My new love...lemon olive oil

Last year I discovered the wonderful flavor of lemon olive oil, and have since become addicted to it. Having had that Meyer lemon tree full of lemons, I knew I could make my own, so I set out to try it. 

The first time I tried, the recipes I found all seemed inadequate. I wanted to make a duplicate to the oil I had been enjoying, and the short amount of time and amount of lemon zest  recommended was far from lemony in the finished product.  Boo.

The second time I decided to try to make up my own recipe. 

I took a small, very sharp, paring knife, and peeled several lemons. I left the white pith behind as I peeled thin strips of lemon zest off of 6 small lemons and dropped them into a cup of extra vigin olive oil in a pan on the stove. I turned the temperature low and slowly brought the oil and lemon mixture to a simmer. A simmer is about 175 degrees Fahrenheit, or until tiny bubbles form in the liquid on the bottom of pan. You must watch carefully that the oil doesn't get too hot, always simmering slowly. I let this simmer for 2 hours. I then removed the pan from the stove and poured the oil through a stainless steel strainer into a Pyrex cup. I left the strainer on the cup, letting it cool completely for several hours. I then poured the oil into a pouring container to store it. 

You can store it in the fridge for up to 3 weeks...if it lasts that long! 

I use this wonderfully fragrant and lemony oil on everything, from salad to pasta. It is so easy to make too. It takes  only 2 ingredients and a big dose of patience!

Batter up!!

One of Dad's favorite foods is fried chicken.  I'm not a big fan of chicken however, since I arrived in California and learned this, I have spent many nights trying to achieve the perfect version of fried chicken for him. 
Mostly I've failed miserably!
 After trying many techniques, I realized the oil I use is crucial.  Years ago I had switched to Olive Oil for cooking,  and found that it just doesn't get hot enough to cook the chicken clear through before it burns the batter.  I tried mixing the olive oil with vegetable oil, and that still wasn't quite right.  This has been very disconcerting for me but I was determined to find just the right recipe.
In my youth, I was revered for my version of fried chicken.  I used a recipe that I developed as I learned to cook, however since then, I've developed allergies that require me to change many recipes so that I can eat them.  One of these is fried chicken.  Eggs are a no-no now, so no more double dredging after an egg wash.  I no longer cook with Crisco, so that makes a difference in the way the chicken cooks, and the flavor of the finished fried chicken.
I had changed my recipe to include the chicken,  pressed garlic, salt and pepper and flour.  My secret is to press garlic through a garlic press, mix the garlic in a little olive oil with kosher salt, and then rub it on the dried chicken parts before dredging it in seasoned flour.  When the chicken is fried, the crust is scattered with crispy bits of garlic that give it a little punch.  I've kept this a secret, so only you dear readers get that tasty tidbit.

I was watching America's test kitchen who professed that they had found the perfect batter for fried chicken. 
I was skeptical. 
I watched. 
I listened. 
I was interested.
I liked what I saw, so I worked on the recipe to develop the taste that pleased my family, and make me happy too.  Here is the tasty results:


Battered Fried Chicken


6 chicken thighs
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1 Tbsp salt
1 Tbsp pepper
1 tsp paprika
3 cloves of garlic, pressed through a garlic press
1 cup water


whisk together flour, cornstarch, baking powder, salt, pepper and paprika in a large mixing bowl.  Add water and mix until blended well.  The mixture will be very thin, but should be.
wash and dry the chicken pieces.
rub the pressed garlic over each piece of chicken.  Chunks of garlic should stick to the dried chicken meat and skin.  let them rest for a few minutes while your oil gets hot.
I use my cast iron skillet when I make fried chicken.  I fill it with vegetable oil to about 1/3 full.  I turn the heat on medium high and let the oil get hot.  When it is about 365 degrees farenhreit, it is right.  You can tell by dropping a drop of batter in the hot oil, it will sizzle instantly.
Take each piece of chicken and dip it into the batter and take it right out again, then put skin side down in the hot oil.  3 pieces fit in nicely.  Let them cook until the batter is cooked and a golden brown on one side, then turn them over. 
It takes about 13-15 minutes per side. 
Pierce the chicken through the center with a fork to check for doneness, the juices should run clear with no pink.  When it is done, you should not feel any resistance in the meat when you stick the fork into it, even by the bone.  There is a difference in the way almost done and done feels.  You will be able to tell the difference with a little practice and attention to the internal pressure of your meat. 
When it is ready to take from the pan, drain each piece of chicken on a folded paper towel and then turn the piece of chicken over to drain on the other side.  Put the rest of the battered chicken in the hot oil, skin down after dipping, and cook each side until golden brown.  Drain the chicken on folded paper towels and serve. 
If you are not sure about the doneness of the chicken, you can pre-heat your oven to 250-300 degrees, put the cooked chicken on a baking sheet, and let the chicken cook for another 15 minutes in the oven.
The crispy outside should keep the chicken tender and moist even if it cooks a bit too long.

Lemon pudding cake anyone?

We have a Meyer's Lemon Tree in our yard, so I like to make these tasty little pudding cakes on a whim!

Meyer Lemon Pudding Cakes

2 eggs separated

3/4 cup sugar
3 1/2 Tblsp unsalted butter melted

1/8 tsp cream of tartar

5 Tblsp all purpose flour

5 Tblsp meyer lemon juice

zest of 1 lemon

1 1/4 cup milk (whole or 2%)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Cream egg yolks and sugar.  Add flour, butter, lemon juice and lemon zest, and milk.  Blend well.

In another bowl, beat egg whites and cream of tartar till peaks form.  Fold into the other mixture.  It will be thin.

Spoon into small ramekins till 3/4 full.  Put ramekins into baking pan with sides.  Add hot water till up to 1" from bottom of ramekins. 

Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes, or until top is golden.  Cool 20-30 minutes, or chill in fridge till cold. 

Bon et au goût âpre!

oh... who needs a food mill!

So, since my husband is gone so much, I've been spending a lot of time watching the food network and cookingchannel tv.  I'm always looking for another way to cook things in a new and different way.  As a result of watching so many cooking shows, I've become a fan of Anne Burrell in Secrets of a Restaurant Chef.  She makes a simple marinara sauce from scratch that sounded pretty good so I wanted to try to make it, or something like it. 
I used 3 large cans (28 oz) of whole tomatoes.  I opened them and poured the juice and tomatoes into a large strainer over a large bowl.  I then coated the bottom of my le creuset dutch oven with olive oil which I heated over medium heat.  I thought... how hard can it be?
Ha Ha.

I used a wooden spoon and began to press the tomatoes into the strainer, scraped the bottom of the strainer to get all the good tomato into the bowl, leaving the skin, the seeds and the thick core behind.

You can see how long this might have taken by the thickness of the tomato on the bottom of the strainer!

Now this is supposed to be an easy process, however, without a food mill to do the work for me, this entire process of pressing 3 cans of tomatoes through the strainer took me almost 2 hours!  I ended up taking the pan off the heat so that I could finish and started the cooking after I had strained all my tomatoes. 

(Guess who ordered a food mill!) 

After straining all the tomatoes, I turned the heat back on and after the pan was hot I added 2 pieces of thick sliced bacon which I cut into lardons.   I cooked the bacon for a few minutes over medium heat in my dutch oven, rendering the fat and turning the lardons a glossy golden color.  After rendering the fat from the bacon, I added 2 whole diced sweet onions.  I added salt to the onions and stirring occasionally, cooked them a few minutes until they were translucent.  I then added 6 cloves of diced garlic and cooked the mixture for another 2-3 minutes, or until you begin to smell the garlic cooking. 

I then added the pureed tomatoes to the pot and added a can of water to the mixture, salting liberally.  Continuing over medium heat, cook the mixture for 2-3 hours, stirring frequently and tasting for the proper amount of salt. 

I have to say that this is one of the best red sauces I've ever made.  It was simple in it's complexity, and yet tasted full and rich with flavor.  I immediately made lasagna with it and then used it a few days later in my meat loaf.  Now I made a great meat loaf, but this time, Dad took one bite and said "this is really good meatloaf... it is very flavorful" 

I could have fallen off my chair.

Bon pain de viande!

Nuthin' says lovin' like something from the oven...

Hot and Gooey Chocopots!

Mix together eggs, sugar, and flour

 Melt the chocolate and butter together over very low heat

 Mix the melted chocolate and the egg/sugar/flour mixture together and pour in buttered ramekin or pyrex dishes

 Bake on baking pan in hot oven

 Let them cool for 10 minutes if you can...Well. Can I say.. yummy!?!

ChocoHotPots

Preheat oven to 400 degrees farenheit

Put baking sheet on rack in middle of oven while preheating.
butter the inside of 4 ramekins (1 cup size)

In a pan on the stove, on low heat, melt 4 oz of semi sweet chocolate chips (or some other kind of good dark chocolate, I used Droste chocolate) together with one stick of butter. I took the pan off the heat just before the last bit of butter melted, and then stirred the chocolate butter combination till the butter was completely melted. I set it aside to cool.

I wisked 2 eggs in a bowl, then added 3/4 cup of sugar and 4 tablespoons of all purpose flour (if you like a more gooey inside, use 3 tablespoons of flour) and wisked it all together. Pour the cooled melted chocolate into the bowl, mixing it with the wisk till well blended. Pour the mixture into the ramekins (3/4 full).

Put on the baking sheet in the oven.
Bake 20 minutes and remove from the oven.  Let cool for at least 10 minutes if you can!

Cool these down, but eat them while they are still hot, with a spoon from the ramekin.

They are also good cold, if you must.

Addendum:

I made these again using Guittard semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I think I would reduce the sugar to 1/2 cup. 

Welcome to my kitchen...

It really didn't take me a long time to adjust myself to my kitchen, I had lived with tiny kitchens for the past 14 years.  This is actually the smallest counter top I've had to work with.

Here I am preparing fried snapper and vegetables for dinner, and as you see, I use every bit of free space I can. 

This is how the counter looks before I start preparing dinner.  This is my new stovetop and in the other picture is our new range hood.  Marc and I installed these ourselves one weekend!

This is my new oven.  We waited 5 years before we were able to replace the old one.  I have enjoyed using a clean oven with a light that actually works and a clock that I can read!  Since I've replaced all the appliances in my kitchen, I've been a happier cook.  Now if I could get a bigger countertop...

A girl can dream can't she?

Is it wrong to drink the leftover wine in the bottom of the glass from the night before?

I mean really...
I can't just throw it out because I forgot there was still 2 oz in that glass!
Anyway....
Last night I ended up making luscious little salmon patties for dinner with a nice salad and fresh corn on the cob.  Tonight I am grilling the steaks that were still frozen last night when it was time to make dinner.  Since I have not been keeping up with my blog, I got out of the habit of taking pictures of food.  Not to worry, that problem will be solved so that I don't get so far behind.  I really want to work on my recipes, so I need to take pictures, write the recipes down, and share the work with my friends and family.

We have this big cabbage I've been cooking with the past week or so, so I felt like cold slaw would be a nice change.  I usually make it with mayonaise, mustard, onions, celery, cabbage and seasonings.  Today I didn't have the right ingredients, so I changed it up a little.   I rough diced about half the cabbage and added other diced ingredients of spring onion (3) and a persian cucumber.  I seasoned with a little salt and fresh ground pepper and a little dill weed.  I added about 2 Tblsp of  drained capers.  I mixed a drizzle of good olive oil with some white wine vinegar and mixed that in, then added a squirt of dijon mustard and 2 Tblsp of mayonaise and mixed it all together well.  It is sitting in the fridge a couple of hours before dinner so that the flavors meld.  I think it will be good.  I thought it was when I taste tested the finished product.

*addendum* 
Not only did this slaw turn out to be a nice fresh and crisp salad, Dad ate 3 helpings and then finished it off.  I always take this as a good sign... cause although he (Dad) says he likes everything, he tends to be highly critical of the way food is prepared. I thought it was a nice addition to dinner, and without the mayonaise might be a good picnic type slaw.  Summer is here... picnic often!

Nothing to see here...

No pictures.. just a wonderful dinner of Pork Chops saltimbocca made with bacon and brie stuffed into the middle of the chop, then smothered in a sauce made with garlic, red and yellow peppers, onions, lemon juice and butter.  The cheese melted just right, but I think Brie is a little too salty for this dish.  I made fresh corn on the cob which went with the dish so nicely, and lightly steamed brocolli.  I served it with a fresh salad and bleu cheese dressing, and then a dessert made from pound cake, fresh berries, and whipped cream.  Everything turned out beautiful and tasty.  Even Dad commented that the chops were good!
mmmmmmmmmmmm.. bacon

ohhhhhhhhhhhhh baby

One of my favorite dinners is one with baby back ribs cooked on the grill.  I like to use a dry rub with Jane's Crazy Mixed up salt and then cook them over a low to medium heat.  I love them this way.... Dad, however, likes them to be moist and falling off the bone.  So in order to make something Dad would like this time, I tried a new way.  I lined the pan with 3 layers of foil and put the ribs on the foil in the pan.  I then sliced 1/2 a small onion and several cloves of garlic, and cooked them over a medium heat with a pinch of salt to make them sweat, until they were tender and somewhat transluscent.  I then poured some white wine vinegar into the pan and let it cook down some, then added a big squeeze of dijon mustard.  I might have added some white wine, I can't remember exactly, but I think so.  I stirred the ingredients and cooked them till the sauce was thick, yet still wet.  I poured the cooked sauce over the ribs, wrapped the foil around the ribs, and put the pan into a preheated 325 degree oven.  I cooked the ribs for 2 hours in the oven and then removed them, taking them out of the foil and sprinkled some spice called BBQ spices. 

This spice has brown sugar and paprika in it, and I felt that it would balance out the tartness of the mustard, plus give it a nice color.  I preheated the grill to 600 degrees and then put the ribs over the hot side of the grill.  I cooked them till they looked like they were grilled, with a char on the edges.  I served them with a salad with my bleu cheese dressing, baby peas, and rice-a-roni whole grains rice and orzo.  It turned out to be a nice meal, although I thought they were cooked too long in the oven to where I thought they had lost the bulk of rib flavor.  I prefer smoked, but we didn't really have the gas to slow cook them on the grill with smoke.  Dad said, "they are better than I expected"!  A compliment of sorts from him... haha. 

Good food... good fun.

I thought you could grill most anything...

until I tried to grill brocolli.  All those tiny little florets on the bigger florets burned right up.  ouch

Salta in bocca! (it) jumps into (one's) mouth

Usually when I get those huge pork chops from Costco, I fry them like I would fry chicken to brown them, then I bake them slowly to cook them through and still keep them tender and juicy.  This however is an entirely different recipe all together.  I was looking through one of my cooking magazines and found a recipe for Pork Chops Saltimbocca that sounded interesting and tasty.  I didn't really have all the ingredients but I knew that I usually liked to do things differently than most recipes.  I like to develop a recipe to my own tastes using the foods I typically have on hand.

Here is how I made my Pork Chops Saltimbocca.

I had 4 thick (about 1 1/2 inches) cut loin pork chops that I patted dry with paper towels.  I sliced a pocket in them in the middle of the chop.  I wanted a deep pocket, so I tried to get as close to the other side as possible.  I seasoned each of the chops with salt and pepper and let them sit to the side while I got other ingredients ready.  I had mistakenly bought some camembert cheese that had a blue vein in it (instead of bleu cheese).  It was not as soft as I had thought, so I felt like it would be a nice consistency for this dish.   I cut it into slices and put 2 slices into the cut open cavity of the chop.  I turned on the oven to 450 degrees farenheit, and turned the burner on to low medium setting while I cut up 6 pieces of thick sliced bacon with kitchen shears into a large dice.

I put my large cast iron skillet on the burner and got it hot enough.   I began by putting the diced bacon into the hot skillet.  Stirring often, I cooked it until the pieces were light golden brown.  I removed them from the pan and put them on a paper towel to drain and cool.  I took the pan off the heat, but left the burner on while I finished preparing the pork chops.  (I might have drained some grease from the pan right about now) I stuffed the bacon in between the cheese slices in the pork chop, using all the bacon up and pushing the opening closed as well as I could.  I put the skillet back on the burner, turned it up to medium, and let it get hot again. I put the 4 pork chops into the hot bacon grease.   I let them cook for about 5-6 minutes until they were brown on one side, and then turned them over.  After cooking that side till it was also golden brown, I put the skillet with the pork chops into the hot oven for about 7 minutes to finish cooking.   While that was cooking I sliced 4 small red peppers with the seeds removed, and thinly sliced a half an onion.    Removing the chops from the skillet, I put them on a platter and set them aside while I  finish up my dish with a red pepper and onion sauce. 

I turned the temperature of the burner down just a little bit to a medium low again and put the onions and peppers into the skillet with the juices from the chops and melted cheese and let them cook till they are tender, about 3-4 minutes.  I added a lump of butter and let that cook for a minute then squeezed the juice of a half a lemon into the vegetables and stirred until they are mixed well. 

I turned off the burner and poured the mixture over the chops in the platter. I served this dish with rice and garlic brussel sprouts,

 

and a salad of tomatoes and sliced avocado.

The pork chops were tender and juicy.  The cheese was rich and creamy and had a sharpness from the blue vein, and the bacon was a salty crunchy addition that enhanced the tasty combination of meat and vegetables.  The flavors meld well together and went well with the other flavors on the plate.   I thought this entire dinner was one worthy of repeating. 

Boccappetit!

I could make a lemon cake... what do y'all think?

I met silence when I asked this question and turned... Roberta's chair was empty... Dad wasn't on the couch... and then I heard the click of the front door as it closed.  I had to laugh.  They both got right up and went out the door to collect lemons so I could make a cake.  And what a nice cake it was!  I was so eager to taste it, I almost forgot to take a picture before I started cutting it!  It was a simple recipe to follow.  I used the one posted on the food network from the Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten.  It had a nice full flavor, but not overwhelming at all.  It was light, yet the texture was like a pound cake.  We ate it hot out of the oven, covered in whipped cream.  We have a big tree of Meyers Lemons, so I can see many of these cakes in our future!

Here is how I made the cake...
First I preheated the oven to 350 degrees farenheit.  I took a stick of butter and let it come to room temperature.  I also broke two eggs into a cup and let them come to room temperature as well.  I measured out 1 1/4 cup sugar and put it in a mixing bowl.  I added the butter to the sugar, and on a medium speed, I beat the two together until they were light and creamy.  I added the two eggs to the mixture, one at a time, mixing each addition well.  Then I added 1/3 cup of lemon zest to the mixture and blended it in.   In another bowl I mixed together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/4 teaspoon of baking powder, 1/4 baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt.  In a 3rd bowl, I mixed together a little over 1/3 cup lemon juice and an equal amount of buttermilk with 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla.  Then I began to put the batter together in the mixing bowl with the mixer on a medium speed.  Adding alternately, by thirds, first the liquid mixture, then the dry mixture and mixing well in between, ending with the dry mixture. 
Pour the batter in a well buttered loaf pan (I like to use glass).  Bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 45 minutes to an hour.  The cake will look firm and will have a golden color to the edges and sides, and a toothpick will come out clean when it is done. 

Citron Appetit!

Pretty Good

I have not only not taken any pictures, I have not been very creative when it comes to cooking these last few weeks.  I made some great meals while I was in Florida, but since I've been home, mostly I've just been... well.. status quo. 
Today I went to the grocery store and browsed around contemplating what kind of vegetables I needed for the week ahead.  Of course I got my favorite staples... young green beans, lettuce for salads, vine ripened tomatoes, onions, baby red and orange peppers, asparagus... and what is this? endive.... ?
So I'm standing in the middle of the aisle just staring at this ridiculously expensive little package of endive and thinking .."I think I've seen some really cool bites on cooking shows"...   My brain is racing!  I'm remembering the shrimp leftover from last night and wondering how endive really tastes.  Then I remembered seeing a little decorative display by the leaf lettuce and sure enough it was some  endive that was not packaged.  I grabbed one!  I mean, how much could that cost, right?( exactly 0.15 lb @ $4.49/lb= $0.67)
At home, I separated the tight little leaves breaking off 6 of them and washing them.   I wrapped them in a paper towel and putting them back into the fridge to chill and crisp up.  I got out some shrimp, and since there is just Dad and me,  I used only 4 shrimp.    I cut them up into small pieces and put them in a bowl.  I cut up 2 spring onions, slicing them thinly and added them to the bowl.  Adding enough mayonaise to bind it all together like a shrimp salad, I stirred the ingredients well and then squeezed a little lemon juice into the mixture and stirred it some more.  It tasted very nice.  I cut a small tomato in half and then cut the halves into thin slices.  After the endive was chilled, I took them out and scooped a tablespoon of shrimp salad into each leaf.  On top of that endive leaf I put a slice of tomato.
The crispness of the endive and the creaminess of the shrimp salad with the succulant bits of shrimp and crispy green onions mingled into the mixture was ... can I say... sublime.
I'm sad to say that I did not take pictures.  But I will tell you, Dad immediately started shaking his head to the affirmative and ate every bite right up.  Then, without prompting (!) Dad said, and I quote, "Pretty good."