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Archive for the ‘In The Kitchen’ Category

Friday’s Fresh Five! (7/15/11)

Posted in About me, Entertainment, Helping Others, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Photography, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on July 15, 2011| Leave a Comment »

One of the most wonderful things about summer is the variety and availability of delectable summer produce. Every year at this time, I utter superlatives by the bushel and go on sensory overload. Peeling the skin off of a juicy, tree-ripened peach or taking an indescribable bite of a summer tomato topped with freshly-picked basil, just makes me happy. Could life get any better?

#1 – Crafting an Exceptional Life
The Positive Thoughts site had a post titled, “How Do You Craft an Exceptional Life?” With a list of 57 suggestions, there are several that are worth reiterating:

Get serious about gratitude.
Know the 5 highest priorities of your life.
Savor life’s simplest pleasures.
Create unforgettable moments with those you love.
Forgive those who’ve wronged you.
Give no energy to critics.
Remember that leadership is about influence and impact, not title and accolades.
Be authentic.
Never miss a moment to celebrate another.
Speak less. Listen more.
Be the best person you know.
Make your life matter.

#2 – Extraordinary Uses for Everyday Items
Can’t find the end of a roll of plastic wrap? Use a piece of tape to find and pull up the edge. I learned that little tip from an article called, Extraordinary Uses for 16 Ordinary Household Items. Discover uses for toothpaste, nail polish, hair dryers, cornstarch, coffee filters and more!

#3 – Incredible World
We live in an incredible world. Here’s a collection of twenty-seven photographs of our world that only photographers from National Geographic could capture!

#4 – Obechi
Can you win it, not in a minute, but in 5 minutes? That’s the challenge of Obechi, a computer game. The game involves capturing a set amount of moving dots in a set amount of rings. Unfortunately, you must sit through a brief ad before you play, but use that time to loosen up your fingers and focus your brain!

#5 – Enough Is Enough
“He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.”
Lao Tzu

Have an extraordinary weekend!

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Chicken Salad with Vietnamese Seasonings

Posted in In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on July 12, 2011| Leave a Comment »

During these warm summer days, light and refreshing salads appeal to those who want to fit into their swim suits and also get out of the hot kitchen. Myself included! Recently, I had a craving for chicken salad, but with outdoor temperatures soaring into the triple digits, my stomach churned at the very thought of a mayonnaise or sour cream-based salad. Searching for a light, but flavorful chicken salad, I hit the jackpot when I saw Mark Bittman’s recipe for Chicken Salad with Vietnamese Seasonings. The fresh flavors of lime, cilantro, and mint are well-juxtaposed against the saltiness of nam pla and the kick of chili pepper. Although you can reduce the amount of cilantro and mint, you still need to be a fan of them to enjoy the salad. Grilling the chicken breasts outdoors eliminated heating up my kitchen. If you want to stay cool, drive in your air-conditioned car to an air-conditioned grocery store and buy a rotisserie chicken! This easy and flavorful salad would also be delicious in a lettuce wrap or a bread wrap.

Chicken Salad with Vietnamese Seasonings
Recipe from Mark Bittman’s cookbook The Best Recipes in the World

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon nam pla
1 teaspoon cracked or coarsely ground black pepper
1 teaspoon sugar
1 small fresh chili, preferably Thai, minced, or 1/2 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes, or to taste
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 medium to large shallots, chopped
2 cups chopped or shredded cooked chicken
1/2 cup chopped rau ram or 1/4 cup each mint and cilantro leaves
Salt to taste
12 or 16 leaves, Boston, red leaf, or green leaf lettuce

Directions:
1. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a bowl and toss with the chicken; set a bit of the herb aside for garnish, then stir the rest into the mixture. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding salt if necessary.

2. Arrange the lettuce on 4 plates and top each leaf with a portion of chicken salad. Garnish with the remaining herb and serve.

Serves 4.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Nam pla is a fish sauce that is one of the basic ingredients in Thai cooking. Fish sauce, in general, is used in a lot of Southeast Asian recipes and can be purchased in Asian grocery stores, specialty markets, and some general grocery stores.
2. I added no salt. The nam pla I used was plenty salty.
3. Having no Thai chilies on hand, I used 1/2 teaspoon of finely minced red jalapeno. The heat level of this dish can be easily adjusted by adding more or less chilies.
4. Rau ram (Vietnamese coriander) is the Asian herb of choice for this recipe, but it can be hard to find. I followed Mr. Bittman’s suggestion and used cilantro and mint with success, but the minute I find some rau ram, I’m going to make this salad using it and compare the flavor!

ENJOY!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (7/1/11)

Posted in Creativity, Entertainment, Health, Helping Others, Holidays, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 1, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Screaming Piccolo Petes, juicy cold watermelons, friends and family gathering for barbecues, and patriotic displays of red, white and blue are all things we look forward to as our country celebrates its Independence Day. Having the freedoms we have in America should never be taken for granted. So as we celebrate this weekend, let us not forget just what we’re celebrating and why we need to celebrate.

#1 – A Free Love Story
Telling a love story using coordinating split screen images is a creative idea, but what I found even more creative about JW Griffiths’s short movie was that it was shot entirely with a mobile phone. To view Split Screen: A Love Story click here.

#2 – Be Free of Stinky Fingers
If you’re entertaining this holiday weekend and plan on dicing onions and mincing garlic, try these tips to remove their odors from your fingers:

-Immediately after handling onions or garlic wash your hands with regular soap and water and then rub your fingers on something made of stainless steel.

-Wash your fingers with a mixture of salt and vinegar (or lemon juice), but first make sure you don’t have any cuts or hangnails, because it will sting!

-Wash your hands with a paste of baking powder.

#3 – Be Free of 100 Calories
“Losing weight can be as simple as cutting out a meatball here and an egg roll there.” ~Elizabeth Somer, M.A., R.D.

Ms. Somer provides a list of 100 Painless Ways to Cut 100 or More Calories, which involves practical substitutions. According to Ms. Somer, if 100 calories were eliminated each day for a month from our diets, each of us would lose a pound of fat in a month!

#4 – The Price of Freedom
Americans have gone to war to win their independence, expand their national boundaries, define their freedoms, and defend their interests around the globe. This exhibition examines how wars have shaped the nation’s history and transformed American society.

Those words preface the Smithsonian Museum’s exhibit The Price of Freedom: Americans at War. I can think of no better way to appreciate and to celebrate our country’s Independence Day, other than to fully understand the history of the domestic and international conflicts which engaged our country. Enter the exhibit, select a conflict from the timeline, watch and listen to the brief video, look at the photos of objects in the exhibit, and then say thank you to all the brave people who fought for freedom.

#5 – To Be Free
“You can protect your liberties in this world only by protecting the other man’s freedom. You can be free only if I am free.”
Clarence Darrow

Have a safe and happy Independence Day!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (6/24/11)

Posted in About me, Creativity, Health, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Organization, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 24, 2011| 2 Comments »

Out came the pool floats! On went the ceiling fans! Out came the iced tea! On went the garden sprinklers! The summer solstice roared this week with a triple digit heat wave. Summer is finally here, but I would have preferred a little 85 to 90 degree warm-up first!

#1 – Ransom Notes
If you think you’ve seen it all, you probably haven’t! Here’s a site where you can create a message in ransom-note-style (letters cut from miscellaneous pieces of paper). Go to Ransom note generator, type in the words, and click “create.” That’s how I made the message above – “I have a heart with room for joy.”

#2 – People That Come Into Your Life
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away that they were meant to be there, to serve some sort of purpose, teach you a lesson, or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become. You never know who these people may be (possibly your roommate, neighbour, co-worker, longest friend, lover, or even a complete stranger) but when you lock eyes with them, you know at that very moment that they will affect your life in some profound way.

This is the opening paragraph from a piece of writing I found on the internet. This feeling of “I know we were supposed to meet” has happened to me and, perhaps, to some of you, too. Click here to read the entire inspiring piece.

#3 – Food Journal
I am in a self-imposed M.O.G. (mother-of-the-groom) boot camp now. I have a year to get in shape for the wedding and I’ll need every bit of it, plus any other help I can get! I found this free and easy to download food journal at The Project Girl. Besides the weekly format, I also like that it includes snack and water entries. I made a little packet of the sheets for me and the F.O.G. – let the food journaling begin!

#4 – Dating Your Food
I’m not suggesting you go out on a date with your food, but rather I’m offering a method for keeping track of food purchase dates and dates indicating when items were opened. For example, do you know how long the bottle of cocktail sauce has been sitting in your refrigerator? How long has the jar of instant espresso, which you bought to make a chocolate glaze, been sitting in the pantry? As someone who likes to cook, I have a pantry and a refrigerator filled with items I use only occasionally. Since expiration dates or sell by dates don’t really apply to all products once they’ve been opened, I keep track of their freshness by marking them with a little code I devised:

1. Using a permanent marker, all items that are recipe necessities, but used only occasionally, such as jam, condiments, nuts, specialty items, pasta, baking items, ethnic foods, etc. get marked with a “P” (for purchased) and the date when they are put away for storage.

2. When items are removed from storage and are opened, they get marked with an “O” (for opened) and the date they are opened.

Following this code makes cleaning my pantry and refrigerator faster and easier, and probably more safe, since there is no second guessing to the freshness of products!

#5 – Change Gives Us Branches
“Continuity gives us roots; change gives us branches, letting us stretch and grow and reach new heights.”
—Pauline R. Kezer

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies

Posted in Husbands, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on June 14, 2011| 3 Comments »

What could be better than a moist, spicy, carrot cake slathered with cream cheese frosting? Not much! But what if all that delicious goodness could be held in your hand in the form of a cookie? A portable carrot cake – how perfect! Since carrot cake is my husband’s favorite type of cake and since Father’s Day is this coming weekend, I whipped him up a batch of wholesome carrot cake cookies and sandwiched them together with a rich, not-too-sweet, cream cheese filling. After wrapping them individually in plastic wrap and freezing them, he can now have his “cake” (whenever he wants) and eat it too!

Carrot Cake Sandwich Cookies
Recipe by Martha Stewart

Ingredients for Cookies:
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 1/2 cups finely grated carrots, (about 3 large carrots)
1 cup raisins

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with Silpat baking mats or parchment paper, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine sugars and butter; beat until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat on medium speed until well combined.

2. In a large bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger; stir to combine. Gradually add flour to butter mixture; mix on a low speed until just blended. Mix in oats, carrots, and raisins. Chill dough in refrigerator until firm, at least 1 hour.

3. Using a 1/2-ounce ice-cream scoop, scoop dough onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between cookies. Transfer to oven, and bake until browned and crisped, rotating pan halfway through baking to ensure even color, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Repeat baking process with remaining dough. Once cooled completely, use an offset spatula to spread about 2 teaspoons of cream-cheese filling onto a cookie. Sandwich together with a second cookie. Repeat with remaining cookies. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.

Makes about 25 sandwiches

Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions:
Place cream cheese in a medium mixing bowl. Using a rubber spatula, soften cream cheese. Gradually add butter, and continue beating until smooth and well blended. Sift in confectioners’ sugar, and continue beating until smooth. Add vanilla, and stir to combine.

Makes about 2 cups

Linnell’s Notes:
1. To make the cookies more wholesome, I used whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour.
2. Because I like the smaller size of currants, I used them instead of raisins.
3. For a bit more texture and some added nutrients, I added 1 cup of chopped walnuts.
4. Although it is easier to buy a bag of grated carrots, the moisture content and fresh flavor of freshly grated carrots add much to this recipe.
5. I used a smaller ice-cream scoop for the dough and made 72 perfectly round 2 1/2-inch to 3-inch cookies.
6. These cookies spread – allow the specified 2 inches. If cookies seem to be spreading too much, chill the dough a little longer.
7. I doubled the cream cheese frosting which was the perfect amount to fill 36 cookie sandwiches.
8. These cookies absolutely have to be refrigerated! Not only because they have a cream cheese filling, but primarily because they will become too soft and will fall apart easily if left out at room temperature.
9. As mentioned in the introduction, I individually wrapped my sandwiched cookies with plastic wrap, placed them in Ziploc-type plastic bags, and froze them for future cravings.

Enjoy! Enjoy! Enjoy!

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Scampi alla Griglia

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on June 7, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Flavorful Scampi alla Griglia was one of my “go to” recipes to serve company in the early years of my marriage. Not only did it have an exotic name, but it was a gourmet triple treat – garlic, butter, and shrimp! I recently rediscovered this recipe when trying to figure out the “surf” part of a surf and turf birthday celebration for a friend. It was as good as I remembered!

Scampi alla Griglia
Adapted from a recipe in The Cooking of Italy cookbook by Time-Life

Ingredients:
2 lbs. large fresh shrimp in their shells or defrosted frozen shrimp
8 T. butter
1/2 cup olive oil
1 T. lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped shallots or scallions
1 T. finely chopped garlic
1 tsp. salt
Freshly ground black pepper
4 T. finely chopped fresh parsley, preferably the flat-leaf Italian type
Lemon quarters

Directions:
1. Shell the shrimp, being careful not to remove the last segment of shell or the tail.  Devein the shrimp by slitting down the back of each shrimp with a small sharp knife and lifting out the black or white intestinal vein. Wash the shrimp quickly under cold running water and pat dry with paper towels.

2. Preheat broiler to its highest temperature.

3. In a shallow flameproof baking dish or pan just large enough to hold the shrimp in one layer, melt the butter over low heat on the stove top, being careful not to let it brown. Remove from burner.

4. Stir in olive oil, lemon juice, shallots, garlic, salt, and a few twists of freshly ground pepper. Add the shrimp and turn in the butter and oil mixture until they glisten on all sides.

5. Broil them 3-4 inches from the heat for 5 minutes, then turn the shrimp over and broil them for 5 to 10 minutes longer, or until they are lightly browned and firm to the touch done.*

6. Transfer the shrimp to a serving platter, pour the sauce from the pan over them, and sprinkle them with parsley.

7. Garnish with lemons and serve.

Serves 6.

Linnell’s notes:
1. I buy the U20’s (under 20 shrimp per pound) size shrimp at Costco. They still have shells on, but the shells are slit and the shrimp are deveined.

2. *Cooking times will vary depending on the size of the shrimp you are using and the amount of heat generated by your broiler. Keep an eye on the shrimp while they are broiling, because they can quickly become overcooked! I did not need to broil mine for the total time suggested in the recipe.

3. This recipe would make a fabulous hot or “cold” appetizer. If serving it cold, my only word of advice would be to not serve it right out of the refrigerator because the butter will be congealed.

4. In the photo above the Scampi is served with an herbed quinoa “pilaf” on the side. I’ll post the quinoa recipe at a later date, but if you can’t wait, email me and I’ll send you the recipe.

Enjoy!!

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Food Truck Festival

Posted in Community, Creativity, Entertainment, In The Kitchen, Travel, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on May 31, 2011| 2 Comments »

Hungry? Want to eat something out of the ordinary that will confuse your brain and challenge your taste buds? If the answer is yes, then go find yourself a food truck and sample its tasty offerings or, better yet, go to a food truck festival and indulge in new gastronomical experiences! A long weekend of celebration for my family often means consuming massive quantities of food. My recent trip to Southern California was no exception. At my son’s suggestion we attended a food truck festival at the Santa Anita Race Track. Yes, a race track!

After paying a $5.00 entrance fee, we walked through a long tunnel that carried us under the track. As we emerged from the tunnel and caught our first glimpses of the Festival, we felt like we had entered another world. Picture a racetrack. Now picture an infield, the grassy center of a track, filled with colorful umbrellas, picnic tables, a DJ playing loud music, a bounce house, pony rides, and carnival games! Ringing the infield are over 70 colorful food trucks offering almost every type of food imaginable. This is dining at it’s most unique and is not an experience for the unadventurous or for those with digestion issues!

Immediately ahead of us was easily a two-hour wait for the line of people wanting to place an order at the Grilled Cheese Truck. Although this truck serves grilled cheese sandwiches, most of them are not the type your mom or Denny’s served to you as a child. For example, if you order Mom’s Apple Pie Melt from this truck you’ll get sweet brioche bread grilled with sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized apples, and candied walnuts. Or if you prefer a sandwich with a little kick, you’ll ask for the Pepperbelly Melt which is served on cheddar jalapeno bread grilled with habanero jack cheese, homemade chili, Fritos, fire-roasted salsa, and cilantro lime sour cream tucked inside! This all coming from a chef who got his start with his famous Cheesy Mac & Rib Melt.

While walking the track and taking it all in, I was impressed, not only by the bright-colored and cleverly-named trucks (Let’s Be Frank, Great Balls on Tires, Crepen Around, Shrimp Pimp, etc.), but also by the creative fusion of food styles. Jogasaki Burrito successfully offers a fusion of Japanese and Mexican food. We, unsurprisingly, devoured delicious Sushi Burritos and Spicy Tuna Nachos. At the Calbi BBQ truck, soft corn tortillas carefully cradled Korean barbecued meat and shredded cheese. Not all the food at the Festival was fusion, though. Food trucks serving epicurean delights from Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Japan, Thailand, Greece, Vietnam, France, India were also doing brisk business.

The chefs driving these trucks (literally and figuratively) are not slouches. An article on About.com mentions the interesting pedigrees of some of the food truck chefs in the Los Angeles area – a former chef of Michael Jackson, a former Wolfgang Puck chef, and a chef from Top Chef Masters!

If you’re adventurous and live in or are visiting a major city and you want to get something good, but different to eat, track down a food truck by using your smart phone. There are several apps available which track the locations of food trucks – you can either check the location of a particular food truck or find out which food truck is nearest to you at the moment. Trux Map is an example of a popular one. A word of warning if you seek out a food truck: GO ON AN EMPTY STOMACH!

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Friday’s Fresh Five! (4/15/11)

Posted in About me, Aging, Entertainment, Health, In The Kitchen, inspiration, Photography, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on April 15, 2011| 2 Comments »

Whether extraordinary or mundane, once a moment in life has passed, it’s gone forever. There’s no getting it back, or is there? When I look at the photo of me taken five decades ago, I cannot give you the exact date it was taken on, but I can give you details about the exact moment – the time of day, the location, the sights and smells, the clothes I wore that day, and even my mood. My parent’s grocery store had closed for the evening and the lights were dimmed. I had completed my chores at the store and was waiting to go home. Grabbing a handful of comic books off the round revolving rack, I plopped down on the magazine display and was quickly absorbed in the lives of Richie Rich and Archie, Betty and Veronica. I heard a voice call out my name and looked up to see Uncle Edgar, one of my adopted “uncles” and a longtime employee of the store, snap the photo. Although much time has passed, the memories of that innocent moment rush back and somehow rejuvenate me.

#1 – A Father’s Creative Photos
I discovered these photos taken by photographer Jason Lee of his two adorable daughters. They are so cute (both his daughters and the photos) that I had to share them with you! These photos sure beat the one taken of me! You can see more of Jason’s photos here.

#2 – How Fast Are Your Reactions?
Well, mine were not as fast as I thought they were! Although I did manage to graduate from “Sluggish snail” to “Ambling armadillo” in a few tries, I’m not going to stop there. This old body is aiming for “Turbo-charged cheetah.” Test your reaction speed by hitting the button when you see a sheep making a mad dash for freedom. Easy, right? Just don’t blink!

#3 – The Positives and the Negatives
We live in an amazing country, but each state in the nation has its strengths and its weaknesses. Check out these “infographs” and learn a different kind of geography lesson.

#4 – Homemade Half & Half
The other day I was testing a recipe that called for half & half, but I didn’t have any. Having only milk and cream, I wondered if I could make my own. But is half & half really a 50:50 ratio? I found my answer on Ochef. According to this site, you can mix either:

3/4 cup whole milk + 1/4 cup heavy cream
or
2/3 cup skim milk + 1/3 cup whipping cream

#5 – Happiness Is a Journey
“For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin, real life. But there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid. At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life. This perspective has helped me to see there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment you have and remember that time waits for no one. Happiness is a journey, not a destination.”
-Alfred D. Souza

Try to capture a moment this weekend!

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Quick Scones and Mock Devonshire Cream

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , , on April 5, 2011| 2 Comments »

Scones are harbingers of happiness to me – they always remind me of Carmel and of my mom. As a child I spent many a lazy-crazy family vacation in the Monterey Bay area. Those carefree days of summer were all a kid could ever ask for. Dad would pack up the family Buick and drive leisurely down the coast while we all sang “On top of spaghetti, all covered with cheese, I lost my poor meatball, when somebody sneezed . . . . !” As we pulled into the parking lot of our ultimate vacation resort – a Travel Lodge motel – my sister and I would debate on what to do first. Invariably, within five minutes of our arrival, we would don our chic bathing suits, our “stylish” Playtex swim caps, and a pair of rubber zories and run outside to the pool. Esther Williams we weren’t, but we didn’t care! The following day always brought the promise of a visit to Carmel. Window shopping in Carmel was a favorite pastime and after passing pastry shop window after pastry shop window, my mom would finally select one to go into and would treat us to anything in the shop. My sister would pick her usual favorite and my mom would always get a giant scone studded with currants for herself. She’d pick off pieces and study the crusty exterior and the tender interior before she put them in her mouth. Then she’d say, “These are almost as good as the ones Eppler’s sells in the City.” And what did I always choose for my treat from the bakery? A scone, just like my mom, of course!

Scones are not difficult to make and require ingredients most of us have at home. But sometimes when we’re in a hurry, convenience wins out and that’s okay. Here’s a recipe for quick scones that utilizes a baking mix. This recipe calls for dried cranberries and currants, but there are a myriad of other flavorful ingredients that could be substituted. Other dried fruit, such as cherries, raisins, blueberries, and apricots, work nicely, as well as, white and dark chocolate chips, lavender flowers, and lemon or orange zest.

Devonshire cream is a nice accompaniment to hot scones, but it’s not easily found. Below is a recipe for a mock Devonshire cream that’s rich and simple to make.

With Easter and Mother’s Day just ahead, you’ll want to try these simply delicious recipes!

Quick Cream Scones and Mock Devonshire Cream:
Adapted from a recipe by Ana Robello

Ingredients
Scones:
3 cups baking mix, such as Bisquick
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup dried currants
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup whipping cream or half-and-half
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup butter, melted for brushing on

Mock Devonshire Cream:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream or half-and-half

Directions for Scones
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Mix the first six scone ingredients together in a medium bowl. Drop 2-1/2-inch mounds onto 2 nonstick, greased, or parchment-covered cookie sheets.
3. Brush tops of scones with melted butter.
4. Bake until lightly golden, 8-11 minutes.

Makes 16 scones.

Directions for Mock Devonshire Cream
1. Beat all ingredients together in a medium bowl with hand-mixer.
2. Transfer to a serving dish.
3. Refrigerate any unused portions.

Makes 2 cups

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Separate the sticky dried fruit by tossing them in the baking mix before adding the other ingredients.

2. Because I wanted my scones to be heart-shaped, I put some Bisquick/flour on a pastry board and kneaded the dough a little bit. Then I rolled the dough out and used a cookie cutter to cut out the hearts.

3. Because the oven temperature is high and because the tops of the scones are brushed with butter, keep an on on the scones as they bake. If you find them turning brown before they are fully baked, turn down the temperature by about 25 degrees.

4. These scones are on the sweeter side. You can always decrease the amount of sugar.

4. The Mock Devonshire Cream can be spooned into a pastry bag and be piped into little serving dishes. If you don’t have a pastry bag, just snip off the corner of a Ziploc-type bag and attach your decorating tip to that instead.

Enjoy!

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Chinese-Style Beef Jerky

Posted in About me, In The Kitchen, Recipes, Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on March 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »

One piece! One tiny little piece of homemade Chinese-style beef jerky remained in the bowl. In the quick ten minutes it took me to wash the dishes, the entire contents (minus one piece, of course) had been devoured by He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named! Noting the digestive-inhalation that just occurred, I considered my first foray into making beef jerky a success!

Beef Jerky
Adapted from a recipe by Rhoda Yee

Ingredients:
1 lb flank steak
2 tsp salt
4 tsp sherry
8 tsp honey
6 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp each of: ketchup, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce

Directions:
1. Rinse meat and blot dry. Place completely flat in zip-type plastic bag and freeze for about 45 minutes.

2. Make the marinade with the remaining ingredients. Set aside.

3. Remove meat from the freezer and take out of bag. On a cutting board slice the meat into wide strips across the grain and put into a large bowl. The pieces should be no thicker than 1/8th-inch thick.

4. Pour the marinade into the meat bowl. With your hands, carefully mix the two, making sure that all sides of the meat slices are evenly coated with the marinade. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one day.

5. When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

6. Cover baking pans with foil. Place either broiling racks or cooling racks into the baking pans. This allows air to flow around the meat. Spray racks with a vegetable spray and place slices of meat in a single layer on the racks. The slices can touch, but should not overlap.

7. Bake for 45-55 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool completely.

8. Store in an airtight container.

Linnell’s Notes:
1. Chinese-style beef jerky is a little sweeter and stickier than conventional western beef jerky.

2. The best prices for flank steak were at Sam’s Club, Winco, and Costco – in that order.

3. These are optional procedures – Halfway through the baking time I removed the baking sheets from the oven and poured off the meat juices that had collected in the bottom. I wanted the meat to bake and not steam. At this point I also turned the slices of meat over.

3. Because I like my beef jerky peppery, I sprinkled some freshly ground black pepper over the raw meat slices prior to baking and again at the halfway point after flipping them over.

4. How to tell when meat is done: The slices will shrink by about 50%. The color should be dark brown and should be evenly colored, but not burnt! You’ll know when you see them.

5. After reviewing many other beef jerky recipes, I found this one to be relatively easy. So easy, in fact, that I made three batches in over two days!

Enjoy!

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