Summer Time Salads

In the heat of the summer it is the best time to get creative with salads.

Recently we have been hitting levels of 110 to 114 degrees and the thought of turning on the stove has escaped my mind.

Pictured are a few of the creations that were simple to make and refreshing at the same time.

Above left is a pasta, crook necked squash salad, highlighted with roasted red peppers and capers. Above right is a chicken salad coupled with flavors of cucumbers, onions tomatoes. The crunch of the vegi's highlighted the smooth chicken that had a kick of horseradish thrown in.

Below is one of my all time favorites. A spicy beef salad accented with fresh mint leaves.

.....Happy Birthday to You.....

Happy Birthday Honey Bunny!

Crusted Cajun Mustard Lamb Chops

This dish was almost as fun to make as it was to eat.

I did a rosemary, garlic salt, and fresh ground pepper rub on the chops and then seared them on a grill quickly. I brushed on a coat of dijon mustard that was flavored with a cajun seasoning. I dipped the chops in bread crumbs and baked until finished.

You can't really see too much spinach but it was served on a lightly sauted bed on spinach and tomatoes.

Valentines Day Pt II

Valentines Day Part II.... It's been awhile and the most I can say is once we had electricity we enjoyed a wonderful dinner. The time with-out power gave us time to talk with absolutely no distractions! It was a fantastic evening.

Smooth and Creamy Cheese Cake

There is nothing better than to have a hot and spicy dinner with friends and end up with with a cool, creamy cheese cake topped with mixed berries next to a huge chocolate dipped berry.

The recipe I like to use has sour cream along with the cream cheese which gives this cake it's smooth texture.

Valentine's Dinner Part I

Just as I went to hit the up-load button the power went off! The whole house is electric...it is 10:08 not 8:00 so Part II shall come tomorrow. Hope your day was FANTASTICO!

Toscana Prawns & Pasta

Hot, hot, hot pan. The hotter the better, to the point where the smoke alarms are going off.

Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil, throw in a scoop of roasted garlic and minced shallots. Sizzle until evenly coated on the bottom of the pan. Throw in the 1 lb. cleaned prawns with tails removed, lemon juice, balsamic vinegar (or wine) salt and pepper, cook until slightly crispy.

Toss in about a 1/2 cup marinara cook until sauce is evenly coated on the prawns. Take 1/4 cup frozen peas and toss.

Serve on cooked seasoned pasta. Top off with fresh parm and a bit of chopped Italian parsley.

Pink Hearts, Cookies for Valentine’s Day

(photo's top: glazed this morning, center close up of last nights glaze, bottom: last night's goodies)

The wonders of baking when so much comes into play when trying to make sweets for the sweet. Before I get into the heart of it (pun intended) a little baking story is in order.

I was always afraid of baking because it never seemed to come out like intended. Knowing now, much of it can be contributed to the inferiority of the equipment used, the environment (temperature and climate) and the vast amount of wasteland, my patience.

With baking, it is pretty much like science. Follow the rules and don’t eyeball like you do with creating a gourmet dinner. But ahh, it also takes a keen eye to know “when” to break the rules.

I presently work part time at an upper crust bed and breakfast, which I shall refer to as the Villa. My duties include assisting the Executive Chef (which shall remain nameless) and the Pastry Chef, Kara. A gift to the world of baking she is.

I have learned a tremendous amount from watching and observing her behind the wheel of her spatula but we have also had enlightened conversations over a cup of coffee in the wee hours of the morning when waiting for the guests to arrive.

Kara makes wonderful brioche bread, which we use to make our French toast and eggs Italia. I’ve seen her come in when it is slow to get caught up of her list of baking tasks and whenever she does this it takes forever to have the bread dough rise but when we are buried in the weeds with making appetizers for the evening, baking and preparing for special events, the bread rises right out of the bowl like a huge billowing rain cloud.

This she attributes to the “heat” in the kitchen. All the ovens, stoves, toasters are going full steam ahead, which in turn raises the temperature in the room and spirits of all those involved. Busy creating with the mission charted ahead everything seems to flourish.

Such as life improvisation in my kitchen is a must. Equipped with my old hand mixer knowing if my counter was graced with a $298.00 Kitchen-Aid mixer would make baking these cookies an easier feat but the strong-arm of a partner works just fine too at this juncture!

As to temperature, I started this feat in the evening with the oven and stove going preparing the shrimp Toscana Pasta (recipe above). After dinner I glazed but only a few cookies, not happy with the final result I decided to wait until this morning to finish the task, when lo and behold, the glazed cookies done the night before came out better. The texture of the cookie itself is right on the money.

Enough rambling, let’s move onto the recipe…keeping all of the above in mind.


Sugar cookies with a Hint of Citrus

Pre-heat oven 350°

6oz unsalted butter, at room temperature (preferably warm)
10 oz of sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
t tsp vanilla essence
grated rind of lemon
¼ tsp salt
10 oz of flour

With an electric mixer (preferably a Kitchen-aid Mixer) cream the butter until soft. Add the sugar g-r-a-d-u-a-l-l-y and continue beating until light and fluffy.

Using a wooden spoon, s-l-o-w-l-y mix in the whole egg and egg yolk (do not “scramble” these before hand). Add vanilla, lemon rind and salt. Stir into mix well (strong arm needed).

Add flour and stir until blended (really blended, not just a little bit). Gather the mixture into a ball, wrap in greaseproof paper, and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes. (Depending on the temperature in kitchen where you plan to roll out the dough you may have to put this ball of cookie dough in the freezer).

On a floured surface, roll out the dough about 1/8 inch and stamp out your heart shapes with a cookie cutter.

Bake until lightly colored, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely before icing.

Shiny Icing

1 cup Confectionary Sugar
2 tbsp milk
2 tbsp corn syrup
3 drops of red food coloring

Depending on room temperature the measurements are only approx. You have the ingredients and play from there! It’s either less/more sugar or milk.

As of this morning, the heat of the coffee pot didn’t assist with the making of the icing. First it was too stiff and then I added a bit more milk and it appeared to be right until I applied them to the cookies. The glaze thinned out too much for my liking and you can see the cookie through it. Oh well, they still taste good and they aren’t up for an Oscar this morning. That is what baking is all about.

Cranberry Orange Muffins with a Chocolate Glaze

Simple and quick....a batch of muffins with cranberries and a hint of orange. On top, a simple chocolate glaze to spice them up for dessert tonight.

Moroccan Chicken

This simple dish is a combination of spices and olive oil brushed onto the chicken and baked until tender. Cinnamon, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, cumin, salt and pepper. On the side is a simple saffron rice topped with fresh broccoli that was cooked quickly in a bath of hot water with a splash of olive oil, crushed red peppers, salt and pepper.

Filling and satisfying this dish is served great cold.

Shepherds Pie, Paso Robles Style

The final act..20 minutes or so...topped with Romano Cheese sprinkled with fresh parsley, carrots and a couple of peas....

A Paso Robles twist to a English favorite. Being in the Central Coast gets you thinking of warm and hearty, what's available for the best price at the market, melting both into the culture and client.

Since we are really an Agriculture center, wine being our biggest crop, the items at the store that seem the most appealing (and priced right) have the tendency to be orientated to the workers that bring in the harvest.

Taking a"fajita" cut of beef I started with a roasted garlic and shallot mixture sauteed in olive oil and threw in the flour coated (salt and peppered) beef into the fire hot pan. Quickly browning the meat with a splash of red wine, parsley and a couple of bay leaves, I added cooked slice carrots and a few frozen peas alongside sliced mushrooms with a nice beef gravy.

All the while I was boiling a few potatoes, preparing to mash away. With the potatoes the regular standard of butter, salt and pepper, and heavy cream instead of milk topped off with an egg yolk to add a bit of richness was beaten into the mix.

I placed the meat mixture in oven proof baking dishes and spooned the potato mixture on top to bake in a 350 degree oven for forty minutes.

I'm waiting now for the second round of creation to take place. I'll be back with the rest in 20 or so minutes.