Cheesy Spaghetti Squash

466.  This recipe for Cheesy Spaghetti Squash is a surprising side to any meat dish.  The recipe is simple to follow but will take time at preparing the squash, baking the squash, mixing the squash and then baking the squash to finish.  Make sure to leave plenty of prep time or start early before dinner.  Here is my recipe:

"Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved. "

 ~Helen Keller

Charcuterie

445.  What is a Charcuterie or Charcuterie Board?  Seems everyone has jumped on the trend and anything seems to go. The word "charcuterie" is a French term for a line of cooking devoted to prepared meat products, primarily from pork.  The Italians have a different meaning for "charcuterie" as they interpret the word to mean "salted meats", which includes preserved whole cuts of meat and force-meats.  Now, what is a "forcemeat" you ask?  They are spreadable mixtures of meat and organ meats like pâtés and such.  Now, Americans have turned the charcuterie board on end and have changed the whole purpose.  I've seen candy charcuteries, fruit charcuteries and yes, even egg charcuteries.  

So, what is right and what is wrong?  I guess in our day and age, if you want to be original, ask a real butcher or simply follow the simple "3 3 3 3 Rule".  That is, three meats, three cheeses, three starches and three accompaniments such as fruit, nuts, brined or pickled items and veggies.

You can arrange on a wooden board, plates, marble slab or as I've seen, right on the surface of a table, covered with butcher paper.  It was quite clever and so unexpected.

So, when you attempt to be a charcutier and serve a charcuterie at your next football watch party, soiree, holiday party or event, remember the "3 3 3 3" Rule.  That is, three meats, three cheeses, three starches and three accompaniments such as fruit, nuts, brined or pickled items and veggies to make sure it is a true charcuterie and not an American bright idea.  If you want to do a candy, fruit or egg display, call it a buffet, arrangement, array, presentation, exhibition, panorama, ostentatiousness, etc.  Of course I'm being facetious, but, now you understand.

"Adulthood:  Where lunchables are now called a charcuterie."

~Anonymous Humor

"I've learned from past mistakes that you should never own something as fun as a charcuterie board and keep it for 'special occasions,' because it's highly likely that the people you saved it for will somehow end up not having been worth it in the long run.  Then, you'll just end up lamenting all the missed opportunities you had to enjoy the thing all by yourself."

~K.J. Micciche, The Book Proposal

Summer Salad Bowls

419.  When it is hot outside and you have worked a long day, the last thing I am looking for is a heavy carbohydrate meal with red meat.  The thought of a cool, crisp salad with yummy toppings fills me up and satisfies my hunger.

I am enjoying the packaged salad mixes that you can find in stores.  They range from iceberg lettuce for a Caesar salad to a ZaTara salad mix from Trader Joes.  I elevate the salad and make it into a meal by adding proteins, vegetables, seeds, nuts, fruits and cheeses.

In this salad pictured, I broiled a breast of chicken that I butterflied and seasoned with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic salt.  While that was roasting I lined up my bowls, emptied a bag of Sweet Kale salad mix with cabbage. I added sliced cucumbers, red cabbage shredded, spring onions, and Monterey Jack shredded cheese.  In a separate bowl I steamed a cup of green beans, drained them and added olive oil, salt and pepper to taste.  I sprinkled salt and ground black pepper over the salad then drizzled it with olive oil.

Once my chicken was roasted, I sliced it and laid it across the top onto the cheese so it would melt.  The finishing touch was to add a scoop of the cool seasoned green beans and empty the packets that accompany the salad.  This particular salad comes with a poppy seed dressing, pumpkin seeds and dried cranberries.  Perfection!  So cool, crisp, warm chicken and melty cheese with the sweet and savory toppings.

This second Salad Bowl takes on a Southwest flavor.    I started with a piece of fresh salmon, sprinkling it with salt, ground pepper, garlic salt and olive oil.  Broiling salmon is tricky because you can over do the fish easily.  So, I place the pan in a cold oven and turn it on to bake at 400 degrees to be able to monitor the process closer.  The bottom skin will crisp up nicely.

I line up my bowls and add the Southwest salad mix into each bowl, spinach, spring green onions sliced and chopped cilantro. Sprinkle shredded Cheddar Cheese over the salad, salt, ground pepper and drizzle lightly with olive oil.

 I make a batch of guacamole or purchased guacamole and several jalapeños sliced with seeds and all.  On this particular salad I had found broccoli bites in the freezer section so I popped those in the oven with the salmon.  

Once the salmon is to your liking, remove from the oven, gently remove the skin from the bottom of the fish and place hot onto the cheese.  Place a dollop of guacamole to one side and a dollop of Daisy Sour Cream to the other side.  Toss on the jalapeños hot broccoli bites and the crispy fish skin to the side.  Finally, drizzle the packet of Southwest salad dressing over the fish and onto the salad.  You do not need to mix the salad.  The individual portion will be mixed as you eat.

Now it is your turn.  What combinations will you create?  You could create an Asian salad with dumplings or a Steak Salad with fries.  Use your imagination and see what works.  It's a challenge but so enjoyable.

"Too many simple green salads suffer from a lack of imagination."

~ James Beard

"Many people eat salad dutifully because they feel it is good for them, but more enlightened types eat it happily because it is good!"

~Laurie Colwin

Vegetable Quiche with Smoked Gouda

409. Quiche love is a real thing.  After enjoying our most recent quiche, post #407, I wanted to experiment with a couple different ingredients.  Oh the possibilities with a block of Gouda Cheese, bacon, fresh chives, zucchini and mushrooms.

I made half a recipe of pie crust and filled a 9" spring form pan with the dough to create a high, deep filling that can stand alone once baked.

To save this recipe select and drag to your desktop, select and print as a picture.

Chop up each of the filling ingredients before mixing your eggs.

The Gouda was a smoked variety with apple and hardwood flavor and it added such amazing flavor.

This quiche was packed with so much flavor, texture and every bite was my favorite.

Once baked, the house smelled intoxicating.  Paired with a light spinach salad, what more could you need or want for dinner?

And what a lovely slice of deliciousness.  Happy Weekend!

"Cooking is like painting or writing a song.  Just as there are only so many notes or colors, there are only so many flavors - it's how you combine them that sets you apart."

~Wolfgang Puck, Master Chef

Double Stuffed Baked Potatoes

399. A hot baked potato filled with oozing melted butter, sour cream and melted cheddar cheese is a very welcome favorite of mine.  Although, it seems everyone should know how to make a baked potato... I wonder, how many know how to double stuff a potato?  

I know every microwave has a "potato" setting.  You place the cleaned, skin-on potato in the microwave and just push the button.  When your potato is "baked", the beep is sounded.  Only takes about 5-8 minutes, depending on the size or amount of potatoes you are cooking.  A much better alternative is to actually "BAKE" the potato, you know, like our grandmothers did, before microwaves were around.  

Scrub your potatoes and poke them with a point of a knife about 3 times around each spud.  Place them in a hot 350 degree oven and bake about 1 hour.  You will know they are soft when you squeeze them to test.

Remove the potatoes and let them sit about 10 minutes to cool.  Cut each lengthwise carefully and open them up.  This also allows them to cool quicker.  Have a bowl prepared to mix the filling.  Scrape out of the skins the soft potato into the prepared bowl.  Continue with each potato till you have only potato skins left.

Mix the cheese, butter, sour cream and seasonings into the potato filling.  Blend well but not too smooth.  Chunks of potato are fine.  By the spoonful, transfer the filling back into the skin shells mounding up the filling.  

Top with cheese and bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes or till cheese is melted on top

I like to finish off the top with a dollop of sour cream and a healthy sprinkling of fresh garden chives.  Of course you can add bacon, fried sausage bits, pepperoni, parmesan cheese...and the list trails on.  Make it to your own taste and liking.

To save this recipe simply select, drag and drop onto your desktop.  Print as a picture.

This would be a great recipe to make for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  And, you can use sweet potatoes or yams as well to substitute.  Enjoy this simply wonderful recipe...a great recipe to make with a kitchen helper.

"I do not believe that you have to spend a lot of money to eat well:  it is hard to beat a plain old baked potato."

~ Laurie Colwin

Afternoon Tea

386. Afternoon tea is a simple, light meal composed of three course of tea sandwiches and savories, followed by scones with clotted cream and jam, and ending with sweet pastries. Everything is bite-sized and eaten with fingers.

Afternoon tea time is around 4:00PM,  between lunch and dinner. The light meal is not meant to replace dinner but instead to hold you over until dinner which was usually at 8:00PM for the upper class.

The concept of afternoon tea started in England in the 1840s when The Duchess of Bedford would grow hungry and wanted a small bite between lunch and dinner.

With the new movie following the Downton Abbey Series coming out this past weekend, I found it fitting to enjoy this English tradition.  Rather than make tea sandwiches we rather made cheese and crackers trays with fresh fruits, homemade scones and jam. 

 And of course a variety of teas with the Downton Abbey original soundtrack playing softly in the background.  It was a lovely event shared with 5 lovely young ladies.  And after we enjoyed our afternoon tea we whisked away to the movie theater to watch the delightful Downton Abbey movie.  The movie was all we hoped it would be...a wonderful continuation of this engaging, charming story.  The day was a win-win.

“We must always travel in hope.”
— Carson, Downton Abbey, Season 5

“You are being tested. And you know what they say my darling, being tested only makes you stronger.”
— Cora, Lady Grantham, Downton Abbey, Season 3

“Sympathy butters no parsnips.”
— Mrs. Patmore, Downton Abbey, Season 5

“There is nothing more ill-bred than trying to steal the affections of one’s dog.”
— Robert, Lord Grantham, Downton Abbey, Season 5

“I’m a woman, Mary. I can be as contrary as I choose.”
— Violet, Dowager Countess, Downton Abbey, Season 2

“We must all have our hearts broken once or twice before we’re done.”
— Mrs. Hughes, Downton Abbey, Season 4

Marinated Cheese

331.  While searching for appetizers that were unique and tasty I came across this recipe for marinated cheese.  It can be served with toothpicks, crackers or crusty bread.  There are little bits of lemon zest, garlic, parsley, red pepper flakes and pepper corns.  I like to make it several hours before serving for the flavors to develop.

I found the recipe in a Better Homes and Garden Magazine from 2006 while tossing old issues.  

The recipe is simple, easy to follow and has flavor plus!

 Save this link the next time you are making appetizers and surprise your company.  It brings a smile to your face and will come alive on your palette.

"The early bird may get the worm, 

but its the second mouse that gets the cheese." 

- Jeremy Paxman

Nosh Snack Bar

329.  Nosh - noun;  early 20th century Yiddish; denoting a snack bar.   This post is my celebration of the "Nosh" display that is to me the perfect meal in itself.  What more could you need than cheese, nuts, great bread, fruit and veg.   It could be in any form, any type of cheese (Although brie to me is always a must) any type or grain of bread, whole loaf torn or cut to smaller pieces.  

The mix of salty, sweet, cheesy, brine-y, crunchy, soft, smooth and flavorful.  It is a perfect combination.  Your imagination, personal choices and creativity are the tools needed.

Start with fruit: grapes, figs, blueberry, strawberry, apples or pears, a walk down the special cheese & meat aisle in a deli or your local grocer.  Then stop in your local bakery and pick up a crusty bread freshly baked.  Many grocers have beautiful bread that is rustic and varied as well as a variety of olives and marinated veggies.  I love shopping at Fairway  or Wegmans Markets.  They have a beautiful selection of all of the above.  Add mustards, nuts, honey, jam, raisins, dates, crackers, bread sticks, wafers,  peanut or almond butter, mushrooms, infused olive oils, salsas and tapenade...and the list trails on.  You are only limited by the items you are able to obtain or items you've never experienced before.  Take risks, experiment new cheeses, breads, olives and other delicacies.  Lucero Olive Co. is a must: link Here.    You could go for a theme or ethnic slant such as Italian or Greek with cheeses, breads and meats or a sweet nosh as a dessert with fruit, honey, whipped cream and a variety of cake slices and tarts, fruit sauces and chocolate fudge sauce or caramel.

Then lay everything out on a large tray, multiple wooden slices or directly in the center of your table. All you need are your guests to pick, dip, spread and sample in a variety of creations.  Now this is noshing to me.  Add whatever music, movie or beverage you prefer that tops off this culinary experience.  It transports you from just eating to a satisfying adventure.

Make tonight a "nosh" night and enjoy!

"My whole artistic life has always been about change,

change, change, move on, move on.

It's the only thing I find interesting."

-Paul Simon

Gorgonzola Beef Wellingtons

309.  Christmas Dinner, just the thought brings great joy, delight and all sorts of imaginable delicious memories.  Our Christmas Dinner will be very memorable this year. While searching for the perfect main dish, I came across a recipe for individual Beef Wellingtons.  It was in a specialty Christmas Edition of Taste of Home recipes.  The recipe can be found here http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/gorgonzola-beef-wellingtons

The individual steaks were perfect.
I made a change to the recipe and added bacon rendering to the pan instead of butter.  It added a depth of flavor.

The recipe was very easy to follow and ingredients easy to acquire.

I made sure the meat was chilled and the mushrooms room temperature so as not to melt the puff pastry.

Each package was a perfect size for an individual portion.

Simply delightful...

And decorating could be done any way you choose.

They were a show stopper.  And I garnished the platter with fresh thyme from my herb garden.

The 30 minutes was a bit too long and I pulled the wellington's out of the oven after 25 minutes.

Served with fresh brussel sprouts with crumbled bacon and garlic smashed potatoes with sour cream.
"I will honor Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all year long."~Charles Dickens