A Life in Food by real-life Chef Cheryl Bennett
Battered, deep-fried meat on a stick. It is so many kinds of wrong, but I love corndogs.
Watching the hot dog get immersed in thick batter and then plunged into the hot oil as the sweet smell of the cornbread batter turning a deep golden brown fills the air. Pure bliss.
My mouth started to salivate the second I smelled the batter hit the hot oil.
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Homemade herb vinaigrette is one of the easiest things to make. If you are not confident in the kitchen, this is a great place to start getting your feet wet. A handful of ingredients and 5 minutes is all it takes to make something delicious.
Now that Spring is in full swing and the Farmer’s Markets are replete with the good stuff, it’s time to start putting those veggies back into the rotation.
Some people tend to look at salads as the obligatory precursor to the main event. Granted, if someone serves you a bowl of pre-cut lettuce and gloppy dressing, it is barely even that. However, with a little creativity and a blender you can make something that is beautiful, delicious, good for you and even those that tend to resist eating “rabbit food” may even get on board.
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Lemon Tart has always been one of my favorite desserts. Not too sweet, not too tart. Easy, homemade lemon curd fills this from scratch pastry shell. A few peaks of torched meringue finish it off for a perfectly lovely dessert.
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Picture it… Ohio, early 1980’s. A girl and her Momma, glued to the television watching movie stars walk the red carpet. We used to watch the Oscars as if it were a runway show during fashion week. I feigned interest in the actual awards part of the show, but to be perfectly honest I didn’t really care who won “Best Picture”. My Mom was letting me stay up past my bedtime and that was award enough for me.
I have friends who host elaborate Oscar parties and I must admit the thought of it has crossed my mind on more than a few occasions, but considering the size of my shoebox apartment it doesn’t seem to be an option this year.
However, just because I won’t be hosting a gathering doesn’t mean I can’t make some good party food…
I tried to keep it fairly simple, with options that could be served warm or at room temperature. These can also be transported fairly easily if you are a guest bringing a little something to the festivities.
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It may not be 100% authentic Alsatian, but how can you go wrong with three kinds of pork, sauerkraut, apples and a bottle of beer poured over the whole mess?!
Traditionally, Choucroute Garni is made with white wine. However, being the good Midwestern girl that I am, beer seemed the natural way to go. These flavors are more familiar to me… cooking with beer is not exactly a foreign concept. The smell of bratwurst & onions simmering in beer is something that greeted me as I came in the kitchen door of my parents house after school on many afternoons.
This is the kind of meal that you gear up for, like Thanksgiving dinner. I’m in no way suggesting that you make this every week. Like Thanksgiving, this is reserved for once in a while when you need a good stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.
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Every now and then I buy random things and hope I can make something good with the various items that have found their way into my cart. Once in a while I’ll stumble upon something magnificent, on (thankfully rare) occasions it’s been a disaster, in which case the pizzeria is on speed dial and more often than not it’s pretty good, although I’m in no way getting sassy about it…
One of the ingredients that found their way home with me were finger limes.
As I write this, I’m looking through my living room window watching the snowflakes swirl about in the gray sky.
Normally, this would elicit a groan from me but I feel I cannot begrudge Mother Nature a few flakes… it IS January after all and we’ve had more than our fair share of unseasonably warm temperatures.
Catching snowflakes on your tongue is something we all did as kids, but THIS kind of snowflake is much tastier.
A few years ago, I was trying to come up with an idea for a drink that tasted more like dessert than a cocktail. I did, and it was dubbed “The Snowflake” but then… marshmallow vodka came on the scene and I became obsessed with somehow incorporating this into the drink. So, I’ve slightly modified it from it’s original version and made it more of a cocktail.
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This one is for my Momma. It isn’t anything terribly exciting, just damn good. This is the only meal that my Mom actually asks me to cook for her when I’m home and I am more than happy to oblige. For me, there is no meal more soul-satisfying than roast chicken.
It is without a doubt, my favorite meal. I could have it every week and never tire of it.
The way the house smells when it is in the oven, the sound of the skin sizzling (which is exactly what I’m listening to as I write this…) makes my mouth water knowing that in a few moments when it is on my plate, I will sink my teeth eagerly into the perfect bite.
The crunch of the super crispy skin, the fat oozing out and coating my tongue. This is sublime satisfaction… the look of complete and utter joy on my face.
THIS is the meal you serve to the ones you love.
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It is that time of year again when we all resolve to do better, eat better & live better. Life is about balance and although we may be a bit more stringent about our eating habits, every now and then one needs dessert.
Giving in to something a little less detrimental can keep us from going through a midnight fridge raid, faces smeared with chocolate sauce as if it were war paint… and in that crazed state it would be a war in which we had clearly been defeated.
We are all familiar with the pangs of deprivation and quite honestly, I’m not a fan. In lieu of depriving myself from culinary pleasures, I’ll temper them with a better choice.
Pavlovas are the lighter side of sweet. They are a meringue, made from egg whites and a bit of sugar. Granted, there is a billowy layer of whipped cream (and fruit!) piled on top, but if you are being extra good, you can omit the whipped cream… although that will change the dessert entirely.
While pavlovas are not cloyingly sweet, they pair well with fruit that is slightly tart. If you happen to live in a region where fresh passion fruit is available, that is a delicious option. I like pairing this with raspberries as well because they are not overly sweet and their crimson hue looks strikingly beautiful against the stark white of the cream.
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Nothing beats homemade peppermint hot chocolate. Just a handful of ingredients and a few minutes on the stove and you’ll be treated to the best adult hot chocolate you’ve ever had. Lovers of mint and chocolate, this recipe is for you.
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