Common Elegance

My husband and I have had a lot to celebrate recently. We have enjoyed several business milestones, birthdays and other occasions. It has become sort of a tradition that we have a celebratory occasion we have surf and turf as our special meal. 

Let’s face it, surf and turf is not something you can afford to have for dinner every evening. Well okay maybe YOU can, but it’s not something we would allow ourselves to have for dinner every evening. It is a treat that we reserve for special occasions. 

Now my surf and turf isn’t often the traditional steak and lobster (although it was on Valentine’s Day). It is often a nice Rib Eye steak that I soak in salt water for several hours, season well and then grill. I split the steak and we share it. I pair this with either shrimp or scallops pan fried in butter and garlic (maybe a splash of white wine). As for the sides, I like to mix it up depending on what is fresh and in season. It may be roasted green beans or asparagus, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes or herbed and roasted potatoes. I usually bake up some fresh no-kneed bread to finish out the meal. Along with all of this decadent food we pop a bottle of nicely chilled prosecco with some fresh berries. 

We love this meal as a way to celebrate. It is more expensive than other meals we eat at home, but far less expensive that going out to a restaurant for a similar meal AND we get to enjoy the peace and quiet of our home. Not to mention we don’t worry about driving home once the prosecco kicks in. 

How do you celebrate? Do you cook at home or go out? What sorts of meals are your favorite for celebrating? 

I hope you’re inspired to celebrate something special in the near future and find the elegance in common things. 

I had a discussion with my husband quite some time ago about oatmeal. I enjoy good oatmeal (good being the operative word here). I have always liked it with a few fun additives, or sometimes just a little artificial sweetener and butter. He insisted that he had tried oatmeal and just didn’t care for it. Therefore, no oatmeal for breakfast in our house—we’ll stick to the 1/2 ham and cheese sandwich please. 

A couple of weeks ago he went to breakfast with a colleague. Not feeling his best he decided he would give oatmeal a chance as it wasn’t heavy and fatty. Thank goodness the restaurant had decent oatmeal! He came home and shared that he actually enjoyed the oatmeal and perhaps I had been right when I suggested he may have had instant oatmeal or badly prepared oatmeal. He asked that I make oatmeal a few times at home to see if he had been truly converted. 

I made my way to the store and picked up the necessary supplies. We are fortunate to have a great Co-op store in our town that has an awesome bulk dry goods section. I was able to get a small amount of good oatmeal to experiment with rather than the large cardboard tube often sold in the grocery stores. (Not that there is anything wrong with the cardboard tube oatmeal so long as you buy good quality, real oats—not quick oats). So far he has continued to enjoy the oatmeal and I have come up with a couple of creative solutions for storing the oatmeal fixings. The recipe for the oatmeal follows, but first, the storage for the fixings. 

I bought a divided plate like you would use to store and microwave leftovers. In the three sections of the plate I put dried fruit, walnuts and brown sugar (each in their own compartment). This way I can put the plate on the breakfast table and simply cover and store what doesn’t get used. This prevents waste and saves me the time of having to dish up individual servings of the fixings every morning. 

Now back to the oatmeal. I do things a little differently, but I really enjoy the results and so far, so does my husband. Here’s what I do: 

Oatmeal

1 cup water

1 cup milk 

1 cup good quality oats (not instant or quick cook) 

Generous pinch of salt 

Place the water and milk into a medium sized sauce pan. Add salt. Cook on medium heat until bubbles start to form around the edge of the pan and it is almost to boiling. Stir in the oats and reduce the heat to medium-low heat for approximately 5 minutes. Most of the liquid should be absorbed, but not all. If it gets too thick, add in a little more water or milk. The goal is not to make wallpaper paste, but a yummy, hot breakfast cereal. 

Serve the oatmeal with a variety of fixings such as raisins, dried cherries, walnuts, apples, brown sugar, artificial sweetener or butter. Use your imagination and things you love. 

This has been our breakfast every morning for most days of the past couple of weeks. My favorite combination is dried cherries or cranberries, walnuts, butter and just a touch of brown sugar. Yummy! 

Enjoy and best wishes for finding the elegance in common things. 

This recipe makes enough for a nice light lunch or dinner for two. 

Chicken With Creamy Garlic & Lime Sauce 

6 Chicken Breast Tenderloin Strips 

2 large cloves of garlic (or 4 small) 

1 Lime 

1 cup heavy cream 

2 Tbs of Vegetable Oil

Cumin 

Coriander

Garlic Salt

Liberally season your chicken tenderloins with cumin, coriander and garlic salt. 

Let them sit and marinade while you work. 

Peal and slice the garlic into thin slices. 

Zest the lime and reserve the lime zest. Roll the lime between your palm and a counter or cutting board to release the juices. Cut the lime in half. 

Heat the oil in a pan over medium high heat. Place the seasoned tenderloins in the oil and sear until golden brown on each side. 

Remove the chicken tenderloins and set aside. If the pan is dry, add in a little more oil and heat it until hot. Place garlic in the pan and let it saute for about 60 seconds to release the flavor. 

Squeeze the lime halves over the garlic sauted garlic. Be careful because the oil may splatter a bit. 

Add in the heavy cream and reduce the heat to low. Let the cream reduce until thickened a bit. Add the chicken strips back into the pan and let simmer for about 10 minutes. 

Remove the chicken tenderloins and serve over rice. Spoon some of the creamy sauce over the top of the chicken and rice. Sprinkle with lime zest. 

Enjoy this dish with a loved one or friend. Make larger batches for bigger crowds! Best wishes for finding the elegance in common things! 

Everyone loves cupcakes! LET THEM EAT CUPCAKES! Want to make YOUR cupcakes extra special? Then throw away the canned frosting and whip up some of of this amazing Magic Frosting.  Ready? Set! GO! 

Magic Frosting

1/2 Cup Salted Butter - Softened (Yes Butter—no margarine allowed!) 

4 oz Cream Cheese - Softened (Full fat, full of yummy) 

1 Tbs Vanilla (The real stuff. Leave the extract for—I dunno—just leave it!) 

1 Generous Pinch of Salt 

Confectioners Sugar (More on how much later.) 

Lets get to making! 

1. Cream together the butter and salt until the butter is light and fluffy. 

2. Add in and whip the cream cheese and vanilla until it is combined well and creamy.

3. Now for the tricky part—begin adding in the confectioners sugar in small batches (like 1/2 cup at a time). Only add enough until you get the frosting the consistency you want for spreading or piping on. I don’t think I’ve ever used  more than 1 1/2 cups MAYBE 2 cups. The frosting should be stiff enough to spread/pipe but will be more salty than sweet. 

Top the cupcakes and ENJOY! 

Variations

4 oz o semi-sweet or dark chocolate, melted and slightly cooled, whipped in before adding confectioners sugar 

Add some beautiful food coloring to customize to the occasion. 

Here’s to your happy cupcake making and finding the elegance in common things! 

Yesterday I found myself completely overwhelmed by the number of things I thought I hadto do. There were a number of errands I thought I just *had* to run. There were things around the house that *must* be accomplished before I picked my husband up from work. I woke up feeling as though I was going to drown in my list of “To Dos”. After fretting through some of my early morning routine I decided to take a step back and take a deep breath. It occurred to me that a little prioritizing and organizing would go a long way toward helping me accomplish the things that needed to be done during the day.

I sat down and made a good, old-fashioned, hand-written list of the things I wanted to accomplish during the day. This included making to the gym for workout, phone calls, errands, everything. Once I got the list on paper I organized them. Things that must be done. Things that could wait. Suddenly the list seemed so small. Many of the items that I thought would require me to run all over town suddenly became manageable by phone. Things that I thought MUST be done that day could wait for another time when I would be closer to the location to handle them.

My top priority…making to the gym for my workout. Seems like something expendable, but honestly, it’s not. I have to do this for me in order to keep me focused and feeling like I can accomplish the rest of the list. I was able to accomplish some of my household tasks while making phone calls. Multi-tasking for the win! Seeing the finish line in site, I got a BIG curve ball from Mother Nature. It began to snow. This meant that I would need to pick up my husband before the roads became too bad to drive our mini-van.  This meant that some of the things I wanted to accomplish bot inside and outside the house would be put on hold. The best part…IT WAS ALL OKAY! No lives were lost. No irreparable damage was done. The stuff that wasn’t finished will be there for another day.

All of this discombobulation is a symptom of my slacking in the time management department. Let’s face it, it’s been a while since I worked outside the house. It’s been a while since I was focused on much of anything other than household chores and errands. With the new business beginning to come to life and requiring more and more of my attention, I have to learn to manage my time again. Therefore I am employing the prioritize, organize and mobilize approach to my daily routine. This approach helps me keep things manageable and very important–helps me keep my sanity.  I hope it helps you the next time you find yourself with a more than full plate.

Make your list

Organize your list

Mobilize to accomplish your list

Best wishes for love, laughter and finding the elegance in common things.

I experienced a decent culinary victory tonight. The results of an experimental dish were good enough I want to share it with all of you. I was struggling with what to do for dinner tonight. We were due for a non-meat centric meal. I knew I wanted to use this new wild rice blend I picked up our local co-op store, but wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it. I also was looking for something a little spicy. I did a quick review of the ingredients I had available in my pantry, veggie basket and fridge. I found pasilla peppers, black beans and pepper jack cheese. Viola! The result was delicious, vegetarian and fully of yummy spicy goodness!

Spicy Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:

1 cup dry rice of your choice

2 cups water

1 Tbsp olive oil

2 pasilla peppers halved lengthwise, seeds and inner membrane removed

1 cup canned black beans, drained

1 1/4 cup shredded pepper jack cheese, divided

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cayenne

Garlic salt to taste

Olive oil to rub on the skin of the peppers.

Directions

Place rice, water and olive oil in a medium sauce pan with a lid. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Split peppers in half lengthwise (stem to tip). Remove seeds and membrane. Rub the outside of the peppers with olive oil.

In a bowl mix rice, beans, 1 cup of the cheese and spices.

Fill peppers with rice and bean mixture.

Sprinkle remaining cheese over the top of the peppers.

Cook at 450 degrees for 20 minutes.

These stuffed peppers really were amazing. Spicier than regular bell peppers (which my husband doesn’t really like that much) but not so spicy that they have a lot of heat. I served them with sour cream and salsa to put on the top. We also had a side salad with the pepper and it was plenty for a very filling meal.

Give these peppers a try and let me know what, if any modifications you make. Best wishes for love, laughter and finding the elegance in common things.

Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is day after tomorrow (March 8, 2011). To celebrate this weekend I made homemade Jambalaya and a tiny King Cake for my husband and me. I thought I would share the recipes so you can put together your very own Mardi Gras celebration just in time! The ingredients and preparation are VERY SIMPLE, but the results are outstanding! Ready?! Laissez les bons temps rouler! Let the Good Times Roll!

Jambalaya

Ingredients:

1 cup dry brown rice

2 cups water

2 Tbsp butter

1/4 medium yellow onion, chopped

1 Pasilla Pepper, chopped

1/2 Lb Beef Polish Sausage sliced into 1/4 inch slices

14 Medium Shrimp, cooked, peeled & deveined

1 boneless, skinless chicken breast cut into chunks

1 – 14-15 oz can of diced tomatoes with jalapeños or green chilies

1 – 4 oz can of tomato paste

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Cajun Seasoning to taste

Cayenne Pepper to taste

Garlic Salt to taste

Tabasco Sauce to taste

Cook The Rice:

Place the brown rice, water and butter in a medium sauce pan, cover and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low and cook for approximately 40 – 45 minutes. While the rice is cooking you can cook the “sauce” for the Jambalaya. The rice will be a little chewy at the end of the 40 -45 minutes, but that’s okay. It’s going to finish cooking in the sauce and pick up the flavors.

Jambalaya Base Sauce

Heat the oil in a large sauce pot (you’re going to need the room by the time you are done).  Once the oil is hot add the chicken breast and season with a little Cajun seasoning and garlic salt. Saute for approximately 3 minutes, stirring frequently to cook the outside of the chunks.

Add in the onion and pepper and saute until they begin to get tender. Season with a little more Cajun seasoning and garlic powder.

Add the beef sausage and saute until the sausage starts to brown.

Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste and stir to combine. Season with more Cajun seasoning, garlic powder and cayenne pepper to taste. If you like it spicy (like we do), add in plenty of Cajun seasoning but back off on the garlic salt as the seasoning mix has garlic in it. You could substitute garlic powder for the garlic salt if you want to back off even more on the salt. The heat of the cayenne will sneak up on you so add it judiciously. You can add more…you can’t take any out. Sprinkle in a little Tabasco sauce for extra heat and that vinegary background note.

Simmer the base sauce on low heat until the rice has cooked 40 – 45 minutes. The water should be completely (or at least mostly) cooked out of the rice. Stir the rice into the base sauce and stir well to combine. Cook on low for 5 minutes.

Add the shrimp and stir well to combine. Cook an additional 5 minutes and remove from the heat. Let the mixture sit for approximately 5 minutes then serve hot!

You can put the Tabasco sauce on the table and let folks kick up the heat a little more if they are inclined to do so. The Jambalaya should have a slow heat to it meaning you wont get an immediate burn, but as you finish your first bite, your lips and mouth will start to feel the heat and tingle.

Now that dinner is done, you’ll want a little sweet to finish out the meal. That’s where this tiny King Cake comes in. Traditionally there would be a tiny plastic baby hidden in the King Cake and the person getting the slice with the baby should make the King Cake or host the Mardi Gras party the following year. Since it was just for my husband and me, I omitted the baby. 

Tiny King Cake

Ingredients:

1 can refrigerated crescent rolls

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 Tbsp butter, softened

1 Tbsp powdered sugar

1 Tbs cinnamon

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

Glaze:

1/2 Cup powdered sugar

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Tbsp Milk

Colored sugars in gold, green & purple;  or food coloring to make gold, green & purple glaze

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Mix together the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, brown sugar and vanilla with an electric mixer until well blended and fluffy. Set aside.

Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 8 triangles. Place the triangles with the large ends overlapping in a circle in the bottom of a round cake pan or on a cookie sheet. The ends should overlap significantly and form a large band of dough at the bottom. Press the seams together so as to form one solid base of dough.

Spread the cream cheese mixture around the bottom ring of dough leaving about 1/4 inch of dough toward the center. You will be using this to tuck the tips over and under and you don’t want your filling oozing out into the center of the pan. Once you have spread the cream cheese mixture evenly around the ring you will want to tuck the thinner tips of the triangle over the top of the filling and gently under the base of the solid dough ring.This should serve to basically cover the filling you placed around the bottom. Pinch the seams over the top together.

Bake for 20 – 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

Mix the ingredients for the glaze together in a small bowl with a whisk.

If you are coloring the glaze, divide it out into three equal portions and color the glaze gold, green & purple. If you are using colored sugar or other sprinkles, skip this step and move on to the next.

Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake. Sprinkle with colored sugar or sprinkles.

I know your family will love these recipes. They bring the spirit of Mardi Gras into the home! Best wishes for love, laughter and finding the elegance in common things!