Elementary Chef

Ever need to wow some dinner guests or maybe an office get-together with an easy, yet elegant, appetizer? One of my favorites is baked brie. Yes, you can buy “baked brie” all ready to throw in the oven at your local deli. But if you’ll go just one small step further, you’ll be rewarded with a bevy of ooh’s and aaah’s from your guests.

You need:
1 brie wedge (any size)
seedless red grapes
brown sugar

Preparation:
Cut the brie in half (lengthwise works best.) Place the brie, cut side up, on a baking sheet. Cut enough red grapes in half lengthwise to lightly cover the 2 brie halves (grapes go onto the brie cut side down.)Then, sprinkle generously with brown sugar.

Bake at 350, until the brie becomes soft and starts to melt.

Serve with french bread or crackers.

appetizer, recipe, brie, cheese, grapes, cooking, brown sugar

A friend was at our house the other day. It was an early afternoon, and I offered lemonade. Realizing I was out, I poured the last glass and said, “Hold on, I’ll make some more.” “What do you mean, you’ll make some more?” she inquired. She was unaware that people made lemonade. It does not all come from gallon jugs, and it is an incredibly simple and thoughtful concoction to offer your guests. Here, I give you three variations:

Steph’s Lemonade

This basic blend is the reason our household buys RealLemon juice in bulk.

1 C. fresh lemon juice or RealLemon
1 C. Sugar

Add both to a 2-Liter pitcher (standard size.) Fill with water. Stir. Serve over ice, and add a sprig of mint if you really want to be fancy.

Sweet Southern Lemonade Tea
Make lemonade as directed above.
Make strong tea. (6-8 teabags, one liter of water, pour over ice to melt.)
Mix together 3 parts tea to 1 part lemonade.

Memphis Rum & Lemonade

It is almost summer in the South, y’all. I had this many years ago in Memphis, strolling down Beale Street, and I’ve been a fan ever since.

Make lemonade per directions above, except, only fill to 1.5 liter mark. Pour a strong shot of rum in a glass over ice. Add lemonade to the top. Drink on your front porch.

summer, recipes, lemonade, lemons, rum, tea

I must be simply in-tune with all the citrus smiling at me in the produce section, but I have been seriously craving lemon this week. Speaking of citrus, have you all noticed how expensive orange juice has gotten? What’s with that? Back to today’s recipe… Lemon Squares… Yum.

LEMON SQUARES

2 sticks butter, softened
2 c. flour
1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar
4 eggs
2 c. sugar
6 T. lemon juice (fresh is best)
1 T. flour
1/2 t. baking powder
Additional confectioners’ sugar

Mix butter, flour, and confectioners’ sugar and press into a 10 x 14″ pan. (I prefer glass — mostly for looks, I suppose.) Bake at 325* for 15 minutes. Beat eggs slightly. Add sugar, lemon juice, flour, baking powder and pecans. Mix and pour on top of pastry. Bake at 325* for 40-50 minutes. Sprinkle with additional confectioners’ sugar.
Cool and cut into squares.

citrus, lemons, lemon squares, baking, cooking, recipes

I love spinach. LOVE it. It’s my favorite salad green, and short of buying it in a can (yuck!), I don’t think you can do it wrong. Today, I have extra to celebrate — spinach was buy 1 pack get 1 free at my local grocery! Here are a couple of favorite ways with spinach:

Spinach Salad – this is a variation on my mom’s fantastic salad
1 bag spinach, double-rinsed
2-3 boiled eggs, sliced in rings (slice the egg lengthwise)
5 scallions, chopped
6 slices of crisp bacon, crumbled
4 oz blue cheese, crumbled

Toss together. Add Russian dressing. Yummmmmmm……

Wilted Italian-style Spinach
Heat 2-3 T of olive oil in a saucepan. Add 1 t of jarred or fresh, minced garlic and saute for one minute. Lower temp to medium, and toss in spinach (1/2 to a whole pack.) Turn spinach as it wilts to keep it from burning.

Spinach, garlic, blue cheese, salad, cooking

I’m one of those folks who believes that having a fabulous sauce or seasoning at your disposal can absolutely MAKE a meal. It’s that well-stocked kitchen philosophy. Case in point? The fabulous sauces offered by Buckhead Gourmet. I have been a loyal fan of these folks since I first met them at my neighborhood Costco a couple of years ago. Since then, I’ve used these at home, bought them for teacher gifts, and included them in wedding gift baskets. I snagged the picture of their onion relish, because my husband’s favorite dish is grilled pork chops with this relish on top!

The site has a number of recipes, but I’m a big fan of just using the grilling sauces on pork chops, chicken, and fish. And I ADORE the Thai Chile Ginger sauce as a finishing sauce for… well, anything! I even like it for chicken fingers! So, go explore! I have yet to taste a sauce I don’t like from them. They also have a fabulous array of recipes! I’ll be trying the Pork-based Southwest Chipotle Chili this week!

Cooking, Sauces, Grilling, Chipotle, Pork Chops, Recipes, Southwest

I’m not sure how much news there really is in this, but according to Ragu, America’s moms KNOW what to do to deliver nutrition at home. We just don’t seem to always get it done. (Do we need to list the reasons for them?) At the risk of getting on my soapbox, I am a bit bothered that the study focuses on moms, ignoring all the dads out there who take primary responsibility for feeding their families! Take a look:

Practice what you preach. U.S. moms say that’s easier said than done, especially when it comes to nutrition. According to a recent poll of 1,000 U.S. moms sponsored
by Ragu(R) pasta sauce, 94 percent of moms say they know the nutritional needs of their kids. However, 80 percent find it difficult to deliver that nutrition. Moms say fussy eaters and busy schedules (47 percent and 38 percent, respectively) are the biggest challenges. In fact, an overwhelming 100% of moms admit they use one or more sneaky ways to get their kids to eat veggies, such as offering rewards or hiding veggies in other food.

The survey revealed that more than 60 percent of moms would like two to four more hours each day to accomplish everything they need to do while the other third need six to eight hours to get it all done. Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they would welcome shortcuts on how to prepare nutritious meals their kids will eat.

* If getting your kids to eat veggies is sometimes challenging, look for new and interesting ways to serve those vegetables you know they’ll eat. If broccoli is the only vegetable your child likes, figuring out more ways to serve it will help keep them from getting bored of it!
* Encourage balanced meals by making your child “Chef for a Day” by letting them help make dinner. They choose the menu, help shop for the ingredients and help with the preparation.

* Getting your children to enjoy fruits and vegetables is easy when you play “The Colors Game.” Challenge your kids to eat two of each color — green, red, yellow, orange, and purple — throughout the day. Make sure to go over all the different fruits and vegetables in each color category and, at meal times, ask them “how many colors have you had today?” They’ll love reviewing their menus with you and hearing your praise when they’ve completed the rainbow.

moms, nutrition, cooking