Diane Phillips

I am excited everytime Daine comes to teach in Springboro, and honered that she agrees to let me help her out. I learn so much for her everytime she comes. Check out the blog that inspired me to start my own.
http://cucinadivina.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-cracker-barrel-chronicles.html

Meatless Fridays

I have found it kind of fun to have food rules, one of them being Meatless Fridays during lent. Of course I chuckle knowing that it all started because the fish mongers were hurting, and a priest was related to one of these said fishmongers, and decided to help him out, or something along those lines. Never the less on Fridays we avoid eating anything that walks on four legs. Obviously the easiest choice would be to make your favorite fish dish, but wait there is so much more. Fritatas, omelets, pasta dishes. These are days to pull a page from all the vegetarians, and see what their all so darn happy about. Beans, beans glorious beans, I had a cold bean side dish last night that was beautiful not only to the eye but to my very hungry tummy (working on getting recipe, will share when I get it). It great to challenge yourself and think outside of the box, enjoy the challenge. Here is something to get you started. This a great dish, especially of cold nights, like we are having in Ohio.

Rigatoni with Mushrooms, Garlic and Herbs

Béchamel:

4 Tbs butter

½ cup flour

4 cups milk

¼ tsp nutmeg

salt and pepper

 

Mushrooms:

6 Tbs butter

1 Tbs Oil

1 lb fresh mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped

½ cup fresh parsley, chopped

½ tsp Herbs de Provence

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 cup vegetable or chicken stock

½ cup creamed sherry (Harveys)

1 cup Parmesan, grated

 

1 lb rigatoni

½ cup Parmesan, grated

 

Preheat oven to 400°

Prepare pasta according to package directions.

To make the béchamel, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add flour and stir to make a smooth paste. Whisk in milk until the paste is well incorporated. Over medium heat stir the béchamel until in begins to thicken and comes to a boil. Allow to bubble for about 5 minutes. Add salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Remove from heat.

Melt butter and oil in a large sauté pan, add mushrooms, herbs, and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, or until mushrooms are tender.

Add stock, and stir until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Add sherry, and sauté until syrupy.

Stir mushrooms into béchamel and add 1 cup of Parmesan cheese. Combine mushroom mixture with warm pasta, and toss to coat. Grease a 9 X 13 pan with butter and pour pasta into pan. Top with ½ cup Parmesan.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Serves 4 to 6 people

           

Always read, re-read, and read again all recipes

Everyone who knows me knows I hate to bake. That is why when I bake I should read the recipe at least 3 times. I was trying to make somebody else's recipes last evening and without reading the recipe properly ended up having to make it 4 times. If anybody would like some delicious orange cake let me know. Now if you would like some orange upside down cake you have to wait for that.

Courtney's Everything Seasoning

Instead of using salt and pepper I use a seasoning that I make myself. It's easy and give an pick up to all of my dishes.

1 cup kosher salt
1/4 cup ground pepper
1/4 cup granulated garlic
1/8 cup herbes de provence

Store in a air tight container.

Savona with Keith Taylor

Like I have said before I'm blessed to get to work with amazing people, and last was night I got to work with Keith Taylor of Savona in Centerville, Ohio. Keith is a smart, creative quick witted chef who blows my mind every time our paths cross. He can take the simplest ingredients, and take them to places they didn't even know they could go. My mouth is watering for more, so I'm taking my husband on a date to the one and only Savona. Here is one of the recipes that he demonstrated last night. He served a perfectly cooked beef tenderloin on top. YUM!

Mushroom Puree

·         2 lbs. of mushrooms finely chopped

·         ¼ cup of oil

·         ¼ cup veal stock

      ·         1 small onion finely chopped

     ·         1 tsp. garlic

     ·         1 Tbsp. fresh or dried thyme

     ·         1 Tbsp. truffle oil

 

Chop onion and mushroom in food processor.
Heat oil in a skillet and add mushroom and onion mixture and garlic.
Add thyme and sauté.  When tender add stock and truffle oil.

Cooks'Wares Chopped Challenge

Learn, Taste, Enjoy ~ It’s All Cooking at Cooks’Wares!

Cooks’Wares “Chopped Challenge”

Co-Sponsored by Wusthof

Sat Jan 26          Prelim #1         1-4pm        $40

Sat Feb 2           Prelim #2         1-4pm        $40

Sat Feb 16         Finals         1-4pm        $40

YOU be the JUDGE!

Each competitor will prepare three dishes: Appetizer, Entrée, and Dessert. That’s where YOU come in! We need adventuresome foodies to judge our Chopped Challenge competitors on the following criteria: Taste, Originality/Use of Mystery Ingredients, and Presentation.

Cooks’Wares

The Marketplace at Settlers Walk

756 North Main Street

Springboro, OH 45066

(937) 748-4540

www.CooksWaresOnline.com

New Years Resolutions

Now that we are a couple weeks into the New Year some are resolutions are slipping away. I tend to stay away from the gym in the month of January, it's crowded, and I can't get on the machines I want. So, I usually do a cleanse in January to flush out all the punishment I have put my body thru since November. My sister Debbie turned me on to this diet/cleanse a couple of years ago, and this was my second time doing it with great success. Now why they call it the Cabbage Soup Diet I have no idea seeing as there is only 1/2 a head of cabbage in the soup. It should be called the Yummy  Vegetable Soup Diet. Its quick, simple, inexpensive, and no you are not running to the bathroom every 15 minutes. All in all I have felt great at the end of this process, so I wanted to share it with you.

Cabbage Soup Recipe

 

§  6 large green onions (also called “spring” onions)
§  2 green peppers
§  1 or 2 cans of tomatoes (diced or whole)
§  3 carrots
§  1 container (10 oz. or so) mushrooms
§  1 bunch of celery
§  half a head of cabbage
§  1 package spice only soup mix (In the US, Liptons is a good choice)
§  1 or 2 cubes of bouillon (optional)
§  1 48oz can Low Sodium V8 juice (optional)
§  Season to taste with pepper, parsley, curry, garlic powder, etc. (Little to NO SALT!)

Directions:

Slice green onions, put in a pot on medium heat and start to sauté with cooking spray. Do this until the onions are whiter/clearer in color (about 4-6 minutes).
Cut green pepper stem end off, then cut pepper in half to take out the seeds and membrane. Cut the green pepper into bite size pieces and add to pot.
Take the outer leafs layers off the cabbage, cut into bite size pieces, add to pot.
Clean carrots, mushrooms, and celery, cut into bite size pieces and toss them in. Add tomatoes now, too.
If you would like a spicy soup, add a small amount of curry or cayenne pepper now.

For seasonings, you can use a spice soup packet of your choice (no noodles!) or use beef or chicken bouillon cubes. These cubes are optional, and you can add spices you like instead (make sure not to add much salt, if any at all).

Use about 12 cups of water (or 8 cups and the 48 oz of Low Sodium V8 juice), cover and put heat on low. Let soup simmer for a long time – about 2 hours or until vegetables are tender.

This is what you do everyday on the diet

Remember: This diet should only be followed for 7 days at a time, with at least two weeks in between.

Day One:

Fruit: Eat all of the fruit you want (except bananas). Eat only your soup and the fruit for the first day. For drinks- unsweetened teas, cranberry juice and water.

Day Two:

Vegetables: Eat until you are stuffed will all fresh, raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. Try to eat leafy green vegetables and stay away from dry beans, peas and corn. Eat all the vegetables you want along with your soup. At dinner, reward yourself with a big baked potato with butter. Do not eat fruit today.

Day Three:

Mix Days One and Two: Eat all the soup, fruits and vegetables you want. No Baked Potato.

Day Four:

Bananas and Skim Milk: Eat as many as eight bananas and drink as many glasses of skim milk as you would like on this day, along with your soup. This day is supposed to lessen your desire for sweets.

Day Five:

Beef And Tomatoes: Ten to twenty ounces of beef and up to six fresh tomatoes. Drink at least 6 to 8 glasses of water this day to wash the uric acid from your body. Eat your soup at least once this day. You may eat broiled or baked chicken instead of beef (but absolutely no skin-on chicken). If you prefer, you can substitute broiled fish for beef on one of the beef days (but not both).

Day Six:

Beef and Vegetables: Eat to your heart’s content of beef and vegetables this day. You can even have 2 or 3 steaks if you like, with leafy green vegetables. No Baked Potato. Eat your soup at least once.

Day Seven:

Brown rice, unsweetened fruit juices and vegetables: Again stuff, stuff, stuff yourself. Be sure to eat your soup at least once this day.