Mise en Place

I am very committed to the idea of mise en place while cooking. Mise en place is a French phrase that literally means "put in place" and is used in the culinary world as having everything in place ready for cooking. It also requires cleaning as you cook, so you don't end up with a huge mess at the end. My mother will cite this as the biggest difference in my pre and post culinary school cooking habits.

However, I have noticed a significant decrease in my mise en place as a result of having a toddler in the kitchen. Ainslie really loves to help out. The other day she helped by combining the contents of all the cansiters on my table. So now my flour and sugar have oatmeal sprinkled in which adds an unexcepted texture to any dish.

At a resturant in Rome in the pre-canister mixing days.

Tonight we had California Pizza Kitchen style pizza for dinner. I love how pizza has become this dynamic new forum for creative combinations. I was very inspired by some of the pizza combination we had in Rome. My favorite was this amazing arugula topped pizza. Arugula is a salad green that looks a lot like the leaves that grow on a dandy lion. It has a wonderful nutty/peppery taste. I'm not really sure where to buy it but I just read online that it is easy to grow at home so I might just give that a try.

This is what I did tonight:

Make a simple dough

• 1 cup warm water


• 2 Tbs yeast


• pinch sugar
  

Combine and allow yeast to grow for a few minutes, then add

• pinch salt


• 1/2 oil


• addd flour until it forms a nice dough

Roll out the pizza and cook,

• Add sauce, cheese and bacon,

Broil until toasted

I topped the pizza with a salad I made with spinach, tomates, cumcumber, red onion, fresh basil and tossed with ranch dressing. It was very yummy.

Presto, Pesto

My basil plant is getting a little out of control. I have been using the leaves here and there for spaghetti, pasta salad or to spice up a panini sandwich or two. But none of that seemed to tame this wild beast, so I decided it was time for pesto.
I've gotten a little attached to the thing and felt a little bit like I was sacrificing a good friend for dinner. (Although the picture above is after dinner so as you can see it didn't really make a dent.)
Pesto is super easy and very yummy.
This is what I did:

1 cup fresh basil leaves
1/4 cup Parmesan
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup pine nuts (I used sunflower seeds.)
3 medium sized garlic cloves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Mix in a food processor until it becomes a thick paste.

Boil 6 oz. rigatoni

Pan fry two chicken breasts (I cut them into smaller pieces before frying.)
To pan fry chicken, first dredge the chicken in flour seasoned with salt, pepper and garlic salt. Heat about two tablespoons of oil in a frying pan and cook the chicken on both sides until golden brown.

I then mixed the pasta, pesto and chicken together in the pan (allow the pan to cool before adding pasta to avoid spattering).

Serve immediately. This makes dinner for two and a half. (Ainslie loved the rigatoni because it was big enough for her to slide onto her finger before eating it off. Silly girl.)

1,000 Cranes

Last semester the professor of one of my public finance classes found out he had cancer. During the semester he started chemotherapy. Even though many days he was very tired and in pain because of the chemo, he still came to teach our class and advise us on our projects. He showed incredible courage. As a thank you our class got together to fold 1,000 origami cranes. There is a Japanese legend that says if a person folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane.

This is a picture of some of my classmates giving the cranes to our professor. I think it turn out beautifully. It is an experience I always want to remember.

The Last Ten Years

I am not typically a person who spends a lot of time reminiscing about the past. I actually spend most of my time planning the future. I love having goals and projects. However, a couple of weeks ago, right before finals, Ainslie was sick and had a hard time sleeping one night. While I was rocking her, I was thinking about the last ten years of my life. It made me realize how grateful I am for the opportunities and blessings we have received and proud of the things I have accomplished. I am still excited for the next 10 years, but I am making it a goal to spend a little bit more time being grateful of the last 10.

Here are some highlights:

1999 started dating Josh

2000 moved out on my own

2001 first trip to Europe (Spain, France, Italy)

2002 finished Culinary School

2003 mission in Switzerland

2004 Josh asked me to marry him while we were in NYC

2005 first year of married life, graduated with bachelors in English

2006 traveled to Eastern Europe with Josh (Switzerland,Germany, Prague, Poland, Ukraine, Budapest, Vienna), other trips, worked a dream job (Paralegal at K&Mc)

2007 Had Ainslie and then took her at 6 weeks to Europe (Germany, Greece, Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice)

2008 Finished first half of graduate school, and had lots of opportunties to learn to balance family life, school, church callings, and work.

We will see what other things are in store for this little family. . .

Hairbows and Halloween

Although I like to cook and sew etc., I am not what I would consider crafty. But sometimes I surprise myself.
Some hairbows:
Halloween cards:

Maybe politics and cooking don't mix . . .

I heard about Samak Sundaravej, the prime minister of Thailand, on the radio. Apparently, before he was prime mister he was a famous TV chef, which earned him enough fame to get elected, however that past role is now getting him into trouble. Read here for more info: http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/node/9734

While cooking is my favorite hobby and policy analysis is my chosen field of study, it looks like pursuing them simultaneously as professions might be a bad idea.

On a tangently related note, it turns out the Thai food is awesome. I learned to love it on my mission. It is my understanding that Switerzland is the country with the second best Thai food . . . next to England. (That's a bad joke, but there are quite a few Thailanders in Europe) Tonight I made an easy Coconut Chicken Curry:

1 lb. skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut in bite-sized pieces
1/2 medium onion (optional, but I like it), chopped
1 medium red Bell pepper, chopped

1 medium green Bell pepper, chopped
1 can coconut milk (can use light or regular)
Curry paste

Salt to taste

Preparation:

1) Heat some oil (in the pan, you want a thin coating on the bottom).

2) Chop onion, and add.

3) Chop peppers and add. Stir. Cook until onion is getting soft, if it isn't already.

4) While that is cooking, chop the chicken.

5) Add the curry paste (including the salt).

6) Add the chicken. Stir until almost cooked through.

7) Add the coconut milk. (Note: this makes a fairly soupy curry. If you want it thicker, just add maybe 2/3 of the can.) Bring it to a boil, and simmer for 3 to 5 minutes.

Serve over rice.

Trying My Hand at French Cuisine

I am a little embrassed to admit that before tonight I have never really delved into the world of French cooking. I mean it seems like it would be an obvious starting place since the French pretty much invented culinary arts. But it took Julia Child to inspire me to give it a try, and . . . WOW!

I found this recipe in a "Cooking Light" cookbook, but I did my best to add the fatting, yet tasty things, back in.

Chicken Francais:

Ingredients: 2 eggs, beaten

1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup dry white wine (I used a little apple juice and some dijon mustard for kick)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

8 (4-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon olive oil, divided

Cooking spray

Sauce

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup dry white wine

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Combine the eggs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, white wine, lemon juice, salt, hot pepper sauce, and garlic in a shallow dish. Set aside.

Place each chicken breast half between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound to 1/4-inch thickness. You really do want the breasts a little on the smaller side for this as the very large breasts will pound out to nearly the size of your skillet! If this happens you'll end up cooking the chicken breasts one by one... Once pounded, dredge chicken in flour and dip in the egg mixture.

Heat 1 1/2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add chicken breast halves (don't crowd the pan); cook about 4 minutes on each side or until done. Remove chicken from pan and keep warm. Repeat the procedure with 1 1/2 teaspoons oil and the remaining chicken, wiping the drippings out from the pan between each batch.
After the last cutlet has been cooked, melt butter in pan. Add 1/4 cup wine and 3 tablespoons juice. Bring to a boil; cook for 10 or 20 seconds. Serve over chicken.

I served with with a quick and easy arborio rice salad. I just cooked the rice, added a diced tomato, some red onion and green pepper and tossed in some greek salad dressing, thyme and oregano. Also on the side I cooked up some spinach.

For Dessert:

Apple Tart

1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated crescent dough (such as Pillsbury)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 pounds Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (I used rehydrated food storage apples)

2 1/2 tablespoons honey

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the top:

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup sugar

Combine apples and spices. Place in center of dough and bring up edges. Brush with egg and sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in 350 oven° for 15 to 20 min.

You will be humming La Vie en Rose the rest of the evening.

Bon Appetit!