Casual Fridays

Roast Chicken & Gratin Jurassien

2011-07-10T16:19:00.000-07:00

What better way to say au revoir to a fantastic weekend than with Julia Child recipes. Hopefully the weekend charged us well enough to face Monday which is looming around the corner. I had a blast sailing and playing board . Don't be fooled by the mundane appearance of such activities. Sailing can get pretty wild and well, board games? Yes. They can get rather wild too. Political debates have NOTHING on Boggle night. Ok, it's not *that* bad, but....let's say, we challenge quite a bit. Que isn't a word? Well, it should be. If the whippersnappers of today can rejoice because OMG and LOL are now in the Oxford dictionary, then I am allowed to count que as a word. I'm getting way off track though, focus, ah yes. Food.

Julia Child's Roast Chicken. Adjective overload here. I'll spare you the long list of words that mean nothing to you and invite you to just prepare it and enjoy it yourself. It's mouthwatering to say the very least and so simple. I paired this with her recipe for Gratin Jurassien and italian cut green beans. Delicious.

Roast Chicken:
3-4 lb chicken
1 small carrot
1 small onion
1/4 tsp salt (i always omit salt)
2 tbs butter

For basting:
2 tbs butter and 1 tbs cooking oil in small sauce pan and a basting brush

Preheat oven to 425
Sprinkle the inside of the chicken with the salt, and smear in half the butter. Truss the chicken. Dry it thoroughly, and rub the skin with the rest of the butter.

Place chicken breast up in the roasting pan. Strew the carrot and onion around it, and set it on the rack in the middle of the preheated oven. Allow the chicken to brown lightly for 15 minutes. Turning it every 5 minutes and basting it.

Reduce oven to 350 degrees

Bake for 1 hour

Gratin Jurrassien:

4 tbs butter
2 lbs potatoes sliced
1 tsp salt (i omitted)
1/8 tsp pepper to taste (I pepper to taste)
1 cup grated swiss cheese
1 1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Smear 1 tbs of butter in baking dish
Arrange layers of pototes, cheese, pats of butter, pepper
Pour the heavy whipping cream over the potatoes

Bake for 1 to 1 1/4 hours

Hello Friday, It's me Natalie. . .

2011-06-03T07:48:00.000-07:00

The Powers that Be have once again smiled upon us working lot and the weekend is in full view! My weekend is looking good. Sailing with my pops, baseball game with friends, and all around general shenanigans. Tonight I’ll kick off the festivities with watching my husband’s twin nephews graduate from High School.

Graduation.

If I dust off the rear view mirror of my mind and strain to squint I can almost see my graduation. Almost. I was so happy to be an adult finally. That meant I could have my own checking account, stay out as late as I wanted with whomever I wanted, get my own place, and most importantly (at the time) be able to use the phrase, “I’m an adult now! I can do what I want!”.

Ok, my goals were a bit…how do you say….not prioritized well at that age. These days, I wish I didn’t have to balance a checkbook, I can’t stay out past 11 pm or my eyes burn, my own place means I am also my own maid, and the phrase I cherished as an 18 year old is now used to mourn my youth.

Now we’re all on this social networking site called the Facebook where we re-connect with the people we spent 4 years trying to avoid. But, I'm glad I've reconnected with alot of them. I was a nerd in School. Not the smart kind either. I literally thought it was funny to do the “nerd laugh” a la Lewis Scolnick. I still do. I guess old habits really do die hard! I do find life less awkward but it’s still just as hard. Long live NERDS!

PS. Speaking of nerds. I am trying to increase my winning statistics for scrabble/boggle/words with friends…so…without further ado, Today’s word of the day is:
Intrepid [in•trep•id] adj. 1. Resolutely courageous; fearless. Persistent in the pursuit of something. "A team of intrepid explorers."

A New Chapter

2011-06-02T20:12:00.001-07:00

Lately my physical and emotional well being have been on a collision course and I have lost all sense of control. I'm not gonna bore you with my problems, because we all have our own set of custom made struggles that seem to be hand delivered by the cosmos. I'd rather talk about how we're all kicking our problems to the curb with a vengeance that would make Bruce Lee look down with pride. I would love to pistol whip the stresses that invade my daily routines without invitation. I didn't ask for the problems and I sure don't want them to linger around any longer. So, I'm going to break out of my comfort zone and try new things. I'm usually pretty good about trying new things, but the older I get the more I become a creature of habit. The more I become a creature of habit the more I make stress feel right at home. The physical problems are being handled by science coupled with a healthy dose of prayer and faith. The emotional and spiritual conundrums are being handled with loads of newfangled practices.

1. Try something new.

I've taken up learning to sail. A little water therapy is good for the soul and I plan on getting my fill all summer long.

Silence the mind and learn to find inner peace. Not as text book as sailing, but if I can learn to meditate, I might just learn to silence the pesky voices in my head cluttering up my mind. Later Pests, the eviction process is underway! I loved my first meditation experience, I'm hoping to get more spiritual with it as I feel like I've lost my connection in that area. Maybe it's a side effect to all the nuances around me? Maybe it's the intensity of life. Whatever it is, I hope it's only temporary, because I am in need of some spirituality.

2. Do something nice for someone EACH day. Be it stranger or acquaintance, reach out to someone else. Say "howdy" to a stranger, open a door, let someone go ahead of you in the grocery line, Smile, forgive an enemy...ok...baby steps. I'm getting carried away. But, my long term goals definitely include forgiveness. I'll get there.

3. Accept others. It's easy to judge others. Even when I'm talking about not wanting to associate with a certain group of people because I think they are close minded, I myself, am judging them for being close minded! This is going to be a work in progress for me. I have to remember that the pregnant girl at the pool smoking her cigarettes does not need my judgment and I'm sure she faces daily struggles of her own.

4. I can't change anyone else, but I can work on improving myself.

I still find copious amounts of music, reading, family, and friends to be highly therapeutic escapism's.

Red Wine Marinade and Sirloin

2010-10-29T18:59:00.000-07:00

Marinade:
1 cup Red Wine
2 garlic cloves (minced)
2 bay leaves
1/2 peeled and diced
1 tbs onion diced

In a non stick sauce pan sautee the carrot, garlic, and onion with non stick spray
when soft, add wine, bay leaves, and pepper to taste

Bring to a boil and tcontinue to boil for about 8 minutes.

Let marinade cool then pour over sirloins or desired beef cut and let set for several hours or overnight

You can grill, broil, or pan sear.

Cake 1

2010-09-23T18:02:00.001-07:00

Tragically, I was born without a sweet tooth. That, however, doesn’t stop me from going through baking phases and turning my kitchen into an I love Lucy episode. My First cake was an 80’s fondant cake that I made for a friend’s birthday.

One Pac-Man cake coming up:

Next, I thought it would be fun to try buttercream and ganache. I have found amazing recipes for both Chocolate Ganache and Vanilla Buttercream frosting.

For a double layer cake, bake cakes and cool for at least 12 hours or overnight.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:
16 oz. powdered sugar
1 stick of butter
3 tbs. milk
2 tsp. vanilla

If you want the frosting to be white, I suggest a clear vanilla flavoring. If you’re going to add a color to the frosting, any vanilla flavoring will do.

Beat ingredients together with a mixture until desired consistency is achieved.

Mix in desired coloring

For my first cake, I used wilton’s gel food coloring that I found at Hobby Lobby.

Frost both layers of cake and sides

Chocolate Ganache:
8 oz. semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
¾ cup heavy whipping cream
2 tbs unsalted butter
1 tbs cognac or brandy (optional)

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium sized stainless steel bowl. Set aside. Heat the cream and butter in a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. Immediately pour the boiling cream over the chocolate and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Stir with a whisk until smooth. If desired, add the liqueur.

Pour desired amount of Ganache over cake and let set

Continue to decorate if you want

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Fried Mozzerella

2010-06-14T08:18:00.001-07:00

This weekend, Ken and I had some friends over for dinner. I love any reason to cook and cook I did! On the menu was homemade spaghetti, tossed salad with fresh vegetables, French bread (which I forgot), and homemade cheese sticks.

Ingredients
Whole milk mozzerella cheese(soft block)
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs

Directions
Place flour in a bowl
Beat the two eggs in a bowl an sprinkle with salt and pepper
Place bread crumbs in a bowl

Cut the cheese in 1/2 inch slices and then cut in half.

Dip all sides lightly in the flour

Soak all sides in egg bath

Place stick in crumbs and make sure the stick is covered completely on all sides

Place sticks on a plate with wax paper and chill in the fridge for at least an hour and a half before frying and serving with marinara sauce.

And now for the finished product:

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Boeuf Bourguignon

2010-04-26T09:00:00.001-07:00

This past weekend the gal pals and I embarked on a food journey. For our first dinner we dove right into Julia Child's Boeuf Bourguignon recipe. Translation = fancy beef stew.

Folks, this recipe DELIVERS.

For side dishes we made cheesy garlic mashed potatoes and fresh green beans drained with bacon and onion.

For the wine I chose a chianti and couldn't have been more pleased.

Here is a link to the recipe:
http://www.recipezaar.com/recipe/Boeuf-Bourguignon-a-La-Julia-Child-148007

Hamburger

2010-03-29T06:51:00.001-07:00

Whelan Classic Hamburger

…for when you’re craving a flavorful hunk of burning meat. What!?

Ok…not burning, who likes burnt hamburger…but I didn’t know what else to say.

Ground Hamburger – desired amount
Heinz 57 – just eyeball it, I use probably 1/4 cup per lb.
Worcestershire sauce – several splashes per lb.
1 egg and some oats
Pepper to taste
Mrs. Dash original blend in place of salt

Mix well and then form patties and voila. Burgerville is your destination.

Pot Roast & Vegetable Soup

2010-03-08T18:43:00.000-08:00

Oh, Pot Roast, how I love thee, let me count thy ways.

1. You never need to be hurried or tended to.
2. You require so very little of my attention
3. You are most tasty
4. You feed me for days and allow me to make so many other dishes with your leftovers
5. Just because

I love throwing this together before work and returning to a home filled with savory aromas. This is delicious and with little effort!!! Are you ready?

Chuck Roast
Swansons Beef Broth
Celery (about 3 stalks sliced)
Onion (1 medium, chopped)
Carrots (peeled and sliced)
Potatoes (peeled and chopped)
Salt if you dare. I dare not
Pepper, thyme, and rosemary

The amount of the above vegetables are up to you. Even though it's just Ken and I at home, I usually make more since I use the leftovers to make vegetable soup. That recipe will follow this one.

Rub thyme and rosemary on the chuck roast and place in the crock pot
pepper the roast lightly
add enough of the broth to cover the roast
add vegetables and sprinkle more thyme, pepper, and rosemary
cover and cook on low for 7+ hours.

You will come home to a wonderfully prepared meal.

Now, with the leftovers I normally make a vegetable soup.

I tear the roast apart or chunk it - whichever you prefer and place in a large pot.
add 1 or 2 cans of tomato soup (maybe start with one and then add another if you feel like it after a taste test)
add leftover potatoes, carrots, onions, celery (omit what you don't like)
add a can of drained: peas, greenbeans, and corn
add swansons beef broth to desired consistency (more if you like it soupy and less if you like it thicker)

Heat and serve!!!