Why the Name?

This started off as a place to send people from the blog where I "live" when I mentioned recipes. It seemed like fun to fix it up and keep it going when a few other of my blogging pals did the same. So I needed a name. Penni came up with this:

okay julie - here's your new title (i just thought of it - call it a Godbreeze, if you will):

happy gastronome.

you can thank me later :)

(actually, if you like it, i think it suits you - the definition is a connoisseur of good food and drink; a gourmet...)

She's right, it does work for me. A daughter of gourmets and former "foodie" myself, I will always look for the best even if it's only a hot dog. That's why I have kids who won't eat Oscar Mayer bologna, but will patiently wait until I have time to go to Kuby's. Now, that doesn't stop me from using cream of mushroom soup, but that's another story ... I said I am a "former" foodie, remember?

Then Rose, tied it into the "mother" blog (Happy Catholic ... not always happy but always happy to be Catholic) with "Glad" and the descriptor. Thank heavens I had a creative team for this!

DMN Cookie Contest Winners

Every year the Dallas Morning News sponsors a cookie contest with all proceeds going to charity. There were some pretty good looking cookies this year. There's a great selection and variety because DMN gives the top three recipes in each category: Bar, Easy. Family Recipe, Decadent, and Decorated.

I liked the looks of:

• Easy Lemon Mint Cookies (minus the mint)
• Cranberry-Date Crumb Bars
• Pryaniki Russian-style Cookies

Rose was intrigued by:

• Chewy Angel Cookies
• Caramel Cheesy Cookies (what a relief to see the "cheese" is cream cheese)
• A Quiet Little Mexican Bar
• Chocolate Candy Bar Cookies

I can see that she's her mother's daughter though. Two of the recipes call for beginning with a cake mix and she already was plotting how to get around that part with original ingredients. I don't know if that's possible in these recipes but it'll be interesting, and hopefully delicious, watching her try!

Looking for Monkey at the Central Market

i've been discovered! i frequent both the dallas central market and the plano location depending on my shopping needs. i'll be counting on you to help hoist one of the tasty holiday pannetone's into my shopping trolley.

Monkey

We're going to keep our eyes peeled for Monkey when we're shopping every week. Those pannetone can be heavy lifting for a cute, little Monkey.

Thai-Style Stir-Fried Chicken

From Cooking Light magazine ... maybe the most recent issue (?). This is a quick recipe that should only take 40 minutes and actually MIGHT have taken 40 minutes if I had checked the time. If it took longer it was because I didn't have any pre-sliced mushrooms or pre-chopped carrots. It still was pretty quick and easy though. Really delicious and authentic tasting but next time I'm using only half the red curry paste. I'm still breathing flames!

STEP 1:
1/4 cup rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons red curry paste
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces (I used boneless thighs)
Combine everything in a zip-top plastic bag. Marinate 15 minutes in the refrigerator.

STEP 2:
1-1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided (I might have used more than this ... I didn't measure, just splashed a bit in).
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 (8-ounce package presliced mushrooms
Remove chicken from bag, reserving marinade. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large nonstick skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Add chicken stir-fry 4 minutes. remove chicken from pan; keep warm. Add remaining oil to pan. Add onion and carrot; stir-fry 2 minutes. Add mushrooms; stir-fry 3 minutes.

STEP 3:
1/2 cup light coconut milk
1 tablespoon fish sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
Add reserved marinade, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Add coconut milk and fish sauce; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 1 minute. Stir in chicken and salt; cook 1 minute.

STEP 4:
1 cup fresh bean sprouts
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Remove chicken to dish, top with bean sprouts and cilantro. Serve with rice noodles (or regular noodles or rice or whatever you like to put a saucy dish over).

RICE NOODLES
Place 6 ounces thin rice vermicelli (thin rice noodles) in a large bowl, cover with boiling water. Let stand 20 minutes. Drain, serve chicken over noodles. (I put the noodles in a large Italian pasta bowl, poured the chicken over the top and sprinkled with the sprouts and cilantro. Very pretty it was too!)

Serves 4. (Serving size: 1 cup chicken, 1/4 cup sprouts, and 1 T cilantro)

CALORIES 271 (28% from fate); FAT 8.4 g (sat 2.2g, mono 1.6g, poly 3.4g); PROTEIN 29.7g; CARB 19.6g; CHOL 66mg; IRON 2.2mg; SODIUM 767mg; CALC 43mg)

Peruvian Food Anyone?

Both girls babysat on Saturday night so Tom and I had a date! He picked out a new place from The Weekend Guide that is a mom and pop Peruvian restaurant. I have to admit that never would have occurred to me but it was delicious, although they do have a propensity to garnish with sliced hard boiled eggs that was rather odd. When I came home and began looking around in my Foods of the World: Latin American Cooking at the chapter on Peru I found the hard boiled egg thing is totally accurate. However, there were no guinea pigs on the menu (a Peruvian mainstay). So how authentic is this place? Although as Tom pointed out, they might have a bit of trouble trying to put guinea pigs on their menu.

Amaretti

I kicked off our Christmas cookie season by whipping up a batch of Amaretti. Absurdly simple, these are some of my favorites ... basically meringue cookies with ground almonds mixed in. I'm not usually fond of meringues but love these so they had to go into the freezer ASAP otherwise we wouldn't have had many left. For some reason meringue cookies always seem intimidating but luckily Hannah went to a friend's house with my main cookie cookbook so I was thrown back on making these ... mmmmmm, good and easy. Try them

This recipe came from my mother and I'm not sure what cookbook it came from. However, it is not too different from other such recipes I've seen ... except it is a great deal simpler than some.

Step 1:
2 large egg whites
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Beat egg whites until foamy, gradually beat in sugar and almond extract. Continue beating for several minutes until whites form very stiff, shiny peaks.

Step 2:
2 cups (8 ounces) finely ground, blanched almonds
1 teaspoon cornstarch
Stir in almonds and cornstarch until well combined.

Drop generous tablespoon of batter into small mounds about 2" apart on parchment-lined, baking sheets. Bake at 350° for 17-22 minutes until firm and lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. Makes 30 cookies.

Chewy Variation:
Beat egg whites with a fork until broken up and slightly frothy. Stir in sugar until combined; then mix in remaining ingredients (and 1/4-1/2 teaspoon optional cardamom if desired) to make very stiff paste.

With moistened hands, form scant tablespoons of paste into 11/4" balls. Arrange 2" apart on baking sheets. Use moistened fingertips to flatten each ball slightly. Bake at 325° for 15-20 minutes or until firm and very lightly browned. Cool on wire racks. These are like traditional macaroons.

The Last Word On Fried Chicken

FRIED CHICKEN: An American Story by John T. Edge

John T. Edge weaves a beguiling tapestry of food and culture as he takes us from a Jersey Shore hotel to a Kansas City roadhouse, from the original Buffalo wings to KFC, from Nashville Hot Chicken to haute fried chicken at a genteel Southern inn.

You have to be interested in both food history and reading about fried chicken to like this book. I fit this description and found this little book very enjoyable. Edge has a comfortable, conversational style and provides 15 recipes to go alone with his voyage of discovery. I liked this enough to request the next in this series, "Apple Pie," from the library.

Herbed Thanksgiving Stuffing

Somehow I had registered the idea that I had to do my Thanksgiving shopping this weekend but NOT the fact that meant I had to actually cook the Thanksgiving feast next week. It hadn't "clicked" somehow until Rose was talking about it last night. Thank heavens because that send me plunging into my files to make sure I had this recipe and didn't have to check the book out of the library to get it. Then, naturally, I had to share it with my blogging pals.

I realize it's a big claim to say this is the best stuffing ever. However, you have to realize that I'm always searching for the "best ever" way to make something I like and then I quit looking. I'm always going for taste and then simplicity. I have found my favorite biscuits, pumpkin pie, etc. this way. Not only does this stuffing taste like my ideal but it is made in the slow cooker. That's right, the slow cooker. Any Thanksgiving cooks know that oven space is at a premium for this meal and this solves many problems. You can gauge turkey time on an unstuffed bird, you have more room available for other things in the oven, it will stay warm in the slow cooker for a considerable time waiting for everything else to get done ... well, you get the picture. Without further ado, here is the recipe for Herbed Thanksgiving Stuffing. Enjoy!

From Rick Rodger's The Slow Cooker Ready and Waiting Cookbook.

Step 1:
8 tablespoons butter
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium celery ribs, chopped
Saute until softened.

Step 2?
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1-1/2 teaspoons rosemary
1-1/2 teaspoons thyme
1-1/2 teaspoons marjoram
1-1/2 teaspoons sage
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
Remove onion mixture from heat and stir in above ingredients.

Step 3:
12 packed cups 1" cubes of stale Italian or French bread (about 1 pound)
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
Mix in bread cubes and toss with stock to moisten. Pack lightly into buttered slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low and slow-cook until heated through, 3-4 hours. The cooker will keep the dressing at serving temperature for up to 3 hours. I tend to like a moist stuffing and probably would use a bit more stock than above which makes a drier stuffing ... although it's darn good for sopping up gravy that way!

Variations:
Sausage Stuffing - Cook 1 pound bulk pork sausage. Drain. Stir into stuffing during the last hour of cooking.

Mushroom Stuffing: Saute 1-1/2 pounds sliced mushrooms in 4 tablespoons butter until mushrooms have given off liquid and are beginning to brown. Stir into stuffing during last hour of cooking.

Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies

I can't give the Pennsylvania Dutch cookie recipe from last week without giving my favorite recipe for Soft and Chewy Sugar Cookies. After I tasted these it was clear that I need look no further for the best sugar cookies. They are perfectly chewy and delicious. Even when they are made too thin and turn out crisp you can't beat the flavor. The only problem is that this recipe makes plain round cookies. Now I just have to find a recipe for great tasting sugar cookies that are rolled and cut out, the quintessential Christmas cookie. My quest continues...

From Cook's Illustrated

Step 1:
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 375°. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk dry ingredients together.

Step 2:
16 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened but still firm
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
In standing mixer, beat together butter and sugars at medium speed until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.

Step 3:
1 large egg
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Add egg and vanilla; beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and beat on low until just combined, about 30 seconds.

Step 4:
1/2 cup sugar for rolling dough
Put sugar for rolling in shallow bowl. Have bowl of cold water nearby for dipping hands in between rolling dough. Dip hands in water and shake off excess every time rolling dough (this not only prevents dough from sticking but also ensures that sugar sticks to dough).

Roll heaping tablespoon dough into 1-1/2" ball; roll in sugar, put on baking sheet. Space balls approximately 2" apart (12 cookies/sheet). Flatten balls with hand or fork until about 3/4" thick.

Bake until golden brown around edges, just set, and very lightly colored in center, about 15-18 minutes. Cool on baking sheet approximately 3 minutes; finish cooling on rack.

"You cook? Every night?"

That was the response from my friend, RH, when we were talking about household budgets. She had said that her husband bought breakfast every morning, she bought lunch every day, and they might have three home cooked meals during the week. That's when I said that we might have one or two meals a month that weren't fixed at home and she was stunned.

I didn't know whether I should take that personally but then decided that it probably was because our society just cooks a lot less than ever. This isn't news to most people, especially those with school age kids. However, as I pointed out to RH, it isn't always about preparing a meal. Sometimes it's just about fueling up. RH was much struck by my assertion that a tuna sandwich can do the trick just as handily as a Big Mac, more cheaply and (possibly) more healthily ... and you don't have to go anywhere to get it.

A case in point was last week when, as happens more often than I like to dwell on, it was toward the end of the week and we were out of "dinner-able" food. What I did have on hand was tuna so on to tuna sandwiches (gourmet touch ... a spritz of lemon juice!), chips (ooooh, variety ... your choice of Doritos OR Sunchips), and sliced apples (because nutrition counts too!). From this you can see that I am blessed with a very tolerant husband and children who love tuna. In fact, Hannah's fondest culinary memory of London is the Tuna Mayonnaise at the Princess Pub in St. John's Wood.

I don't call this "cooking." I call it "engineering" because you usually are doing little more than opening cans and assembling (nachos, tuna sandwiches) or sometimes just very simple prep and heating (oven baked chicken nuggets and fries, bratwurst and baked potatoes). I manage to complicate this by having standards that don't allow the use of most types of prepared products (jarred spaghetti sauce, mac and cheese from a box ... even when I use chicken nuggets they're from Kuby's, our great German deli). However, it is possible to an amazing amount of engineering even with these self imposed handicaps.

I do actually cook probably 5 meals every week. I thought everyone knew these little tricks and I suspect most do. However, this idea came as a real revelation to RH and in her book that is called cooking. So yes, I guess, I cook every night.

Pennsylvania Dutch Soft Sugar Cookies

Probably my very favorite cookie is a sugar cookie. It is all too hard to find the perfect one. Pennsylvania Dutch Soft Sugar Cookies were part of Rose's cookie making frenzy this summer and everybody has asked for them again and again. I prefer a less soft and fluffy texture but but I definitely am in the minority because these consistently are a crowd favorite. Try a few of these to add to the joy or reduce the sting of the election results.

This recipe is from Nick Malgieri's Cookies Unlimited. The instructions call for a standing mixer but anyone with basic baking experience can see how easy it would be to adapt to hand mixing.


Makes about 60 cookies

Step 1:
4 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch salt
Set the racks in the upper and lower third of the oven and preheat to 375°. In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt; stir well to mix.

Step 2:
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 cups sugar
3 teaspoons vanilla extract
In the bowl of a standing mixer with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until combined, then beat in vanilla.

Step 3:
3 large eggs
1 up buttermilk
Add eggs, one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Lower the speed and beat in a third of the four mixture, then half the buttermilk, and another third of the flour mixture. Scrape bowl and beater often. Beat in remaining buttermilk, then the remaining flour mixture.

Step 4:
3 or 4 cookie sheets or jelly roll pans covered with parchment or foil
Scrape bowl and beater, then remove the bowl from the mixer, and give the dough one final mixing with a large rubber spatula. Drop tablespoons of the dough 3 or 4 inches apart onto the prepared pans.

Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes, or until they spread and rise -- they should be lightly golden.

Slide the papers off the pans onto racks. After cookies have cooled, detach them from the paper and store them between layers of parchment or wax paper in a tin or plastic container with tight fitting cover.