May 2010 – Rosemary and the Goat

Strawberry Goat Milk Ice Cream

Baaah, says the goat before giving up her milk for this Strawberry Ice Cream.

I have never made ice cream before using goat’s milk. I do love goat cheese (try my Rosemary and the Goat cheese appetizer — that’s what our site is named after).

I hope everyone has a great Memorial Day weekend and to start it off right, try this strawberry ice cream and have your guest saying “not baaaaad”. We are doing a Mexican theme this year with pulled pork tacos with grilled pineapple, roasted Serrano and jalapeno peppers, tamale casserole, corn and black bean salad and a lot of other good things. This ice cream may be making an appearance. That is, if there is any left by Monday’s party.

Today when I decided to give the goat’s milk a try in my strawberry ice cream, I wasn’t really sure I was going to like the flavor of the milk. It turned out fantastic. I also used some evaporated milk and whipping cream to give the ice cream a little more dimension. I like the richness of the whipping cream but I love the faint hint of the goat’s milk. Of course the fresh strawberries just added to this great combination.

I used canned goat’s milk for this recipe. The next time I make this I want to try the goat’s milk I can get in the milk section of grocery.

My veggie chopper is the perfect chopper for strawberries.

Perfect size pieces with only about 6-7 pulls of the cord.

Goat Milk Strawberry Ice Cream

Ingredients

1 lb. carton of strawberries chopped small
1 c. sugar (or half sugar half Splenda
12 oz. can Goat's Milk chilled
5 oz. can evaporated milk chilled
1/2 c. whipping cream

Instructions

Chop the strawberries fine and mix with the one cup sugar. Refrigerator several hours until they have become juicy and kind of mushy. Mix the strawberry/sugar mixture with the goat's milk, evaporated milk and whipping cream. Put into ice cream maker and freeze until firm. Put into freezer container and freeze for a couple hours in freezer before serving.

May 28, 2010 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert

Hummingbird Cupcakes

Ever wonder why this cake is called hummingbird cake?

I did a little research and found that this recipe first appeared in Southern Living magazine in 1976 by a Mrs. Wiggins. But the cake also has Jamican roots. Dr. Bird (hummingbird) is the national bird of Jamica and supposedly a passenger on the Jamican Airlines received this Hummingbird Cake (Doctor Cake) recipe back in the 60’s. Maybe that was back when airlines served real food and not those little mini turkey/ham sandwiches that we get now when we fly (if you even get that). Or, maybe it gets it’s name from the Hummingbird and the fact that they are drawn to intenstly sweet food sources, and once their appetites are sated they quickly move on. Wherever this recipe came from it is a keeper and will quickly disappear (just like the hummingbird) when you serve it at your next party.

I was so hoping to snap a picture of a hummingbird in our back yard (we see them all the time) with my new zoom lens. Haven’t seen one in a few days though but I plan on posting one soon.

Recently, I made these little cupcakes for a Jimmy Buffet pre concert party I catered. I thought they fit perfect with the tropical theme. They also freeze beautifully. I topped these with my dried pineapple flowers.

May 25, 2010 By Sherry

Entree/ Sandwiches

Smoked Chicken Salad Sandwiches

Once upon a time I was sitting in a tea room wishing it was mine.

Several years ago I thought I wanted a tea room. Who doesn’t like going to tea with all those cute little tea cups, lace table cloths, cucumber finger sandwiches, cheese straws, and a pot of steeping tea sitting right there on the table snug under it’s little tea cozy.

Several years ago, a friend of mine and I had talked about opening a tea room. After all, with all the catering experience I have, it would have been a perfect fit. We tried just about every tea room in our area, all the time envisioning what our tea room would look like. We attended a 3 day tea conference at Magnolia and Ivy in Georgia on “How to Open A Tea Room”. Magnolia and Ivy is listed as one of the great tea rooms in America and doesn’t that name just elicit the idea of an afternoon tea with ladies with big hats sipping their tea and talking about what’s going on in their lives.

Well, we collected china, tea pots, teas, and anything we would need to serve tea all the time looking for a perfect place to house our dream. We really wanted an old place with Southern Charm and that was not to be found in our area. So, eventually we gave up on that dream but I continue to cater teas and luncheons so I still get my “fix” on doing tea type foods.

May 21, 2010 By Sherry

Cake/ Dessert

Heart Shaped Devils Food Cake

Very moist cake and was a hit on Mother’s Day.

Easy to make and came right out of the pan for a perfect looking dessert to serve anytime.

We just got back from a trip to Chicago over the weekend visiting our son and daughter-in-law and future baby to be. We ate at some wonderful restaurants (we always do) while there. One of my new favorites is The Publician. We had sweetbreads there, lots of different sausages, pork belly small plate and some homemade pork rinds. We also had Indian and Costa Rican food over the weekend. The one thing we didn’t have was dessert — chocolate. So the first thing I thought of when I got back was this cake I had made over Mother’s Day weekend.

May 18, 2010 By Sherry

Entree/ Poultry

Stacked Green Chili & Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

Talk about stacked!

Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakesand Bunnee of Anna+Foodhave chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco de Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.finecooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

This is another “cooks” challenge from www.thedaringkitchen.com. Even though I sometimes feel like we eat nothing but Mexican food here in Texas, I can honestly say I have never made enchiladas or stacked enchiladas before.

For about the first 18 years of living in Texas we pretty much had a standing Friday night date with a Mexican restaurant. In fact, we went exclusively to just one restaurant for most of those years. The waiters knew us, the owners knew us and we pretty much knew what we were going to order before we even got there. JUMBO margaritas were also the first words out of our mouths. And we knew before the night was over, someone would be celebrating a birthday, get the BIG hat, and then get a plate full of whipped cream pushed in their face and a picture made to commemorate the event.

These days we have given up the weekly fix for Mexican food and we are making fresh margaritas instead of making them from a mix or limeade as we had done for years.

I liked making these enchiladas in my individual salad/pasta bowls. Each person had their own serving dish and it made for easier serving.

May 14, 2010 By Sherry

Appetizers/ Bread/ ColdApp

Gluten-free Cheddar Crackers

Did I mention I love cheese?

About six months ago, I started trying to fine tune my diet by following the basic rules of Paleo eating. It seems like Paleo or Primal eating has been getting a lot of attention lately. This New York Times article, depicts a group of New York primal eaters as the modern day caveman, storing large amounts of protein in giant meat lockers, partaking in unconventional exercise such as leaping from boulder to boulder or mimicking sloth like movements on all fours and fasting between meals to recreate the eating patterns of early humans.

So I am not as extreme as this group and I don’t wear the goofy Vibram rubber shoes. My approach is much simpler. Eliminate processed foods from my diet, along with grains and dairy (as much as possible, I am a recovering cheese-a-holic). Eat plenty of veggies, fruit, lean meat, nuts, and seeds. Real food. Fresh, local, organic and grass fed when possible, and when the budget allows. I am human though, and stray every once in a while. If I eat like this 80% of the time I would be completely happy.

What does this have to do with crackers? Well, eliminating grains led me to search out recipes calling for other unusual flours. My new love is Almond flour, followed closely by coconut flour. Thankfully, I discovered a great cookbook The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbookby Elana Amsterdam. I do not have celiac disease or have a need to eat gluten free, but it kind of naturally occurs when eating Paleo anyways. I would highly recommend checking out this cookbook or blog for great recipes using almond flour.

These crackers are amazing. It almost fills the void left behind when I had to give up my favorite, snackable, child-like indulgence…Goldfish. I joke with my brother that I’ve been waiting for their baby to get to the age where they will always have Goldfish on hand. Thankfully, they don’t feed him Goldfish either so there is no temptation yet!

May 11, 2010 By Alexis

Salad Dressing/ Salads

Spring Salad with Grapefruit and Avocado

I love Spring mix lettuce. That along with some grapefruit, avocado, jicama and red onion makes a beautiful salad.

A good friend of mine gave me this recipe for Spring Salad with Grapefruit and Avocado Salad which is great for any spring and summer luncheon or dinner. It is full of color and interesting taste and textures.

Homemade Poppy Seed Dressing or you can just buy it already made.

There’s something about having a good friend who loves to cook as much as you do. We’re on the same wave length when it comes to food and cooking. We cook together at each other’s homes and when we travel together, you will always find us in some neat little corner grocery, husbands in tow, looking to see what local markets are selling. On a trip to Italy a few years ago, we found several little groceries that peeked our interest. (See pictures at bottom of this post.) I remember one little store in Santa Margarita that had some meats that we did not recognize and the butcher explained the different cuts and the unusual looking one was rabbit. I’ve bought rabbit before but it was frozen and in a box. This was as fresh as it just hopped right up to the meat case.

So, we don’t go any where that we aren’t searching out local market places, whether it be Italy, Napa Valley, New York and San Francisco’s China Town.

May 8, 2010 By Sherry

Egg Dishes/ Morning Foods

Ham and Egg Brunch Cups

Who doesn’t like ham and eggs!

Every time we make a trip to Austin to see the kids I try and catch up on the Dexter series. We don’t subscribe to Showtime and I have already rented the first two seasons but the third season is not out on DVD yet. On this last trip to Austin, I finally made it through the last show of the fourth season. So, lately when I think of ham and eggs, I think of the intro to Dexter where he is cutting through a thick slice of ham and a big shake of hot sauce splashes across his eggs. Yum!

I first tasted this recipe at a Williams Sonoma technique class that I helped with. They were so easy and the girl teaching the class told the attendees, “I don’t cook, and if I can make these, so can you”. Well, they are super fast, easy and delicious. Working at Williams Sonoma gives me the opportunity (occasionally) to look through some of our wonderful cookbooks. This recipe happens to come from Gail Gand’s “Brunch” book. Although I hardly ever follow a recipe exactly, I did on this one because it is perfect the way it is.

I could not get two eggs in my muffin pans so I don’t know if Gail uses a jumbo muffin pan or had double yolk eggs. Recently I purchased a dozen eggs at a local “gourmet” store and every egg in the carton was a double yolk. Now these would be perfect for this dish. I’m going back to this store soon to see if they are labeled “double yolk” eggs. I always feel like I am getting a bonus when I find a double yolk.

May 5, 2010 By Sherry

Entree/ Poultry/ Sauces

Kotopits (Chicken in Phyllo)

Another phyllo recipe I love and have made many times.

As I have said before, I love working with phyllo dough and this recipe is so amazingly simple and elegant.

My journey to learning to cook, create, and recreate dishes has been a long one. As a teenager my sister (twin) and I never cooked. Our “cooking” for the week was to make dinner the nights our mother had her bowling league. The only meal I remember making is Bologna sandwiches. Once I made some home made divinity candy to send to my husband at college. Well, his fraternity brothers were always eating the cookies etc that I would send. That was until after the divinity incident. Evidently I did not do a very good job of shelling the pecans and one of his frat brothers borrowed a piece of candy and broke a tooth on the shell that was hidden away inside the candy. So, even though I did experiment with cookies and candies, I didn’t do any serious cooking until I got married, then my sister and I started sharing and collecting recipes.

Recently I calculated I have probably prepared 43,800 meals (at least) in the last 40 years 7 months. We have been in a dinner/supper club 4 different times since we have been married and we have always learned something new and creative from each group.

My daughter has prepared this dish several times and one of those times she was still in college. So, if you are thinking this is too hard, think again. I have catered this several times for rehearsal dinners and dinner parties and it is always a hit.

To me anything served in a little packet whether it be phyllo or parchment packets is a surprise waiting to be discovered. What’s hiding way all snug and wrapped up in that phyllo or parchment bundle?

May 2, 2010 By Sherry