A Jeanne in the Kitchen

Chicken is so versatile and easy to cook with, that it is delicious no matter how you prepare it. It goes with everything. We eat a lot of chicken, in so many different ways too. This time, I prepared it with an apricot honey mustard sauce.

Grilled Chicken with Apricot Honey Mustard Sauce

I have a wide collection of different olive oils and balsamic vinegars, that I use for everything. This time I used my apricot balsamic vinegar.

1 1/2-2 lbs chicken breast

3 TBSP apricot balsamic vinegar

1-2 tsp Dijon mustard

2 TBSP basil olive oil

1-2 TBSP honey

1 TBSP orange zest

1 tsp red pepper flakes, or to taste

Whisk everything together and mix well, then use as both the marinade and the sauce for your chicken. It would go well with pork or shrimp too.

Marinate the chicken for at least 2-3 hours before cooking, then place it on a hot grill and cook until done. This time I used my inside grill that I just place over my burners.

I was cooking my chicken side by side with my pan-fried potatoes. I love the convenience of using the inside grill. It cooks the exact same way as an outside grill, only it is inside. It is a griddle on the other side, so it too is versatile and can be used for many things.

As you know I hate to waste food if I can help it, and marinades are also great to use as your sauce. You can either make extra marinade to use as your sauce to top the meats after they are cooked, or if you just boil it and reduce it after you have marinated the meat in it, and it will be fine too. It also thickens when you cook it down. Most of the time I just cook it down, but the choice is yours.

I served my chicken with the pan-fried potatoes, lemon pepper asparagus with cherry tomatoes and Parmigiano cheese and garlic bread. And of course a cool, crisp Chenin Blanc on the side to bring all the flavors together and make the meal complete. This is a perfect summer meal, but is also good anytime.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. Til next time.

We still have bright, pretty, colorful flowers, but they are not nearly as prevalent as they were just a few weeks ago. They are finishing up their season, and will soon be gone. So I thought I would share the pretty flowers with you while I still can.

The seasons are changing. Soon these bright colors will fade, but new colors will come. Every season has its beauty. Enjoy them all while you can.

I have purchased all of Anthony Bourdain’s books, and am reading them when I can. My latest adventure with him was through his book, The Nasty Bits.

Chef Bourdain continues to amuse and entertain me with his kitchen wisdom and wit. As I had said when I reviewed his book, Kitchen Confidential, Kitchen Confidential I agree with a lot of what he says, but of course not all. The kitchens I worked in were not nearly as chaotic as the ones he worked in or ran. Different times, different perspectives and different ideas I guess. The kitchens I worked in were certainly unruly, and definitely chaotic at times, but it was more of a controlled chaos and was not a constant.

I agree with Chef Bourdain, that in any kitchen, anywhere in the world, we all know, regardless of our rank, that “We are glorified servants, catering to to the whims of those usually wealthier than us, but we are tougher, meaner, stronger, and more reliable, and we are well aware of the fact that we can do something with our hands, our senses, the accumulation of 1000’s of meals served that they can’t. [We also] work harder, under more difficult situations” (p.19) than most people will ever know.

Professional kitchens are comprised of misfits that no one else fully understands, and truthfully, we don’t fully understand the non-misfits either. A professional kitchen is a different world, unknown to most. But somehow, we all come together as one in the kitchen. In the kitchen, we are all family.

Most of us who enter into the world of professional cooking all have our demons we are struggling with, and those demons all come with stories too. “And as the story of all great cooking is also the story of poverty, hardship, servitude and cruelty” (p. 20). My story was not as pronounced as the stories of many others, but it is not all that different either. My parents were blue collar, working class people that worked hard their whole lives, and made a lot of sacrifices in order to provide a better life for the three of us, and for me especially (I am an only child). I too learned the value of hard work, and had to work at a young age to help out. I worked all through high school and while in college, I worked a 40-hour work week while carrying a full load of 16 units for school. I had to work to get ahead, as we all do. My parents could not afford to send me to college on their own. I remember my first year of college, I was forced to decide between work and college, because I had asked for some time off to study for finals. When I told my boss I did not go to college to work in a restaurant, she fired me. Fortunately one of the other managers told me to come back after my finals were complete, and my job would still be there for me, and would still be mine. Through all my long hours of work and personal sacrifice, somehow, I still managed to graduate with very good grades too. Hard work and sacrifice define us, gives us character and makes us stronger.

I loved working in restaurants. I loved everything about them, but after many, many years, I started to get resentful. “When our customers play, we work. When our customers sleep, we play”. (p. 19) We work nights, weekends and holidays, all the time. After a while, it begins to take a large toll on us. “Cooking professionally is hard on us. It ravages the mind and body”. (pps. 128-129)

I laugh at all these young kids, full of hopes and dreams of becoming “a celebrity chef”. They have NO idea what it really takes to make it in our world. Most people can’t cut it. ” In our business, you’d better have a sense of humor. We flirt with disaster everyday, particularly during busy dinner rushes, when one screw-up, one mistake, one broken piece of equipment or ill prepared cook can send the whole night’s service careening into nightmare. … We know the sheer terror of running out of food, of being short-handed, and if we can’t laugh about it when it happens, afterward, we will eat ourselves alive”. (p. 100)

We also take a lot of pride in our work and what we do. We are artists of our trade. And we NEED to be in control of what goes on in our kitchens and our world. We are Type A personalities. We have to be in order to be successful. We NEED to control our chaos or soon it will control us. “Cooking professionally is a dominant act, at all times about control”. (p. 194) The only time we get to be out of control are the times, though very rarely, are the times we are eating well. “Eating well, is about submission. It’s about giving up all our vestiges of control, about entrusting your fate entirely to someone else”. (p. 194). Giving up control is NOT something we do easily or readily. It is VERY difficult for us indeed.

If you really want to know all about the ins and outs of what it’s really like inside a professional kitchen, I suggest reading any or all of Anthony Bourdain’s books. He doesn’t pull any punches, and he tells you the good, the bad AND the ugly. And believe me, there are many ugly parts in the back of the house, but there are also a lot of good parts too.

I will leave you with this. You all know how I tell you to play with your food and make it how you like. I say this all the time. This is just inherent in the chef’s DNA and makeup. It’s who we are. We ALL do it, all the time. “Chefs at the very least ‘tweak’ all that passes through their kitchens, no matter how classic the dish, essentially making it with the addition or subtraction of odd ingredients, somehow their own”. (p. 227). I have “tweaked” recipes my whole life and will continue to do so for as long as I continue to cook. I will never forget the words of my favorite chef instructor, Chef Averseng, “No, no, no Jeanne (pronounced by him as gee-nee), dis is not right,” which was always followed by “Oh, dis is good”. If you want to stand out, you have to put your own personality into something and make it your own.

No matter what you do, always have fun, but especially have fun in the kitchen. Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

We had a fun and busy day. Larry and Mike played golf in the morning. While they were out playing, Lauren and I went playing too. We visited a local street and artisan fair, where one of our friends had a booth and was doing face paintings for kids of all ages. Lauren and I arrived early, just as it was opening up, so it was still a little quiet at first, but as we were leaving, more and more people started arriving.

Our friend Katie getting ready to paint.

Lauren and I were just strolling through the booths and enjoying the sunshine and each other’s company.

There was a guitar player playing his music, serenading the crowd.

Neither of us had eaten anything, and there was a taco truck calling out to us. So we ordered four different tacos, and each had two.

The tacos were very tasty too.

After the street fair, Lauren dropped me off at home, since Larry and I were going to a wine fest later on at our favorite winery, InVINtions, A Toast to InVINtions!

We always have fun at InVINtions. This time was no exception. There was a blues band playing, new wines to be tried and a BBQ. It was a members only party. Larry and I have been members for about 12-13 years. At first it was raining a bit, then it came down harder, so most people were inside. But after the rain stopped, everyone started coming outside to listen to the music and then there was dancing in the streets. Larry and I, and another couple we just met, had been outside the whole time, protected from the rain by the awning we were sitting under. We got to enjoy the music the whole time.

Before the event started, we were all welcomed with a Woo Woo punch, that was a wine cocktail.

Then we got to try the three new wines that were unveiled at the event.

The band was playing.

And there was dancing in the streets.

Yes, I was out there dancing too. I was also having fun with the staff, many of whom we have known and become friends with for years.

We always try our best to enjoy all that life has to offer. I’d say we do a pretty good job of it too. Life is good.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe, stay well, and dance in the rain sometimes. ‘Til next time.

It is only mid August and already the signs of fall are popping out. Change is in the air, and the plants. Not long ago, we had brightly colored flowers adorning the the lakes and houses all about. Now those bright colors are transitioning into their fall colors, that are just as beautiful, if not even more so. I love all the seasons, but fall is by far my favorite season of them all. Fall is on its way. Fall will soon be here.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Paella has always been a poor man’s or working man’s food. It originated in Valencia, Spain, somewhere between the 14th and 15th centuries, as a practical way to feed their families and workers using ingredients from the countryside. It was made with whatever was available, so it changed all the time.

I had a whole bunch of little bits of this and little bits of that that needed to be cleared from my fridge, including A LOT of leftover pineapple, shrimp fried rice Pineapple, Shrimp Fried Rice, so what do I do with all my leftovers? The Queen and I put on our thinking caps and decided a quick and easy paella would be the best solution. As usual, I now have more of what I made with my leftovers that I had before I started. Larry is always amazed at how I make my leftovers grow into more than what I started with, and I do it on a a regular basis too. 🙂

My quick and easy paella from leftovers was LOADED with all kinds of stuff. Other than the addition of some fresh vegetables and more large shrimp, most of it was from leftovers.

I had a little leftover Costco rotisserie chicken, a couple of hot links, bacon wrapped shrimp, a little prosciutto, my fried rice, and left over pieces of red bell peppers. Then I added some green beans, fresh herbs and tomatoes to complete the dish.

Since most everything was already cooked, I started off by cooking the shrimp in some olive oil and red chili oil until it was cooked. Once it was pink, I removed it from the heat and seat it aside until I was ready for it again.

I boiled the beans, then cut them up for later. After removing the cooked shrimp, it was time to saute the peppers, onions and garlic.

Once those were softened, it was time to add everything else, mix it all together and let everything else heat up.

This was a quick and easy Spanish meal made mostly from all different kinds of leftovers. To make it even more authentically Spanish, I added some warmed bread and a cool crisp Pinot Grigio and we dined al fresco, on our beloved and much used deck overlooking our lakes. !Esta mui delicioso y fantastico! !Que Bueno!

Leftovers often get a bad rap, but with a little creativity and imagination, they can take center plate and be recreated into culinary works of art. Have fun. Play with your food. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Remember my cute little “duck-a-lings” from the spring?

Well, they are all grown up now. Most of them have flown the coup and are off on their own. But I did see one mother and daughter out for a swim, still enjoying each other’s company.

We never outgrow the need to still hang out with our mothers. 🙂

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Shrimp, no doubt about it, is one of my favorite types of seafood, though I pretty much love all kinds of seafood. 🙂 I will eat any kind of shrimp, cooked any way.

I bought some little Bay shrimp for our shrimp and pineapple fried rice, Pineapple, Shrimp Fried Rice and only used about half of it. The rest of it, I used for a simple shrimp salad. It was really kind of like a shrimp Cobb salad. Larry always likes cheese on his salad, and I don’t. This time, I used feta cheese on Larry’s salad. I added avocado and pepita seeds to mine. But other than those simple changes, they were the same.

This salad was loaded with all kinds of fresh vegetables and goodness. I started with a bed of Romaine lettuce and spinach. Then cut up an heirloom tomato, some red and yellow bell peppers, red onions, green onions and cooked some green beans. I cooked up some bacon and hardboiled a couple of eggs, then assembled it all to look pretty. I added about 1 cup of the bay shrimp to each salad. Our dressing was my herbed tomato vinaigrette. Shrimp Kebabs with Tomato Vinaigrette Doesn’t this salad look pretty? It was D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S too! A perfect summer salad.

I used 9 different kinds of vegetables in this delicious summer salad, but again, you can use what you like. Larry and I eat a lot more vegetables, and a lot more variety of vegetables, than many vegetarians/vegans we know. I add vegetables to my vegetables all the time.

As I mentioned above, this is more or less a Cobb salad, only I made it with shrimp. You can use chicken or turkey to make it a traditional Cobb salad, and use bleu cheese instead of feta. When cooking, make things the way you like them. Make them with what you like to eat, since after all, you are the one who will be eating it.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.

Today was the first day in quite awhile that not only was it NOT hot, but it was very cool and pleasant. It was a perfect day for a beautiful walk. I even made a new friend today. I met a couple of Mountain Plovers out by the lake. I thought it was a Spotted Sandpiper at first, but when I came back and started editing my pictures, I noticed it was different. So I hit my bird book and learned something new. 🙂

Even though the name is Mountain Plover, it is really kind of misleading. These birds prefer the lowlands to the mountains. They actually like the prairie shortgrass. They like to visit us from April-August. So I guess I just got lucky today. I love meeting new friends.

Fried rice originated in China during the Sui Dynasty (589–618 AD) as a practical way to use up leftover rice and other ingredients to reduce food waste. The dish was a favorite of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty and was made with day-old rice, eggs, and vegetables. The simplicity of fried rice and the art of stir-frying to bring out the flavors of the ingredients made it a quick and satisfying meal that became a staple in Chinese households.

Over time, fried rice evolved to incorporate local flavors and ingredients, resulting in many regional variations. For example, Yangzhou fried rice is known for its use of shrimp, peas, and eggs, while Cantonese fried rice is more delicate and often includes seafood and light seasonings. Fried rice has also transcended cultural borders and inspired new variations in other cuisines, such as Indonesian Nasi Goreng, Japanese Yakimeshi, and Thai Khao Phad.  As with any dish or recipe that has been around for 100’s and 100’s of years, there are many different variations. As I often say, there is always more than just one way to cook something.

Noah and I made fried rice with pineapple, bell peppers and baby shrimp. We served it with our steak with Chinese mustard sauce and honey. Steak With Chinese Mustard And Honey Sauce. This version of fried rice has a Thai influence and will go great with just about everything.

Pineapple Fried Rice

1- 1 1/2 cups pineapple, diced

1/2 each, red, yellow and green bell pepper, diced small

1 cup baby shrimp

1 TBSP garlic

1 shallot, diced fine

1 tsp turmeric

2 cups rice

4 cups water or chicken broth

1 TBSP soy sauce

3 TBSP green onions, sliced Asian style or at an angle

salt to taste

oil for cooking

Get a large an or pot very hot then add the oil. Saute the onions and peppers for about 3 minutes, or until they start to soften a bit. Add the garlic and pineapple and cook for an additional minute or so. Add the rice, liquid and seasonings. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook for about 12-15 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. Stir occasionally. Add the shrimp and green onions towards the end of the cooking process and mix in thoroughly.

When the liquid has evaporated and the rice is cooked, it is ready to serve. You can definitely eat it as is, or serve it alongside your favorite dishes. If you want to make it more of a meal in itself, you can add tofu, chicken, pork or any combination thereof. Either way, I think you are really going to like this rice dish. Noah sure did. He gave it two thumbs up, and you will too.

Have a great day and make everyday great. Stay safe and stay well. ‘Til next time.