and miles to go before i eat, and miles to go before i eat . . .

another month, i guess.  is it me or has this year just vanished?  hate to wish time away, but if any a year, this was one of those that my family needed to hurry and get gone.  after being handed such a long treatment schedule, mama is finally down to two weeks of radiation.  what a relief.  we are one lucky family.  i try not to get too personal on this blog, but sentiment always sets in this time of year, especially when i look across the street and see a blasted revolving Christmas tree in the front neighbor’s window- a good three weeks before anyone has even carved the first piece of turkey or unbuckled their pants from eating too much cornbread dressing and spinach madeline.  dabnabbitt, let’s take this one holiday at a time, please!!  i digress . . .  to the food . . . to new orleans . . .

 i recently drove my mom and dad to new orleans for a couple of days.  mama had board meetings and dad and i ate and shopped, but mostly ate.  on wednesday, dad and i dropped mama off on poydras close to her meeting and headed straight to drago’s for bud lights and oysters.  i love sitting at the bar at the grill and listening to newbies from up north who have to be coaxed into their oyster order.  what?  those oysters have them at hello!  and me, i always confuse the hell out of new orleanians- they know i am not from there- but certainly no where up north either, so they have to ask and always ask???   i need to wear an “i’m from rayville, la” t-shirt when i go down there.  my guy totally spoiled me with his gold tooth and charm- he kept giving us lagniappe and at one point discovered a small pearl formation and gave it to me.  when i loosely placed it in my purse, he came back with a small piece of foil so i wouldn’t mis-place it.  so i did.  i still have it.  i go to new orleans often, but not often with my dad.  so we toasted at this occasion and shared a great time.  and miles to go before i eat . . .  and miles to go before i eat . . . not!

that night, the three of us made our way to gautreau’s.  this was coveted reservation that took a little while to get.  susan zemanick is the chef there and was one of food and wine’s top ten best new chefs not too long ago.  well, we agree with food and wine!  dad printed the menu online before we even got there, which i consider cheating, but i could not help taking a peek prior to dining there either.  as soon as i saw kale on the menu, i was so excited.  kale is huge right now in the culinary world and i have been wanting to experiment with it.  i ordered a kale salad with currants, pine nuts, and shaved parmesan.  it was delicious, as was everything else there.  we all three ordered fish dishes, halibut, snapper, and tuna.  i never want nor have room for dessert, but  mama ordered a lemon tartlett and dad ordered a sorbet trio.  shutup.  if you go- you have to get the lemon tartlett.  soooooooooooo good.  mama will forever talk about that thing.  out of the sorbets, the pineapple was the best.  that night i said to self- “take a breath, go to bed, walk two miles in the quarter in the morning and get ready to eat again.”  so i did that. and miles to go before i eat . . . 

the next day, thursday, was pretty much planned about by dad.  we were to meet carol cotton winn and john winn at john besh’s newest opening in the old roosevelt hotel, domenica.  but first a trip to the garden district bookstore to pick up our copies of besh’s new cookbook, my new orleans.  dad called ahead and had our copies pre-signed by the chef himself.  a perfect Christmas gift for me- but i got it early i guess.  our watches show that it is time for a bloody mary.  so off we go.

we are seated and wait for our friends while sipping our bloody mary’s.  dad is so excited to give john winn a signed copy of besh’s new book.  they used to be neighbors in slidell, so it will be a nice gesture.  john and carol join us.   the menu is total italy.  a little hard to figure out at first, but our waiter did a great job.  we order a charcuterie platter, tempura goat cheese stuffed squash blossoms, heirloom tomato soup, gnocchi in brown butter sauce, pizza, and on and on.  it was awesome.  the manager kerry came and sat with us and shared of her travels to parma, italy to learn this restaurant that is now “her baby.”  what a lucky dog.  then the chef, alon shaya came to our table and of course we had some photos made, you know dad!  we lingered over a long lunch which is a good thing to be able to do in such a busy world.  what’s time to a hog?  i notice a photgrapher shooting shots of the lunch crowd the whole time we are there.  right before we are about to leave – i see john besh stride across the floor.  yes.  after earlier, our waiter when asked told us we had a better chance of winning the lottery as to see john besh there that day.  well, of course, kerry sent him over to our table.  so here is our picture with him. very nice.

chef alon shaya

chef, john besh

and miles to go before i eat . . .

we went out to eat again that night at delmonico’s, which was very good.  of course, i was not hungry since the big lunch and in addition, my mind was on lafayette square and the live music i was missing- kermit ruffins. enough of all this eating.   i enjoyed all the meals, but a girl’s-gotta-do-what-a-girl’s gotta-do and i needed to go shopping. . . .

business boomed in october, enough to fund a little shopping at caire restaurant supply in new orleans.  cupcakes and individual cheesecakes rolled on out of here like nobody’s business. at the restaurant supply, i  purchased some great food storage containers and a new saucier pan.  i want to wrap up this new orleans trip, but i will fail if i don’t mention a little place we ate before we left the city . . .   bozo’s in metairie.  possibly the best chicken and sausage gumbo and raw oysters i’ve had.  i  loved the atmosphere.  a place where eighty and ninety-year-old couples come in and sit at “their tables” on “their day” and get “their waitress.”  i am going to strive to reach a “regular status” at one particular restaurant where when i am eighty or ninety- my waiter will automatically bring me my chilled beer glass and dozen oysters.  just maybe it will be my own place and i can go outside, re-enter and say, “bring me the regular.”

these speak for themselves . . . i guess

geaux saints!!

holiday pancakes on the griddle

fall supper

roasted cauliflower, butternut squash, brussel sprouts, and carrots

bye y’all.  BC

veal bones, where art thou??

september ends . . .  and with that blew in a huge gumbo front with a chance of jambalaya.  i have been craving gumbo for weeks now and this weekend i will have some on my stove.  yes, it is time for one pot meals:  chicken and dumplings, vegetable beef soup, chicken and andouille gumbo, jambalaya, etc.  you get it- food for the soul.  food that our mother’s and grandmother’s taught us to make.  food-wise this time of year is my favorite.  many around me have been asking why haven’t you written a new post?  well, here we go . . .

for father’s day, i informed my dad that as his gift i would cater a lunch for him and his bestest of friends.  my family’s dining room table  seats eight, so he was limited to inviting eight close friends, not easy for my dad, he knows everybody!!  LC, myself (BC), and dad discussed the menu options at length for a couple of weeks.  dad definitely wanted to show off our talents in the kitchen, but also carefully closely deliberated over his menu to what his friends would enjoy.  why not beef wellington?  better yet individual beef wellingtons?  okay, that is what we will have.  it was at this point that dad assured me, although my gift was very, very nice- he would be purchasing the groceries and our cooking and servicing was to be his birthday gift.  okay, fair enough.  and so the menu went from there.  of course, neither LC or myself had ever made beef wellington.  we are sort of notorious for jumping into things like this and agreeing to the unknown.  so i go to my CIA book which is my second bible pratically.  hmmmm . . .  ingredients:  8 oz. foie gras pate, 2 oz. truffle peelings, 20 fl oz. madeira sauce, 4-5 lb beef tenderloin, egg wash, puff pastry.  okay, i thought-  i can find these things even if i have to have them shipped from NYC.  first things first, i go to the madeira sauce recipe which calls for a demi-glace (see page *&^)  the demi-glace recipe includes two additional recipes.  suddenly i find myself frantically obsessing over finding 8 lbs. of veal bones and some foie gras.  this is friday evening and this party is next thursday at lunch.  i google veal bones and it seems that there are alot of people in my very same predicament in this world.  this is getting very scary and quite odd.  i spend the entire evening on the internet.  i record the names and numbers of seven butchers in the jackson, ms area because apparently someone voiced concern over how jackson could support so many nice upscale butchers??  i guess that is good to know.  at this point i become jekyll-like with getting these bones.   i found the foie gras that i deemed best-  in the hudson valley, but could not quite pull the trigger on risking the shipment getting here on time.  yawn, time for bed.

i normally sleep late on saturdays.  no, there are veal bones out there somewhere and i am going to get them.  i call several butchers.  if i even start to tell you about those conversations we will be here all night . . .  veal what? sad truth is, i really wanted their knuckles too, but i didn’t want to push it, you see?  i call paul anthony’s shop in jackson, ms.  “yes ma’am, we’re out of em right now,how many didjawant?”  i reply, “8lbs.”  yesssssssssssssss.  they order them for me for pickup on monday.  then i call the LC.  she says, “huh, you’re driving where?”  i’m going for a test run and making mine with duxelles.”  well, wouldn’t that be too easy?  somehow logic and reason always comes from the LC to the BC.  turns out, she didn’t feel like making them over the weekend, so for our lunch that monday we had ind. beef wellingtons with duxelles instead of foie gras.  i couldn’t see how it could be that much better, it was delicious with the buttery rich mushroom mixture.  i mean honey hush,  go bite yourself.  y’all know me though.  i went to get those bones later on and they are here in my freezer for another story . . .

so here is the final menu for the party that day, dad’s 63rd b-day!!  shrimp bisque, mixed greens with balsamic dressing and maytag bleu, lemon sorbet, beef wellington, boursin potatoes, creamed spinach, and creme brulee.  the guests arrived around 11:30 to sip bloody mary’s and visit.  LC and I were running around like crazy in my mama’s kitchen getting things ready.  eric lincoln, a friend and professional photographer came out at a whim’s notice to capture my dad’s 63rd birthday lunch with friends.  he is a good friend and it was neat to see him in his element.  he must have thought LC and I a little crazy, but handled everything very smoothly.

i have to admit that LC did most of the serving.  i have never been good at that- it’s a dyslexic serve from the right grab from the left thing going on with me.  i mainly plated the food and served some of the time while sipping a bloody mary in the kitchen.  the lunch was a huge success.  those men were blown away and happy.  the room overflowed with roaring laughter into the kitchen as we rolled out each coarse.  dad picked a wonderful pinot noir to be served with the beef that everyone loved.  most of the friends were businessmen who had to return to work, but took every bit of a two-hour lunch with my dad on his birthday.  he was honored and we all had great, great fun.

the table, very carefully arranged!!

dad's tabasco sauce, of course

the first course

second course goes out

cleanse the palette

individual beef wellington, prepared by LC

and finally, the fifth course

the best for last, dad and his dog, snoozer

bye y’all.  BC

you help make life convenient- love, innes

all right, all right, all right-  here i am.  what have i been doing?  well, i have traveled to perdido, fl with girlfriends; ponca, ar with the green family; austin, tx with jesse and laurie; and dallas, tx with the girls in my family.    so all over the place.  otherwise, i have been running my business, going to chemo with mama, and taking care of all of these kids.  i have a continued obsession with julia child.  her dvd collection is great.  and i am no meryl, but i have to say – i can do a pretty mean impersonation.  so can luke for that matter- his favorite episode is the lobster show.  i have to say that her shows have stood the test of time.  you just have to watch her to see what i mean.  she is timeless and she still matters. i have learned more from her than watching eight years of newbies on food network.  i have been flipping and shaking dried beans in a skillet for practice.  she insists that in order to flip things- “you have to have courage” and “you have to have conviction”  i could add that you must be willing to make a huge mess in your kitchen as well.  it is worth it.  her omelette show is so good that it has convinced me that hosting a party in my dining room- and cooking omelettes to order for 300 guests would be a snap.  only i don’t think i have 300 friends to invite!!  i still have not seen “the movie” – but if tinseltown would let me bring in all of my laundry to fold and set me up a table to fold on in the back of the theater- i could go see it.

what’s been cooking?  well, here are a few pics from this summer . . .

praline sweet potatoes

julia's savory torte- picholine olives, carmelized onions, anchovies

supper in austin with jesse and laurie

and now for a story  . . .  isn’t there always one?  when we returned from having a blast with jesse and laurie in austin, we returned to- well- a bit of a situation.   the house was 90 degrees inside and apparently there had been a storm while we were away.  the electricity had gone off and come back on.  so okay . . . not the end of the world- we will get the ac guys here tommorrow to “fix it.”  but wait there’s more.  i  had a sinking feeling when i walked past my office, so i decided to open the fridge and freezer.  yep, no lights.  apparently the power strip got tripped and did not trip back on.  i lost all of my work.  it was all completely thawed.  it is one thing to throw away food that you just bought, but to throw away labor + food cost literally made me sick.  remarkably though, my spirits were  lifted after sifting through four days of mail and opening a personal thank you note written to me by a sweet client.  the note read:

Mary Ellen-

You help make life convenient ——

Love,

Innes

enclosed was her check for 21.00 as payment for a medium beef bonaparte that she had gotten the week before.  it was one sentence and it made all the difference in the world . . .  the note will always be kept on my freezer.  bye ya’ll.

the chambers blow-up (Part 1 of 1)

what’s new??? well, i do have a story for ya’ll.  i must admit, i have been holding back on ya’ll with this one.  let me just say- that i only told mitch about it at first, then a few days later my mom and that is about it.  it was about two weeks ago and i am now okay to tell it.  it is embarrasing.  i guess we can’t all have perfect stories all the time, huh?  pride gets in our way and sometimes we only want to tell the good ones.  this one isn’t soooooo bad, but it did shake me up a bit and i was definitely embarrased.  uggggghhhhhh- here we go  . . .

two weeks ago, on a thursday, i had back to back catering jobs.  one at lunch and a dinner party that night.  the lunch went smooth as usual- most everything was prepared the day prior and just heated on that morning and delivered to the client.  done deal-n ow for job 2.

these are repeat clients- let’s call them mr. and mrs. client.  i love them- they are awesome and alot of fun to be around and have a beautiful home.  after discussing many options for the meal, we finally decided on prime rib, which mitch has handled for me in the past.  however, i actually found and researched the recipe and have been involved in its preparation, soI had no qualms about handling it all by myself.  i guess, i was a little nervous- but confident at the same time, ready for a challenge.  the menu was tomato cocktails, balsamic salad, prime rib, twice-baked potatoes, tomatoes rockefeller, and orange sherbert with wafers.  the preparation went great, my timing was great.  it is not easy, getting kids to a sitter, and hauling around a truck full of food to the site solo.  but it worked. 

so i get to mr. and mrs. client’s house.  the meat is the most important component and is in a critical stage moving from oven to oven.  so i immediately placed it into the newer oven with a thermometer that ran outside and set on the counter.  when i arrived, mrs. client was tied up on the phone and i visited with mr. client while i was working.  there are two stoves in this kitchen.  one is newer in the island and the other one is an antique chambers white porcelain stove (beautiful) but old all the same.  the last dinner party i catered in this kitchen- the client preheated the antique stove for me.   this time since she was tied up on the phone, i preheated it.  at this point everything is running smoothly and i am visiting with the family.  i guess about 20 minutes passed and all of the sudden there was a huge bang like an explosion but no flames.  it was so loud it knocked up a couple of the burner grates on the stove and then we smelled gas.  i quickly go to the old stove and turn it off.  mrs.  client gets off the phone to see what happened.  we open the stove and as soon as it is opened i see where the stove is to be lit and realize that i did not light the stove.  i immediately admit my mistake to them, and the gas smell dissipates quickly.  i am so embarrassed.  that and worried about ruining an antique in their home.   but i can’t worry about that now- there is a dinner party to start in thirty to forty-five mintues and there are three more components to the meal to be baked separately and ready in this tiny antique stove that i just blew up.  i shift my mind to emergency mode and ask about a close neighbor with an oven .  of course- they have one.  and he happens to be in the gas bidness.  so i have to babysit the prime rib and mr. client loads up the other dishes and heads to the neighbors house.  i am mortified.    completely.  but i have to maintain complete confidence- because is this bidness that is what it about.  there is no crying in the kitchen!!

so the gas neighbor comes over and checks out the stove.  thankfully, it is fine and lights up like a champ!!  mr. client brings back over the other dishes and the tomato cocktails are served as the guests arrive.  the meal is maybe 15 minutes late- but the rest of the evening went flawless and wonderful.   there i was in my white coat carving prime rib to each guest- on my own.   i remarked to the clients after the incident that nothing else could go wrong now!!  i must say that mr. and mrs. client were the sweetest things to me in the wide world about the whole thing.  rattled?  yes, a little- so was i- but then mrs. client suggested turning on some music so that we would forget and relax.  show’s over folks . . .

here is a salad that i made last night for my family.  i got to use my fresh basil from the patio.  jesse surprised us by coming in town.  not all of us could be here- but it was a small and fun meal.  i always love it when we talk about our old cars that we had growing up.  most of all though, i love catering to my family the most.  AWWWWWWWW . . ..  bye ya’ll

chambers to viking to galatoire’s gypsy skirts

i got a new rangetop and vent-a-hood. everyone knows that i had a definite love for my old chambers top and it certainly was a conversation piece in the house- but the time had come to replace it.  cooking sometimes six – eight hours per day on three burners with the right front burner broken- and the back right burner had to be lit with a lighter.  the old vent-a-hood went completely comput in January when a loud POP sound came and scared lil chef right out of her chocolate shirt that she wears when she is stressed out.  that was the end of the lights!!  there were times that i heavily considered strapping a flashlight to my cap.  this house was built in 1952 and the chambers and hood were installed at that time.  mitch and i have cooked on it for nine good years and have enjoyed many wonderful meals.  it still sits under my carport because i can’t seem to part with it.  “RIP- my chambers stove- i will always remember you.”

well, about the new stove . . .  it is wonderful.  six burners with a griddle to fit over two burners when needed.  of course i wanted a viking and luckily for me it was the only brand that fit our 42 ” slot.   the hood is wonderful too- now i can actually see what i am cooking, keep plates warm with a heat lamp, and suck up the steam from all the shrimp boils.  here are pictures of before and after . . .

 

chambers

viking

mitch and i recently went to new orleans.  he had a recruiting trip for cardinal health and i went to play.  we had a great time.  the first night we joined lots of others on royal street for the new orleans food and wine experience (NOWFE) royal street stroll, and for $75 per person we walked in and out of many antique galleries where vintners from all over the world poured their wines and restaurants showcased their talents.  m.s. rau was the most impressive store in my opinion – the entire store was opened and their were different wines and foods throughout.  some of mitch’s favorite wines were from new zealand and spain.  there was one booth that was sampling out their vodka iced tea- and all were trying it.  we noticed about two feet on the other side of the booth there were millions of the drinks discarded on the corner curb.  i wonder if the pourers ever noticed that everyone took one sip and placed it on the curb- surely they did. 

the next day- friday.  everyone knows that my dad knows restaurants and it is one of his favorite pasttimes – planning places to eat out and telling everyone where they should eat out.  for years now, he has been telling me that i have to eat lunch at galatoire’s on a friday.  all of the muckety-mucks meet there for lunch on fridays.  people stand there for a couple of hours to get their table or get their bosses table, and request their waiter.  sooo basically it is a show to see.  well i’m about to tell ya’ll about my experience two fridays ago on bourbon street at galatoire’s.  dad you haven’t heard all of this – because i know i will be scolded!!  i get in line around 10:25, i am about 15-20 people back.  things are looking good, looks like i’m in.  the man with the clipboard and fine italian suit gets to me.  he asks “how many in your party?”  i say “2″, he says “you are lucky”, i say “good”,  he asks, “which waiter do you prefer?” i say “i don’t know, who should i get?” he doesn’t reply.  he then looks at my bare legs and says “oh, you are wearing shortpants”  i say, “yes, i am.”  (to my defense these were very nice shortpants and i had on a nice white button down shirt!!)  now i know, i know, i know, i should have known.  i thought i was there to witness others in their finest- not have them witness me in my finest and besides, i had other plans for my afternoon in the quarter that most certainly did not involve high heels and a dress.  this was a lunch that i needed to mark off of dad’s list for me!!!  back to the story- the man with the clipboard has mercy on me and says “how quickly can you be back here?”  i answer, “very quickly”  he assures me that he will keep my name on his list if i am back in twenty.  by this time, mitch calls and he is in our room and says that he is on his way- i urge him to get there quick and find the man with the clipboard and hold our place in the line!!  i start trying to find a skirt or a dress.  i go into a shop – i don’t mind buying something if i like it enough, but this place was expensive and i was not crazy about any of the clothes.  i am running out of options and time- mitch calls me back- “where are you??”  “i am trying to find something- just stay there.”  i take a left on canal st.  and walk past the hippie gypsy, then i turn around and go inside.  there are lots of things for sale in here- such as paraphenalia, incense sticks, weed bumper stickers, and SKIRTS.  LOTS AND LOTS OF EM!!  i find the least offensive one- solid black and head into the dressing room.  this will work.  i walk out and inform dude behind the counter that i need to wear the skirt out of the store because i am trying to get- oh whatever just give me the skirt.  i hoof it back to galatoires past the people still waiting outside and up the stairs to the bar.  there is mitch smiling from ear to ear at me and my outfit.  he gets me a bloody mary quickly.   we’re in baby!!!  gypsy skirt and all.  they say that everyone leaves with a tale to tell.  HA!  i just didn’t know i had to create it – i thought the other patrons were going to create it.  just kidding- no gypsy skirt could hold a candle to the woman in the blue sequined number who sat in many a man’s lap and kissed him.  she went from man to man and used her table of two as a champagne and lip-stick reapplication station.  mitch begged me not to make any eye-contact with her because he didn’t want to be the next victim to be kissed.  she and i talked in line earlier because she was right behind me in line, where  she was very well behaved and seemed like a perfectly poised and polite blueblood!!  so if you ever go to galatoire’s please don’t wear shortpants not even the long jcrew variety, prepare to be entertained, and order the crabmeat maison and oysters rockefeller.  thanks for the reccomendation, dad.  please  don’t get on to me too bad!! 

one more picture of my brother and i trying out the onion goggle thingys-  THEY WORK!!

no more tears

why can't i invent something???

sea bass, that sauce, and magic mineral broth . . .

it feels good to be back in this place.  this little box in which to type.  it has been a while.  life has been turned around and upside down lately.  i’ve been reading books and researching things i never thought i would have to.  i guess you never really think about cancer happening to your family and when it does it hits like a mack truck.  not my mama.  my family has reacted in a way that is not surprising to me and pretty damn comforting.  we are strong, close, and caring for each other and especially the patient, my mother.  i don’t have any doubts that all of these upcoming treatments will kill this cancer.  it will.  it is just going to be a long year ahead.  and i don’t plan to miss a single bit of it.  when we need to cry, we will.  when we need to joke, we will.  when we need to pray, we will.  when we need to be silent, we will.   this week was our first chemo week.  there we were sitting in a room with a bunch of other patients getting hooked up to the “red kool-aid.”  yeah- chemo even looks lethal.  i don’t plan on recording any “cancer chronicles” for ya’ll because living it is enough.  that isn’t what this blog is about.  i will not have as much time to write- but i will continue when i can.  i do want to share, however, with ya’ll any culinary adventures with cancer patient recipes, because it is interesting and that is what i am interested in at this time. 

 i am going to back track a little bit on some meals we’ve had here at 1111 cotton.  can’t elaborate too much on them because time has passed and i have slept since then.  i am definitely feeling an urge to prepare something tonight though.  hmmmmmm????

sesame citrus sea bass

this was awesome.  the sea bass was perfect on top of creamy stone ground grits with garlic wilted spinach.  wilted spinach blows my mind.  i mean you can wilt down several bags and come out with two cups.  that is just nuts to me.  very trendy right now is use of grits as a vehicle to carry fish or any other kind of meat on a plate.  i like it.  and i must say that there is a tremendous difference between instant or quick cooking grits and stone ground grits.  the stone ground grits are incredibly better.  and i always cook them in chicken broth and a little cream.  as julia used to say “if you’re afraid of butter, use cream.”  i have that sign in my kitchen.  neva cook those grits in plain water and what is even better is to have those leftover grits in the morning under . . .

mitch's omellette over grits with chili pepper sauce

this omellette had it all:  monterey jack, jalapenos, ham and that sauce he’s been making.  mitch can’t help being into all things culinary, so during his travels he has been thinking outside the box on the souvenirs.  that and i think i made an ugly face when he brought home that ugly coffee mug and christmas ornament from phoenix.  i mean ugly.  anyway, he has been going to alberquerqe (sp?) and bringing back bags of chili powders and other weird spices.  he been making this sauce out of chicken broth, chili pepper and flour.   it is really good with eggs.

magic mineral broth

i made this for mama this past week.  we have been reading a cookbook for cancer patients who are taking chemo called, one bite at a time.  it has some pretty neat stuff in it.  lots of recipes to help replenish your body of the vitamins that the chemo takes from you.  this is broth that cooked for four hours.  it’s really just a vegetable broth, but i definitely like magic in its title because that sounds appealing.  it has a long list of ingredients including:  red potatoes, garnet sweet potatoes, regular sweet potatoes, leeks, celery, garlic, onions, bay leaves, juniper berries, pepper corms, kombu seaweed, and sea salt.  i found everything except the kombu seaweeed.  can ya’ll believe that rayvegas was fresh out of the kombu seaweed?  guess i’ll order it online next time . . .  bye ya’ll

move it to the left there caper

i really know that i truly love what i do- because every time i am removed from my vice of cooking for more than three days, i am dying to cook again.  life has been a little different lately, so it was great to get back in my kitchen for a while for some therapy.  i wanted something different, beautiful and delicious.  while i’ve not yet met my goal of totally preparing something completely from my own creative mind, i’m still learning lots from my books.  i love grabbing one on the way out the door to monroe, sitting in the parking lot of the seafood market flipping through it and selecting the perfect recipe.  then the excitement sets in- the running around and grabbing the perfect ingredients.  can’t wait to get home front and center with my block and knives.  these things can’t be rushed or started late- they are to be done meticulously and with no apprehension.  dishes can smell fear a mile away.  not the ones like this night’s, but sauces and gumbos and such.  they smell the fear and completely ruin you.  only much practice can conquer a contrary, betraying sauce.  back to the creative juices- i think i could succeed at that- i just need to set myself up for that.  maybe mitch and i can play top chef with a certain tray of ingredients and see what we come up with.  hmmmmmm…… that could be fun. as long as he stays out of my station and doesn’t use the knives i need.   capers need to be involved, i’ve been on a love affair with them lately.  don’t know what that’s about. what are those damn things anyway???

as i look back at the photo of this dish, my mind began talking to the plate like a photographer.  as i’ve said before- don’t send for help.  this kind of activity is quite normal for me.

seared tuna with shrimp and capers and balsamic-vinegar brown butter sauce

 ”a little to the left there, caper.  you there onion ring, tilt it down a notch, that’s it.  that’s perfect haricot verts, absolutely perfect.  you’re so green today.  i need a few volunteer tomatoes and capers to actually climb on the tuna and stay on the top.  thanks.  for the last time, be still eggplant, this won’t take much longer, i know that they’re heavy.  just a sec.  we’re waiting on the shrimp and balsalmic-vinegar brown butter sauce.  here they come.  okay places everyone.  1 , 2, 3  . . .   oh hold up.  you shrimp on the left need to move in a little.  okay, okay, okay. 1 , 2, 3 . . ..  ahhhhhh purrrrrfect.  can we eat now?”

my niece, Maddie happened to be staying with us when we ate this last Saturday night.  when she came to the table and saw her plate, she said “are you serious?  is this what we’re eating?”  she loved the tuna and got seconds.  welcome to 1111 cotton st.  that’s what we do.  bye ya’ll

 

tastes like chicken and continental salmon . . .

well, it’s been awhile.  . .   i didn’t pass on or give up cooking or anything-  so i will simply pick up where i left off:

the judge’s dinner party went very, very well.  mitch and i loved the couple who hosted the dinner party.  the house was absolutely gorgeous, the dining room table was imported from europe and seated fourteen.  i always like to check out everyone’s kitchen.  i immediately set out the hors d’ oeurves which were a smoked catfish pate’ and a sun-dried tomato- pesto torte.  to go with the prime rib we served scalloped potatoes, haricot verts, and salad.  mitch miller always prepares my prime rib when i need it- and he delivered once again this time.  perfecto.  it is seasoned with rustic rub- then onion, thyme, and garlic are tucked under the fat cap, then it gets all tied up.  the meat melts in your mouth and is a beautiful presentation.  he stood at the island in the kitchen and  carved a piece for each guest as they passed to the dining room.  after the job, mitch and i returned home and uncorked a bottle of pinot, propped our feet up, and discussed the success of the job.

mitch's prime rib

i have already described this next dish, it’s the italian wedding soup that i learned at the viking school.  well, i just had to make it at home.  it was every bit as good as the first time.  i love my new bowls.  luke did not care for it, little bird ate it a little bit, but hunter and mitch tore it up.

the godfather of soups

i forgot to mention that one must listen italian opera whilst preparing this soup and enjoying it.  i particularly like funiculi’ funicula’ by anton guadagno.  here is the soup in my favorite new bowls with the french name but made in china.  i guess you could say that i served an italian soup in a french bowl made in china.  i need to let it go.  i know.  note to self- “self, let go the whole china made le cordon bleu dish thing go.”  self says, “okay done.”  “am i talking to myself on my own blog?  well, it has been a week.  did i mention mitch is out of town this week?  where did he go again little chef?  i forgot. ”

on to the next dish-  this one got demolished and inhaled within thirty minutes when it was served.  nothing -not a crumb left.  mitch was caught running his finger around the  9 x 13 dish in which it was baked.  introducing chicken and andouille pot pie with puff pastry and fresh thyme.  a bon appetit recipe.  forgot which month.  actually it was supposed to be made with shrimp (so it would be even better)  due to the fact that ray-vegas does not have good fresh gulf shrimp and i wasn’t driving to monroe to get em’  i substituted the other white meat.  ahhhhh . . . tastes like cheeeeeecken.  have i ever mentioned my theory of why most make excuses for wild game like alligator and say “try it – it tastes like chicken.”  because wild meat such as alligator are caught with baits of raw chicken- so it was the last thing it ate.  Naturally it is gonna taste like chicken.  what are frogs caught with?  anyone?  bueller, bueller? because everybody says that frog legs tasted like chicken.  sorry for the digression . . . .  here is a photo of the cajun pot pie.  on to the next dish, continental airlines cilantro-lime crusted salmon.

cajun pot pie

here is mitch’s salmon.  he has been frequenting airline magazines lately and came across a recipe that he wanted to try- a cilantro-lime crusted salmon.  i made an effort to tell him that it might not be a tested recipe like the ones i try in my trusted sources from various media.  afterall it’s a continental airlines magazine.  he prepared the salmon according to the recipe but it was too salty.  i am only telling you this because he has been harping on the saltiness for a week and a half now and he would tell you the same.  i think that the recipe should have read 2 tsp. not 2 tbsp kosher salt.  we raked off some of the seasoning and it was very very good.  i made susan spicer’s spicy thai noodle udon noodle s to accompany the fish.  here is the continental airline version of cilantro lime crusted salmon:

continental salmon

bye ya’ll. . .

that crawfish walked up on the wrong group of folks . . .

i was gifted with a trip to the viking cooking school last weekend.  it was a christmas gift from my mother-in-law.  what a gift.  at long last, it was finally my turn to go.  it is two.5 hours to greenwood, ms, a  cool little mississippi town.  the viking products that i probably never will own are manufactured there.  besides, my old-school  chambers four burner suits my needs right well for the time being, i have you know.  shhhhhh i am sitting in the same room with it right now- so i can’t talk about all of that bright shiny stainless steel!!  shhhhh . . .

we stayed at the alluvian hotel, a swanky boutique hotel with lots of green apples, black and white photography, stainless steel, and mahogany.  oh and it has a spa which got rave reviews from my mother-in-law and sister-in-law.  i opted out of the spa package and purchased some awesome new dishes for the money.  solid white le cordon bleu dishes that will better show off my culinary adventures.  after closer examination once i got home, i learned that my lovely le cordon bleu dishes are made in china.  seriously, what the hell is that????  i do love them, love them, but the one other problem is they are literally the size of texas.  i successfully shopped the viking store so well that the bellman from the hotel had to deliver my items to my room for which i was proud.  i am female hear me shop.  also a part of my purchases, was a knife roll to take with me on jobs.  i always have had to wrap my knives and thermometers in bar mop rolls to transport them.  poor me.  now to the class.

the class was a southern italian dinner party.  the menu:

olives soffrite with pecorino

italian wedding soup

grandma rosabella’s mozzarella chicken over pasta aglio e oglio

limoncello almon baci cake

the olives soffritte with pecorino was basically my stranded island meal, kicked up a few notches, three plates- one of flavored olives & sun-dried tomatoes with fennel & crushed red pepper flakes, and one with – crumbled pecorino cheese, one- thick slices of rustic italian bread.  this with wine is sooo my last supper.  next was work.  it was a huge kitchen with about six or eight or more fully outfitted stations.  the teacher was very petite, chic, and cute with black-framed glasses.  that didn’t help with my eyeglass fetish.  she was lovable and clearly loved her job.  next was the deal-sealer for me- the italian wedding soup.  it was truly a marriage of flavors which is where the wedding part comes in.  can you believe i have never had or made it?  if there was orzo in ray-vegas it would have already been re-created in my kitchen by now.   next was the chicken mozzarella.  basically, layers of breaded chicken, eggplant, marinara, mozzarella, and fresh basil.  it was very good too, but i kept pulling my soup closer when i got so full i was forced to choose between my last bites.  lastly, was the dessert.  the school had already prepared a lemon gelato to go aside our limoncello angel baci cake.  delicious and lemony.  they also passed around shots of italian limoncello for those of us who lied and said we had never tasted it.  whew- that’s good stuff.  forget cough syrup.

back to downtown greenwood- there is a wonderful bookstore, turnrow books.  i literally spent the day there and hefted out a big bag of books to read.  when? hmmmmm.  evveryone has goals don’t they?  it was the coolest, laidback store with little notes everywhere like:

“find a chair, sit down and read the last short story in this book . . . blah, blah, blah . . .”

i did as told.  it was a really cool story.  here are the books i purchased:  serena by ron rash, entertaining disaters by nancy spiller, the end of california by steve yarbrough, new orleans noir by various writers,  and creole cookery, by the new orleans christian women’s exchange.  i bought some others for the kids too.  i really swear i tried not to buy a cookbook, but i had to have creole cookery, and entertaining disasters is actually a novel not a cookbook.  i don’t plan to read that one before this thursday’s dinner party at a judge’s house.

well that brings me to this week’s job.  i am so excited.  the client is sooooo nice and sweet and dinner parties really are my bread and butter.  i loooooove them.  i love it all- but most of all love being there with the client to the end and seeing the happiness of a successful dinner party in their home.  this home is in winnsboro- the catfish capital- so i thought it appropriate to have smoked catfish pate’ for an appetizer.  here are some photos from last weeks oysters rockefeller and oysters casino, haricot verts in my new dishes, and last night’s crawfish boil.  bye ya’ll.

luke and his friend

casino versus rockefeller

haricot verts in chinese dish

uncle jess's crawfish boil

the little valentine that couldn’t and if only 7 more times . . .

my valentine is sick . . . .  we had some plans

last saturday night was going to be about some very good high falutin’ food.  but round’ here it’s often bout that.  so i will be okay in time if we just skip a night and have some rayvegas johnny’s pizza.  not really – i’m just pretending.   my  valentine turned up very, very sick on saturday.  you see he had a plan too – my sous chef in crime was in on it from the get go – we planned this a week ago-  he brought home the beef filets and fine wine on friday night.  i brought home the oysters for the oysters rockefeller on saturday.  it’s now tuesday and it’s all still in the fridge and now he’s gone to houston for the week.  the kids and i are going to have some good food without him this week i guess.

i don’t have any food to post because of the aforementioned but i might have some stats that impress/depress you.  it did not impress mitch miller – his comment was that if only i had gone seven more times it would have been every other day . . . .  whilst filling out my mileage report for the year i figured out how many times i went across town to super wal-mart and sam’s, and all the other fine culinary jaunts that ray-vegas has to offer within a 25 mile radius.  i went to wal-mart and sam’s 130 times, brookshire’s- 36, kaye’s- 5, captain avery’s- 7.  totalling 178 trips to grocers.  should i be depressed?  i guess not- i have a job and wonderful clientele.  one day hopefully- i will have a building and a giant cisco truck will beep beep beep and back up to my walk in cooler delivering the food right to me.  most importantly though i will have a person to wash pots and pans so that i can produce more.

sadly, the steaks are going in the freezer, but the oysters will be prepared tonight in the midst of hunter’s science project.  antoine’s has never published their famous oysters rockefeller recipe, but i have found a recipe that looks pretty close.  what is the science project on you ask???  food of course.  not oysters, but potatoes.  later gaters.  here is the valentine pics from last week.  red velvet cake – up close and personal.  later gaters.

this is your brain . . .

this is your brain on drugs . . .