Scotch Dinner

We are blessed with some of the most wonderful friends.  And, once in a while we get to celebrate something really fun with some of them.  Like Mark's retirement.  Time for Scotch and dinner. 

And, you can see our furry kids really wanted to join us.  But, they know better than to come in a room where humans are eating...

Dinner was to be pork tenderloin wrapped in bacon and served with a bourbon glaze, sweet potatoes and cauliflower gratin.  Except that Connie and I didn't communicate well.  He thought I had a pork tenderloin thawed so he put the ones from the grocery into the freezer.  Then, thanks to a big project at our office that HAD to be finished, he got to the house well after we'd started the other dishes.  There was simply no time for thawing pork tenderloins.  Thank goodness for buying and freezing chicken thighs.  Those are easy to thaw.  Not quite as easy to wrap with bacon, but easier to thaw :-)  Since we were celebrating Mark's retirement with a really nice bottle of Scotch, my intent was to use Scotch (our regular brand, not the really good stuff) in the glaze.  The recipe below reflects the way I actually made the dish.  Which turned out to be a fabulous dish in spite of the substitution.  And, in spite of the fact that the bacon simply wouldn't stay on the chicken...

I wanted to do something with cranberries and apples for the sweet potatoes.  A hunt through recipes I've saved didn't bring up anything I wanted to make.  But, there was a recipe on food.com that I could use as inspiration.  The cauliflower gratin was a recipe that I'd clipped from a magazine and tucked into an envelope of recipes to try soon.  Eons ago.  I have NO clue which magazine it came from.  I do wish they'd identify their recipes at the end of each because I really try hard to give credit as credit is due...  I'm assuming the bacon wrapped pork tenderloin/chicken is from Midwest Living.  It's credited to Chef Beth Murphy, Old Town Ale House. 

Bacon Wrapped Chicken Thighs with Scotch Glaze

Ingredients:

4 chicken thighs (I'd recommend removing the skin)
8 strips thick cut bacon
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1 t Chinese five spice powder
1/2 c Scotch (we use Dewar's)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350. Par cook the bacon in an oven proof skillet just until it starts to brown.  Leave the bacon fat in the skillet.  Wrap the chicken thighs with the bacon and secure it with tooth picks.  Mix the brown sugar and Chinese five spice.  Pat the chicken thighs with the brown sugar mix.  Saute in the bacon fat until the bacon is browned.  Remove the skillet to the oven until the chicken is cooked through.

adapted from Chef Beth Murphy


Cauliflower Gratin with Almond Crust

Ingredients:

1/4 c butter
1 head cauliflower, separated into florets
1 small onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T flour
2 t chopped fresh thyme
1/2 t salt
1/2 c whipping cream
1 c grated Gruyere cheese
2/3 c panko
1/4 c sliced almonds
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt the butter.  Add the cauliflower and onion.  Saute for about 8 minutes, then add the garlic.  Stir in the flour, thyme and salt.  Then, once the cauliflower is thoroughly coated with the flour, pour the mix into a greased casserole.  Drizzle it with the cream.  Then, top it with the Gruyere, followed by the panko, then the almonds then the Parmesan.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes.


Sweet Potato and Apple Casserole with Cranberry Relish

Ingredients:

1 large sweet potato, peeled and sliced about 1/8" thick
2 apples, sliced about 18" thick (I didn't peel them)
1 12 oz package cranberries
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1/4 c orange juice concentrate
1/4 c Scotch
1 t Chinese five spice powder
1/4 c butter
1/2 c chopped pecans

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, par cook the sweet potato until it is slightly softened but not mushy.  Ours took 5-8 minutes.  Drain the sweet potato.  In a casserole, layer the sweet potatoes and the apples.  I used three layers of each.  In a medium saucepan, mix the cranberries, brown sugar, OJ, Scotch and five spice powder.  Cook over medium heat until the cranberries pop.  Stir in the butter.  Once that's melted in, pour the relish over the sweet potatoes.  Top with the chopped pecans.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. 

adapted from Food.com

Soup Time!

Soup.  I could live on the stuff.  Connie, not so much.  In his book it's right up there with fruit.  Or, down there, I should say.  My stack of soup recipes rarely gets used because I get tired of the griping.  But, this weekend is an exception to the rule.  I'm making three soups. 

You see, I'm getting to meet one of my food blogging friends in person.  How much fun is that?  I'll head over to another food blogging friend's house and we'll all have lunch.  Liz will make the dessert since she's the baking pro.  Her blog is That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  Not only does she have tons of wonderful baked goods there, she also has a boatload of wonderful entrees, side dishes etc.  The other blogger is our friend, Christiane.  She has a blog called Taking on Magazines.  You can find her as The Mom Chef.  Just like Liz's blog, Christiane's is loaded with fabulous recipes.  I've never made anything from either blog that I've not liked.  In fact as I type this I'm thinking about Liz's Mounds Bars and Christiane's cucumber salad...

After going through every sandwich on my blog and in my recipe box, I settled on crabmeat melts for our sandwiches.  They're a favorite from my childhood.  What better way to say hello to a friend than share a childhood memory? 

For those who'd prefer an entrée salad, I'm making Meridian Hills Special Salad.  Another childhood memory.  It's romaine lettuce, shredded Swiss cheese, turkey and ham topped with Caesar dressing and a bit of pickle relish. 

Last but not least, soups.  Pat King's chunky tomato soup sounded good.  But, Liz and I weren't sure if everyone in Christiane's family liked tomatoes.  So, a fallback was in order:  Cauliflower Cheese Soup.  It's from one of the first community cookbooks I ever got, Park Tudor Treasures.  My cookbook is marked "Excellent, 3/83" on that one.  It's proven to be the best cauliflower cheese soup ever.  In fact, I've given up making any other cauliflower cheese soups.  They just aren't as good so why mess with perfection?  Ok, that'd do it for this party.

And, what a party it was!  It was fabulous to meet Christiane and Doug and Sophie in person.

Ok, I have to put this in...  Liz has a great sun room that she uses for her photography studio.  Ergo, the wonderful photo of the tomato soup...  But, here's how Liz takes her overhead shots:

Looks fine, doesn't it?  Here's the rest of the story...  Now, I'm thinking Bill needs to get her a more stable set up for Christmas!

Then, there was Thanksgiving.  My brother John and sister-in-law, Pam host it every year.  John always does a turkey breast early so those who like cold turkey can have cold turkey.  He also does a turkey on the grill for those of us who want the regular Thanksgiving meal.  This year I took Mom's stuffing, Liz's spinach soufflé and persimmon pudding. 

Connie tells the story of his taking seconds of the cornbread stuffing his first mother-in-law prepared.  Later, his first wife asked him if he wished she could make it as well.  He confessed that he was just being polite but that, no, he really doesn't care for cornbread.  Needless to say, Mom's stuffing with cornbread and Pepperidge Farm white bread doesn't thrill him.  We're of the light and kind of moist but not soggy stuffing clan.  Pam's family is of the soggy white bread stuffing clan.  I do believe that's the Thanksgiving dish with the most variations nationwide.

Of course, Thanksgiving is always better with babies.  There's my Mom with her great-granddaughter, the paparazzi trying to get Charlotte to smile, Charlotte smiling with anticipation...  Yeah, I took mostly Charlotte pics.  I mean, who could resist?  She's SO cute!

Last but not least, our friend Kathy had back surgery.  I thought I'd take Kathy and her hubby Dan some soup.  So, I doubled the tomato soup recipe and made minestrone too.  There are funny stories about both.  The tomato soup recipe as written calls for "chicken broth."  Some have read it to mean a 46 oz can and some a 14 oz can.  As you might guess, it's a very different soup when prepared with that much broth.  I prefer the smaller can so it's more tomatoey.  Is that a word?  Well, it is for these purposes!  As for the minestrone, the recipe card says from MOM.  A few years ago I commented to her that her minestrone soup is my favorite of all time.   She didn't remember making it...  Isn't it funny how something that becomes a favorite in one household is a one and done in another?

Pat King's Tomato Soup

Ingredients:

onion
celery
carrots
2 T extra virgin olive oil
28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 T Italian seasoning
glob of garlic (that's what the recipe says, I think it's funny so left it in!)
chicken broth

Directions:

You're probably wondering how much of the vegetables???  Me too.  I always start with a medium onion or two and toss them in the food processor.  Then, once they're finely chopped, I toss them in a large saucepan with the olive oil and let them cook down a bit to release some moisture.  Then, I finely chop a couple of handfuls of the baby carrots and a few ribs of celery, using the food processor.  All of those plus the garlic and Italian seasoning go in with the onions.  Once everything is softened, I pour the tomatoes and a 14 oz can of chicken broth in.  Actually, we've switched to using Better than Bouillon so I make a couple of cups of chicken broth and pour that in.  Simmer, uncovered, for a couple of hours.  This is best served the next day.

Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Ingredients 

1 small head fresh cauliflower
2 c water
1/2 c onion, chopped (I just use a medium onion)
1/4 c butter
1/2 c flour
1- 2 T chicken flavored instant bouillon (we use Better than Bouillon)
2 - 3 c shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 c milk
1/4 t ground nutmeg

Directions:

Core the cauliflower.  Tear it into florets.  Cook them in the water until they're softened.  Drain and reserve the cooking liquid.  Set the cauliflower and the cooking liquid aside.  In the same saucepan, melt the butter.  Add the onion and cook until it's translucent.  Stir in the flour.  Cook it for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste.  While that's cooking, reserve a cup of the cauliflower florets.  Take a cup of the cooking liquid plus the bouillon (we use better than bouillon and you may find you only need a tablespoon rather than the full two...) plus the rest of the cauliflower and process it in your food processor.  Slowly pour the rest of the reserved cooking liquid into the onion/flour mixture.  Stir constantly until it thickens.  Then, add the cauliflower puree followed by the milk.  Once it's a bit thickened, add the cheddar cheese and the nutmeg.  Heat through and serve.

Mom's Minnestrone

Ingredients:

9 c beef stock
1 1/2 c dried white beans (Great Northern or baby limas are best)
1/2 c olive oil
3 medium onions, coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 c fresh green beans, cut into 1" lengths (a little north of a pound)
3 c diced zucchini (about 3 med)
3 c coarsely chopped cabbage (I use a bag of cole slaw mix)
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped carrots
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped celery
1 1/2 c coarsely chopped potato
28 oz can Italian plum tomatoes, chopped, include juice
1 T crushed rosemary

Directions:

Soak the beans overnight.  Drain.  Pour the olive oil into a very large stock pot.  Add the onions and garlic and sauté for about 10 minutes.  Then, add the green beans, zucchini, cabbage, carrots and celery.  Saute for another 10 minutes stirring every couple of minutes.  Lastly, add the potato, tomato, rosemary, beans and beef stock.  Put a lid on and cook on medium heat for several hours.  Here's the deal...  I always refer to the ingredients as collapsing to describe when they're done.  The soup can technically be done but not be right.  You literally need for everything to totally cook.  Taste along the way and you'll see what I mean.  This may take eight hours of cooking to get it right.  As I type this, mine has been going for three hours and is nowhere near done...

Mish Mash of a Dinner

My friend Shelly died of melanoma.  At age 51.  She'd moved to Phoenix about nine years ago.  I'd see her when I'd go out there for a conference.  Or we'd chatter away on the phone.  She was the driving force behind Girls Night Out, a group of friends who've gotten together for about 20 years.  She had surgery in March and they thought they got it all.  In May it was back.  By the end of August she was gone.  The last month of her life we took turns calling to make sure she got a phone call from one of us every day.  By the end she was on such heavy meds that she could barely talk.  So, we had a memorial service here in Indy.  It was a drizzly, grey Friday.  Matched our moods.  Each of us got a white balloon to write on.  Then, we released them in unison.  Then, each of us got about a teaspoon of her ashes to scatter.  Afterward, we all went to our hangout for many years, Daddy Jacks.  About half the crew had her favorite drink, Bacardi and Coke with a lime wedge.  I'm not allowed caffeine so I stuck with red wine.  We laughed and cried.   I miss her.

So, life has been bittersweet recently.  I've known that I needed to be able to grieve but wasn't really able to do so.  Then, we went to see Calendar Girls.  One of the characters dies of cancer.  Yup, that unleashed a torrent of tears.  Now, I feel better.  Going to Phoenix next month for a conference will be very hard.  I know I can do it.  It's my broker/dealer's women's conference.  They actually have a two day conference just for the women.  How cool is that?  About a dozen of us are flying in a day early to do our business plans for next year.  The bad news is that my friend Windus who lives in San Diego won't be able to be there.  And, Melissa from Kansas City has left to join another firm.  I'll still get to see a whole bunch of friends.  Yup, I'm pretty darned lucky!

Speaking of lucky, we had dinner with four friends at a great new Indy restaurant called Union 50.  Liz is also knows as That Skinny Chick Can Bake.  Her hubby Bill is  such a great guy.  Their across the street neighbors, Pam and Steve joined us.  Steve and I have known each other since middle school...  We'd highly recommend Union 50.  Connie and I split a salad, mussels and a duck/duck confit/sweet potato dish.  All were VERY good. 

During dinner, Liz and I started chatting about how much fun a new blogging group would be.  One with a monthly theme.  Seasoned bloggers.  By invitation only.  The next day, we started chatting with our friend Christiane, The Mom Chef.  The Blogger C.L.U.E. Society was born.  Please come visit on November 12th for our first reveal.  We'll be posting the second Wednesday of every month.  November will be Thanksgiving foods.  I can't wait to see what all of these talented bloggers come up with!!

After a lovely Saturday evening, it was time to head back to the office on Sunday.  Someday we're going to be able to quit working seven days a week!!!  After we escaped the office, we headed out to run errands.  Then, we started cooking.  Prepping for my last Secret Recipe Club post.  Dinner for Sunday.  Partial prep for Monday and Tuesday's dinners. 

I'd wanted to try a shrimp dish from the Food Network cookbook I bought while we were out in Seattle.  There was also a cauliflower that was getting very long in the tooth.  Cauliflower gratin and coconut shrimp with jasmine rice and mango basil salsa don't exactly go together.  Too bad.  That's what we were having :-)  What did we think?  The cauliflower was amazing.  I'll make that again soon.  The shrimp was very good.  I'd prefer larger shrimp but that's what we found today...  Now, the confession...  Alas, I didn't get a photo of the finished dish.  Suffice to say we had it for three meals and loved every bite!

Cauliflower Gratin with Gingered Crumbs

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs cauliflower, broken into florets
3 T unsalted butter, divided
2 T flour
1 c half and half or light cream
1 t lemon juice
1/4 t freshly grated nutmeg
dash of Tabasco
1/4 c grated Swiss cheese (I probably used half a cup...)
1/4 c fresh bread crumbs
1/4 t ground ginger
2 T finely grated Parmesan


Directions:

Heat your oven to 350F.  While it's heating. cook the cauliflower in salted water until just a bit more done than al dente.  You do not want mushy cauliflower here...  Drain and put the cauliflower in a baking dish.  

In a small saucepan, melt two tablespoons of the butter.  Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes.  Don't let  it get brown.  Slowly whisk in the half and half.  Add the nutmeg, lemon juice, Swiss cheese and hot sauce.  Cook until it's thick enough to coat your spoon. 

Gently mix the cheese sauce with the cooked cauliflower.  While the sauce is cooking, melt the last tablespoon of the butter in a small skillet.  Add the bread crumbs and ginger and cook until browned. 

Sprinkle the crumbs over the cauliflower.  Bake at 350 for 15 to 20 minutes.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

adapted from Greene on Greens


Coconut Shrimp with Mango-Basil Salsa and Lime Jasmine Rice

Ingredients:

for the salsa:
1 mango, finely diced (I used the jarred version from the refrigerated section...)
3 scallions, sliced (I used a shallot since that's what I had)
5 basil leaves, thinly sliced
juice of one lime
salt and pepper to taste

for the shrimp:
1 small jalapeno, seeded and sliced
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 T dark brown sugar
zest of 1/2 lime
1/4 c coconut milk
small handful of basil leaves, torn
1-2 T vegetable oil
salt and pepper
1 lb peeled, deveined large shrimp (I'd recommend 25/lb or larger)

for the rice:
1 c jasmine rice
3/4 c coconut milk
3/4 c water
zest of 1/2 lime
salt

Directions:

This is much easier to put together than the ingredient list would have you believe!  First, make a marinade for the shrimp.  Mix it in a non-reactive dish.  I used a plastic storage container.  Add the shrimp and marinate for at least 30 minutes and up to four hours.  If you're going to marinate it for more than half an hour, do so in the fridge.   Um, that's a bourbon plum smash in the background...  I'm hoping I can get Connie to weigh in on that one! 

To make the salsa, mix all the ingredients together.  Set aside.

To make the rice, put all the ingredients in a medium saucepan.  Simmer for 12 to 15 minutes until the liquid is absorbed. 

While the rice is cooking, pour about a tablespoon of vegetable oil in a large skillet.  Heat it to shimmering.  Add the shrimp in one layer.  Flip them once.  Cook them just until pink.  Remove the shrimp from the heat and keep warm.  Pour the marinade in the skillet and bring it to a boil.  Cook it for at least five minutes.  You'll want the sauce to thicken and you'll want enough cooking time to make it safe to eat after marinating raw seafood...

Put the dish together now.  Mound a bit of rice on the plate.  Top with shrimp.  Put salsa on the side and pour some marinade over.

adapted from Food Network Favorites

Fried Chicken and Cauliflower Truffle Soup

Connie, what would you like for dinner this week?  For almost the last year his response has been consistent, "That fantastic fried chicken."  He's referring to Thomas Keller's lemon brined fried chicken that I made last September.  I figured a holiday weekend was the perfect time to make it again. 

Once again, I can say that's the best fried chicken I've ever had.  Moist, tender, flavorful.  Connie ate two thighs, Tom (his brother) ate three and I ate most of a breast.  The only thing I'll do differently next time is to buy a bigger cast iron skillet.  Mine comfortably holds three pieces.  I fried chicken for two hours and felt like I'd rolled in canola oil.  We wanted leftovers and I wanted to be able to share with my brother and his crew so I pulled out the dutch oven and had it going too.

I thought a nice cole slaw would be perfect with the chicken.  After all we'd had Kate's crackers and the garlic herb brie as appetizers.  AND, we'd had little bowls of decadent cauliflower truffle soup too (more on that in a minute.)  So we didn't need anything heavy. Typically, I make my barbecue slaw.  But, it's mayonnaise based and I wanted something light.  Now, I've been known to make Mrs. Huber's slaw which is vinegar based.  Nope, I wanted to try the version in Best American Recipes 2005-2006.  What a disappointment.  It was totally  blah.  Thank goodness I used a one pound cabbage and didn't waste a big one on the slaw!  The good news is that I still have two terrific slaw recipes in my repetoire. 

Now, what was this about cauliflower truffle soup?  I'd bought a cauliflower on closeout at Jungle Jim's.  It had a couple of brown spots and was getting a couple more.  So, I had to use it up.  I'd seen the recipe in the Tavern on the Green cookbook.  It looked decadent and easy.  It was both.  It was so thick it was more like a sauce than a soup.  I think next time I'll halve the amount of cream and increase the milk.  Otherwise, this was a tremendous starter.  It's way too rich for a whole bowl.  Just a little ramekin was fine.

Cauliflower Truffle Soup

Ingredients:

2- 2 1/4 lbs cauliflower
1 1/2 c cream
1 1/2  c milk
1 t salt
1/2 t freshly ground white pepper
1 T truffle oil

Directions:

Separate the cauliflower into florets.  Leave about an inch of the stem attached.  Steam the cauliflower until it is VERY soft.  Allow the cauliflower to cool a bit then puree it in a food processor with the milk and the cream.  Pour the soup into a saucepan.  Heat it gently with the salt and the pepper.  Serve warm drizzled with a few drops of the truffle oil.  As you can see from the photo, I used black pepper for the contrast...
adapted from Tavern on the Green cookbook

Roasted Cauliflower

Girls Night Out has an annual holiday party at Judy's house.  I'm not sure whether the highlight is the conversation, dinner or gift exchange.  But, it's always wonderful to see my friends and catch up on the latest.  Judy's husband, Carl, does the entree and we all pitch in the other dishes.  This year I signed up for a vegetable thinking roasted broccoli would be wonderful.  Then, a couple of days later, Renee wrote back and said she'd bring a broccoli salad.  Well, I figured I had plenty of flexibility so would bring something else.  Friday afternoon got here and I'd still not decided what I was going to take.  Not only was I running out of time for the decision, but I was going to have maybe an hour to go to the grocery and prepare the dish.  Our favorite carrots were an option.  The recipe is from Melissa d'Arabian on Food Network.  But, my tastebuds kept coming back to the roasted cauliflower we love.

How often have you had a dish and it's totally changed the way you think about an ingredient?  I know, not very often.  Every once in a while there's that break through that takes an ingredient from ok to OMG!  This is one of those dishes.  Best of all, it's easy.  As in VERY EASY!  And, stunning.  Every time I serve it everyone ohh's and ahh's.  Just what every hostess wants to hear!!  My favorite way to cook cauliflower was in cauliflower cheese soup.  But, I wasn't terribly fond of cooked cauliflower otherwise.  It just didn't have enough oomph.  This does.  It's so packed with flavor that your tastebuds do a happy dance.  I got the recipe several years ago from a wholesaler whose mother is a fantastic cook.  So, thank you, Matt!!

The grocery had only really small cauliflowers so I picked up two, thinking that'd be plenty for 10 of us with a bit leftover for Connie and me.  Um, that was my first mistake.  This dish was inhaled!  We got home and I turned the oven on, tossed my coat over a chair and started prepping.  Ok, so the prepping is pretty darned easy.  Got that finished and put the cauliflower in the oven and ran upstairs to clean up for the party.  Took the cauliflower out of the oven, put the dressing on it, covered it with a couple of layers of foil and out the door we went.  Connie was dropping me off on his way to play bridge and he'd pick me up afterwards.

Now, for the funniest part of the story...  Judy and Carl live in a lovely duplex on what used to be Fort Benjamin Harrison.  Theirs is one of oh, maybe twenty buildings - all of which are pretty identical.  So, we turn onto their street and we kind of know which house it is but they do all look alike.  Then, we see some of the other gals on a porch.  Cool.  We're there.  I grab the cauliflower and Connie's got the wine and the gift for the exchange.  Head to the porch.  Pangga's knocking on the door and ringing the bell and nothing.  The dogs are barking up a storm.  I kept saying I wasn't sure this was Judy's house because I didn't remember wall paper in her front room.  And, the decorations on the porch looked different.  But, everyone else kept insisting we were at the right house.  I finally convinced Connie to go around back and check the back door.  He came back around hooting and said he'd looked in and the dogs weren't Carl and Judy's and the kitchen didn't look the same.  So, we went next door to Judy's :-)  And, when the owners of the house next door got back home a few minutes later, they came over and joined us for a drink and a good laugh!

On to the recipe.  Fortunately, we made this for ourselves a couple of weeks ago.  I took a couple of photos then.  It works equally well with half a head of cauliflower as you'll see in the photos.  Or, if you're in a real rush you can break the cauliflower into florets and roast it that way.  But, for the sheer magnificence of presentation, do yourself a favor and cook a whole head the first time.  Toss the leftovers (if there are any) in a salad.  Or, just eat them as is the next day for lunch like I do. 

Roasted Cauliflower

Ingredients:
1 large head cauliflower
olive oil
lemon juice
olive oil
capers
parsley, finely chopped

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 450.  Core the cauliflower making sure you don't cut too far in and cause the head to fall apart.  Slather it with olive oil.  Put the cauliflower in an ovenproof baking dish.  Once the oven reaches 450, put the cauliflower in the oven. 

Bake it for an hour.  It'll get wonderfully mahogany brown.  While it's roasting, mix your dressing.  As soon as the cauliflower comes out of the oven, spoon the dressing over it.  It'll spit and hiss a bit as it absorbs all that wonderful flavor.