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December 17, 2014

Eggnog Spice Cake

I'm back. The past few months have been full of sadness, hurt, and anxiety. I haven't been cooking. I haven't even been eating or sleeping much. But, things are looking up now and I am hopeful for a happier future.

I was finally inspired to cook something by Davidson's Safest Choice EggsDozen Days of Nog event. I made a spice cake with eggnog instead of milk. It was dessert at a holiday lunch I hosted for some school friends.

I had planned to make an eggnog buttercream to frost this cake, but after tasting it I decided it didn't need any frosting. If you wanted something extra, I suggest a dollop of eggnog whipped cream.

It felt good to be back in the kitchen and to be feeding the people I love. I hope to do more of that in the coming weeks.

Happy Holidays!

Eggnog Spice Cake
adapted from Portuguese Girl Cooks


November 1, 2014

Winter 2014-2015 Cooking Classes


My upcoming classes include a couple of Girls' Night Out demo classes on December 20 and February 21. The first is a champagne-laced feast that features seared scallops with risotto and white chocolate cupcakes. The latter is an Italian-inspired meal with shrimp scampi and limoncello tiramisù.

I also have several Date Night for Couples classes, including a chili cook-off on January 25 and a beer pairing class on March 29. Once again, I'm throwing an Ultimate Cocktail Party on December 21 with a couple drinks and several appetizers. 

My Valentine's Day class will be held on February 7 and feature lobster bisque and fresh linguine with lobster arrabbiata sauce.

I'm also teaching my popular Harry Potter kids' cooking class on January 4 and March 15.

Below is my schedule through March. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online.

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: CONTINENTAL AND COASTAL CROATIA - November 9 @ 5:00-7:30 (hands-on)
  • Discover authentic Croatian cuisine from the coast to the continent, as I share my grandmother's recipes. You will learn to create cevapcici - lamb meatballs with an eggplant-pepper relish (ajvar), brodet - fish stew with shrimp and mussels and cod, sarma - cabbage rolls stuffed with beef and pork and rice in a tomato sauce, blitva - sautéed potatoes and Swiss chard, plus potica - sweet walnut rolls.
SUPPER BOWL SUNDAY - November 16 @ 12:30-3:00 (hands-on)
  • Join me in the kitchen to create four steaming pots of soup: andouille and corn chowder, creamy butternut squash and ginger soup, egg drop soup with homemade pressure cooker chicken stock, lamb minestrone, plus quick and easy yeast-risen baguettes.
DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: SUSHI U FOR TWO - November 30 @ 5:00-7:30 OR March 7 @ 6:00-8:30 (hands-on)
  • This menu includes tempura-fried shrimp rolls, sesame tuna hand rolls, smoked eel rolls, spicy scallop rolls, hot-smoked salmon rolls with mango and jalapeño, plus ginger-peach green tea ice cream - all served with cold beer. 
GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: BUBBLES! - December 20 @ 6:30-9:00 (demonstration)
  • Who doesn't love the sound of a popping champagne cork? Celebrate the season as I make pomegranate champagne punch, pear and endive salad with gorgonzola and a champagne vinaigrette, seared scallops in champagne-mushroom sauce, champagne risotto, plus white chocolate cupcakes with champagne buttercream frosting.
DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: THE ULTIMATE COCKTAIL PARTY  - December 21 @ 5:00-7:30 (hands-on)
  • In the midst of a festive holiday season, we will mix up cranberry-champagne sangria and gingersnap-apple vodka martinis. Then learn to create a dazzling spread of roasted five-spice cashews, baked cheddar coins with pecan-pepper jelly, caramelized onion bread topped with olives and anchovies, smoked shrimp with cilantro-lime yogurt dipping sauce, plus homemade marshmallow s'more skewers.
DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: HIGH STEAKS - December 27 @ 6:30-9:00 (hands-on)
  • Menu includes bruschetta with winter fruit, brie & fennel-infused honey; smoked lentil salad with creamy Sriracha dressing; cedar-grilled flat iron steaks with cayenne-coffee rub; sweet potato and goat cheese "tater tots"; bacon-wrapped green beans with brown sugar and garlic butter; and salted caramel pots de crème.
DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: LIFE IS A CABERNET - January 3 @ 6:00-8:30 (hands on)
  • We'll prepare mushroom-red pepper salad with red wine-herb vinaigrette, oven-roasted beef tenderloin with roasted red grape wine sauce, homemade black pepper fettuccine with chardonnay cream sauce, plus fabulous flourless chocolate-red wine cake with rosemary ganache -- all enjoyed with a glass of cabernet wine.
HEIR AND A PARENT: WIZARDS IN THE KITCHEN - January 4 @ 1:00-3:30 OR March 15 @ 12:30-3:00 (hands on)
  • Attention all Muggles! Experience the world of Harry Potter and make magic in the kitchen as I help you prepare delightful dishes described throughout the J.K. Rowling series, including The Three Broomsticks' butterbeer, ham-and-cheese pasties from the Hogwarts house-elves, and Mrs. Weasley's potatoes with béchamel sauce. Before you apparate home, you'll make Aunt Petunia's individual berry-pudding trifles. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.

August 31, 2014

Zucchini Dip with Mint & Za'atar

I haven't been cooking much lately because I'm kind of obsessed with a new hobby.

I've been knitting.

I learned the basic knit stitch a few years ago after I took a class. Everyone raved about how easy knitting is, that you can even knit a scarf while watching a movie! They lied. At that time, I found knitting to be tedious and exhausting. The patterns were too mathematical for me, I got frustrated when I made a mistake and had to start over (which happened often), and so I gave up. Half of a red scarf pierced with wooden knitting needles sat in my nightstand drawer until last fall.

I decided to reteach myself how to knit by watching YouTube videos and to finish that scarf. Since I'd made many mistakes, the scarf was uneven and had a bunch of holes in it. I ripped it all out and started over. Then, I made another scarf using a different stitch. Then another. Then a baby blanket. Then a couple of ear warmer headbands. Then a hat. I'm working on another scarf now.

I'm addicted. I have a bag full of needles and yarns. I have a list of things I want to make: more scarves and hats, fingerless gloves, a shawl, a bigger blanket...

Now I find knitting to be soothing, a way to calm my frequent bouts of anxiety. When I feel wonky, I pick up my needles and focus on the stitches. It forces me to think about something else. Plus, I like the sound of the needles softly clicking together, the feel of the soft yarn as it pulls through my fingers.

I've realized that knitting is a lot like cooking. I feel a sense of productiveness and accomplishment when I make scarf just as when I make a soufflé. I start with a ball of yarn and a pair of needles and made something new, just like when I start with eggs, milk, and flour to bake a cake. I MADE THIS, I think. It's hugely satisfying.

* * * 

I tried this new recipe to use up a giant zucchini that a co-worked gave me & some chocolate mint (which only has a faint chocolate flavor but is named so because of a tinge of brown in the leaves & stems of the plant) a friend gave me a couple weeks ago. Za'atar is a Middle Eastern seasoning blend of herbs (often oregano, thyme, marjoram, and savory), sesame seeds, and sumac. Traditionally, it is eaten with pita dipped in olive oil. I served this refreshing green dip with pita chips.

Zucchini Dip with Mint & Za'atar
adapted from Eating Well

August 21, 2014

Chicken & Dumplings


School started on Monday. I ended my summer break last week by binge watching season 2 of The Mind of a Chef. Sean Brock is just so damn adorable. And his southern comfort food is absolutely swoon-worthy.

One recipe that I knew I wanted to make as soon as possible was his mother's version of chicken & dumplings. Here's the clip:


All last week, I needed comfort food as I watched the world implode around me. The unrest in Ferguson, Missouri, hits close to home...literally. Ferguson is only 15 miles from my front door. So I decided there was no better way to start the school year and to relieve some of the tension of current events than by inviting friends over for chicken & dumplings and pie.

Here's my version of the Brocks' recipe:

Chicken & Dumplings

Note: This dish is much brothier when it's first made, more like a soup. The picture above was taken after the leftovers had been in the fridge for a couple of days, soaking up all the stock. Still delicious.

August 18, 2014

Old Fashioned Raspberry Pie with Hot Water Crust


I'm calling this an "old fashioned" pie because it features a hot water crust and tapioca in the filling...two things you don't see much of these days.

This recipe comes from The American Gothic Cookbook, copyright 1979.  The small, 62-page booklet was inspired by Grant Wood's iconic painting.


The introduction explains:
Born in Cedar Rapids through the eye, mind, and paintbrush of Grant Wood, the American Gothic couple uniquely reflect the cultural traditions of the Midwest.
Here are the recipes from the models who posed for the painting, from the artist who painted them, from people who knew them, and from their neighbors, including the famous.
While the Woods and the McKeebys, as their names imply, were of stock from the British Isles, their Iowa neighbors were the Germans of the Amana Colonies, the Czechoslovakians, the Scandinavians, and the Amish of the Kalona area. Part of the essence of the Midwest is the blend of culinary traditions now even including the Oriental. Here are the recipes of the American Gothic people.
I bought this book at a used cookbook sale. Considering my love of American Gothic, I had to have it.

I referred to this pie as "Raspberry Frankenpie" because I had some problems with the top crust. It wasn't crumbly, but it would break whenever I tried to roll it out or pick it up. So, I pieced it together on top of the pie, going for a patchwork look, and added some "stitches" for decoration.


I know what I did wrong. The recipe says it will make two crusts. It does not. So, when I mixed a second crust, I didn't use boiling water...I used the hot water that was left in the kettle without reboiling it. As a result, the shortening never got creamy when mixed with the water. Since the first crust worked perfectly, I'm sure this was the problem.

Still, it tasted just fine! I did miss the buttery flavor of my regular pie crust recipe, but this was an interesting recipe to try...and an easy way to make a crust for those who might be intimidated by making pie.

The filling, however, was spectacular. I liked using instant tapioca to thicken the filling as opposed to cornstarch or flour. It created tiny, translucent, fruit-flavored pearls. It wasn't slimy, gelatinous, or chunky (which is what I think of when I think of tapioca pudding). I may use it in all of my fruit pies now!

August 1, 2014

Fall 2014 Cooking Classes


My new menus include a couple of Girls' Night Out demo classes on October 18 & December 13. The first contains recipes that focus on spices: cinnamon, paprika, saffron, cumin, peppers, etc. The latter is a champagne-laced feast that features seared scallops and white chocolate cupcakes.

I also have a few new Date Night for Couples classes. My favorite one, on November 9, will feature my grandmother's Croatian dishes. Once again, I'm throwing an Ultimate Cocktail Party on December 21 with a couple drinks and several appetizers. Another fun couples class on December 27 includes a smoked lentil salad, cayenne & coffee rubbed steaks, homemade sweet potato tots.

Below is my schedule through December. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online.

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: READY TO RUM-BLE - October 11 @ 6:00-8:30 (hands-on)
  • Learn to prepare coconut bisque with rum flambé, macadamia-crusted scallops with rum beurre blanc, jerk pork tenderloin with spiced rum glaze, Caribbean rice, mini-hot buttered rum cheesecakes with caramel sauce, plus a piña-limonada cocktail.
GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: SUGAR AND SPICE - October 18 @ 6:30-9:00 (demonstration)
  • Enjoy a maple-cinnamon apple martini and five-spice cashews, freshly-baked skillet bread with Old Bay artichoke-spinach-crab dip, paprika-spiced cauliflower soup, tomato-poached salmon with saffron, roasted carrot and red quinoa salad with spicy cumin dressing, plus buttermilk panna cotta with strawberries in port wine-peppercorn caramel sauce.
HEIR AND A PARENT: WIZARDS IN THE KITCHEN - October 26 @ 12:30-3:00 (hands-on)
  • Attention all Muggles! Experience the world of Harry Potter and make magic in the kitchen as I help you prepare delightful dishes described throughout the J.K. Rowling series, including The Three Broomsticks' butterbeer, ham-and-cheese pasties from the Hogwarts house-elves, and Mrs. Weasley's potatoes with béchamel sauce. Before you apparate home, you'll make Aunt Petunia's individual berry-pudding trifles. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.
DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: CONTINENTAL AND COASTAL CROATIA - November 9 @ 5:00-7:30 (hands-on)
  • Discover authentic Croatian cuisine from the coast to the continent, as I share my grandmother's recipes. You will learn to create cevapcici - lamb meatballs with an eggplant-pepper relish (ajvar), brodet - fish stew with shrimp and mussels and cod, sarma - cabbage rolls stuffed with beef and pork and rice in a tomato sauce, blitva - sautéed potatoes and Swiss chard, plus potica - sweet walnut rolls.
SUPPER BOWL SUNDAY - November 16 @ 12:30-3:00 (hands-on)
  • Join me in the kitchen to create four steaming pots of soup: andouille and corn chowder, creamy butternut squash and ginger soup, egg drop soup with homemade pressure cooker chicken stock, lamb minestrone, plus quick and easy yeast-risen baguettes.

July 13, 2014

Salt Cod Fritters with Spicy Cilantro Sauce


Salt cod is cod fish that has been preserved by drying and salting. Before it can be used, salt cod must be either soaked in cold water for a few days, changing the water two to three times a day, or boiled to rehydrate and remove some of the salt.

It is most commonly used in brandade, a French gratin of mashed potatoes mixed with salt cod, garlic, and olive oil (which is smeared on bread and is heavenly); with ackee fruit in the national dish of Jamaica; in New England fish cakes; in a casserole with potatoes & onions; or battered & fried (as I did).

So, why use dried and salted fish when you could use fresh fillets? NPR compares salt cod to prosciutto, asking "Why eat prosciutto [...] when you could have fresh ham?"
This is not a gratuitous comparison. As Harold McGee writes in his encyclopedic work of food science, On Food and Cooking
The best of these [salted fish] are the piscatory equivalent of salt-cured hams. 
In both, salt buys time for transformation: it preserves them long and gently enough for enzymes of both fish and harmless salt-tolerant bacteria to break down flavorless proteins and fats into savory fragments, which then react further to create flavors of great complexity.
I made these fritters in a Girls' Night Out cooking class that I taught on Friday. Having never seen, used, or eaten salt cod before, most of the women in class were skeptical. However, this recipe was a hit!

Salt Cod Fritters



July 3, 2014

Blackberry Thyme Margarita

Photos by Corey Woodruff

A couple weeks ago, I was invited to preview the reimagined menu at The Grill at the Ritz-Carlton in St. Louis. The Grill chef, Damien Faure (who, incidentally, is married to Simone Faure of La Patisserie Chouquette) has designed a menu highlighted by "traditional as well as communal and shared plates [...] along with classic house-made desserts, signature beverage creations, and an innovative Infused Oil offering." Guests can personalize their menu selections with a variety of house-infused oils. Flavors include lemon verbena & avocado, black garlic & herb, bacon & porcini mushroom, purple basil & brandywine tomato, black truffle, and spring onion & chipotle.

Everything that I sampled was delicious. I tried the New Orleans-style BBQ shrimp & grits with grilled chorizo; Prince Edwards Island Mussels with lemongrass & Kaffir lime; grilled Medjool dates with bacon, Cambozola, & roasted hazelnuts; blackened steak & mushroom flatbread; Tuscan kale & hearts of palm salad with strawberries & goat cheese (one of my favorite dishes that night); hot smoked salmon with tomato coulis; center-cut filet; beer-can chicken (that's right...Chef Faure wanted to represent a "local" dish); grilled asparagus, roasted cauliflower, & twice-baked potato. Dessert was strawberry & white chocolate baked Alaska and profiteroles with hazelnut ice cream.

Yep. It was A LOT of food. I was a happy, happy girl.

Before dinner, we sampled a few of The Ritz signature cocktails.  Why am I not having cocktails at The Ritz Lobby Lounge on a regular basis? They have like a gillion kind of martinis. My favorite was the Blackberry Thyme Margarita: "Sauza Blue, Cointreau, Fresh Lime Juice, Muddled Thyme, House Made Blackberry Simple Syrup, Blackberries."

Here's my recreation:

Blackberry Thyme Margarita



June 27, 2014

Perfect Soft-Boiled Eggs


I'm all about quick, easy, light meals this time of year. One of my favorites for any meal of the day is  soft-boiled eggs. That runny yolk is perfect over toasted bread, sautéed kale (as pictured), grilled asparagus, stir-fried rice, or a bowl of ramen noodles.

To make these sexy eggs, simply put a small pan of water on to boil. When it boils, gently lower the eggs into the water with a spoon. Make sure there's enough water to cover the eggs. Boil for exactly 6 minutes. Immediately (and carefully) drain off the boiling water and run the eggs under cold water until cool enough to peel. Peel gently. Cut open and swoon.

More sexy eggs:

June 19, 2014

Summertime Potato Salad with Tomatoes & Basil Oil


Summer makes me feel sassy, naughty...makes me want to blow off any responsibilities, sit outside, and drink fruity cocktails.

Summer reminds me of when Cari and I did just that in college. We’d rollerblade across campus to Marty's bar for 4:00 club, then laugh hysterically at each other as we tried to blade back to our apartment after a few beers.

It reminds me of The Sarah & Kelly Summer of Fun '93, when we moshed hard, discovered Bennett Lieberman & his velvet wallpaper, rode in the convertible until our hair was a mess of tangles, played minigolf with Rob & What's His Name, and met the infamous Bench Nickel...

Of being a "Duga"...

Of our summer soundtracks, albums we played over and over, songs that became our personal mottos during those months...

Of listening to The Urge, Fragile Porcelain Mice, My Life with the Thrill Kill Cult, Moby, Pearl Jam, The Smiths, The Violent Femmes, and the beloved Beasties...

Of watching Singles and Reality Bites...

Of wearing cut-off jean shorts, concert tees, backwards caps, and Chuck Taylor's...

Of spontaneous road trips.

Of new love affairs...

Of house parties on Anthony Street...

Of the ocean and wild horses...

Of a 28-inch pizza called The Captain.

Of concerts by the pond.

Of walking around downtown Indy.

Of going back to Eastern with Erin a few years ago on Good Friday and getting into the Counting Crows concert for free.

It reminds me of being younger, carefree and fearless, hopeful...

"And I can’t stop thinking about the [...] months that were hectic and raw and so full of hope and panic that every day seemed like it would collapse in on itself."

June 5, 2014

Summer 2014 Cooking Classes


I have several new classes on the Kitchen Conservatory summer schedule, including a burger class (July 6), Girls' Night Out tropical seafood feast (July 11), Girls' Night Out vegetarian (August 23), boozy desserts (August 24), and Girls' Night Out pizza & pasta (September 6).

Below is my schedule through September. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online.

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: SUSHI U FOR TWO - June 29 @ 5:00-7:30  OR August 8 @ 6:00-8:30 (hands-on)
  • This menu includes tempura-fried shrimp rolls, sesame tuna hand rolls, smoked eel rolls, spicy scallop rolls, hot-smoked salmon rolls with mango and jalapeño, plus ginger-peach green tea ice cream - all served with cold beer.
BURGER U - July 6 @ 1:00-3:30 (hands-on)
  • Cuban-style beef burgers, Carolina barbecue pork burgers, tuna burgers with roasted garlic-tomato aïoli, perfect French fries, beer-battered onion rings with blue cheese dipping sauce, and roasted pineapple-rum milkshakes.
GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: SOMETHING TO BEACH ABOUT - July 11 @ 6:00-8:30 (demonstration)
  • I'll create a tropical feast perfect for a hot summer night, starting with cod fish fritters with spicy cilantro sauce. Sip on a rum runner cocktail and enjoy hearts of palm and mango salad with avocado dressing, smoked jerk-rubbed shrimp with yogurt-lime sauce, cumin-spiced black beans and rice, plus coconut sorbet with macadamia sablé cookies.
DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: READY TO RUM-BLE - July 19 @ 6:00-8:30 (hands-on)
  • Learn to prepare coconut bisque with rum flambé, macadamia-crusted scallops with rum beurre blanc, jerk pork tenderloin with spiced rum glaze, Caribbean rice, mini-hot buttered rum cheesecakes with caramel sauce, plus a piña-limonada cocktail.
HEIR AND A PARENT: WIZARDS IN THE KITCHEN - July 27 @ 1:00-3:30 (hands-on)
  • Attention all Muggles! Experience the world of Harry Potter and make magic in the kitchen as I help you prepare delightful dishes described throughout the J.K. Rowling series, including The Three Broomsticks' butterbeer, ham-and-cheese pasties from the Hogwarts house-elves, and Mrs. Weasley's potatoes with béchamel sauce. Before you apparate home, you'll make Aunt Petunia's individual berry-pudding trifles. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.

May 29, 2014

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

ANOTHER pie? 

That's right.

This one was made by request (You're welcome, Joni) for an outing to see Shakespeare's Henry V in Forest Park with a couple of my school pals last Saturday.

While I've made a few strawberry desserts and rhubarb desserts over the years (see the list after the recipe), this was my first strawberry-rhubarb concoction. 

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie
recipe slightly adapted from The Kitchn
Made with love & ready for the oven

May 26, 2014

Apple Custard Pie with Brandied Raisins & Almonds

I keep a journal in which I jot down favorite quotes and whatnot from books as I'm reading. Often, I find myself making lists of food described in the books as well.

One such description, from Neil Gaiman's novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, has stuck with me since early last fall:
Dinner was wonderful. There was a joint of beef, with roast potatoes, golden-crisp on the outside and soft and white inside, buttered greens I did not recognize, although I think now that they might have been nettles, roasted carrots all blackened and sweet […]. For dessert there was the pie, stuffed with apples and with swollen raisins and crushed nuts, all topped with a thick yellow custard, creamier and richer than anything I had ever tasted at school or at home.
That pie. I haven't been able to get that pie out of my head.

So, I made it.

April 27, 2014

Honey-Oat Muffins

Each year, I try to bring breakfast for my juniors on the morning of the ACT test…something healthier (like fruit, homemade granola or power bars, peanut butter-oatmeal energy bites, whole-wheat bagels & cream cheese) than what I think they'd usually eat (sugary cereal, pop tarts, fast food, chips from the vending machine or nothing at all).

This year, I made a recipe I'd saved on Pinterest. These muffins were very easy to mix together (two bowls, 1 spoon) and baked for only 15 minutes. I like that they contain oatmeal & whole-wheat and honey instead of sugar. Be warned: These aren't sweet muffins. They taste "healthy."

Disclaimer: Muffins are always best warmed and smeared with butter.

Did I say "healthy"? ;-)

April 21, 2014

Beer-Steamed Mussels with Chorizo

I spent last week on the beach in Englewood, Florida, visiting my Aunt Nancy. My plan was to spend some time near the water, eat a bunch of seafood, and RELAX. Mission accomplished.

Corey and I explored the tiny island of Manasota Key, eating and drinking at a few local beach bars. We ate lobster rolls, steamed clams & shrimp, conch fritters, fried lobster bites, and grilled grouper. For a couple dinners, we made freshly-caught mackerel (that I prepared blackened & sautéed) & stone crab claws at Nancy's house.

On Thursday, drove about an hour to Peace River Seafood & Crab Shack in Punta Gorda to eat blue crabs, but they didn't have any that day. I had been looking forward to that meal for a month and was so disappointed. We ordered other seafoods for lunch, and it was still tasty.

But since I had blue crab on the brain, I decided to buy some at Seafood City in St. Louis (the only place in town that usually has live crabs) and cook them today. Alas, there was no blue crabs to be found there either.

I am determined to hunt down the elusive blue crab very soon and create an authentic crab boil in my own kitchen. For now, though, here's one of my favorite seafood recipes to make at home.

Beer-Steamed Mussels with Chorizo

March 25, 2014

Sesame White Chocolate Cookies

I've been promising my classes treats for weeks, months even. This semester has been a rough one so far due to multiple snow days in January and February, then the sudden death of a student, and now practice PARCC testing which disrupts our schedule further.

Still, my classes have been pretty good. I've been very impressed.

They deserve treats.

Speaking of school, I was once again nominated by our top seniors for the area Teacher of the Year award (which I won two years ago). This is my third nomination in the six years I've been at this high school. I'm proud, dammit! Yesterday, I got the recommendation letters they wrote for me. Reading them made me teary-eyed. ;-)

My senior classes usually get treats from me, so these cookies were for one of my sophomore classes which was randomly chosen to practice taking the new assessment tests online. They have to complete three reading and writing tests this week. It's time consuming and can be mentally exhausting.

I hope these treats will motivate them a little bit. 

Sesame White Chocolate Cookies
adapted from Dessert for Two

Add caption

March 17, 2014

Homemade Corned Beef

I've wanted to corn my own beef (hubba) for a few years, but it never seemed to work out. A couple years ago, I couldn't find pink salt anywhere local and didn't have time to order it online. Last year, I had curing salt on-hand but didn't plan enough time to brine the brisket before St. Patrick's Day.

This year, however, I planned ahead…I made the brine last Monday. I added the brisket on Tuesday, and I let that sucker sit for 5 days before our big Sunday dinner.

I had my doubts.

First, I worried that the meat wouldn't look right because I used curing salt instead of pink salt. I found conflicting opinions online about this…some people say the pink salt is what gives corned beef its red tint, while others maintain that it's the brining process that makes it red (and that the salt is pink so as not to confuse it with regular table salt). Curing salts are generally a mix of table salt, sodium nitrite and sometimes sodium nitrate, curing agents that also contribute to the development of color and flavor. Common types of curing salts are Prague powder #1 (94% salt and 6% sodium nitrite) and Prague powder #2 (which also includes sodium nitrate). I used Morton's Tender Quick (which contains salt, sodium nitrate, and sodium nitrite).

Secondly, I was worried about the texture. I thought it might not be as tender as corned beef should be. Brisket can be so tough. I normally cook corned beef in the crockpot all day, but decided to follow the recipe fully and braise the brined brisket on the stovetop for 3 hours.

Finally, I was worried that the homemade version wouldn't taste like the corned beef I knew. Like most people, I only cook corned beef once a year…and I buy one from the grocery store. I know they are not organic, locally-raised, pasture-fed, etc…but sometimes a once-a-year tradition supersedes all that. I figure, at least I wasn't using corned beef from a can like my mom used to.

But, I shouldn't have worried. The finished brisket looked good! While it wasn't red all the way through, there was a reddish tint around the edges. It was perfectly tender, and it tasted great! BETTER than the corned beefs past.

Beef corning success!

Homemade Corned Beef
recipe from Michael Ruhlman via Leite's Culinaria

Photo by Corey Woodruff

March 9, 2014

Pasta al Pomodoro with Slow-Poached Eggs

I'm happy to be participating in the March Meatless Meals party sponsored by Davidson's Safest Choice® Eggs

This month, Safest Choice asked some bloggers to make a vegetarian dish featuring eggs. Why? Because "eggs are economical, extremely versatile and might just be the world’s most perfect protein. One egg contains 70 calories and 6 grams of protein making them a great option for vegetarian recipes. And with Safest Choice Eggs all of your favorite vegetarian recipes can be enjoyed worry free because: pasteurized = peace of mind."

And because you can win big! Enter at the bottom of this post for a chance to win one of two Safest Choice prize packs (valued at $467 each)! Each prize pack will include:

  • one (1) $200 Amex gift card
  • one (1) Lodge Round Fry Pan 10”
  • one (1) Sur La Table® Red Mixing Bowls
  • one (1) Flexible Nylon Spatula
  • one (1) Eggs cookbook
  • 52 coupons for a free dozen of Davidson’s Safest Choice Eggs

The contest runs through March 31.


While I am kind of in love with all things pork, I don't usually cook that much meat at home on a daily basis. A typical dinner might be stir fried vegetables with rice. Or a salad of some sort. Or a make-shift soup with whatever I have on-hand. Or pasta with a simple sauce. 

I am, however, very much in the "put an egg on it" camp. Sometimes, dinner might be leftover pizza with a dippy, sunny-side-up egg on top. Or buttered noodles tossed with roasted garlic, toasted breadcrumbs, and a fried egg. Or soft boiled eggs over sautéed greens with herbed white beans.

There is nothing quite as sexy as an unctuous, runny egg yolk. And the best way to get that perfectly oozy yolk? SLOW POACHING IN THE SHELL.

Slow-Poached Eggs
recipe from David Chang's Momofuku


Fill your biggest, deepest pot with water and put it on the stove over the lowest possible heat.

Use something to keep the eggs from sitting on the bottom of the pot, where the temperature will be highest. If you’ve got a cake rack or a steamer rack, use it. If not, improvise: a doughnut of aluminum foil or a few chopsticks scattered helter skelter across the bottom of the pan will usually do the trick, but you know what you’ve got lying around. Be resourceful. (Kelly's Note: A metal trivet or an old-school collapsible metal steamer works perfectly here.)

Use an instant-read thermometer to monitor the temperature in the pot – if it’s too hot, add cold water or an ice cube. Once the water is between 140 and 145F, add the eggs to the pot. Let them bathe for 40 to 45 minutes, checking the temperature regularly with the thermometer or by sticking your finger in the water (it should be the temperature of a very hot bath) and moderating it as needed.

You can use the eggs immediately or store them in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. (If you’re planning on storing them, chill them until cold in an ice-water bath.) If you refrigerate the eggs, warm them under piping hot tap water for 1 minute before using.

To serve the eggs, crack them one at a time into a small saucer. The thin white will not and should not be firm or solid; tip the dish to pour off and discard the loosest part of the white, then slide the egg onto the dish it’s destined for.

Pasta al Pomodoro
recipe slightly adapted from Bon Appetit

March 2, 2014

Lobster Rolls

When my friend Theresa came over last month to cook Coq au Riesling with me, we decided to make New England lobster rolls next time. I'd never eaten a real lobster roll, but we agreed that we had to make everything from scratch for it to be authentic--including cooking live lobsters, making mayonnaise for the salad, and baking fresh buns.

Lobster rolls are traditionally served on flat-sided buns that are buttered and toasted. According to the Boston Globe, "Variously called top-sliced, top-loading, or frankfurter roll, the style was developed sometime in the mid- to late ’40s, explains Michael Cornelis, vice president of American Pan, which makes baking pans for the industry. Howard Johnson’s approached J. J. Nissen bakery of Maine to develop a special bun for its fried clam strip sandwich. The restaurant chain wanted top sliced rolls that would stand upright and be easier to prepare, serve, and eat. […] 'Before the New England-style roll,' says Cornelis, 'there was no way to mechanically slice a bun part of the way through. If you wanted a roll pre-sliced, commercial bakers would slice them all the way through. Well, that’s not as happy a hot dog bun.'"

I borrowed Ruth's hot dog bun pan and followed the recipe on the King Arthur Flour website. In the end, they turned out just fine--albeit a little dense. Next time, I would buy good-quality buns (hubba) instead.

The lobster salad, however, was damn delicious. 

So, what do you think Theresa and I should cook next month?

Maine Lobster Rolls
recipe slightly adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home


February 22, 2014

Spring-Summer 2014 Cooking Classes

I'm teaching a few of new classes this spring: one for kids & parents featuring foods from the second Hunger Games book (March 29), a Mother's Day brunch (May 11), and a Girls Night Out appetizers class (June 20).

Several of my most popular classes are being repeated: Latin salsa dancing & Cuban food (May 9), cooking with wine (June 7), and sushi (June 29).

Below is my schedule through June. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online.

THE APPRENTICE CHEF: ON TOP OF SPAGHETTI - March 8 @ 10:30 12:30 (hands-on)
  • For aspiring chefs, children from ages 7 to 12. We'll make homemade spaghetti noodles with meatballs, marinara sauce, & cheesy Alfredo sauce, and chocolate gelato for dessert.
DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: READY TO RUM-BLE - March 23 @ 5:00-7:30 (hands-on)
  • Learn to prepare coconut bisque with rum flambé, macadamia-crusted scallops with rum beurre blanc, jerk pork tenderloin with spiced rum glaze, Caribbean rice, mini-hot buttered rum cheesecakes with caramel sauce, plus a piña-limonada cocktail.
HEIR AND A PARENT: THE GIRL ON FIRE - March 29 @ 10:30-1:00 (hands-on)
  • Feast like "The Girl on Fire" with a meal inspired by Suzanne Collins's Hunger Games sequel Catching Fire. Learn to prepare Peeta's raisin nut bread with fresh ricotta cheese, District 4's grilled shrimp with chile-tomato sauce, Katniss's favorite lamb stew, plus The Capitol's chocolate custard with cherry flambé. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.

February 10, 2014

Mole Carnitas with Strawberry Salsa

I created this dish for the 1, 2, 3 Cook & Snap Recipe Contest sponsored by The Foodie Blogroll. Each month, participants are asked to create a signature recipe using three ingredients. This month's ingredients were--in the spirit of Valentine's Day--chocolate, strawberry, and cinnamon.

~ Please VOTE for my entry! ~

Immediately, I knew I didn't want to make something sweet. Too obvious, right? But, how could I combine such desserty ingredients into a savory dish?

The answer: Mole and salsa.

A traditional mole sauce contains a long list of ingredients--including several kinds of chile peppers, garlic, seeds, nuts, tomatoes, spices, herbs, chocolate--and takes several days to make. According to Diana Kennedy, the authority on Mexican food:
The word mole comes from the Nahuatl word molli, meaning "concoction." The majority of people respond, when mole is mentioned, with "Oh yes, I know--that chocolate sauce. […]" Well, it isn't a chocolate sauce. One little piece of chocolate (and in Mexico we used to grind cacao beans for the mole) goes into a large casserole full of rich dark-brown and russet chiles. […] As in other Mexican sauces, the seasonings and spices are not used with such a heavy hand that they vie with each for recognition, but rather build up to a harmonious whole.
For my recipe, I include the chocolate in the form of unsweetened cocoa powder AND chocolate stout beer to braise a big hunk of pork (because, what's sexier than deliciously fatty pork? NOT MUCH). There's cinnamon in there, too, which is traditional for a mole sauce. A sweet and spicy strawberry salsa tops it off.

Mole Carnitas with Strawberry Salsa
carnitas adapted from Pinch of Yum

February 5, 2014

Maple Cornflake Pie

Today is our seventh snow day so far in 2014, and most likely we'll have another day off tomorrow. To pass all these days stuck inside, I taught myself how to knit (working on my third scarf now) and have been cooking a lot.

This pie was baked strictly out of necessity (another night snowed in, another night with a finicky boiler, another night trying to ward off unwanted anxiety) and with whatever ingredients I had on-hand. The original recipe calls for 2/3 cup of dark corn syrup, but since I didn't have any I improvised with brown sugar and maple syrup.

This kind of old-fashioned cereal pie creates a two-layer dessert...a sweet, sticky bottom layer (hubba) with a chewing, crunchy top layer.

February 1, 2014

Coq au Riesling


I love when people come over to cook. Monday night, my friend Theresa helped me make a recipe that's been on my list for a while...Nigel Slater's Coq au Riesling. I wanted to try coq au vin (chicken cooked in red wine), but the color the chicken takes on from the wine isn't appealing to me. Using a white wine, however, sounded much better!

Here, chicken is browned then braised in wine with bacon, mushrooms, and onions. The sauce is finished with heavy cream. We served it over creamy truffled polenta to soak up all that deliciousness.

Next month, Theresa and I are going to make lobster rolls...including homemade buns!

January 21, 2014

Potlikker Noodles with Ham & Kale

I've been trying several new recipes so far this year. While they have all been tasty, most are either not blog-worthy or I just didn't stop to take pictures before eating.

My favorites have been a roasted carrot & red quinoa salad, lentils with red wine & herbs, smoked salmon & edamame salad, spaghetti with fried eggs & breadcrumbs, and tuna, white bean,  & roasted fennel salad.

Tonight, I made pork stock with a shoulder bone I had leftover from making pulled pork. I used the stock to make another new recipe I've had my eye on for a while: a hearty dish of egg noodles, ham, & kale in a flavorful broth...perfect for yet another snow day here in the midwest.

January 14, 2014

Smoked Eggplant Dip

photo by Corey Woodruff
A couple months ago, I was invited to dinner at The Mediterranean Grill in Chesterfield, Missouri. It's a little restaurant located in a strip mall near the airport. It's easy to miss, but I'm glad I had a reason to seek it out. Dinner was pretty spectacular, and the owners are two of the nicest people I've met.

Chef-owner Elie Harir is from Israel and makes nearly everything on the menu from scratch. I got to try a variety of items...including falafel balls, Moroccan cigars (meat-filled phyllo), hummus, carrot salad, beet salad, eggplant spread, tabouleh salad, matbocha (Moroccan salsa), Middle Eastern chopped vegetable salad, stuffed eggplant, and kabobs. [see photos after the jump]

My favorite dish was the eggplant spread, which tastes smokey and much more flavorful than any baba ganoush I've ever had. Elie said he grills the eggplants to get that flavor.

The truth is that I liked everything I sampled that evening, and I'm looking forward to going back for dinner soon.

January 8, 2014

Lemon Cake with Dark Chocolate Ganache

I've been thinking about a book I read a few years ago: The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender. The main character, nine-year-old Rose, asks her mother to bake a lemon cake  with chocolate frosting for her birthday. According to the author, "as soon as she bites in, that cake wakes up a certain new capacity in her, where she can taste the unknown feelings of the chef in the food prepared, and what is normally one of the most lovely and innocent parts of childhood comes packed with complication."

That book--and Bender's description of that cake--has stayed with me. Lemon and chocolate seem like a contradiction, like that kind of sour and sweet shouldn't work together. But, since orange and chocolate is a classic combination, I've always thought this cake sounded good:
The room filled with the smell of warming butter and sugar and lemon and eggs, and at five, the timer buzzed and I pulled out the cake and placed it on the stovetop. The house was quiet. The bowl of icing was right there on the counter, ready to go, and cakes are best when just out of the oven, and I really couldn’t possibly wait, so I reached to the side of the cake pan, to the least obvious part, and pulled off a small warm spongy chunk of deep gold. Iced it all over with chocolate. Popped the whole thing into my mouth.
• • •
My birthday cake was her latest project because it was not from a mix but instead built from scratch—the flour, the baking soda, lemon-flavored because at eight that had been my request; I had developed a strong love for sour. We’d looked through several cookbooks together to find just the right one, and the smell in the kitchen was overpoweringly pleasant. To be clear: the bite I ate was delicious. Warm citrus-baked batter lightness enfolded by cool deep dark swirled sugar.
But the day was darkening outside, and as I finished that first bite, as that first impression faded, I felt a subtle shift inside, an unexpected reaction. As if a sensor, so far buried deep inside me, raised its scope to scan around, alerting my mouth to some- thing new. Because the goodness of the ingredients—the fine chocolate, the freshest lemons—seemed like a cover over something larger and darker, and the taste of what was underneath was beginning to push up from the bite. I could absolutely taste the chocolate, but in drifts and traces, in an unfurling, or an opening, it seemed that my mouth was also filling with the taste of smallness, the sensation of shrinking, of upset, tasting a distance I somehow knew was connected to my mother, tasting a crowded sense of her thinking, a spiral, like I could almost even taste the grit in her jaw that had created the headache that meant she had to take as many aspirins as were necessary, a white dotted line of them in a row on the nightstand like an ellipsis to her comment: I’m just going to lie down. . . . None of it was a bad taste, so much, but there was a kind of lack of wholeness to the flavors that made it taste hollow, like the lemon and chocolate were just surrounding a hollowness. My mother’s able hands had made the cake, and her mind had known how to balance the ingredients, but she was not there, in it. It so scared me that I took a knife from a drawer and cut out a big slice, ruining the circle, because I had to check again right that second, and I put it on a pink-flowered plate and grabbed a napkin from the napkin drawer. My heart was beating fast. I was hoping I’d imagined it—maybe it was a bad lemon? or old sugar?—although I knew, even as I thought it, that what I’d tasted had nothing to do with ingredients—and I flipped on the light and took the plate in the other room to my favorite chair, the one with the orange-striped pattern, and with each bite, I thought—mmm, so good, the best ever, yum—but in each bite: absence, hunger, spiraling, hollows. This cake that my mother had made just for me, her daughter, whom she loved so much I could see her clench her fists from overflow sometimes when I came home from school, and when she would hug me hello I could feel how inadequate the hug was for how much she wanted to give.
I ate the whole piece, desperate to prove myself wrong.
As I was stuck inside today for a third day due to freezing temperatures and 10+ inches of snow, I was reading an article about mood-enhancing foods. Both lemon and dark chocolate were on that list, and I thought again of Rose's birthday cake. I browsed the internet for recipes and decided that baking a bittersweet cake would be the perfect way to spend my snow day.

January 4, 2014

Mussels with Lemon-Saffron Sauce

Photos by  Corey Woodruff
So far, 2014 is....fairly cold. We are bracing for some serious winter weather here in St. Louis, expecting up to 10 inches of snow and low temps of -9. The high on Monday is predicted to be zero. Brrrr.

I don't mind the arctic temperatures; I just hope my boiler can keep up. It's been fickle lately, refusing to ignite sometimes and letting the temperature in the house drop. A few weeks ago, the boiler was off all night and it was 40 degrees in the house when I woke up. Last night, it was off for several hours but kicked back on in the middle of the night...thankfully. I've had a repair guy out to check it, but it was--of course--working just fine when he was here & he couldn't find anything wrong with it. *sigh*

With such frigid forecasts, people tend to stock up on milk, eggs, and bread. Instead of making French toast, however, I made a big pot of steamed mussels with a piquant lemon-saffron sauce...perfect with crusty bread and a bottle of wine.

I highly suggest making this while you're snowed in tomorrow.