Welcome Party for Morgan

This is a photo of my department at work not related to culinary endeavors. I head up the Social Work Department at a Federal Prison medical center for women. The woman in purple is Morgan, my newest staff member, who joined us in August. I wanted to welcome her with a little Texas hospitality and also give her a couple tastes of home. Morgan is from Minnesooota!


She will tell you all about her favorite foods with a straight face--hotdish, wildrice, and bars being among them top. We roasted her a bit about Minnesota and she was a good sport. Funny part is she had examples of how, "you know you're from Minnesota if..." you go up north for vacation. She said her grandparents went "up north" to their cabin, 30 degrees below zero, and ice fished. Yikes--doesn't sound like vacation to me.



For the important part, FOOD.

Menu

Texas Bruschetta with tortilla crisps, guacamole, herbed goat cheese spread, roasted tomato pico de gallo, and spiced pecans

Cheese and fruit tray

Jalapeno glazed Texas pecans

Smoked brisket, chicken, and turkey

Green chile and jalapeno grits

Red and green cabbage slaw

Key Lime pie

Strawberry pretzel jello salad

Sticky Finger bars (peanut butter, chocolate, Snickers Bars




I made homemade tortilla crisps with fresh flour tortillas from Central Market. The goat cheese had several fresh herbs (dill, basil, thyme) mixed in, I roasted the tomatoes, onion, and jalapeno to make the pico, and made tableside guacamole after the guests arrived. The pecans were some we bought at the Millican Pecan Company on on trip to Fredericksburg. I made a glaze of sugar, cinnamon, and Texas Gunpowder (roasted Jalapeno pepper powder) and candied the pecans. This was a very popular appetizer. Guests spread goat cheese, pico, guacamole on their crisp and topped it with some nuts. They couldn't get enough of it. Thanks for the idea, Jon Bonnell!

I spent the day smoking meats and was thrilled at how they all turned out. I rubbed everything with spices the night before. For the brisket and chicken I used the following:

4 tsp kosher salt

1 T brown sugar

2 tsp ancho chile powder (mine is from Santa Fe)

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp black pepper



I used an 8 pound choice, flat cut brisket purchased at Sam's Club. The chickens were two whole chickens from Central Market, cut in half.For the whole turkey breast, purchased at Central Market, HEB brand, I used a Cooper's BBQ rub I had purchased from them.
I have an electric smoker, Masterbuilt, and used Hickory wood chips.
I smoked the brisket on a couple layers of heavy duty foil at 250 degrees for 4 hours. I removed it and double wrapped it, placed it in the oven in my house at 225 degrees for 3 hours. It was very tender and tasty.
I smoked the turkey breast right on the rack of the smoker at 225 degrees for 3 hours. It was perfectly cooked, juicy and tender, smoky and flavorful. I wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven to keep it warm. It was still moist and perfect at 7 PM.
The chicken was smoked at 225 degrees for a little over 3 hours. It was succulent and also delicious. Wish I had taken photos of everything but I was so busy preparing the food and being the hostess. I did have a few leftover sticky fingers bars though.
The grits were a big hit too. I used my roasted Hatch green chiles from summer, put a couple of them, some cilantro (3/4 c), a jalapeno pepper and a couple minced garlic cloves in the food processor. I put in a little water to create a puree. I added this green puree to a pot of cooked grits (I used Quaker quick grits), put in 3 whisked eggs, 4 oz of butter, and a cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese, a little salt to taste and some pepper. I placed it in a baking dish and baked it at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

I made the Jello "salad" because people in Minnesota like them! Crushed pretzels with butter and sugar, topped with cream cheese/cool whip (ick), topped with jello mixed with canned crushed pineapples. The original recipe called for mixing frozen strawberries with the jello.
My first batch of this was so nasty looking I ditched it and just added the pineapple. Fresh strawberries on the side were fine. Can you tell that I despise Jello salad!

I also made the bars for Morgan. She liked them and I'll admit I ate more than I should.
A cookie crust with a layer of snickers bars and a layer of peanut butter filling topped with melted chocolate. Yum.

My mini key lime pies were popular as well. I've made them before and the ground pecans in the crust make it taste really good, as well as using fresh key limes.

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Healthy Eating but with a Chef's touch

I tried a new version of advance meal preparation and planning but having learned from my last experiment, I didn't want to spend hours making meals for the week. Instead, I decided to do a huge "mise en place" for the week. In other words, I prepared all the components I would need for lunches and dinners for the entire week. I washed and diced, shredded or sliced cucumbers, carrots, celery, bell peppers, cabbage (red and green), onions, scallions, jalapeno peppers, zuchinni and yellow squash, asparagus, mushrooms, and lettuce, cilantro and parsley. I purchased chicken, fish, and pork and wrapped it in individual portions, bought some potatoes, white and sweet, and pasta. I did not want to lock myself into any particular menu but had several options lined up--chicken gumbo, seared pork with roasted vegetables, Asian slaw with chicken breast, and a stir-fry. I have a supply of cooked brown and Japanese rice at all times in the freezer, individually portioned (my mother's idea!)
This worked out great! I love it. With my new plan to wake up earlier and walk in the morning I needed to be able to get my lunch put together faster. Grabbing a variety of fresh vegetables and tossing them into the container with the lettuce was easy. With all the shredded cabbage and carrots I was able to make an Asian slaw instantly.
Coming home from work and knowing that I could make anything I wanted in very little time was very comforting.
For example, making the gumbo was easy. I already had chopped celery, onions, and bell peppers, chicken stock in the pantry, and purchased a rotisserie chicken on the way home.
The next night I roasted a combination of vegetables with a little olive oil and herbs at 375 degrees for 15 minutes. Delicious with a piece of seared pork loin. For my husband's meal, since it was his birthday, I made a special German dinner of schnitzel with mushroom sauce and already had the sliced mushrooms. I sliced the potatoes with the mandolin and made him some scalloped potatoes in the oven. He was very happy.
We were able to eat leftovers the following night. On Friday night, usually a night when I can't think of anything to cook and feel tired and burnt out, I knew exactly what to make. I sliced a partially frozen steak into thin pieces, marinated it in a little light soy and sauteed it. I set it aside and then stir-fried nearly all the leftover vegetables I had from the week--asparagus, carrots, onions, peppers, jalapeno, zuchinni and yellow squash. I made a stir fry sauce of soy sauce, fish sauce, and a little oyster sauce, mixed it into the vegetables, added the meat and served it with my already prepared rice. My daughter and one of my sons happened to be home so there was plenty for all four of us. It was a very tasty dish.
I had enough cabbage left over to make cole slaw for a party I had on Saturday night as well.
I am now a believer in this process and will do it again next week!

Steve's birthday cake, Italian Cream Cake

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Guilty Pleasures

Entrance to The Nest

Rack of Lamb at The Nest

The Fredericksburg, Texas trip final dinner was at one of my all time favorite restaurants, The Nest. I've always enjoyed their hot, right out of the oven french rolls, the perfect soups, not only made from scratch, but with just the right blend of fresh herbs. I'll have to admit the food can be on the heavy side. My wild mushroom soup was excellent with a fresh dill noticeable right away.
The entree, rack of lamb, was stunning and delicious. I was not always a fan of lamb but a while back I sampled a lamb appetizer at the Lightcatcher Winery in Fort Worth and decided to give lamb another try. I've since ordered it at Grady's and a couple other places. The Nest rack of lamb was tender, juicy, and did not have the aftertaste I always associated with lamb. It suffered a bit from not being hot enough temperature wise. Steve's sauteed shrimp was also wonderful.

Seared Shrimp with Citrus Sauce

Dessert back at the B & B was the strawberry ricotta cake we got earlier at Rather Sweet Bakery.

Strawberry Ricotta Cake

The final food destination this trip was the real guilty pleasure. I ordered this dish a couple years ago called Hill Country Hash at the Rathskeller Basement Restaurant. It is grilled duck breast, onions, bell peppers, fried potatoes, topped with fried eggs and then topped with hollandaise sauce. There is fresh tarragon mixed in the hash as well. I had to send my first one back because the eggs were overdone and the hash was cold, but the returned dish was perfect.

Hill Country Hash

There is something about the combination of hollandaise sauce with the tarragon and duck that tastes really good.
Time to go back to Fort Worth and some lighter food!

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Fredericksburg Food and Fun

Steve wanted to celebrate his birthday (February 17) with a weekend trip to Fredericksburg, Texas. It also happened to be Valentine's Day weekend so we could celebrate both. First, we had to figure out how to exit the Azle house after a near record breaking foot of snow--no exaggeration.

After he ran the 4 wheel drive jeep over our long driveway enough times for us to get out and for the kids and others to drive in we were on our way. We've been to Fredericksburg more times than I can count. We started going there in 2001 and usually go once in the spring, once in the fall or winter and some years we've gone every season. The hill country of Texas is a world away from the metroplex and only a few hours drive. We stay at B & Bs and booked Cottages at Limestone on Main for this trip. The B & B is on Main Street, serves a full gourmet breakfast, and is simple, but clean. Arriving later than usual we had time to unload the car and head out to our dinner destination, The Herb Farm. Years ago the Fredericksburg Herb Farm was owned by the Varneys and had lotions, potions, and candles smelling of the herbs grown on the farm (8 acres). The restaurant was almost an afterthought then, small and unchanging menu, but really creative and delicious food. Now the Herb Farm has been remodeled into a real restaurant. The menu was not very imaginative--all dishes had "root vegetables" for the side dish. I tried the French Onion Soup for a first course and was a little disappointed--flat tasting and really soggy bread. Steve had seared beef tenderloin with truffle mashed potatoes and root vegetables and veal reduction sauce. I had pan roasted salmon with risotto and root vegetables. I had to send the salmon back for being pretty rare but when it came back it was very good. Nice flavors, but boring root vegetables.

They were a little pretentious with the amuse bouche of a bite of goat cheese (CKC Farms) and slaw and the little spoons of grapefruit sorbet between courses. Come one, it's Fredericksburg! The place is very quaint, not the setting for the over fancy acting by the wait staff.

Saturday morning arrived with the delivery of our gourmet breakfast on a silver tray by Joe and Carol, the inn keepers. They both cook the food, all from scratch, and with fresh herbs and local ingredients. Herb scrambled eggs, vegetable hash, turkey sausage, and a yogurt parfait AND some blueberry lemon cake along with a nice selection of unusual teas like grapefruit/vanilla.

I loved the herb scrambled eggs with tarragon and cream cheese the best. The vegetable hash with Yukon gold potatoes, carrots, and zuchinni was also excellent. I had to wrap up the coffee cake for another time.

A long walk to burn off some of those calories and to get outside was next on the agenda. We noticed all the changes since our last trip in March 2009, different business opened and old ones closed. We were surprised to see Rather Sweet Too, an extension of the popular Rather Sweet Bakery which has been written up in every popular magazine in recent years. Rather Sweet Too is a place to buy the bakery goods and also has a display case for El Rey chocolates ??? Unlike the original Rather Sweet Bakery it seemed more formal. You can still buy bakery goods in the original building but I guess the new building cuts down on some of the overcrowding. Like most good things publicity is not always a positive. When we first found it in 2001 there were only a few things for sale but everything was out of the world good. We would get bacon cheddar scones, muffins, oatmeal cranberry cookies, and triple chocolate cookies before they sold out. Now there are plenty to buy but we guess there are many assistants making the items and we've had our ups and downs with the quality. I miss the old days when it wasn't so famous.

We did a little shopping at my favorite spots, Der Kuchen Laden (kitchen store) where there are gadgets of every type for the cook. I always have to buy something and this time was not exception, although I got out of there very cheaply with a wooden scraper and a tea leaf coffee mug insert. We ran next door to the Linens & More store to buy a couple pillows. The B & B pillow was killing my neck! Lucky day for us, the owner's son told us the pillows we were looking at were $20 each and they were 100% down. We'll take them! He also told us about a new B & B owned by his parents called the Agape Cottages. We plan to check them out for our next trip.

We had to stop at Fromage Du Monde, the cheese store, for some snacks for later in the evening since we planned to skip dinner. I love this shop! They have a selection of fine cheese, allow sampling, and we've found a few pieces of cheese, crackers, and salami or sausage make for a snack in place of another meal we don't need.

Steve wanted to take a trip out to the Alamo Springs Cafe for a burger. Now I'm the one who discovered this place last year after reading a tiny blurb in Texas Highways. We tried their burgers last March and then in the summer saw a photo of their burger on the cover of Texas Monthly Magazine. Alamo Springs Cafe is the type of out of the way place that caters to gray haired Corvette club groups, as were there the day we were, or the bald, bold, black leathered biker types--a lot of the Harley crowd can be found there. After the piece in Texas Monthly there was a 2 hour wait to get a table. Waitress told us "money was exchanged" to get a table.

They had the magazine cover on the wall. I had intended to eat very healthy on this trip since I signed up for a biggest loser contest at work (ha ha). I have until March 30 and I was doing pretty darn well until this trip. My plan was to get the grilled chicken sandwich but when I saw all the burgers people were eating I caved. I rationalized that we were skipping dinner. You know how that goes. My burger with the add-ons of avocado, bacon, grilled onions, and grilled jalapenos on the jalapeno cheese bun was crazy good. Did I mention I also tried a cup of their homemade chicken and andouille sausage gumbo. I talked to the woman who made it and complimented her on the perfect roux and flavors. You have to go to this place!

No way I could eat anything for many, many hours. Good thing we planned to go dancing in

Luckenbach at the annual "Hug-In and Valentine's Ball". We would see Gary P. Nunn, of the Armadillo song fame. Luckenbach, Texas is famous for the popular song, "Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas, Walon and Willie and the Boys....." The town is so tiny the slogan is, "Everyone is somebody in Luckenbach." We had a great time, good music, dancing and people watching. Our two stepping is comical since I am so uncoordinated, but hey no one was watching us (I hope).

Sunday morning and the delivery of gourmet breakfast #2, peach stuffed French toast, raspberry syrup, homemade herb and apple sausage and grapefruit compote. They even have orange juice ice cubes in the orange juice. A pretty pink frosted heart shaped cookie and some Valentine blend tea bags as a special treat. I tasted the various items and didn't make a pig of myself. Off for another walk for 1 hour, a pretty sunny day and Valentine's Day to enjoy with one another. We had no big plans for the day, just relax, finish the shopping and try to enjoy the lack of work and stress.

A light lunch at Rather Sweet Bakery of the BLAT, Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado and Tomato Sandwich, shared and a cup of black bean soup. The sandwich, on house made sourdough, was great, but the soup tasted like canned black beans heated up with weak broth. No aromatics or anything else in there, and served lukewarm. Yuk.

Dinner plans for The Nest later tonight.

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Ghosts of Bad Food Past

My daughter, Helen, read my last entry and called to lecture me on the need to simplify my menu a bit and told me how she gets a bag of frozen fish fillets at Costco and bags of ready to steam vegetables. She probably also keeps little ziploc bags of cooked Japanese rice in her freezer just like me. I had to chuckle and tell her that I know very well how to make simple food. After all, she as my firstborn child back in the last 70's should remember well the way I cooked for her. I reminded her of the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese with Oscar Mayer beef hot dog dinners (that was when I didn't care about nitrates!) or the fried bologna, egg, and rice. What about the fish sticks and french fries? Or canned spaghetti-o's? Nearly everything I cooked came from a box of frozen prepared foods or boxes of ready made mixes like Rice a Roni or Shake and Bake. I'd almost forgotten those days before my food snob ways took over my life. Simple was not so bad though. I went to my shelf of now well over a hundred cookbooks and looked for my early cookbooks. I had 3 cookbooks! I can't believe I only used those 3 cookbooks for years. Betty Crocker, Good Housekeeping, and a 2 part set of Better Homes and Gardens
Oh, make that 4, I also had The Joy of Cooking too. In the Betty Crocker cookbook I found a clipping of a newspaper recipe of a cheese ball covered with Amour dried beef. Yuk, did I really eat that? I remember making the same things over and over and relying on those handy mixes that I no longer buy--the ones I banished from my pantry a couple years ago, you know the "spaghetti seasoning mix", "taco seasoning mix", "meatloaf seasoning mix".
Now I have to research the dish I want to make by browsing my vast collection of cookbooks, binders of recipes, and Internet recipes before I get started. I prefer to use fresh ingredients, toast my spices, grind things in the spice blender, on and on... So although it's not so simple I have to admit my food is soooo much better now than when the kids were young.
But, Helen, every now and then I make a simple meal of fried rice, not with bologna, but a little leftover chicken, scallions, and scrambled egg with plenty of soy sauce and I remember the simpler times.

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