Just and Aside

Take sliced turkey and sharp cheddar cheese and put it on either side of a leftover hamburger bun. Run it under the broiler until the cheese is bubbly and the turkey is warm. Remove from the oven and add shredded lettuce and tomato slices. Douse with Come Back Sauce. Can you say delicious?

Let me say again, I will always keep that sauce in the fridge!

Childhood Redoux

Tonight was another of those kinda frantic meal prep nights. It may have been caused by my total lack of prior preparation , but I doubt it. I think the convergence of spices in my cabinet and the electrical pulses from the fridge created some break in the space time continuum, causing me to run to the Pig at nearly 7:30 to gather the ingredients for the impending dinner. At least that is the story I am sticking with.

I had no idea what to cook tonight but whatever it was had to be easy and preferably something I had on hand, but then I remembered I don't keep real food on hand. If you want a can of coconut milk or some red curry paste, call me and I can hook you up. Want capers packed in salt? Got it covered! Going to die if you don't have immediate access to food grade lavender? I am your go to guy. I have 10 pounds of flour always, at least 5 pounds of sugar. Every condiment known to man is at my disposal, but...Need lettuce? Thawed meats or chicken? Fresh beans? Uh not likely to have it.

I admit I love the European method of daily shopping and would love to walk 2 blocks with my little basket and wind through the local shops to gather what I need for the day, instead of driving to Publix or the Pig and pushing a huge grocery cart through the store. It begs to be filled so I do my duty and start filling. Oh Rice a Roni is bogo. I must get it even though we don't like it. Cheeze It's the same buy one get one thing. Into the basket they go and I am happy as a clam until I have a nearly full cart and realize I still don't have a blooming thing for supper.

Tonight I went with an actual list and discovered something amazing. If i have a list and it's late I buy only what is on the list. Well what was on the list plus a pack of pork chops because they were pretty and on sale. Prior to hitting the store I did an emergency quick cookbook look -see. The first book I pulled out ( without even looking at the cover was the Emeril Lagasse cookbook "There's a Chef in My Family" . It was bought several years ago when Son3 was first learning to be self sufficient. I spent about 2 minutes looking through it and found a quick simple recipe that I have never made before. Trust me, I have made Chicken parm often but it has always been a traditional "pound the breasts into cutlets, bread and saute" type thing. This was a cleaner, easier version of the old standard.

Emeril Lagasse's kid friend version Chicken Parmesan Emeril Style .

4 boneless Chicken breasts
2 teaspoons Baby Bam
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 C. Emerils Kicked up tomato sauce or jar of your favorite brand
of red pasta sauce ( Duh make it or buy it? Buy!)
1/4 lb. Mozzarella cheese cut into 4 equal portions ( 4 slices of already sliced mozzarella)
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese ( again the green cylinder stuff)

!/2 lb cooked fettuccine

preheat over to broil

Season each chicken breast with the Baby Bam* (Dorky herb blend with no heat so little people can think they have something special.) I opted for traditional Italian herbs and salt but you choose what you want. Heat the olive oil in an oven safe saute pan and warm over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook on one side for about 4 minutes. Turn it and cook on the other side for about 2 minutes.put about 1/4 cup of the red sauce on each chicken breast and top it with the mozzarella cheese. Then sprinkle with the Parmesan. Run it under the broiler for about 3 minutes until the cheeses are hot and bubbly.

Serve over the cooked fettuccine with a side salad and garlic bread.


To be honest this tasted pretty good. Insead of the baby bam, I threw some finely chopped fresh basil, some oregano, minced garlic, salt and pepper on the chicken before sauteing. I used Classico tomato and basil sauce because we like it. It is not sweet and is full of flavor. We all thought the mozzarella was overkill and will leave ti off next time, but the Parmesan melted then had a few crispy bits at the edges. It was very good . This might one of those meals that you should always have the ingredients on hand. I will make it again but will leave off the mozzarella.

Hopefully I will never be in the same situation I was tonight where I had to run buy stuff to cook quickly, but who am I kidding. Most likely I will repeat the process ...tomorrow.




* Baby Bam
3 Tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons of each of the following: salt, dried parsley, onion powder, garlic powder
1 teaspoon of each of the following: ground black pepper, dried oregano, dried basil, dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon celery salt.

Add all ingredients to a medium sized bowl. Stir everything together with a wooden spoon to mix well. Store in an airtight container for 3 months.



If you have a little person in your midst who would like to learn to cook the Emeril books are real gems. He does not dumb it down and use many prepared foods. Instead he has very easy to follow instructions for simple yet real food. Son3 learned how to cook using these. Better than that, a friend with a newly married daughter saw them and thumbed through them at my house one day. She immediately went out and bought both of the Emeril's" There's a Chef in My " cookbooks . I have no idea if she is still using them but according to her mother the books may not have turned her into a mini Martha Stewart, they at least have her where she can put a complete meal on the table.

I forgot to take a picture so I will have to recreate it from leftovers tomorrow, but right now it's late and I need sleep.

Ciao

Y'all Come Back Now! Heah?

Today was the perfect day for football in the South. The temperate day with a beautiful blue sky and of course the Crimson Tide on tv could only mean one thing...Food Orgy! I actually cooked breakfast this morning. (a very rare occurrence) Since I normally do not eat right out of the chute each day I was not really hungry (at all) when the " football is on right now so that means food is needed" rush hit. Fortunately I had thought ahead and right after the breakfast dishes were in the dishwasher I started cooking a dutch oven filled with sloppy joe's and a small batch of cupcakes. (I did mention the dips and chips to go with said joe's and cakes didn't I?) I am not exactly certain when the feasting began but I am pretty sure it was with ESPN's Game Day prior to Auburn's 11 ish kickoff. I lost count of the number of eating experiences everyone had (all at different times) but at some time tonight after the Georgia/South Carolina game the "What's for Dinner" question was asked. With all the other food already ingested the only thing I wanted was a salad. Since Son3 was out for a little social activity The Hub reluctantly agreed to it. He is sometimes less than overwhelmed with the idea of just a salad for the evening meal. He has adopted the John Pinette stance. "Salad is a promise something good is going to come."

Fortunately there had been a surge of pins on Pinterest about the famed Mississippi Come Back Sauce. When I first saw it there was this small ding in the back of my head that recognized the name but I couldn't remember where I had heard of it before.Finally I remembered it was in an old Sweet Potato Queen's book. I had to hunt to find it , then had to search through several until I finally found the correct book. Lucky for me I made it this morning while I was making some dips for the games.

Hal and Mal's Come Back Sauce from The Sweet Potato Queens Book of Love

(For the record I seriously doubt this is the actual recipe from Hal and Mal's. If I had a restaurant I would share a recipe that was close but I would also leave out some particular ingredient that would make it good but not quite the same. If Hal and Mal are smart enough to run a successful brew pub they are smart enough to be a tiny bit deceptive when "sharing".)

2 cup mayonnaise ( For the love of all things Holy, use Dukes)
1 cup ketchup
1 cup chili sauce
1 cup vegetable oil
1 onion,minced
juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon pepper
2 teaspoons dry mustard
2 teaspoons salt

Mix everything together and pour into a wide mouth jar with a lid. let it set for 24 hours then enjoy as a dressing, with seafood, as a dip with french fries or anywhere you would normally use mayo. ( I can't wait to try this on a turkey sandwich)

What I did differently: I did not want a heavy garlic flavor so I used just 1 large clove of garlic. I minced both the garlic and the onion into a super fine mince. If you did not want to go to all the trouble of mincing I don't see why you couldn't just use a blender or food processor. I couldn't find the dry mustard easily and did not want to dig through all my spice jars so I just squirted about 2 teaspoons of regular yellow mustard in it. The rest I followed to a "t" except I don't actually measure anything.


The Verdict: Though it is basically just a gussied up version of thousand island dressing it was delicious. The salad I made was just mixed lettuces, green zebra tomatoes, red pepper strips, scallions and a few cubes of a sharp cheddar cheese. The dressing absolutely made the salad beyond delicious. ( And I didn't even wait the full twenty four hours for the flavors to marry.)

As I was sitting here typing Son3 returned with the remnants of food he had picked up at McD's on his way home. I begged for a couple of fries so I could preform a scientific test using the sauce for dipping. It is so much better than ketchup!

This is something that I will be keeping in my fridge all the time. I am not sure how long it will last ( shelf life) but I will keep tasting it ( cause I am unselfish like that) so I can let you know about how long it stays "good". I think when this batch is gone I will try making a much smaller amount and make it often. I never want to be without this!

p.s.I see the need for putting it in a wide mouth jar. You're going to want a big spoon to fit in it so you can ladle out a boatload of this deliciousness.

pp.s Once again Blogger will not let me post a picture. As soon as it cooperates with me, I will add it.

It; was late, I had chicken and nothing sounded good

What do you do when you rush in at 7:10 and need to have supper on the table in roughly 30 minutes? I had boneless chicken breasts in the fridge and 2 packs of yellow rice in the pantry, so the only question was what to do to it to make it taste good ( Quite frankly I could not bear another broiled chicken with yellow rice and green beans meal)

I decided to do a quick Google search for some delicious chicken recipe and came up blank. In fact nearly every recipe I found with the words quick and delicious took me to something made with cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup. Delicious??? Really??? I thumbed through a couple of old cookbooks I inherited or picked up for a quarter at a yard sale. You know those Favorite Recipes of ( Fill in the blank here. Any church group or organization would work) I have no idea which cookbook this was, for it had no cover and nothing identifying it on the inside of the book. In addition to the aforementioned ingredients I also had 2 cans of tomatoes and okra that I found in the back of the pantry. I decided maybe a chicken gumbo of sorts if I could find a quick and easy recipe. So that was my original search through the cookbook Well I did not find a gumbo but instead found a creole recipe and I seemed to have most of the ingredients on hand. So here goes!

Chicken Creole From some group cookbook from somewhere

Enough oil to coat the bottom of a deep skillet ( Gotta love a cookbook that uses the word skillet)
4 medium chicken breast halves, skinned, boned, and cut into 1inch strips o 1 can tomatoes, cut up
1 cup chili sauce
1 large green peppers, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh basil or 1 teaspoon dried
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt




Directions
1.Put the oil in the bottom of the skillet and heat the pan over high heat. Cook chicken in hot skillet, stirring, for 3-5 minutes, or until no longer pink. Reduce heat and add tomatoes and their juice,chili sauce, green pepper, celery, onion, garlic, basil, parsley, crushed red pepper, and salt. Bring to boiling; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

What I did differently: First off I did not want chicken strips, because I was serving it on the rice I wanted it to feel more substantial. I cut it in chunks about the size of a standard ice cube. I like the visual weight it gave. Secondly I cut the pepper in strips because Son3 hates bell peppers and it is easier for him to separate them if they are larger. Ditto with the onions. I minced the celery finely because The Hub does not like big chucks of cooked celery. With everyone's oddities taken care of I started tossing things in the pot. Chicken followed by the onions followed by the pepper, followed by the celery and garlic. I prefer the veggies to saute a little rather than just stew. Instead of the tomatoes I tossed in 2 cans of tomatoes and okra ( Because it was already out of the pantry and opened when I found the recipe) I did not have any chili sauce ( I am assuming this means that stuff that is on the top shelf near the ketchup in a grocery store) so I punted and added 1 small can of tomato sauce, about a tablespoon of sugar to sweeten it a little and red pepper flakes. I stirred it in to blend and while stirring added the remaining seasonings. I put the lid on the pan and let it cook for about 15 minutes on a medium heat.

When I took the lid of the yellow rice I was in for quite a surprise ( You know the yellow rice in the foil packs) Turns out it was not yellow rice at all. It was yellow all right but it had none of the traditional saffron flavor. It was loaded with garlic,cayenne and additional spices. I think maybe that particular run of rice mix had the flavor and packaging mixed up. Lucky for us I was using it as a base for the Chicken Creole. The heat and spices in the rice really only enhanced the taste. A simple green salad and some tomato wedges and the meal was made. It was a hit and now we have one more way to cook chicken when time is tight.

This is something I will do again, but probably not too often. I think it would get old and boring if we had it much so I will keep it as a "by request" item.


p.s I have a picture but Blogger will not let me add it right now. I will try later

The Best Broccoli You have Ever Eaten

I would like to claim credit for the title of this entry but I am afraid I just can't. This is the broccoli that has been floating around Pinterest all day and since I am trying to eat 5 veggies each day, it seemed like as good a day to try it as any. ( Especially needed today since I was 2 vegetable servings short for the day and we had planned on having spaghetti for supper. A spaghetti dinner here usually means spaghetti a green salad and maybe a roll, so adding the broccoli was a Bohemian element and was met with huge resistance from the start. Of course unless someone else is willing to cook I get to make whatever I want.)

The Pinterest link I followed took me to a blog called The Amateur Gourmet. After reading his post it seems he lifted it from Ian Garten ( The Barefoot Contessa)
Not being a piss-ant, just trying to credit what is due. As if stealing from his blog were not enough I also lifted his picture of his broccoli. ( I forgot to charge my phone and have no idea where the real camera is) His is much prettier than my pic would have been anyway.

The Best Broccoli You Ever Ate

Preheat oven to 425.

Cut 4 to 5 pounds of broccoli cut into florets. (not too small though) Wash and dry it completely. ( I used the salad spinner then blotted with a clean cotton dish towel)

Put the broccoli onto a cookie sheet. Toss with olive oil, salt and pepper.About 5 tablespoons olive oil ( I used ev cause I like the heavy olive taste)1/2 teaspoon sea salt and a few turns of the pepper mill. ( I put everything in a bowl and tossed it before putting it on the cookie sheet because it coats it more thoroughly.) Take 4 cloves of garlic (peeled and thinly sliced) and add to the pan tossing to coat. ( Again, this went into my bowl to toss with the broccoli)

Bake for about 20 minutes until the broccoli is cooked through and some brown caramelized bits are on the florets. Remove from the oven and zest a lemon over the broccoli. Squeeze the juice from the lemon over it also ( At this point I had dumped everything back into the pyrex mixing bowl. Add about 1 1/2 tablespoons more olive oil , 3 tablespoons of toasted pine nuts ( yes I have pine nuts on hand) 1/3 cup freshly grated Parm ( in my world that means shake it out of the plastic thing) and 2 tablespoons of thin strips of fresh basil.

I had no idea it was going to be this delicious. Son3 had been complaining that adding broccoli to a spaghetti meal was the best way to ruin perfectly good spaghetti. Though he hated to admit it he claimed it was the best broccoli he had ever eaten and it went well with the pasta. The olive and basil were complimentary flavors with the spaghetti sauce, and the roasted broccoli had a sweetness to it, that paired perfectly with the lemon zest. Wow! I will do this again and do it often.

But poor Son3. I am going to try this next with brussel sprouts!



I

It's Freezing Today

Ok it's not really freezing, but it has been very delightful for August in the South. This morning honestly felt like a fall morning and was a great day to sit on the deck with a cup of coffee. But the freezing thing has nothing at all to do with the temperature. I spent the day (Ok not really the day but at least a few hours) cooking for the freezer.

When school starts back and Son3 has an erratic late schedule I like to have meals on the table when he comes in. It is never a problem if I am home a few hours before he gets here, but every day is different and it is so nice to have something in the freezer to fall back on.

This afternoon I was getting ingredients out for supper and realized I was going to use 1/2 of 3 different types of peppers, part of an onion and would have to break a new bulb of garlic apart. I was trying to think of something really good to do with the remaining peppers and garlic when the light bulb in my head went off! Fix some picadillo. It is one of Will's favorites and when I surprise him next week with it he will be thrilled.

Picadillo is a Cuban beef hash that we first had at The Columbia in Tampa. They had a little gift shop and it had a big old fat Columbia Cookbook for purchase. Of course it came home with me and inside was a recipe for the picadillo. I do not think for a minute this is the exact way they make it ( If I had a restaurant I would give out recipes and leave out a couple of ingredients that would not make the recipe fail, but would alter it slightly from the restaurant. There is no need to go back if you can make it exactly like it at home) but it is close enough to be delicious. Since I have made this on a few occasions it does not count as a new recipe, but it is too good to keep to myself.

Picadillo The Columbia Restaurant Spanish Cookbook

2 pounds boneless beef ( preferably chuck) trimmed of all excess fat and ground ( This =2 pounds very lean ground chuck in my world)
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup onion finely chopped
2 large green peppers finely chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
2 teaspoons salt
freshly ground pepper to taste
4 bay leaves
6 medium firm ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup small pimento stuffed olives (I chop mine finely cause I don't want a big bite of olive)
1/4 cup seedless raisins ( I mince this finely for the same reason as the olives)
1 tablespoon white vinegar
1/4 cup burgundy

I know this seems like a lot but it goes together so fast. I also know you will see raisins and olives and think OMG how horrible! This is just one of those things you have to trust me about. It is delicious and I can't explain the flavor magic but it works

Heat oil to hot but not smoking in a 12 inch skillet. Saute' the onions and peppers until they are soft but not browned. Add the tomatoes and garlic. Stir until most of the liquid has evaporated. Add the ground beef, oregano, bay leaves and cumin. Stir until the meat is no longer red. Add salt, pepper, vinegar, raisins, olives and wine. Cook at a low temperature for about 15 minutes. Traditionally this is served with fluffy white rice. Serves 4-6 HUGE portions.

The night we have this I will post pictures. I froze this in 2 different containers for 2 meals.

The second meal I cooked for the freezer was Hungarian Goulash. I had a big mess of ground beef left and had to find something to do with it. (Reminder to self: NEVER freeze 3 pounds of ground beef in one package again)

I looked through a couple of cookbooks with little or no inspiration, so I turned to Google and did a search something like : freezer food using ground beef. Voila, up popped a recipe for Goulash and I had everything on hand so that kind of sealed the deal.
Hungarian Goulash courtesy of Google http://busycooks.about.com/od/groundbeefrecipes/r/oldfashionedgoulash.htm

Now I will be the first to admit I have never eaten Goulash before so I have no idea if this is good or bad, but I did taste a little bit of it and it tasted fine. Again I have no past Goulash experience to compare this to.

Hungarian Goulash


1 pound ground beef
2 onions, chopped
1 (10-ounce) can condensed tomato soup
2 (14-ounce) cans diced tomatoes with garlic, undrained ( I used 1 can of crushed tomatoes and added 2 cloves minced fresh garlic)
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1-3 teaspoons paprika, to taste
1 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
3/4 cup water
3 cups rotini pasta
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley, if desired

Preparation:
In very large skillet, cook ground beef and onion until meat is browned and onion is tender, stirring to break up meat. Drain well.

Add soup, diced tomatoes with their liquid, vinegar, sugar, paprika, marjoram, salt, pepper, and water and cook for 8-10 minutes until mixture starts to boil, stirring frequently.

Add pasta and bring back to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered, stirring frequently, until pasta is tender, about 12-18 minutes. Sprinkle with fresh parsley, if using, and serve.


As I said this tastes fine, but I will withhold final judgment until we actually eat it for supper. I think the flavors might meld and develop over time.

Will also post a picture of it then.

Tonight we had another Cuban inspired dish.

Arroz con Pollo via the Columbia Cookbook

3 pound fryer cut in pieces
2 onions chopped
1 green pepper chopped
2 medium tomatoes peeled seeded and chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 bay leaf
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups long grain cooking rice
few threads saffron
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup small peas ( can use frozen)
4 asparagus tips
2 roasted red peppers cut in strips
1/4 cup dry white wine

In skillet saute the chicken in heated oil until it is golden. Remove Chicken and place in a casserole ( very large dish) I used a large enamel coated cast iron Dutch oven. In the same oil saute' the onion, peppers, tomato and garlic for about 5 minutes. Pour it over the chicken. Add the chicken broth, saffron, salt bay leaf and rice . When mixture begins to boil, cover and bake in a 350 degree over for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with wine and garnish with peas, asparagus and pepper strips.

I had 5 boneless chicken breasts I thawed this morning and rather than going to the grocery store for a fryer I used them. I also used brown jasmine rice,so I did not add the saffron. I thought it might be an unattractive color if I added the yellow to it. I made a marinade and let the chicken swim in it for about 2 hours before I cooked it.

1 cup sour orange juice (found in the Latin food sections of some grocery stores)
12 peppercorns, ground
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon oregano
salt
1/4 cup olive oil ( I did not use the oil because I was going to be cooking the chicken in oil. If i were grilling it I would have put the oil in the marinade.)

Mix all together and pour into a ziplock bag to cover the chicken. Let rest in the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before cooking.

I had no asparagus tips so they were left out and I had maybe a tablespoon of frozen peas. Instead of using them for garnish I just stirred them into the rice mix. I would love to post a picture here, but I forgot until we were about midway through. No problem. I thought I would just arrange the left overs in a bowl and shoot it. That would have required more leftover than just about 1/4 cup of rice. There is no chicken,no peas, no peppers...nothing but rice!

I am sorry I don't have one, but I guess the no leftover thing is a testament to how delicious this is. There is a reason Cuban and Thai foods are my favorite. I guess it is because of the multi layered flavors that sing inside my mouth

For dessert I continued on a Cuban theme. Doing an internet search I found a few Cuban cupcake recipes but I didn't want to go to that much trouble so I kind of incorporated ideas from a couple of them to make a single dessert.

Make your favorite one layer cake recipe ( Jiffy yellow cake mix) and fill paper lined cupcake tins with the batter ( Can anyone actually get 12 cupcakes from a single layer mix?) While the cupcakes were baking I put 1/2 cup of sugar. 1/4 cup of water and 3 tablespoons of dark rum in a small saucepan. I brought it to a boil and let it cook for about 2 minutes to burn the alcohol off, but would still have the delicious rum flavor. I took it off the heat and let it cool while the cake continued cooking. When I took the cupcakes out of the oven, I quickly poked holes through the cupcake and poured the now warm syrup into the holes. ( Make sure the muffin tin is positioned where drips will not matter because it will drip. )

The cakes were frosted with a basic chocolate butter cream frosting . If you wanted to use prepared frosting it would work just fine. I had none so I had to make it from scratch. It was a good and quick dessert. I think I will do it again but not for a while.

Chopped!!!!!!!!!!!

The other day at the Cajun Cleaver, in addition to last nights beautiful tuna they had 2 huge veal chops in the cooler. I looked at them and oh how delicious they did look, then I looked at the price and walked away and paid for the lovely tuna. We had almost made it out of the door when the chops screamed at me. "You know you want us! Come back!!!!!" Being one who always obeys talking veal, I decided to go ahead and buy them.

I figured by the total cost, the chops were a little over a pound each, more than enough for the 3 of us. They were about 2 inches thick and I had already decided a couple of slices would be as much as I would eat. My dad is currently out of town and Mom is lonely, so I invited her to eat with us. Even with the additional diner there was still more than enough veal for all of us. The veal was so beautiful I wanted it to be the focus of the meal and decided to serve it with new potatoes and a tossed salad. Simple fare, but then the more I thought about it the more I wanted to amp up the flavor of the veal without doing something screwy to it. One of our favorite restaurants in New York has a delicious veal picatta but I was not about to cut the chops and pound them flat so i decided to do a simple beurre blanc sauce with some sauteed mushrooms thrown in just because I had them.

Officially and for the record I have cooked veal and I have cooked veal loin chops but have never tried the rib chops before. So I am counting this as a new recipe even though it is more or less just instructions on how to properly cook a rib chop. The beurre blanc is a standard and I make it often. It is a wonderfully flexible sauce ( but a tiny bit touchy) you can add or subtract to or from with slight differences in taste.

Beurre Blanc The Gourmet Cookbook edited by Ruth Reichel


1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup white vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
1 tablespoon cold water
1 stick butter cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper

Combine wine, vinegar, and shallots in a small heavy pan. Bring to a simmer over a moderate heat and cook until the liquid is reduced by half. Remove from heat and stir in water. Return to heat that has been reduced to low. Whisk in the butter one piece at a time. Make sure each piece is melted and incorporated before adding the next piece. Lift the pan occasionally to cool the mixture. it needs to be hot enough to melt the butter to a creamy state but not hot enough for the butter to separate. ( It takes about 10 or so minutes of stirring to get to this state).

I sauteed some baby portabellos that I had sliced fine, let them cool and then added them to the finished beurre blanc

The Perfect Chop

I got the recipe? for this from Peter the Butcher at Sanagan's Meat Locker (Youtube video)

Following Peter's instructions I rubbed olive oil on both sides of the chops. I put a small amount of oil in the bottoms of a large skillet and put the pan on the burner of my stove top. When the pan reached a medium high heat I put them in the pan and let them cook for 2 minutes then turned them. I left them on the heat for 2 more minutes and then put the pan in a 375 degree oven for 13 minutes. When I took them out of the oven I let them rest in the pan for about 5 minutes. After carving them at the table I put the mushroom beurre blanc on the meat. Unbelievable!!!!! After we took the first bite I am pretty sure we heard music from Heaven. I can't wait to try this again, unfortunately I will have to wait quite a while. The wallet suffered a lot of damage buying them, but I will make it happen at least a couple of times a year. ( Yes it was that delicious)

Chow Ciao