was completely melted.

Once the pizza is completely cooked, all that is left to do is pour yourself a glass or two of either your favorite red wine or beer and enjoy.

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

When we had our “Carnivores’ Gathering” A Carnivores’ Gathering we had to have other things besides just meat, although meat was most definitely the main feature for the day. I wasn’t sure what other people were bringing to our little shindig, so I also made my green vegetable salad It’s All About Being Green , my sauces to go with all the meats Saucing It Up and of course we had to shave some rolls or bread as well. Although as it turned outs, I didn’t need to make rolls because Julia brought some absolutely delicious and fabulous dinner rolls. But with having two different kinds of rolls, it added to the variety, which is always a good thing.

I got busy and distracted once everyone arrived, so I did not take pictures of my rolls after they came out of the oven. But I think you will get the idea. 🙂

Garlic Rosemary and Sage Rolls

5-6 cups flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

5 tsp yeast or 2 packages of dry active yeast

1 TSBP fresh sage and Rosemary, chopped fine

1 TBSP garlic

1 cup milk

2/3 cup water

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

2 eggs

garlic butter melted

Combine 2 cups of flour, sugar salt, yeast and herbs together. Mix well and set aside.

Combine the milk, butter and water together in a saucepan. Heat until the butter is mostly melted. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and beat in a mixer for about 2 minutes at a medium speed.

Add the eggs and another 3/4 cups of flour. Beat again for another 2 minutes, then gradually add as much flour as needed to form a stiff dough.

Once the dough is formed, turn it onto a lightly floured surface and knead together until the dough is smooth an elastic, for about 8 minutes. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover to let rise for about 20 minutes.

When the dough is set, grease a baking dish. Divide the dough into 24 equal portions and roll into balls. Place the dough balls in the pan and cover, then place in the refrigerator to rise for 4-12 hours.

When the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 375* F or about 190* C.

Remove the dough from the refrigerator and let rise at room temperature for about 20 minutes. Melt some butter and garlic together and brush the dough balls with the garlic butter and place in the oven to bake for about 15-20 minutes or until they are hollow when tapped on the top and are golden brown.

Let the rolls cool for about 10 minutes before serving and serve them warm. You can add more butter or not, but either way, the end result will be delicious!

I have a confession to make. I misread the directions at the time I was making my rolls and I did not add the right about of yeast to the dough, so my rolls did not rise the way they were supposed to, though they still tasted good. I actually did not even realize this until just now, as I was writing my post, and then it dawned on me. See. I make mistakes too. 🙂

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

Well, Yesterday, 3/20/21, was the first day of Spring here in the U.S. As I mentioned in my post Words of Wisdom from Julia Child – Part 3, we were celebrating the first day of Spring by getting out the smoker and smoking up a whole bunch of meats. There are other reasons why our menu was so heavily meat oriented, but I am not going to get in that. We celebrated the first day of Spring by gathering with some friends and of course, feasting. We called out little gathering the Carnivores’ Gathering.

Larry loves any excuse to pull out his smoker, and when he does, he loads it up with all kinds of meats. This time he smoked a brisket, ribs, a bacon wrapped pork loin and chicken. I know he said we had 6 different types of meat, but I just can’t remember the rest. I was more than a bit overwhelmed by all the meats and food we had. It was most definitely a feast. We had so much good food and good fun.

My theory is, when you’re going to do something, do it right, and that we did.

Gabe came dressed perfectly for the occasion.

Spring has sprung, but no matter what the season, make it fun and make the most of it. Life is short. Live it up. 🙂

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

We are having a Spring feast and Larry and I have both been busy cooking and cleaning. So today’s post is just going to be yet another quick post coming from the maestro herself, the one and only, Julia Child. She is always so full of wisdom and wit.

This one is so apropos considering Larry is busy smoking A LOT of meat for today.

Certainly one of the important requirements for learning how to cook is that you also learn how to eat. If you don’t know how an especially fine dish is supposed to taste, how can you produce it? Just like becoming an expert in wine – you learn by drinking it – the best you can afford – you learn about great food by finding the best there is, whether simple or luxurious. Then you savor it analyze it and discuss it with your companions, and you compare with other experiences.

Therein lies the science of the experiences wine connoisseur – the more you drink (and think upon it), the more you will know.

Serious artist or weekend amateur, it’s more fun cooking for company in company.

Bon Appetit! Stay safe and stay well Everyone. ‘Til next time.