A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Potatoes are a staple in our house.  We eat them a lot.  Because we eat them so frequently, I am always looking for new ways to cook them so we are not always eating the same thing.  I get bored with the same old, same old.  I am always doing “research” and am always on the lookout for something new, something different and something exciting to bring to my dishes and to our meals.  My research is not difficult.  It just means pouring through my own ever-growing library of cookbooks.  Sometimes I look for things online too, but there is something special about going through the books to find the right dish for the meal of the day.  On my latest quest, I discovered this recipe for a potato casserole with bacon and caramelized onions that just sounded really interesting, so I had to give it a try.   I will definitely be making these more often from now on too.  I served this dish along with my roast and the roasted Brussels sprouts in cream sauce.  A Roasted Dinner and Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce

This recipe is a traditional French recipe, known as pommes de terre boulangere or baker’s potatoes.  The name comes from the times when villagers all used the residual heat from the baker’s ovens to cook their meals at the end of the day.  The meats would roast on the upper shelves of the oven while casseroles and other foods would cook on the lower shelves beneath the meats.  The juices from the meats would drip down and flavor all the dishes below.  This cooking method is no longer used, but the name pommes de terre boulangere has remained ever since.

 

Potato Casserole with Bacon and Caramelized Onions

3 lbs large potatoes, sliced very thin – I sliced them in my food processor, but a mandolin or a very steady hand and sharp knife works well too

4 slices of bacon, cut into pieces about 1″ in size – I like to use the thick pepper bacon, especially for dishes like this

1 onion, cut in half and sliced very thin

salt & pepper to taste

1 1/4 cups chicken broth

1 1/4 cups beef broth

4 TBSP butter, cut into small pieces – more if needed

1 TBSP garlic

1 tsp fresh thyme or 2 tsp dried thyme

 

Preheat the oven to 425* F – or when roasting meats at the same time, adjust to the temperature of the meat and adjust the time as needed.

Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray

Cook the bacon in a saute pan for about 10-13 minutes, or until it is cooked to your liking.  Then remove the bacon and drain on a paper towel and set aside.

In the same pan, add the onions and garlic and cook on a medium heat for about 25 minutes or until the onions are softened and golden in color.  Add a tsp of water at a time as needed if the onions are browning too fast and sticking to the bottom of the skillet.

When the onions are cooked and golden brown, add them to the potatoes, along with the bacon and the seasonings.  Mix everything together well and transfer everything to the prepared baking dish.  Firmly press everything down into the pan.    Add both the chicken broth and the beef broth, making sure to completely cover the potatoes.  Cut the butter into small pieces and arrange evenly over all the potatoes.  I think next time, I may even use more butter pieces.  I am like Julia Child, “there is no such thing as too much butter”.

Bake for about 45-55 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown around the edges and most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Before serving, let the potatoes stand for about 20 minutes so the moisture and liquid is fully absorbed into the potatoes.

The potatoes came out a little crispier than what I intended, but that tends to happen when I let my husband into the kitchen.  I get everything all ready for him and leave him cooking instructions.  Sometimes he follows them, and others times, not so much.  Oh well.  It still came out very good, and is definitely a “do-over”.

 

 

 

 

After our Mother’s Day explorations were completed, Happy Mother’s Day – part 1  we finished the day with a quick trip and glass of wine at our favorite local winery InVINtions, A Creative Winery, invintionswinery.com and a delicious seafood dinner at The Fresh Fish Co, not far away.  I have mentioned many times how much we love good seafood, and although we are landlocked and live about 1200+ miles from the nearest ocean, there are still quite a few good seafood places in the Denver area.  One of the best is The Fresh Fish Co., located in South Denver.

The Fresh Fish Co. is a family owned restaurant that has been one of Denver’s best seafood restaurants for over 35 years.  They have “placed 1st or 2nd on Denver’s “A List” for Seafood every year since 2007”.  The Executive Chef, Tim Bell and his wife Karen, are also the owners.   When Chef Tim is not busy in the kitchen, perfecting all the dishes, you will find him on the floor, meeting and greeting his guests and making sure everything is to their satisfaction and liking.  He says, “after all, to him, it’s more about the food and less about him” and this attitude is proudly displayed with every meal that comes out of his kitchen.  All the guests at The Fresh Fish Co are also very well cared for by all the restaurant staff.

Fresh is the most important ingredient for all the food prepared at The Fresh Fish Co.  They offer over 20 different kinds of fresh seafood on a daily basis, which is pretty impressive, but is even more impressive since Denver is nowhere near the ocean or the sea.  Mesquite grills are used to cook most of these varieties of seafood.  The mesquite “lets the real flavor of fresh fish come through”.   If you are a lover of the best and freshest seafood, then the Fresh Fish Co. is the place for you.

The Black Pearl Oyster Bar is like “a restaurant within a restaurant. Our Black Pearl Oyster Bar is perfect for happy hour, a late night nosh or you can even dine in the bar! It’s a little livelier, a little louder and a little more fun. Plus, you get half price appetizers (20 different varieties!), drink specials and $1 oysters during our daily happy hour”.

There are at least 6 very large salt water aquariums located throughout the restaurant.  This one is inside The Black Pearl Oyster Bar

Here are 4 more large aquariums linked together in the main dining area of the restaurant.  Fish are everywhere.

And now …… dinner is served.  We started the meal with some of the best sourdough bread I have had in a very long time.

We each had a salad as one of our side dishes.  Larry enjoyed a house salad and I had a Caesar salad.  Both were very good.

Once we finished our salads, it was time to go fishing.  Larry had the barrimundi with a soy-ginger sauce.  Halibut is my absolute favorite type of seafood, so I had no choice but to feast on the halibut with the chive beurre blanc, which was FABULOUS!  Both dishes were cooked to perfection, and were served in large, very generous portions.  Even though the portions were large, we ate and savored every bit.  There was non left to take home.

The Fresh Fish Co. is located in the Tiffany Plaza, 7800 E. Hampden Ave. #54
Denver, CO 80237, Phone (303) 740-9556.  You can also reach them via their website, info@thefreshfishco.com  

I guarantee, this will be the best seafood you will find in Denver, and some of the best seafood period.

 

To all the wonderful mothers out there, I wish you all a very Happy Mother’s Day.  In the United States, today is Mother’s Day, but I know it is celebrated on different dates in other parts of the world.  Whatever date you celebrate it on though, I hope you all have a great, happy day.  My “children” all have 4 legs, tails and fur; lots of fur.  They are the only children I have ever had.  I have always been a fur mom only.   I am “the Mommy Dog” and my husband is “the Daddy Dog”.  With help from the Daddy Dog, my fur babies chose a beautiful card to tell me how much they love me.  Every year, for many, many years, I have always purchased flowers to give to my ladies in my classes for Mother’s Day, and this year I had a lot of roses left over for me to keep as well (I bought extra this year).   My fur babies are all the best.

We love you Mommy, Love Lucie, Vinnie, Otis and Nicodemus, and the Daddy Dog too.

Lucie and Vinnie sleeping in with the Mommy Dog.

Otis and Nicodemus curled up on Mommy’s lap.

The Daddy Dog and the Mommy Dog left the kids at home and went on a day trip down to the Colorado Springs area, where we explored The Cave of the Winds and The Garden of the Gods.  These are two must-sees when visiting The Springs area.  They are just so beautiful and are truly magical places.

We did a lantern/ghost tour at The Cave of the Winds.  The history is fascinating and very colorful.  The original miner/excavator/owner of The Cave of the Winds used to hold weddings and concerts in the actual caverns of the cave back in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s.  We could not take pictures inside the cave, but if you are interested in learning more or taking the tours, you can check out their website at http://www.caveofthewinds.com

Since The Cave of the Winds and Garden of the Gods are so close together, we did them both.  I absolutely love the Garden of the Gods.  I try to go every time I am in the Springs if I can.  It is a very magical, spiritual place.  You can learn more about the Garden of the Gods by going to their website gardenofgods.com.

It was a gorgeous day to spend outside, exploring our state.  It was a great way to spend my Mother’s Day as well.  After touring around, we went to our favorite local winery, InVINtions, A Creative Winery on the way back up north  invintionswinery.com.  Then went for dinner after.

I hope all the mothers out there had a very happy, special Mother’s Day.

What makes a meal great vs. being just OK or even good?  There are a few things.  The most important factor is the company with whom you share your meal.  Food cooked well is another factor.  And flavors and ingredients that really compliment each other, bringing all those elements together to compose a symphony of flavors and foods is another.  This recipe for Brussels sprouts with mushrooms and cream sauce did just that with the herb-crusted roast and the potato casserole.  A Roasted Dinner  I did not grow up eating Brussels sprouts, and always thought I did not care for them.  I rediscovered them a few years ago, and to my delicious surprise, I really enjoy them.  I cook them a lot, in many different ways.  This new recipe is a definite winner, and a definite “do-over” as we call new things we like.

 

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Mushrooms and Cream Sauce

1 1/2 lbs Brussels sprouts, stemmed and cut in half

5 TBSP olive oil

salt & pepper to taste

3-4 TBSP butter

3/4 lb mushrooms – I used baby portabellas, cut in large wedges

1 large shallot, peeled and sliced very thin

1 TBSP garlic

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup heavy whipping cream

2 TBSP toasted pine nuts, optional

 

Preheat the oven to 450* F

Toss the Brussels sprouts in olive oil and salt and pepper, making sure to thoroughly coat them.  Then spread them out evenly, in a single layer onto a baking sheet.  Roast them until they are tender and browned, for about 20-25 minutes.  Then remove and let them cool.

Combine the olive oil and butter in a hot skillet and saute the mushrooms, shallots and garlic for about 8 minutes, or until the shallots are golden brown.

When the mushroom mixture is cooked, mix them with the Brussels sprouts. and toss well, though carefully, so not to destroy the Brussels sprouts.

Add the white wine and cook for about 1 minute to reduce the liquid.  Add the cream and adjust the seasoning if necessary.  Mix everything together and continue to cook for about 3-4 minutes.

Serve hot as a delicious side dish to the main part of your meal.  Top with toasted pine nuts for an additional layer of flavor and texture, if you like.   This new way to cook Brussels sprouts and mushrooms is a new favorite of mine.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday, I read something stating we are concerned about Mother Nature’s memory because she seems to have forgotten that it is May and it is spring.  Here in Colorado, as much as we don’t like to actually admit it, we are really kind of used to still getting snow in May, since here, anything goes, especially at this time of year.  But, I have to admit, we are getting a little tired of this wacky up and down weather.  A few days ago, the days were warm and we were eating salads, now I am roasting our dinner again, using the oven not only to cook our food but to help keep the house warm as well.  I am looking out my window as I write, and I am bundled up in a winter sweater, we are still getting little snow flurries, plus a cold dreary, drippy rain.  If it weren’t for all the buds and flowers starting to pop up, I would swear this was a Fall day and not Spring.  All the components of our meal were roasted, from the herb-coated roast, to the potatoes to the Brussels sprouts.  Our tummies were full, we were happy and satisfied and the house was nice and warm. AHHHHH I just love Fall; oh wait!  Wrong season.  🙂

Herb-Coated Roast

4-5 lb beef roast – I used a chuck roast this time

2 tsp sage

3 tsp thyme

4 tsp salt

2 tsp pepper

1 tsp dried roasted garlic

1 TBSP  garlic

2 tsp basil and/or oregano

2 TBSP olive oil

I onion, peeled and cut in large chunks, optional for cooking

 

Pat the meat dry with a paper towel.  Mix all the ingredients together in a food processor until you have a paste.

Generously coat the meat all over.  I cut the onion in large wedges and placed the onion wedges on top of my roasting rack, then placed the meat on top of them.  Let the meat marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before cooking.  If you have time, the flavors really stand out if you can do this overnight.  I usually think about it too late and do not have time to let it set overnight though.  I am lucky to get the 3-4 hours before cooking time.  I like to line my roasting pan with aluminum foil to make clean up easier.  Otherwise, it seems to take a lot of elbow grease and time to scrub and clean the pan.

Once you are ready to roast the meat, preheat the oven to 450* F.  Cook the meat uncovered at 450* for about 25 minutes or so, then reduce the temperature to 350* and continue cooking until the meat reaches your desired doneness.  We like it medium rare, so the internal temperature of the meat should be at about 130* F.  For a medium doneness, the internal temperature will be about 140* F.  Cooking at the higher temperature at first helps form the crust of the meat, and then reducing the temperature lets the meat continue cooking without charring it to a crisp.

Once the meat is cooked to your liking, remove it from the oven and let it set for about 20 minutes or so to continue cooking a bit before carving it.

We dined on a delicious meal of the herb-crusted roast with a potato-bacon casserole and roasted Brussels Sprouts with mushrooms and shallots in a creamy wine sauce (stay tuned for both of those recipes).  I used a little of the sauce to top my meat as well.  The meal was made complete with a smooth, velvety Malbec from Bookcliff Vineyards, one of my favorite local wineries http://www.bookcliffvineyards.com.   This was a perfect meal for a perfectly cold and dreary day.

Cookbooks are precious and treasured gifts to me.  I love them and apparently I just can’t seem to ever get enough of them.  I am definitely a collector, connoisseur and aficionado of all kinds of cookbooks.  Someone I used to work with a long, long time ago, my idol of sorts, had told me once that “you never have your last cookbook”.  I obviously took those words to heart, and have followed her words of advice and wisdom ever since.  I have well over 600 cookbooks, and am always still adding and counting to that collection.  When someone gives me a new cookbook, I am in 7th Heaven.  Getting a new cookbook is one of the best gifts someone can give to me.  I am like a little kid in a candy store.  I just can’t wait until I can break it in and make something delicious from it.  🙂

My dear friend Priscilla just got back from a business trip in San Antonio, Texas.  Knowing how much I love and collect cookbooks, she was so thoughtful and brought me a new cookbook from San Antonio, “Food and Flavors of San Antonio“.  The recipes all sound great and I have already made one of them, with many more to follow in the future.  The foods of Texas and California have a lot of Mexican and Latin influences and similarities.  In Texas, they have their own name for these foods.  They call them Tex-Mex.  These are some of my favorite foods, but then my mother was from Port Arthur, Texas, in the Southeastern part, and I am from the Los Angeles area of Southern California, which explains my love and fascination with Mexican foods in general.

I got a bonus gift as well.  The book came with a Southwestern cookie cutter too.  WHOOOO HOOOOO!!!!!  Thank you so much Priscilla.  You made my day!

My first recipe from this wonderful new book was a chicken and black bean casserole.  I served it with some chipotle buttered corn on the cob From Basic to Bold and some leftover arroz verde  A Mexican Meal that I mixed with the rest of my hominy.

Chicken and Black Bean Casserole

2-3 TBSP olive oil

1 red onion, peeled and sliced very thin

1 TBSP garlic

2 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup chicken broth

2 cups pico de gallo

10 6″ tortillas, either corn or flour, cut into strips about 1″ in size

1-2 cups pepper jack cheese, shredded

 

I made my own pico de gallo, but I also added a bit of store-bought salsa as well.

 

Preheat the oven to 450* F

Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray

 

Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about 5 or so minutes, or until the onions are just lightly browned.

Once the onions and garlic are lightly browned, add the chicken and the black beans and combine well.  Remove these from the skillet and set aside.

Add the pico de gallo and the chicken stock to the skillet and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes.

Once everything is cooked, it is time to start layering all the ingredients together.  Spread about 1/2 the cut tortilla strips in the baking sheet, spreading them evenly.  Next, add about 1/2 of the chicken and onion mixture, again, spreading evenly over the tortilla strips and repeat.

After all the tortilla strips and chicken have been spread into the pan, pour the pico de gallo mixture evenly over the chicken and top with the shredded cheese.  Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is lightly browned and serve while it’s hot.

Delicioso y que bueno!

 

 

 

 

 

I am feeling more than a wee bit lazy today, and I have a ton of things to do, so I thought I would share the thoughts of food from others again today.  But have no fear, I have more good recipes of my own in store for tomorrow.

 

“All happiness depends upon a leisurely breakfast”.

~John Gunther, American Journalist~

 

 

~ Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin ~

French Lawyer, Politician and famed epicure and gastronome

 

There is no such thing as a pretty good omelette.

 ~ French Proverb ~

 

~ Julia Child~

If you have been following me for awhile, you have probably already figured out I am more than a bit of rebel, and I like to march to the beat of my own drummer.  I love being unconventional and unpredictable.  With it being Cinco de Mayo and everyone in America celebrating the day with tacos, burritos, fajitas, cervaza fria, margaritas, etc., I chose to celebrate in a different way.   Los Fiestas para Cinco de Mayo   I love all of those foods I just mentioned, and eat them quite often, but I also love to do something different and unexpected as well.  Other than enjoying a nice margarita especial with dinner, I chose to make another Mexican meal for the day.  I guess you could say I chose to honor the day and the Mexican culture in a more subtle way, like it is celebrated in most parts of Mexico, outside of the Puebla region.  I prepared pork chops with a citrus dressing and hominy that I served with arroz verde and carrots with chocolate and shallots.  We also finished off the whole wheat chili cheese bread, which was a perfect accompaniment to the meal.  Whole Wheat Chili Cheese Bread.

Mexican Pork Chops with Citrus and Hominy

2 lbs pork chops

3/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup lime juice

1 TBSP garlic

1 small shallot, peeled and minced fine

1-2 tsp red pepper flakes or to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp sugar

3 TBSP fresh parsley, chopped fine

1-2 cans hominy, drained and rinsed

olive oil

1 TBSP fresh oregano, chopped fine or 1 tsp dried oregano

salt and pepper to taste

red pepper flakes to taste, optional

 

Mix the juices garlic, shallots, red pepper flakes, sugar and parsley together and pour over the pork chops to marinate.  Let the pork marinate for at least 30 minutes before cooking.

I grilled the chops and reserved the marinade, which I cooked down and then used it as a topping for the cooked chops, along with the hominy mixture.  They came out so moist and tender.

As the pork chops are cooking, make the hominy topping.  Drain the hominy and rinse it, then place it in a sauce pan with some olive oil, salt & pepper and the oregano.  Cook at a medium heat for about 5-7 minutes.  Top the pork with the reserved sauce and the hominy.

Carrots with Chocolate and Shallots

Chocolate is widely used in Mexico and in Mexican cooking, and it’s not just for desserts.  The cocoa and chocolate give an extra little unexpected perk to all foods, whether they be a dessert or a vegetable or a sauce.  A little bit can go a long way.

4-6 large carrots, peeled and sliced at an angle or 1-1 1/2 lbs baby carrots

2-3 shallots, peeled and sliced very thin

2 TBSP butter

2 TBSP lemon juice

1 TBSP honey

1-2 TBSP cocoa powder

1-2 tsp spiced cocoa chili powder

1 tsp ginger

crispy, fried onions for topping

 

Boil the carrots in water for about 10 minutes, or until the carrots are soft and tender and the liquid has evaporated.

In a separate pan, mix the honey, lemon juice, cocoa powder, spiced chili-cocoa powder, ginger and shallots together and saute in butter until the shallots are soft and translucent, or about 3 minutes.

Once the shallot mixture is done and the excess water has been drained from the carrots, combine the shallots with the carrots, mixing well, and continue to cook for about 3 minutes.  When serving, top with the fried crispy onions and chopped parsley.

I hope you all enjoyed your Cinco de Mayo.  Defruitas los comidas differente de Mexico!

 

 

 

 

 

Why do we celebrate Cinco de Mayo or the 5th of May?  In the United States this has been a day of celebrations for decades.  It started off as a day of celebration in areas with large Latino communities, but has since spread all throughout the United States.  It is usually celebrated with Mexican music, food, dancing and celebrations for anything Mexican.  Most Americans really do not understand “why” they are celebrating this day though.  Most Americans think it is to celebrate Mexico’s independence from foreign rule.  Not so.  Mexico’s independence day is actually September 16.  Only about 10% of Americans actually know the true meaning of Cinco de Mayo’s significance to Mexico and its people.  Cinco de Mayo is really the day that commemorates the battle fought between Mexico and France in 1862, where Mexico’s army defeated the much larger, better equipped French Army, even if only for a short lived victory.  In the United States, it is always celebrated with a fiesta grande con mucho colores y musica y comida de Mexicana.  Traditionally, in Mexico though, especially outside the Puebla region, it is much more low key, and is a day to honor Mexico’s military, although recently they have started to celebrate the day more like the Americans do now.  Cinco de Mayo is actually considered to be more of a Mexican-American tradition and “holiday” than a Mexican Holiday.  But since I live in the United States o Estados Unidos, I like to celebrate with all the colorful cultural traditions that have been used for the better part of the last century.  It’s fun.  It’s colorful.  And it’s a way of bringing people together to celebrate.

 

Enjoy the day.  Be safe and Desfruitas!

 

 

I was making this beautiful, delicious looking cake, and all was going well, right up until the gremlins attacked my cake.  It was fine after I took it out of the oven, but sometime during the cooling process and the finishing, gremlins snuck into my kitchen and wreaked havoc on my cake.  I was embarrassed to even mention it, but then I thought I should show all of you that even Jeanne, from “A Jeanne in the Kitchen” has those days too.  You are not alone.  It happens to the best of us.  Most of the time, I am able to fix things so no one would ever notice, but this was not the case this time.  The cake still tastes very good, and Larry and I will still enjoy eating it, but it most definitely was not the prettiest cake I’ve ever made.

This is what the cake was supposed to look like.  The end results were nothing like this at all though.

I tuned my back for just a bit and these guys paid me a visit, and attacked my cake.

When they left, my cake looked like this.  I guess we all need a slice or two of humble pie (or cake) every now and then.  So don’t be discouraged for all of you inexperienced bakers out there.  It happens to all of us.  I will definitely attempt to make this cake again, and we will see if I can master it next time.