Bisque from Friends

Ingredients-Al the Soup N.. recipe

§  2 cup dry White Wine

§  1 Bay leaf

§  1 Onion, roughly chopped

§  1 clove Garlic

§  2 ribs Celery

§  1 Lobster (1 to 1 1/2 pounds)

§  12 medium Shrimp, in the shell

§  24 mussels, well scrubbed

§  12 Sea Scallops

§  4 cup Heavy Whipping Cream

§  1 cup Milk

§  1 teaspoon dried Thyme

§  1 tablespoon minced fresh Parsley

§  1/4 teaspoon dried Rosemary

§  1 cup fresh Spinach, well rinsed and washed

§  1/2 cup grated Carrot

§  1/2 teaspoon fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions

Combine white wine, bay leaf, onion, garlic, and celery in a noncreative large stockpot over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Add the lobster; cover the pot, and steak for 10 minutes. Remove the lobster.

Add the Shrimp, cover the pot, and steam for 5 minutes. Remove the shrimp with tongs.

Add the mussels, cover the pot, and steam until they open, about 5 minutes. Remove the mussels with tongs, extract the meat and discard the shells. Discard any (mussels sic) that do not open.

Add 2 cups water to the liquid in the pot, bring to a boil and then add the scallops. Cover the pot and steam for 3 minutes. Remove the scallops with the tongs.

Extract the lobster meat, reserving the shells. Peel and de-vein the shrimp, reserving the shells. Chop the meat into bite-size pieces, cover and set aside.

Return the seafood shells to the pot of broth and add 2 cups water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Strain the broth, and return it to the pan.

Bring the broth to a simmer over low heat. Add the cream, milk, thyme, parsley, and rosemary and simmer until the mixture thickens slightly, about 5 minutes. Add the lobster, shrimp, mussels, and scallops, and simmer for about 2 minutes. Stir in the spinach, carrots, and simmer for another 2 minutes to just wilt the spinach. Season with salt, pepper, and stir in the lemon juice.

Serves 6.

100 Year old Jam Cake with Caramel Icing

This recipe was collected by my grandmother, Mrs. OF Babb from the now defunct Memphis Press Scimitar newspaper. There's no date on the clipping but I'd guess from it's condition probably 1960-1970; I think they (the paper, that is) went under in the early 70's some time.

According to the article, this recipe comes originally from Mrs. M. G. Hodges of Henderson, Tennessee, who was 82 years old at the time; it was her mother's. Mrs. Hodges explained this cake was baked for special occasions - such as Christmas and when the preacher came to dinner. The recipe was over 100 years old at the time of publication.

The secret to the cake is aging. Make it, then let it sit a couple of days before cutting it. The clipping says that the newspaper's test kitchen let the one they made ripen for five days. Properly wrapped, it should freeze well.

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine
2 cups sugar
6 eggs
3 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons soda
2 teaspoons ground allspice
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
6 Tablespoons buttermilk
2 cups strawberry jam

Cream soft butter. Add sugar slowly, beating until creamy. Add eggs (room temperature) one at a time. Beat well after each egg. Have flour mixture ready. Sift all-purpose flour and measure. Then sift again with soda and spices. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk. Mix to blend well. Mixing this cake requires about 25 to 30 minutes. Last of all fold in strawberry jam. If berries are quite large chop fine. Pour into four square 8-inch layer cake pans 2 inches deep. Brush bottom of pan lightly with salt free shortening or salad oil. Flour well. Level the batter with spatula. Drop pans several times from height of 4 inches. Bake in moderate oven (375 degrees) about 30-40 minutes or until done. Cool on cake rack 5 minutes, then turn out onto cake rack to cool completely before icing.

Frost with Uncooked Caramel Icing.

Uncooked Caramel Icing

1 1/2 stick butter
1/2 cup cream
2 cups dark brown sugar (or more for richer caramel flavor)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Confectioner's sugar (enough to make spreadable consistency)

Melt butter and cream together. While hot, stir in brown sugar. Cool and stir in vanilla. Stir in salt and sifted confectioner's sugar, as needed.

Grilled BBQ Chicken Pizza with 10 Minute Pizza Crust

 

Ingredients

Crust
• 3-1/2 to 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 envelope Fleischmann's® Pizza Crust Yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1-1/3 cups very warm water (120 to 130°F)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• Additional flour for rolling
• Additional oil for grilling
Toppings
• 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 2 cups cooked, cubed chicken
• 8 strips of bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 1 to 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup ranch dressing
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or chopped green onion

Instructions

1. Start charcoal fire or preheat gas grill to medium-high heat.
2. Combine 2 cups flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add very warm water and oil; mix until well blended. Approximately 1 minute.
4. Gradually add enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. Dough should form a ball and will be slightly sticky.
5. Knead on a lightly floured surface, adding additional flour if necessary, until smooth and elastic. Approximately 5 minutes. (I use the dough hook on my mixer and it works beautifully. Just continue adding flour as necessary.)
6. Divide dough into 6-8 portions.
7. Pat or roll dough on a well-floured surface until they reach the size and thickness you desire. You want these pizzas to look rustic. I.e. not perfect.
8. Brush both sides of pizza crusts with olive oil.
9. Lift each crust carefully with hands and place on grill.
10. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes until bottom is lightly browned and top looks done.
11. Remove crust from grill and place on a cutting board or baking sheet grilled side up.
12. Spread barbecue sauce over crust. Top with onions, chicken, and bacon.
13. Evenly sprinkle cheddar cheese over toppings.
14. Repeat with remaining pizzas.
15. Carefully slide each pizza onto the grill.
16. Cook an additional 3 to 4 minutes until bottom of crust is browned and cheese is melted.
17. Remove from oven and sprinkle with cilantro or green onions.
18. Drizzle ranch over the top of the pizzas if desired and serve immediately.

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Thanks to: http://www.momontimeout.com/2013/06/grilled-bbq-chicken-pizza-with-10-minute-pizza-crust/

Grandma's Lemon Meringue Pie

0 items                     

Prep 30 min

 

Cook 10 min

 

Ready 40 min

Ingredients Serves 1

1. 1 cup white sugar,
2. 2 tbsp all-purpose flour,
3. 3 tbsp corn starch,
4. ¹⁄₄ tsp salt,
5. 1 ¹⁄₂ cup water,
6. 2 lemon, juiced and zested
7. 2 tbsp butter,
8. 4 egg yolk, beaten
9. 9 in baked pie crust,
10. 4 egg white,
11. 6 tbsp white sugar,

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.
3. To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Lemon Cheesecake Morning Buns

Lemon Cheesecake Morning Buns

You know the saying, “Don’t dress for the job you have; dress for the job you want”? I like to adapt that statement for my own ridiculous purposes on occasion.

The other day it was roughly 40 degrees outside, which is basically winter-in-Antarctica weather for me (some New Englander with a snowdrift the size of a Hummer outside their door is about to beat me up). Despite being pathologically repulsed by cold weather, I was too lazy to put on a coat. I ran out in a gauzy t-shirt and jeans to pick up some dinner.
When you make a wardrobe choice like this, you can’t curl up in a ball on the sidewalk, acknowledging defeat. You have to grit your teeth and pretend your choice was appropriate for some secret reason only you are aware of. I therefore ignored my goosebumps and impending hypothermia as I walked along the sidewalk to the restaurant, swinging my arms as if enjoying a gentle summer breeze. Upon noticing a guy in a t-shirt clearly doing the exact same thing, I gave him a nod. “We’re dressing for the weather we want, not the weather we have. It’s strategic!” I yelled toward him.
He responded, “Exactly. And it’s only 40 degrees. We’re not even cold, right?”
“NOPE, not one bit.”

I also often bake for the weather I want, not the weather I have. Naomi at Bakers Royale just acknowledged she sometimes uses out-of-season produce, so I might as well make my confession, too, though I might get excommunicated from the blogosphere. I promise I do care about being green and supporting local business. But sometimes I also want raspberries. My lifestyle is admittedly imperfect.
Now that we’ve gotten that admission out of the way, I can tell you that I’m baking for spring.

When it’s cold and rainy like it has been in Charlotte lately, my already sun-sheltered apartment windows let in an even more dreary landscape than usual. The courtyard of my apartment complex, where the grass has stubbornly refused to take root, becomes a muddy landslide. My morale slides right off into the stormdrain along with the river that forms in my parking lot.
On days like this, I need some lemon. And some bright summer berries. (And a sunlamp and some vitamin D and maybe a tropical vacation, but I digress.)

Since I first made Savory Sweet Potato & Chorizo Cinnamon Rolls and Buttery Coconut & Almond Morning Buns, I’ve been looking for new ways to use my favorite overnight yeast dough. I could’ve just made buttery lemon-glazed rolls, but I decided stuffing some tangy lemon cheesecake in my morning buns was a better idea. This yeast dough is a cinch to whip up and is so forgiving — and its second proof takes place overnight in the fridge. The resulting rolls are soft, buttery, and tangy. They almost have the texture of a flaky bread pudding. And needless to say, they’re delicious. I served them with some raspberries and a tall glass of cold milk. Enjoy!

Lemon Cheesecake Morning Buns

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Recipe by: Willow Bird Baking
Yield: 24 buns
These morning buns could easily double as dessert. They are fluffy, gooey, tangy, buttery, and beyond delicious. I hope you’ll find a space for these rolls on your breakfast or brunch table. They definitely belong in the spotlight.
Roll Ingredients:
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees F)
2 tablespoons white vinegar
2 cups milk minus 2 tablespoons, room temperature
2/3 cup cold shortening
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
5 cups flour
2 tablespoons butter, melted, for after baking
Filling Ingredients:
2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
zest of 1 lemon (reserve a little for topping)
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 egg, room temperature
1 stick salted butter (or 1 stick unsalted butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt), melted
Glaze Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 table lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
about 1/4 cup milk
extra lemon zest
Directions:
Note on proofing: This yeast dough proofs for a couple of hours after you mix it up, and then the assembled rolls proof in the fridge overnight, so allow for this when planning to make this recipe. With most cinnamon rolls recipes you could switch this and proof in the fridge overnight and then assemble and proof on the countertop, but I opted to switch that method with these because I didn’t want the cream cheese filling sitting out too long.
Note on yield: I don’t recommend halving yeast recipes; instead, if you don’t want 24 rolls at once, consider freezing some for later.
Note on freezing: To freeze some of the unbaked rolls, just wrap them well before the second rise and freeze them. Once frozen, pop them out of the pan all together and store in the freezer, wrapped in plastic wrap and in a zip top bag or wrapped in foil. When you want to bake them, stick them back in a greased pan, thaw them in the fridge overnight, proof for the instructed amount of time, and bake like usual.
Mix the warm water and yeast in a medium bowl and let the yeast foam for about 10 minutes. Put 2 tablespoons white vinegar in a measuring cup and then add milk up to the 2 cup line. Set this aside. In a separate large bowl (or the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook), whisk together flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and cut the shortening into the mixture with two knives or a pastry cutter until the shortening looks like small peas. Stir yeast mixture and milk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well, kneading just a few turns. Transfer the dough to a bowl lightly sprayed with cooking spray, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and proof in a warm, draft-free place (such as a closed, turned-off oven), for around 2 hours or until doubled in size.
After proofing the dough, lightly spray two 9 x 13-inch baking dishes with cooking spray. Cream the softened cream cheese in a medium bowl until fluffy before adding lemon zest, sugar, lemon juice, and the egg. Mix together until well combined.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and roll it into a large rectangle about 1/8-inch thick (I carefully cut the dough in half and worked with half at a time to make it more manageable; if you do this, just spread on half of the filling ingredients for each half you roll). Spread the melted butter over the surface of the rolled dough and then dollop the cream cheese mixture all across the surface, spreading gently to create an even layer. Gently roll the dough up into a spiral (I find using a bench scraper to encourage the dough to roll up during this process incredibly helpful) and cut it into 2-inch rolls, placing them close together in your prepared baking dishes (at this point, you could wrap and freeze the rolls for later if you wanted).
Cover the rolls let them rise in the fridge overnight (they will have nearly doubled.) When you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F, letting the rolls rise on top of the preheating oven covered by a clean dish towel. Bake them for about 25-30 minutes or until lightly browned on top (don’t underbake or they’ll still be doughy in the center). Brush with 2 tablespoons melted butter and return to the oven for 1 more minute. Whisk together the glaze ingredients and drizzle the glaze over the warm rolls. Sprinkle with reserved zest and serve immediately.

Cup Clips-Love this!

Get it here

Not a common favorite-I love Brussel Sprouts!

What it took for 4:
* 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 Tbs. butter
* 1 pound brussel sprouts, washed, ends trimmed and thinly sliced (then you shred them with your hands)
* 4 thin slices of prosciutto, torn into strips
* 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes
* 1 lemon
* 1 Tbs. poppy seeds
* coarse salt and pepper
Heat a large skillet over medium-high. Add the prosciutto strips and sauté until crisp, 2 minutes. Remove from skillet and chop it all up. Kind of like bacon bits! But with prosciutto.
Back in the skillet, heat the oil and butter over medium-high. Add the brussel sprouts and sauté until they start to brown and soften, 6 minutes. Add the tomatoes and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper and sauté another 2 minutes.
Toss in the prosciutto bits and poppy seeds. Toss, toss.

Easy Orange Rolls

 

Ingredients:

• 2 tubes refrigerated biscuits (the smaller biscuits or the Grands biscuits)
• 1 cube (1/2 C.) butter or margarine
• 1 C. sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 orange

Directions:

Combine the butter or margarine, sugar, zest, and orange juice in a small saucepan and heat until sugar is dissolved and butter is melted, stirring frequently.

You may use Pillsbury Grands! biscuits with the flaky layers.

You didn’t have to have a whole biscuit if you didn’t want to.  You could just peal off as many layers as you wanted.

 But they really would work just fine with the smaller biscuits too.

Using a fork or tongs, dip each biscuit into the sauce, scooping some of the zest onto the biscuit.  Place into a well-greased bundt pan.
Pour remaining sauce over the biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 35 minutes.
When done, immediately turn onto a platter and serve.  I place the platter on top of the rolls, then flip the whole thing over.

Eating well during Business Travel

My business travel & eating in when the firm puts us on Per Diem and an under $200/night room rate

I welcome your advice, so please, enter your comments below. 

1. I always try to get a room with refrigerator and microwave.  Then I seek out a nearby Whole Foods because I like to eat organic as much as possible.
2. One of my great go to items is fill the little hotel fridge with Greek Yogurt, my favorite granola, apples, oranges, grapefruits when in season, Korean Green Iced tea, Almond Milk, regular Organic 2% for my coffee and bottles of water. 
3. I like the Marriott, or Hyatt Residence Inn because they have a stocked kitchen.  When I cannot get booked there I bring my own eating utensils, and a bowl. 
4. Lately, when I go to the Silicon Valley to work I stay in a hotel because traffic is brutal!  Since it is close to home I can pack up the car with some of my favorite stuff for the hotel kitchen. 
5. I like my own Peet's coffee so I bring it with me in a little container to last the week along with my Coffee Press. 
6. One other very cool thing I like to take along is my little size 4 cup Cuisinart rice cooker. 
7. Here are some of my favs that with very little ingredients

Make vegetarian or with Chicken
Ingredients:
2-3 cups Chicken or Vegetable Broth-so it covers your ingredients
1 cup Arborio Rice or any rice that you like
1 boneless skinless chicken breast or Tofu
Vegetables:
1 Carrots or Parsnip
1/2 Sweet Potato
Slice small Onion, leek or scallion
Garlic
Spinach
Spice
Salt and Pepper
Add other spices if you like and cilantro lovers here is a chance to add that in too. Or, a little fresh basil.
Push the switch to on and it will be ready in 15 minutes
Mix and match ingredients for this recipe using your imagination.  I sometimes add a small can of beans, or 1/4 cup of Quinoa, even dried peas or wild rice with my Arborio rice (any rice will do)  I just happen to like Arborio because it makes the rice in this dish similar to Risotto.  And, if you want to use meat in this or other spice just be creative.  The best part of this for me is that it is small and the food is ready fast!

This is it!  I got mine on Amazon
In 15 minutes I can have a delicious one pot meal. 
I have been on a doctor's prescribed bland diet.  So, I adapted it to the approach below.  It is good for anyone that is hungry and does not want to go out for dinner after working all day.
 

Swami's Acai Bowl

I love Acai bowls
(pronounced ah-sah-EE)

There are not many places to get them in Northern California so I often make them at home.  I had my first one in Hawaii and was hooked!

 

Two place where I get my Acai bowls are (Blue Hawaii in San Francisco and Vitality Bowl in San Ramon or the Stoneridge Mall Vitality Bowl-Just outside JCP) 

This recipe goes in layers, starting from the bottom (Acai Smoothie pack first

In the blender

2 cups Acai Smoothie pack (in the freezer section at Whole Foods) some have cane juice they also have sugarless

mix in with acai MACA (mixed in with the acai) Hemp, flax, chia seeds, aloe juice (optional)

(blend frozen blueberries, boysenberries, bananas and strawberries)

1/2 cup frozen blueberries

1/2 cup frozen boysenberries

handful of strawberries

 

Topping

2 tbsp bee pollen

1/4 cup coconut (optional)

coco nibs (optional)

granola 

1 banana

gogi berries (optional)

Swirl on some honey (optional)