Soy- Braised Country Pork Ribs with Carrots

This is a great dish to serve on New Year's Day with collard greens and black-eyed peas.  It is easy to double if you are expecting a crowd and bubbles away on top of the stove as you are busying yourself with other pursuits.

The recipe was in an issue of Bon Appetit.  The only changes I made were in the type of ribs I used and eliminating the turnips.  My supermarket had boneless country style ribs, but they were cut from the rib end of the loin.  They were leaner than ribs from the shoulder or butt.  I liked them and they were very tender and moist.  The recipe called for 3/4 pound of carrots and 3/4 pound of turnips.  Believe it or not, there were no turnips in the produce section.

We are on our way back to Florida via Hilton Head.  We are celebrating New Year's with our good friends.  It is a tradition and every year the food is a tradition also.  Slow roasted pork butt, potato casserole, black-eye peas, collard greens and corn bread.  I hosted the get together last year.  For a recap and the recipes go here.

Happy New Year everyone.  I consider every one of you a friend and I wish the very best for you in 2011.

SOY-BRAISED PORK COUNTRY RIBS WITH CARROTS

1/3 cup low-salt chicken broth
3 tablespoons dry Sherry
3 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon (packed) golden brown sugar
1 teaspoon hot chili paste
2 1/2 pounds boneless pork shoulder (Boston butt), cut into 5 x 1 1/2 inch strips (sometimes called boneless country-style pork ribs.  See text of my post to see what I used.
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 green onions; white and pale green parts finely chopped, green parts thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 whole star anise ( I omitted this)
3 long strips orange peel removed from orange with vegetable peeler
1 pound carrots, peeled, cut into 1 inch pieces

Whisk chicken broth, Sherry, soy sauce, brown sugar, and hot chili paste in small bowl to blend; set aside.  Sprinkle ribs with salt and pepper.  Heat peanut oil in heavy large deep skillet over medium-high heat.  Working in batches, cook ribs until browned, about 4 minutes per side.  Transfer ribs to plate.  Reduce heat to medium.  Add chopped onion to skillet and saute until soft, about 4 minutes.  Add white parts of green onions, garlic, and ginger; saute until fragrant, about 2 minutes.  Add chicken broth mixture, stirring to scrape up any browned bits.  Add star anise and orange peel; bring to simmer.

Return ribs to same skillet.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 30 minutes.  Add carrots to skillet, pushing to submerge in sauce.  Cover and simmer until vegetables and ribs are tender, gently stirring mixture occasionally, about 30 minutes longer.  Transfer mixture to platter.  Serve with steamed rice.

Printable recipe

Italian Cream Cake and the Genesis of Baking

I wonder how many girls began their love of baking with Hasbro's Easy Bake Oven.  They have been around since 1963 and make it easy and safe for young people to experiment in the kitchen.  There are even myriads of recipes on the internet if you run out of the mixes that come with the oven.

Rachel's cousin Keenan got an Easy Bake Oven from her Aunt Kristen this year and because we were all snowed in, they spent some time making cookies together.

I predict that it will not be long until she is making cakes like this in the real oven.  This Italian Cream Cake was both beautiful to look at and delicious to eat.  The top was sprinkled with coconut and studded with pecans.  Keenan's Grandmother, Becky, brought the cake to our Christmas dinner and was kind enough to share the recipe with me.  She is a great cook.  I remember one year she brought the most beautiful salad in the shape of a wreath.  The greens were sprinkled with cherry tomatoes and other edible decorations that made it very festive.

You had to be quick with your camera to get a picture of this cake.  Slices kept disappearing in a blink of an eye.  Because it is a three layer cake, it looks impressive.  The cream cheese frosting is easy to spread and I think even I, the reluctant baker, could make a cake like this.  Thank you for the recipe Becky.

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

1 stick of margarine (or butter)
2 cups sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 small can of coconut
5 egg whites, stiffly beaten
1/2 cup crisco shortening
5 egg yolks
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts

Cream butter, crisco and sugar.  Beat until mixture is smooth.  Add egg yolks and beat well.  Combine flour and baking soda and add alternately with buttermilk.  Stir in vanilla.  Add coconut and nuts.  Fold in egg whites.  Bake in 3 (8 inch) greased and floured cake pans in 350 degree F. oven until done.

Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick butter, softened
1 box of powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
shredded coconut for top
pecan halves for top

Beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.  Add sugar and vanilla and beat until well combined.  You may have to add a little milk to make the right consistancy to spread.  Assemble and frost cake.  Decorate top with coconut and pecan halves.

Printable recipe

Snow Day, Grilling, and Soup and Sandwiches

Christmas this year has been delightful.  After opening our presents Christmas morning, we traveled from our Son and DIL's home in Cary to Jacksonville NC to join the other family members at Kristen's sister's and brother-in-law's home.  Jeff is a grill master.

The 12 pound beef brisket was smoked on the grill for 15 hours.  Jeff maintained a temperature of 180 degrees for most of the time, but cranked up the heat to 250 degrees for the last two hours of cooking. The pans of water helped to maintain the moisture while they cooked.  The pork ribs were grilled at some point in the process.  We had them as appetizers with an array of other goodies.

Dinner was a feast.  The brisket was moist and tender.  To add to the splendor on the buffet we had a cajun deep fried turkey.  Unfortunately I did not take any pictures because I was too busy admiring and eating.

We awoke this morning to a snow storm.  We were planning to drive to Lake Lure today but the roads are covered with snow and traveling is dangerous.  We have all hunkered down in the house, the kids have been playing in the snow and there are good smells coming from the kitchen.

Peppers and beef being sauteed by Kim for Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches.

Sandwiches hot out of the oven.  They were delicious.

  Kristen made this creamy asparagus soup with her new immersion blender.  We are sharing this easy recipe with you.  Immersion blenders are highly recommended.

CREAM OF ASPARAGUS SOUP (adapted from Epicurious)

2 pounds green asparagus

1 large onion, chopped (we used a combination of onion, shallots and leeks)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

5 to 6 cups chicken broth

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup cream

1/4 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, or to taste

Cut tips from 12 asparagus 1 1/2 inches from top and halve tips lengthwise if thick.  Reserve for garnish.

Cut stalks and all remaining asparagus into 1/2 inch pieces. 

Cook onion in a tablespoons butter in a 4 quart heavy pot over moderately low heat, stirring, until softened.  Add asparagus pieces and salt and pepper to taste, them cook, stirring, 5 minutes.  Add 5 cups broth and simmer, covered, until asparagus is very tender, 15 to 20 minutes.

While soup simmers, cook reserved asparagus tips in boiling, salted water until just tender, 3 to 4 minutes, then drain.

Using an immersion blender, blend soup until it is smooth or puree in batches in a blender..  Stir in cream mixture, then add more broth to thin soup to desired consistency.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bring soup to a boil and whisk in remaining tablespoon butter.  Add lemon juice and garnish with asparagus tips.  (We garnished with sour cream and red pepper). 

I hope everyone is enjoying this holiday week as much as we are.

Printable recipe

Red Pepper and Boursin Tarts

If you are hosting get togethers during the holidays, this is a very easy and festive appetizer.  We have travelled to North Carolina to be with our family for Christmas so I have not had an opportunity to post much during the last week.  This afternoon I visited the Trader Joe's in Cary and picked up a package of their store brand puff pastry.  It is made with all natural ingredients which is great, but if all you can find is the Pepperidge Farm puff pastry, it works just as well.  For appetizers for a crowd use both sheets in the package which will make 16 hors d' oeuvres.

Simply cut each sheet into an 8" or 9" circle,  prick them, spread them with boursin cheese and sauteed red peppers, sprinkle with thyme and seasoning and bake until browned and puffed.  It could not be easier.

RED PEPPER AND BOURSIN TARTS

2 red bell peppers, quartered lenghtwise, seeded and thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 (17 1/2 oz) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1/4 cup herbed Boursin cheese, softened
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Cook bell peppers in oil in a large nonstick skiller over moderate heat, stirring, until softened, about 8 minutes, then cool.

Unfold passtry sheets on a ligthly floured surface and cut out an 8" or 9" round from each.  Transfer rounds to a buttered large baking sheet and prick all over with a fork, leaving a 1/2 inch border around edges.

Spread 2 tablespoons cheese evenly over each round, then scatter with peppers and sprinkle with thyme, kosher salt, and pepper to taste.

Bake tarts in middle of oven until puffed and golden brown, about 15 minutes, then transfer to a rack to cool slightly.  Cut each tart into 8 wedges and serve warm.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Printable recipe

Chocolate Raspberry Turnovers

These are small.  They are just a taste of croissant, chocolate and raspberry goodness.  I did spend a lot of time actually making my own puff pastry at one time.  See this post.  But you know what?  The frozen puff pastry works very well.  I have been looking for a small pastry addition for my Christmas breakfast and I have decided that these easy turnovers are just the thing.  I would serve them with a breakfast casserole and a beautiful fruit tray.

The turnovers are filled with raspberry jam and chocolate.  I would recommend you buy a good quality jam because that will be the dominate flavor.  The milk chocolate is best if it is finely chopped so that it doesn't make bumps in the pastry.  The recipe was in an old issue of Gourmet magazine which is still one of my favorite "go to" sources for all things delicious.

I love these!  Once the puff pastry is thawed it is a labor of love to cut and fill them.  Take your time and enjoy the morning.  The coffee is brewing and a crispy turnover awaits you.

CHOCOLATE RASPBERRY TURNOVERS

1 (17 1/4 oz.) package frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 large egg
1/3 cup raspberry jam
3 1/2 oz fine-quality mild chocolate, finely chopped

Put oven rack in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Roll out 1 puff pastry sheet into a 12 inch square on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, then brush off excess flour from both sides.  Cut into 16 squares.

Whisk together egg and a pinch of salt.  Place 1/2 teaspoon jam and 1 teaspoon chocolate in center of each square, then brush edges of squares with some of the beaten egg.  Fold each square in half to form a triangle, pressing edges to seal.  Brush tops of pastries with some of remaining egg and transfer to a lined baking sheet.  Chill on sheet while making 16 more pastries in same manner, transferring to second baking sheet.

Bake pastries, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden and cooked through, about 20 minutes.  Cool on sheets on racks 5 minutes.  Serve warm.

Printable recipe

A Meal for a Cold Night

After spending the day Christmas shopping, I returned home, brought in all of the potted plants and herbs, and turned on the oven to cook a meal to usher in the coldest night of the year in Florida.  The wind chill factor was supposed to be in the teens; not what I had anticipated when we decided to spend the Winters in the Sunshine State.  But it was a good excuse to cook a pork roast.

One of my favorite cuts of pork is a rib end, bone in roast.  Say what we will about boneless pork loins, there is nothing better than a cut with the bones included.  The roast I got from my local Publix was a 6 bone roast and when cooked, sliced easily into 6 large chops.  They were moist, tender and with the pan juices and cooked onions scattered over the top, worthy of company.  This is an easy preparation so I am not detailing a recipe.  I brown the roast on all sides in an iron skillet with a sliced onion in the pan, add herbs and wine, cover it with foil and bake it in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

With the roast I served a Paula Deen recipe that was worth passing on to you.  It is Spinach and Black-Eyed Peas. I love the combination and it goes together quickly using frozen black-eyed peas and fresh baby spinach.  I am considering this as a side dish for the traditional New Years Day dinner.  The whole meal, including mashed potatoes was on the table in no time at all.  It made me wish we had invited company to share it with us.

SPINACH AND BLACK-EYED PEAS

1 tablespoon butter
1 cup chopped onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 cups chicken broth
1 ham hock
2 (16 oz) packages frozen black-eyed peas, thawed
1 tablespoon hot sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 (10 ox.) package fresh baby spinach
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a large Dutch oven, melt butter over medium-high heat.  Add onion and garlic; cook for 4 minutes, or until onion is tender.  Add chicken broth and ham hock; bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 6 minutes.  I cooked it for 15 minutes.  Stir in black-eyed peas, hot sauce, and sugar; cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until peas are tender.  Add spinach and salt; cook for 4 minutes.  Remove ham hock and shred any meat that is on the bone and return it to the pot.  Serve hot. (I strained off some of the liquid.

Printable recipe

Christmas Cookies

I have been baking cookies this week.  It is not one of my favorite pursuits, but Christmas seems to dictate the practice and I have done it every year for as long as I can remember.  When my Son was young, the baking was always Christmas cutout cookies and decorative icing.  Now, when I bake cookies it is usually on a whim.  The only constants are Scandanavian Tea Cookies ( shortbread crust cookie topped with chocolate and pecans) and the best chocolate chip cookie recipe that I know from Cooks Illustrated.

But these two cookie recipes are new to me and I enjoyed trying them.  The confectioners's sugar covered snowball cookies are different than the standard pecan flavored wedding cookies.  These are flavored with lemon and coconut.  The recipe was in a Southern Living book that my DIL gave me for Christmas last year.  The Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies were in an old issure of Gourmet magazine.  I like them because they can be prepared ahead of time and the dough logs kept in the refrigerator until you are ready to slice and bake.  I did have trouble with them though.  The dough was very crumbly and they were not easy to slice.  Add a little water to your mixture when you are forming your logs and this should help them stick together.

LEMON-COCONUT SNOWBALLS

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. coconut extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2Tbsp. grated lemon rind
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Beat butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy; gradually add 1/2 cup powdered sugar and extracts, beating well.  Add flour, lemon rind, and salt, beating until combined.  Stir in coconut.  Cover and chill dough 30 minutes.

Shape dough into generous 1" balls; place 1" apart on parchment paper-lined baking sheets.  Bake at 350 degrees F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until goldern on bottom, but pale on top.  Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool 5 minutes.

Place 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar in a bowl, and roll warm cookies in powdered sugar, coating well.  Cool cookies completely on wire racks.  Roll cooled cookies in powdered sugar again, coating well.  Yield: 2 dozen.

PISTACHIO CRANBERRY ICEBOX COOKIES

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely grated fresh orange zest
1/2 cup shelled pistachios (not dyed)
1/3 cup dried cranberries

1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/4 cup decorative sugar (preferably coarse)

Stir together flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl.

Beat together butter, granulated sugar and zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 batches, mixing until dough just comes together in clumps, then mix in pistachios and cranberries.  Gather and press dough together, then divide into 2 equal pieces.  Using a sheet of plastic wrap or wax paper as an aid, form each piece of dough into a log about 1 1/2 inches in diameter.  Square off long sides of each log to form a bar, then chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until very firm, at least 2 hours.

Put oven racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper.  Brush egg over all 4 long sides of bars (but not ends).  Sprinkle decorative sugar on a separate sheet of parchment or wax paper and press bars into sugar, coating well.  Cut each bar crosswise into 1/4 inch thick slices, rotating bar after cutting each slice to help keep square shape. (If dough gets too soft to slice, freeze bars briefly until firm.)  Arrange cookies about 1/2 inch apart on lined baking sheets.  Bake cookies, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until edges are pale golden, 15 to 18 minutes total.  Transfer cookies from parchment to racks using a slotted spatula and cool completely.
 
Printable recipe Lemon-Coconut Snowballs

Printable recipe Pistachio Cranberry Icebox Cookies
  

Season's Eatings

Every December one of my favorite bloggers, Katie of Thyme for Cooking The Blog hosts a gift exchange between other foodies.  Katie lives in France and her followers are from all over the world.  Each of us is given a name of another participant and we are to send to them an herb or food item that is typical of the place that we live, along with a recipe or suggestion as to what to do with it.  We in return receive a food gift.  It is always so much fun to see what shows up on my doorstep.

This year I received this abundantly beautiful Ristra arrangement of drying chile pods.  It is not only an ongoing source of chilis to be picked, but it a beautiful addition to the kitchen decor.  I am looking for just the perfect spot to hang it.  It was sent to me by Dan who lives four miles from the Mexican border in El Paso Texas.  He does not have a blog but is known in his comments as Tiki Pundit.  Thank you Dan!  I love it.  If you would like to give a ristra to someone on your gift list go here for a good selection.

Dan sent me a recipe for New Mexico Red Chili which is a pork stew that uses lots of the chilis and is braised slowly to meld the flavors and render the pork succulently tender.  He also sent me directions on how to dry the pods to be used in the recipe.  The chili ristra's pods were harvested in September and are not completely dried yet, so to use them in this recipe, the pods used had to be dried further in the oven.  Although it took me awhile in preparation, once this stew went into the oven, I could tell that it was worth the effort.  I used fewer pods than the recipe called for because I didn't know how hot they were.  The recipe calls for 1 cup ground chilis.  I used 8 pods that I dried in the oven until they were crinkly dry and ended up with 1/3 cup of ground chilis.  It was perfect for us, although David felt it could have been a little hotter.  I served it with rice, but it would also be good in tortillas with sour cream and other Mexican condiments.

NEW MEXICO RED CHILE

3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 medium onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
6 large garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3 pounds boned pork shoulder (butt), trimmed and meat cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes
1 cup ground dried red New Mexico chiles (I used 8 pods seeds removed which yielded 1/3 cup when ground)
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Heat 2 tbsp. oil in a large, heavy-bottomed, ovenproof pot over medium-high heat.  Add onions and garlic and cook, stirring, until onions are golden, about 6 minutes.  Remove from heat and transfer onions and garlic to a bowl with a slotted spoon.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, cumin, and pepper.  Add pork and toss to coat.  Return pot to medium-high heat, add remaining 1 tbsp. oil, and working in batches, lightly brown meat on all sides, 5 to 7 minutes per batch.  Transfer meat to a separate bowl as you go.

Return onions and garlic to pot.  Grind dried chile pods in a food processor.  Sprinkle onion mixture with ground chiles and cook, stirring, 2 minutes (mixture will be thick).  Add broth, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of pot.  Whirl sauce in a blender until smooth.  Return sauce to pot and add bay leaf and reserved pork.

Cover pot, put in oven, and cook 1 hour.  Set lid slightly ajar and cook until pork is fork-tender, about 1 hour more.  Remove bay leaf before serving.

Katie will be posting all of the Season Eatings blog posts sometime between Christmas and New Years.  I am anxious to see what my recipient did with her Key Lime Juice and Southern Pecans.  Season's Eatings everyone!

Printable recipe

Tuna and Hummus on Toasted Baguettes or What's for Lunch?

There is nothing fancy about this except maybe the presentation.  When you want something besides a plain tuna fish sandwich for lunch this is just the thing.  The recipe is in Ina Garten's new cookbook How Easy is That?  I would give you the recipe but The Barefoot Bloggers have requested that we not publish the recipes from this book unless they have already been posted on the food network.  But how hard can this be?  You just toast sourdough bagettes, spread them with store bought hummus, or homemade if you have it, and top it with your favorite tuna salad mixture.  The radishes give it a festive touch.  I would recommend using a good quality tuna though.  I no longer buy water packed tuna, even though it may be saving a few calories.  Oil packed tuna has a much better flavor.

When we are in Florida we tend to have people who stop in for lunch, so I am always on the lookout for interesting luncheon dishes.  Here are a few other suggestions from previous posts.

This four layer salad has a real wow factor.  Guacamole, tomato salad, cucumber salad, and shrimp form a tower of goodness.  I think the next time I serve it, I will put it on a bed of greens.  You can find the recipe here.

Soup is always a good choice for lunch.  Escarole, white bean and sausage soup is one of my easy favorites.  It is great served with cornbread.  You can find the recipe here.

Instead of having quiche for lunch,  try this tasty black bean tart with easy chili crust.  A refreshing salad with avocado and orange slices would be the perfect side dish.  The recipe for the tart can be found here.

These are a few of my favorite lunches.  After being under the weather for a week, I am ready to tackle Christmas.

Dinner at Urbana in Washington DC

My DIL Kristen's brother David is the sous chef at Urbana Restaurant in the Dupont Circle area of Washington DC.  Urbana was voted the hottest restaurant bar scene in the area with it's brick pizza oven and innovative Western Mediterranean cuisine.  The restaurant is both sophisticated and cozy with fires burning in two fireplaces near the entrance.

David reserved the private dining room for us and prepared a seven course tasting menu of dishes not found on the regular menu.  The only hint he would give me as to what he had planned for us was "root vegetables".  Urbana's kitchen relies on fresh, seasonal ingredients, so this made sense to me.  I took pictures of each course as it was brought to us, but I have to apologize for the blurriness of some of the pictures.  I couldn't exactly carry my tripod into the restaurant with me.  The whole meal was an experience in good taste and an inspiration to me to concentrate more on sauces, reductions and seasonings.

Our amuse bouche was a toasted brioche with prosciutto, arugala and white truffle oil.  The brioche was crispy and paired well with the peppery prosciutto and arugala and earthy truffle oil. An excellent way to start our meal.

Our first course was a pierogi stuffed with rutabaga and saffron with a lemon honey gastrique.  I grew up with pierogis.  They are Polish in origin and are stuffed dumplings. They are usually stuffed with potatoes but  David's version with rutabagas was far and away the best pierogi I have ever eaten.  The gastrique, which is a thick sauce made from a reduction of the lemon and honey, accented the mild taste of the dumpling.

Next we were served a sunchoke soup with smoked bacon lardons, goat cheese and thyme.  This silken soup was sublime.  Sunchokes have a taste similar to an artichoke heart and sunflower seeds.  Their nutty quality make them excellent in soups.  They are also known as Jerusalem artichokes.  Next time I am in the Supermarket I am going to buy some and try to duplicate this soup.  The bacon, goat cheese and thyme were the perfect additions.

Oh my!  What can I say about braised pork belly and scallops with celery root, skordalia and sauce Robert.  David braised the pork belly long and slow and it was so succulent.  The sea scallop was cooked to perfection and the celery root was coated in the skordalia, which is a Greek blended sauce of garlic, bread and olive oil.  The sauce Robert added a rich mustardy topping to the whole dish.  This was so complex and brilliant.  I am voting for David to go on Chopped.  I think he could make even the most esoteric ingredients work together.

The fish course was a roasted Pacific halibut with beet risotto and roasted beet with an apple cider butter.  The fish was flaky.  The beet was delicious, but the beet risotto was the star of the show.  The next time I make risotto I want to try to add beets to the mix.  What pulled this dish together was the apple cider butter.  David briefly told us that he reduced apple cider to concentrate it's flavor and then added butter to enrich it. This is something that I have not tried before and I think it would also be great on pork.

OK.  Getting full here.  Our next course was grilled lamb loin, cauliflower, marinated royal trumpet mushrooms with fried capers and olive jus.  The lamb was cooked medium rare and was very tender.  The trumpet mushrooms benefited from their rest in a wine marinade and the cauliflower had a burst of flavor from the fried capers.

David even carried the root vegetable theme into dessert.  Have you ever had parsnip ice cream?  It is delicious and Rachel had seconds of it.  This is how David described this dish.  It is a gingerbread pudding with parsnip gelato, ginger anglaise, pear compote and a pear chip.  As full as I was, I managed to eat the whole thing.

What I didn't mention was that Uncle David took the time the day before our dinner to talk to Kristen about what Rachel liked to eat and he fixed her a separate 4 course dinner with tomato soup (excellent) and grilled cheese sandwich and strawberries.  This was followed by a plate of perfectly cooked broccoli, tiny meatballs and macaroni and cheese.  I have never seen her eat so much.  The macaroni and cheese was the kitchen dinner that night and it was excellent.

Here we all are with chef David.  We applauded his excellent meal.  I am going to try to talk him into coming to Lake Lure for our traditional Labor Day weekend next year.  No ulterior motive involved.  Thank you David.  It was a perfect meal and a wonderful family get together.

2nd Annual Kitchen Reveal

It is good to be home in Florida again.  It is also good to be presenting to you the Second Annual Kitchen Reveal.  Last year I decided to challenge other food bloggers to show us their kitchens because I was curious about where all of them made their magic.  You can view all of the kitchens that were showcased last year here.  It is fine to cook and photograph beautiful food, but don't you also want to know what the kitchens look like where that happens?  So I thank all of you who have taken the time to let us have a peek at your kitchens this year.

My Lake Lure kitchen is on my header so you all know what it looks like.  The pictures I am showing you today are of the Florida kitchen.  The above picture is the island that I added to the space where a kitchen table would have been. We have a table and chairs on the lanai so it seemed redundant to have another table in the kitchen.  This is where I roll pie crusts, prep extra dishes and serve buffet dinners.

My kitchen isn't large but it is sunny and has a view of the intercoastal canals from the windows.  It is very different from the warm colors that I have in Lake Lure and because of that I love the difference.

I don't have room for cookbooks in the kitchen so they are shelved in the bookcases in the living room.  I leave most of my cookbooks in Lake Lure, but for some reason the collection keeps growing here.  Can't help myself.

But this is supposed to be about all of us.  You have shared more than your kitchens by participating in the Kitchen Reveal.  You have shared a piece of yourselves and I have a feeling that we have all benefited from your generosity.  I loved visiting Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian but I am just as happy to be visiting the kitchens of like-minded food enthusiasts like all of you.  Thank you for welcoming us into your kitchens.  Please click on the links to the names of the blogs to see more of the beautiful kitchens presented below.

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Stephanie of Adventures in Contesting was actually featured in A&E's Sell this House.  She is serious about competing in food contests and cooks lots of interesting dishes.  I am glad to have found her blog.  She has gotten over the staging mentality and now has a warm family kitchen.

Susan of Schnitzel and The Trout showed us her lovely kitchen which is also in Florida.  I admire her love of cooking and her husband, "The Trout" who is just as enthusiastic as she is about their culinary accomplishments.  Her kitchen is bright and sunny.

Karen of Karen Cooks  sent pictures of her very functional and organized kitchen.  I love the turquoise cabinets that she has for extra storage.  It kind of reminds my of the cabinets in Julia Child's kitchen.  I love her gas stove too. 

Larry of Big Dude's Eclectic Ramblings and his wife Bev remodeled their kitchen so that it functioned better for them.  They have a beautiful 6 burner stove and lots of room for all of their different tasks from baking to canning.  Great kitchen design.

Robin Sue of Big Red Kitchen shared her famous red kitchen with us.  It is great to see more of this beautiful space.  Not only does she have a special chocolate cabinet and a chinning bar but she gives us the exact shade of Sherwin Williams red paint that she used.

Barbara of Moveable Feasts posted her beautiful kitchen with a Caribbean flair.  She has an interesting tale to tell about some of the artwork that she purchased in St. Lucia.  This is a great remodel.

Bonnie of City Home/Country Home shared her renovated kitchen in her 1865 limestone farmhouse.  I love her soapstone island and her Viking range.  She has all of the modern conveniences in an authentic looking period kitchen.

Dave of My Year on the Grill just installed new granite countertops and added an island to his kitchen.  His kitchen reflects his witty personality from the snooty wine butler to his wife Jackie's funny cartoon.  But make no mistake;  Dave is a serious and dedicated cook.

Mrs. Blocko of Tomatoes for Apples posted about her kitchen remodel.  She had very little counterspace before but with a little ingenuity she was able to add a peninsula and a pantry with much more space to store her bulk purchases.  The cabinets went from dark brown to a warm honey.

Lara of Lara's Kitchen posted about her warm kitchen.  I love the Christmas decorations and the closed and open upper cabinets.  Makes me want to come on in and enjoy a special champagne and cranberry drink for the holidays.  She even gives us the recipe.

Pondside has posted more than images of her pondside cottage that she shares with her husband, The Great Dane.  She has shared memories of all the kitchens in which she has dwelled in a life of travel.  Sit back for a good read.

I will continue to add more links as the day progresses and you get your posts up.  It is not too late to join the fun.  Just let me know that you are posting your kitchen and I will include it here.  Even if you can't post until tomorrow, that is fine!  I am having fun with this.

Thank you everyone.  This has been inspiring and a truly worthwhile experience.