Sherry – Page 57 – Rosemary and the Goat

Cauliflower Onion Linguine

A very delicious pasta dish! So good, I’m making it again this week — tonight.

Cauliflower is one of those vegetables that I frequently pass up in the produce section. I don’t know why, but I have never been a huge cauliflower fan. I love it fried, but what isn’t good breaded and fried and dipped in a decadent sauce? I have used it in my Winter White Vegetable Soup and it’s fantastic, but even on a crudité platter, I will pass it up in favor of other vegetables.

When I saw this recipe in a recent Food Network magazine I knew I was going to have to give this vegetable another try. Pasta is good with practically any kind of sauce or with any type of vegetable mixed with it. I have even made a pumpkin pasta with a browned butter walnut sage sauce that is so delectable. With or without meat, pasta is a very satisfying entree. Sometimes on “girl’s night out” my husband will have me to just make him some plain pasta with either some pesto or nothing more than olive oil and a little Parmesan. He’s not that hard to please and he has been know to open a few boxes of mac and cheese for himself.

So, I say let’s give this vegetable another try you may just have a new favorite vegetable. Continue Reading…

November 4, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Apple Fritters with Crème Anglaise

Nothing says Fall more than something made with apples!

What Fall has meant to me all this year was that my daughter was getting married. The wedding was last weekend and it was the most beautiful, special weekend any mother could imagine. The bride and groom were so happy and the venue (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center) was wonderful. Lots of fall flowers and grasses still in bloom and looking gorgeous. But not nearly as gorgeous as my daughter walking down the isle to meet her future husband with family and friends there to celebrate. All the planning and decision making is over so I guess it’s time to get on to other things. I’m thinking about going back to culinary school and finishing what I started years ago. Or, enrolling in some camera classes at our local college. So until then, I guess I will start cooking a little more. I think my husband is ready for some good comfort food.

When I think of Fall I think of apple picking time and one of my kid’s field trips when we lived in Iowa and how we went to pick apples with a whole bus load of screaming kids. The crisp morning air was wonderful and the smell of apples just made you want to run all the way home and make an apple pie.

I love the signs of Fall like apple picking, pumpkins growing in the fields (another field trip) and the crunch of beautiful colored leaves below your feet, the maple trees starting to show some color on your long drives through the countryside or just that leafy autumn smell filling the air was enough to have me in my kitchen wanting to cook something comforting. And, I just love it when I actually need to grab a jacket before going out (normally doesn’t happen in Texas until maybe December, but it happened this morning).

This particular recipe came from a dinner group we belonged to while living in Iowa back in the late 70’s/80’s. We made some of the best friends while living there through church and Welcome Wagon. There wasn’t a lot to do in the winter there, so to get together with friends for a great meal and enjoy all the snow from inside in front of a crackling fire was just so comforting.

October 30, 2011 By Sherry

Candy/ Cookies/Bars

Purple Kiss

“A kiss is just a kiss” ♫♫♫♫♫

You must remember this
A kiss is still a kiss, a sigh is just a sigh ♫♫♫♫♫
The fundamental things apply
As time goes by
And when two lovers woo
They still say, “I love you”
On that you can rely
No matter what the future brings
As time goes by ♫♫♫♫♫

So, the wedding is over and how time did go by. Seems like just yesterday that my daughter was on her way to kindergarten and I remember the tears and saying goodbye and what it felt like to have all three kids out of the house — sad, but in a good way.

Oh, how times flies. A new baby, diapers, school, lots of sporting events like swim team, tennis, volleyball, college and then marriage. I made these little “kisses” for treat bags for hotel guest at the wedding last weekend. Purple M&M’s, of course, and I was surprised when I found bags of colored ones at our local Party City store.

So this little treat was something I saw at Pinterest. One can find the most interesting little tidbits there.

These are are as easy as they look and would look just as cute with mixed colored M&M’s. Pretzel, topped with a chocolate kiss, 3 minutes in the oven, and press in an M&M, chill a little, and you are ready to go.

Hope you will try these soon. Orange and brown for Thanksgiving or red and green for Christmas. Cute and yummy little treats.

October 25, 2011 By Sherry

Candy/ Dessert

S’more Chocolate Bark

You will be yelling “give me some more”!

A bowl full of delightful chocolate.

What is your earliest memory of a S’more? I think mine would have to be maybe at day camp with my brownie troop and we were all holding sticks over the campfire until our marshmallows got just the most perfect toasty brown color and then hurrying to put the chocolate and graham cracker together with the melted gooey marshmallow to make the most delicious sandwich you’ve ever had. Oh, I can almost taste them now.

Were you one of those kids (or adults) that once your marshmallow caught fire you waved it around trying to put out the flames only to have them burn to a crisp. That is my favorite way to do a marshmallow – burnt. Can you think of a dessert, as delicious as a S’more, that you can pack right in your suitcase and have where ever you go. In the past, I have packed all the ingredients for a ski trip and then roasted the marshmallows over an open fireplace. Even if you have to nuke it in a hotel room microwave, just think you will have a hot, yummy dessert before you jump in bed and oh what sweet dreams you will have.

How about a s’more on top of a hot cup of coffee or hot chocolate, what a dunkable. Or, a bowl of steaming oatmeal with broken pieces of chocolate, graham crackers and marshmallows covering the top. I recently found this S’more Cup recipe and can’t wait for the opportunity to try it out and also this S’more Dip which would be a hit with any kids or the ones of us who are still kids at heart.

I have seen so many variations of S’mores over the years. Have you ever tried one with a York peppermint patty, Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup, or even an Almond Joy. Well, this recipe is another version. S’more Chocolate Bark is so easy to make and makes the perfect little gift to give guests. I recently did some for a brunch and gave to everyone to take home for their ride back to Austin.

October 20, 2011 By Sherry

Side dish/ Vegetables

Baby Carrots with Dried Apricots

Looking for a new carrot dish? Here it is.

Apricots and carrots compliment each other and look so pretty together.

Rainnnn, we finally got it yesterday and it lasted all day long. I was stranded at the mall for an extra hour and while there discovered that to get the new iPhone I will have to get in line at least by 7:00 a.m. What I won’t do for the new gadget.

So, back to this recipe.

Several years ago when in Napa we visited the Goosecross Winery. I love Napa and could go back again and again. A lot of my favorite wineries have recipes on their websites and this recipe came from Goosecross.

I have to admit that I haven’t tried a lot of carrot recipes. Besides maybe eating them raw with some kind of yummy dip or simply boiling them and then adding some butter and parsley, that’s about it. I do remember from a class in culinary school where we cooked the carrots in a flavored water like lemon or grapefruit water and that does flavor them somewhat.

So, this is my attempt to try something different. I think the colors are so fallish and I hope will be another recipe I add to my menus in the future.

October 10, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Pork

Smokin Succulent Grilled Pork Chops

“Call 911, something’s on fire”!

These were just as juicy as they look in the picture.

This is sooooo funny I just have to write about it. My husband got his new Kamodo Joe grill this summer and we have grilled just about everything you can imagine on it. Well, a couple of weeks ago he was getting the grill ready to first cook some sausage stuffed jalapeños for an appetizer and then to make these Smokin Succulent Grilled Pork Chops.

So, here’s what happened. He had dumped the bottom part of a bag of charcoal in the smoker and I think it was wet. The grill started putting off this huge plume of smoke and it kept going, and going, and going just like the Energizer Bunny. All of a sudden our neighbor from across the street rushes to our back yard with phone and fire extinguisher in hand and was ready to call the fire department. She thought our garage was on fire and she was over, as any good neighbor, would to fight the fire. We have been having a lot of fires the last few weeks here in Texas and I wasn’t looking to have one right in my back yard. We all had a good laugh and we sent her home with some of our smoking sausage stuffed jalapeños.

Turns out these pork chops were really good. Smoke and all and were delicious with our Sweet Corn Risotto with Blue Cheese and the Baby Carrots with Dried Apricots.

I don’t know about you but I am guilty of tearing recipes out of a magazine while waiting for either a doctor, dentist or even car repair. I try to be pretty sneaky about it; quietly tearing out the recipe so it doesn’t make a sound. Then I quickly fold it up and put it in my purse. Well, I would not have this recipe if I not seen the ad in a magazine.

This recipe is so easy, not many ingredients, and very deliciously tender.

October 5, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Side dish/ Vegetables

Bacon Wrapped Sweet Potatoes

The Good, The Bad and The Delicious!

I have to say The Good, The Bad and The Ugly was one of my husband’s favorite movies. He loves Clint Eastwood and actually wanted to name our first son, Clint. I vetoed that right away because I imaged seeing a baby walking around in cowboy boots, hat and a stick horse saying yee haw.

Come fall, and I start thinking sweet potatoes sound pretty good on any menu. How many ways have you done sweet potatoes? I have mashed, of course, and have folded the mashed sweet potatoes into mashed white potatoes, very pretty and good. Who hasn’t made sweet potatoes with marshmallows all toasted on top or a nut crumb topping. Other than those recipes, I have baked sweet potato wedges with olive oil and rosemary and that’s about it.

These sweet potato fries are “Good, Bad and Delicious”. Of course, everyone knows that sweet potatoes are good for you. They are full of Vitamin C, B6, complex carbs, fiber and beta carotene. The bad part is the bacon. BUT, it’s so little bacon and unless you eat the whole pan of potatoes, I think you’ll will be ok.

This recipe actually came from one of my daughter’s paelo websites. I can’t say I have a paelo lifestyle (far from it) but these potatoes are delicious. I made a few adjustments and added a sage leaf out of my herb garden and some maple syrup on the plate for dipping. And, when I put one in one of my Asian soup spoons with a syrup for dipping, I thought — Wow, another Amuse Bouche recipe. Or, just make a big pan full and pile them on a platter and watch them disappear.

Some of these I used a toothpick to hold the bacon on and some I just used more bacon so it would cover more of the sweet potato. Hope you will try some of these for your next party. Everyone knows that bacon in/on anything makes it taste oh so good.

October 1, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Side dish

Sweet Corn Risotto with Blue Cheese

Creamy, Cheesy, Corn Risotto and with Blue Cheese to boot.

Crisp corn, cream risotto, delizioso!

Fall is just screaming “lets start cooking”. And, what better way to meet a cool autumn night than with a big pot of risotto. (The cool autumn nights is about a month away for us here in Texas.)

I can’t believe that I have only posted one Risotto recipe before. I love making risotto and I think just the slow method of making it is what makes the dish so comforting. Making risotto is fairly easy but it not as quick as going out and throwing a steak on the grill, but oh so relaxing as you stand and slowly stir in your broth, wine and other ingredients. You don’t rush risotto and you don’t want to make it ahead and reheat it.

You definitely don’t want to have your husband/spouse stirring your risotto during a football game. The pot may get neglected and turn into mush. The word Risotto really refers to the method of cooking and not the dish — rice cooked with broth to a creamy consistency. Recipes will always call for arborio rice which is a short stubby grain. Risotto dishes always cook AT LEAST 20 and up to 30-35 minutes.

When our friends came over the night we made this I told my friend, “I didn’t tell you that I have never made any of these recipes and I was waiting for you to help me cook.” I was lucky that night because everything turned out great.

Learning to make a good risotto is like riding a bike; practice makes perfect. And you can put just about any ingredient into the finished risotto from meats, cheese, and cheeses. It’s a good way to use some of your leftovers in a new and creative way. After making this recipe, I’m yearning to try more risotto recipes during the fall and winter months.

September 27, 2011 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert

Mama’s Butter Cake

Great plain or covered with berries and cream.

My grandmother on my mother’s side was never a “grandma” but a “mama”. I’m a “gran” to my two grandsons and I better not ever catch them calling me granny or any of those other old sounding names. I’m not old yet. I still have a few recipes in my apron pocket.

Isn’t it wonderful to have all those memories stored up of family favorites. I associate foods with all kinds of events and can recall what we were doing with certain foods. We were in NYC a couple of years ago and had dinner at Gramercy Tavern and were served an amuse bouche that was a homemade tater tot with a tapenade piped into the center and it was served in a tiny dish perched on top of sea salt. So when I see tater tots on a menu, I think of that New York trip and eating one of the best meals we have ever had. But those were not ordinary tater tots we had that night and I have the recipe courtesy of Executive Chef Michael Anthony.I can think of a bucket of mussels and picture sitting outside at this little cafe in Bruge enjoying a delicious lunch. I know I’m strange because thinking of food and recipes takes up a large part of my thoughts.

My “mama” use to make this wonderful one layer butter cake that we would either eat plain or with berries and whipped cream. Sometimes we would just eat it right out of the oven with a pat of butter spread on top . She is still living in her own home but does not know anthing about the whereabouts of that recipe.

This is my attempt to re-create her declicous butter cake to bring back those childhood memories of that cake. I actually let go of some of my raspberries I have been hoarding in my freezer, and with the strawberries and a little sugar, they made a great filling for this cake.

There were two ways of making this cake; separating the eggs and whipping the egg whites and folding into the batter or adding the whole egg. I opted for the whole egg since I decided to make this about an hour before our company came. We only used one layer that night and my husband cut up the other layer into large wedges and froze it. That has been his bedtime snack for the last week.

September 22, 2011 By Sherry

Appetizers/ ColdApp/ Sandwiches

Pimento Cheese Bruschetta

Born again cheese spread.

What is it about pimento cheese that makes me think of sitting on a stool at the counter in a drug store (hey, drug stores don’t have lunch counters any more.) having a pimento cheese sandwich on toast with some curly leaf lettuce and a nice pile of crispy dill pickles on the side.

I think pimento cheese is one of those southern things that some people not from the south have not experienced between two pieces of soft white bread or stuffed into celery. It is truly comfort food and most Southerns do not understand why it does not exist outside the south. This favorite sandwich is even served at the Master’s golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia and a Southern picnic wouldn’t be the same with out a pimento cheese sandwich.

Just thinking of little pimento cheese tea sandwiches cut into triangles makes my mouth water. What would an afternoon tea be without pimento cheese sandwiches? Of course anyone from the south knows that you can just as easily use a corn chip or cracker to scoop up this wonderful spread. Add it to grits, stuff celery, slather it on burgers or hot dogs or even use it to make a grilled cheese sandwich.

In my early years of making this mushy, cheesy spread, I simply used Velvetta cheese and added some mayo and pimento and I have to say, it needs a makeover or at least another idea for it’s use.

We have all had Italian and Spanish style bruschetta with tomatoes, cheese, proscuitto and just about every topping you can imagine. If you are like me, you’re always looking for a way to improve on an old recipe and that being the traditional pimento cheese sandwich. So why not Pimento Cheese Bruschetta topped with finely shredded lettuce and some crunchy bacon — a summer bruschetta! (Summer is on his way out, but this would be good any time of the year.) So, whether you try this recipe or your own recipe, try a Pimento Cheese Bruschetta for your next party.

September 18, 2011 By Sherry

Side dish/ Vegetables

Hatch Corn and Chile Cheese Pie

It’s that time of the year again.

This time of the year I wait with anticipation for the Hatch chiles to start appearing in our local grocery stores. They are wonderful peppers whether you buy chiles that are freshly roasted over a hot open fire outside the grocerry store or if you buy the fresh ones and roast your own.

There are all kinds of products made with Hatch chiles from Hatch chili flavored popcorn, to Hatch chili pesto, canned Hatch chiles. You name it, they make it with Hatch chile peppers. Hatch green chiles come from Hatch, New Mexico and they are know for being the home of “The World’s Best chili pepper”. They are best prepared by roasting oven an open flame, which is the type I bought at our local HEB grocery.

Each year during chili season dozens of chile vendors can be found lining the streets of Hatch roasting the local chile. On Labor Day weekend the annual event of The Hatch Chile Festival kicks off in Hatch New Mexico. I think next year maybe I want to make that trip.

This dish is great as a side dish or it would be wonderful for a vegetarian meal of just the Corn and Chile Cheese Pie, some sliced tomatoes and a nice green salad.

September 14, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Pies/Tarts

Lemon Meringue Pie

My perfect lemon meringue pie. Finally!!!

I always wanted to put a pie in an open window overlooking a beautiful meadow so the aroma of it would waif across the open fields to someone who had a sweet tooth and ready for dessert. Oh, well, it is a window even though it doesn’t open and no beautiful meadow to look at, but it is a delicious pie which is going to get eaten.

I’ve said before how my husband loves Lemon Meringue Pie and that the first month we were married I made seven trying to perfect the kind of pie he was yearning for. Last year for his birthday I made this Lemon Meringue Tart and this year for his birthday I decided to give the Lemon Meringue Pie another chance (or me another chance anyway to try and get it right).

September 9, 2011 By Sherry

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