June 17th ~ Heaven's Rich Pageant

There is always a bit of trivia I remember about Father's Day falling on June 17^th. Although, I don't know if it is still true to this day, when we lived there, it was the last time it snowed on Father's Day in North Dakota. I try to remember everything about Father's Days past as I no longer have my Dad here to celebrate. I try to remember everything about him.

If you have lost your Dad, I don't know if this is true for you. But, I miss my Dad more today then I did when he first left. The hole just keeps growing. It is an ocean of loss. You don't really understand what you have lost at the time of the loss. Your loss is all past; you won't celebrate birthdays or Father's Days anymore. You don't imagine that you won't have that warm hand with the weathered skin to hold when you are drowning in the struggles of life as an adult. You don't know then that as you chase your dreams and stumble through the life surrounding you, you will want to ask Dad; hey how did you open that sandwich shop those years ago; and how did you pack up the family and journey from the big city of New York to the vast prairie of North Dakota? Where did your courage come from; your strength? How did you endure so much pain and sickness and still remain the most graceful person in the room? What is the song they used in the REM video you appeared in? How did you make such perfect fried eggs? I adored my father when he was living, but wasn't always listening; in the loss of him I listen to every breeze and every heartbeat for the sound of his voice.

I think about the richness of heaven and how it is ultimately the dream trip I hope to take one day. Forget Ireland or Australia; heaven seems to be where all the lovely people are. Since Dad lives there I image it has Holsteins and Appaloosas; chili and Schlitz; the open road and family gatherings; laughter about grease on door knobs; a jukebox with Anne Murray and Statler Brother's songs; lakes for fishing; oceans for swimming; prayer and forgiveness;

My Dad was a man of tradition. So, for tradition's sake, I made him breakfast. Bacon & Eggs with pumpernickel toast; careful to keep the yolks runny.

Then I sat on the porch with him and my coffee, listening; resigned to the fact that I will have puffy eyes tomorrow. And that, I suppose, is how you know just how rich you really are.

I hope this is a happy day for Father's everywhere.

June 10th, Comfort in the Rain

It is a rainy day in Georgia, and a Sunday to boot. Otherwise known as, a homebodies perfect day. There is nothing more to want then comfort food and a nice wine. It is a day to pull out the old records or watch travel and cooking shows on PBS or to read something other then my How to Open & Operate a Financially Successful Personal Chef Business book; something like Far From the Land or Rewards and Fairies or People Magazine.

There isa flurry of activities that are going on everywhere; my niece is celebrating her 14^th birthday; another is studying for the MCATs; one cousin is graduating from high school, another is holding his twins at their Baptism; the French Open will resume tomorrow and I'll Have Another is headed to greener pasture. But it is quite here. Louie is at my feet, earnestly trying to scratch that itch; the rain hits the tin like a playful love affair and Il Volo is serenading the little gray house via UNC TV.

Now, I will make that comfort food and drink a nice wine. Please, pull up a chair. It is a Mid-westerner's version of a Southern Vegy Plate menu, with a little Pinot Noir. Here is where we hope to end up:

The beans will take the longest to cook. I love dried Northern Beans, because they don't sell dried Midwesterner Beans. Rinse them well:

I do a quick boil on the beans to cut down on cooking time.

Cover beans with water and bring to a boil. At full boil, allow 2 minutes, then turn off, remove from burner, and let sit for 1 hour.

Once the hour is up, I add olive oil, fresh sage, garlic, and salt and pepper to the beans,

Then add enough water to cover the beans by at least 2 inches.

Now for the turnip greens, rinse the heck out of those!

Then, I put a little olive oil, bacon fat, garlic and salt and pepper in the bottom of a pot,

... break apart your rinsed greens and toss them in this mixture. I don't add any water or any more moisture because I don't dry the greens after rinsing them.

I will salt and pepper throughout the cooking, and also add a few red pepper flakes for kicks; or a little kick.

You will want some cornbread with this dish...I am pretty darn sure! A few sliced tomatoes makes everything Southern. But I like the sage and garlic in the beans as a Northern Italy twist on the beans and the variation on the greens ain't bad either.

I hope this brings you comfort on your rainy days.

June 3rd, Tequila!

If you are a follower, then you know I am scared of birds. Petrified, frozen in my tracks scared. The other day I had the ultimate drama at my house. I was filling Louie"s water bowl (if you are a first time reader, Louie is the canine version of the love of my life) from a large mug; and I had extra water. So, without thinking I tossed the water in the direction of a front porch plant. Before I could possibly take the toss back, I had hit a small bird with the water; knocking it out of the plant and onto the yard. All Louie saw was a flying object; so he thought someone was playing a game with him and of course pounced on the bird. It was a traumatic few moments that I do not have the tools to manage. It didn't take Louie long to realize that the bird was not a tennis ball; but the damage had been done to an all important wing. The bird was still, Louie was still and I was yelling things like, 'oh, for the love of God fly little bird, fly'; 'please don't haunt me'; 'shoo, fly, please don't peck me to death';'Louie look at what you have done; are you kidding me?' and on and on...Flashbacks to the cock fighting rooster pecking away at my three year-old Auburn hairline emerge.


These types of experiences only add to the trauma of cooking fowl. I remember an episode of Chopped on Food Network where Black Chicken was a secret ingredient in the basket; I have never changed a channel so quickly in my life. Or the time whole, feather ducks were featured on Iron Chef...I could throw up right now.


But it is my quest to be Bob's Small Town Grill when I grow up so I soldier on in my perfection of fowl recipes. Today I am attempting to replicate the Tequila Lime Chicken Sandwich with Guacamole and Bacon that I learned from one of my favorite cooking blogs; Closet Cooking. Yeah, not what you are thinking...this blog is about cooking in a kitchen the size of a closet. Which I can relate too; well, my space is large, but I have one burner I can count on and the oven is always hit or miss so I can relate. But Kevin of Closet Cooking and I are great illusionists, I believe. No one really knows what goes on in my life or my kitchen; but there tends to be enjoyable things that emerge from both. So here goes; abracadabra!

This sandwich has jalapeno mayo, tequila and lime marinated grilled chicken, guacamole and bacon...what is not to love.


Start with marinating the chicken.

Tequila, lime juice and zest, garlic, jalapeno, cilantro, olive oil and salt and pepper run through a food processor... if you can let if soak overnight, all the better.


For the Mayo take a couple jalapenos with garlic, lime juice and cilantro and roast it in the oven for 30 minutes or so;

Then send it all to the food processor as well and blend with about a 1/2 cup of mayo.


Get your bacon cooking...

...and your coals are rocking your chicken cutlets...



Prepare your guacamole and gather up your mayo. I feel like every time I make guacamole i do it differently; yet is always turns out yummy. I think it is just one of those things that you really can't go wrong with. Avocado, lime, garlic, cilantro, salt and pepper.

Now, the chicken is ready so we just need to build our sandwich~ spread the mayo on the bun, lay a lettuce leaf, then your chicken, a nice slice of tomato, your guacamole and then that bacon!!

What do you think? Will I ever be Bob's Small Town Grill Material?

Oh, and the bird, Louie sat with it for hours, occasionally licking its forehead, until it felt comfortable to fly off...That is why Louie is the canine version of the love of my life.

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May 27th, Memorial Day Burgers!

Everyone has their favorite Sunday Dinner that they look forward to. Mine is Hickory Smoked Whole Chicken stuffed with lemons, garlic, Rosemary and Thyme. I serve it with Butternut Squash Pesto. It is always a big hit; it is so elegant and lovely and yummy but surprisingly easy to make. For the Memorial Day Holiday I think folks usually want less fan fair for their Bar B Que gatherings. So this is an attempt at reconstructing this culinary delight in a whole new, casual way.

For this holiday, I am grilling Turkey Burgers made with fresh herbs & lemon and topped with a Butternut Squash & Garlic Mayo.

I toss 1 lb of ground turkey in a bowl, and throw in some finely chopped fresh Rosemary and Thyme as well as the juice and zest of one lemon.

Then I add a not so full tablespoon of breadcrumbs to help bind the burgers and one large minced garlic clove.

I loosely fold all of this together with some salt and pepper, then refrigerate while I prepare the squash. If you do the squash first you still want to refrigerate your meat; it just helps it not fall apart on the grille.

Wash your squash then cut into pieces. I cut a few rings as well for a side dish. I rub each piece with garlic, sprinkle salt and pepper on top and then top with olive oil. I also leave garlic pieces to cook along side the squash in the foil that we will place on the grille.

I let the squash cook on the grill for about 45 minutes. That time just depends on how large your pieces are. I have a dial on my grille that tells when it is at optimal heat so that is how I know my grille is ready. Your coals also give tells; though I am still learning those.

Now you are ready to make the burgers. I top again with salt and pepper and brush with olive oil for the grille.

I go ahead and put a few Butternut Squash rings on the grill as well. Turkey burgers do not take very long to cook. So you can't go and try to set up your new inflatable pool, which I may or may not have done, while these were cooking. 

As I lost track of time, when I checked them, they were magically ready.

Make sure that is a clean plate...

Now it is time to make the Mayo. We have let the squash cool. Then I put mayo, garlic powder, salt, pepper and the butternut squash in a bowl and whip it up.

So good!

Now we are ready to build a burger baby! Start with a toasted bun, and a dollop of your mayo.

I add the burger, a nice slice of tomato and a slice of grilled onion. Then another dollop of mayo.

Sorry for the blur...I was excited!

I will serve this today with a mixed green salad and the grilled Butternut Squash rings drizzled with nothing more than oil and vinegar.

The Butternut Squash Mayo is just a lovely exclamation point! I hope everyone has a safe Memorial Day and that if you are gathered with friends and family, I hope you enjoy good food, each others company, and the freedom we are afforded by the brave men and women who brought it to us.

Try them, then tell what you think!

Recipe:

Burgers

1 lb ground turkey

1 spring fresh rosemary

1 spring fresh thyme

1 lemon

1 large garlic clove

1 not so full tablespoon breadcrumbs

salt and pepper

Butternut Squash Mayo

1 medium sized butternut squash cut in pieces

3 tablespoons mayo

1 teaspoon garlic powder

salt and pepper

Additional

good burger buns; sliced tomatoes, and sliced onions – grilled.

Mixed greens

Oil and Vinegar

May 20th, Inspired Dishes

This has been a busy weekend. My niece, Katie, graduated from 8th grade on Friday night; then rocked it out at Ram Jam with her band on Saturday night.

Here is a little dish on this fireball that inspires me. When she was a little girl she was a night owl. I bunked at my brothers for a few months when I moved back to Georgia a little over 10 years ago. When I would get home from a late night of work I could count on Katie to sneak out of her bed and come down the stairs, sucking her thumb threaded with her silky bunky, to snuggle with me while we watched Letterman.

When she turned 10, I took her to Last Resort for a 'fancy' birthday lunch and the server commented on how impressed she was with Katie's manners ~ she ordered the Crab Cakes by the full name instead of just saying, “I'll have the Crab Cakes”; she said please and thank you without any prompting and she managed to keep her elbows off the table the entire meal. All of which I am not sure I accomplished.

When I first heard Katie perform her music it was on the main stage at AthFest ~ which is a pretty big deal in the music scene of a pretty big deal music town ~ Athens, GA. I never even knew she wanted to sing or could sing. I was nervous. Then, once she cranked up on her lead vocal performance of Pat Benatar's Heartbreaker, all the crowd started to flock to the stage from the art booths and beer gardens and BMX demonstrations and my hands were shaking while I tried to take a video because I was crying pride tears. The more I see her perform the more inspired I become. Maybe I had something to do with preparing her for the rock star life with all those late nights of snuggling.

Now, I am tooling around the yard and house searching for inspiration for what to cook for dinner today and I happen upon this:

...and this...

...and this...

...and this...

...and finally this...

...so I made this...

...because I have been inspired to prefect these...

...and that is a good way to spend a few days!

May 13th, Mother's Day Pancakes

Today is Mother's Day so in honor of my mother I am digging deep into my cooking archives all the way back to the first time I ever cooked for the public. I was 10 years old and was making Butterfly Pancakes for my 4H presentation. I earned a 2^nd place ribbon but am confident these pancakes were first place material; I just couldn't figure out how to hold my mirror at the end so the judges could see the magic.

Thank goodness we don't need the smoke and mirror trick now!

The coolest thing about these pancakes is that they have been a staple of my arsenal all these years since that 10 year old, red ribbon day. They have stood the test of time.

I have loved cooking them as a young daughter for Mother's Day and Father's Day breakfasts in bed. I have made them for the kids when I was a nanny, hoping to impress them. And my favorite has been to create them with my nieces and nephews over the years, hoping they could see in the wings just how much I adore each of them.

So to get started, you gather up your favorite pancake mix.

Or in my case, I picked Hungry Jack Wheat Blend because it was on sale, you only need to add water and it sounds more nutritious.

With this recipe you can choose to have syrup or not since we are going to make a sauce to die for it, you don't really need it.

OK, so the pancake mix is for the wings, now we need a body. So start your link sausages up in a pan. They take the longest to cook. Even longer then the sauce.

For the sauce...it's back...Rhubarb!

You will also need strawberries, sugar to taste (I love to taste the authenticity of the Rhubarb, but some folks need more sweetness, fine either way), a lemon slice and medium high heat.

And just stir occasionally to help it along. You may be tempted to add a liquid, but remember, Rhubarb has a lot of moisture so you really don't need any.

Let's see, the sausage are getting close, the sauce is simmering; let's start our wings! Just follow the directions on the box.

Because it is a celebration, I am going to cook my pancakes in some butter. But a spray Pam is just fine.

Ah, you can see all the imperfections of my pan...just think of the lovely mouths this pan has fed...or poisoned, depending on the nature of their visit and how much wine I may have had.

Now, pour in your batter, and wait for the holes to appear.

This obviously is not my test cake...that one was a hot mess....but I encourage you to go a head and count on one test cake when you are measuring in the beginning. This way you can practice the perfect flip.

I would have shown you that in slow motion but I can't flip and hold the camera at the same time. If I could I would surely be on Food Network, or America's got Talent.

Now, let's take our Butterfly out of its cocoon. I stacked two pancakes here.

Incidentally, it is laid out on my Mom and Dad's wedding china.

Then cut the stack down the middle and turn each half out to make the wings.

Add the body.

The antenna.

I am using Rosemary today, which I also added a pinch of to the sauce (ancient Freckle Face secret).

Now, we can add the sauce and decorate the plate.

I wish I could explain to you just how decadent this sauce is. I made enough to go on Vanilla Bean ice cream that I may treat myself too later; since after all, I am a God Mother...Leave the Gun, take the Rhubarb sauce...

Happy Mother's Day!