New England

So it's been a while.... I have been super busy with school and life outside of school. I finally said this morning, "I'm updating my blog!" So here I am.

This term I am taking a hands-on lab course called American Regional Cuisine. We are studying the different regions in America such as The South, Floribbean, Pacific Northwest, and of course, New England.

New England was the first region colonized in America. Immigrants who moved, moved for reasons such as political and religious freedom, or because they were to poor to continue to live in England. The living conditions in this new land were hard and often the cuisine resembles that.

The first day back in class we made Clams Casino and Glazed Turnips. Both are classic dishes from New England, and are super yummy. I'm not a big fan of seafood, but I had to taste it and give my opinion. I actually liked it. However there was a slight taste of seawater which I did not enjoy. Glazed turnips when done right should taste somewhat like candied sweet potatoes.

Glazed Turnips

3 C. Turnips- Peeled, large dice (1" cubes)

1/2 C. Chicken Stock (NOT BROTH)

2 TB. Unsalted Butter

2 TB Maple Syrup

Salt and Pepper TT

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium saute pan. Simmer until liquid is reduced and turnips are a light golden brown (Be careful not to caramelize- unless you want it sweeter).

2. Season to taste.

3. Serve with Clams Casino.

Clams Casino

1/4 Bacon- Small Dice (1/4" c

ubes)

2 TB. Shallot- Minced

1 TB. Garlic- Minced

1/4 C. (each) Red and Green Bell Peppers- Small Dice

1 C. bread crumbs

1 Tsp. Parsley- Minced

1 Tsp. Lemon Juice

12 Clams- Whole in shell

1 TB. Butter

Salt TT

1. Preheat oven to 400 F

2. Render bacon over medium heat. Add shallots and peppers, cook until the peppers are tender.

3. Add garlic and cook for about 2 minutes.

4. Add Parsley, bread crumbs and butter. Salt to taste.

5. In a small pot, steam clams. Place clams in pot and pour water in making sure that more than half of the clam shell is exposed. We do not want to boil the clams.

6. When clam shells open (after about 5 minutes), remove and snap off top shell. Loosen the meat.

7. Top the clams with the bread crumb mixture, place on a baking sheet or in a hotel pan. Bake 8-10 minutes

8. Serve and eat!!

This is very traditional, and reflects the flavors that the early settlers had to work with. Being in the New England area, they ere exposed to all sorts of seafood. Besides clam, they also had crabs, shrimp, lobster and many others. Another traditional dish is the famous New England Clam chowder. Keep coming back, because that is my next post (:

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Feel free to send me recipes to try or perfect. I will add them to my blog so be careful if you don't want me to unleash the secrets of your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's chunky corn bread. Check back often to see what else I'm cookin' up!

The Roxy- Another Restaurant Review

The Roxy

In the 7 weeks that I have been living in Portland, I have eaten at The Roxy approximately 9 times. The majority has been in the last week alone. Why? I like the food, the service, and the feel of the whole establishment. For a 24/7 diner, they set standards that in my own opinion can’t be beat. The service at four o’clock in the morning is just as good as the dinnertime rush at seven o’clock, and even at three o’clock in the afternoon.

My favorite meal to eat at The Roxy hands down is The Roxy Melt. This hot sandwich is composed of a hamburger patty with cheese, bacon, avocado, BBQ sauce, lettuce, tomato, and pickles all atop toasted rye bread. I am not a fan of avocado, so I usually order it without, but I had to try it ONCE the way it is supposed to be. It wasn’t bad to be honest. For someone who will not eat avocados, I must admit I couldn’t taste it, and the texture wasn’t bad at all. Also with this sandwich you have your choice of fries, potato salad, salad, or soup. I usually get the fries because there’s something about a hot sandwich needing fries to go alongside it. Price of this meal: $6.45. It will definitely fill you up without breaking the bank.

Now lets talk about the service. I walk in the door, seat myself, and do not have to wait long for someone to come with the menus. With such short handed staff, the servers at The Roxy work like crazy to make sure you get everything you need, and will assist you in any way possible. Even with a full house, my menu and complimentary water is on my table within thirty seconds or less.

Can your favorite place do that?

Aside from the great food and service, this restaurant overall rocks. Seriously, there are always good jams coming out from the jukebox. For a dollar you can pick three songs to play during your meal. Have you ever seen plants in a toaster? Well if you have been to The Roxy you have. All along the shelves inside are white toasters with plants coming out of them. Also, there is a statue of David, who has recently acquired a Viking helmet, and a necklace. There are pictures of actors and actresses, and other celebrities signed and hung on the wall. One night I ate dinner with John Travolta. Yes I did. He sat right behind me on the wall, just staring at me. It was awesome.

Overall, I would give this place a 4.5 out of 5. For an all night diner, the staff at The Roxy make you feel welcomed. The prices are incredible, and the food, is just as incredible. I have been to a few places since I moved here, but I have to say, this is my favorite. If you’re looking for a good time, good food, and great service, you’ll find it at The Roxy located at 1121 SW Stark Street, Portland, Oregon.

VEGETABLE STALKER!!!

Hello everyone!!! Just thought I'd update everyone and say that I have finally started college at The International Culinary School at The Art Institute of Portland. I am loving classes so far! Except the fact that my kitchen classes start at 7:00 AM. It's pretty ridiculous.

Anyhoo, I am required to write journals everyday, so I wrote today's and decided to share it with you. Some info you probably won't care about, but the rest is about making a vegetable stock. It smells super yummy :) and you can add it to anything! So here it is!!

Jacquelyn M. Peterman

Fundamentals of Classical Techniques

Journal

Tuesday, October 4^th 2011

Today was an introduction day of the course and of the kitchen. I learned what the expectations are, as well as how to properly prep a vegetable stock, and how to properly make a small quarter-inch dice with the vegetables and potatoes. Also, we learned how to use our chef knife and make a Bouquet Garni. We reviewed the syllabus, and our kits.

Vegetable Stock

· 2 oz. Vegetable Oil

· 1 lb. Mirepoix ( ½ lb. onion, ¼ lb. celery, ¼ lb. carrots)

· 4 oz. Leeks (small dice)

· 4 oz. Fennel (small dice)

· 2 oz. Turnip (small dice)

Bouquet Garni

· Parsley

· Thyme

· Celery

· Bay leaf

· Peppercorn

Make the Bouquet Garni first by taking some parsley and placing the thyme, peppercorn, and bay leaf on it. Then sandwich it in between one stick of celery that has been cut in half then tie it together.

Next, make the vegetable stock by dicing the mirepoix, leeks, fennel, and turnip to ¼ inch cubes (small dice). Once they have been weighed to the right weight, put it all in a pot, and sweat the vegetables. This releases the flavor of the vegetables. Then add 3 quarts of cold water, and the vegetable oil. Let simmer for 30-45 minutes. Strain liquid, and toss vegetables. That is how you make a vegetable stock.

Okay so there it is. I promise to keep you updated with more recipes and new stuff! :)

Best Darn Butter Around

Alrighty folks. Today I made butter. Not just any butter. It is the most spectacular butter I have ever made! In fact, my guinea pigs (my family) and I have all agreed that my butter is so yummy delicious that I shouldn't write a recipe for it.

That's right, it's TOP SECRET.

However, I will be selling it! I do not have any pictures of the packaged product yet, but will hopefully soon! My main flavor right now is a garlic and herb butter which is oh so delightful! I can also make plain (duh!) and salted. I will be doing more experimenting so keep your eyes peeled! It is 100% all natural and made from cow's cream. I can also make organic butter for all you organic freaks :)

Prices are as follows:

1oz. Sampler................. $1.00
6oz. Butter..................... $3.50
6oz. Organic Butter..... $4.75

I also will be selling homemade buttermilk as well. Flavors I have are:

Plain
Vanilla
Maple
Caramel

The buttermilk is good as coffee creamer or to use in your cooking as well (buttermilk pancakes with a hint of maple? YES PLEASE!). There is organic and regular. Buttermilk only comes in an 8oz. glass bottle.

Plain, flavored.....................$3.50
Organic Plain, flavored.....$4.75

You can send me an e-mail at contact.gloriousfood@gmail.com to tell me what size, quantity, and flavor butter or buttermilk you want.

I will post more flavors as soon as I discover the good stuff! Also, if you give me a recipe that is better than mine, then I will reward you with a FREE gift and a special feature in my blog.

Follow me on Twitter and 'Like' me on Facebook!

Feel free to send me recipes to try or perfect. I will add them to my blog so be careful if you don't want me to unleash the secrets of your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's chunky corn bread. Check back often to see what else I'm cookin' up!

Sweet AND Sour Pork

Who doesn't like Asian food? My favorite item to order at an Asian inspired restaurant is always sweet and sour pork. Sweet and sour pork is a Chinese dish that is particularly popular in Cantonese cuisine and may be found all over the world. A traditional Jiangsu dish called Pork in a sugar and vinegar sauce is considered its ancestor. Sweet and sour pork can either be deep fried or stir fried (Below, I give you the stir fried version).

I bought myself an old edition of Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook at a little thrift shop a few weeks ago. I saw the sweet and sour pork recipe and said, "That's it, I want that in my tummy!"

So I went to the grocery store and bought the stuff I needed to make this delicious feast. Now I didn't quite follow the rules (if I did I'd be wondering where my sanity went.) but I did manage to use the same ingredients. I just went about the cooking process a little differently.


Ingredients

1 1/2 Pounds of Pork (I used pork tenderloin cut into 1 inch chunks)
2 Tbsp. Hot Shortening
1 Chicken Bouillon Cube
1 20 oz. Can of Pineapple Chunks
1/4 C. Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1/4 C. Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Medium Bell Pepper (diced small)
1/4 C. Copped Onion
Hot Cooked Rice

Directions

1. Brown the pork chunks in the hot shortening. Add the water, and bouillon cube plus 1/4 tsp. salt. Mix well! Cover and let simmer until tender (The recipe says an hour but I am too impatient and did about 30 minutes-- pork was fully cooked and quite juicy!).
2. Meanwhile, drain the pineapple BUT SAVE THE JUICE! If you throw out the juice, you might as well throw out the rest! Kidding, but seriously, save the juice. Combine that with the brown sugar, vinegar, soy sauce and cornstarch in a small sauce pan. Cook and stir over medium heat until thickened and bubbly. It will change color to a dark caramel-ish color. That's wonderful :)
3. Remove from heat, mix with the pork.
4. In some hot shortening, crisp up the pineapple chunks, onion, and bell pepper. drain and add to pork. Serve over hot rice.
5. Enjoy!
(**you can substitute the pork for chicken, just use boneless skinless chicken breast.)


Okay so there is that! I love sweet and sour pork so much that if any of you give me a recipe that is better than mine, then I will reward you with a FREE gift and a special feature in my blog.

Follow me on Twitter and 'Like' me on Facebook!

Feel free to send me recipes to try or perfect. I will add them to my blog so be careful if you don't want me to unleash the secrets of your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's chunky corn bread. Check back often to see what else I'm cookin' up!

Is She YOUR Cherry Pie?

Yesterday dad, the brothers, and I all went cherry picking.

Mmmm cherries!

So we are there at my dad's friend's house picking right? A beetle hiding among the leaves decides to drop into shirt as I'm working. I don't want to freak out and cause a scene so what do I do? I set down my cherry bowl and smooshed the intruder. Turns out it actually went down my bra.... Awkward moment for me. So I continued picking cherries with a dead beetle, guts hanging out, touching my skin. Gross. I'm pretty sure reading this makes you lose your appetite for delicious cherry pie right?

Wrong.

You see, if you absolutely LOVE cherry pie, you should be well aware of the sacrifices you make while picking cherries. Yes, it all has to do with the cherry picking. I walked away only to have eaten about 7 cherries, I had a dead beetle close to my heart- literally, also I had a mess of various other bugs in my hair along with parts of rotten cherries. These are just some of the things I endured to be able to create such a wonderful dessert.

All together, we probably picked around ten pounds of fruit (not counting the five pounds we all consumed). Dad decided to give some away to a lady friend last night, but we still have enough to make somewhere around 30 pies.

Okay so maybe not that many, but enough to hold us over for a while (;

I can promise you that my cherry pie is best. From the flaky pie crust, to the sweet thick cherry filling, this pie is sure to win a few ribbons- and blue ones at that! It's great topped with real whip cream that I make myself, or with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.

Everyone knows that every good pie starts with an amazing crust. That is why I am the queen of cherry pies. So here's the pie crust recipe:


Flaky Pie Crust

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
3/4 teaspoon table salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (diced)
1/4 cup shortening
7 to 8 tablespoons ice water

Directions:
1. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and sugar until well combined.

2. Using clean hands, add butter and toss until just coated. Rub butter between thumb and forefingers to incorporate into flour mixture until butter is lima bean sized pieces and comes together in quarter-sized clumps when squeezed in palm, about 2 minutes.

3. Add shortening, toss until just coated in flour, then rub into flour mixture until mixture forms pea sized pieces (some big chunks should remain) and comes together in fist sized clumps when squeezed, about 1 minute.

4. Drizzle in half of the ice water, and rake through mixture with fingers until just moistened. Drizzle in remaining water 1 tablespoon at a time and comb through mixture with fingers to moisten. It will go from being a shaggy mess to coming together.

****Dough is moist enough when it is moistened through but is not wet when pressed. (Do not overwork the dough or it will become tough.****

5. While rotating the bowl with 1 hand, push dough between other palm and side of bowl to gather into a ball. Turn dough onto a piece of plastic wrap, press it into a flat disk, then close in wrap. Place in coldest part of refrigerator (usually back bottom shelf) at least 30 minutes before rolling out and forming into a crust.

6. Place dough into a pie pan. Trim the edges. Poke the dough with a fork here and there. Bake at 250 degrees for 7 minutes. You do this so when you pour filling in, it won't make the dough soggy.

Now the other best part of the cherry pie is the cherry filling. I don't use canned cherry filling because honestly, it's disgusting. Instead, I spend hours working up a sweat in the hot sun picking cherries- one by one.

Actually, I only spent about an hour in nice weather picking handfuls of juicy, bright red, sweet cherries. Boy was this year's harvest a good one!!


Cherry Pie Filling

5 C. Pitted Cherries (make sure you have a ratio of 3 parts sweet ripe cherries, and 1 part sour almost ripe cherries for the sweet and the tart)
1 C. Sugar
1/4 C. Lemon Juice
Approx. 1/4 C. Water (see directions before adding)
2 Tbsp. Cornstarch for thickening

Directions:

1. Combine fruit and sugar in a pan and stir together. If cherries are soft and mushy, you won't need additional water, but if cherries are firm, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil.

2. Mix cornstarch with some cold water (about 2 tablespoons of cold water with 2 tablespoons corn starch), whisking to remove lumps.

3. When cherries are boiling, add thickening while stirring constantly to prevent lumps. Add enough thickening to make the consistency you desire. (We like our pies fairly thick.) Stir the thickening as it bubbles, just until the juices are clear. (When the filling looks clear, it's fully cooked. Over-cooking will start to break down the filling.)

4. Pour into pie crust. Make a lattice or full top, whichever you would like. Make an egg wash by lightly beating as whole raw egg and brushing on crust. This will make it shiny, and add a nice gold color to the crust.

5. Bake pie at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes or until browned.

So there you have it. My yummy cherry pie! I swear it is the best. If you think yours is better, leave me a comment and we'll talk pie. If any of you give me a recipe that is better than mine, then I will reward you with a FREE gift and a special feature in my blog.

Follow me on Twitter and 'Like' me on Facebook!

Feel free to send me recipes to try or perfect. I will add them to my blog so be careful if you don't want me to unleash the secrets of your great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother's chunky corn bread. Check back often to see what else I'm cookin' up!

Chocolate, Caramel, and Shortbread

Okay, so it has been a while since the last post. Truth is, I have been really busy lately and not cooking or baking much at all.

A few days ago I came across a recipe for these British yummies. Shortbread with a layer of caramel and chocolate on top. I decided right then and there I was going to make them. The recipe is fairly simple and I believe that any cook whether they be pro, or someone who only uses the microwave, can whip this up in no time.

Alright, here goes!

For the shortbread:
1/2 pound unsalted butter, softened
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup sugar 2 cups flour
1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch

Make the shortbread.
1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously grease a 9 x 9 baking pan with butter.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the butter, salt, and sugar and whip on medium speed until the butter becomes fluffy and white - about 5 minutes.
3. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour and cornstarch. Mix to incorporate.
4. Pat the dough evenly into the pan.
5. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the edges just begin to darken. The shortbread will remain white. Set aside to cool.














For the
caramel:
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Next, make the caramel.
1. In a 2 quart saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, corn syrup, and sweetened condensed milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
2. Continue stirring and allow mixture to boil for another 5 minutes.
3. Remove caramel from heat and stir vigorously for a few minutes.
4. Pour over shortbread and allow to set up at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.




















For the chocolate:
1 1/4 cups semi sweet chocolate, chopped

Chocolate.
1. Simply place chocolate in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat for 45 seconds, then stir and continue to heat and stir at 20 second intervals until chocolate is completely melted.
2. Pour chocolate over the caramel layer and spread evenly to cover.
3. Chill to set the chocolate - about 30 minutes.






When this is all said and done, you will have an amazingly yummy British treat. Have a cup of tea too! :) Be prepared for soft caramel, and hard chocolate and sort of a bitter taste from the shortbread. Together all of the flavors are something I haven't really tasted. I loved it though and can't wait to experiment with it!


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