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The Labor Day Weekend (food) Show

Friday: The weekend started officially at 5:00PM with wine and a rain storm…Dinner was an indoor affair (by plan). I tried a new chicken dish with flavors of Tuscany and a nod to Chicken Vesuvio.DIGITAL CAMERA  Boneless skinless chicken thighs were browned in olive oil and set aside to keep warm.   Thickly sliced Klondike Rose potatoes were browned on both sides in a process that took an inordinate amount of time and required another glass of wine. Fresh rosemary, oregano and garlic were added along with some white wine and chicken broth . Everything was allowed to get happy over low heat and at the end some peas were added for color and the suggestion of a vegetable.  It was tasty and the wine pairing of an Old Vine Zinfandel from Lodi worked well.

 Saturday:  In the spirit of the holiday, we had an All American Dinner of steak, baked potato, and salad. The steaks were Petite Sirloin from Meijer on sale for $4.99 a pound.011These have become the steak of choice lately. They are consistently tender and usually can be found in 6-8 ounce portions. We served it with carmelized r ed and white onions and baked potato topped with bacon and blue cheese. The salad featured butter lettuce, mini heirloom tomatoes and orange bell pepper. The dressing was Creamy  Lemon & Herb. 010 We had a bottle of 2010 Louis Martini Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. This big wine stood up to the steak but was pleasant on the palate.

 

 

Sunday: We did a fair amount of housework, including harvesting  our Cascade Hops (best crop yet thanks to the oddly  perfect weather conditions this summer.) We decided to reward ourselves by making a trip to the Village Vintner in Algonquin. This place has according to their tee-shirts “great beer, better wine, fantastic food”.  We tend to agree with that description (we are members of the Growler Club). 022 We had Spinach Artichoke Dip and Beef Brisket Quesadillas accompanied by a bottle of their awesome Zinfandel. We once again turned to the grill for dinner. Country Pork Ribs :love factor homemade Maple Barbecue Sauce,  Grill Roasted Baby Potatoes and Pearl Onions with a love factor of Rosemary Infused Olive Oil, and Grilled Brussels Sprouts with the Undisputed Queen of Love Factors, Pepper Bacon.048

Nothing very fancy, but very flavorful and satisfying oh and did I mention it was damn near overflowing with LOVE.

 

 

“Come Monday”: “ It’ll be all right” to use some of the leftovers from earlier in the weekend. We had steak and pork ribs left and feeling inspired by the Brisket Qesadillas from Village Vintner, we decide to make some quesadillas of our own.

I thinly sliced the meat and folded it with the rest of the carmelized onions into tortillas. I added some Habenero Jack and Cheddar Cheese. We grilled them and topped them with homemade guacamole and salsa. Quite tasty.DIGITAL CAMERA

So that was my Labor Day Weekend.  As the weekend winds down so do my creative writing juices.  It’s time to post this and get ready for a new week of food adventures. My weekend  was fun filled.I hope yours was, too.

I’m A Web Host!!!???!!

To everyone who has been following my blog welcome to my website.

This is all very new to me and I’m building some wonderful relationships with Tech Support at Blue Host and Word Press.

I will be posting more food adventures very soon.

My technical adventures will also be an ongoing source for your entertainment.

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Love you All,

Mama D

Is It Soup (time) Yet?

I don’t think of summer as the prime time to have soup. It is a comfort food that can take away the chill on a wintry evening or make a satisfying lunch in the fall. I have to admit that I haven’t made much lately even though I love to make soup.

Then last week, I decided to make soup. It started with the chicken carcasses that were left from a beer can chicken meal. Using carcasses for chicken stock isn’t how I usually roll. I’m more of a whole chicken or collected necks kind of gal. The chicken was delicious and the bones really did smell good and had a fair amount of meat on them so I thought I’d give it a whirl, or simmer to be more accurate.

I started the way I start most stock with onions celery and carrots sweated in a little olive oil. Then I added the bones and about 3 quarts of water (there were a lot of bones). I let it simmer for a couple of hours and was pleasantly surprised at the wonderful smokey aroma that permeated the house. Upon tasting it, the smokiness carried through in the flavor which was coupled with the herbs and spices I had originally used to season the chicken.

What to do with the resulting stock? Soup it is.  In my ongoing quest to use and often reuseDIGITAL CAMERA the food I have on hand I added some leftover chicken from the aforementioned dinner and some grilled artichoke hearts that had also made an appearance at the same time.  Onion and garlic were also part of the flavor profile. Topped with a few croutons it was a most satisfying supper.

Now that the soup gates were opened, I had to make another. I had a small head of cauliflower that was in dire need of being eaten. I also had several containers of vegetable stock I had made earlier in the summer.

DIGITAL CAMERAI went to an old standby and made Cauliflower & Cheddar Cheese Soup. This soup combines potatoes,  cauliflower, onions and garlic simmered together and then spun into a  puree. The addition of some extra sharp cheddar cheese created a creamy and rich bowl of goodness. Topped with bacon (the drippings were used as the base of the soup) and fresh chives, it was delicious. So soup, it’s not just for cold weather any more. In fact, there is Fresh Corn Chowder in my not so distant future….stay tuned.

There’s got to be a lot of soup fanatics out there. Please share your creativity with me…Fall is just around the corner!!

Chicken + Brine + Grill = Moist and Tender Results

 

Chicken seems to be everyone’s favorite protein. It comes in assorted sizes and parts that can be boneless and skin-less or not. It fits into everyone’s budget even in the most inflated of times. It is extremely versatile and is at home on the stove, in the oven, and on the grill.

I cook a lot of chicken. I have planked it, sautéed it, diced and sliced it, I’ve even stuck a beer can up it’s butt. Chicken is easy to cook, but can go south just as easily, especially on the grill.  That’s where brining comes in.DIGITAL CAMERA

A brine is a liquid that has a lot of salt in it. It may have other ingredients, but salt and liquid are in  the majority. Brine imparts moisture to chicken which can go a long way to keeping it juicy and tender when grilled. Traditionally the liquid is water, but when it comes to chicken I’ve found that other liquids can work magic when combined with salt.

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Number one on my hit parade is buttermilk. It gives  flavor and the acidity tenderizes the chicken. Chicken breasts brined for several hours in a mixture of buttermilk, salt, onion, garlic and smoked paprika will hit the grill and come off of it juicy and flavorful.

To this basic brine you can add herbs and spices of your choice or leave anything out that doesn’t float your boat. Just keep in mind that the acidity in the buttermilk can begin to break down the chicken if it is left on for too long (keep it to 4 hours or so)

Beer can be an excellent brine base as well.  Again, the flavor of the beer will soak into theOLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA chicken, give it a moisture boost and result in a tender and juicy piece of poultry. Chilis, onions, garlic, sugar, even a little lime (remember limes are acidic so keep brining time within that 4 hour limit).

Last but not least there’s water. I guess you could call it the traditional brine ingredient. Anything you put into beer or buttermilk can also be added to water, but don’t stop there.  No ingredients are off-limits. Use your personal favorites  and let your imagination run wild.

Now for the how to’s:

You will need a container that will hold the chicken ( whatever pieces you use) and enough brine to cover it completely. Oh, and it should seal tightly. Brine is not fun to clean out of the nooks and crannies in your refrigerator. Zip top plastic bags work well for breasts and thighs. For whole chickens and even turkeys, trash bags can get the job done.

The amount of salt also depends on how much chicken you’re brining. One tablespoon will do the trick for 3 -4 boneless chicken breasts. You will increase the amount according to how much liquid you need to cover your chosen poultry. Use Kosher salt if you can, it is additive free.

Brining time for non-acidic mixtures can be up to 24 hours…whole chickens and turkeys can soak even longer.

When you are ready to grill, remove the chicken from it’s salt bath and pat it dry. Throw the bath water away.  Powder the chicken with your favorite seasoning and grill. One more thing…because the chicken has absorbed some of the salt in the brine go easy on any salt you add before grilling. 20130625_172131 (1)

There’s still a lot of grill time left this summer, so dive into brine and come up with delicious chicken

Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurant

Woman can’t live by cooking alone. Every once in a while it’s nice to go somewhere and have the work done for you. My husband Jeff and I  lived in the San Fransisco area for almost 20 years and spent a good deal of time in the Northern California  wine regions. We aren’t “wine snobs” but, when we do go out, we like to have wine with what we are eating.

About 4 years ago we happened on Coopers Hawk Winery and Restaurant in South Barrington. We had never heard of  it, but were intrigued  so we went in. We tasted the wine which was quite good and even joined the Wine Club.

Since then, we’ve visited all of the Illinois locations and also the one in Milwaukee,  tasting the wines and enjoying many items from the menu.

Besides offering an extensive catalog of wines (the varietal grapes come from California, Washington, and Oregon and occasionally internationally) that are blended to create consistently drinkable wines that do not require much cellering, they feature a casual contemporary food that is consistently good.

Our 4 year membership has given us lots of perks,free birthday dinners, bonus coupons for points earned, and a reason to go out to lunch one Sunday a month.

Our routine has become to visit one of the locations and enjoy a monthly wine tasting (free with our 2 bottle membership) and then enjoy lunch in the restaurant. Lunch is always the same, well sort of.  It is the Wine and Cheese Pairing.

Each month the executive chef creates a five  item cheese board that is paired with 4 wines.  While not an inexpensive proposition ($18.99 each) it is very satisfying. We always manage to get good bang for the buck because this spread is designed to be lingered over and savoured. We  leave comfortably full as we carry out our 2 bottles of wine and 40 points toward our next dining coupon(remember we’re club members).

This is the pairing for August which included fresh goat cheese with honey as well as  a Gruyère, a Havarti, and a ( 4  year) aged cheddar. The wines included Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and the wine of the month, a Syrah/Cabernet Franc blend. My favorite was the goat cheese paired with the Gewürztraminer.

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