Elementary Chef

Ok, folks. Your dinner party invitations have been sent, and we are going to spend the week counting down to your big night. The folks at Tezón have gotten into the spirit with us. They sent what looks to be the perfect raspberry margarita recipe, as well as another beer-based drink that look so interesting, I have to share it too! This is a single drink recipe. I’ll be making these by the blender — not the glass!

Tezón Raspberry Margarita
2 oz. Tequila Tezón Blanco
1 cup fresh raspberries
.5 oz. orange juice
.5 oz. agave nectar
Juice of ½ lemon
Blend in blender with ice and serve in a champagne flute.

Baja Gold
Chill glass
Into Iced Shaker:
1 Shot of Tequila Tezón Blanco
1/2 shot fresh lime juice
1/2 shot Simple Syrup
Strain to glass
Fill w/ Mexican beer
Pinch salt & lime peel

I’m writing you tonight from a middle school band trip that I’m chaperoning. Tonight, I can’t even tell you how wonderful some frozen yogurt sounds right now..! Monday, hit up your local TCBY for FREE yogurt! Check out the announcement:

On Monday, April 30, 2007 from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm, frozen yogurt lovers can visit any participating TCBY location nationwide to pick-up a free pre-packed quart of The Country’s Best Yogurt! Free with any purchase, quarts are available in 96% fat free Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Chocolate, Cookies & Cream, and Mint Chocolate Chunk, and No-Sugar Added Vanilla Fudge Swirl.

Check http://www.TCBY.com to locate a participating store near you.

One of the fun things about writing this site is that occasionally, I get something fun to try and review for you. Yesterday, a box of True Blue Blueberry juice showed up at my front door. Now, you know from previous posts that I am a fan of blueberries. They’re high in antioxidants, generally good for you, and I like the way they taste.

True Blue was no disappointment. I was afraid that the blueberries would be an overdose and it might be bitter. Not so! The juice was sweet, but not too sweet. And it’s blended with grape juice, which made it all the smoother.

The box arrived on a good night. Last night was book club at my house, so we had additional victims to try this new stuff on. It was a hit with everyone. In fact, I lost one of the bottles to a guest! I have yet to try this juice IN anything — we just drank it straight last night (and made our way through a whole bottle, I might add.) It’s a refreshingly different taste that I didn’t tire of after a few sips.

But don’t take my word for it! Go try it. And check out http://www.trueblueberry.com for a coupon. (I love coupons.)

blueberries, true blueberry, juice

Today, I give you the key to success in any office. Bring the right breakfast digs, and they will LOVE you. This is easy and yummy. Enjoy!

Crock Pot Breakfast Casserole

3 C. toasted bread cubes
1 ½ C. shredded cheese (*white cheddar is excellent)
6 eggs, beaten
3 C. milk
¾ t. salt
¼ t. pepper
*Optional: 6-12 slices crumbled bacon or crumbled, cooked sausage

Spray slow cooker with cooking spray. Add bread cubes and cheese (and meat if you’ve chosed to use it) to slow cooker.
Mix together eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Pour over bread cubes and cheese and gently stir together.
Allow mixture to sit in refrigerator overnight or at least for several hours.
Cook in slow cooker on low for 4-5 hours.

NOTE: Because you sprayed your slow cooker, you now have the option to gently slide the casserole out of the slowcooker and onto a serving dish. It really is quite pretty, and no one will know how you managed to make such a lovely souffle-looking dish!

breakfast, casserole, crockpot, crock pot, slow cooker, recipes

Time for your dinner party dessert recipe! Flan is one of my favorite desserts ever. We vacation in Mexico some, and I look forward to the flan for WEEKS before we go! Maybe it’s the caramel sauce… Maybe it’s the custard… Maybe I should go make a batch and figure it out!

Flan

3 C sugar
2 T water
8 eggs, beaten
1/2 t salt
4 C milk
1 t vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Heat 1 cup of sugar in a saucepan over high heat, stirring constantly. After the sugar has melted and turned a deep brown color, add 2 T water and mix well. Pour mixture into a 6-1/2 inch (small pie size) baking dish.

In a mixing bowl, stir together eggs, 2 C sugar, and salt.

Pour 4 C milk into a saucepan, heat until just boiling, stirring constantly. Stir 6 T of the milk into the egg mixture and mix well. Then pour the egg mixture into the rest of the hot milk and mix well. Add vanilla. Pour mixture into baking dish.

Place the baking dish into a deep (lasagna type) baking pan. Fill the baking pan with hot water halfway up the side of the dish (being careful not to get water in the custard mixture.) Bake for 1 hour or until the custard is set. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours. (This is an excellent recipe to prepare the night before your dinner party!) When ready to serve, turn the custard upside down onto a plate.

cinco de mayo, dinner party, party, flan, dessert, recipes

Strawberries are in season, which makes it the perfect time of year to enjoy this wonderful recipe from Bisquick!

2 1/3 cups Original Bisquick® mix
1/2 cup milk
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
Sweetened sliced strawberries
Whipped topping or whipped cream

1. Heat oven to 425°F.
2. Stir Bisquick mix, milk, sugar and butter until soft dough forms. Drop by 6 spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
3. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Split warm shortcakes; fill and top with strawberries and whipped topping. (Sweeten strawberries before making shortcakes so sugar has time to dissolve; for each quart of sliced strawberries, stir in 1/2 cup sugar.)

strawberry shortcake, strawberries, recipes

Today is your first weekend of planning for your Cinco de Mayo dinner party! If you’ve been following along at Elementary Chef, then you already have a lot of the bases covered! At the end of these posts, I’ll include a list of the links you need so far to prepare for your guests! This weekend, you need to think about who you’re going to invite and INVITE them! I recently learned of a new invitation site — www.mypunchbowl.com. These folks already have 2 ready-designed Cinco de Mayo invites, and the site is very easy to navigate. Think in terms of inviting 6-8 people, depending on your comfort level.

Here is our menu:
- Margaritas, Dos Equis, Iced Tea
- Nachos Grande
- Soft and hard tacos
- Chili relleno
- Mexican rice
- Refried beans
- Flan

The rest of the recipes will come in the next 2 weeks, along with a detailed shopping list. Invite away!

Since the Olive Garden Chicken Crostina recipe has been such a big hit, I’ve decided to start a new series, where I try to give you a simplified copy of your favorite restaurant dishes! This week goes out to my friend Sarah — Chicken Bryan. This can be your weekend challenge recipe! Grab the ingredients, and wow your friends and family! Serve with salad, bread, a bottle of pinot grigio (or your favorite white wine), and you’re set for dinner IN!

“Chicken Bryan”

2 T olive oil
1 T finely chopped onion
1 T chopped garlic
1/2 C white wine
1/3 C lemon juice
1 stick butter
1 jar sundried tomatoes
Basil
Salt
Black pepper
6 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts
8 oz. goat cheese crumbles

Heat 2 T olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic & onion and saute until soft. Add wine and lemon juice to skillet and simmer until mixture thickens. Add stick of butter, allow to melt.

Add sundried tomatoes, 1 T basil (dried or 2 T fresh), 1/2 t salt, 1/2 t pepper and remove and allow to heat for about 1 minute. Turn heat to low to keep warm.

Grill chicken as you learned yesterday, taking care not to char. Remove chicken breasts to individual plates and cover first with goat cheese crumbles. Smother with sundried tomato sauce.

Carrabba’s, Chicken Bryan, Italian recipes, Italian cooking, restaurant recipes

Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund

April 16, 2007, will be remembered as one of the darkest days in the history of the Virginia Tech community and the world beyond.

To remember and honor the victims of those tragic events, the university has established the Hokie Spirit Memorial Fund to aid in the healing process and generate financial support.

The fund will be used to cover expenses including but not limited to:

• Grief counseling
• Memorials
• Communication expenses
• Comfort expenses
• Incidental needs

If you plan to give, please click the link below:

It sounds simple enough. But how many times have been to a cook-out and either grilled yourself, or had grilled for you, chicken that turned out blackened and tough? Grilled chicken, done properly, will stay juicy!

Doing chicken right is easy, but it takes an extra step that few people take. First, pre-heat your gas grill on high to get it to 450-500 degrees. Yes, really! After you’ve gotten the grill thoroughly hot, turn one burner off completely and the other to medium. (I have 3 burners, so I normally turn off 2.) Place your chicken on the side of the grill without live heat. Check on the chiken periodically (every 5 minutes or so.) The initial high heat will seal in the juices, and the lack of direct heat will prevent flare-ups, so no charring!

It has been a whole month since I’ve posted drink recipes! That’s right folks, the last time we talked about drinking, it was St. Patrick’s Day! There is good news today for those of us who enjoy to occasionally (or more than occasionally!) imbibe — Hiram Walker has released two new flavors of Schnapps — with accompanying recipes of course. I think these martinis sound MAHVELOUS!

Before I get to these drink recipes, I’m very excited to announce a new reason to visit Elementary Chef every day! I’m going to begin a series on hosting the perfect dinner party. If you follow those posts, they will give you all the recipes and tips you need to plan the perfect dinner for 8 once a month. We’ll start this week, and you can feel free to go ahead and set your date. Dinner party one will be themed around Cinco de Mayo! Send out your invites — I love www.evite.com for easy ones. And get ready! And here’s where I offer my first bit of dinner party advice. Do NOT try to play bartender at a dinner party. Choose ONE drink that will be your signature drink of the evening — any of these could do nicely. You would also want to have wine, water, and some other non-alcoholic drink available. (In the South, usually iced tea.) Choosing a signature drink (of the evening) encourages everyone to try something new, and it keeps your preparation work (and expense!) down.

PearTini
1 part Hiram Walker(R) Pear Schnapps
1 part Stoli(R) Vodka
Shake over ice and strain into martini glass. Garnish with a lemon twist.

Pearsian Kat
2 parts Hiram Walker(R) Pear Schnapps
1 part Hiram Walker(R) Creme de Cacao White
1 part Stoli(R) Vodka
Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with chocolate
shavings.

PinkTini
1 part Hiram Walker(R) Pink Grapefruit Schnapps
1 part Stoli(R) Vodka
Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lime twist

Icy Pink
1 part Hiram Walker(R) Pink Grapefruit Schnapps
1 part Beefeater(R) Gin
1/2 part lemon juice
Dash bitters
Shake over ice and strain into a martini glass. Garnish with a lime twist

Let the party begin!

Ever get a craving for Mexican food, but want to save the expense of a dinner out or maybe just avoid loading the kids up for a meal out? Try this simple and delicious recipe for chili relleno. Watch for recipes for the Spanish rice and refried beans later this week!

CHILI RELLENO

4½ C Mexican cheese blend
1 sm. can chilies, chopped
2 eggs
2 T milk
1 t flour

Alternate cheeses and chilies in a glass baking dish. (It’s prettier!) Mix eggs, milk and flour and pour over cheeses. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. Great served with Spanish rice, refried beans and chips.

Most of us will admit that when we think pastries, we think French. In an effort to encourage Americans to bake more, the French Pastry School has issued these universal and elementary tips for baking success:

– It pays to measure. While some ingredients can be added with a pinch here and there, it’s best when baking to always measure accurately.
– Preheat your oven. It makes cookies and cakes rise like they’re intended — something you’ll miss if you place your pan on a cold rack.
– Beware substitutions. Chefs know how important it is to use the right ingredients. Substitutions can completely change an item’s texture and appearance. The school uses only Plugra European-Style Butter (which is now available in the US), for example, because it has 82 percent butterfat, combined with a lower concentration of water. It’s this combination that makes cakes rise higher, cookies crisp more evenly and pie crusts turn out flakier.

I love, love, love, love, LOVE artichokes, but I’m tired of artichoke dip. I’ve been online today, trying to find something new to do with them, and while trolling, I found www.artichokes.org with this:

BAKED ARTICHOKE CASSEROLE
2 medium California artichokes
2 T lemon juice
2 medium onions, sliced thick
2 T olive oil
1 t Italian herb seasoning
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
6 ounces mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese, sliced

Bend back outer petals of each artichoke until they snap off easily near base. Edible portion of petals should remain on artichoke bottom. Continue to snap off and discard thick petals until central core of pale green petals is reached. Trim brown end of stem and cut off top 2-inches of artichokes; discard. Pare outer dark green surface layer from artichoke bottoms. Cut out center petals and fuzzy centers. Slice artichoke bottoms about 1/4-inch thick. Toss with lemon juice to prevent discoloration; set aside.

Sauté onions in olive oil 5 to 8 minutes or until tender. Spoon evenly into 2-quart oven-proof baking dish. Sprinkle with Italian herb seasoning. Arrange tomato slices, artichoke slices and cheese slices on onions, over-lapping slightly in center of dish. Cover dish with lid or foil. Bake at 375°F for 40 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

Guess what I’ll be making this weekend????

artichokes, tomatoes, casserole, recipe

What fun is this! A chance to win a dream kitchen and show the world — or at least the American public — that you really do make the best cookie on the block! Read on! It’s the American Idol of cooking! Of course, feel free to send ME your cookie recipe if you want an impartial test kitchen to try it out first!

To Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Mrs. Fields, the Country’s Favorite Cookie Maker and iVillage Announce a Nationwide Search for the Next Great Mrs. Fields Cookie

Calling America’s cookie connoisseurs! Bake sale divas, listen up! Mrs. Fields and iVillage.com are teaming up to give cookie bakers across the country a chance to help create America’s next great Mrs. Fields cookie.

To celebrate three decades of baking perfection begun by Debbi Fields herself, the Mrs. Fields and iVillage Search for the 30th Anniversary Cookie Contest, featured exclusively on iVillage.com’s Home & Food Channel, will give cookie bakers across the country a chance to showcase their baking talents and the winning entry will be used to create Mrs. Fields’ official “30th Anniversary Cookie.” The cookie will be sold in Mrs. Fields’ 400 stores nationwide, as well as through MrsFields.com, and the individual submitting the winning recipe will receive a brand new Dream Kitchen courtesy of GE Profile(TM) to help them carry on the baking fun at home in style.

Bakers who think their cookies have what it takes can submit their recipe by visiting iVillage.com and going to their Home and Food Channel or by going directly to http://mrsfields.ivillage.com. Recipes should be accompanied by a short description of the inspiration behind the cookie and a digital photo of the cookie itself. And of course, there is no purchase necessary to enter or win! The final day for recipe submissions will be May 25, 2007 after which time the public will have an opportunity to help select the winning entry by voting for their favorite cookie entry online. Based upon consumer voting and judging by Mrs. Fields, the recipes will be narrowed down to 30 semifinalists followed by five finalists. Each of the finalists will win a one-year supply of Mrs. Fields cookies.

cooking contest, cookies, baking, Mrs. Fields