The Kitchen Diva

Shamrock Cookies

2010-03-18T10:56:00.000-07:00

My granddaughters came over last night and made shamrock cookies with me. "Grandma, you're the best cooker!" exclaimed Naomi. We filled the Pampered Chef cookie press with the sugar cookie dough and had a ball pulling the trigger to magically produce shamrock-shaped dough. "I can do it!" Josie piped in. Then we sprinkled green sugar on them, baked them, and enjoyed eating cookies with cold milk. Yum.

I didn't use a recipe this time. Just tossed into the KitchenAide the basic sugar cookie ingredients:

sugar, eggs, shortening, butter flavoring, milk/cream, salt, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla. Added enough flour to make a nicely textured dough. Baked at 375 for 6 min.

How can it fail? The Kitchen Diva comes through again.

Julia & Julie (in proper order, please!)

2009-08-31T14:45:00.000-07:00

The movie was everything I hoped it would be. Nora Ephron used a French braid and tied together two stories of survival. Of course, everyone loves the Julia Child story, with her whimsical and adventurous spirit as portrayed by Meryl Streep. She captured the essence of the reknowned chef enchantingly. Honestly, I just marvel at the depth of feeling Meryl plumbs for such roles. She is EVERYTHING in this role that she was not in Devil Wears Prada.

Julie's story isn't for everyone, but I liked her. From the start I felt her pain at dealing with bereavement and loss all day, every day. I found myself pulling for her to succeed against the odds. (Could I use a few more cliches?) The Smithsonian scene at the end surprised me and left a lump in my throuat. We need more heroes. (gulp)

Grandma Kelli's Stuffed Squash Blossoms

2009-08-05T08:50:00.000-07:00

The other day Bobby Flay's Throwdown was 100% zucchini, which caught my attention. When the challenger stuffed the blossoms, I entered a new dimension of food consciousness. Not only do I love cooking with zucchini, but my garden is rife with squash plants. So one night last week, when I didn't feel like eating a meal, I waddled out to the garden and plucked some zucchini blossoms. And this, readers, is what I came up with. Mmm Mmm good.

Total Prep Time: 15 min
Serves 6

1. Pick 15-18 blossoms from your garden. Swish in warm salt water to zap any garden "visitors." Lay the blossoms on a paper towel.
2. Turn on your oil to heat up while you prep.
3. Mix up 1 C. pancake batter (not too thick) while you soften 8 oz cream cheese in microwave for 30 seconds.
4. Finely chop a fresh basil leaf and 1/3 c. black olives. Add to the cream cheese mixture.
5. Stuff the blossoms with the mixture.
6. Dip each blossom in batter then into the hot oil. It takes less than a minute for each blossom to fully cook.
7. Remove from oil and place blossoms on paper towel to absorb excess oil.
8. Serve these little gems on your most treasured serving plate with bite-sized veggies from the garden. I use cherry tomatoes for color.

While these are not low in fat, carb, or calories, they taste amazing without any salt or pepper added. The Basil is requisite, however, for the right balance of flavors. Limit yourself to two and it's a perfectly healthy appetizer!

p.s. I bought a Pampered Chef decorating gun about 5 years ago and I had never opened the box, until it came to stuffing squash blossoms. I recommend using it or a pastry bag.

Garden Fresh Swiss Chard

2009-05-26T23:40:00.000-07:00

If you've never tasted Swiss Chard, it's so close to spinach it's not funny. Except that I've always considered steamed chard much more appetizing than steamed spinach. Ours is flourishing in our organic garden, and the first cutting was succulent. I steamed it for 2 minutes with a pinch of salt. Drained it, then served with a light sprinkling of Seasoned Rice Vinegar. MMMmmmm.

Biscotti in an Hour

2009-05-14T19:54:00.000-07:00

I recently spent a day experimenting in my kitchen, in hopes of retaining my noble title of "The Kitchen Diva."
Here's how it went down: Biscotti -- the first batch was nasty (too little flavor, too long in the oven). The second batch hit the jackpot -- and much easier to make than most people would have you think.

Biscotti in an Hour
     2 eggs whipped by hand to a froth
     2/3 c sugar *
     1/2 c whole wheat flour
     1 c white bread flour
     1 cup of chopped nuts **
     1/2 c dried mulberries ***

1. Pour batter onto parchment-covered baking sheet.
2. Butter your fingers and shape batter into two long logs (4" x 12"). If kept under 1/2" thick, the biscotti will be easy to cut when they cool.
3. Bake 315 degrees for 45-50 minutes.
4. Remove and allow to cool 10 minutes.
5. Cut into biscuit-sized pieces and return to oven for another 10 minutes.

Tips:
* I added 1/2 cup of honey powder, because I was afraid they would be bland like the first batch
** I roasted pecans and almonds in the oven for 10 min to bring out the flavor before adding them to the batter.
*** I've wondered for months what to do with these dried, flavorless nuggets and they proved to be the perfect chewy morsel for biscotti.

Chicken in Sundried Tomato & Basil Pesto

2009-05-14T17:27:00.000-07:00

I created a dish the other night that might have passed Chef Ramsey's muster. A sun-dried tomato pesto chicken with asiago over fetuccini. MMmmm. The leftovers were nice, too. What's that? You say you want my recipe? Well, let's see if I can remember what all I put in that sauce.
Begin by marinating 4 chicken breasts in italian seasonings for 1-2 hours.

1) Pan fry chicken breasts in EVOO.
2) Remove chicken and add
2 C. chicken stock (bullion)
1/4 C. white wine
1 T. Fresh basil chopped
2 T. sundried tomato pesto (you'll find jar in produce section of store)
2 T. cream
3) Add chicken to pan and allow sauce to reduce for 10 minutes while fetuccini cooks.
4) Drain pasta and return to pan. Add 1/4 C. butter, 1/4 C. grated parmesan, and 1/4 C. asiago cheese.
Serve immediately with fruit or green salad. Notice I used no salt or pepper in this dish; the cheeses, wine, stock, and pesto have all the salt you need.

Cooking Combined with Film: YES!

2009-05-14T17:05:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else excited to see Meryl Streep play Julia Child in the new movie!? I will write a review and post it on opening night (August 7, 2009). Some of my readers might know me well enough to know that I earned my master's degree in Theater and Film History, so film has played a prominent role in my life. But it don't git much better'nis: Meryl Streep as Julia Child (click for trailer) Julie & Julia" - the latest film from director Nora Ephron Meryl Streep stars as famed chef Julia Child and Amy Adams plays Julie Powell, the real-life temp worker who, dissatisfied with her life, began a quest to make all 524 recipes in Child's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking." Stanley Tucci and Jane Lynch co-star. (http://www.cleveland.com/)

I'm chuckling as I remember Chef Child's unusual speech pattern and throaty vocal quality. And then there is the glorious memory of Dan Aykroyd as Julia Child in a SNL skit, in which he cuts himself while preparing a fowl dish, and shreaks, "Save the liver!" (Check that out at http://www.rateitall.com/i-883136-dan-aykroyd-as-julia-child.aspx.)

Summertime Icebox Cake

2009-05-14T16:46:00.000-07:00

In the old days--before refrigerators were a household item--the icebox held blocks of ice delivered by the iceman. The only things one put in an icebox were those that would certainly go bad (milk, cream, eggs). Here is a wonderful summertime cake that everyone loves, and it's Q&E:

1) Grease and flour a large sheet pan (like the lunch ladies use).
2) Prepare a boxed cake mix (white, yellow, or lemon) and bake for 20 minutes. Don't overcook. Allow to cool before icing.
3) While cake is cooling, whip up the icing and place it in the "icebox."
4) Spread with icing and keep in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Icing:
1 small box Instant Pudding mix (I use sugar free to cut calories)
1 8 oz. container of Cool Whip (or other brand)
1 can crushed pineapple, well drained
1/2 cup nuts (I use pecans, but it's better with walnuts)
1 cup coconut flakes

Serves 12. Tastes good the next day if covered in fridge.
I'll post a photo next time I bake one of these lovelies!

Polenta for Christmas? No joke. Read on...

2009-01-19T14:01:00.000-08:00

This year I wanted to try something new for Christmas dinner, so I went with a Mexican/Southwest theme that included tamales and polenta and tomalita. MMmmmm, it was a smash hit with everyone at the table.