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Dutch Puff Pancake – My Momma’s Recipe

May 11, 2012

My First Love.

Look at that gorgeous kid… and the baby isn’t bad either! That woman in the pic still makes the best dutch puff pancake in the Western Hemisphere.

The first love of my life: my Mom. As little girls, we often play “house” and pretend to be Mommies to our baby dolls and try to emulate our own mothers. As teenagers, we are less inclined to compare ourselves to our Moms. As adults we come full circle, realizing that “Mom” is a person just like we are who had worries and struggles, peacefulness and triumphs . Mine, like most, had to balance job and kids, errands, our activities, laundry, blah, blah, blah… and yet still found time to take us to movies or little excursions. We didn’t have much, but we didn’t know it. She made the most of what we did have and rarely did we feel like we had “gone without”.

One of my all-time favorite memories, which my Mom & I still giggle about to this day… Ok, this is going to date me a little, but you regular readers already know I turned 40 recently, so here we go:

Do you remember that show from the ’80’s, “V”?! It was about alien-lizards disguised as humans living on Earth. We LOVED this show. It sounds ridiculous, but it was the early ’80’s…
Well, one night we were in our Chevrolet Chevette hatchback (yes, a Chevette hatchback… named “Skeeter”, btw) and there were radio and television towers with flashing red lights on the road. They looked like they were so high up in the sky to me as a little kid… like they could have been lights on an alien spacecraft!

All of a sudden, my Mom hunches down over the steering wheel and starts saying “Oh no, they’re gonna get us!” Well, you can imagine our reaction! My brother & I started screeching & laughing like crazy and she just kept egging us on…

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Guilty Pleasures…

April 28, 2012

There was this place in the mall growing up called the Corn Dog Factory. Perhaps some of you from my neck of the woods remember it?!

Thinking back, my irrational love of corn dogs makes me question whether I am descended from carnies. Hmmm… Slightly disturbing thought, but moving on…
Battered, deep-fried meat on a stick, it is so many kinds of wrong, but I loved them.

An obligatory stop to my deep fried heaven had to be made on nearly every visit to the mall. I was even rather particular about the ketchup to mustard ratio. (3:1, BTW…same as a vinaigrette)

Standing in front of the counter, watching the hot dog get immersed in thick batter and then plunged into the hot oil…
The sweet smell of the cornbread batter turning a deep golden brown induced a Pavlovian kind of reaction.
My mouth started to salivate the second I smelled the batter hit the hot oil.

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Cheaper than Therapy…

April 25, 2012

Songwriters often say that they do their best work when they are going through something difficult in their lives. They channel those feelings and pour them into lyrics that move us to our very core.
I don’t write music… I sequester myself to the confines of my kitchen.

Being in the kitchen is cathartic for me, it always has been. Looking back, I’ve realized that it is one of the reasons I love baking.

It brings me comfort in times of sadness, calms me when I’m stressed or anxious, reassures me when I’ve had a particularly rough day.

Baking is my therapy and let’s face it… it’s cheaper than $150 dollars an hour and much tastier.

I find solace in the kitchen, the familiar smells and sounds, the warmth of the oven… being able to “shut off” my brain and do things on autopilot also brings a certain sense of comfort.

Once again, I find myself puttering about in the kitchen late at night when the rest of world is fast asleep.

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Let’s Do Brunch

April 2, 2012

Brunch. This word can illicit sheer dread if you work in a restaurant.
It is by far the least favorite service to work. For the average person who has no idea of what it entails to work a brunch service, it conjures up an image of a leisurely, relaxing meal with a few bloody marys.

Meanwhile… behind the scenes, bleary-eyed line cooks are getting food out of the kitchen as fast as their exhausted bodies will let them.I’d be lying if I said that I didn’t miss it once in awhile, but I’ll also tell you I don’t miss it enough to do it again.
I would much rather be the one eating brunch instead of the one making it at this point in life.

That being said, I very much enjoy making brunch at home. It happens so infrequently that it is almost like a treat. Yes, I did just say making brunch is a treat… Some of you are questioning whether or not I’ve already had a few bloody marys I’m sure.

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Pavlova with Fresh Raspberry Coulis

January 2, 2012

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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Viva Espana!

July 9, 2011

I love Spain. I love almost everything about it. The energy, the food, the language, flamenco, the art, architecture, the history, the culture, the TAPAS, etc… I have had a near obsession with all things Spanish for a very long time. The first time I set foot on Spanish soil, it almost seemed like I was home. I know that is an odd statement, but it is honestly how I felt. It was as if I belonged there. From that moment on, it has been a long-distance love affair. Spain is where I truly fell in love with food.

I remember vividly the first time I had tapas. I was at an outdoor restaurant/tapas bar called Qu-Qu in Barcelona next to one of the main roads. I still have a paper-wrapped toothpick from there that I keep in my jewelry box. It’s been 12 or 13 years since that first trip and it left an impression on my soul that I still feel today. I had never tasted anything like the food I had on that trip and it resonated with me in a way I had never experienced before. The food was completely foreign to a Midwestern girl from a small town, but reading the menu and ordering things I had never seen or tasted before was exhilarating to me. I almost felt like I had never really tasted food before. I remember exactly what I had that day.

Patatas Bravas
Croquetas de jamon
Mahon & Manchego cheeses
Jamon Iberico
Tortilla Espanola

(I can’t figure out how to add the proper accents/tildes here, sorry!)

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17th of May

May 17, 2011

These days my neighborhood is primarily Italian, but rewind a couple of decades and you’d see a very different picture. A few blocks over from where I live now used to be Scandinavian, specifically Norwegian. The streets used to be lined with Norwegian bakeries, stores, restaurants, etc. but unfortunately the majority of these have disappeared. However, all is not lost… every year there is a 17th of May parade, which is a national holiday in Norway marking the signing of their constitution and the best part (besides the food) are the people dressed in traditional clothing showing off their Norwegian pride.

photos courtesy of Keith Alexander

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