Sherry – Page 60 – Rosemary and the Goat

Mushroom Turnovers in Cream Cheese Pastry

All I can say is YUM!

A little drizzle of truffle oil (optional) and you have a delicious appetizer.

I don’t know about your grocery, but my grocery store carries so many different kinds of mushrooms it is hard to choose just one variety. There are the white button mushrooms (this recipe), black mushroom, chanterelle, cremini, shiitake, porcini, portobello, clamshell, enok, morel, and oyster.

Over the years I have made some wonderful dishes with mushrooms. I make fabulous Pepperoni Stuffed Mushrooms that I actually won a contest with that recipe. My Balsamic Mushroom Panini appetizer is a fancy grilled cheese that is opened up and topped with sauteed mushrooms. A duxelle filling can be put into phyllo cups or can be put under the skin of chicken breast for a beautiful entree. Of course, mushrooms can always be sliced and used on veggie trays and what dish isn’t made better by adding some mushrooms.

May 15, 2011 By Sherry

Salads

Italian Chopped Salad

Those little white beans are great in this salad!

When it starts to get hot, nothing sounds better than some kind of good salad with a light dressing and maybe a piece of grilled salmon. This is the time of the year in Texas that we start grilling most of our meals and eating outside.

Growing up a salad to me meant head lettuce, cottage cheese, tomato and a chopped boiled egg covered with French dressing. Yes, the French dressing that is orange and comes in a bottle. We called that salad a Combination Salad and that was what you asked for in a restaurant. That is the only salad I remember ever eating until I got married and started experimenting with recipes. I still love that salad but would not serve it to anyone I know except for my husband.

Coleslaws, yes. Potato salad, yes, no macaroni salad and no salad using anything but iceberg lettuce. Honestly, I don’t remember any other lettuce being sold at our grocery. Of course, I didn’t grocery shop so I don’t know what was sold. I forgot about a salad my mother use to make — Wilted Lettuce Salad. My dad had a terrific garden and she would pick his curly leaf lettuce add some green onions, bacon and a boiled egg and heat up the bacon fat with a little sugar and vinegar and pour it over the salad. Now that was and is a good salad and I make that occasionally with fond memories.

I love salad and just about anything you can put on a salad. It’s exciting too to be able to go out in my herb garden and pick some lettuce, arugula, chives or herbs to go into a salad I’m making.

I think this salad could be served as a main dish salad by adding some shredded grilled chicken. I have made this salad many times and always forget to double the dressing recipe when I use the whole head of romaine. I also use a soft sun-dried tomato instead of the oil packed ones then I chop them up and add to the dressing.

May 10, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts

Eton Mess

Most unusual name for a delicious and royal dessert.

When I first heard someone talking about this dessert, I thought I heard “eaten mess”. Of course this wasn’t right and I’m just getting over an ear infection and thought my hearing was going for sure. So, I started a search. I googled (what would we do without google?) “eaten mess” and came up with Eton Mess. A dessert fit for the Royals.

Last week I got so caught up in the wedding of Kate and William. When all of this started with the engagement several months ago, I really didn’t think I would be watching with enthusiasm every little news sniblet that hit the TV. But, I was wrong and it wasn’t long before I was watching every movie and program that came on about Princess Di to what the dress, cake and food might be like for Kate and William’s wedding. And, yes, I did get up at 3:00 a.m. last Friday to start watching all the coverage.

What little girl doesn’t love Cinderella and the fairy tale ending. I loved The Officer and a Gentleman where Richard Gere rushed in at the end of the movie and swept up the fair maiden and off they go into the sunset. I love happy endings and if I don’t like the way a movie ends, I rewrite it in my mind to end the way I want to see the final scenes.

Eton Mess is an English dessert that starts with torn meringue cookies mixed with whipped cream and strawberries and layered with a raspberry sauce. This dessert is traditionally served at Eton College’s annual cricket game against Winchester College. The dish has been known by this name since the 19th century. You can use any type summer fruit but the strawberry is the traditional way of preparing this light and summery dessert. I added the raspberry sauce to the layers. Good twist.

I’m serving mine in my vintage champagne glasses I got when we were married 42 years ago. I guess that makes me vintage, or almost. I love the bowl type champagne glasses for drinking champagne, serving desserts or even using as a small table decorations holding a little fern and a few flowers.

May 6, 2011 By Sherry

Egg Dishes/ Morning Foods

Eggs Rothko

Easy, beautiful, and delicious!

Have you ever been to a Rothko exhibit or maybe the Rothko Chapel in Houston? Well the first time I saw a group of Rothko paintings was when my oldest son and I went to Houston for the day to visit a few museums. He wanted to show me the Rothko Chapel and I remember my first impression when I walked into the chapel and what I said, “they are all black”. I mean black on black, black floor, black painted walls. You really needed a flashlight to find your way around the room.

Now, what fun is that. Then when we were in Spain last fall, we went to so many museums and saw just about every famous painting in the world. I remember meandering in and out of rooms and suddenly I’m standing in front of a Rothko painting and thinking to myself – “I know this artist”. Sure enough it was a Rothko. But this painting was not black but all shades of orange to yellow. Even though I love wearing black because I think it’s going to take away a few pounds, I love color and this painting of Rothko was so much more exciting than a whole room of black art.

So what could a black or even an orange painting have to do with this Eggs Rothko recipe. I don’t know, but, a couple of years ago while in NYC we took the subway over to Brooklyn to have breakfast at this tiny little restaurant called The Pig and Egg and had this wonderful egg dish called Eggs Rothko. I wrote down all the ingredients and intended to make it some day and until last week, I totally forgot about wanting to make this.

April 30, 2011 By Sherry

Pasta/ Side dish

Firey Angel Hair Pasta

Fire in the pasta!

I love pasta. Even though we don’t eat it often. When I do, I want my pasta simple with a lot of flavor.

I saw Giada do this on Everyday Italian a couple of years ago and knew instantly that it would meet our criteria of simple and spicy.

This dish is great served on it’s own or as a side dish to any meal. We love it with my husbands grilled salmon that we do with olive oil, lemon pepper and lots and lots of dill weed. He smokes this over a wood fire and is delicious along side this pasta or vise versa the pasta as a side with the salmon. It’s hard to decide who is the star of the plate.

My other favorite to serve with this combo is Giadas Italian chopped salad which has white beans, romaine, sun-dried tomatoes and radicchio. I will be posting that recipe soon because I think it will become one of your favorites.

April 26, 2011 By Sherry

Egg Dishes/ Morning Foods/ Sauces

Eggs Benedict with a Twist

Eggs Benedict revisted.

Don’t you just love finding an updated recipes; recipes that have been around for years and have been given a new twist to make it a little more exciting. I think it is time that a dish like Eggs Benedict get that make over. Is it possible to improve on an English muffin, topped with Canadian bacon, poached egg and hollandaise — of course it is and what an improvement.

Last year on a trip to New Orleans we had breakfast at Dantes Kitchen. The Shrimp and Grits were great, the steak and eggs made with tenderloin, Bearnaise sauce and poached eggs were fantastic and the twist on their Dante’s Eggs Benedict was tasty and interesting. I also had my first milk punch which I can’t wait to make for brunch sometime.

If I had to scrimp on anything on a trip, it would not be on the restaurant or the food. Give me a room with a bed and I’m happy. But, please, don’t make me eat at some fast food, chain restaurant. To me, the best part of traveling is trying new restaurants and food that I haven’t made or eaten before.

So, this Eggs Benedict started with a homemade buttermilk biscuit with a little honey, topped with a slice of rosemary rubbed pork loin, and a poached egg and hollandaise. Like always, I’m thinking, hey, I can make that and here’s my version.

I had some thick cut boneless pork loin roast in my freezer so I sliced it thin, rubbed it with rosemary and olive oil and grilled it quickly on both sides. A little honey, egg and hollandaise and you have the newly dressed Eggs Benedict.

April 21, 2011 By Sherry

Dessert/ Desserts/ Ice Cream

Chocolate Mousse with Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Wedding Bliss!

Ok, I’m sitting here writing this blog after a long day of wedding dress shopping with my daughter and my daughter-in-law.

After a morning of shopping and my FIRST bridal shop and then lunch at Waltons Fancy and Staple (Sandra Bullock’s restaurant) we went to our second and then third bridal shops. WOW! is all I can say.

I had my first son in 1973 and then my second in 1976 and I love them dearly, but oh how I wanted a little girl who I could take shopping, curl her hair and dress up in pretty pink dresses and dream of a wedding someday when I would be able to watch her try on wedding dresses. Well, she is now a grown, beautiful young woman and is the apple of our eye and a twinkle in her fiance’s eye.

Well, this was the weekend. It was so hard because every dress, absolutely every dress, was beautiful on my daughter. By the end of the day she had narrowed the dresses down to 2 maybe 3 dresses and I still don’t think I could pick a favorite. I know she will be beautiful in it the day of her wedding this October.

April 16, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Pork

Pork Chops with Cabbage and Thyme

Baked in oven or crock pot, this is a favorite!

I’m one of those people who is happiest in the kitchen preparing food for someone to enjoy. I tend to like complicated recipes with lots of ingredients and a challenge to make and most of the time the recipes are successful. I’ve done so many sweet things lately you may think that I don’t have a recipe that doesn’t have “sugar” in it.

I love meat, I could never give up meat, could never come close to being a vegetarian even though I love vegetables. I love the thought of cooking something on a bone and then being able to pick up that bone and gnaw it clean — I do this when no one else is around. So what’s with all the boneless meat these days, boneless chops (this recipe), boneless chicken breast and thighs, no bones in the 7-bone pot roast any more and I could never figure out where those 7 bones were anyway. I’ve even seen boneless wings and I don’t even think those are wings.

There are so many working mothers/dads out there now, who has time to cook? Maybe on the weekends but then who wants to spend all weekend cooking. Years ago my sister and I use to make what we called Chops Casserole. It wasn’t really a casserole in the sense that it didn’t have some kind of canned creamed soup in it or loaded with cheese. I have revised that recipe and changed a few ingredients and gone is the word “casserole”. This dish could even be made in a slow cooker or crock pot and be ready to put on the table when you get to the end of your long day and you can sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy a nice home cooked meal.

April 1, 2011 By Sherry

Cake/ Food Stories

Cupcakessssssss!

Can you teach an old dog new tricks?

Now don’t take me wrong, I’m not saying I’m an old dog or anything like that. I think I may still have a few new tricks in me.

Lately, it seems like I tend to get obsessed with things. For instance, cooking for the blog, trying to make my camera take better food pictures, and taking computer classes at the Apple store. Now I’ve started a miniature fairy garden and ordered my first house for it and now I’m trying to figure out how to make a miniature pond and table and patio for the fairy garden.

Now if that isn’t enough, three weeks ago, I started cake decorating classes at Hobby Lobby and then turned around and signed up for fondant and gum paste classes the following day. I must have been nuts at the time.

I’ve been catering for 20 years and one thing I have always wanted to know how to do was to decorate a pretty cake and hey, why not learn to make fondant covered cakes and flowers at the same time.

March 27, 2011 By Sherry

Entree/ Sandwiches

Asparagus Ham and Cheese Melt

Not your ordinary sandwich!

I do love some ordinary sandwiches like bologna sandwiches on white bread with mustard or sometimes mayonnaise with a handful of potato chips on top and then they get mashed together until the salty chips totally cover the bologna surface. I love braunschweiger sandwiches with mustard on white bread and I know those aren’t good for me.

Other than burgers, occasionally, I never really threw sandwiches on the table for my kids. Or, for dinner anyway. They definitely had their share of pbj, grilled cheese and egg sandwiches for lunch.

Sometimes you just want something quick, like a sandwich, to fill you up so you can get going with whatever project you were working on. I’m sure everyone has had their share of sandwiches on bread (white, wheat, nut berry etc.) or pita sandwiches or wrapped sandwiches in tortillas. When in dieting mode, I have even wrapped my filling up in lettuce leaves. So, who would have ever thought there could have been another way to prepare a sandwich.

March 21, 2011 By Sherry

Side dish/ Vegetables

Potatoes Colcannon

Poor man’s dish but fit for a King!

In honor of my husbands family tree I decided to make this potato dish this week for St. Patrick’s Day to go along with some corn beef.

Back before the Irish Potato famine the average Irishman ate 5.5 lbs. of potatoes each day. Potatoes were a staple diet for rich and poor and with dwellings being so small, there was not a lot of room for kitchens like we have today for storage of food. A meal of potatoes need only to be dug, washed and either boiled or roasted. Potatoes Colcannon is an Irish dish similar to the British dish Bubbles and Squeak and potatoes contain almost all the vitamins we need. We just can’t eat too much of a good thing.

Back when my husband was in college at the University of Missouri – Rolla, St. Pat’s weekend was one of the biggest party weekends of the year. The main street would be painted with a green stripe down the center and all the fraternities would work on these elaborate mechanical floats (this was an engineering school) for the St. Patty’s Day parade and like I said in an earlier post, they dyed everything green. If the guys didn’t have a nice beard grown by St. Pat’s, they would get a green beard painted on their faces. So, whenever St. Pat’s rolls around each year, it brings back memories of party weekends I attended while he was at school.

My sister gave me this recipe a few years ago. I love cabbage, I love mashed potatoes, and combine the two along with some milk, butter, onions, and cheese you have a wonderful side dish to your evening meal.

March 16, 2011 By Sherry

Bread/ Morning Foods/ Pastries

Sweet Cheese Puffs

I love making sweet miniatures and these are sweetious!

There is nothing that makes me feel better on a gloomy day than to get in the kitchen and start baking. We have had a couple of days like that lately that made me want to do just that. I’m off the 21 day diet challenge that I did with my daughter so I actually tasted one of these before taking them to Garden Club last week.

Several years ago I was looking for a cookbook on miniature desserts and came across Flo Braker’s “Sweet Miniatures” and I ordered it from my local library. I always do that with new cookbooks and then I usually just copy out the recipes I want and then return the book. Your library can get any book you request, it may just take a few weeks to receive it from another branch or even state, but you will eventually get it. After flipping through Sweet Miniatures, I knew I needed that book. So I ordered it off the Internet and when it arrived it did not have all the pictures that the library’s hardback version had. So, I got the book back from the library, copied the pictures from each page and taped them into my new book. NOW, I had a book filled with wonderful pictures of baked sweets.

March 8, 2011 By Sherry

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