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Month: April 2014

  • ”I don’t eat to live….I live to dine”

    Bernice Green

  • A Quickie…..Crab Bisque

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    The Crab Bisque at Nordstrom’s Bistro Cafe has me wanting more. It’s the kind of soup that leaves you scraping the bottom of the bowl. I had a cup with my lunch today. Can we say ”YUM”? It’s served with what they call a gazpacho and a parmesan crostini. The gazpacho was a brilliant addition to the soup. The acidity of the tomatoes helped to cut the richness of the soup making it the perfect blend. If you’re lucky enough to have a Nordstrom’s near I highly recommend stopping by the Bistro Cafe and ordering a bowl (not the cup) of Crab Bisque.

  • Is the Doctor In???

    So many people knock using jar sauce…well I use jar sauce.  I don’t have the time to make sauce from scratch, so I do the next best thing…. I doctor up a jar of sauce. Now you may be asking what do I mean by doctoring a jar of sauce?  Well we can compare it to surgery…we just aren’t cutting up any people.  First things first you’re gonna need a jar of sauce. I went with Ragu because it was on sale.

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    Now here’s where the cutting begins.  I started by dicing onions, bell peppers and portabella mushrooms.

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    I then took about a pound of ground beef and browned it off. Added some sausage and some diced bacon.

    IMAG1044After I added the diced vegetables along with a can of diced tomatoes ( you see I like a chunky sauce).

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    Now what most people don’t understand about cooking is that it is not a true science. It’s about what you like and how it makes you feel.  You have to find out what works for you and your palette and make it WORK.

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    I love, love , love a lot of garlic ( especially in Italian food). Maybe that doesn’t work for you ( guess what don’t add it).  After that’s done I added the jar of sauce and began a prescription of seasonings. Thyme, crushed pepper flakes, kosher salt, black pepper, dried Italian herbs and some slow simmering……

    Sauce fit for a king
    Sauce fit for a king

    Let your imagination and your taste buds run free when trying to doctor a jar of sauce.  maybe you want to add just vegetables,,,, diced or shredded zucchini, carrots, spinach, sweet peas or maybe you want to try adding seafood, or alternative to ground beef…It’s all up to you.

    Now because I’m always taking it to the next level I decided I would doctor the pasta, too.   I used thin spaghetti cooked according to to package directions.  Then I sauteed garlic with red pepper flakes in olive oil, making sure not to burn the garlic ( nothing worst than the taste of burned garlic)

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    Then I added the pasta with some of the cooking water and minced parsley. Time to serve it up

    IMAG1053Go buy a jar of sauce and get to doctoring.

    BCJ2U

     

     

     

     

  • Your Chef In Pearls…..

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  • A Day Off??

    So what does a retired chef, fashionista who has returned to the work force in retail do on her day off?  Well I know most would say sleep….Hell I planned for SLEEP but that was not in my future for my day off.  Apparently when it’s your day off you have to get everything you weren’t able to get done, done. ( had it really been that long since I’ve punched someone’s time clock?)  All the things you are too tired to do after work needs to be accomplished. Like laundry, unless you don’t mind wearing dirty clothes (please don’t stand beside me if you do). I did over 3 loads not including sheets and towels. All for the sake of looking, smelling and feeling good.

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    At this point I am truly feeling sleepy but there was so much more for me to do. Time to prep dinner so that when I finally get that sleep in it’s one less thing I have to worry about. Steak & peppers it is or was .  Sliced bell peppers, onions and seasoned my beef and stored them in the fridge until later.

    Not quite what i did but you get the picture
    Not quite what i did but you get the picture

    Well since my mind was on food I decided to research my next food attempts.  Do you know how easily you lose track of time while surfing the internet.  Only to have it interrupted  by the plea of a child that needs to be picked up from her La-cross game ( hey wasn’t Dad supposed to do that?) off I went to wait on her bus. Thank God the bus beat me there so it wasn’t a long wait.

    Ok it's only one kid but that's how i was feeling at the time
    Ok it’s only one kid but that’s how i was feeling at the time

    On my way in I remembered that I was supposed to pick up something at he supermarket. Conveniently….I forgot the list.  So I had to go off memory (not a good thing for those that know me).  After getting everything I could remember I head to check out only to realize I didn’t have my wallet.  Did I just waste time on my precious day off? Thank God that not only was my wallet in the car but they hadn’t put my groceries back. Winning (it’s the little things).

    how I must've looked to the cashier
    how I must’ve looked to the cashier

    After unloading and putting away groceries I realized that I hadn’t cooked dinner.  The whole getting some sleep was no where on the radar for me.  Good thing I had already prepped.  Whipped up some steamed rice with steak and peppers.  And no there are no pics of it either.  Have you not realized the trend in this post? None of the pictures are ones that I have taken.  It was supposed to be my day off.  Let’s just say I finally made it to bed that night after 12am.

    Ahh Sleep
    Ahh Sleep

    Thank God I had another day off…. back to back…wait I forgot I booked a jewelry show.  There goes that day off…..too