Category: MISC

CROQUE MADAME at ALWAYS EAT ON THE GOOD CHINA

Chris over at Nibble Me This made Croque Madame recently. It intrigues me so much I have been researching its origins and thought I’d share with you. I LOVE wikipedia – if you have a question, they have an answer!
To understand the Croque Madame we need a bit of history. A croque-monsieur is a hot ham and cheese grilled sandwich. The most typical cheese is gruyère. It originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars. More elaborate versions come coated in a Mornay or Béchamel sauce. The name is based on the verb croquer (“to crunch”) and the word monsieur (“mister”)—the reason behind the combination of the two words is unclear—and is colloquially shortened to croque. While the origins of the croque-monsieur are unknown, there are many speculations on how it was first originated. The croque-monsieur’s first recorded appearance on a Parisian café menu was in 1910. Its earliest published use has been traced back to volume two of Proust’s In search of lost time.
A croque-monsieur served with a fried egg or poached egg on top is known as a croque-madame. The noted French chef Jacques Pepin also makes a version using chicken instead of ham, which he demonstrated in the “Our Favorite Sandwiches” episode on the PBS series (and its coordinating cookbook of the same title) Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home in which he worked with Julia Child. Many dictionaries attribute the name to the egg resembling an old fashioned woman’s hat. According to the Petit Robert dictionary, the name dates to around 1960.

So head on over to ALWAYS EAT ON THE GOOD CHINA for this great and easy recipe!

ESSENTIAL KITCHEN INGREDIENTS

~ Tools, Condiments and Seasonings ~

I’ve been thinking about this category for several days and no matter how you look at it, it is subjective. I mean if I cooked a lot of oriental food I’m sure I’d find a WOK an essential tool, but I don’t so we’ll approach this the same as we did the pantry, we’ll try to apply logic and I’ll list ‘my’ essentials and then you can interpret any way necessary for your household and the meals you prepare.

As for essential tools I have many that I consider truly essential! But, in reality we can truly get by with very few.

I consider a good set of cutting boards, a set of great sharp knives, my cast iron skillet, quality stainless steel pans, spoons, spatulas and tongs a necessity. I try to stay away from most plastics as they do wear quicker and tend to harbor bacteria. I’m still using the same stainless steel tools and cookie sheets I spent a small fortune on 20 years ago, so that expenditure has paid off. The cast iron skillet has been passed down through my hubby’s parents and grandparents and it too is still going strong. I did purchase new heavy gauge stainless steel pots and pans about 10 years ago and they look brand new as stainless cleans so well. I also stay away from all non-stick surfaces as they do wear eventually and I just don’t want that in our food. I do change my cutting boards and rubber spatulas every couple of years just to be on the safe side despite always running them through the dishwasher.

As much as I like all my pampered chef toys, they could all be eliminated by using just what I have listed above. Personally I cannot live without my essential Kitchen Aid stand mixer & hand mixer and my Cuisinart mini food chopper. I have a blender, but only use it to make my home made Creamy Tomato Basil soup. I don’t even own an electric can opener. I do love my slow cooker too and my Magnalite stock pots and roaster, but they too could be substituted with other pots and pans.

Now for seasonings, this too is subjective based on the foods you prepare, but honestly if that recipe you cut out of a magazine calls for Herbs de Provence don’t run out and buy it for a one time recipe. It is a combination of herbs you probably already have on hand. It usually contains rosemary, marjoram, basil, bay leaf and thyme. So you can adjust what you have with your own likes. What I consider essential in the spice cabinet around here is kosher salt, sea salt, white & black pepper, celery salt, garlic salt/powder, basil, thyme, oregano, marjoram, parsley, paprika, cinnamon, apple pie spice, pumpkin pie spice, PURE vanilla, maple sugar, orange rind, bourbon extract, rum extract and vanilla powder.

In the pantry I have flour, bread and cake flour, self rising flour, sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, coconut, golden raisins, cornstarch, baking soda and baking powder, rice, barley, split peas, tapioca, white rice, brown rice and various pastas.

In the way of liquid essentials I have Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey, apple cider vinegar, red wine vinegar, champagne vinegar, olive oil, canola oil, balsamic vinegar and several flavored rice wine vinegars.

In the refrigerator I have mayonnaise, ketchup (both homemade when I have the time), mustard (despite my severe life or death allergy everyone else LOVES it), sun dried tomato pesto, Better than Bouillon chicken and beef bases, fresh lemons & limes and chili sauce on a regular basis.

The real key here is to have what YOU need on hand at all times without a lot of effort.

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CROQUE MADAME

Chris over at Nibble Me This made Croque Madame recently. It intrigues me so much I have been researching its origins and thought I’d share with you. I LOVE wikipedia – if you have a question, they have an answer!

To understand the Croque Madame we need a bit of history. A croque-monsieur is a hot ham and cheese grilled sandwich. The most typical cheese is gruyère. It originated in France as a fast-food snack served in cafés and bars. More elaborate versions come coated in a Mornay or Béchamel sauce. The name is based on the verb croquer (“to crunch”) and the word monsieur (“mister”)—the reason behind the combination of the two words is unclear—and is colloquially shortened to croque. While the origins of the croque-monsieur are unknown, there are many speculations on how it was first originated. The croque-monsieur’s first recorded appearance on a Parisian café menu was in 1910. Its earliest published use has been traced back to volume two of Proust’s In search of lost time.

A croque-monsieur served with a fried egg or poached egg on top is known as a croque-madame. The noted French chef Jacques Pepin also makes a version using chicken instead of ham, which he demonstrated in the “Our Favorite Sandwiches” episode on the PBS series (and its coordinating cookbook of the same title) Julia and Jacques Cooking at Home in which he worked with Julia Child. Many dictionaries attribute the name to the egg resembling an old fashioned woman’s hat. According to the Petit Robert dictionary, the name dates to around 1960.

I made one of each and added mustard for hubby on the ham.



CROQUE MADAME
PER PERSON
2 slices white or whole-wheat sourdough bread
2 ounces Gruyère cheese, sliced into 24-32 1/16-inch-thick slices
3 ounces smoked ham, such as Black Forest, sliced into thick slices
1 JUMBO egg
1 + 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
sea salt, to taste
freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

  • Melt butter in griddle.
  • Place half of the slices of bread in butter and cover them with the cheese slices, making sure they don’t extend past the edges of the bread.
  • Place 2 slices of the ham in an even layer over the cheese, and place the top slice of bread over the ham.
  • Grill the sandwiches, turning once.
  • Place on serving plates.
  • Crack eggs into separate bowls and check that the yolks aren’t broken.
  • In a non-stick skillet, melt half of the butter over medium-high heat, until it starts to bubble.
  • Add eggs into pan, being careful not to break the yolks or crowd the eggs.
  • Add a teaspoon per egg of water to pan, sprinkle the eggs with salt and cover the pan with lid.
  • Cook the eggs for about 3 minutes for a soft-cooked egg and 5-6 minutes if you like your eggs firm.
  • Center a fried egg over each of the grilled sandwiches and sprinkle with pepper.

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CRAB LOUIE with OOMPH!


I bolded the OOMPH ingredients that are
different from my day to day recipe.

CRAB SALAD & HOMEMADE 1000 ISLAND DRESSING
CRAB SALAD
8 ounces Louis Kemp Crab, finely chopped
1 stalk celery, finely chopped
1/3 cup minced green onion
salt and pepper
mayo (about 1/4 cup)
1 teaspoon Frank’s Red Hot Pepper Sauce
Romaine lettuce
Roma tomatoes, sliced
Snap peas, halved
pickled beets, sliced
hard boiled eggs, sliced

  • Wash lettuce, peas and tomatoes. Arrange on plate. Salt and pepper.
  • Mix crab, celery, onion, hot sauce, salt and pepper together until well blended using enough mayonnaise for desired consistency.
  • Place a large scoop of crab salad over the romaine mix.
  • Serve over chopped romaine lettuce, sliced tomatoes and snap peas.
  • Top with dressing.

1000 ISLAND DRESSING
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
3 teaspoons sweet pickle relish
1 heaping tablespoon minced red onion
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

  • In a mini blender blend all ingredients to desired consistency.
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SUBTLE DRUNKEN CHICKEN – no dancing or wobbling!

According to Wikipedia Drunken Chicken is a name given to many different ways of cooking chicken that all involve alcohol. A western version (also known as beer can chicken, dancing chicken or chicken on a throne) is made by standing a prepared chicken upright on a partially filled can of beer and cooking it slowly in a barbecue or oven. The can goes into the opening of the chicken so that the beer evaporates and permeates the cooking chicken. It received the name dancing chicken due to way the chicken wobbles once the beer has evaporated and due to the fact the chicken is flavored with evaporated beer. The wobbling and falling usually indicates the chicken is done This means I already have a drunken chicken recipe with my Tropical Roasted Chicken, but thought I’d try for another!

4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons butter
1 ounce Curacao
1 ounce Bacardi rum
1 bunch green onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 broccoli crown, cleaned and separated
1 can diced garlic & onion tomatoes, drained but reserve juice
salt & pepper to taste
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups egg noodles

  • Pierce each chicken breast several times with a fork.
  • Combine the rum and Curacao in an airtight tupperware.
  • Add chicken and marinade for several hours over overnight.
  • Prepare egg noodles according to package directions.
  • Steam broccoli to JUST tender.

  • In a small saucepan melt 3 tablespoons butter.
  • Sprinkle with flour and make roux.
  • Combine the marinade and reserved tomato juice and add to roux.
  • Cook over medium heat until thickens slightly.

  • Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over a medium heat.
  • Drain chicken, retaining marinade.
  • Saute chicken, garlic and green onions together, salt and peppering to taste.

  • Add tomatoes and heat through.
  • Add broccoli until warmed through.
  • Plate over egg noodles.
  • Pour sauce over top.

HONEY ROASTED CHICKEN

HONEY ROASTED CHICKEN
4 chicken breasts, skin-on chicken
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices bacon, chopped
peanut oil
salt & pepper to taste
1 navel orange
3 tangerines
2 bunches green onions, sliced
1 large Vidalia onion, quartered and quartered again
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 cup dry white wine, just eyeball the amount
1/4 cup good quality orange blossom honey
Crusty bread, to pass at table

Today I had an extra shallot and few strawberries that I threw in for good measure!

  • Wash and dry chicken and season with salt, then refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
  • Preheat oven to 425˚F.
  • Mince garlic.
  • Meanwhile, in a roasting pan or large casserole, toss with tangerines and oranges with onions. Liberally drizzle with peanut oil – enough to thinly coat the oranges and onions (a couple of tablespoons). Season with salt and pepper and scoot the oranges and onions off to the sides of the pan.
  • Arrange chicken in pan and rub with peanut oil to coat the skin. Season chicken with black and red pepper.
  • Top with bacon pieces.
  • Add wine to the pan.
  • Drizzle honey around the pan and place in the oven.
  • Roast 45 minutes or until juices run clear.
  • Serve chicken with oranges and onions, and with pan juices with Cream Cheese Mashed Potatoes.



BUTTERMILK BISCUITS

What makes biscuits rise?
Baking Powder and Baking Soda are both leaveners and when activated create carbon dioxide which produces the rise. Baking Soda aka sodium bicarbonate has been commonly used for 200 years and works by simple chemistry. It’s reaction is immediate, but does not continue once the biscuits are in the oven. Ironically Baking Powder is the main ingredient in Baking Soda, but baking powder also includes an acid or two. Double acting baking powder is the perfect one for biscuits because it has the immediate acting acid as well as the heat activated acid. In order to use baking powder alone you have to use way too much and it dries out the dough. So finding the perfect combination of baking powder and baking soda is the key to tall and fluffy biscuits.

PERFECT TALL & FLUFFY BUTTERMILK BISCUITS  
2 cups flour + 1 cup flour  
1 tablespoon double acting baking powder  
1 tablespoon sugar  
1 teaspoon salt  
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
4 tablespoons butter, diced  
2 tablespoons butter, melted  
1 1/3 cups low-fat buttermilk

  • Preheat oven to 500 degrees.
  • Spray a 9 inch cake pan with PURE.
  • In a food processor pulse dry ingredients several times to combine.
  • Add butter pieces scattered over dry ingredients and pulse until crumbly.
  • Transfer to a medium bowl.
  • Stir in buttermilk. (Dough will be wet and lumpy).
  • Spray a 1/4 cup measure with PURE.
  • In a mixing bowl add the remaining 1 cup flour.
  • Drop the dough 1/4 cup at a time into the flour.
  • Shape into 12 balls. Shaking off excess flour.
  • Arrange balls (9 around the perimeter and 3 in the center) in the pan.
  • Brush tops of dough with melted butter.
  • Bake 5 minutes.
  • Reduce oven temperature to 450 degrees.
  • Bake another 15 minutes.
  • Cool 2 minutes.
  • Invert biscuits into a clean towel, turn right side up breakaing them apart and cool another 5 minutes.

final blog signature. ♥

CEMETERIES & WEEKEND FLOWERS & COLOR CARNIVAL

I just needed to get out for awhile today and was really hoping to run across one of those roadside vendors for some fresh strawberries. I didn’t run across any strawberries, but did find a couple of interesting cemeteries.


When I ran across this first cemetery, I expected to find that it was quite old. While it was quite old, it also had several recent burials. I just don’t know what my draw is towards cemeteries, but I find them fascinating.


This next cemetery I ran across was also quite old, but with recent burials. What really surprised me was to find that it was sooooooooooooooooooo overgrown!








Now the only thing buried here besides these bulbs might be a pet or two, but the flowers are loving it. I just love irises!



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Chocolate Snowdrop Cookies – Simple Saturday

Attention chocolate lovers – if you want a delicious, soft, gooey, rich cookie these are for you! They are fancy enough for a holiday cookie tray yet easy enough to make anytime. My kids call them little chocolaty bites of heaven.


Chocolate Snowdrop Cookies
Recipe from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

  • 1 package devil’s food cake mix with pudding
  • 2 1/4 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
  • 1 egg
  • 1/3 cup confectioners’ sugar for decoration



Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350
  2. Combine cake mix, whipped topping and egg; mix well (mixture will be sticky).
  3. Drop 1 inch sized balls of dough into confectioners’ sugar; roll slightly to form uniform size balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes. Remove to racks to cool. Store in tightly covered container.

Can’t get any more simple than this can it? Enjoy!

Previously posted at Seaside Simplicity

Pizza Casserole: Lovin’ From The Oven

This recipe was originally meant for the slow cooker, but after making it, I realized it would have been a lot easier to simply bake it.  Any crock pot recipe that isn’t easy, that makes you cook two or three things separately, just shouldn’t be a crock pot recipe in my opinion. So that being said, the pictures you are about to see take place in a slow cooker.   You will have to use your imagination.  (Tamy, this would look great in your new white roaster!)

Pizza Casserole: 
1 package egg noodles, cooked
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (a combo of beef and pork would be great)
1/2 onion, chopped
1 jar spaghetti sauce
1 small can mushrooms
1 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
+ your favorite pizza toppings (1 cup ham or pepperoni, green peppers, black olives, etc)
3 cups each shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese (I added some Provolone, too)
Cook the hamburger with the onion.  Combine the meat with the spaghetti sauce, mushrooms, and Italian seasoning. 

For Crockpot: Spray crock with PAM.  Layer the meat sauce, then noodles then pizza toppings then cheese three times.  This completely filled my large crock pot.  Cook on low 3-4 hours.
For Oven: Spray a very large casserole or maybe two 9 X 13 pans with PAM and layer 2 or 3 times like you would in the Crockpot.  Cover with foil and bake 350 degrees for 40 minutes or until cheese is melted and all is heated through.  (Note: you could eat one and freeze one before you baked it)