A Jeanne in the Kitchen

My friend Perri and I decided we needed a little break from the pool and headed down to go paint some lilacs instead.  Perri is one of the other coaches I work with.  We have a lot of fun together.

After I got home, Larry and I started taking down all the Christmas decorations.  It is time to put them away until next time.  Sadly, the Holidays are now officially over.

 

The two main types of curried dishes are either from India or from Thailand.  An Indian Curry  Both are delicious and we eat both quite often.  I do not really have a preference to either, it really just kind of depends on my mood at the time of cooking.  Indian curries are usually less saucy than Thai curries, and are more paste-like.  Indian curries almost always contain turmeric, cumin and coriander.  Thai curries are most often made with coconut milk, are lighter, and are more soup-like than Indian curries.  They are often made with ingredients that are more traditional from the Asian parts of the world, such as cilantro, lemon grass and tamarind.  Usually the Thai curries are a little sweeter too.  Both range from mild to spicy, depending on how much heat you like.  And both styles can be made with any combination of meats, seafood, and/or vegetables, or vegetables only if you prefer them to be vegetarian.  There is no right or wrong way to make a curry.

Curries, whether they are Indian or Thai, can be made with a lot of ingredients or just a few.  I tend to make mine with a lot of ingredients, since I “like stuff in my stuff”.  I tend to make them with a lot of different vegetables.  In this particular curry, I added some pumpkin, broccoli, red peppers, jalapenos, onion, basil and cilantro to really make it full of flavor.  You can use a wide variety of vegetables.

Thai Chicken Curry

1 1/2- 2 lb chicken, cut into thin strips

1 cup broccoli florets

1/2 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1 cup pumpkin, cubed

1/2 onion, sliced very thin

1 jalapeno, diced fine

1 TBSP fresh basil, chiffonade or cut into thin strips

2 TBSP cilantro, chopped fine

1 TBSP garlic

1 TBSP ginger, fresh or dried is fine

1 can coconut milk

1 TBSP lime juice

1 TBSP honey – I used ginger honey

salt & red pepper to taste

2-3 tsp curry, or to taste

olive oil or peanut oil

toasted coconut, optional for topping

cilantro for topping

 

Cook the vegetables in the oil and the salt & pepper until the onions, broccoli and peppers are translucent and tender.

Once the vegetables are done, remove them from the skillet and set aside.  In the same oil, adding more if necessary, cook the chicken.

While the chicken is cooking, mix the coconut milk, lime juice, honey and all the spices together.  I used my ginger honey that I received for Christmas A Box of Honey which really made the flavors pop and come to life.

 

Add the vegetables back into the chicken and mix together, then add the liquid mixture and combine well.  Add the basil and half the cilantro and mix well.  Bring the dish to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 7 minutes, stirring frequently.

Curries, but especially Thai curries, are very accommodating to being served with either rice or noodles.  This time I served it over angel hair pasta.  I topped it with toasted coconut and cilantro and served it with Indian naan bread, along with a crisp buttery chardonnay.  It just hit the spot and was perfect for dinner.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We have a tradition of taking our younger nieces and nephews for adventures or shows rather than buying them a lot of presents for their birthdays, especially since it is always so hard to figure out what they want or need.  Often the things we do are not on their actual birthdays, but are at later dates and times.  They are fine with this though, since we usually come up with some pretty awesome and neat adventures.  They’ve learned it is better to wait for the cool stuff.  This year, we took Nahila and Tehvia to the Cirque Dreams Holidaze.  This was our first event for the first day of the new decade of 2020.  Cirque Dreams is like Cirque du Soleil, only it is put on by a different theater group.

Cirque Dreams Holidaze was at the new event center in Aurora, CO, The Gaylord of the Rockies.  We had never been there before.  It is a HUGE complex and from what we could see, a beautiful hotel, that was beautifully decorated for the holidays too.

We let the girls pick out a present from the holiday shop.  Tehvia picked out this cute little teddy bear, that she held with her for the rest of the evening.

This orb illusionist was very gifted at magically controlling the movements of his crystal orb.

The show was filled with so many talented artists, gymnasts, acrobats, and much, much more.  If you have ever been to a Cirque du Soleil show, this was the same, with all the fun, colorful costumes, and performances set to live music.  It was truly breathtaking and awe inspiring.  It was a festive way to continue the Holidaze tradition.  It is perfect for kids of all ages, “from 1 to 92” (Nat King Cole) .  It was great family entertainment and we all had a fantastic time.

It is probably already come and gone for this Holiday or Holidaze season, but if it comes back to town next year, it is definitely a family fun, entertaining production.

Happy New Year Everyone!  I hope you all enjoyed the evening’s festivities and brought in the new year safely.  We celebrated with our friends Priscilla and Jonathon.  We had a quiet evening, with great food and great friends.  It was a perfect way to ring in the new year.

Priscilla and I both lead very busy lives, so more so than not, we both make parts of the menu and combine it all together to make one delicious meal.  And as always, Priscilla had the house looking very festive.  We had a simple meal and a simple celebration.  Priscilla made a delicious Italian meatball soup, some wonderful savory Parmigiano cookies, and a plateful of fabulous, festive cookies.  My contributions were a ham, spinach and mushroom quiche and crab cakes with a roasted yellow pepper coulis.  As expected, it all came together perfectly.

Two chefs, one great meal.

A simple New Year’s Eve dinner; Italian meatball soup, ham, mushroom and spinach quiche, crab cakes and savory Parmigiano cookies.

 

Even the wine got dressed up for the occasion.

And the cookies.  There is ALWAYS room for cookies.

Happy New Year everyone!  May you all have a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous 2020.

 

It is now officially 2020.  Not only was last night the last night of 2019, but it was also the last night of a decade.  Let’s hope we can learn from our past mistakes and pave the way for a better future in this new decade.  Out with the old, and in with the new!  Start the new decade with a clean slate.

 

HAPPY NEW YEAR Everyone!  Can you believe 2019 is over and done with?  At the stroke of midnight it will not only be a new year, but a new decade.  Our friends on the other side of the world have already rung in the New Year, and have already welcomed in the year 2020.

The celebration of the new year is one of the world’s oldest celebrations and is celebrated around the world, in every country and culture that measures the passages of time by a yearly calendar.  Celebrating the incoming, new year is a celebration that has been going on since 4000 BC.  It is believed to have started with the Ancient Babylonians, only then it was celebrated in March, at the beginning of the Spring season and the vernal equinox, rather than on January 1.  The Ancient Babylonians celebrated the new year for 12 days as a series of religious festivities for Akitu.  This was a time of new beginnings.  New kings were often crowned or renewed loyalty to the reigning kings were reaffirmed.  Promises were made to the gods to repay debts and to bring back things that were borrowed.  If one kept their promises, the gods bestowed their favors to the people.  If, however, those promises were not kept, the people were punished by the gods.  It is believed these are the beginnings of New Year’s resolutions too.

The New Year’s celebration on January 1st was started by Pope Gregory XIII, in 1582, with the invention of the Gregorian calendar.  The name “January” came from the Roman god Janus.  Janus was believed to have had 2 faces, one at his front and one at his back.   These faces were also known as “doors”, which signified openings or new beginnings.

For the early Christians and the Evangelical Christians, New Year’s Eve was a time of reflection and a time for a renewed faith.  It became a time to reflect on one’s mistakes and to resolve to make things better in the new year ahead.  For these people, New Year’s Eve was, and still is, known as “watch night services”.

In many parts of the world, and even in many parts of the United States, it is believed that whatever one eats or does on the 1st day of the New Year will be shown in their lives for the rest of the year.  There are many cultural traditions around the world that people engage in, with the hopes of prosperity and good health for the upcoming year.  For instance, in the South, black eyed peas are eaten on New Year’s Day to bring good fortune and good luck.  New Year’s Good Luck with Black-Eyed Peas and Ham Soup

This year, we are celebrating the New Year in a quiet fashion, with our friends Priscilla and Jonathon.  The days of partying all night are long gone.  I much prefer the quiet, more subdued celebrations these days.  The days where I can stay in my pajamas and celebrate with all my 4-legged fur babies are the best.  🙂

Whether you choose to celebrate with champagne and fireworks or if you choose to celebrate at home with family and friends, enjoy your festivities, be safe and Happy New Year.

 

Apparently, or should I say “appearantly”, I love pear salads at Christmas.  This is the second year in a row where I have made similar pear salads for Christmas.  Pear and Pecan Salad with a Ginger Dressing.  But I am not alone in cooking with pears during the holidays.  Pears have been a part of holiday traditions since the 1800’s.  Maybe one of the reasons pears are so popular around the holidays is because they are a hearty fruit that has a long shelf-life, especially in cooler climates.  Or perhaps because of their versatility.  Or could it be just because they taste so darned good?  Who knows, but pears and Christmas just seem to go together.

Pears are some of the world’s oldest cultivated fruits.  They have been around since about 5000 B.C.  They were a highly sought after and valuable commodity along the ancient trading routes due to their hardiness, versatility and long shelf-life.  There are many different varieties of pears, and they are grown all over the world, in temperate climates.  The Greek poet laureate Homer called pears “the gift of the Gods”.  I think he was on to something.

Pear and Green Bean Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette

4-5 cups fresh baby spinach, stems removed

2 pears, peeled and sliced thin

1 cup green beans, blanched

1/2 cup red pepper, diced fine

1 shallot, sliced thin

1 1/2 cups candied pecans

3-4 oz crumbled goat cheese

champagne vinaigrette

 

Arrange all the ingredients over the bed of spinach and top with the vinaigrette right before serving.

 

Candied Pecans

4 oz butter

3-4 TBSP brown sugar

2 tsp honey

1 1/2 -2 cups pecans

optional – cinnamon and/or cayenne pepper

 

Melt the butter, brown sugar and honey together in a hot skillet.  When the sugar is completely melted, add the pecans and completely coat them in the mixture.  Cook for about 2-3 minutes, and spread them out on a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Let them cool completely, then break them apart and chop.  I used my cinnamon honey that was part of my Christmas honey package from Blue Sage Honey Company.  A Box of Honey

Champagne Vinaigrette

1 TBSP Dijon mustard

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp fresh chives, sliced/chopped very thin

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1/3-1/2 cup olive oil

black pepper to taste

1-2 tsp honey – I used lavender honey

 

Whisk all the ingredients together and set aside.  Pour over the salad right before serving so nothing gets drenched or wilted.  Once again, I used some of my honey that I received for Christmas from Blue Sage Honey Company.  This time, I used some of the lavender honey.

This salad can be made with or without the goat cheese.  I am not a big cheese person at all, so I only put the cheese in the middle for all those who are cheese eaters.  We all enjoyed the salad, and there was none left over; always a good sign.

 

 

 

We’re back from Hays.  It was just a quick trip to celebrate the Billinger Christmas with Larry’s family.  The Billinger Christmas  We had a lot of rain and snow going and high winds coming back, but we are back home now, and there were no problems at all.  We had a bit of a scare though this morning, because it was reported that 1-70 was closed at the Kansas/Colorado border, but that was just a false alarm.  We made it back home safe and sound.

There were about 30 of us who gathered to celebrate, and that wasn’t even all of his brothers and sisters either.  Larry is the youngest of 9.  The table was covered with food, and we all brought out gifts to be exchanged in the gift exchange.   I did NOT do any of the cooking this time around.  Strange, I know, but every now and then it does happen.  It was good to visit with Larry’s family and to catch up with everyone, but the highlight of the trip was most definitely the puppies.  Larry’s sister’s dog just had puppies, and her husband brought “a box of puppies” to the party after the food and festivities.  Puppies always make us smile.  Everyone had a ton of fun playing with the puppies.  These puppies definitely brought and shared some puppy love.

Puppies are always a big hit and we love all dogs.  These are Dobermans.  They are about 5 weeks old.  There were 9 in the litter, but we only got to play with 4 this time.

Larry made a new friend.

Brooklyn has a a Christmas puppy.

Cousins playing with the puppies.

There were 2 kitties that also had to make their presence known and get in on some of the loving too.  This is Winston popping in to say hi.

Winston and Sue getting some treats.

As much as we were loving these puppies, we left them all in Kansas.  We did not bring any of them home with us this time.  Tempting though it was, we were good, and they all stayed in Kansas.  Although, on other occasions we have been known to bring back a rabbit, Fluffy, and our two current kitties, Otis and Nicodemus, from Kansas.  So it is not unheard of for us to bring back more fur babies, but we were good this time around.

 

The Kitchen will be closed for a short while.  We are off to Hays, KS to celebrate the Holidays with Larry’s family, the Billingers.  We will only be gone for a couple of days, and even though there will be a ton of food, as there always is, I will not be doing the cooking, or at least I will not be doing much of the cooking.

We are big bacon fans here.  If it has bacon, it is almost a guarantee that we are going to like it.  Potatoes are another staple in our house.  So combining bacon with potatoes …. YUM!  This winning combination is a different twist to an old favorite, loaded potato skins.  Bacon wrapped potatoes with queso blanco sauce was one of the dishes I decided upon for our Christmas Eve dinner.   Christmas Eve Celebrations  They were a big hit.  As you can see, it is a simple dish with just a few basic ingredients that most people have on hand all the time.  Often times, simple is best.

Bacon Wrapped Potatoes with Queso Blanco Sauce

1-2 lb red potatoes, washed and cut into wedges

1 lb bacon – I used pepper bacon

salt & pepper to taste

olive oil

1 jalapeno, diced fine

1 shallot or 1/3 red onion, diced fine

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 cup milk

4 slices jalapeno jack cheese

1 jar queso blanco dipping sauce

1/4 diced tomatoes

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped fine

 

Preheat the oven to 425* F,

Add salt & pepper to the potato wedges.  Cut the bacon in 1/2 and wrap a piece of bacon around the potato wedges.  Hold the bacon in place with toothpicks.  Drizzle a little olive oil over the wedges and roast for about 40-45 minutes, or until the bacon is crisp and the potato wedges are tender.

While the potatoes are cooking make the sauce.  Saute the shallots, garlic and jalapenos together in olive oil for about 2 minutes or until the onions are translucent.

Add the queso blanco sauce, the milk and the jalapeno jack cheese then mix everything together well.  Cook until the sauce is creamy and the cheese is all melted.  Then add the tomatoes and the cilantro and combine well.  Adjust the seasoning if needed.  Your sauce is now ready to serve.  Serve it warm or hot.

Serve the potato wedges and the queso blanco sauce hot.  I guarantee these will be a party favorite and will disappear almost as soon as you get them out of the oven.  I barely had time to plate them up before they started disappearing.  And there are plenty of things you can use the left over sauce for too, assuming you have any left over.  I have already used it for a couple of things.  Once was in our Christmas morning omelettes.  Christmas Day  You will just have to wait to find out what else I did with it.  🙂