could you be a vegetarian?

You Could Definitely Be a Vegetarian

You would make a great vegetarian - if you aren't one already. You're adventurous enough to try all sorts of new veggie foods... And your commitment to animal welfare will motivate you to stay meat free!

Could You Be a Vegetarian?

Comfort Foods

What kind of meals does your family consider to be comfort foods? For some it's pasta, any kind of pasta, for others it's ethnic foods-foods from their home country. Here in America comfort foods are listed as being "Casserole Dishes". I think that "it" is something different for everyone. For my son it's Lasagna and garlic bread, for my daughter it could be roast chicken with mashed potatoes, country gravy and of course home made biscuits or something along the lines of re-fried beans w/cheese and tortillas. For my husband it could be grilled marinated beef tips and cheesy potatoes (this recipe comes from my girlfriend René, who by the way is truly Southern).

For me, I see comfort foods being of a soup variety. I adore soup! The simplicity of it makes it a remarkable meal. Put a grilled cheese sandwich with it and WOW! Now your grilled cheese can be almost any kind of cheese on any kind of bread. Have you ever tried grilled Swiss on Sour Dough or Rye? When it's paired with just the right soup it's out of this world!

Try your hand at making some soup, you're going to love the results!

Cookbooks

One of these days I'm going to do it...write a cook book that is. I've had this idea for quite some time now. I do enough cooking and making up my own recipes that I can get enough recipes to make an entire recipe book. I'll get my children and husband to do the illustrations- now wouldn't that be a total laugh riot! I can just see it now, drawing of all kinds of things besides food. It's actually got me laughing just thinking about it.

Apples

Apples- Granny Smith, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Gala, Rome, Empire, Pippin, McIntosh, Fuji, Braeburn, Winesap, Cortland and one of my newest favorites- Grâpple the apple that tastes like a grape.

But seriously with so many varieties out there for us to choose from it's hard to pick just one. So I've got some links for you all to check out.


http://www.grapplefruits.com/
http://www.applejournal.com/useall01.htm
http://www.allaboutapples.com/varieties/index.htm

Now lets look at recipes sites for apples...
http://www.bestapples.com/Recipes/
http://www.pastrywiz.com/archive/category/apple.htm
http://plantanswers.tamu.edu/recipes/applerecipes.html
http://www.agr.state.nc.us/markets/commodit/horticul/apples/recipes.htm
http://www.applejournal.com/ofr.htm
http://www.nyapplecountry.com/recipes.htm
I hope you have enjoyed my little bit on apples and will try some of the various varieties the next time you are grocery shopping.

It's now September...

and with it comes cool Autumn nights, College Football, tailgate parties and my favorite...baked apples! Our daughter loves watching football with her Dad and let me tell you she has her reasons. Of course there's spending quality time with her Dad but what Hannah describes as the best part is that Mom (that's me) makes the yummiest snacks for Dad while he's watching a game and she wants in on the yummy snacks and nibbles that I bring out on trays.

Be it chips and store bought dip to my 7 layer bean dip and tortilla chips- football and snacks got hand in hand. But my favorite things to bake during this time of years is APPLES!

Apples come in so many different varieties these days and all are great to use in various ways...some make better pies, others are best of making applesauce, some are great in salads and so forth.

Here's a recipe that I received the other day from "the Daily Recipe" and on line service that sends you a new and different recipe every day (it's so cool). I love this new twist on my favorite dessert- I'm going to make it this weekend!

RECIPE: PINE-APPLE CRISP
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
INGREDIENTS:
Fruit -
3 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled and cored
3/4 cup pineapple preserves
2tablespoons all-purpose flour
Crumb Topping-
2/3 cp flake coconut
1/2 cup quick or old fashioned oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup whole almonds, chopped
vanilla ice cream (optional)
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. For fruit, slice apples into
thin rings, then cut rings into quarters. Combine pineapple
preserves and flour in mixing bowl. Add apples, tossing to
coat evenly. Pour into bottom of a 9-inch pie plate or similar
shallow baking dish. For crumb topping, combine coconut, oats,
brown sugar and flour in a mixing bowl. Microwave butter on
high for 1 minute and add to chopped almonds. Add butter and
almonds to topping ingredients; mix well. Sprinkle topping
evenly over apple mixture. Bake 30-35 minutes or until apples
are tender and topping is golden brown. Cool slightly. Serve
warm with ice cream, if desired.
Yield: 12 Servings
per serving: calories 210, fat 9g, sodium 80 mg.
Categories: Desserts, Apples
http://www.thedailyrecipe.com The Daily Recipe Website
http://archives.gophercentral.com/newsletter_13.html "

Cook Books...how many do you own?

What is it about cookbooks that draws me in like a moth to a flame? I'm serious, it's almost like an addiction of sorts, LOL!

SOooooooooo, I'm working at the base thrift shop 3 days a week and I'm finding all sorts of little treasures in the place, my latest being a beautiful assortment of cookbooks. Many are near being brand new, like they've maybe been cracked open- glanced at - then consigned or donated to our thrift shop. We're selling them for a fraction of their retail cost. I was able to get some fantastic cookbooks which are making me want to cook up a storm this weekend! The Fish cookbook is making me drool! I look as if I have a serious case of rabies, LOL! There's on all about Vinegarettes- WOW that's one amazing cookbook! The kids cookbook is about cooking experiments- Hannah has the death grip on this one and we've already made 2 "experiments" from this great kids in the kitchen cookbook

Are you practicing "Flexitarianism"?

Sounds like something from a science fiction novel/movie doesn't it? As I'm reading an article on that very topic (in the August 2007 issue of Cooking Light magazine) I had to chuckle out loud. Flexitarianism, is that even a word? The new made up word is in reference to having a diet that is largely made up of plant based foods rather than centering your diet around meat. Interesting enough but to make up a word for it? Come on, LOL! I've always based my eating habits on items other than just meat, chocolate as you know should be a food group...ask any woman, I'm sure that she'd agree! Now if you're interested in knowing more about this...it's on page 20.

What are you eating this summer?

Summertime to me is one of those seasons when I love to make use of every fresh fruits and vegetable I can get my hands on. I prefer to use those that are grown locally but that isn't always possible. Some items such as bananas and pineapples have to be imported from far off places.

I want to encourage everyone to go out and buy themselves a new recipe book and make something from that book at least 3 nights a week for the remainder of the summer! I have some cookbooks that I got with my latest Calphalon pan purchase, the one I'm using right now is the "Food Network Kitchens Cookbook" and let me tell you that these recipes are to die for! Yesterday I made Lobster Rolls for lunch...all I have to say is YUM! I had to keep the kids from trying to take mine when I wasn't looking, LOL! Just picture me trying to guard my little sandwich with a wooden spoon and my kids giggling like fiend's trying to take it from me. Now of course when I make this recipe again I'll add more celery as I felt it needed a little more crunch, other than that it was perfect! As for the bread, I used buns that are for bratwurst- they've got a meatier bite to them and will not get soggy.

I need to make a trip into town to shop for specialty items such as chipotles in adobo sauce and some fancier types of cheeses as our commissary doesn't carry those kinds of items.

Enjoy your summertime vegetables and fruits and make something new and exciting for your friends and family this week!

Fruit Smoothies

Just about everyone loves a good fruit smoothie and I’m no exception. I fell head over heels in love with smoothies during our summer vacation in 2003. Well I finally decided to break down and make them from scratch instead of buying those over priced bottles of smoothies from the grocery store. So here is what I did…in my blender I put;

2 cups plain yogurt

3 ripe bananas

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries

¼ to ½ cup turbinado sugar (you can also use plain granulated white sugar)

1 cup of ice

And puree the heck out of it! Oh my word it’s soooooo yummy!!!! Apparently my bananas weren’t all that sweet and neither were the strawberries so I HAD to add the sugar (it was just too darn tart).

Coffee and Coffee Makers

Last week I had the funniest conversation with my mother in law about coffee and coffee pots. We talked about brands of coffee and how the ground stuff in a can has changed over the years. Sizes for one this...they keep putting less and less in the cans of coffee. I mentioned how I like to grind my own beans (coffee beans that is) from time to time. But I also grind them there at the grocery store/commissary. When we spoke of brands she didn't have a favorite one per say- just what ever was the least expensive in a can. Myself I prefer to buy and use Millstone, my flavor "Swiss Chocolate Almond". Another favorite (it's a seasonal flavor) is Pumpkin Spice- there's something about cinnamon and nutmeg and just a hint of pumpkin, m'm it's so yummy! Since I'm the only coffee drinker in the house I can pretty much make what ever flavor of coffee that what I want.

Our conversation turns to coffee pots, and this is where it gets funny. We both are saying the same thing...it costs more to replace a broken carafe than it does to replace the entire coffee making system. Why is that? I never really understood that concept. I've had a handful of coffee makers over the years and to be honest the best ones were the cheapest ones. The most expensive coffee maker that I ever bought was made by Cuisinart and it was also my biggest disappointment. I was going on reputation for Cuisinart being extremely reliable and have a sterling reputation for quality. Well apparently that didn't apply to their coffee makers- or at least to the 2 that I had, UGH! The first thing to go was the stop and pour system. then the lid to the coffee pot broke...all within 3 weeks of me owning the darn thing! So I take it back to the store and they give me another one...this one makes it a little longer (3 months) then it too does the exact same thing. I deal with the defective coffee pot for nearly a year. We moved here (Ellsworth AFB, SD) in the fall of 2003 and that's when I said "adios" to the coffee pot and I went out in search of a new one. Not being impressed by the last brand of coffee maker that I had owned, I look at discount stores like Wal-Mart, Target, ShopKo and K-Mart for something that will suit my needs. I found one at Target- it's by Phillips. I've had it almost 4 years now and it has by far out preformed that Cuisinart that I had owned while we lived in Virginia. Before that...I would get those free ones from Gevalia Coffee (you've seen the ads in magazines). Those free coffee pots are the best! They are awesome appliances, I know that my little 4 cup coffee pot was made by Krups and it was an awesome appliance!
My mother in laws story is pretty much the same, it would be one name brand appliance after another that would just crap out on her. Her biggest complaints being that 1- the heating element would burn out and 2- the price of replacing the carafe. She's buy a $35 coffee maker and have it cost her $25 for the new carafe. So one day after yet another carafe breaks she starts using her Pyrex measuring cup as a stand in replacement, LOL! Then of course the heating element gives out. My father in law who by the way is not ever in tune with his wife's needs actually does something nice for her...he's at the grocery store and there's this in store sales promotion on of all things...coffee makers and they were $4.99. My father in law remembering something about my m-i-l and her coffee maker issues buys one and brings it home to his wife. My m-i-l looks at this coffee maker and says what the heck lets give it a try. It's some no name off the wall brand...she now SWEARS BY THIS THING! She says that it brews the best pot of coffee, no more high priced name brand coffee makers for her, she too is going for what ever works.

bye bye Cilantro

It's official...I've killed my Cilantro plants. The other herbs are doing fairly well but the Cilantro is no more and for that I am sad. I'll have to go to a plant nursery and buy a couple more plants...this time I'll baby them a bit more.

Organizing your kitchen work space

How is your kitchen organized? Can you find things easily and quickly? Or are you "hunting" for them? How about your dinnerware (plates, soup bowls and the like)? Is it in areas that makes retrieving and putting away easy? How about your serve-ware (serving bowls, platters etc.)? Where are they located?





I have a girlfriend who just kills me (makes me laugh my head off) when she enters my kitchen. She's under the misguided idea that everything needs to be located around the dishwasher. Sorry but I don't believe that one for a second! Locating your dishes, glasses and serving pieces is just as important as assigning work or task station areas in the kitchen. Where do you like to chop your vegetables? When using a mixer, where in your kitchen do you like to do that? Those things are just as important as to where in your kitchen your utensils and dinnerware are located.





My last kitchen was a shoebox- it had 3 upper and 3 lower cabinets where I could store things along with a whopping 3 drawers. Yes it is what you would call a Galley Kitchen (and no, we didn't live on a boat).





This kitchen is larger than my last but I find that at times I could use more storage space- only because I have more cake pans, roasting pans, cookware and spring form pans than anyone else I know, LOL! Okay so maybe having 16 place settings isn't such a good things after all, LOL! Ü Let me ask you this...do you have other items crowed around your plates and bowls? I'll use my Mom's kitchen as an example...she would have all sorts of other little things crowded around in the cabinet where she kept the plates and serving bowls, medicine bottles, a cutting board, miscellaneous papers and a jar with nails (I have no idea what was up with the nails). My point is that you should have only your dishes in the cabinet...no medications, no papers and definitely no jar with nails in it, LOL! You need to have clear access to your dinnerware and serving pieces. From the pictures here you can clearly see that I have loads of plates and bowls but there is nothing hindering the access to them. Nothing that I have to move out of the way or worry about falling out of the cabinet when retrieving anything from it.



My serving bowls are located near my gas range. It's easy to take hot items and put them into bowls or onto platters. Also my ceramic 9x13 and 8x8 bake-ware and casserole dishes are located in the same area for ease of access.





Now you may have noticed that neither of these areas is located "near" the dishwasher. The area near my dishwasher is a bit troublesome to get to really, so I prefer to have my glassware and coffee mugs located there. On the far cabinet side (the one really difficult to get to) I store lesser used items such as pitchers, sauce boats, wine glasses and pilsners (beer glasses).

Task Lighting

Do you see the 3 silver little round things under the cabinet? That's task lighting. My husband who is so attentive to my needs installed a touch pad for me to tap to get the lights to come on. It's a cool thing to have to give me extra light when working in that area of my kitchen. The space between the stove and the sink also has under cabinet task lighting.

My Kitchen

So here I am posting a link to my kitchen blog and I look and realize that I don't have any pictures of my kitchen...what is the world coming to?, LOL! So here is an over view of my kitchen.

The modern kitchen is all about "work stations", having a place assigned to certain areas of your kitchen to preform certain tasks. I remember working with an interior designer with the building and construction our first house back in 1994 that persons ideas were all about the work triangle...while I was wanting work stations, who knew that I was only a few years ahead of the industry with my thinking and my kitchen design ideas. In the end I got what I wanted and I was very happy.

So here we are in our 3rd house and there are the things that work for me....

The stove I picked out and bought is a Frigidaire Professional series 5 burner gas range with convection plus it's got a warming drawer that also bakes up to 450 degrees. I adore the 5 burner cook top as the entire surface is covered in a 3 piece grate. It's so easy to clean too! When some friends recently asked me about how it was to clean...I joked with them about the kind of cleaner that I had to use on it. I was asked if it was costly (everyone always assumes that things are costly) so I rolled my eyes and said "Oh you wouldn't believe what I have to pay for the kind of cleaner that I have to use on this stove" so everyone is waiting on baited breath to get the scoop and then I surprise them and tell them that I use Windex, LOL! The look on their faces was priceless! Yes I got a good laugh out of it.

a close up view of the 5 burner cook top
full view of range and microwave oven- bottom drawer on oven is the warming drawer that can cook items up to 450 degrees.

Here you see the convection fan inside of the oven- it's the round thing on the back of the oven wall.

This is the first time for me to have an over the range microwave oven...and I'd do it again in a heart beat! Again with the Frigidaire professional series. The ease of clean up is amazing! Would I do stainless steel appliances again? You better believe it! These are so much easier to clean than the white appliances I've put in our past two kitchens. And the black granite sink, I LOVE that sink! The dishwasher is silent and the control panel is hidden giving it a sleek look.

I have a wide open work area which can be used for many things
My groovy dishwasher- I love the hidden control panel
It's a vaulted ceiling in my kitchen...another feature that I'm growing to love.
Here you see my pantry door, it's set at an is huge on storage space!

Fruit Salad, Fajitas and other good things...

I just had to make a fruit salad yesterday. Ever since the 4th of July I've been wanting to make one, weird right? Nothing says summer time and hot weather to me like fresh fruit in a bowl! I made the classic fruit dip and my daughter thought that it was out of this world. What was it? Here's the recipe, don't blink...1 8ounce package cream cheese and 1 jar of marshmallow cream, mix them together and there it is!

My husband and I went to a surprise 40th birthday party for a good friend recently and the food was out of this world! Who knew that you had to go to the Holiday Inn in downtown Rapid City to get good Mexican food? LOL! We've been searching for really good Mexican food since moving to this area almost 4 years ago. Some friends told us of a Mexican restaurant in Spearfish but when we went, well lets day that we were NOT the least bit impressed with the place. Granted it was done up in Mexican decor but that was the only thing authentic about the place. From the ultra bad service and a more than a normal amount of flies buzzing around inside of the restaurant to the so-so quality food. Needless to say this family won't be going back to dine there. We had a very nice Mexican restaurant here in Rapid City but the health department closed the place...no not about the food but the type of mold that had grown in the fountain in the front lobby (Legionnaires disease) :-( Now there's a Walgreen's in it's place, go figure!So with those factors in place I'm left to do one thing...make my own Mexican food.

I feel very at home when making and creating meals in a few different ways Italian, what is called California Fresh, good ole barbecue and some New England type items. I deem myself as a gourmet cook and can make some excellent meals. But as for Mexican cuisine or Tex-Mex well I need to brush up on some things. Now the chicken Fajitas we had the other night were out of this world! If there's one thing I have developed is my knack for tasting something and being able to pick out what was used to create the dish. I asked my kids if they thought that was creepy and they said "no" actually they said that they think that it's it's "rather cool". So yesterday I recreated Chicken Fajitas with a spin of my own on it. I had it waiting for the kids when they got back from the pool...my daughter (who is going to have the same kind of taste buds as her mother, I can just tell) sits down at the table and tells me that the house smells wonderful! My son tells me that they're starved and the house smells great! Okay that's a good sign...they ask what for dinner and I have them look in the fish and they say okay I serve them each up a fajita and Hannah exclaims (with a full mouth) "Mom this is excellent" and what does Andrew have to say? "Mom, where's the cheese?" LOL! Typical man! At the end of the meal Andrew gave me a hug and kiss and said that it was a very good dinner and that I could make it again...what a crack up! So what did I use to make this fabulous meal? Don't roll your eyes but you know those packets of seasoning mixes that you can buy at the grocery store? Yup I used that stuff! So here is what I did...I grilled my chicken breasts But I used McCormick's chicken rub on those chicken breasts. Grill on a medium heat 7 minutes each side (lid closed and only turning after 7 minutes). Trust me your chicken is done cooking! Take out the chicken and let it rest on a cutting board (it keeps the chicken moist). I followed the directions on the packet...sort of, LOL! I added 2 medium to large sized red onions and 2 medium green bell pepper, 1 medium yellow bell pepper and 1 large red bell pepper and 3 packages of grilled chicken breasts (about 4 pounds) and last but not least 4 packages of the McCormick's Fajitas seasoning mix. Oh my word, it was like a little slice of Tex-Mex right in my own kitchen! The chicken rub added some extra spices to the fajita mix and gave it that extra kick! The chicken rub is not bland by any means (especially when you use as much of it as I did). I plan on making this the next time we entertain! When my husband got home from work yesterday (yes he had to work on a Sunday...the Air Force never rests) he was in Tex-Mex heaven!

Now back to the fruit salad I knew that something was missing but couldn't put my finger on it until Hannah speaks up and says that it needed pineapple. You know what, my girl was right! A word of advice for cooks out there...listen to your children you would be surprised with the kinds of things that they like. I never did have the pb&j thing going on at our house- with one of my children having a peanut allergy I never really could. So I got creative with other things and I see that it's really paid off for me, especially now in my children's teenage years.

My new sink has been installed!

It's the little things that get me excited...take the fact that my darling husband installed my new granite sink (in volcano black) and my new faucet! This new sink is awesome! It's much nicer than the stainless steel one that was originally in this house when we bought it. I hated my old sink because the corners are rounded and so is the base of the bowl. You could never set glasses down inside of the sink as they would always fall over. This new sink has has a flat base and is 10 inches deep on one side and 8 inches deep on the other. No one really likes to do the dish but with a sink like this it will make the process go much more smoothly!

I'm on a cooking binge... again

So there I was doing some grocery shopping and suddenly these ideas and recipes start flooding my brain. I bought 1 lovely pink pork roast, 4 or 5 packages on boneless skinless chicken breasts, 2 packages of beef tip steaks a boat load of fresh veggies not to mention enough cream cheese to make 2 cheesecakes and the ingredients to make a chocolate fudge cake.

I get to the check out and the woman bagging my groceries tells me that they are always so surprised when I come through because I'm always so happy when I'm buying groceries and how I never complain about the prices. She said that it was very obvious that I enjoy cooking because just about everyone complains about the prices when their groceries are being rang up then there's me...I point out how good the veggies are looking in the produce department or the great buy on whatever meat I'm getting, LOL! Mental not to self...make commissary baggers a big ol cheesecake for their break room once it gets closer to Thanksgiving.

So yes I've got plans for all this meat...the pork is marinating, and I'm going to grill up the steaks and some of the chicken in another hour or so. I have a new issue of Cooking Light magazine and Every Day Food and let me tell you there are some killer recipes in them! The kids are home all day long because of summer break and I don't want them pigging out on what I consider junk food. I buy 1 bag of potato chips and one 2 liter bottle of Pepsi and when they're gone they are gone and that's the end of it until the next week. I've got a ton of fresh fruit, bell peppers, carrots and other yummy things to nibble upon.

Cooking makes me sooooo happy! I can hardly wait to get the seasoning on the meat and grill it!

Roasting Garlic

I've had many friends ask me what my secret is when I roast garlic- let me be perfectly frank...I have no secret way of doing it. I've been roasting my garlic this way for years. I'm going to walk you through it step by step...

Depending upon how many recipes that use garlic as an ingredient is how many heads of garlic you will want to roast at one time. I use a lot of garlic so I'm roasting 4 heads today.

Cut the tops off of the heads of garlic

put into shallow dish- I use a clay baking dish

pour EVOO (extra virgin olive oil) on top of garlic heads

cover with aluminum foil- cut slits in it to let out the steam

bake at 250º for 2 hours (when baking 4 heads at one time, bake only 1 hour when baking 1 head of garlic).

And this is what the final product will look like...sweet roasted garlic, enjoy!

My Container Garden...

This is my front porch and these are some of my potted plants- I also have more potted herbs on the deck at the back of the house. One of my favorite containers is my Boat...it comes from Kennebunk Maine. Mixing herbs with flowers is also fun...I love to have some color mixed with the "green leafy herbs".

Herb Gardens

For me, using fresh herbs adds that extra bit of zing to the food that I make. Because we were um, rather confined in space at our last house I would buy my fresh herbs at my local grocery store. At $2.49 for one package of herbs, it was rather costly. I figured that since we're in a new house that has a large yard plus a deck and a patio...I had decided that I was going to have an Herb Garden.

I've seen at our local cooking store this groovy apparatus for starting herb gardens...the down side is that it's priced right around $100.00. I looked at this a couple of times and besides the price being a little hairy I realized that I'm not wanting to start my herb garden from seeds and wait months on end until I can reap the rewards. I want to go to a nursery and buy small plants and have a container garden. I have oodles of terracotta pots (yes they are in a box in our garage...somewhere). I figure that I can have some pots on the deck or the patio and be able to pluck leaves when I need them. Now at a whopping $2.47 per plant, I'm able to reap the rewards quite quickly and have them continue to grow, versus going bad in the refrigerator because I couldn't use all of the herbs in the package.

I'll keep this updated and let you know how it goes...I am excited about this project!

How to hard boil eggs

 

The cooking process may be very simple but it requires

perfect timing for a perfect result.

Place a dozen eggs in a large pot (big enough to have eggs

in a single layer...do not crowd) and cover completely with

an extra 2 inches of cold water. Bring water to a boil over

medium-high heat. Remove pan from heat and cover with lid

and let stand for 18 minutes. Immediately cool egg by plunging

in cold water to prevent continued cooking and to eliminate

the unattractive grayish green circle that can form around

the yolk. Use for coloring, peel and eat, or use in recipe.

Tips:

If not using immediately, refrigerate promptly for up

to 24 hours. Overcooking the egg will result in a

green-rimmed yolk and tough white. If egg does not peel

easily, try holding under cold water while peeling.

Fondue

Fondue, the French term for "melted," is a traditional Swiss  

dish in which morsels of bread, fruit, or meat are dipped in  

a communal pot of simmering melted cheese. Originally fondue  

was devised as a way to use old cheese and stale bread. This   

wonderful dish comes in a variety of styles and offers a fun  

and festive way to entertain.  

 

FONDUE MANNERS  

 

For cheese fondue, spear a piece of bread on a fondue fork  

and dip it into the pot of hot cheese. Coat it and remove it  

from the cheese, but hold it over the pot for a few seconds  

to drip and cool — then eat. Try not to touch the fork with  

your lips or tongue, because it goes back in the pot.  

 

The same etiquette goes for dessert fondue.  

 

For a meat fondue, plunge a speared piece of meat into the  

hot oil to cook. When it looks as if it's done to your re-  

quirements, the meat is removed to a plate and eaten with a  

regular fork while your next piece is cooking. Accompanying  

the meat fondue is usually a choice of sauces; put these  

sauces on your dinner plate with either a ladle or serving  

spoon. Then, with your knife, push some sauce onto the dinner  

fork you've used to spear the meat.  

 

COOKING TIPS  

 

* The addition of alcohol to fondues lowers the boiling point  

 so that cheese proteins will not curdle, but take care not  

 to boil it.   

 

* Heat cheese mixtures slowly so the cheese does not become  

 rubbery.  

 

* When multiplying fondue recipes for larger crowds, remember  

 there is less surface area to evaporate liquids, so you will  

 not need as much as double the liquid of the original recipe.  

 

* Sparkling cider, apple juice, or champagne may be substitu-  

 ted for white wine in fondue recipes.  

 

* Use a good quality cheese in cheese fondues.  

 

* Fresh herbs, roasted garlic, sauteed minced onions, tomato  

 paste, and mustard are all excellent flavorings for cheese  

 fondues.  

 

* For fondue that is too thick, increase the heat, add a  

 little wine, and stir vigorously.  

 

* For fondue that is too thin, continue to stir fondue until  

 thickened.  

 

* Metal pots are better for oil-fried fondues or hot-pots,  

 while ceramic is good for cheese and chocolate.  

 

* A crockpot may be used to keep cooked fondue warm.  

 

* Wine or hot black tea are recommended accompanying beverages  

 for fondue. Some diners claim that drinking water with fondue  

 makes the cheese congeal in the stomach causing digestion  

 problems.  

 

* Leftover fondue may be used as a topping for potatoes or  

 vegetables. Refrigerate, chop, and add to omelets, frittatas,  

 or scrambled eggs.  

 

CHEESE FONDUE  

 

Emmental and Gruyere are the most commonly used cheeses in a  

classic fondue, but Appenzeller, Comte, Beaufort, Tete de  

Moine, and Hoch Ybrig — all relatively low in moisture — also  

work fine. Not every fondue recipe calls for cornstarch, but  

it keeps the cheese and wine from separating.  

 

As an additional treat, when you're almost done eating the  

fondue, leave a thin coating of cheese on the bottom of the  

pot. Lower the flame and allow the coating to turn into a  

brown crust, then break it into pieces and share it with your  

guests. The crust is considered a delicacy in Switzerland.  

 

1 garlic clove, halved crosswise  

1 1/2 cups dry white wine  

1 tablespoon cornstarch  

2 teaspoons kirsch (optional)  

1/2 lb Emmental cheese, coarsely grated (2 cups)  

1/2 lb Gruyère, coarsely grated (2 cups)  

 

Rub inside of a 4-quart heavy pot with cut sides of garlic,  

then discard garlic. Add wine to pot and bring just to a  

simmer over moderate heat.  

 

Stir together cornstarch and kirsch (if using; otherwise,  

use water or wine) in a cup.  

 

Gradually add cheese to pot and cook, stirring constantly in  

a zigzag pattern (not a circular motion) to prevent cheese  

from balling up, until cheese is just melted and creamy (do  

not let boil). Stir cornstarch mixture again and stir into  

fondue. Bring fondue to a simmer and cook, stirring, until  

thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Transfer to fondue pot set over a  

flame.  

 

What to dip  

•Cubes of French bread  

•Cubes of apple and pear  

•Roasted potatoes  

•Julienned raw red bell pepper  

•Blanched broccoli florets  

 

What to drink  

 

*Dry white wine such as dry Riesling or Sancerre  

*German lager or Saison-style ale  

*Farmhouse cider  

*Fino Sherry  

 

Makes 6 servings.  

 

Gourmet  

February 2005  

 

 

 

TOBLERONE DARK CHOCOLATE HONEY-ALMOND FONDUE  

 

Cheese fondue originated in Switzerland, but chocolate fondue  

was a New World recipe created in 1964 by Konrad Egli, a  

Swiss-born chef working at New York's Chalet Swiss restaurant.  

Zurich's Toblerone chocolate works well in the dish, because  

its honey-nougat blend echoes the honey and almond flavoring  

that are also in the recipe.  

 

6 tablespoons whipping cream  

3 tablespoons honey  

2 3.52-ounce bars Toblerone bittersweet chocolate or 7  

 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped  

1 tablespoon kirsch (clear cherry brandy)  

1/4 teaspoon almond extract  

Assorted fresh fruit (such as whole strawberries, 1-inch-   

thick slices peeled banana, peeled pear wedges and orange  

segments)  

 

Bring cream and honey to simmer in heavy medium saucepan.  

Add chocolate; whisk until melted. Remove from heat.  

Whisk in kirsch and extract. Pour fondue into bowl; place  

on platter. Surround with fruit. Serve with skewers.  

 

Serves 4 to 6.  

 

Bon Appetit  

December 1997  

 

 

 

 

Cooking Italian with Giada De Laurentiis

I love to cook using fresh herbs! Italian cooking is full of wonderful herbs and fresh from the garden fruits and vegetables. Last night I made another terrific meal from Giada De Laurentiis' cook book "Every Day Italian"- Stuffed Tomatoes.

This is a delicious and delightful way to surprise a group of friends with a lovely meal. I made the stuffed tomatoes and served it with grilled tuna steaks. I used the arborio rice just like the recipe called for but you can easily substitute medium or long grain rice. One thing I would change is using my roasted garlic instead of the raw garlic as the the tomatoes are only in the oven for 20 minutes...basically enough time to heat the tomato and filling, not enough time to really "cook" anything. This is an excellent dish to serve with just about any type of fish, it's light and not overpowering in any way.

Hannah and her library books

Our daughter Hannah knows how much I enjoy cooking and trying out new recipes. For the past month or so she has been checking out every cookbook available at her school and bringing them home for me to read. So have scary recipes with things we wouldn't ever dream of eating (trust me you don't want to know). Yesterday she brought a Russian cookbook...she's going to freak out with the herring in sour cream. Personally growing up with a mother that lived most of her life in a foreign country I am used to such things (not eating them per say but seeing my mom eat them). I eat chicken, fish, pork and on a rare occasion beef (but never ground beef). My parents eat all kinds of meats, stuff that I'd never let touch my lips again. I'm sorry but I can't wrap myself around the idea of eating Moose, Elk, Venison (Deer), Bear, Rabbit or anything else that's out there in the wilderness. Give me a domestically grown chicken and I'm happy!

So here I am with her latest cooks books...Thai and Russian and there are a handful of recipes I will write down and test drive on my family. Hannah will be looking at me funny with the recipe that calls for 2½ cups of mayonnaise. You see, here in this household mayonnaise is only used for one thing, it's the binding ingredient in a tuna sandwich, that's it!

Another thing we don't really eat in our home is hard boiled eggs. Lots of these recipes in the Russian cook book call for hard boiled eggs. Hannah and I make egg salad sandwiches from time to time, but just eating hard boiled eggs or incorporating them into a recipe or even eating deviled eggs...it's not something that we do here in our home. I never really thought of that until I pulled out my 2 egg plates last week when I was rearranging the placement of something in my china hutch. Maybe I'll make some when we have our house warming party...that way I can use my pretty Polish Pottery egg plate that my best bud sent me when she went on her pottery shopping trip.

I'm off to read more of the Russian cookbook...

my new Kitchen appliances

This is my new dishwasher, it's by Frigidaire. The control panel is hidden so this dishwasher has a clean lines look to it. Next is my over the range microwave...again with the clean lines and do you notice the handle?
The refrigerator is by Kitchen-Aid, and again with the clean lines and the same sleek stainless steel handles. Then there's my range...got to love it! It too has that same look and again with the stainless steel handle. It's no wonder why I'm in appliance heaven!

Buying Kitchen Appliances

Lucien and I set out this afternoon to look at appliances and compare prices from one store and brand to another. We ended up at Lowe's and were looking at the different refrigerators and the sales person tells us that tomorrow is the last day for this terrific sale on some of the appliances that we're looking at buying...too bad the sale ends tomorrow.

So what did we do? Lucien drove home to get our 10% off our entire purchase coupon and I hung out at Lowe's getting other things we needed...like a new kitchen faucet, the one that can pull out and be either a stream of water or a sprayer (love those), a digital programmable thermostat (got to have one of those too) with multiple daytime settings and a weekend setting, another one of those curved shower curtain rods (would have bought two but the store only had the one left). We left that place a few thousand dollars poorer but VERY happy!

Now who wouldn't be happy after buying a $1600 refrigerator and getting it for nearly a third off? I mean really? :-) And that stove...I can hardly wait to use it! Five gas burners, it's duel fuel (electric and gas) plus it's a convection oven and it's also got the duel oven feature. Let me tell you I am in kitchen appliance heaven! I have no idea what the first thing I will cook on that stove or in that oven will be, I just hope that it isn't tuna noodle casserole, LOL!

Deciding on a dishwasher was tougher than the refrigerator. So many to choose from, who ever thought that I'd be spending so much on something to wash my dishes...this baby is sweet!

So between my Kitchen Aid and Frigidaire appliances I am in appliance Heaven! Look to see pictures of my appliances soon!

Dinnerware formal and non-formal

I love my dinnerware! For my everyday I have Fiestaware. For my formal I have Noritake Greenbrier. I'm rather bummed right now because I recently found out that Nortiake had discontinued my pattern last AUGUST! Then again this was not the china pattern that I had picked out. So I've made the best of it for years, all the while wishing that I had mustered up the courage to have taken it back and traded it in for the pattern that I really wanted "Old Country Roses". That pattern is a classic and will never be discontinued.

Last summer I was at a friend's home attending a going away dinner for a mutual friend. The lady who hosted the event had set her table in the most charming manner- at every place setting there was a different china pattern. I loved it! I knew right there that THAT was what I wanted to do. Now that I've seen another senior spouse do this in her home, I knew that I too could pull off this look. NO more stuffy formal place settings for me! Our new formal dinner ware will be warm and inviting, I like to call it "country charming". Everyone commented on the different dinnerware patterns that Ginny had set out and how they loved it. With that in mind I'm now going to seek single place settings of different patterns. What a great way to go about achieving a unique look.

Mikasa Wine glasses

Every month the mission Support Group commanders get togther and have a little party, the selection is totally random. How do you know when it's YOUR turn to host a party? You get this cute pink flamingo stuck in your yard, LOL! So February is the month for us to host a party. The rule is that they have to have a theme...our theme is "Wine and Cheesecake tasting". I wanted to do something that was a bit different...everyone's heard of wine and cheese tasting...but what about cheesecake? I've got the 6 different cheesecakes down, now to get some more wine glasses (preferably ones that macth the ones we have).

Soooooooo anyway my quest for more wine glasses ends up with me driving all over the place for something decent looking. I saw some nice ones by Mikasa at Herbergers (that's our fancy department store in Rapid City) and they were nice but I didn't want to pay $50 for a set of 4, especially when I need at least 16 glasses. An idea that Lucien had was to buy plastic ones, ones we can toss into the recycle bin later on when we were done with them, the only ones I saw were $25 for a set of 4- for plastic? get out!

Smack me in the head but I didn't see anything at Target that I liked, and I roll my eyes at myself because I even tried Wal-Mart. For something half ways decent looking the best price was $17.99 for a set of 4- at Wal-Mart, that's still more than I really wanted to spend. So as a last resort I went to the Ellsworth AFB BX (base exchange- it's like a Target department store for military families). I see wine glasses that I like at a very reasonable price $4.99 for a set of 4 and they look like they will match our Williamsburg Winery stemware. But wait, right next to all of that is that very same set of Mikasa wine glasses that I saw earlier at Herberger's, the price tag on these were $29.99 but wait! There's another tag on the shelf partially covering the $29.99 tag and it says $12.47, woohoo! SOoooooo, I take a box over to the nearest price scanner to make sure of this low price and get this...it scans in at $6.27! I ran and got a cart and loaded myself up with some great looking stem ware at a fraction of the retail price! So for about $25 I was able to get $200 worth of Mikasa stemware. Here's a picture of what they look like...

But wait...then I spy the champagne glasses, they too are marked way down...yes at $6.27 for a set of 4. One quick phone call and I got the go ahead on getting them. So I spent a total of $50 and got $400 worth of Mikasa Stemware!

Immersion Blender

Here it is, my latest kitchen gadget. I bought a Kitchen Aid Immersion Blender through the Kitchen Aid site. Who knew that they have weekly specials...some item at a great sale price. When I saw this gem I knew that it was for me! I've been wanting to get one from Kitchen Aid for quite some time but couldn't part with the $$$ for it. I bought a Hamilton Beach immersion blender a while back and frankly it's wimpy! I used it once and it was so rinky dink it wasn't even funny! So here I am with this bad boy ready to take on the toughest of jobs! Today it's Pasta e Fagioli. I need this immersion blender to churn up a couple of cups of the soup to make it have a creamy consistency. We shall see how my new toy preforms :-)

keeping warm in the kitchen!

I can't begin to tell you all how much joy cooking and baking brings to me. Today has been one of those true joy filled days for me. So I begin my day by starting to bake some cheesecakes for the surprise baby shower I'm attending tomorrow. Here I have all gotten my measuring cups and spoons out, ingredients out and I start putting things together then I realize the following...I have only 1 tablespoon of real Vanilla left (have the clear imitation vanilla on hand but it never tastes like the real thing...well not to me any way) and about 2 tablespoons of sour cream left...someone ate it last night with their chili, oops, LOL!!! Yes I had to laugh at that one. It's freezing outside and the windchill made it about -15º out, eeeewww!!! But I braved it and went to the store, came home and was back in business all within 15 minutes.
I've since made 2 dreamy looking cheesecakes and they are in the cool down phase in my oven. Oh my word the house smells so good!!!! It's warmed up a bit outside...now it only feels like -6º LOL! My neighbor buzzed over to ask me a question and was wanting to know what I was baking...she thought that it was cookies and when I told her that it was a couple of cheesecakes her eyes lit up. Suddenly the wind didn't seem as cold :-)
It's cold and I think that a steaming hot mug of raspberry hot chocolate will hit the spot and warm me up!

Welcome to February!

It's seriously cold today! Only 1 thing can conquer that and it's my home made vegetarian chili! I've decided that I need to make a recipe page for it, I'll make one with the normal sized recipe, I usually make a double the recipe sized batch and freeze the leftovers. With that in mind it's time to get those cans of beans and tomatoes out of the freezing cold garage and into the house to thaw out a bit. I have an easier time working with the ingredients when they aren't in frozen block, LOL!

I also have plans on making a Turtle Cheesecake for a baby shower this weekend, a New York Cheesecake as a gift and having a hot Apple Crisp waiting for my children when they come home from school today! Plus that pot of chili...I better get a move on!