Wednesday

I haven't been cooking much this week - more warm-ups, than actual cooking-cooking. I've been busy with ........stuff. (I started running again and I'm exhausted).

I have, however, been watching some Food Network. Here are some observations:

*I don't get the appeal of Emeril, he is arrogant and his jokes are not funny. (I'm sure he's probably a nice man - I felt guilty when I re-read this entry).

*I do get the appeal of Bobby Flay. I wsh I could sit in that rooftop garden and sip something cool while I watch him grill. I'm a big fan of freckles.

*I love the cooking competitions. They are very inventive and exciting - anything could happen.

*I would like to see Adam win The Next Food Network Star. He's the most entertaining of the bunch.

*The various cooking show hosts overuse the word "literally." If you are teaching someone to cook, of course they are going to "literally" be doing the action. It's not going to get done if no literal action is taken.

Tomorrow I'm going to do some cooking-cooking, so I've got something to write about. See you then.

Ruby Tuesday - Strawberry

Here are two shots of a strawberry that I grew on my patio. My daughter's best pal, Karlee, is holding them for me.

Sorry I haven't been writing much lately. I will get back on track very soon.

Herbs - Greek Oregano

Greek Oregano
Origanum Vulgare

Greek Oregano is an herb that originated in the Mediterranean region. It was first used medicinally. The leaves can be brewed into a tea for an upset stomach or to aide in menstruation and the oil can be used to help with a toothache.

Oregano is a staple in Italian cooking, present in many tomato-based sauces. It enriches the flavor in egg dishes, breads, vegetables, meats, poultry, and seafood dishes.

I grow Greek Oregano in a pot on my patio. It can be started from seed, although I skipped that step and used a small start from the home and garden store. It requires sun, but will grow in partial sun. I have it on my patio, where it's partially shielded by larger plants and gets the heat of the afternoon sun.

It can be easily dried by hanging in a cool, dry place.

Mexican Basics - Spice Blend and Easy Chicken

When my teenagers were little, I used to read a food column in our local paper, The Chico-Enterprise Record. The column was written by a lady from Canada who wrote about a lifestyle that was pretty different from my California upbringing. She used French words and spoke about French cooking.

There are two items that I remember most from her column - a basic Mexican spice blend and a dish called Chicken In A Nutshell. I'll get to the Chicken In A Nutshell at a later date, haven't made it in years and it sounds really good, but today I will share with you my version of a Basic Mexican Seasoning Blend. I lost the clipping that held the blend recipe years ago, so it's become a basic dump-it-in recipe. Feel free to adjust it according to your own specific tastes. I've seen variations that use coriander, cayenne, and/or garlic. I don't add black pepper to the mix - I usually add that as I'm cooking.


I buy packets of Mojave spices at the supermarket, which makes this easy and inexpensive. I use this blend in all my Mexican cooking. I even use it as a dry rub on steak before grilling. You can add it to chicken broth for an enchilada sauce. The chili and cumin packets are about 1 oz a piece. I like a blend of a red chili and a browner chili.

1 packet California chili
1 packet New Mexico chili
1 packet Cumin
1 1/2 Tbs ground Mexican Oregano powder
1 1/2 Tbs cocoa powder, I use Hersheys
2 tsp salt
2 Tbs Masa Harina, or flour, but the masa works best

Put all ingredients in a glass jar. Shake to mix.
*****

Today I'm going to use the blend to make a basic Mexican style chicken in the crockpot. I use this chicken in enchiladas, tacos, burritos, taco salad, whatever. Today I'm going to use it in a taquito recipe for myself and my daughter, Bay. I like to use boneless chicken breasts or tenders, but you can use any cut of chicken in this recipe. De-boning is very easy after cooking in a crockpot all day.

Mexican Crockpot Chicken

Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts, no skin, no bones
1 small can salsa or about 3/4 cup of salsa
3/4 cup water
1 TB Mexican spice blend
Crockpot

Place the chicken in the crockpot, sprinkle spice blend on top, pour salsa over that, then add a cup of water. (Note * My water looks red here because I used it to get all the salsa out of the jar).
Put the lid on the crockpot, set it to High, and let it cook for about 4 hours. If you need more time, say a full work day, set it to Low and cook for an additional length of time - check your crockpot guide for the specific time advised for your machine.

When you are done, lift it out, shred it, and you will have something that looks like this.

Taquitos

1 lb cooked, shredded chicken, drained (too much moisture is dangerous when frying)

12 corn tortillas

canola for pan

toothpicks

Preheat oven to 350 F. Pour about 1/4 of canola oil in the pan, heat to medium high.

While pan is heating, steam tortillas. I use a plastic steamer that I place the tortillas in, microwave 1 minute, flip the stack over, microwave for 1 more minute, then cover with a lid. If you don't have a steamer (and I highly recommend one), you can steam the tortillas either in a warm over wrapped in foil, or in the microwave, kept them warm wrapped in a towel. If you do much Mexican cooking, think about purchasing the steamer. They are inexpensive and really handy.

Take about 2Tbs of chicken, place it along one end of the tortilla, roll tightly into a cylinder, fasten with a toothpick lengthwise, then set to the side. Do this with all 12 tortillas. Place the rolled tortillas into the pan 4 at a time, very lightly browning on all sides. Place browned tortillas on a cookie sheet, while you do the next two batches of 4 taquitos. When all are browned, place cookie sheet in oven for 10 minutes to further brown. ( I do it this way to ensure crunch and cut the time the taquitos are sitting in the oil).

Serve with sour cream, guacamole, and salsa.

Ruby Tuesday - Candy Thermometer

Happy Ruby Tuesday!

This is my candy thermometer. Prior to purchasing this, I used the ball method. You know, where you drop the hot candy mixture into water and decide if it's "soft ball" or "hard ball?" Using the thermometer, it's infinitely easier.

For more Ruby Tuesday pictures, you can find a list of participants here http://workofthepoet.blogspot.com/2008/07/ruby-tuesday.html

Creme Fraiche - What is it?

I watch a lot of the Food Network and something I hear mentioned frequently is creme fraiche. What is creme fraiche? The term, "creme fraiche," is actually supposed to have an accent mark, but I don't know how to add that in properly - sorry. The chefs on the Food Network, use it in different ways, so that didn't give me any serious hints. Is it like sour cream? Like cheese? It looks thickish, like a soft cheese. I decided to do some investigating and this is what I found......

Creme Fraiche is a milk product, made from the cream. Naturally occurring bacteria, when left on it's own, works with heat to change the cream into a thick, rich cream. In the USA, creme fraiche is pasteurized. It has a nutty flavor and doesn't separate when heated. It can be used in sauces or baking - use it in place of traditional sour cream for a richer, creamier result.

Okay, so now I know - it's like a fancy pants sour cream. If you are interested in using creme fraiche in a Salmon Fettucine recipe, there's one that sounds delicious here http://butterandcheese.net/Recipes/Main%20Course/Salmon%20and%20Dill%20Fettuccine.php And if you'd like to make some creme fraiche of your own, you can find that here http://www.joyofbaking.com/CremeFraiche.html

Simple Pot of Pasta

Last night, I had a hunger for garlic and I wanted to make something quick and easy for dinner. I put a pot of water on to boil, then I gathered lemon juice, crushed garlic, sea salt, pepper, and olive oil to marinate a couple of pieces of salmon. Today I'm going to focus on the pasta, so I'll skip explaining the salmon grilling instructions. If you are looking for salmon grilling ideas, I would look here http://search.foodnetwork.com/food/recipe/grilled+salmon/search.do?searchString=grilled+salmon&site=food&searchType=Recipe

I like a simple creamy sauce, that "cooks" when you mix it with hot, drained pasta. You can use any kind of pasta. I like fettucine best, but last night I used penne. It's a very simple, adaptable recipe.

Start with 1 cup of cottage cheese, 1 egg, 1/2 cup parmesan, finely chopped garlic, a dash of nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Mix it all together in a bowl while your pasta cooks. When your pasta is al dente, reserve about 1 cup of cooking liquid, then drain it in a strainer. Return the pasta to the pan, then pour the sauce mixture over the pasta, stirring to coat. Add approximately 1/2 cup of the cooking water to the mixture - the starch in the water helps with the sauce texture. The egg helps the cheeses to coat the pasta. Top the pasta with extra parmesan and freshly ground pepper.


For variation, you can switch up your cheese - I like to add a pizza blend sometimes - or you can use sour cream instead of the cottage cheese. I also like to finally chop onion and add it to the sauce, along with fresh herbs like basil. Chopped nuts like walnuts or pine nuts would be great sprinkled over the top.
My daughters and I placed the salmon on top of the pasta and added a simple salad. Yum.

Saturday Morning - French Toast

I'm going to try to follow a sort of loose schedule with this blog. On Saturday mornings, I enjoy making something fun for my kids and occasionally my boyfriend, when he is in town. Actually, when he's here for a visit, I try to get him to cook for me. He's awesome in the kitchen.

This morning I decided to make French Toast. Years ago, when I was pregnant with my oldest child, Max, who is now almost 18, I had the opportunity to enjoy some really good brunch buffets. I lived, at the time, with my now ex-husband, Todd, in Spokane, Washington. We didn't go out to dinner much - we were breakfast/brunch folks.

One morning we had this incredible French Toast. It was on smallish, thickish, pieces of French bread and it was coated with a layer of browned powdered sugar. I assume that they cooked the toast in some sort of deep-fryer, but I don't own a deep fryer. I've never been able to replicate it exactly at home, but I try and I have accomplished a pretty good version of it. Here's how I make it...........

French Toast

Ingredients:
8 slices of French bread, use thickness of your choice, I used sandwich style today
3 eggs
1 cup milk (I like nonfat)
1 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar
canola oil

Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Take a cookie sheet, line with parchment paper (or spray with oil spray) and set aside. Pour canola oil into a pan, heat to medium. Sprinkle powdered sugar on a plate.

It's best to use day-old bread, but if all you have is fresh, lay it out to dry for a bit. This will make a firmer bread, which is easier to handle. Break the eggs into a bowl, add milk, and vanilla. Beat the mixture, lay a slice of bread on top of it, flip the bread over quickly, then place into the hot pan.
Brown briefly, then flip with a spatula. I don't brown the toast deeply, because I'm going to pop it in the oven soon and crisp it up there.
Pull the toast out, place over powdered sugar, flip and sugar other side. If it's not sticking, sort of pat the sugar into the toast. Place on the waiting cookie sheet, then start all over again with a new piece of toast. When you have all 8 pieces on the sheet, take a little screened strainer, and sift additional sugar over the top. Place the sheet into the oven and bake for 12 minutes. For an even crisper crust, turn on the broiler and broil for an additional minute or 2. Watch closely.

At this point, the toasts are ready to be served as is, or you can add butter and syrup, if you prefer.

Introduction

Hello. My name is Michelle. I love to cook and to read about food and to watch cooking shows. I would like to talk about many food-related topics on this blog. If you have something in particular that you would like me to cover, please email me and I will do my best to include taht topic.

This is my second blogspot blog - my first being my main blog, http://askewtoyou.blogspot.com . It's going to be a cooking blog, hence the name, "A Cook's Bounty." I originally started a blog with the same name over at wordpress.com, but I find blogspot easier to use, so I'm going to move what I had over here, eventually.

Thanks for your time and attention.