That's What Bob's Cooking: May 2011

Thursday, May 26, 2011

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

Last night, I decided to cook a Rotisserie Chicken for dinner. While I was cooking the one for dinner, I said, why not cook another to pick for the chicken salad tomorrow night.

Rotisserie Chicken Salad

1 Rotisserie Chicken (from the deli, cooled and meat picked off bone), chopped coarsely
1 Cup Mayo
1 Cup Sour Cream
1/3 Cup Mustard (DO NOT USE YELLOW! Plouchmans is preferred, use deli or stone ground if not available)
1 bunch Green onion, diced
4 stalks Celery, diced
1/8 red onion, diced
1 ½ cups grapes (red and green) cut in half
1 Green apple, diced (let soak in lemon water to not brown)

1 T dill weed, or to taste

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mix mayo and sour cream tougher with mustard, dill weed, salt and pepper. Add in chopped chicken, celery, green onion, red onion, apples and grapes. Mix to coat.

Serve with crusty bread and sliced tomatoes, if you like.

Indoor S'Mores

A few years back, I found a recipe on the back of a cereal box….yes I know, I do look at those recipes, and make most of them….Some of them are really good, other need some work. But that’s another conversation all together.

Indoor S’Mores

So for this recipe, I immediately bought the box of cereal and made the recipe. LOVED IT. Can’t say much more. It is a GREAT recipe for the summer, and an alternative to Rice Krispie Treats, which, somehow, I am not a fan. You can make it just like RKT, just substitute Golden Grahams for the Rice Krispies.

Indoor S'mores

8 cups (est) Golden Grahams® cereal (2 boxes)

24 oz miniature marshmallows (1.5 bags)

1 12 oz pkg. chocolate chips (I used Mini)

1.5 sticks butter

Into large bowl, measure cereal. Butter 14x10-inch pan. In large microwavable bowl, microwave marshmallows and butter uncovered on High, 30 seconds at a time stirring after every 30 seconds, until melted and smooth when stirred.

Pour over cereal; quickly toss until completely coated.

Press mixture evenly in pan, using buttered back of spoon, or buttered hands. Let stand uncovered at least 1 hour, or refrigerate if you prefer a firmer bar. For bars, cut into 8 rows by 10 rows. Store loosely covered at room temperature up to 2 days.

Makes 80 small treats.

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Rosemary Chicken with Orzo Au Burro and steamed Broccoli

When I was in high School, I attended a breakfast with predominant restaurant owners and before leaving Sylvia Posedel herself asked me to come to work for her, at Sylvia’s Italian Restaurant, a staple in Portland Restaurant history. I worked there for 3 years, during high school, and much of the year after. During the time I worked there, I worked as the Assistant Banquet Chef, I learned A LOT about the restaurant industry. I must add that I decided not to follow my lifeline dream. I enjoy cooking, and I don’t want it to be a daily drudge.

That being said, in my years at Sylvia’s I learned a lot about Italian cooking. I also learned what I would call my signature dish, Rosemary Chicken with Orzo Au Burro and steamed Broccoli. I would have to say, after making this nightly for 100 to 150 people, I know it by heart, and it is very difficult to write down the actual recipe, because I just know how to make it. So….once again, please understand I don’t measure, so the equivalents might be a little off a little, but that just opens it up for you to adjust to your liking.

*Footnote, Sylvia’s Italian Restaurant has since closed, and with it the memories of Sylvia Posedel, who passed several years ago. I will always remember her and her passion for serving customers. For her, it wasn’t about cooking, or running a restaurant, it was about making what customers want. She once told a story about when her restaurant only served Pizza, she had a customer wanting a Hawaiian Style Pizza. She had no idea what it had on it, so she asked the customer what it had on it, and left the kitchen to run to the store to get ham and pineapple (BTW, she ran to the company I now work for!!). She said it repulsed her, but it was what a customer wanted, so she made it, and the customer came back to tell her it was the best pizza he had ever had. It was a regular she kept on the menu ever since.

Rosemary Chicken with Orzo Au Burro and steamed Broccoli

4 Boneless, skinless Chicken breasts
Flour
Salt and pepper, to taste
2-3 T. Oil
1 box Chicken broth
4-5 Rosemary sprigs (leave all intact, except one. Pull all leaves off of the sprig)
8- 10 mushrooms, sliced

½ sweet onion, diced

Heat oil in skillet. Add salt and pepper to flour. Dredge chicken through flour mixture. Brown chicken in oil.

Meanwhile, place broth and rosemary sprigs in a pan and , reduce to ½ the volume.

Once the volume has reduced, pour broth over chicken, cover and allow to simmer for 15-20 minutes. Temp chicken to ensure it is over 160 (160 is cooked, 180 is white).

Sauté onions and mushrooms in another pan and place on top of chicken. Once the Chicken is completely cooked, remove chicken to cool slightly and mix cornstarch and water mixture.

2-3 T. Cornstarch
1-2 T. Water

You HAVE to mix the cornstarch and water together with your fingers until smooth. Do this with your finger, otherwise you cannot tell what’s going on with the starch. Add the cornstarch to the chicken broth.

Serve with Orzo Au Burro and Steamed Broccoli

Orzo Au Burro

1 pkg Orzo, boiled
½ stick of butter
1 Cup Asiago, grated
Parsley, chopped

Boil pasta, drain. Add in butter and Asiago and parsley. Serve immediately.

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Is your Dog worthy?

This weekend was a weekend to pamper our dog, Zoe! Friday we went to one of the nations top 10 dog parks and it's here in Seattle. Zoe met a friend (Elvis) and, being a hound she had to sniff EVERYTHING!!

With the "heat wave" we experienced in Seattle this past week (warmest day since October 15th, reaching 71F!), we ended that dog park visit with a quick trip to the water, Lake Washington. Now let me tell you, Italian Greyhounds HATE water....Zoe's first trip in the water, she quickly ran out......when I was able to get her in the water a second time, she just stood there. It actually seemed like she was finally enjoying it....although the pictures say something different.

Well, today I decided to make another batch of Zoe's favorite doggy cookies. In the past I have made Chicken Liver treats, Peanut Butter Bacon cookies, and a Parsley Oatmeal treat....Today was a new mixture, Parsley Mint Carrot Spelt cookies. And let me tell you, first sampling was gone in an instant, so she had to try another.

If "Man's Best Friend" is truly your best friend, then you'll spend an hour of your busy day making a special treat for your little girl, or boy.

Veggie Treats

Ingredients:

2 1/2 c. flour

3/4 c. powdered milk

1/2 c. vegetable oil

3/4 c. vegetable broth

1/2 c. carrots

4 T Mint, finely choped

4T Parsley, finely chopped

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 300 degrees.

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and pulse well. Add a little flour at a time.

Roll out the dough until it’s about 1/4 inches thick.

Cut the dough into cute shapes with cookie cutters or use your pizza cutter to cut into strips.

Bake for about 30 min.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Baked Butternut Bake with Fresh Caprese Salad

Last weekend I was pursuing a few of my favorite Food Blogs, when I came across this recipe (http://greengirl-alittlebitofeverything.blogspot.com/2011/04/baked-squash-pasta.html). I’ve been waiting to make it, and tonight was the night! I did make some adaptations of the original recipe. In addition to this dish, I made, what I call “Fresh Caprese Salad”. As some of you know, I don’t care for fresh tomatoes, so I add in cucumbers.

Baked Butternut Bake

1 lb pasta, your favorite shape, I used Penne.

1 whole (medium) Butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and shredded

12 oz Sharp Cheese, your favorite blend. I used Swiss

5 garlic cloves, smashed and diced

2 tablespoons Dried Thyme

1/2 nutmeg nut...see pictures

Salt and pepper to taste

1 ½ Cup Cream, or half and half

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain and rinse with cold water. Meanwhile, shred butternut squash. Smash and finely chop few garlic cloves.

In a large bowl place the cook and cooled pasta, mix in the squash and about half of the cheese. Add the garlic, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Keep in mind that the cheeses are a little salty. Place the mixture into a well-buttered shallow dish

Pour cream or half and half. Top with the remaining cheese and bake in preheated oven, at 400F, for about 30 minutes until the cream is absorbed and squash is cooked.

Cool slightly and serve.

(Adapted from greengirl-alittlebitofeverything.blogspot.com)

Fresh Caprese Salad

1 Cucumber, quartered and sliced

2 Tomatoes, diced

4 stems of fresh basil, finely diced

1 tub fresh mozzarella, perillini size, drained

4 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Balsamic vinegar, drizzle

Place first 4 prepped items into bowl and drizzle olive oil on top. Stir to mix. When serving, scoop in bowl and lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

I also saute'd a Tofu Sausage, which was out first attempt at a vegan style item. I was good, but a little spicy for me. We will continue to try vegan items and let you know how they come out......

My Complete Profile

I was born and raised on the East side of Portland Oregon, by two native and second generation, Oregonians, my Mom and Dad (Jack and Joan). Oregon, and the Northwest are deep in my blood. That being said, I have always had an interest in cooking. I would love to add a warm loving story here about how my Mom nurtured my love of cooking by setting me up on or near the counter top to help with whatever she was cooking. Well, that's not exactly the case.

Being a child of the 70's and 80's, I had a great exposure to classic foods like Spam, Tang, Rice-a-Roni and Hamburger Helper. While many of these premade, sodium roller coaster, treats where regulars on our table, my Mom would have to hold the title as "casserole queen". Casseroles are her favorite and her specialty. Whereas, my Dad was more of a spur of the moment kind of cook. His creations included many of the items from our makeshift pantry. Sometimes, i think he was thinking, "the more ingredients, the better it'll be!". I think my first attempt at cooking would have to have been making cookies, either peanut butter (with the criss-cross fork tine print on top), or chocolate chip cookies. Over the years I have made so many of both of these recipes, I have surely lost count.

During middle school, my Mom encouraged me to take Home Economics, thinking that all kids, boy or girl, should know how to cook out in this world. This sparked a growing interest in cooking. So when I entered my junior year of High School, at David Douglas, I enrolled in the culinary arts program, we called it Food Services I. This was a class that had been offered many years before, where the students ran a restaurant, The Kilt, during the lunch periods. Unfortunately, since the class had not been offered in several years, so we didn’t have enough students to open the restaurant, that year. Within the first few weeks of this class, my instructor asked if I'd like to be involved in an outside "club" (kind of like a version of Eagle Scouts) that was mentored by local business owners. It sounded interesting so I joined (not to mention it got me out of the first 2 periods of the day).

At our first meeting I was approached by Sylvia Poesdel, the owner of the Portland landmark restaurant, Sylvia's Italian Restaurant & Dinner Theatre. She asked me if I would be interested in an afterschool job, coming to work for her to learn the cooking/chef trade on the job. I jumped at the chance and started in October of 1985. During my senior year I rejoined the culinary arts program (Food Services II) and this year we were able to reopened the restaurant, which the rest of the students voted me to manage. I just absolutely loved it! I worked at Sylvia's until after I graduated, in 1989. I learned a lot about the restaurant industry, and I would have to say it would be one of just a few life altering jobs I have had throughout my career.

After high school, while I was working at Sylvia's, I applied to culinary arts school. The Two things kept me from continuing my career in culinary arts, were financial and having worked out in the field, I saw so many negative attributes to being a chef, I decided that since I love to cook, I wanted it to be a hobby, and not a drag to go work each day.

When I left Sylvia's, I worked at a hotel, then Safeway. From there I joined Fred Meyer in the Service Deli, and was quickly promoted to a manager. During the next 8 years, I worked throughout the Portland and Southern Oregon areas. In 1998, I earned a promotion to the regional specialist position (District Manager) in Seattle. During this career move, I learned so much about the Food Service industry. I was charged to develop a new service salad case program, as well as work on a new catering program. I had the opportunity to work with manufacturers to develop these new programs.

In 2000, I met the love of my life, Craig. I also, moved from the food service program to the grocery department as an assistant manager. In the capacity I learned to develop my management skills as well as managing inventory. By being the best in my category, I earned the position of manager, where I moved from store to store cleaning up and reorganizing as I went. I also was entrusted with training future Food managers for the region. At which point I was pursued by another company to run a store for them, and enter back into the restaurant industry. During these 3 years, I learned the Restaurant Supplier side of the business. While I enjoyed the time I spent in this opportunity, I yearned to go back to the Grocery industry, and spend more time with my first love, cooking, and writing about my adventures….in the kitchen!