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Last night I created something completely new for me.  Texas peaches are really good this year, and I love peaches with pork.  So I got two bone-in pork rib chops, about 1 1/2 inches thick and proceeded this way.  Season them with salt and pepper, and sear them on each side in a little olive oil.  Remove them from the pan and hold.  To the hot pan, add half a large red onion, thinly sliced, 2 cloves of garlic, minced, and two medium peaches, thickly sliced.  Season with salt, pepper, a pinch cardamom, garam masala, and cumin.  When the onions have softened, deglaze the pan with about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of chicken stock and 1/4 cup of Balsamic vinegar.  Return the pork chops to the pan, cover and lower the heat to simmer.  Cook covered for about 30 minutes.  Remove the lid and remove the chops to a plate to keep warm.  Bring the sauce to a boil and reduce until it is thckened to a syrup consistency.  Serve with rice.

I think it turned out pretty good.  The pork chops were tender and the sauce was only slightly sweet.  The peaches held their shape and were really delicious.  Try it.

Yesterday I bought 2 salmon filets to saute.  LJ is not a great fan of salmon and will only eat it sauteed ( with a sauce) or smoked like lox.  So I made a lemon caper sauce with equal parts low fat mayonnaise and yogurt, a finely chopped shallot, chopped capers, the juice of a lemon, and a little salt and pepper.  I sauteed the salmon for about 5 minutes on each side.  I also roasted chopped zucchini with salt, pepper and olive oil in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes.  Finally I put some quartered grape tomatoes in a bowl with a tablespoon of olive oil, juice of half a lemon, salt, pepper, and a half cup of coucous.  I brought 3/4 cup of chicken stock to a boil and poured it over the couscous, covered it and let it stand for 5 minutes.  Dinner was healthy and delicious, and if you go back and look at those cooking times, it was on the table in about 20 minutes.  How easy can you get?

Last night was really simple but so delicious.  I bought a whole chicken last weekend and cut it up and froze the leg/thigh pieces and the bone-in breast pieces separately, and I made chicken stock from the back and the wings.  When you do it this way, the individual pieces are huge. LJ and I think one breast is plenty for the 2 of us.  So last night I took one of the bone-in breasts, seasoned it with salt and pepper, drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with chopped, fresh rosemary and put it in a 400 degree oven to roast for 35-40 minutes.  I put 3 cups of water on to boil for polenta, and then scattered broccoli florets onto a baking sheet.  I thinly sliced a couple of cloves and garlic and sprinkled them over the broccoli.  A drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper and they were ready to go into the oven with the chicken.  By then the water was boiling and I salted it and added 1/3 cup of polenta, stirring with a whisk to assure no lumps.  Contrary to popular belief, you do not have to stir polenta constantly as it cooks.  Just go back occasionally and stir to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pan.  You may have to adjust the flame every now and then so it doesn’t boil over, and I put a lid partially covering it when it begins to thicken and the volcano action starts.  Then I poured myself and glass of wine and waited for everything to finish.  Just before serving the polenta, whisk in about 2 heaping tablespoons of grated Parmesan (the good stuff) and a tablespoon of butter.  Take the chicken breast off the bone and slice into pieces.  Serve everything up and enjoy!  Oh, and the little garlic chips on the roasted broccoli are delicious!

Last night was really easy and one of LJ’s favorites.  It’s my own “Turkey Spaghetti.”  I start by sauteing one small or 1/2 a large onion and 2 or 3 garlic cloves, seasoned with salt & pepper in olive oil.  When they are soft, I add 1/2 pound of ground turkey, salt, pepper, about a teaspoon of dried thyme and a teaspoon of dried basil, and cook until it’s browned.  I then add about a half glass of dry white wine and cook until it’s almost totally gone, maybe a couple of tablespoons remaining.  Then add a 14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes and half a 6 oz. can of tomato sauce.  Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook, covered, for 30 minutes or so.  While the sauce is cooking, cook the pasta, about 4-5 oz. of dried pasta (I use whatever I have on hand - spaghetti, egg noodles, orrechiette).  After the sauce has simmered, I add 1/4 cup of cream.  It’s not very much, but it adds an unctuous body that cuts the acidity of the tomatoes.  Then take the al dente pasta and add it directly into the pan with the sauce.  Serve with a generous grating of good Parmesan cheese.  With a salad on the side, this serves 2 generously with leftovers.

One of my friends asked me how I cooked every night and made it easy and different.  So I thought I’d start posting what I actually do each night so you can see how easy it really is to make a good, healthy meal every night.

So - last night we had grilled flank steak, roasted rosemary potatoes and steamed zucchini.  I rubbed the steak with a light coating of olive oil, salt and pepper and grilled it in a cast iron grill pan on the stove, 5 minutes on each side for medium rare.  (Let it rest at least 10 minutes before you slice it.)  I diced red new potatoes in about 1/2 inch dice, drizzled them with olive oil, sprinkled with chopped, fresh rosemary, salt and pepper and roasted at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.  I cut the zucchini into discs and thinly sliced red onion, put them in a steamer basket over simmering water with salt, pepper and a teaspoon of butter.  Covered and cooked for 20 minutes (I like them really tender; you can do it for less if you like them crisper).  That’s my under 30 minute meal for last night.

We went out of town over the weekend, and when we got back, 3 bananas in the fruit basket were a little over the hill.  So yesterday I decided to make banana nut bread.  I use a recipe handed down from my grandmother, and I honestly have no idea where she got it.  The bread tastes delicious, but it never really rises and has a tendency to sink in the middle.  The only leavening in this old recipe is a teaspoon of baking soda dissolved in 4 tablespoons of buttermilk.  I started thinking about it, and the buttermilk we buy today is very different from the fresh, real buttermilk of 60 or 80 years ago.  It’s made with chemicals, and is much less naturally acidic than its authentic, antique cousin.  I think I’ll start playing with the leavening beginning with adding some baking powder.  I’ll put the recipe at the bottom, and if anyone wants to try anything different, I welcome your comments.

Mamaw’s Banana Nut Bread

1 ½ cups shortening

1 ½ cups sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ teaspoon salt

3 bananas, mashed

1 teaspoon soda

4 tablespoons buttermilk

1 ½ cups flour

1 cup pecans

 

Cream shortening and sugar.  Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and salt.  Add mashed bananas.  Combine soda and buttermilk and let stand until foamy.  Add alternately with flour.  Fold in pecans.  Divide into two loaf pans.  Bake at 325° for 45 minutes.  Check for doneness; may need 15 minutes more.

I created a new recipe last night that LJ and I thought was pretty successful.  It was really tasty and very easy to make.  I may try it on guests sometime.  Try it and let me know how you like it.

Chicken with Port Wine Mushrooms

2 teaspoons olive oil

2 teaspoons butter

4 chicken thighs, skinned, boned, and fat removed

1 large shallot, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 package cremini mushrooms, sliced

1 tablespoon flour

1 cup port wine

1 cup chicken stock

Salt

Pepper

1 teaspoon dried thyme

¼ cup sour cream (I used Greek sour cream which is slightly thicker than regular)

chopped parsley

Season thighs with salt and pepper.  Heat olive oil in a 12” skillet, and brown thighs on both sides.  Remove from pan.  Add butter to pan and sauté shallots and garlic until soft.  Add mushrooms and cook until browned and they have given up their juices.  Add salt, pepper and thyme.  Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring for about a minute.  Add port and chicken stock and add chicken back to pan.  Bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook, covered, for 15 minutes or until chicken is cooked through.  Remove lid.  If sauce is too thin, boil gently to reduce until slightly thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

Garnish with chopped parsley and serve over egg noodles.

Serves 4

It has been a few months since I’ve posted on this blog, and lots has happened.  Most importantly, I have retired.  The freedom to do what I want when I want to each day is the most exhilarating thing that’s ever happened to me.  I’ve been exercising every day, running errands usually saved for Saturdays, and reading like mad.

LJ is planning on retiring sometime toward the end of the year.  In preparation for that, we put our city house on the market at the end of February expecting, in this economic market, it to sell in 3 or 4 months.  Instead, it sold in one day!  We closed March 31st without a single glitch.  So for interim living, we have rented a wonderful little urban apartment.  We’ve never lived in a downtown before, and we are finding it really fun.  I love doing so much walking.  There are shops and pubs and restauarants right down the street from us.  The only slight drawback is moving from a 4 bedroom house with a gourmet kitchen to a 700 square foot apartment with a postage stamp kitchen.  It’s a challenge.

When LJ retires, we will move permanently to the lake house.  We’ve planned on doing this all along, and we also planned on remodeling the lake house kitchen before moving there, so we are doing that now.  It is so exciting!  I’ve redone counter tops and replaced appliances in kitchens before, but I’ve never totally gutted one and started over from scratch.  It’s been great, but I can’t tell you how happy I am that we are not living in the house while it is being done.  It is impossible to do anything in my living room with my stove, dishwasher, and refrigerator all sitting in the middle of it waiting to be re-installed in the remodeled kitchen. 

At this time, the walls have been textured and painted, the new French doors installed in place of a window, and the chandelier is hung.  The custom cabinets and counters and the island are in, and the undercounter lighting is installed.  Now I’m waiting for the tile backsplash and floors to be installed and the final painting will be done on the baseboards and French door facings.  Then the appliances will be installed and I’ll be back in!  Here are some progress photos.

  

I expect we’ll be all through with the remodel in the next 2 weeks.

We’ve also bought a pop-up camper to do some camping in when we retire.  We’ll be taking it out for it’s maiden camping trip next weekend.  I’ll post our adventures and some pictures when we get back.

Tiny kitchen recipe:

Roasted Cod with Dijonaisse (Serves 2)

2 tablespoons mayonnaise

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon capers, chopped

juice of one lemon

salt and pepper

2 tablespoons panko crumbs

1 tablespoon chopped parsely

1 teaspoon olive oil

2 cod filets (or halibut or other firm fish filet)

Place fish on a baking pan that has been sprayed with vegetable spray.  Mix together mayo, mustard, capers, lemon juice, salt and pepper and spread evenly over fish.  Place on prepared pan.  Mix together panko crumbs, parsley, and olive oil.  Sprinkle evenly over fish.  Place in a 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes.

We couldn’t have ordered up a more beautiful Thanksgiving Day if we had tried.  LJ and I had 6 friends to the lake with us for dinner.  The sun was shining, it was about 68 crisp degrees, and the wind was calm - just perfection. 

We drove down Wednesday afternoon, and I was able to get the Italian Cream Cake done the night before.  I had made the cornbread for the dressing on Wednesday morning, and we bought a 15 lb. Kosher turkey the Sunday before and it had been thawing in the fridge and was ready to go.  We had things so under control that we were able to sit out on the deck and enjoy the lake on Wednesday evening.  It was a beautiful start to the holiday.

Thursday morning I put the turkey on a bed of onions, carrots and celery and put lemons, onions, carrots and celery in the turkey cavity.  I seasoned it up well and massaged it with olive oil.  In the oven for its 3 to 3 1/2 hour roast.  LJ helped with the house cleaning (Helped is an understatement.  He did it all!), while I was in the kitchen.

  Friends started arriving about 2:00.  By that time I had my potatoes simmering in the half and half infused with garlic, and the turkey was pulled from the oven to rest.  I used the turkey drippings to finish off the cornbread dressing and got it in the oven.

What a feast!!! Patrick brought his always wonderful roasted Brussels sprouts with pancetta, a delicious yankee type stuffing with leeks, cranberries, sausage, and white bread, and whole cranberry sauce.  Keith brought his green bean casserole and perfect pecan pie.  Pam made homemade bread (which she thought was overdone, but it wasn’t) and sweet potato casserole.  Lynn made a luscious fruit salad, and Bobbie brought a wonderful dip and crackers, and we all proceeded to make pigs of ourselves.

This Thanksgiving was particularly special this year.  It’s the first Thanksgiving Day that I have ever spent without any family.  Mom and my sisters and their families were together in Kansas City, and I called and it sounded like they were going to have a special one, too.  My brother and his wife were having a small one together.  We were all missing Dad, but we all recognize that we have so much to be thankful for.

This year I am especially thankful for all our loving friends.  We have so many and they mean so much to us. 

This past weekend we celebrated LJ’s Aunt Deedy’s 90th birthday.  Think about it - 90, n i n e t y YEARS old.  And I assure you, she is a pistol.  She still drives to Westminster Presbyterian Church every Sunday morning.  It was a lovely celebration, with all four of her children and their spouses coming to town, her grandchildren, nieces and nephews, in-laws and out-laws, not to mention friends from the aforementioned Westminster church and Grace Presbyterian Village.  It was glorious, and so was she.

For the occasion, LJ’s sister Janet, with whom we traveled to Italy, came into town from Olympia.  Since she was here so close to the actual date, we decided to have her and LJ’s Mom over Sunday to celebrate an early family Thanksgiving.  I think the dinner turned out beautifully, and if any of you are doing a small celebration, I would recommend these dishes.  Unfortunately, we put out the camera and still forgot to take photos so I don’t have any pictures.  Use your imagination.  The colors were beautiful. The menu:

Pumpkin Soup

Apricot Glazed Cornish Hens

Italian Sausage Rice Pilaf

Broccoli with Sage Brown Butter

Italian Cream Cake

I’ll post the recipes for the Pumpkin Soup and the Apricot Glazed Cornish Hens and stuffing.  The Hen recipe is adapted from an Emeril Lagasse recipe, and the Pumpkin Soup is my own. 

Cornish Hens with Apricot Glaze

And Italian Sausage Rice Pilaf

 

2 Cornish hens, halved

1 tablespoon olive oil

¼ lb. Italian sausage, casings removed

½ cup diced onion

¼ cup diced carrot

¼ cup diced celery

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons orange zest

1 cup long grain rice

1/3 cup golden raisins

1 tablespoon chopped parsley

1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh thyme

½ teaspoon cinnamon

Salt and pepper

2 cups chicken stock

1 cup apricot jam

½ cup fresh orange juice

 

Preheat oven to 375.

 

Heat oil in a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium heat and add sausage.  Cook until the fat is rendered, about 4 to 5 minutes.  Add the onions, carrots, and celery and cook until onions are translucent.  Add garlic and 1 teaspoon of the orange zest.  Add rice and cook stirring constantly for 3 minutes.  Add the raisins, parsley, thyme, cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon black pepper, chicken stock and bring to a boil.  Cover the pot, place it in the oven.  Check after 30 minutes, and remove from oven if all liquid is absorbed.  Leave covered and let rest until hens have finished roasting.

 

Combine the apricot jam, orange juice and remaining zest in a small bowl and whisk to blend.  Place in a saucepan over medium high heat, and boil, reducing by about half.

 

Season hens with salt and pepper.  Spread glaze on hens and place in the oven with rice.  Remove and reglaze every 15 minutes for a total of 45 minutes or until thermometer in thigh registers 160°.

Pumpkin Soup

Cynthia Jackson

 

1/8 teaspoon each of:

Cinnamon

Cumin

Cloves

Ginger

Cayenne

2 cloves garlic, minced to a fine paste

2 tablespoons butter

1 15 oz. can pure pumpkin

2 cups chicken broth

½ cup half and half

2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Salt and pepper

 

Melt the butter over medium heat in a heavy saucepan.  Add the spices and garlic stirring until toasty, about 1 to 1 ½ minutes.

 

Add pumpkin puree, broth, half and half, and syrup and thoroughly combine with a whisk.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, and cook for 10 minutes.

 

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

4 first course servings

I had friends for dinner again Saturday night, and wanted to do something simple.  Simple for me translates to one-dish meals (or at least one dish main courses).  So, Saturday night we had a big, green salad, Mario Batali’s Ragu Bolognese (with a couple of slight alterations), and a dessert I made up and don’t know what to call it yet.  I filled Pepperidge Farm Pastry Shells with Almond Pastry Cream.  Then I made a Strawberry Sauce.  I sauced the plate, and topped the cream filled shells with fresh strawberries drizzled with more sauce.  They were really good.

Here’s Mario Batali’s recipe for Ragu Bolognese:

Mario Batali’s Ragu Bolognese

 

¼ cup e-v olive oil

2 medium onions, finely chopped

4 ribs celery, finely chopped

2 carrots, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. ground veal

1 lb. ground pork

4 oz. pancetta or slab bacon, finely chopped

1 6 oz. can tomato paste

1 cup whole milk

1 cup dry white wine

1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves

Salt & pepper

 

In a 5 to 8 quart pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat until hot.  Add the aromatics and cook until translucent but not browned.  Add the veal, pork, and pancetta, increase heat to high and brown stirring frequently.  Add the tomato paste, milk, wine, and thyme and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium low and simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours.  Season with salt and pepper.  (Ragu can be refrigerated for up to 2 days or frozen up to one month.

 

Toss the ragu with green tagliatelle and serve with Parmesan Reggiano.

The things I did differently, were 1) I let it simmer for more like 2 1/2 hours, and 2) about an hour before serving I added about 1/4 cup of cream.  It was a real hit!

Enjoy!