February: The Month-of-??? Recipes

It’s that time of year again. I blog daily in February with a recipe-a-day that fit a category. Two years ago, I blogged soup recipes daily. Last year I blogged chicken recipes. So what’s this February going to be?

As in the past, I let you, Dear Readers, decide that.

The three options for you are:

Eggs

Mini-Desserts

Appetizers

Eggs you say? Yes, eggs. Did you know the traditional chef’s toque has 100 pleats because it was said a real chef could prepare eggs 100 ways. Shoot, I only need to do 28 if you pick this one.

Mini-Desserts in shot glasses (though no longer confined there) began with Seasons 52, a wonderful chain restaurant that serves un-chain-like food. Seriously, look for one near you. I don’t often recommend restaurants. This one I do. But back to the desserts: There is something about a one or two-bite bit of sweetness after a meal that is satisfying on many levels--one of which is lowered calorie count.

Appetizers are such fun. I love appetizers parties where happy hour turns into dinner because of the heft and variety of appetizers served. In fact (she says with no modesty at all), my appetizer parties have brought me a small amount of acclaim.

Thems the three. Which do you want and/or need?

But why vote now? February seems so far away. Did you read my OCD post earlier? Well, in case you didn’t notice, there are a few holiday thingies coming up that will gobble up time, and it takes time to figure out what I am going to fix every day for 28 days straight. Oh, and did I mention the OCD post? So give me time to process this selection. Comments here, on FaceBook, and on Twitter will be combined to declare the winning category.

So comment below. Which category would you like to have 28 recipes for? Eggs, mini-desserts, or appetizers? The deadline for voting is December 1. Vote now and get your friends to vote, too.

I’m waiting with bated breath for the results. Really.

I am not OCD! (Am I? Am I?)

Cooking is like love.  It should be entered into with abandon or not at all.  ~Harriet van Horne

Am I overly compulsive? And just what the heck does “overly compulsive” mean anyway? Isn’t that just some procrastinator’s term for those who plan ahead, who like to plan ahead, who plan waaaay ahead?

Okay, so maybe I’m a tad on the compulsive side when it comes to food. (Certainly that is NOT the case with dusting, vacuuming, etc.)

When the kids were at home, family vacations were often in the wilds. Bring in your own water. Dig a hole for the latrine. That sort of wilds. Loved it!

But that meant no grocery store to pick up another stick of butter or Oops! No meat? Sorry. Let’s eat what we can forage. Planning ahead, making menus, stocking the cooler--that’s what fed my men.

They ribbed me, of course. But none of them ever turned down the shish-ke-babs and rice followed with chocolate cherry pie. No way. They made fun of my lists and menus, but that was the thin line that separated us from starvation. (Okay, maybe not starvation, but it did save us from the Dinty Moore canned stew my husband “prepared” on our first camping trip. That’s when I knew I had to take charge.)

So whenever anyone is coming to dinner or to stay with us for an extended time, I make menus. And file them. I wouldn’t want to serve the same thing twice to guests. Heaven forfend!

As we approach the holidays, the company is piling up. Pattycake and Jimbo will be here in a few weeks. Served them orange marmalade pork tenderloin, special marinade salmon, and cocoa chile chicken among other faves. So, I am scouring my recipe stash for some dishes I haven’t made in a while. Like chicken cupcakes for lunch. Avogolemono and lamb souvlaki for dinner.

Same with my sons and their companions. I have to serve them old favorites like French Dip for lunch and our traditional-always-the-same Christmas dinner. But I want to try things with them I haven’t served in a while, like Mongolian Hotpot (see my post on “The Girlfriend Test”).

Though they kid me mercilessly, as a working mom, planning menus was imperative. I had nutsy hours some weeks, so making sure they had good food options meant we rarely resorted to fast food like pizza for dinner.

So does that make me OCD? If so, I’ll take it because the stress of not having food organized would put me in the loony bin.

Chopped and Served

I admit to an addiction. Addictions are compelling, you know. They grab onto you and force you to aberrant behaviors, behaviors you never thought YOU would be snared by. Yes, that’s right. I watch too much TV. I am addicted to the Food Network, and the show Chopped is especially egregious.

[Side note: “egregious” is one of those words that has undergone amelioration (improvement) in meaning over the centuries; it used to mean “remarkably good” in contrast to today’s “outstandingly bad”]

I was thrilled with the Iron Chef shows that had the mystery ingredient. What fun to watch these world-class chefs figure out what to do with lizard brains! But Chopped took it to another level. A whole basket with mystery ingredients. I loved imagining what I could do with them.

When I first watched Chopped, I was not impressed, and on some level that is still the case. Shoot! A bunch of disparate ingredients to throw together in a few minutes? At my house, I call that dinner!

After all, isn’t that what happens at your house? [Opening refrigerator whilst simultaneously scouring pantry shelves] “Hmm. Dinner. What can I put together?” Seriously! They made a TV show out of every busy mom’s daily experience??? Who are they trying to kid?

So here’s a tip to make that daily experience do-able: Develop a kitchen-awareness for foods on hand.

Okay, admittedly, unlike Chopped, I don’t typically have frog legs, kumquats, graham cracker crumbs, and mustard greens I have to combine, but the principle is the same. Every mom I know looks at the possibilities and puts them together and calls it dinner. So take that, Chopped!

Recently, I had spaghetti, some cherry tomatoes on their way to becoming dried tomatoes, cheese, some chopped veggies left from a salad (peppers, green onion), and some leftover roast chicken and chicken au jus.

I cooked the spaghetti and after draining added the au jus and chicken. I tossed in the veggies and added shaved Asiago cheese. Dinner in ten minutes!

What’s sitting around in your refrig? Leftover meatloaf? Add a can of chiles, black beans, Mexicorn, diced tomatoes, salsa, and Mexican cheese. Pop the casserole into the microwave for ten minutes. Dinner is served!

Two pork chops and four people for dinner? Slice the pork chops and put half in the bottom of a casserole dish. Cut up 2 white and/or sweet potatoes (or use leftovers) and put half on top of the pork. Drizzle on some cream and add cheese. Repeat layers. Cover and bake in 375 degree oven for 45 minutes (reduce time if potatoes are cooked). Uncover and bake for another 5-10 minutes to brown up.

See? How easy is that? Look at what you’ve got and throw it together. Odds are very good that you will create a memorable meal. And un-replicable since you will never have the same combo again!

Catch-Up and a New Project

I am excited about a new venture. I am doing a monthly food column for a small community paper in Northern Arizona. The Quick Cook will provide tips and recipes assembled easily to make meals appear effortless.

The Pinewood News already runs one monthly cooking column, The Creative Kitchen, but that columnist cut back the number she wrote. This way every issue of the paper (twice a month in the warm times; once a month in winter) will provide the readers with recipes and cooking ideas.

I needed something new to do, right? And, the column will provide me with a new and different reader base for my culinary mysteries. It’s all marketing, isn’t it?

Too cynical? Nah! I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t love cooking and writing about cooking. First column, for November, is done and ready to e-mail off. The next three are roughed out. Hey, it’s only 500 words. I can hardly say “hello” in that amount of words!

Here’s the first tip in my first column:

QC tip #1: Always keep some basic mixes in the fridge for quick cooking.

For me, that means my Savory Butter (done in an earlier column in this blog) and my delicious, adaptable Cream Cheese Spread.

Here’s the recipe:

8 ounces cream cheese (low fat okay)

3 tablespoons prepared horseradish (not creamy)

Soften cream cheese at room temperature. Vigorously stir in horseradish. After use, cover and refrigerate.

I use this as a sandwich spread in wraps, as a dip for fruits and veggies ,mixed with cooked, hot hamburg for a chip dip, and to sauté mushrooms or other veggies as a side dish or appetizer.

You like? Try both and see what other uses you can create for my Quick Cook mixes.

The Way to a Man's Heart . . .

DH will eat anything I make. Now that’s very nice, but it probably means he doesn’t have the kind of discerning palate that I would like.

Here’s an example. For years, while we both worked outside the home, he packed his own lunch. The SAME lunch everyday--for DECADES! And I mean that literally. Turkey sandwich with mayo, pickles, and cheese. Chips. Grapes. And cookies. Oh, the cookies might vary or he might cut up an apple instead of packing grapes. But you get the idea. B O R I N G!

I cannot eat the same meal everyday. I just cannot. And I am fortunate to have enough money that I don’t need to.

When I stayed home to kick-start my full-time writing career, I told him I would no longer allow him to buy cookies with all those preservatives and other junk. So, I created a cookie just for him. All these many years later, even though he is not packing a lunch anymore, I make these cookies and keep them in his cookie jar. Because they’re small, he thinks he is controlling his diet. They are really quite healthful. If you don’t count the butter. And if you don’t count the sugar. But, hey, NO preservatives!

By the way, he loves his cookies and tells me so often! It may be why we’re still married.

DH’s Oatmeal Cranberry Pecan Cookies (makes ~7 dozen two-bite cookies)

1 c plus 2 T butter, softened                        ½ t salt

¾ c packed brown sugar                             1 ¾ c flour

½ c granulated sugar                                   2 ½ c oats

2 lg eggs                                                      6 oz pkg dried cranberries

3 t vanilla extract                                        1 c pecans, chopped

1 t baking soda

Heat oven to 375°.

Beat butter and sugars in a bowl with mixer on medium speed until sugar is incorporated and the mixture is fluffy.

Add eggs, vanilla, baking soda, and salt until blended.

With mixer on low speed, beat in flour to blend. Stir in oats.

When well-blended, add in cranberries and nuts.

Drop heaping tablespoons (or use small cookie dough scooper) 1” apart on ungreased baking sheets.

Bake 10-12 minutes until golden brown. Cool 1 min on cookie sheet, then put on cookie rack.

Try these with important people in your life and let me know what they think. 

Personal Chef-ing for Fun and Profit

Mission Impastable should be available this fall. In that book, Alli, and her friend and business partner, Gina, start a personal chef business. A bold and brave move they take while seeking their goals of self-worth, independence, and financial security. Gina has always been the professional worker, while Alli has pasted together a series of temporary subsistence-level jobs.

However, Alli and Gina are quite naïve when it comes to starting a personal chef business, or any business, for that matter. Gina has worked for others, admittedly in a supervisory capacity. Still . . .  But, Alli? Well, you know Alli. She’s sort of like Maria in The Sound of Music (“a flibbertijibbet, a will-of-the-wisp, a clown”). Bright and shiny things draw her attention so she has a hard time staying focused on details, especially if she thinks they’re boring. She says that Gina makes things happen but Alli is the one conceptualizing the happenings.

In preparation for writing this book, I read about personal chefs, I checked out some of the official personal chef associations websites, I looked for requirements, and finally I talked with a personal chef who also writes mysteries and romance books with recipes. Carolyn Hughey was a great help.

However.

By the time Carolyn got her hands on me, Mission Impastable was off to the editor for publication in a couple of months. Think, think, think!

Ah, ha! Got it! I know how to fix all the errors they are making in book one of the “Dinner is Served” series.

Things are not going well with the PC biz in book two, Prime Rib and Punishment, so they take on a teaching job at the local culinary institute. While there, they teach a couple of courses on how to run a PC business. Doing the research for that (and meeting a PC in the region) helps them figure out what they need to do to fix the reasons they aren’t successful. They acknowledge what they did wrong and then rectify their mistakes. Business picks up, life looks good! This takes re-working the first part of book two, but that is relatively easy at this stage.

Just like in real life, if things don’t go the way they are supposed to, step back and analyze the options. Yanking the book back and re-writing it was NOT a good option. I think editors lose patience if you don’t know what you’re doing. In this case I can have my personal chefs learn, just like all of us do in reality.

In case you are interested in how personal chef-ing works, try these resources:

1.     American Personal & Private Chef Institute & Association ...

www.personalchef.com/‎

American Personal & Private Chef Association excels in Personal Chef Training, Certification, Personal Chef Support, Conferences & Personal Chef Association ...

‎Find a Personal Chef - ‎APPCA Member Area - ‎Become a Personal Chef - ‎Contact Us

2.     United States Personal Chef Association - Personal Chef Training ...

www.uspca.com/‎

Personal Chef Education and Personal Chef Membership: United States Personal Chef Association (USPCA)

‎The Personal Chef Association - ‎Contact Us - ‎Media - ‎Personal Chef Recipe

3.     The Personal Chef Association

www.uspca.com/association/‎

With this in mind, the United States Personal Chef Association was able to allow this new career field to flourish while maintaining and regulating the manner in ...

4.     Personal Chef Certification (CPC)

www.uspca.com/association/certification/‎

Personal Chef Certification (CPC). CPC - Certified Personal Chef. In 1996 the United States Personal Chef Association created a certification program with a ...

5.     Personal Chef Association - Hangin' With People Who Love Food

www.personalchefassociation.com/‎

Social Networking site for foodies, personal chefs, culinarians, and other folks who simply love to prepare and eat glorious food.

6.     Find and Hire a Personal Chef - Personal Chef Search.Com ...

www.personalchefsearch.com/‎

Find and hire a personal chef, the American Personal Chef Registry invites you enjoy the ... Hire a Personal ChefAmerican Personal & Private Chef Association.

7.     2013 Personal & Private Chef Summit in Baltimore at Stratford ...

www.personalchefsummit.com/‎

The American Personal & Private Chef Association (APPCA), based in San Diego, promotes the “business of doing business” as a personal or private chef ...

8.     the American Personal & Private Chef Association's Discussion ...

personalchefforum.com/eve‎

American Personal Chef Association the Industry Leader in Personal Chef Training, Certification, Support, Annual Conferences & Networking. Find and hire a ...

9.     American Personal & Private Chef Association Forums

personalchefforum.com/‎

American Personal Chef Association the Industry Leader in Personal Chef Training, Certification, Support, Annual Conferences & Networking. Find and hire a ...

10.  Personal chef - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_chef‎

Various training programs are also offered by the United States Personal Chef Association and the American Personal & Private Chef Association.

Blogger Girl by Meredith Schorr

This post is a day late because I am a techno-turd. Not nerd. I wish. I always have such trouble figuring out the simplest things, but that’s not your problem. Here is the post meant for yesterday!

Ta Da! Introducing Meredith Schorr, chick lit author extraordinaire! She is one of the Chick Lit Goddesses I hang out with on FB. I love Meredith’s genuine writing of authentic characters, situations and reactions. If you haven’t picked up Just Friends with Benefits or A State of Jane, why not??? But, even if you haven’t read her earlier work, you are just in time for her newest release, Blogger Girl by Booktrope Editions.

What happens when your high school nemesis becomes the shining star in a universe you pretty much saved? Book blogger Kimberly Long is about to find out.

A chick lit enthusiast since the first time she read Bridget Jones’s Diary, Kim, with her blog, "Pastel is the New Black," has worked tirelessly by night to keep the genre alive, and help squash the claim that "chick lit is dead" once and for all. Not bad for a woman who by day ekes out a meager living as a pretty, and pretty-much-nameless, legal secretary in a Manhattan law firm.

While Kim's day job holds no passion for her, the handsome (and shaving challenged) associate down the hall is another story. Yet another story is that Hannah Marshak, one of her most hated high school classmates, has now popped onto the chick lit scene with a hot new book that's turning heads--and pages--across the land. It's also popped into Kim's inbox--for review. With their ten-year high school reunion drawing near, Kim's coming close to combustion over the hype about Hannah’s book. And as everyone around her seems to be moving on and up, she begins to question whether being a “blogger girl” makes the grade in her off-line life.

A born and bred New Yorker, Meredith Schorr discovered her passion for writing when she began to enjoy drafting work-related emails way more than she was probably supposed to, and was famous among her friends for writing witty birthday cards. After trying her hand writing children’s stories and blogging her personal experiences, Meredith found her calling writing “real” chick lit for real women.  When Meredith is not hard at work on her current work in progress, she spends her days as a trademark paralegal.  Meredith is a loyal New York Yankees fan and an avid runner.  Blogger Girl is her third novel.