Summer Pasta Salad

Pasta salad is always a bit hit in the summer time. Pasta is so versatile and the best thing is you can prepare it the day before, which is best so all the flavors come together.

Growing up, Pasta salad was always a staple in my home. However, Mother was not very adventurous when making pasta salad. Her salad consisted of, Elbow macaroni, onions, and mayo. Not so flavorful and not very inspired. So as I begin to make pasta salad, I would throw in all kinds of stuff, and use various salad dressing we had on hand. Now I must say some of my creations were pretty darn good, others not so much. Now there was nothing really wrong with moms salad, but I wanted more.

When my June issue of the Food Network Magazine came, I was so so excited to see on the cover "Pasta Salad Create Your Own!"

On page 79 it had ideas for you to "Mix and Match". The proteins suggested were some I have always used, however Baked Totu is one that I am quite sure I will not use in my pasta salad.

One of the veggies they suggested was green beans and canned chickpeas. Interesting.....

After reading and deciding what salad I was going to prepare, off to the store I went to get my ingredients. Here is my Pasta Salad recipe:

Wagon wheel pasta. Cook in very salty water. Think of the sea. And don't over cook!

Lump Crap meat.
Roasted corn kernels. Love the roasted flavor it gives this salad.
English cucumber, diced
Red onion, diced. If you refer you can use shallots.
Asparagus, blanched & chopped. This give a nice flavor and crunch to the salad
Sun-dried tomatoes, chopped.

My dressing was:

Mayo, about 1/3 cup
Sour cream about 3-4 Tablespoons
Lemon Juice. 1 to 1/2 tablespoons
Garlic - 3 small cloves roasted then pressed.
Herbs - Fresh, chopped. I used, thyme, rosemary, dill and basil.
I also added some olive oil as the dressing was a bit too thick for my liking.

These measurments are not set in stone. I always start small and increase if need be. I am light on the salt and lemon juice. I added garlic as I like the flavor it gives. You can always add more but you can't take away.

I let this sit for a awhile to get all the flavors blended.

Salad was a big hit! So go out and get the June issue of Food Network magazine and get inspired!

Until next post; may all your dishes be flavorful, and prepared with love!

Photo by Kang Kim

Crispy Asparagus Straws

I love asparagus! Not the kind you find in the can but fresh. Growing up in CA. we always had two veggies on the the table. And Asparagus was at least once a week. Now we did have fresh fruits and veggies, but for some reason my mom always bought the asparagus in the can. As a child, for a long time ,I thought this was the only way asparagus was served. One day I was having dinner with a classmate and we had fresh asparagus! I fell madly in love.

I am always looking for ways to us this wonderful vegetable. In looking through "Martha Stewart's Hors D'Oeuvres Handbook" I found a great recipe for Crispy Asparagus Straws. They are well received at any occasion. They are good hot,warm or cold. I have taken them to many social gatherings and love to make them as a snack anytime.

Choose thicker green, purple or white asparagus with tightly packed tips. Do not use the real thin ones, as they will over cook. You may prepare the asparagus ahead if you like and keep in fridge until needed.

24 asparagus spears,woody ends trimmed
6 sheets of phyllo dough, thawed if frozen
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
12 thin slices prosciutto (about 7 oz total) cut in half crosswise.
4 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated on medium holes of grater.

Steam the asparagus until just al dente about 2 minutes. Transfer to a colander to cool.

Preheat oven to 450 with rack in the center.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

Place one sheet of phyllo on a dry surface. (keep other covered with a slightly damp towel) Brush lightly with melted butter and cut into 4 rectangular pieces. about 5x7 each.

Place one piece of prosciutto on the phyllo, lining it up along one short edge of the rectangle.

Place an asparagus spear on top of the prosciutto along the same short edge of the rectangle, letting the tip lay exposed beyond the top edge by about 3/4 of an inch or so. Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of Parmesan.

Roll up and secure dough with melted butter if needed.

Place completed asparagus on baking sheet. This can been done 1 to 2 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate.

Before baking, sprinkle the top of the straws with the remaining cheese. Cover the tips of the asparagus with foil to protect them from the heat.

Bake until nice and golden brown.

They are excellent hot, but they are just fine at room tempeture as well.


This book has so many wonderful things to make! I also made the Gruyere thyme icebox crackers, (found on page 366) Excellent! I have made many of the "tea" sandwiches as well. And of course I always put my own spin on those. I would recommend this book to all of you foodies out there.

I have so many favorite chefs, Stephen Pyle, Anne Burell, Dean Ferring, Cat Cora and so many more but Ms. Julia Child is the one I wish I could have met. Here are a few of her quotes.

“The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook”

“(She was asked what her longevity is attributed to) Red meat and gin.”

Until next post, Cook with passion and love.

Photo by Dana Gallagher

Lamb with apricot sauce and Potato Fontina Tart

I love to rumage through the bargin books bin at the store. I found this great book entitled "Tarts". It was only $2.99.. what a deal so into my basket it went!

As I was sipping a warm cup of coco reading my new book, I found this great recipe: Potato, Fontina, and rosemary tart. It is was the perfect side dish to the Lamb I was going to prepare. If you do not like to make pastry, use store bought! Works just fine. Here is what you need:

Puff Pastry: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
6 oz unsalted butter
about 2/3 cup chilled water
OR you can use a 9oz ready-made puff pastry


Filling: 3-4 Medium waxy potatoes, peel and slice very thin. Use a mandoline if you can.
10 1/2 oz Fontina cheese cut into cubes;
1 red onion thinly sliced
3 large springs fresh rosemary
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 egg yolk

To make the puff pastry sift the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and rub in 2 tsbp butter. Gradually add the water, just enough to bring the pastry togther, and knead briefly to form a smooth dough. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and let chill for 30 minutes. Keep the remaining butter out of the refrigerator, wrap it in a piece of plastic wrap, and shape it into a 1 1/4 inche thick rectangle. Roll out the dough to a rectangle 3 times longer and 1 1/4 wider than the butter and place the butter in the center, long side toward you. Fold over the 2 "wings" of dough to enclose the butter press down the edges to seal and then turn the dough so the short side faces you. Roll the dough to its original length. fold into 3, turn, and roll again to ity original length. Repeat this once more then rewrap the dough and let chill again for 30 minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and repeat the rolling and turnig twice more. Let chill again for 30 minutes. At this point you can freeze the dough until you need it. AGAIN, IF THIS IS TOO MUCH FOR YOU TO DO, USE A PRE-SHAPED PIE CRUST OR BUY SOME PUFF PASTRY!

Roll the dough into a large circle and place on a baking sheet. Preheat oven to 375. Arrange the potato slices in a spiral, overlapping the slices to cover the dough leaving a 3/4 inch mnargin round the edge. BUT if using a pre-made pie shell just layer the potatoes in the shell.
Sprinkle salt and pepper over the potatoes. Add onions and cheese sprinke with the rosemarly and drizzle with olive oil.
Brush pie crust with the egg yolk and bake for a good 25 minutes until the potatoes are tender and the pastry is brown and crisp.

Lamb with apricot sauce: Hint: do not use a non stick pan. You will want the pan to create nice amount of fond. (those wonderful bits of meat that are crispy)

1/3 cup dried apricots, hopped
1/3 cup apple cider or apple juice
1 15oz can apricots in juice
tablespoon canola oil
4 lamb chops
1/4 cup chopped shallots
1 cup chicken stock or broth
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon chili powder I just added a little chili powder at first, you can always add more after you taste.
salt and pepper.

Soak the dried apricots in the cider until plump.( I did not have any cider so used apple juice) Transfer apricots and cider to blender. Add the canned apricots with their juice. Puree but leave some chunks. Set aside.

Heat oil and brown the lamb on both sides, transfer to a plate.

Add shallots to pan and cook until lightly brown

Add chicken broth/stock and apricot juice and scrape up all brown bits.

Add rosemary and chili

Add the chops to the sauce and cover. Simmer for at least 45 minutes.

This recipe came from the January issue of Bon Appetit.
It was an advertisemnt on page(40). It called form pork chops but I prefer lamb.

I served this with a nice salad and bold red wine. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

And remember: Cook with love and your heart!

Kitchen Cutie

It's all about the gravy and let's talk SOS!

Ah yes Gravy! it's the food of Gods, Liquid gold, a sauce to dip just about anything in!

Growing up in CA we had gravy every Sunday morning. We had either, waffles or pancakes, bacon, sausage or salt pork, eggs and gravy.

Daddy would always cook Sunday breakfast, with my help of course. His thing was the gravy and to this day as I make gravy I feel his presence as I slowly brown the flour.

Yesterday I went out to breakfast, and the place will remain nameless for fear of a law suit, and I asked for a side of gravy. I took one taste and thought. OMG, someone has just given me paper mache' paste! It was soooo thick I could have stood a spoon straight up in that mess. This is what I find in most restaurant's when I order gravy. They all taste of uncooked flour and no seasoning. Yuk! If I could jar my gravy and sell it I would or better yet teach the cooks around town how to make gravy... It is not hard.

So what is the secret to good gravy? GREASE! Yes good ole' grease. Bacon, Sausage, or chicken grease. NO package stuff for me. Grease has flavor. For those of you who live in LA and make gumbo I am quite sure you make good gravy because making gravy is like making a good rue. So here is how I make Daddy's gravy.

Grease in the pan. Not cup fulls, unless you are going to feed a large group, but a tablespoon or so. Heat should be med-low.

Add flour and stir. You do not want a ball of four and grease. Just add enough flour so you can stir it around and it absorbs all the grease. Now you must stir and slowly brown the flour. Do not burn it! There is nothing worse than burned flour... Yuk!

You want to cook the flour and get a really nice brown color. This should take 5-10 minutes.

Next pour in some milk and stir. I use whole milk. (I have also used can milk with water, but it does not taste the same. I had to use this at a friends when there was no milk)
Add salt and pepper. Be careful of the salt because if you are using bacon grease, it will be salty. Keep an eye on this and stir often. Heat should be on low. This must cook for at least 30 minutes. If it gets too thick add milk and don't forget to taste.

When done I like to pour into a bowl and crumble crisp bacon or sausage on top.

How do I eat my gravy? With a spoon... :-) I pour it over biscuits, rice, toast and I love to dip my French fries in gray. Oh Yum! But I really like gravy on my pancakes. yes I said pancakes! You put gravy on biscuits don't you? Well it is sort of the same. So try it sometime. very Yummy!

SOS

No this is not a call for help, but you folks in the military know what this is huh?

I like to make SOS on a nice cold winter day for breakfast or lunch or even dinner. It is perfect anytime of the day or really any season of the year. I don't use chipped beef but sausage or hamburger.

Brown a pound of meat and break into Small pieces as you fry it.

Add Salt and pepper

When meat is nice and brown and crumbly add milk and pour a slurry of flour and milk into the meat to thicken. Or you can add flour to the meat, stir then add milk.

Let this cook for at least 30 minutes. You want all the flavors to come together and cook out any flour taste.

Serve this over anything or eat it straight out of the bowl!

So now you know my Daddy's secret, GREASE!!

Keep cooking with love and don't throw away your grease.... use it!

Kitchen Cutie

Something for your sweet tooth

Back in 2000 I needed a special cake for a special celebration. So I began to look through my many cook books and food magazines. In my autographed "Home Cooking with Amy Coleman" book Pg 134, I found the perfect recipe, "Crowned Apple Cake." This is originally from the "Fast and Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays (William Morrow and Company)

This cake is very much like a moist pound cake but with honey-drenched apples. The circle of caramelized apples sink into the top to look very much like a crown.

When this cake is presented on your very best cake plate, you will receive may oohhhs and ahhhhhs! Not only is it delicious but beautiful to look at.

4 large green apples (about 2 1/2 pounds)such as Granny Smith or Pippin
1/3 cup honey
3 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup orange juice
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons baking powder
3 cups granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup vegetable oil
4 large eggs
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
About 1/2 cup walnut or pecan HALVES (optional)

* Place the oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat it to 350F. Grease or spray a 10 inch tube pan with a removal bottom.

*Peel, quarter, core and slice the apples 1/4 inch thick. Place in a medium bowl with the honey and cinnamon. Toss to coat and set aside.

* Combine the flour, sugar, oil, eggs, orange juice, baking powder, vanilla and salt in a large mixing bowl. With an electric mixer on low speed, mix until combined. Increase to moderately high speed and mix until well blended, about 2 minutes.

Pour one-third of the batter into the prepared pan. Arrange one-third of the apple slices over batter and sprinkle with chopped nuts, if using.

Cover with one-half of the remaining batter. Arrange one-half of the remaining apple slices over the batter and top with the remaining batter. spreading the top evenly. Overlap the remaining apple slices around the tube of the pan, extending them out like petals. Pour any juices that remain in the bowl over the apples. If desired, arrange the nut halves along the outer edge to encircle the top of the cake.

* Place the cake on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 80 to 90 minutes, or until a toothpick or skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. If the top gets too brown, cover it loosely with foil. Remove the cake from the own and cool 10 minutes. Go around the inside edges of the pan with a knife and remove the sides of the pan. Cool the cake to room temperature. Cut around the tube and bottom, and with a spatula, lift the cake from the pan to a serving plate. The cake may be stored, covered, at room temperature up to 2 days or frozen.

Even if you don't have a special occasion, make this one for your family. Serve it with a nice rich vanilla ice cream or better yet whip up some flavored whip cream. I like to add Kalua or Bailey's. Oh yum!!

Remember: cooking with love will make up for any mistakes in the kitchen.... well maybe.

Happy cooking from Kitchencutie!

Are you Hungry?

Are you hungry? I bet not. I am one of millions, who have never missed a meal, but did you know that here in Texas we lead the nation with children who are hungry. 1 in 5 children live in households that are "food insecure". meaning they do not have access to adequate, nutritious meals on a regular basis. Research shows that hungry children have poorer mental health and overall health, miss more days of school, suffer greater rates of behavioral disorders and are less prepared to learn when they are in school. Summer is the hungriest season for children because school feeding programs end for the summer.

As I sit here planning my next meal I offer you a challenge. The next time you are at Kroger, or Safeway, pick up a few extra goodies for your local food pantry. Or better yet, when you have your next party, tell your guests that the price of their meal is at least one can food item. Such an easy way to give back to your communitty and help the hungry.

For more information check out http://feedingamerica.org and for my Texas friends go to http://ntfb.org


Thanks for listing,

Tarrragon and shrimp tea sandwiches

It has been awhile since I posted, but I am now back in the swing of things or should I say back in the kitchen.

Do you need a new idea for something to bring to a summer get together? Tired of making potato salad or those damn small tiny hotdogs in BBQ sauce? I have a tea sandwich for you that is so easy to make and so yummy! The will be gone in a flash!

I was looking through all my cookbooks and Martha spoke to me, she often does you know. Anyway I found this receipe using shrimp and Tarragon. Tarragon is a great herb with a very distinctive flavor. You have to be careful how you use it.

This will make about 2 dozen tea sandwiches.

24 slices of very thin white bread, I cut the crust off but you don't have too.
1 small bunch of baby lettuce, torn into small pieces
1 pound of medium shrimp cooked, cooled and devein
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1/4 cup Mayo plus 3 tablespoons
2 tablespoons Dijon mujstard
1/4 fresh finely chopped tarragon. It must be fresh!
Freshly ground black pepper

I doubled the mayo recipe because I wanted to be sure there was enough for spreading on both sides of the bread and there is nothing worse than a dry sandwich. If you have any left over, great! Use it on any sandwich!

In your food processor, combine the 1/4 cup mayo, mustard and Tarragon. Process until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste. Cover and place in refrigerate until ready to use. You do not have to use the food procesor. I do this my hand. Mayo will be somewhat green if you use the food processer not so much when done by hand.

When shrimp are cooled, cut in small 1/4 size pieces and toss in bowl with the 3 tablespoons of the reserved mayo. If you feel this is not moist enough add a bit more mayo.

Spread 12 of the bread slices with the mayo then top with shrimp mixture. Add lettuce, spread more mayo on the other 12 slices and place on top. Cut on the diagonal. Enjoy.


I have made this with Salmon as well. I used fresh dill with this one.

You can also use this as a luncheon salad. Spoon the shrimp mixture on a bed of baby lettuce, a few slices of nice tomatoes and serve with crackers or warm bread. Nice glass of wine and you are all set.

This delicious sandwich was found in Matha Stewart's Hors D'oeuvres Handbook. I use this book all the time!

Until next post, "Even burnt, if you cook with love it will taste good". Well maybe.