Quick 'n Easy Potatoes

Hope all of your summers are going well. We just had our first vacation of the summer recently. Mr. S., his kidlets and I joined his family on a nice getaway to Fort Bragg for some camping at MacKerricher State Park. The weather was fantastic-- nice and cool and I did absolutely no cooking while we were gone! To be quite honest- it was kind of nice. It truly was a "vacation. " The kidlets rode their bikes around the campgrounds with their cousins and scoured the beach for sand dollars with their dad while I relaxed and caught up on my leisure reading. By the way, have you read Kathryn Stockett's, "The Help" yet? If not, you should. It's an excellent read. I couldn't put it down.

Anyhow, we're back home now, back to the grind and back to cooking. Did I tell you that Kidlet #2 (Mr. Picky Eater) has seemed to have turned the corner and to some degree is willing to try some new foods? In fact the other night before we took the kidlets to see Cars 2, we had a family dinner together. I made a simple potato side dish (which normally he'd turn his nose at just because it's something new to him) to go with the chicken and he loved it! Color me surprised...and pleased!

Funny thing is I can't get PO'd at him for being a finicky eater because I used to be one myself when I was a kid. In fact, one of Mr. S.'s favorite stories about me is the one about me and my Aunt Eleanor. My dad's the youngest of four from a loud Brooklyn family. His family's always been a "tell-it-like-it-is" bunch, which is probably where I get my penchant for bluntness. Anyhow, I remember as a kid being at my Aunt Eleanor's once for dinner. I didn't like what she was serving up and squeaked out some sort of snotty complaint about the night's menu. Next thing I knew, my aunt was slamming the plate down in front of me and bellowing, "IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT, EAT SH*T!!" I kid you not. I remember sitting there stunned initially, then fighting to hold back the tears welling up in my eyes. Somehow I got through the meal and Aunt Eleanor's outburst had it's desired effect...it scared the bejesus out of me and I rarely complained at mealtime again. Now I have no plans to scream at a small child at the dinner table, but I do plan on continuing to slowly push the boundaries of Kidlet #2's food comfort zone so that his palate expands over time. I'd hate for him to miss out on the delicacies of the world as an adult because we caved to his tantrums and allowed him to eat hot dogs and Kraft Mac 'N Cheese for dinner. Hopefully his newfound desire to try new food continues.

(Print by HipHeart)

Quick 'N Easy Potatoes

Ingredients

1- 1.5 lbs. small potatoes (I usually buy fingerlings at the farmers' market or TJ's Teeny-Tiny Potatoes)

2 T olive oil

1 garlic clove, minced

Sea Salt

Fresh Ground Pepper

Thyme


Instructions

- Preheat oven 425 degrees F.

- If using fingerlings cut potatoes in quarters. If using TJ's Teeny Tiny Potatoes, cut potatoes in half.

- Place potatoes in bowl. Toss with olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper.

- Spread potatoes evenly on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkly lightly with thyme.

- Roast for 20-25 minutes then turn sheet and roast for another 20-25 minutes.

- Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss. Serve hot.

* PS This would be an easy recipe to do while camping as well.

Cheese Making Part II : Goaty Goodness

"Cheese- milk's leap toward immortality." ~ Clifton Fadiman

I was just reading a great blog post about goats today on LA Fuji Mama (did you know goat is the most widely consumed meat on the planet?) when I remembered that I forgot to post Part II of the cheese making party! At Cate's party in addition to the mozzarella, we also made a big wad of chèvre. It was absolutely scrumptious but would I make it again? Probably not. Unless you have the inside track on some cheap goat's milk, it's not very cost effective. However, I do love using chèvre in recipes, it's delish and gives it some tang that you don't get with using cheeses from cows. Try subbing it in on your pizzas or tarts.

Here's the chèvre recipe that we used at Cate's:

Chèvre

Ingredients

1 gallon pasteurized whole goat's milk

1 gallon direct set chèvre set

cheese making salt

sterile 18" square piece cheese cloth/muslin

thermometer

sieve

Instructions

- Pour milk into a sterilized 6 quart non-reactive pot.

- Heat milk to 86 degrees or place in sink of hot water to raise temperature.

- Add starter and let sit 5 minutes to re-hydrate. Stir in using an up and down motion without breaking through the surface of the milk.

- Cover and let sit for 12 hours at 72 degrees. (We placed ours on a seed starting mat, but you could fill a cooler with hot water and set it on there or turn your oven on low/then turn it off/then set it in there.)

- When whey is clear or clean break* is achieved, carefully scoop out curds into sieve lined with cheese cloth and tie four corners. Hang and let drain 6-12 hours until desired consistency. The longer it drains the firmer it'll be. (We hung the cheese and cloth off of Cate's patent cheese hanging system AKA "a hanger.")

- Mix in salt. A little bit more whey may drain out after salt is added if cheese is soft.

- Can be stored for a week, maybe a bit more.

* "Clean break" can be done by inserting a sterilized implement into the whey at a 45 degrees angle and lifted through the surface, the curds will appear to 'crack' instead of having a soft yogurt like texture. If it doesn't break easily, let it sit for some more.

Just Peachy : Prosecco Sangria

During the summertime one of my favorite drinks to whip up for BBQs is sangria. Now mind you, the sangria that I make is no frou-frou lightweight cocktail garnished with some citrus...no ma'am, it's a knock-you-on-your-butt weapons grade sangria. Sure there's some fruit in it but a good portion of it is made up of red wine which I then I fortify with rum. Anyhow, as of late I've been getting some rager migraines when I drink anything more than a glass of red wine so when I offered to make a batch of sangria to take to a friend's on Thursday night, I decided to dig up an alternate recipe. Something milder, lighter and without red wine. I looked at a few white wine recipes but then came across this gem from Martha Stewart (yep, Old Jailbird Marty). The recipe actually came out really good...sweet but refreshing...I'll probably make it again this summer.

Prosecco Sangria  (Martha Stewart)
Yields About 2 Quarts

Ingredients

1 peach

1 nectarine

3 apricots

5 ounces peach brandy

1 bottle (750 mL) chilled Prosecco, (Italian sparkling wine)

1 cup peach nectar

Superfine sugar (optional)


Instructions

- In a pitcher, combine peach, nectarine, and apricots, all pitted and cut into wedges.

- Stir in peach brandy; let sit at least 1 hour.

- Stir in Prosecco and peach nectar.

- Add superfine sugar, if desired.

- Serve chilled or over ice.

Ooo-la-la, Cookies!

“Think what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about three o'clock every afternoon and then lay down on our blankets for a nap.” ~ Robert Fulghum


My friend Mary is an inspiration. Seems whenever I talk to her she's attending a new cooking class, going to an interesting lecture or taking on a fun sounding project like making a batch of homemade limoncello. Recently she took a class at the Whole Foods Culinary Center on how to make french macarons and asked if I'd be interested in attempting a batch at home. Would I? Does a bear poo in the woods?

Anyhow, the cookies came out a bit (ok, a lot) bigger and flatter than they should have (we think it may have been due to the weird weather we had that day -high humidity- and that we didn't have a #5 pastry tip and went with another size) but we had a lot of fun and they were extremely delicious. And I'll take tasty over pretty any day.

* Listed below is the recipe we used for the cookie batter and buttercream that Mary was given in class. We did not make the buttercream at my home, since she had some strawberry buttercream left over from the class she attended.

French Macarons  (Chef Christa Colardo, Marin Cooking)

Ingredients

7 oz. confectioner's sugar

4 oz. blanched almond meal

3 oz. egg white, room temp., preferably aged overnight

Pinch cream of tartar

1 oz. granulated sugar

Food coloring

Lemon zest (optional)


Instructions

- Sift together confectioner's sugar and almond meal. Set aside.

- In a stand mixer with whisk attachment, whip egg whites and pinch of tartar to soft peaks. Gradually add granulated sugar and whip to stiff peak. Whites should be moist and not dry. Add food coloring (we skipped this step, preferring to go au naturale, and added some lemon zest instead).

- Add sugar-almond mixture to whites and fold until completely incorporated. The mixture should be smooth, shiny and able to flow off a spoon.

- (Using a #5 pastry tip) Pipe small rounds (about 1 1/2') onto parchment covered sheet trays. Let macarons dry at room temp 30-60 minutes.

- Bake at about  300 degrees for 16 minutes. Cool completely before filling.


Vanilla Swiss Meringue Buttercream

Ingredients

4 egg whites

8 oz. sugar

1 lb. butter, softened

2 tsp. vanilla extract


Instructions

- Whisk egg whites and sugar in bowl of stand mixer. Place bowl on bain-marie and heat, whisking constantly until mixture is warm and sugar is completely melted-- you should feel no graininess when you rub it through your fingers.

- Remove mixture from heat and whip at high speed until it is cooled to room temperature and is light, resembling marshmallow fluff.

- With mixer on medium-high speed, add soft butter a few tablespoons at a time, allowing each addition to fully incorporate before adding another. Add vanilla and blend well.

* Note buttercream will look broken partway through the mixing process. Continue adding the butter and it will come back together.

(May be refrigerated for 5 days or frozen until needed. Return to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment of stand mixer until smooth, warming with torch if needed.)

Yield : about 5 cups.

Osaka-ya

2215 10th Street, Sacramento, CA 95818. (916) 446-6857.


How do you make a 12 year old grin from ear to ear for less than $3? Take him to Osaka-ya for a sno-cone.

Mr. S. and I found ourselves one Saturday morning recently with only one kidlet in our possession. (Kidlet #2 was at a sleepover.) We decided to pile into the car and take an excursion to the Sac Zoo and perhaps stop off for some frozen yogurt or an ice cream scoop along the way as a treat. When I mentioned Osaka-ya as an option, I got two blank faces staring back at me. Turns out neither Mr. S. nor Kidlet #1 had ever had an opportunity to experience a sno-cone at Osaka-ya before! I was a bit shocked as Osaka-ya is a downtown Sacramento institution. I believe it's been around since the mid-60's. The little mom and pop store on 10th street sells various homemade Japanese confectioneries like mochi and manju and a smattering of dry goods. When the temperature begins to creep up, they open up a walk-up window where you can order ice cream, freezes and the aforementioned delicious sno-cones. The sno-cones here are actually made from shaved ice; so they're soft, flaky and easy to spoon not those hard-as-a-rock mounds that you get at the State Fair or sporting events. There are a rainbow of flavors to choose from and for the more adventurous type, you can get a scoop of ice cream or some azuki beans thrown into the center of your frozen concoction. (Note: the portions are HUGE. We got the smaller size and were still unable to finish.) Anyhow, Kidlet #1 had a blast and has already asked when we can return to Osaka-ya. With the dog days of summer just around the corner, I'm sure we'll find ourselves at their sno-cone window soon enough.

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs

Sacramento has some great restaurants but some of the best dishes I've eaten in town have been at friends' homes. Last weekend Mr. S. was on a trip to Miami with his brother so I accepted invitations to two parties being thrown by friends and went alone. The first was at the Casa de Queso and was being thrown by one of the cutest couples in town, Cary & Jenny, to celebrate the 100 year birthday of their Sacramento bungalow (aka the Casa de Queso). It was a BBQ/potluck so I went simple and made some of my carmelized onion-goat cheese tartlets. The food that everyone brought was delicious and I hope to share Cary's Chile Colorado recipe in a future post. It was so good, I went back for seconds!

The second party I attended was being thrown by my friend Melanie, who's a sweetheart and quite hilarious. The party was touted as a "Gourmet Ghetto" party and the idea was to bring a non-fancy "ghetto" dish and gourmet it up. I showed up over a hour late but was still able to taste several of the dishes. It was quite the creative spread. For my contribution, I decided to make smoked salmon deviled eggs using a recipe I found on The Red Spoon.The recipe is listed below:

Smoked Salmon Deviled Eggs  (Adapted from Fine Cooking)
Yield 24

Ingredients

12 large hard-cooked eggs

6 ounces cold smoked salmon, finely diced (about 1 cup)

1/2 cup chives, finely chopped, plus extra for garnish

1/4 cup mayonnaise

4 tablespoons red onion, finely minced

4 tablespoons capers, rinsed and finely minced

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Ground black pepper


Instructions

- Peel and halve the cooked eggs lengthwise.

- Scoop out the yolk and crumble them into a medium sized bowl.

- Add the salmon, chives, mayonnaise, onion, capers, lemon juice, lemon zest and a few good grinds of pepper (about 1/8 teaspoon).

- Stir until well combined, if too dry add 1 tablespoon of mayo at a time until desired consistency is achieved.

- Mound the filling into the cavity of the egg whites.

- Garnish with chives and several grinds of black pepper.

Babies, babies, babies are far as the eye can see...

It's been Baby Week here at Girl and Her Fork. Visited with Misa & Baby Eri on the patio of Pangaea Cafe on Monday. Brought a cherry-almond clafoutis to Amy & Baby Enza yesterday. And today is a double whammy- I get to see new momma Carren with Baby Oliver (I'm baking some fresh spanakopita to bring over to her family) and Mr. S. and I are stopping by this evening to drop off some homemade jams to Cousin Sarah and newborn Baby Jane.

The Gerber Baby, created in 1928.