Looking for Easy Recipes...

It's that time of the year: Time to feed the crowd, bring a dish to a party or potluck, offer an easy side dish... Plus we need to pull out the traditional favorites that might typically be found at holiday gatherings--it brings back those warm, fuzzy memories...

The Broccoli Salad recipe is a favorite; a quick and easy recipe you can throw together fast. I've made it with regular raisins when I haven't had golden raisins on hand- it's still great! A friend adds roasted, salted sunflower seeds; another option that's tasty too.  Another great feature of this simple recipe: It can be made ahead of time. The broccoli marinates well; the peanuts/bacon can be added last so they still have their crunch.

You can watch me make some easy party foods (including this Broccoli Salad recipe) here.

Pork Out? Pork IN (my belly)

I'm thinking of a nice, butterflied pork loin roast for Christmas Eve dinner, stuffed with a yummy corn bread filling. But I was a bit over-confident in my original search for pork loin roast recipes. I thought it would be easy for a nice hunk of meat to turn out perfectly. I was so disappointed when that original roast turned out dry and tough!

The already-marinated pork loin roasts will turn out well most every time; they're soaked with an addition of extra salty water and seasonings (chemicals too, typically), which makes them juicier. But I like the idea of using an unadulterated pork loin roast, which is also often cheaper than the treated ones. But the natural pork loin roast presents the challenge: How to make it turn out flavorful and moist? With this recipe, the mission is accomplished. I suspect that pounding the meat (as one does after butterflying, to get a large surface area for rolling a stuffing into) helps the roast to get tender. Yes.

Cooking for a crowd? Need simple recipes? Check out my other Pork Loin Roast Recipe; easy recipes like that one make cooking for a crowd easy. The pork loin roast is marinated ahead of time, and it just gets roasted for about 90 minutes. A great dinner idea when you'll be short on time.

(Head scratching)... Am I supposed to stick this "claim code" into this post, for it to show up on Technorati? Well, here it is:

A43FQT44FS9N

Gifts from the Kitchen!

What do folks really need, anyway? If they need something badly, they'll probably buy it for themselves. So, if we're on a budget and can only spend so much, but want to show someone we've been thinking of them, what gifts might qualify?

My father-in-law always said, "If I can't eat it and make it disappear, don't get it for me." Well, that made it easy! Every year around Christmas time, I would pull out his favorite candy recipe, for toffee. It takes about seven minutes of stirring the brown sugar/butter mixture, and a few seconds to pour it into a prepared pan (typically, sprinkled with chopped, toasted nuts). A layer of chocolate chips is sprinkled on over the hot toffee; the chocolate melts as the toffee firms up, and can be easily spread over the top. Within the hour, the toffee has cooled enough to be broken into pieces, ready to wrap in cellophane (or put into a cute tin).

Not everyone is a fan of toffee. We have a few Turtle fans in our house; my mom used to make batches and batches of them for Christmas presents. I didn't carry on that tradition, as I didn't have quite as much time on my hands, although I certainly appreciated mom's efforts!

A few other candy recipes that have worked for me: Fudge and Peanut Butter Fudge. I was thrilled to discover that I didn't really have to hand-beat the fudge with a wooden spoon for twenty minutes; I tweaked the recipe and was able to let my Kitchenaid mixer do the work for me. Yay!

7-Layer Salad? Seventh Heaven? Either Way: Good!

In trying to look up what's out there, I couldn't be sure whether to call it a Seven Layer Salad Recipe... Some great versions are actually an Eight Layer Salad. And then some folks call it "Seventh Heaven Salad", or "Heavenly Seven-Layer Salad". There are a lot of different versions. Some get very elaborate with many seasonings going into the mayonnaise, etc. But when the salad's kept simple, the tastes of the individual ingredients really compliment each other. This could actually be called an "Eight Layer Salad", but less people are familiar with that term. But it  is my all-time favorite layered salad, no matter what you call it!

You can always alter a few of the ingredients, but this particular combination is really, really good... And you can make it a day ahead, which can make for a calmer party day! Find the recipe here.

All About Pumpkin Pie

I'm busy reformatting my recipe website; just did most of the Thanksgiving recipes in the newer design. I love the colors! But I can't fit all the info onto the recipe page, so I thought I'd post a few pointers here, concerning pumpkin pies.

• About Using Fresh Pumpkin: Buy "pie pumpkins" (sometimes called other various names, like "sugar pumpkin"). Pop into the oven earlier in the day, or the day before pie-baking commences. After cooling, scoop the inside out, process it until smooth (hand-mashing also works). Freeze extra for soup.

• Check out this Super Easy "Pumpkin Pie" (no crust, but an awesome, crumbly topping)

• More Tips on Pumpkin Pie without the soggy crust...

• Another Pumpkin Dessert option: Pumpkin Chiffon Pie. This pie has a "gingerbread" crust, using plain old crackers and some extra spice- much cheaper than buying gingerbread cookies for the crust! (Oh, Martha-Stewart-style, home-made ones...)

Meanwhile, while you all might be making pumpkin pies, I'm just going to be sure we have plenty of Pecan Pie... (I posted that recipe here...)

Well, happy baking everyone. I better be going- lots of cooking to do!

Apple Cake Season

One Fuji Apple Tree + Kitchen = Dessert!

It's so easy to take apples for granted when you have a prolific tree producing buckets of them. We're eating at least an apple a day, but I finally realized I needed to pull out my favorite apple cake recipe from my friend Mary Jane.

For anyone else with plenty of apples on hand, here's the super-easy recipe. I suggest tripling this recipe, ha!

Apple Cake
Makes one 9" square cake; serves 6 or so.
Measure into mixing bowl: > 1/4 c. olive oil > 1 egg > 2 c. apple > 1 c. sugar > 1 c. flour > 1/2 tsp. salt > 1 tsp. cinnamon > 1 tsp. baking soda
Mix all ingredients until blended. Spread into oiled 9" square pan, bake at 375 degrees for 35-45 minutes.

"Best of the Bay" or "Best Paying in the Bay"?

I couldn't find much when I googled, "best of the bay, cost, becoming a member, pay". I guess not that many people have questioned the impressive "Best of the Bay" title. I've noticed it before; I've seen a few local businesses boasting the title, putting up plaques, mentioning it on their website... For those of you not living in the Bay Area, who are unfamiliar with the term "Best of the Bay", it's used on a short infomercial that runs on KRON Channel 4 TV. Most folks aren't aware that it's an infomercial that receives payment from the businesses that they showcase. I certainly never did!

But then a Best of the Bay rep stopped by The New Deli, saying we were potential candidates. Only then did I discover that it would cost roughly $1,000/month to become a community member; and only then would The New Deli actually qualify for the nomination. I would've been flattered if someone honestly wanted to come in and film the New Deli crew busting out during our lunch rushes because it's so fun to watch. But I wasn't flattered that someone wanted us to invest in something that seems a little like fraud...

Our old friends back in the eighties used to "pay to play", dragging their super-cool rock/punk bands to San Francisco bars; friends like us would offer moral support, cheering them on, and paying the cover and/or bar bills. Eventually, our friends got tired of that scene and found jobs that paid them, instead of vice versa.

Apparently, there still is a sort of "pay to play" going on, with the Best of the Bay awards. But some of us small business owners don't have an extra thousand dollars a month to spend (for 13 months), for a one-minute infomercial that runs twice a week, because we're trying our best to give our customers a valuable product at a reasonable price. If any business has to pay that much to be eligible to even be nominated for their awards, then, as one of our New Deli girls said, "It isn't the 'Best of the Bay', but 'The Best Paying in the Bay' ". No thank you! I'm not impressed by the "Best of Nominee" and "Viewers' Choice" and "Best of the Bay" awards, now that I've heard the story. It's not really about the true status of the business.

A point in their favor: They claim that not just anybody qualifies to be eligible. Perhaps you only qualify if you rake in enough extra profit to pay out for such a service?!

Caramel Apple Season

The Granny Smith apples are ripening on our tree, and someone called the deli yesterday asking if we knew someone who did homemade caramel apples, AND, autumn arrived last Friday, so... I guess it's time to talk Caramel Apples!

I posted my favorite recipe here, on my recipe website. It can be a little tricky to work with, but so incredibly tasty! And the caramel recipe's pretty easy, with simple ingredients, so that's a plus. But since I've been organizing my extra recipes lately, and ran across a few other Caramel Apple recipes in the process, I thought I'd share one of them here today. I've tried it once or twice, but usually revert back to my other recipe, since I always have those ingredients on hand (and don't even have to bother with a candy thermometer for it).

But I've posted another recipe below too, for those wanting to try a new version!

Caramel Apples (Using candy thermometer)

Ingredients

• 14-16 small tart apples
• 1 c. butter
• 1 lb. brown sugar 
• 2 c. cream 
• 1 c. light corn syrup
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Prepare w/wooden skewers stuck in, on buttered sheet:  14-16 sm. tart apples

Melt over low heat:  1 c. butter

Add:  1 lb. brown sugar, 2 c. cream,  1 c. light corn syrup

Cook, stirring over medium high heat until boiling, then stirring some until temperature reaches 248 degrees, 45 to 60 minutes. Remove from heat immediately and add: 1 tsp. vanilla

Work fast, dipping apples, turning to coat. Roll in nuts also, if desired.

Shocking Chain Restaurant Food Stories?

Someone on reddit has posted, "I just started working at Chili's and I am shocked." This person thought ALL Chili's food was pre-cooked, then microwaved once ordered. Granted, being a server, one doesn't get to see all the behind-the-scenes processes, and might even jump to some conclusions.

Many folks, including other Chili's employees (past and present), responded with explanations. Essentially, it's not really that bad. By dinner time, the pasta that was cooked earlier in the day has been portioned into bags, but no, all the elements of the dinner are not shipped to the restaurant in microwaveable bags. And no, the steaks are not pre-cooked. Yes, the raw veggies are shipped to Chili's in microwaveable bags, and are then microwaved until cooked through. But the pasta is simply portioned by the morning cooking crew so that the meals can be sized right later on.

We actually do a similar thing with pasta at The New Deli, cooking it up and then portioning it into serving sizes, ready for the lunch rush.

However! I did have someone in our employ, who had worked at a local dinner house, who described a particularly scary cooking method practiced at that restaurant. She explained that, if you ordered the grilled chicken, you were actually getting chicken that had been thrown into the deep-fryer (to more quickly cook it), and then thrown on the grill real fast to give it that "grilled" look. I was glad that I don't ever frequent that dinner house, since I would've probably ordered that grilled chicken, never suspecting that I was getting deep-fried, fast-food-style chicken!

Using Chipotle Peppers

Steph from The New Deli mentioned that we could probably make an awesome Chipotle Chicken Sandwich; her husband noticed that Subway had one, and he figured we could probably make a better one. So we did!

I noticed a recipe on grouprecipes.com that is supposedly close to Subway's "Chipotle Southwest Sauce", and it sounded fairly good to me. But having worked in the food business since the seventies (yes, I'm dating myself...), I still think our method is better.

One component of the grouprecipes recipe is fresh garlic, although we've found over the years that "fresh garlic" gets pretty nasty if it's not really fresh. If you add fresh garlic to your dressings and don't use them within a few days, the flavor starts to deteriorate. (That's why, at the deli, we always add fresh garlic to the daily dressings, so they will in fact be fresh-tasting. Extra garlic is chopped and kept, mini-ice-cube-style, in bags in the freezer.)

So sure, use the grouprecipes recipe if you'll be using the sauce up that day; otherwise, add fresh garlic just to what you're serving that day.

Meanwhile, back at the deli, secrets-of-the-trade continues. A lot of recipes ask you to add "chipotle chiles in Adobo Sauce" (like you find here on Amazon). Notice that chipotle chiles are only a small part of the ingredients. This means you're paying for cheaper ingredients (vinegar, tomato, ancho chiles...), when all you really want is a bit of that robust, smokey chipotle pepper flavor.

The most economical, flavorful answer we found for us at The New Deli is this: We buy dried chipotle peppers for a very reasonable price, from our local International Market (even FoodMax, at times). I tried the ones from Amazon; did a taste test and determined that, although they cost more than mine did, they didn't taste any better. But hey, if you don't happen to have a market that carries dried chipotle peppers, then I do recommend the Amazon dried peppers; they're still much better than mixes containing minimal chipotle...

But what do you do with the hard, crusty little peppers once you have them?! We stem them and chop them coarsely by hand, pouring just a bit of boiling water over them, some salt, and a bit of virgin olive oil. We then let them soak in a jar in the fridge overnight, processing the softened peppers into a puree the next day.

The rest of the recipe is easy: We just mix the pureed pepper mix into some mayo, and use it as a spread for our sandwich specials. (Or for a yummy dip for pieces of chicken or bread when we need a snack...) Add any other favorite ingredients, and keep extra of the puree for future batches. Also, you may note that a batch of the Chipotle Mayo will get stronger as it ages. It will keep for several months in the kitchen.

Got Body? Say "No" to gotbody!

In a previous post, I mentioned my unfortunate experiences with gotbody.com (see here).

The saga continues, over a year later. I received an email message today saying,  

"Dear Jennifer Cote,

We are writing to inform you of an incident that may have involved your personal information. Sometime during the last two weeks in July, a data intrusion occurred on GotBody. com’s servers. The information breached included your name, address, credit card number, expiration, and email address.

Specifically, this information was regarding your credit card ending in ****..."

Fortunately, I canceled that credit card last year when this ruckus began. If anyone else is wondering whether gotbody..com is a good company to do business with, I would continue to NOT recommend it! (Check 'em out here on yelp, or google their name, and bunches of complaints will pop up...)

Kabobs on the Grill

The Ginger Chicken recipe works well for a group, or for a family meal, with some leftovers for later. If using a cut-up fryer, bone what's left and use that (plus the sauce from baking the chicken) in a simple stir-fry over rice—an instant quick meal later in the week.

For the Kabobs, keep the veggies separate from the meat when marinating, and use the leftover vegetable marinade as a sauce. Serves 6-8.

Ingredients:

• 2 lg. cloves garlic
• approx. 2" pc. fresh ginger, sliced
• 1/8 tsp. cayenne
• 1/3 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 c. soy sauce
• 1'2 c. white vinegar
• 5 lb. fresh or frozen boneless, skinless thighs (when making kabobs), or chicken pieces, w/ skin and bone in
• 1-2 red or green peppers
• 1/2 lb. mushrooms
• 2-3 zucchinis
• half a fresh pineapple
• 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes(optional)
• 6-8 small, red potatoes, pre-cooked (optional)
• about 1/4 c. olive oil for veggie marinade
• 1/4 c. soy sauce (for veggie marinade)
• 1/4 c. vinegar (for veggie marinade)
• Optional: an extra 2 tsp. each, fresh chopped garlic and fresh grated ginger

Ginger Chicken
In processor or blender, process: > 2 lg. cloves garlic > approx. 2" pc. fresh ginger, sliced > 1/8 tsp. cayenne

Add and process all ingredients: > 1/3 c. brown sugar > 1/2 c. soy sauce > 1/2 c. white vinegar

Marinate chicken in half of the above mix for 1-4 days in a sturdy zip-lock plastic bag. Use: > 5 lb. fresh or frozen boneless, skinless thighs (for kabobs) or chicken pieces w/ skin and bone in
Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour. An alternative method is to bake them in the oven for 30 min. at 375 degrees, then grill just until browned. This gives you all the barbeque flavor, but less time is needed to watch and turn the chicken. Serve hot, or at room-temperature, or chill to serve cold (great for picnics).


Veggie Kabobs and Dipping Sauce

Prep your favorites: >  1-2 red or green peppers > 1/2 lb. mushrooms > 2-3 zucchinis >  half a fresh pineapple > 1/2 pint cherry tomatoes > (optional) 6-8 small, red potatoes, pre-cooked

To the veggies, in a Ziploc bag, add: > about 1/4 c. olive oil

Shake bag to distribute oil. Next, add: > Some of the above Ginger Marinade OR 1/4 c. each soy sauce and vinegar

When ready to grill, let the marinade drain into a small pot, and boil it a bit, until reduced to a thicker, saucier consistency. Any meat drippings from cooking chicken in the oven may also be used. If a more pungent sauce is desired, add extra garlic and ginger to the boiled-down marinade, using: > 2 tsp. minced garlic > 2 tsp. grated fresh ginger (or 1/2 tsp. dry)

Skewer veggies onto bamboo spears and grill (pre-cook potatoes in oven for 20 min. or so first). Serve the sauce with the grilled veggies.

Hot Potato: Win at the Potato Game

With Fourth of July picnics and such, a short tutorial on potatoes should be in order. Even if the potato has been taken for granted, one might yet learn a new thing or two about this common vegetable.
Potato salad has assumed a fairly unglamorous role as the potentially boring standard at picnics; I blame the mass-produced, over-processed, preservative-laden stuff found in most large grocery stores. But a freshly-prepared potato salad can really hit the spot!

No, I won't go Martha Stewart on you and suggest that you harvest your potatoes that morning, although I might share that my potato plants are flourishing! They seem quite happy amongst the parsley, cabbage, and nasturtiums. I suspect the plants are benefitting from the composting and double-digging I did earlier in the year...

I've got several potato salad recipes in my "From the Land of Milk and Honey" cookbook; I've posted one of them on my website, for German Potato Salad, here. The recipe below veers away from the standard potato salad, which hardly needs a recipe. But consider a few pointers in preparing any potato salad: Prep the veggies a day early, if necessary, cooking potatoes ahead of time and allowing them to cool. But if onion is added to the mix, add it on serving day; the flavor will be much finer! Something happens to raw onion as it hangs out in the dressing; it gets stronger, in an unpleasant way.

As for cooking the potatoes, online recipe forums seem adrift with questions on the subject. While the oven or microwave might work well for baking potatoes, red potatoes (and similar varieties with lower starch content) are best steamed. For us at The New Deli, a pressure cooker does the job, as we can add just an inch or so of water; more flavors and nutrients are retained this way. If boiling the potatoes seems like an easier option, you can save the cooking water as a base for soups. In any case, remember that baking or microwaving red potatoes may prove futile. They seem to take forever! (Trust us- a few of us at the deli have tried.) If baking potatoes (Idaho, Russet, and the like) are on hand, they also work for potato salad, although they won't hold their shape as well.

In any case, have some great summer picnics!

A Simple, Colorful Side Dish

I just added our New Deli Pesto Chicken recipe to my recipe website, but a friend spotted the veggies in the picture and wanted to know how we cooked those up. So here's the low-down about those veggies: I know that many times, people "par-boil" veggies first, and that could work. But I don't like the idea of wasting any flavor by pouring off the cooking liquid, so I use the microwave to pre-cook the carrots just a bit- about one minute per carrot.
I usually poke the zucchinis too, and then give them maybe a minute a piece in the microwave, for medium larger ones. Meanwhile, I dice red and/or green peppers into large pieces (the red ones add a lot of color).
Then I get my iron pan good and hot, and add the microwaved carrots, sliced into circles. I add a decent splash of water so that the carrots can cook a little longer and tenderize a little more. (The carrots take the longest to cook, so letting them steam a bit before adding other veggies helps.) When the water's about evaporated, I throw in the microwaved zucchini, sliced, the diced chunks of peppers,and a drizzle of olive oil. No need for more water at this point; the peppers and zucchini have enough water in them anyway; plus, you want them to start browning. They don't need to get turned a lot, or they'll never brown on one side. But once they have browned on one side, give the pan of veggies a good turning, to brown the rest a bit. Turn the heat down lower if you want, depending on how quickly you want those veggies done.

I am amazed at how good the veggies, just plain veggies, ARE! I make extra when I'm cooking up dishes for dinner orders, because I know I can make a meal of leftover veggies later. Plain and simple, yet... wow. So good!

Seeing Red

"Seeing red" can be a good thing! And that's just what we wanted to see, when we sliced up our daughter-in-law's birthday cake this weekend: A beautiful, red velvet cake, with a light but still rich and creamy frosting.

But this time, I had made a few changes to the recipe I usually use (located at my recipe website). Having discovered that a bottle of grocery-store-quality red food coloring can get a bit pricy, and seeing as we make batch after batch of Red Velvet Frozen Yogurt at The New Deli, I hoped to find a more economical alternative. I discovered that a small, 1-ounce bottle of red food coloring paste (carried at Michael's Arts and Crafts) offered enough red food coloring for two cakes. All for only $1.95! (Liquid food coloring from the grocery store costs at least four times as much.)

Besides my food coloring discovery, I also realized that an extremely yummy cake could be made by making 50% more frosting. (No surprise there, right?) I made three eight-inch layer cakes and sliced each in half, ending up with six layers instead of the usual three or four. I've posted the slightly altered recipe here; when using less liquid (due to using the paste coloring and omitting the two ounces of food coloring), I add a bit more buttermilk. (To make the original recipe, using liquid food coloring, just go here.)

Tomato Paste "Product"?!

Buyer beware: Not all tomato paste is created equal!

I was pretty bummed to read the small print on a few cans of tomato paste I'd picked up at the dollar store. Upon closer look, I noticed it wasn't in fact tomato paste at all (although by glancing at the label, that's what you'd think).

No, this was "Tomato Paste Product", containing: Tomato Puree (Tomato Paste, Water), High Fructose Corn Syrup, Salt, Dried Onions, Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Soybean and/or Cottonseed), Spices, Hydrolyzed Corn Gluten, Soy & Wheat Gluten Proteins, Grated Romano Cheese Made from Cow's Milk (Cultured Milk, Salt, Enzymes), Garlic, Citric Acid, Yeast, Soy Flour.

I hope your stomach's going "grrrr" too. In the past, I'd felt confident that I could use tomato paste in much of my homemade fixings, since it was such a pure product. Just tomatoes. They typically don't even add salt to tomato paste, which I think is so cool. I personally would rather add my own salt at the table, since that way, the food I'm eating hasn't already absorbed a bunch of salt. In many prepared foods, the salt has been absorbed into every cell; I don't think we can appreciate how salty it is. But the sodium counters appreciate it! The label lets you know- most canned foods are extremely high in sodium.

So when I discovered that a name brand like Contadina had started adulterating their tomato paste, I thought I'd mention it. After all, if your eyesight isn't particularly keen, you too might be duped into buying an inferior product. Like I said, "Buyer Beware!"

Mushrooms: Retain Flavor; Make Concentrated "Paste"

Whoa- 3 weeks into the New Year... guess I better mention what I've been up to. In the kitchen, I pulled out an old recipe for Cream of Mushroom Soup, and updated it a bit. It began as a fancy French recipe for "Duxelles" (mushrooms); Jacques Pepin featured the recipe on one of his cooking shows back in the eighties. (Long before Food Network...) After a few experiments, I dialed in a new recipe that turns a mass quantity of fresh mushrooms into a concentrated puree of mushroom paste, full of flavor. I freeze extra portions of the paste, and can whip up some quick and easy recipes in minutes.

We got a case of mushrooms a few weeks back (cheaper that way); I turned practically the whole case into the puree. Husband Tom was pleased that the case he'd picked up at the produce market didn't go bad on us. (You know how easily mushrooms can do that...) I processed 'em, then cooked batches of puree down to a somewhat dry paste. Takes up less space in the freezer, but is quite handy for sauces and soups, that can be made quickly at a later date.

The recipe on my website goes into detail as to exactly how to make this concentrated mushroom stuff. Meanwhile, I discovered in my experimenting that you don't want to cook the mushrooms down too far. For one of my earlier batches, I thought I'd see what would happen if I continued to dry out the mushrooms in the oven on extremely low heat. Oops. That resulted in a concoction that was just a little too dry. I had to reconstitute the hardened paste, then needed to re-process, in order to soften and dissolve the chunkier parts of the mix. That didn't exactly fit in with my goal of making less work, not more...

Now that I've made the recipe a few times, I know how to cook the mushroom puree down to the right consistency; I also know how to carefully mix it back into whatever soup or sauce I'm making. Slowly adding boiling water seems key. Takes a little effort to learn the process, but now that I have it down, we can throw a Cream of Mushroom Soup together within minutes at The New Deli. It's always nice to be able to make something in a pinch, that tastes so good!

New Year's Party Food: Jell-O Mold

So many of the recipes from my cookbook are now listed online as well. This is good news for anyone who can't find their cookbook, or who hasn't purchased one yet! (You can find From the Land of Milk and Honey online here...)

So I posted the original Jell-O Mold Recipe today, on my pccuisine website. Check it out, if you think you'd like to make a 60's style classic jell-o mold for your New Year's Party!

The Colors of Christmas!

Making this Tomato Basil Soup, on Christmas Eve eve. The colors are perfect!

At The New Deli, we have found it easier to swirl a dash of pesto on top of the soup for garnish, instead of chopped basil. Yes, fresh basil is great, but it's not that easy to use up a bunch of basil for such garnishes, without it going bad on us...

So, ahead of time, we whip up a big batch of pesto (recipe here) and freeze portions of it. To use the pesto for garnishing the soup, we add a bit more extra virgin olive oil to it, thinning it out some. So yummy!

Elegant Christmas Dinner Party for 20

Made this for last night's New Deli Christmas Dinner Party for 20. Elegant, economical, and not too tricky! It was a wonderful evening, with three young, upcoming kitchen protegees (sisters of New Deli employees) helping me prepare it all. And serving it. And cleaning up. Awesome!

We melted chocolate chips and painted them on lemon leaves. After chilling, we peeled off the leaf, and served strawberry mousse topped with a chocolate leaf and sprig of spearmint. Beautiful!

Made some Cream of Mushroom Soup (recipe to come), followed by a salad of spring greens. We garnished the salad plant with Betty Hutnick's home-canned pears, plus pomegranate seeds and guavas from the yard, and a drizzle on the plate of a pomegranate reduction. Very elegant.

Main course was relatively simple: The Stuffed Pork Loin Roast and some green beans, with a drizzle of a reduction of the pork loin juices. Wow. What a party!

Gifts from the Kitchen: A Lovable Fruitcake!

Our family never fully appreciated the traditional fruitcake, with its citron and artificially colored cherries. My husband encouraged me to make my own version; it became a hit amongst family members. Apparently, a few friends remember it fondly too... I got a request for the recipe from an old friend who had received one of those fruitcakes over 20 years ago. Wow! It must have been good, to leave such an impression!

 So I posted it here. Alas, it's the extra large, deli-size version, but it can be cut down in size.

I suspect that when fruitcake originated, people actually liked it, because it was made with all those natural, dried fruits and nuts. But then, don't you know, technology finds out how to turn a profit by reducing the quality of the actual fruits, increasing the artificial coloring and flavoring and chemicals in the process...

Well, we went back to the basics, and found a definitely likable fruitcake!

Pumpkin Streusel: Make Your Own Cake Mix!

Yes, it's true: There are junk ingredients in that cake mix! This page, at the bottom, shows the ingredients in basic Betty Crocker cake mix... Not impressive. Yes, there's hydrogenated fats, yes there are artificial flavorings, yes there are other chemicals as well. AND, high-fructose corn syrup. Which is why I decided to make my own "yellow cake mix" to use for my favorite pumpkin dessert (posted here).

What with the holidays, posting has been on the back burner. But I did manage to post the Pumpkin Streusel Recipe, giving the original recipe (see at the bottom of the page), as well as one using Homemade Cake Mix. (The homemade cake mix recipe posted at the top calls for more butter, to replace the hydrogenated fats that would have otherwise been used, in the cake box recipe...)

After that big Women's Christmas Dinner for 300, we had a lot of women asking for the recipe, so I got it up and running, for anyone wanting to make a pumpkin dessert for the holidays... I did NOT get so far as taking a picture of it yet. Sigh. That will just have to come later!

Traditional Dinner for a Crowd- Wow!

I got talked into heading up the Women's Food Committee, which means I had the privilege (and responsibility) of seeing a massive quantity of food prep get transformed into a beautiful Christmas dinner for our church's annual Women's Christmas Dinner. The event seems to be catching on; the "dining hall" (our gym, transformed by candlelight and beautiful place settings on every table) was at capacity, plus we served a hearty crew of men-volunteers who had served each table their meals. This totaled close to 300 servings!

For any church ambitious enough to tackle such an undertaking, the blessings certainly abound. The church family gets to fellowship in a festive, relaxed setting; women young and old gather at the various tables, from every background. And they even invite their friends, women who might never otherwise be inclined to attend "church", and they too get to experience the love.

This year's theme came from Luke 6:38: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." So the program following dinner had to include a funny song about gifts gone wrong (a twisted version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas"), with more insightful discussion surrounding the whole "gift" theme. (Of course, ultimately returning to the best gift ever: The gift of eternal life given for all who would believe in God's Son!)

But back to the food. I'm posting this For The Record, as even I may have to refer back to it. We prepared a massive quantity of food. I would've thought that we might have made way too much food, seeing as there were several sides. But no, the amounts turned out pretty well. We had cooked some extra turkey breast meat as back-up; we didn't actually need that meat, but shared it after the event with various eager, hungry families. So it wasn't a waste. And we had an extra pan or two of stuffing and green beans left over, and a bit of potatoes and maybe one pan of dessert left, so families could get a full-course meal out of the leftovers. Perfect! The amounts seemed right on. So, like I said, for the record, I will post the quantities. If anyone else runs across this blog in their searches for how to prepare a similar meal for a similar quantity of people, this might help. Just contact me if you need any extra details...


Shopping List for Traditional Turkey Dinner for 280 servings

• 12 large turkeys, roasted ahead of time and boned (this was enough meat for everyone, and doesn't include the 40 lb. of extra turkey breast meat that we roasted as well)
• 12 turkey carcasses, for stock for gravy
• 4 lb. or so flour, for gravy
• 4 lb. or so turkey drippings/fat, and/or vegetable oil, to make roux for gravy
• 4 gallons or more of turkey stock for gravy
• 19 lb. cranberries for relish (we got a case of 24-12 oz., but no price break really, at $1.99/bag)
• 100 lb. russet potatoes for mashed potatoes
• 1/2 lb. minced garlic, plus olive oil and water to cover, to "roast" and add to potatoes
• 2 cases of 30 lb. green beans (although 40 lb. would've done it)
• 50 lb. onions (40 lb. to caramelize for the green beans, plus 10 lb. for dressing)
• 3 lb. slivered almonds for green bean dish
• 16 lb. celery for dressing
• 29 lb. butter: 20 lb, for dressing, plus 5 lb. for tables/rolls (1/4 stick per table?), plus 4 lb. for dessert
• 9 pkg. of small rolls (3 dozen per pkg.)
• 25 lb. cornbread (for dressing)
• 20 lb. sweet/wheat breads for dressing
• 1 1/4 c. Vege-Sal/Spike Seasoning for dressing
• Fresh rosemary and herbs for dressing
• 4 lg. cans pumpkin for dessert
• 64 eggs for dessert
• 16 cans evaporated milk for dessert (large 6-lb. can proved more expensive)
• 2 large pkg. yellow cake mix (4 1/2 lb. each?), for dessert
• 8 lb. walnuts for dessert
• 10-11 lb. sugar (plus miscellaneous spices) for dessert

Turns out we were a bit shy on the dessert and ended up making a few extra pans for backup. Started with 16 times the regular recipe (which I will soon post). And it was a hit!

I posted the stuffing recipe here, and will post more details in the future. Happy cooking, happy eats :)

Chipotle Potato Soup: It's What's Hot!

Hot off the press: Just posted our soup-recipe-of-the-month, here. It's been our favorite soup of the whole season, ever since I picked up some exceptional Chipotle Peppers on Amazon. I looked through the reviews of various products and settled on one from Woodland Foods. Good value, excellent product.

I also found some at our local International Market. (And they can also be found in some grocery stores, in the Mexican Foods section). I compared the two and found the ones from Woodland Foods to be superior. But hey, the ones from the market were pretty darn good too!

Truffle Oil: More Bang for Your Buck

As I worked with a client last year on a special menu for the staff's Thanksgiving dinner party, we settled on some pretty gourmet dishes (see some of those posted on my Thanksgiving Recipe Page). One dish was "Mashed Potatoes with Truffle Oil and Roasted Garlic". Yes, it sounds beautifully gourmet, but in retrospect, it seems that the truffle flavor was fairly lost in that dish. 

I concluded that it might be best to add truffle oil to a simple pasta dish, to optimize flavor. My theory: In softer dishes (like in creamed soups or mashed potatoes), the exquisite truffle flavor isn't as appreciated as when it's added to a "chewier" dish. (It takes longer to chew, which means more time for the truffle flavor to be enjoyed!)

Just class the recipe up with some fancier veggies, like juilenned arugula, baby squash, enoki mushrooms, etc. I found that olive oil overshadowed the truffle oil, but butter (or cream) brought out that unique richness. Just be sure to use it as a "finishing oil". In other words, add it after cooking, again, to optimize the flavor. A drizzle on top of a prepared dish is perfect!

I tried several brands. None of them is cheap! If you're already ordering from Amazon, I suggest buying this truffle oil by La Tourangelle. I really liked this brand; a good quality oil. It's cheaper on Amazon than at my grocery store, for the same product. And you can often times get the "free shipping" deal. I went for the black truffle oil, as it is richer in flavor. Check it out!

Do-Ahead Tips for Thanksgiving

The natives are already checking to be sure I make cranberry bread Thanksgiving morning. It's a tradition, to munch on a few slices of that, fresh out of the oven, in lieu of breakfast. Hey, it's got cheddar cheese and walnuts in it- there's your protein, right? And cranberries are nutritious too. Perfect meal substitute! (I just figure, you can't eat all that good Thanksgiving food in one meal anyway, so you can whet the appetite with a starter like this!)

I'd bought a bag of cranberries already, and wondered if I should just go ahead and freeze them, since I wouldn't use 'em right away. (The bag does encourage you to freeze them, to keep them fresh until using.) But then I thought, hey, I'll do the prep for that bread ahead of time, and freeze the whole mix! I doubled the recipe (see recipe here), and put the mix of dry ingredients in a zip-lock bag in the freezer. I added the flour, sugar, cheddar cheese, orange zest, chopped cranberries and walnuts, salt and baking powder. All I have to do on Thanksgiving morning is let the dry mix sit out to get to room temp, add a couple eggs, milk, oil, and orange juice concentrate, and bake it up fresh.

Well, I did take half of that dry mix out already; turned it into a couple loaves of cranberry bread for last Sunday's guests. Quick, easy, and I still have the other half for Thanksgiving morning. Unless I make another small batch before then. Better put cranberries on the grocery list again!

Turkey Talks in Full Session: Econo-Version

The excitement's building, the food forums are buzzing... Questions are flying, about preparations for what's probably this nation's biggest food day of the year. So I'll put in my two cents' worth.

Some folks are suggesting that we get our orders in for that organic bird, but for those cooking on a budget, a cheaper, frozen turkey will cook up just fine if you follow a few tips.

• # 1: Cook the bird breast-side down. It doesn't look quite as glamorous as the traditional way, but the breast meat will be especially tender, as all the cooking juices will flow down, keeping it moist. 
• # 2: Bake the dressing separately. Stuffing it into the turkey will slow down the cooking process; the turkey will take longer to get up to temperature, and may turn out a bit drier. 
• # 3: Cut the leg/thigh portion off, setting it alongside the turkey; it will cook more quickly, again insuring moister meat. 
• # 4: Let the turkey rest before slicing. More juices will be reabsorbed that way. And you can leave some of the meat in chunks, if it won't be served right away. Wrapped up tight with plastic wrap, it can easily be sliced thin after it is refrigerated; perfect for leftovers, sandwiches, etc.!

Another idea: You might even cook your turkey a day early. After cooking the turkey, let it rest for an hour or so. Remove the breast meat in as big a chunk as possible; wrap the chunks up in plastic wrap. You'll be happily surprised on Thanksgiving, at just how very easily that chunk will slice up after having been refrigerated.

Debone the rest of the turkey, wrapping the remaining meat up in plastic wrap as well. Again, all those pieces may even "meld" together, allowing for easy slicing.
If you have the time, you can throw all those turkey bones into a big pot, letting it cook for hours; it'll turn into a great stock, perfect for gravy. Refrigerate the strained stock overnight; the next day, making homemade gravy with your own homemade stock will be a breeze. And incredibly tasty :)

To serve, just warm the sliced meat up in the oven, covered with aluminum foil. Or even in the microwave. Delicious!

Sweet... (Sweet Potato Casserole)

I've tried many sweet potato casseroles; once I found my favorite, I posted it here (on my recipe website). My favorite tip in this recipe: Baking the sweet potatoes. No flavor is lost to the cooking water that way! And yes, you can bake and peel them the day before, making for less chaos on serving day. When baked whole until tender, all the flavor stays inside. Then you can let them cool in a covered bowl; the skins slip off pretty easily that way.

I've also tried different seasonings, but there was something about adding vanilla to this mix that perfectly complemented the sweetness of the sweet potatoes. It's an easy recipe, and you can even make it ahead of time. I usually prepare by cooking, cooling, and peeling the yams/sweet potatoes the day before. I often make the streusel topping ahead of time too. It's easy to finish up the recipe on serving day; first I heat up the sweet potatoes again in the microwave. Then I stir in the eggs, cream, etc., before putting into a casserole dish. Add the topping, bake, and it's so perfectly good! Yes! A perfect addition to any Thanksgiving table, and a nice substitute for the sugar-laden, overly sweet concoction made with marshmallows.

For more Thanksgiving recipes, I've created a list of my favorites on my recipe website, on this page. The holidays are coming fast!

Cranberry Chutney

It's not too soon to pull out the Thanksgiving recipes. A friend asked me for our Cranberry Chutney Recipe, so I posted it here. I had to size it down some, as the original recipe made four gallons (which I posted here).

We served the homemade Cranberry Chutney to 250 women at our church's annual Christmas Dinner one year; I realized a few folks out there might be in the same position at some point, also wanting to make a massive quantity of such relish/chutney. So I decided to start posting some of that info in a special "Catering" section on my website. OK, for now, the chutney recipe's the only one posted. But stay tuned for more to come!

Easy, Healthy, Fresh Homemade Italian Dressing

Apparently, a lot of folks go looking for a good Italian dressing recipe online. There's plenty of New Deli fans out there too, who love their New Deli salads and figure they might make up a batch of dressing too, since I've got The New Deli Italian Dressing Recipe posted online.

It's great to make homemade salad dressings. But how do we make it Convenient?! As busy as the New Deli kitchen gets in a lunch rush, and as busy as the home kitchen can get, we need convenience!

I thought it would be real convenient to just toss our home salad in a simple oil and vinegar. Hey, I threw in a few fresh herbs. But son Ty was so sad. (Or, should I say, spoiled?) He wondered why I hadn't used The New Deli Italian. Oops, I forgot to bring some home. Now Ty asks me, "Uh, what kind of dressing is it?" And I dare not forget the Italian.

But what makes it even possible to provide our deli customers with this fresh, homemade salad dressing, without going bonkers over the work load? Well, we make it easy on ourselves. To optimize the efforts we've taken, we make a super big batch of the Italian,. Not that we add the oil and vinegar to the whole batch; that would make us a huge batch that would just sit around too long in the refrigerator, becoming less and less fresh.

So how do we keep it fresh, without going to too much trouble? Like I said, we make the super big batch, but just of the herbs, salt, and fresh garlic (plus a little olive oil). It makes a paste, and we freeze batches of that paste, in portions. Then we can take out the frozen portions and just mix some oil and vinegar into them. Much easier than making up a whole new batch from scratch. Plus, the garlic stays super fresh when it's frozen. Otherwise, once garlic's chopped, the flavor goes downhill pretty fast. (That's why I don't recommend using those little jars of already-chopped garlic...)

Yes, you too can make a bigger batch of Italian dressing at home. Use the "frozen paste" method, and you can whip up a fresh batch any time, in minutes flat!

Pumpkin Soup Recipes: Cook Pumpkin Whole!

I checked out the Pumpkin Soup Recipe posted here too- it sounded good, what with the addition of parsnips and all. (OK, skip the turnips for me...) But I would suggest leaving the pumpkin whole to cook. The pan gets less messed up that way! And the whole thing steams better.

A big pumpkin (or butternut squash, my favorite, or acorn, etc.) takes awhile to bake, but just do it a day early (or hours before), to make prep easier. We cook butternut squash like this all the time at The New Deli. Then we put 'em in a covered bowl to cool; the skin slips off pretty easily, and you discard the innards and process the pumpkin.

The Pumpkin Soup recipe posted on Delish mentioned putting the innards and pumpkin seed INTO the stock (and then of course straining it out). I suppose it would add a bit more flavor. But I think I'd opt to roast the pumpkin seeds, then chop 'em up for garnishing the soup. OK, honestly, I think I'd actually buy the already-shelled pumpkin seeds at Trader Joe's, for garnishing :)

My personal favorite in the Pumpkin Soup category is the one I posted at my website: "Butternut Squash Soup". Yes, you can use pumpkin instead of butternut squash. My favorite garnish for it is a bit of chopped dried cranberries, orange zest, and parsley. And of course you can switch up the spices, using your favorites.

Special tip: With any creamed, pureed soup, you'll get a much smoother consistency if you drain off the liquid (reserving it, of course), while processing the cooked ingredients. Then you can slowly pour the liquid back in. If you try processing the whole thing, liquid and all, more of the ingredients just kick around, not getting well-processed.

Another tip: Some pumpkins are indeed ornamental. Look for "pie pumpkins" to cook with, as you don't want an especially fibrous vegetable that more resembles a large zucchini. Just not the same flavor...

Flattery Attempts to Win in Advertising?

A gentleman from csnstores.com ("Sean and I’m part of the Promotions Team ") left me an email message this morning about how the company was "seeking out high quality websites and blogs" that might want to explore "advertising opportunities" through CSN Stores.

The first thing I did was determine whether I'd advise a friend to shop at that site. So I compared prices of one of my favorite cookware items: The Fagor Splendid 4-Quart Pressure Cooker. It's a bargain on Amazon, for $59.99. I would recommend it to a friend. But go to the CSN store, and you'll find that same pressure cooker "on sale" for $79.99. Not cool.

Should I be impressed that my little blog was singled out as supposedly "high quality"? Notice he didn't even mention the name of my "foodieblog.pccuisine.com" in the message. (A sure sign that this is a mass mailing to me and all those many, many other "high quality websites and blogs"). I'm not flattered.

Perhaps the idea of offering a free giveaway on my site by partnering with CSN Stores would stimulate my imagination. (As in, "Oooh, I see dollar signs of rewards coming my way!) But really, how desperate are we, fellow bloggers? Will blogs simply become vehicles for advertising? Will we all start measuring the success of what we're doing by how much money we can make?

I'm measuring my success by how much valuable information I can pass along, how much I can impact other lives for good. If I'm trying to sell you some overpriced products for my own benefit, how valuable is that?! Granted, I would love to be subsided by an even meager income from Adsense and Amazon. After all, many of us are contributing content free of charge. No journalist fees included. I don't fault anyone making a small stipend from a few ads; some of us can't really afford to spend our time blogging at zero financial reward.

Perhaps as a result (of greed or desperation?), we see many blogs and websites screaming with ads. A few are on my avoid list; there might be three sentences of interest on the whole page. To find the rest of that content, I have to move on to the next page (also peppered with ads). As I go from page to page just to seek a bit of info, the ad meter keeps track and that particular website benefits from my visit. But do I benefit? Humm...

Well blogger buddies, I welcome your input. Is anyone else getting tired of all the ads? Do you really feel you can trust that you'd be getting value for your spending dollar? Forgive me that I did mention that pressure cooker. Yes, if you clicked on the one from Amazon and ended up buying it, I might make a few cents. I made $1.67 from Amazon Associates in the last quarter (and zero dollars this quarter), so I'm serious when I say, "cents". But I do think Amazon offers some great prices. I shop there myself, so I'm OK with pointing others in that direction. But would I point them towards CSN Stores? I think not.

Pumpkin Pie Recipes: Make Chiffon, Save on Crust

I love Pumpkin Chiffon Pie! Delish has posted their version of it here; I posted a recipe similar to that one here. I tweaked the traditional recipe because I wanted to save money when making the gingersnap crust. Gingersnaps can be so expensive! I got the same effect by using cracker crumbs and a bit of molasses and ginger for the crust instead. It was awesome, AND cheaper.

Probiotics: Alive and Well!

I've always been a Fro-Yo fan. Some 30 years ago, we were frequenting Yogurt Park in Berkeley, digging in on their awesome, towering cones full of super-deluxe yogurt. (They're celebrating 33 years this month, in fact.)

In 1985, when we opened The New Deli, some marketer must have caught wind of my fondness for frozen yogurt; in a moment of weakness, we ended up with a SaniServ Frozen Yogurt Machine. At $3,000 it was a hefty investment for the young start-ups that we were. (Home chefs might rather opt for the cheaper Cuisinart Frozen Yogurt Machine.)

Business was off to a slow start back then. Unlike the bustling lunch rush we so often get now, and the morning pre-orders that might come in from local businesses, back then the entire "lunch crowd" might consist of five people. Someone asked, "How did you stay in business back then?" Thankfully, we had a wholesale sandwich business on the side; in the wee hours of the night, we made hundreds of sandwiches for health food stores throughout the Bay Area. Tom had them all delivered by 11am; by afternoon, we'd be prepping stuff for the next day's run, and so on. It was challenging, but as a young mother, the babies got me up at the crack of dawn anyway, right?

The point is: We sure didn't need to have a big ole' yogurt machine running all day. We might sell a few yogurts a week; hardly enough to justify the cost of running the thing. After three years or so of this, we packed up the yogurt machine and considered it one of those frivolous, naive investments of our youth.

But hey, frozen yogurt's a bit more popular these days. And so is The New Deli! Result: We've rolled out our old machine. We're even patting it on the back; apparently, this "frivolous" investment is now worth around $9,000 on eBay!

We did a test run with the machine at The New Deli's 25th Anniversary Party on Labor Day. We had about a hundred people at our house, and cranked out the frozen yogurt. But we're always looking to minimize costs, and husband Tom realized that if we fed everyone all that yogurt at $8/per carton, it was going to get pricey.

Humm... solution? I started thinking, I could probably make my own yogurt! After all, a gallon of milk is still pretty cheap. And I had experience, as a hippie-style newlywed back in the seventies, making my own yogurt. Tom and I could practically live on the stuff, stay healthy, and spend just pennies...

I have even more experience now. Figured I wouldn't mess with those "handy" little yogurt-making kits this time; I would just use one of my large ceramic bowls. So I poured a gallon of whole milk into the bowl, microwaved it for around 25 minutes, until it got up to 170 degrees. All one has to do after that is wait for the hot milk to cool to 110 degrees. (The refrigerator speeds this waiting time up.) Once the bowl of warm milk has reached 110, you just mix some of it into 2 cups of yogurt, until smooth, then mix all of that back into the ceramic bowl. IF the milk cooled down lower than that ideal temperature of 110, you can just warm it a minute or two in the microwave again, to get it back up to the right temperature.

Of course the home cook can make a half gallon batch; it will heat up quicker, more like in 11 minutes or so. Once the yogurt "starter" is mixed in, the bowl just sits in a warm place (like, in an oven on the lowest setting), for four hours or so.

I listed the simple basics of this recipe here, on my website. I'm also going to start posting the incredible frozen yogurt recipes we've started creating. A favorite so far is the Pumpkin Frozen Yogurt Recipe. But more recipes are on their way! This certainly beats paying $8/carton; it's way more economical making your own.

Plus, I noticed that a lot of "frozen yogurt" recipes called for so little actual yogurt. Or, the mixture gets cooked (ruining the beneficial organisms that make yogurt so healthy for us). Also, if I make my own, I can avoid the weird artificial ingredients. AND, I can make up fresh flavors daily at The New Deli, without having to invest in a case of this, a case of that, which we don't even have the space to store...

I did get a few ideas online; David Lebovitz's Strawberry Yogurt recipe looks pretty good... Perhaps something like that will be next on our list of flavors! Check this page for any new Frozen Yogurt Recipes...

How DO You Shuck Chestnuts?!

Nothing like shucking chestnuts to remind me that autumn is here. I couldn't resist getting a bag of 'em on my last grocery stop; I have a Cream of Chestnut Soup that the whole family loves, and it's a wonderful fall recipe.

It's a good time of year to wind down a little, take a moment, rest a bit... And I can do that quite well hanging out with the family, watching one of our favorite fall t.v. shows, shucking away. The next day, I use the chestnut meat to make a richly flavored soup. So satisfying! Even grandbaby Benjamin loves it. (Sans the salt and cream, of course.)

Chestnuts were mentioned in an old Bon Appetit magazine, which originally piqued my interest. I followed the directions posted for shucking the chestnuts. Hum... they instructed the chef to score the chestnuts first. Really? Do you know how tough those husks are?! There is such a thing as a chestnut knife, with an especially sharp hook on the end of it; someone also mentioned using an exacto knife. These tools would no doubt help.

So I tried. Further instructions were to then boil the scored chestnuts for 15 minutes, then work on the chestnuts one by one, keeping the rest in the hot water as you work.

No. This did not work well! So I scoured the web, doing a search for "Easiest Way to Shuck Chestnuts". I got all kinds of tips, but none that were all that helpful. The problem still remained: Scoring the chestnuts was just so challenging...

At some point, I ran across another method I hadn't tried. I took notes, determined to try it once Chestnut Season came up again. So here it is, early October, chestnuts are once again gracing the aisle, and I'm ready to try out this method.

And that's how I spent my Friday night: I soaked the chestnuts for an hour in warm water first, according to this new method. I think it helped soften the shells a bit. I actually didn't even score some of them; I just threw the soaked chestnuts in a hot, 500 degree oven, and after 15 minutes, some had even busted open a bit, making peeling all the easier. Now THIS was a method I could appreciate! Kept the roasted nuts covered with a damp towel as I shucked, and I had 'em done before our t.v. show was over.

Made the soup for dinner last night... Oh what a treat. And more economical than store-bought, pre-shelled chestnuts. Maybe we need a few rituals like this to slow ourselves down once in awhile.

I think it helped me to really appreciate that soup!

Fall Recipes at The New Deli

We're excited at The New Deli today. Tom just got us a case of butternut squash from the produce market. Now is the season, but our supplier didn't have cases on hand until today.

Of course we'll be making a batch of Butternut Squash Soup. And it's going to be pretty easy too, now that we've become such experts, ha...

A few years back, we were cooking the squashes the old-fashioned way (you know, cutting them in half, placing face-down in an iron pan, to bake until soft). Two problems with this: Number One, it's pretty darn dangerous to try cutting these things in half. They can be pretty tough, and the little woman can't always wield enough leverage...

Other problem: It makes a bigger mess in the pan than it has to, what with the juices oozing out some, requiring extra scouring afterward.

Solution? We started leaving the squashes whole. So simple. So easy. And the other cool thing: ALL that flavor and moisture stays in, steam-cooking the squashes to perfection. Oh, and if you plan ahead, you can cook the squashes earlier, letting them cool off in a covered bowl before removing skin and innards. The skin comes off quite easily this way.

I've seen recipes where you peel the squash first, then cut into cubes, then boil in water. Two problems with that... See Number One, above... Also, you don't want to waste that cooking water that the squash cooks in. Yes, you can reserve it if you're making soup, but on occasion, we might opt for butternut in non-soup form. We did this one year for a big Christmas Dinner event (for 280 women). We cooked a whole lot o' squash, but it wasn't overwhelming, since we did the oven-baking method.

Oh, another thing, if you are making soup and are going to puree something (like butternut) in your food processor: Drain off and reserve the liquid, adding it back in AFTER processing. Foods puree much better without the extra liquid kicking around in the processor with it...

Here's to a new season of Fall Recipes! Thanksgiving is not too far away!

Life's Too Easy Sometimes

Today's thought: We mass-produce food in factories, then create establishments to turn the mass-produced foods into even more processed foods. We save ourselves time and can feed our face for a buck. But life's been made so easy that the only thing left to be done is to invest in ways to encourage the population to eat even more of the processed, manufactured foods, so we can turn a profit on something that shouldn't even be served.

I know it's not really that bad. But sometimes it seems that way! Time to get back to our roots. Give me a carrot!

More Fun Cupcakes

Just had to mention cupcakes today, since I discovered a great new decorating idea on iVillage: Mum Cupcakes. They look just like mums, using a simple technique that doesn't even require a piping gun. Yay! Just pastel marshmallows and colored sugar. You cut the marshmallows in half, put in a bag with some colored sugar, and end up with beautiful "petals". I don't have a picture of them, since I haven't actually made them yet, but you can get the idea by visiting the iVillage page: "Mum's the Word Cupcakes".

I just used my same old "Spaghetti and Meatballs" cupcake picture because, frankly, I didn't have another one!