Kitchen Adventures: The Thanksgiving Recipes!

I've written blogs on many subjects I personally find interesting.  Some of them resonate with the people I share them with, and some don't.  But the one subject that seems to unite everyone I connect with is FOOD.

Now THAT'S a Thanksgiving Feast!

I think we try to make the world so complicated sometimes that we forget what makes people tick is really pretty simple.  We need companionship and we like to feel good.  Shared meals bring those things together perfectly, which is one reason I enjoy Thanksgiving so much, no matter who I spend it with. 

Food also helps us learn more about each other.  We all have stories attached to particular meals or recipes that make them memorable.  We can share elements of our culture and heritage through flavors.  Most importantly, the process of cooking involves service to the people we care about, showing our love by nourishing each other.

This plate made me feel VERY taken care of on Thursday!

So in service to you, the friends who read and comment on my blog and keep me mentally nourished, I'm happy to share my recipes from Thursday.   I hope you pass them along and use them to create wonderful memories with people you love.

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Grandma Hiller's Spinach Balls
2 boxes frozen spinach, thawed and drained
2 cups crushed herb stuffing mix
1 stick of butter, melted
3 eggs
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 chopped scallions

Mix together all ingredients.  Roll into 1 inch balls and bake on a greased baking sheet at 350 degrees for 12 minutes.  Serve with mustard sauce or other condiment of choice.


Key West Lime Mustard Sauce
4 cups mayonnaise
1 cup Dijon mustard
3/4 cup Key Lime juice
1 tablespoon Pickapeppa Sauce (you can substitute Worcestershire if needed)
1 tablespoon A1 Sauce

Using a whisk or food processor, blend the mayo with the mustard.  Slowly pour in the Key Lime juice.  Add the Pickapeppa and A1 and blend until light golden brown. 

NOTE: This recipes makes about 5 cups, which is at least 4 cups more than you need for the spinach ball recipe.  The amount of ingredients can be cut in half and the sauce will taste just as good.  Or you can make twice as many spinach balls!


Sweet and Spicy Nuts
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon season salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 egg white
3 cups mixed nuts (1 cup each cashews, pecans and almonds)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Combine sugar and all spices in a medium bowl and set aside.  Beat egg white until foamy.  Add nuts to egg white and toss to coat.  Add spice mixture to nuts and toss to coat evenly.  Spread nuts onto a greased baking sheet in a single layer.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring once.  Remove from oven and cool slightly, then break apart.   Cool completely and store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

A CUT Above

"To the victor go the spoils" - or so the saying goes. So thanks to the Philadelphia Flyers loss of Lord Stanley's Cup in June, I won a bet I made with my friend Tammy and had the privilege of dining in one of the finest restaurants in Los Angeles.

Tammy and I both appreciate a good meal, and when we made the bet, we knew someone was pulling out the spare credit card. We did not bet on dinner at a specific restaurant, only that the location would be the winners choice and there was no budget. In LA, that gives you some dangerous options, to say the least. When were getting around to scheduling the evening and discussing restaurant choices, I really didn't have anything specific in mind when Tammy started throwing out names of steakhouses. We both enjoy a good steak, and it's not the kind of meal either of us enjoy on a regular basis. But I also wanted her to help choose the location, because I thought it would be fun to go somewhere neither of us had been before. That helped narrow the choices sufficiently for us to choose CUT in Beverly Hills.

Attach the name Wolfgang Puck to anything related to food and you know you're in for an amazing experience. Locate a Wolfgang Puck restaurant in the Beverly Wilshire Hotel (which is owned by the Four Seasons hotel group) and you have an evening fit for a princess (That would be me, in case you were wondering who the princess is in this little dining drama).

Can I move in?

I had a bit better luck than Tammy in the traffic department, so I enjoyed a cocktail at Sidecar (conveniently located right next door) while I was waiting.

The gentleman seated next to me was enjoying some bone marrow flan off the restaurant menu. Gorgeous presentation, but a little off the scale in experimentation for my taste buds.

When Tammy finally arrived, we got seated and she started perusing the wine list.

The sommelier stopped by and asked if we needed some help deciding, and I was impressed immediately by two things. First, the sommelier was a woman. Second, she didn't linger and make us feel pressured to choose. She made some lovely recommendations and left us alone with our thoughts. After an additional few words of encouragement from our charming waiter, Tammy chose a perfect syrah for our meal.

Cheers!

Then we set about the formidable task of deciding what to eat. If you've never enjoyed dining at a place like this before, everything is a la carte, so you order entrees and side dishes separately and the portions are large enough to share. And because you're spending a Kings ransom on a steak, they even bring the various cuts of meat over on a gleaming silver tray so you can inspect the degree and consistency of the marbling (or in steak parlance, fat, which makes it more tender and juicy when cooked) in the cut of meat you're considering. And we also received a bit of eduction on Kobe beef, which apparently is under embargo right now, so unless you go to Japan you cannot enjoy "true" Kobe beef, although you can have very fine beef in the "Kobe style." So many decisions....

Of course, in addition to being charming, our waiter was French (originally from Lyon) and retained just enough of his original accent to contribute the perfect ambiance to the ordering process. This was our conversation:

Adorable French waiter: "And for you madam?"
Me: "I'll have the Nebraska rib eye, please."
Adorable French waiter: "Lovely! How would you like it prepared?"
Me: "Rare."
Adorable French waiter: "Very good...*raising eyebrows*...and your side order?"
Me: "I would love to try this incredible macaroni and cheese."
Adorable French waiter: "*smiles and nods*...The perfect meal!"
Me: "Can I take you home with me?"

Before we got down the main course, we did have a lovely crab and shrimp appetizer. I promptly apologized to Tammy for photographing my food, but I don't live like a princess every day, and documentation was necessary.

I had every intention of taking pictures of my incredible steak, the heavenly mac and cheese, and some truly amazing creamed spinach I shared with Tammy, but the wine and the appetizer got the best of me. Plus there was a very handsome fellow at the next table that kept glancing over at me. Initially, he sat down alone and I thought he might be security, ready to throw me out of the place for photoing Mr. Puck's lovely food and attempting to steal his secrets. Luckily another man joined him, so he's probably just an out-of-work actor.

And even though we had absolutely no room for dessert, we got just a little something sweet to finish off the loveliest meal I've had in a long time.

Sadly, it was time to leave.    And even more sadly, THIS chariot was not included in the deal... 

But a girl can dream, right?

Deep Dishing

When can a pizza make you do 5 pound curls? When it's the Numero ONE-O from Oregano's Pizza Bistro in Scottsdale, Arizona. Check this out....



If you're thinking, "OMG! That is the thickest pizza I've ever seen outside of Chicago" you couldn't be more right. It felt like one slice weighed at least 5 pounds, which explains why it takes 45 minutes to prepare. But it's SO worth the wait. I could only eat one piece. And since I have no shut-off valve when it comes to pizza, that's saying something. Of course, the generous serving of "Italian Gold" wings I had to start this meal could have been part of the reason.

Great food and great company....simply a GREAT EVENING. And even better because I got to share it with Pat, Mike, Jim, Linc, and Debbie.

Next time you're in Scottsdale, give Oregano's a try. And make sure you bring your appetite.

Salut!

In Training: Cinco de Mayo!

So my calendar reminded me it's time for another "In Training" status report, and unlike last time, we have good news. The pesky pounds that crept back on are now gone again, and health-wise life is starting to return to normal. I even managed to get back out on the tennis court with Nadine for the first time since last October, and discovered I still have a little game in me. I have to admit, it felt really great to run around chasing some new yellow fuzzy balls!

I still have a way to go to meet my goal, but I'm feeling more energized about it than I have in months. Motivation is a wonderful thing!

Since there isn't much interesting to report on the exercise front, I figured I'd use the fact that my co-workers and I celebrated Cinco de Mayo with a fun dinner as a great excuse to talk about food! It also gave me an excuse to engage in a fun habit I share with my co-worker Cindy Hyon -- photographing food! Because when it looks this good, why wouldn't you take a picture?



My healthy restaurant choice this evening was seared Ahi tuna and asparagus with Chinese black bean sauce. So why is tuna healthy? According to Elements4Health, "Tuna is an excellent source of protein, and while some vitamin and mineral losses occur during canned tuna processing, the protein nutritive values are not dramatically changed. Tuna is an excellent source of the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, protein, potassium, selenium, and vitamin B12. It's a very good source of niacin and phosphorus."

All these things mean a diet including tuna can help reduce your risk of stroke, high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. Big win, AND extremely tasty when barely seared on each side and served rare like my dish.

Of course, my celebratory cocktails offset the health benefits of the tuna just a bit, but a girl has to live, right?



Happy Cinco de Mayo! Be festive, my friends!

Kings Stanley Cup Play-off Season: Round 1, Game 1

Having your team finally make the Stanley Cup Play-offs after 8 long years is sheer joy. Waiting for the series to start is nothing sort of agony. My stomach was upset, I couldn't sleep...I was worried and excited at the same time about the start of the Kings play-off experience.

So it was nice to see the city of Los Angeles finally wake up, remember we have a pretty great hockey team, AND put them on the front page of the sports section.



Hmmm, 8 years since the last play-off.....star player wears number 8.....WOW, I think I just felt little hairs raise up on the back of my neck!!! We have GOOSEBUMPS, people!

The Kings were sponsoring a "Watch Party" at the ESPN Zone downtown, but instead I headed down to Redondo Beach to enjoy Game 1 with Jen and Brianna at the Redondo Beach Cafe. Much more mellow, great hockey fans, and poutine! And BEER!



We were all on the edge of our seats the entire game, which was fast paced and awesome. Just everything you want from play-off hockey. Although Vancouver also has these creepy green things that haunt the players in the penalty box...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkXvwG8xKJI

Jeez, am I glad I'm not a Canucks fan. And going to RBC instead of ESPN was a stroke of genius, since I forgot there was a Taylor Swift concert at Staples Center. Traffic getting home was stupid crazy!

The Kings, unfortunately, did not win, but I was so proud of how they played, and the game went into overtime before the Canucks finally got the go-ahead goal. If we keep the same level of intensity throughout the series, we're gonna be just fine.

So now the nerves are gone, and it's all about the joy of the play-off experience. I'm looking forward to some more kick-ass Kings action at Game 2 on Saturday. You can find me at the ESPN Zone across from Staples Center if you want to join the party.

GO KINGS GO!

An Easter For The Record Books

What do you get when you combine 8 people, 3 dogs, a mountain of food, and an earthquake? A California Easter Celebration hosted by my friends John and Nadine Donat! They sure know how to throw a party!

I love the fact that I have an incredibly diverse group of friends, but I was more pleased to find out we have a couple of things in common - we're all great cooks and we LOVE to eat. And none of us know how to do things on a small scale, so we had enough food for an army. If any of this looks good to you, contact Nadine because I'm pretty sure she STILL has leftovers.













The doggies, of course, were very excited about Easter as well, because food and people in the house means snacks for them too. But Momma Denie has them very well trained and they know they have to wait outside until they get invited in. Bailey (left) was a little more patient than Ziggy, who barked the entire time.



Now I ask you, HOW do you resist that adorable little face?



Or that adorable big one?



Bailey is tall enough to see what's on the table. Luckily, he's pretty good about not stealing things....but we kept everything out of tongues reach just to be on the safe side.



Of course, if you're Sasha, you're only interested in beer. She's definitely Daddy's dog...



Special thanks to Bob and Natalie Adams, Chelsea Alexander, Aaron and Blake Danchik, and of course Nadine and John for not only being great cooks but excellent company as well! We shared a lot of laughs and got one HUGE surprise.

No, it wasn't the earthquake. We didn't even feel it, we just found out about it when my sister texted me from the East Coast checking to make sure I was OK.

The big surprise of the day was the news that the Kings CLINCHED A PLAY-OFF SPOT! That's right, we're going to the play-offs for the first time in 8 years!

Come to think of it, that must be what caused the earthquake....

Home Cooking

Getting a package first thing on a Friday morning is always fun, especially when you're not expecting it and it's from home. Many people have marveled at my ability to find and give personal, spontaneous gifts, and I learned from the master - my Mom.

Since it was Easter weekend, I was thinking a chocolate bunny, but I got something even better - an ADVANCE COPY of our church cookbook!



My Mom was part of the committee that typed, proofread, and sorted through 600 recipes to make this wonderful collection. So now I have everything from my Aunt Mary's Italian Wedding Soup recipe to my old high school classmate Lara Lee's Quick Shrimp & Scallop Pasta.

And way back in the back, filed under "This & That," the secrets to "Pop's Fresh Horse-Radish," submitted by Mom in memory of my Dad. I remember him stinking up the entire kitchen making that stuff from horseradish root he grew in his own garden. I would never eat it, and all he would say is, "You don't know what's good." He was probably right.

Well, I'm off to the store to get the fixings for grilled shrimp for a BBQ this weekend. But looking at page 26 of my new cookbook, I'm also adding the stuff for Pat Strickland's Chicken Corn Chowder. Mom already tried it and says it's amazing, plus it has received my nephew Mike's seal of approval. And with bacon on the list of ingredients, I can believe it!

If you're interested in a copy, they go on sale April 11th.

Dark Cherry Memories

I read once that smell is the sense most tied to memory. Since I can conjure clear images of two old boyfriends based on the scents from Polo and Fahrenheit cologne alone, this may in fact be true. But smell isn't the only sense that brings back powerful memories - taste does too.

I was on Facebook a couple of weeks ago doing my normal kvetching about drinking too much coffee, wanting to quit even though I didn't think I could live without the caffeine, etc. when an old college friend mentioned her Starbucks drink of choice - dark cherry mocha. She said it tasted like you were drinking a chocolate covered cherry. My head snapped to attention because I knew immediately how much I would love this drink just from her description. I even asked a barista at my local Starbucks to make me one a week before they were officially selling them. And with one sip, the most powerful image came into my head - of my Dad.

You see, when I was a little girl, I used to go everywhere with my Dad. This included trips to our neighborhood Wawa, which was a convenience store pretty much like 7-Eleven. Most of the time, we were picking up milk, or getting the Sunday paper, or running some other errand for my Mom. Regardless of the purpose of the trip, I always managed to talk my Dad into buying me a couple of those little red foil wrapped Cella's chocolate covered cherries.

Wawa had a big jar of them on the counter, right next to the register. I think they were two cents a piece, so I could get two for a nickel and have a penny in change. I've had a sweet tooth my whole life, and lucky for me, my Daddy always seemed to have a spare nickel.

I miss him every day. So now there is really no chance of me giving up coffee... thank you Starbucks.

Friendship and Food, Seattle Style!

This past weekend, I flew up to Seattle to help my good friend Leah Jacobs celebrate her birthday. I've known Leah ever since we worked together during my 3 year stint in the Pacific Northwest. Hard to believe it's been 12 years since we met! And although we don't see each other as much as we'd like, I always manage to get up to visit a couple of times a year.

The flight from Burbank to Seattle takes a little over two hours, and I left after work so I didn't arrive until 9 PM and hadn't eaten dinner. Leah is a restaurant connoisseur, and she suggested a place up on Capitol Hill not far from my old apartment. So off to Poppy we went.



Walking in the back entrance is like traipsing through your neighbor's beautiful herb garden. It was the perfect setting for the treats that followed.



The food is Indian inspired, composed of small plates, almost like a tapas bar. The atmosphere is modern but cozy and the food was AMAZING!! I highly recommend the dungeness crab spring rolls (photo above) and tandoori chicken with slaw, which we shared. And the apricot frozen yogurt for dessert was heavenly!! Everything was fresh and flavorful. No surprise to Seattle natives, since the head chef used to run The Herb Farm, a local favorite. Next time you're in town, check out Poppy (http://www.poppyseattle.com/index.html).

Saturday morning, we headed to the gym, then across town to the University district to check out the Farmers Market and pick up some ingredients for dinner that night. Leah and her hubby Spencer had invited over their friends Frederick and Susie, so Leah had come up with a nice summery menu for us to cook for dinner. So much fun to be shopping for fresh fruits and veggies in perfect 75 degree weather! We took these home...







And I can't resist taking pictures of pretty flowers wherever I find them.



Before we headed home, we took a break for lunch with Leah's step-sister Peach. The patio at the Eastlake Bar and Grille (http://www.neighborhoodgrills.com/eastlake/) was the perfect spot to watch some boats and have a few Raspberry Vodka Lemonade cocktails while we caught up on girl talk. We're the ladies who lunch!

When we got home, it was time to get cooking! Leah is one of my absolute favorite people to share a kitchen with. She's an organization freak like me (she alphabetizes her spices!), and I understand how she works things in her kitchen, so we make a great team.

Our first order of business was turning our $10 flat of blueberries into a pie!



For some reason she trusted me to cut the dough. Thank goodness I had some hardware to measure and make sure I got the vent holes in the right spot!



While I was cutting the dough, she was cutting the butter, so I had an excuse to pull out the camera. She hated me doing it, but she looked so cute in her apron! And I warned her the photos were going in my blog, and she didn't steal my camera, so I figure I'm safe including them.







This is looking promising....we'll know in an hour or so.



While the pie was baking, I got to chopping all the ingredients for a Country-Style Greek Salad while Leah brined breasts of chicken. Those we covered with a Cajun spice rub and grilled outside.





Spencer, our sommelier, made sure we had some lovely wine choices. Frederick pitched in as well. And yes, by the end of the night we went through all four bottles....



But how could you not linger over a lovely dinner in such a nice setting!



And the pie....it was a hit!



Thanks to an energetic dinner conversation, we were up past midnight, which made Sunday a sleep in day. Spencer and Leah had tickets to see Elvis Costello in concert Sunday night, so I booked a mid-afternoon flight home. But I couldn't leave without taking in brunch at our favorite spot... Lola (http://www.tomdouglas.com/restaurants/lola). Their Bloody Mary was just what the doctor ordered...

Oh, and I almost forgot! Leah's birthday gift was the one I wrapped in the crazy fairy dust silver paper a few blog posts ago. She recognized it instantly from reading my blog! So she was smart enough to open it outside.





Leah and Spencer are headed to Florence and Amsterdam next month, so I thought she could use a couple of books of city maps. We used one just like them when we all went to Paris last year, and they worked beautifully.

Happy Birthday my friend, and thanks for another magical culinary tour of Seattle! Your sous chef will return after hockey season to cook with you again. Start planning the menu...

Signs of Spring

The Progressive office where I work in Pasadena, CA is loaded with bright, creative, colorful people. They think of more ways to have fun than anyone I know. A lot of credit for that goes to their branch manager, Kim Davis, who is always so peppy, smiling and full of energy. They also have a lot of really great cooks in the office, so to kick off the start of spring, they organized a Pasadena office Iron Chef Strawberry Recipe Cook-off.

I don't always get notice on this stuff, and it's a shame I didn't because I've got some awesome strawberry recipes, including my mom's signature Pretzel Salad. Although looking at some of these entries, I don't think I would have had a snowballs chance in hell of winning.

In no particular order, here are some of the entries in the contest.

Team Leader Chong Taing (or should I say his fiancee) made these tasty strawberry-lime popsicles. A perfect recipe in time to beat the heat this summer.

Helen Pan made this yummy strawberry tarte, with just enough chocolate for both pretty presentation and sweet taste.

Branch Manager Kim Davis contributed this strawberry cake, complete with shooters of strawberry sauce. I love a presentation involving shot glasses!

Marie Lattouf-Lockwood made this beautiful strawberry cheesecake, with the berries arranged in the shape of a lotus flower. So creative! And the berries were really lightly sugared so they were just the right blend of sweet and tart. Can you tell this was one of my personal favorites?

Team Leader Dan Warnick should really quit his day job and become a professional pastry chef. The first time I looked at this elegant cheesecake, I assumed it was store bought, probably at Cheesecake Factory. Amazing presentation, and taste to match.

But the big winner of the day was this unusually creative Strawberry Surf & Turf by Chris Bordey. It's a sandwich of pulled pork with a BBQ sauce made from strawberries and Newcastle beer, accompanied by onion confit, arugula, Brie cheese and maple bacon. Yowzah! It got gobbled up so fast it was the only entry I didn't get to taste. Congrats on the big win Chris!

And here are the rest of the contestants. Great job by everyone! Now I'll be in sugar shock for the rest of the afternoon....