Confessions of a Foodie

Tonight David and I had dinner at the River Room in New York. Overall we had a pretty good time there. We had a spectacular view of the George Washington Bridge over the Hudson River. We went just at sunset, so it was gorgeous.

To our surprise we found that tonight was Salsa night at the restaurant which promised to be quite an adventure. We settled down at our outdoor table and enjoyed the nice, crusty rolls with fresh butter. Along with the rolls were some cornbread muffins, which I’m sure my friend Tamara would have loved. They were sweet and very cake like with whole kernels of corn dotting the insides. Unfortunately for me, I am not a big fan of sweet cornbread. I like it the southern way, more savory, preferably with bacon grease as a lubricant for the pan!

We were somewhat taken aback when we were handed the one page, single sided menu. (We had researched the restaurant on the web, and found a much larger selection on their online menus.) So with only 4 choices for entrees, David went with a New York strip with a red wine sauce and seasonal veggies, and I had a burger with herb fries. And we decided to try fried plantains for an appetizer.

When our dinner came it looked beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. I wish it had tasted as good as it looked. My burger was pretty dry with no apparent seasonings, though the fries were delicious. No frozen things here. David’s steak was quite delicious especially with the red wine sauce, but his veggies weren’t too tasty until I added some salt which brought their flavor to life. The worst dish of the night was the plantains. Their doneness was inconsistent, some were mushy while others were fried within an inch of their lives. Worse still, was the complete lack of flavor, even with the garlic oil they were served with.

So after our entrees we were feeling a little bummed at the mediocracy of our dinner, but we forged on and ordered dessert. A coconut cheese cake with raspberry sauce. Oh my goodness, it was INCREDIBLE. It was so light and delicious, and still warm inside! It didn’t have an overpowering taste of coconut, but instead a subtle flavor that was perfectly suited to the creamy texture. It was pure heaven. So much so that I think I may try my hand at duplicating it in the future.

After dinner was over, we cruised onto the dance floor and got our groove on to the salsa music filling the night air. Though we didn’t have a clue as to what we were doing, we just moved our feet and shook our hips and let the music take us over. It was freeing, and definitely something I need to do more often.

So even though it wasn’t the most amazing meal of my life, it was definitely an unforgettable one. So I think that I will one day return to the River Room, especially if it is Salsa night!

I want to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who have left kind words on this site. My husband started this page for me, so that I could share my passion for food with others. I am a 4th grade teacher for a living, but right now I’m a stay at home mom since I just had our second child 5 months ago. So this blog has been a lot of fun to pour myself into, but something happened last week that just about had me ready to throw in the towel.

Since I’ve started this site, I’ve been feeling less and less adequate to write for it. I mean I’m just a wife and mother and teacher. I have no formal, culinary training. I pretty much taught myself how to cook by watching the food network! So when I read blogs from real chefs who cook “fancy” food, I feel way inadequate.

To make matters worse, I had a bit of an altercation with a rather outspoken individual who was offended by my meatloaf. I guess the individual felt that it was an arrogant recipe, go figure! And after reading the comment, initially I felt perplexed which quickly grew to anger which quickly fizzled to saddened frustration. To understand my progression of feelings you have to know a little something about me.

I’m the middle child of 3 daughters. I’m shy when I first meet people, though I warm up very quickly. And most importantly I HATE confrontation!!! So here I am sitting at my computer, reading rather hostile words through teary eyes, and I just wanted to quit. But then I read your words. Beautiful words of love and understanding, words of healing and recovery, words of encouragement, and words of laughter. And I decided to cling to those words, and let go of the others.

So I would just like to thank you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. And I hope that God blesses each and everyone of you in every aspect of your lives.

So now to anyone out there who wants to say mean or ugly things on this website. I’m telling politely, DON’T! This site is meant to be uplifting and encouraging to all who read it. So if you find something I’ve written offensive or arrogant (which baffles me to think that it could be), please feel free to tell me in a kind way, and I will try to rectify the problem. Because I assure you, I have no intention of being offensive, and I can’t say that I’ve ever been called arrogant before the comment about my meatloaf!

With that said, I leave you with this: Eat! Sleep! and be Merry! For tomorrow, we LIVE!

This is the now famous fried chicken recipe, from the now infamous going away party I threw last week. It is from the Barefoot Contessa’s (Ms. Ina Garten’s) kitchen. I tweaked it a little to my tastes. Hope you don’t mind, Ina! It’s so easy and delicious. And even though I had TONS left over (that happens when you make 40 pounds!), it was delicious cold. We ate on it for about a week! Try it, and let me know what you think.

2 chickens (3 pounds each), cut in 8 serving pieces
1 quart buttermilk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
Vegetable oil or vegetable shortening

Place the chicken pieces in a large bowl and pour the buttermilk over them. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the flour, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Take the chicken out of the buttermilk and coat each piece thoroughly with the flour mixture. Pour the oil into a large heavy-bottomed stockpot to a depth of 1-inch and heat to 360 degrees F on a thermometer.

Working in batches, carefully place several pieces of chicken in the oil and fry for about 3 minutes on each side until the coating is a light golden brown (it will continue to brown in the oven). Don’t crowd the pieces. Remove the chicken from the oil and place each piece on a metal baking rack set on a sheet pan. Allow the oil to return to 360 degrees F before frying the next batch. When all the chicken is fried, bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is no longer pink inside. Serve hot.

I love to entertain at my house. There’s nothing I enjoy more than cooking for a group of my friends and loved ones. Well Friday night, I was hosting a going away party for our family friends who are being transferred to D.C. Unfortunately, this was kind of a last minute shindig, so I didn’t have an accurate count of how many people would be coming. I didn’t know if it would be 50 people or 100 people.

So having NO idea who was coming, I set off to the store to buy the makings for fried chicken. (Yep, I said fried chicken! I agreed to make this dish before my small get-together became an all out rave! Well almost!) So in order to have enough chicken for all the potential people coming, I planned on buying 50 pounds of chicken. Unfortunately, I missed counted and accidentally bought 70 pounds instead!

I ended up only preparing 40 pounds of that seemingly endless supply of poultry. I had 2 deep fryers and 1 pot of oil going at once, and about 2 and half hours later, I had successfully fried 40 pounds of chicken. I cheated a little. I used Ina Garten’s oven-fried chicken recipe, where you flash fry for about 3 minutes first and then finish in the oven. (I’m going to post the recipe, so you can try it if you like.)

My husband attempted a head count in the middle of the festivities. He gave up around 70! I have a pretty large house, but 70+ people sure made it feel small. In the end, it was a great party and a perfect sending off for our dear Kurt and Candy. And even though I was on my feet for over 13 hours that day, I would do it again in a heart beat. Because that’s what good food is about, bringing people together to celebrate every milestone in our lives.

My Grandmother passed away a couple of years ago. And right afterward, I found myself missing her so much that I was searching for something to feel close to her again. One thought kept popping into my mind, peach cobbler. Isn’t it funny how food has the power to do so much more than just fill our stomachs! My grandma made the best peach cobbler, with it’s buttery, spongey crust, and gooey peach filling. Unfortunately, she never wrote down any of her recipes, so I felt like there was no hope of making this wonderful, sentimental dessert. But thank God for the amazing invention of the Internet. I did a search on Google, and I finally found a recipe that looked just like Grandma’s cobbler. So I tried it, and low and behold, it tasted just like it, too. I think I ate peach cobbler everyday for a week after Grandma died, and some how it helped sooth the ache in my heart. So here’s to all the Grandma’s out there who make us unhealthy sweets to make us feel loved.

Ingredients

1 c butter (no substitutions)
2 c sugar
1 1/2 c self rising flour
1 1/2 c whole milk
2 (15 oz) cans of peaches (I use 1 in heavy syrup & 1 in light. It makes me feel a little better!)

Preheat oven to 350. Cut butter into pads and place in a large baking dish. Place the dish in the oven to melt the butter.

Mix sugar and flour together. Stir in milk a little at a time. Pour batter over melted butter. Spoon peaches and syrup over batter.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour.

**NOTE**
Bake in a glass dish! Trust me, I just learned this the hard way. I prepared two cobblers for a potluck and used a glass dish for one, and a disposable aluminum pan for the other. Bad idea! The cobbler baked in the glass casserole dish was perfect–chewey crust, creamy filling, perfect. The metal pan completely changed the texture and consistency of the cobbler, and not in a good way. SO learn from my mistake, use a glass dish.

This recipe originally came from my Aunt Linda, but I have taken ownership of it, because I make it SO often. This cake is so good in it’s simplicity. Please, I ask that you at least try this cake by itself, before you go adding fruit and whipped cream or any other unneeded addition. It sound plain but it’s not. This cake is so good that I give it for presents. And the funny part is that after receiving it as a gift, most people never want anything else from me. So try it, and enjoy.

Ingredients

3 c cake flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 c unsalted butter (no substitutions)
3 c white sugar
6 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 c sour cream

Preheat oven to 300. Grease and sugar (just like flouring, but with sugar) a 10 in. Bundt or tube pan. Set a side. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking soda. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Then, stir in vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream. Pour batter into pan.

Bake in preheated oven for 80-90 minutes, or until it passes the toothpick test. (Insert a toothpick into the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is ready. If not, bake it some more.) Allow the cake to cool for 20 minutes in the pan, then remove it from the pan, and let it finish cooling on a wire rack.

I hope you enjoy this special treat.

This is not an authentic Russian dish. This is an adaptation of my mom’s stroganoff. Think gourmet hamburger helper. This is a great meal to throw together when you’re in a hurry. It’s quick, simple and oh, so delicious. Pairs well with green beans.

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
16 oz egg noodles
1 package cream cheese at room temp (I use the 1/3 less fat kind)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1-2 small cans of sliced mushrooms, drained
1 pack onion soup mix

Prepare egg noodles according to package. Be careful not to overcook them. (Nothing’s worse than soggy noodles.) In a large skillet, brown ground meat. When it is browned completely, drain the meat, but do not rinse it! Return the drained meat to the skillet add the mushrooms, sauteeing them with the meat for a minute. Next, add the onion soup mix, and stir with the meat until dissolved. Stir in the cream cheese until well blended. Finally add the mushroom soup. Turn off the heat, but leave the skillet on the burner until the noodles are ready. When the noodles are “al dente” drain them, and then toss them with the sauce.

That’s it. Serve with some nice green beans. I recommend fresh, but if you’re in a pinch, heat canned green beans in their juice with 2 Tbs oil and 1 packet of Goya ham seasoning. YUM!

I hope you all read what I’m sure is my now famous meatloaf recipe. On it I suggested pairing it with garlic mashed potatoes. I didn’t want to leave you hanging, so here’s my recipe. This is not for the faint of heart. Oh, not because it is difficult to prepare. No this recipe is quite simple, but it is loaded with all kinds of fatty goodness. So for those of you who are timid of spirit, beware.

Ingredients

6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed (russet potatoes will give the creamies consistency, but any spud will do)
3/4 cup butter (don’t skimp!)
1/2 cup cream
1 1/2 Tbs garlic powder
3 Tbs Chives
Salt and pepper to taste

Boil potatoes in salted water (2-3 Tbs of salt) until soft. (The salt is very important, because if you don’t salt the water, then you will have to use more salt at the end then you would by salting the water.) Once the water is boiling it should only take about 10 minutes.

Drain potatoes, then return them to the same pot that they were boiled in. (This will help remove excess moisture, so you don’t get gummy spuds.) Add the butter and cover the pot with a lid for a couple of minutes to allow the butter to melt. Then add the cream and garlic powder. Mash the potatoes with a masher or you can use a mixer for creamier potatoes. (If you use a mixer, be careful not to over mix your potatoes. When potatoes are “manhandled,” the starch begins to break down, giving the mashed spuds a glue-like consistency that is not too appetizing.) When the potatoes are mashed to the consistency you like, stire in the chives. Finally add salt and pepper to taste.

That’s it! Simple, but oh so tasty!

I think all of America has grown up on some type of meatloaf. Unfortunately, too many mothers were guilty of creating something that resembled a brick more than anything edible! I’m here today to change your outlook on meatloaf. When prepared correctly, it is addictive. I recommend pairing this tasty entree with yummy garlic mashed potatoes or homemade mac ‘n’ cheese and fresh green beans or roasted asparagus. I’d love to know what you think when you’ve had it. *Disclaimer* This is not a low fat, low carb, low taste dish! It is full flavored and full figured. If you’re feeling a little guilty, just tell yourself, “I’m not eating this everyday. It’s okay to splurge now and then. I can always have a salad tomorrow!” ~PS The leftovers make killer sandwiches!

Ingredients
1 1/2- 2 lbs ground beef (my favorite to use is ground chuck. Don’t bother with the expensive stuff, because it won’t be as juicy.)
1 cup bread crumbs (plain or Italian)
1 egg
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 Tbs grill seasoning (I use McCormick Montreal Steak)
2-3 Tbs worchestershire sauce (Lea & Perrins)
1 Tbs yellow mustard
3 Tbs ketchup
1 small onion, grated (you can also use a food processor to finely mince it)

Sauce
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup worchestershire sauce
1 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbs brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Do not over mix, or the meat will become tough. Form 6-8 patties. (That’s right patties! Trust me here. You’ll thank me in the end.)

Heat your largest skillet over med-high heat. *Note* If your skillet does not have a metal handle, double cover the handle with aluminum foil, because you’re going to be putting the entire skillet in the oven. Add one Tbs of olive oil to the pan.

Brown the meatloaf patties in the large skillet for about 5-7 minutes on each side. (Do not move the meat once you’ve put it in the pan. Leave it alone until it is time to turn it.) While the patties are browning, prepare the sauce by combining all 4 ingredients in a bowl, then whisk it together.

After both sides of the patties have browned, remove the skillet from heat. Cover each patty with about 2 Tbs of the prepared sauce and place the pan in the oven for 15-20 minutes. (Until the sauce has formed a nice, shiny glaze.) That’s it. Meatloaf in under 45 minutes! Bet your mom never did that.

I love to watch 30-minute meals with Rachael Ray. I find it quite charming that she measures everything with her hands. I think it’s great, because cooking is about having fun. And what’s more fun than playing with your food?!

There seems to be an ongoing debate in the food world, ok it may only be in my food world, but I think it’s a valid debate. Should one measure using one’s hands or devices designed for measuring? If you want to know what I think, I say BOTH!

Don’t misunderstand me; I don’t mean that you should measure everything twice! We’re not building a house here. What I mean is that each tactic has it’s place.

For example, I would use my hands to measure for cooking. That means anything done on the stove top. My biggest suggestion is to start with a little seasoning and work your way up. You can always add more spice, but trust me it’s pretty darn tricky trying to take a seasoning out! Another helpful hint in this area is to measure things in your hand before pouring adding it to your dish. You only have to dump a whole bunch of garlic powder into something once to understand the wisdom of this.

Using measuring tools is an absolute must when it comes to baking. (i.e. cakes, breads, etc.) Baking is a science. There are specific ratios of dry ingredients, like salt, baking soda, or baking powder, that are needed in order for a cake or bread to rise correctly. So when it comes to baking, you MUST use the proper measuring tools. Other wise you may find yourself with a rather odd looking birthday cake.