Vodka with a twist

I have to say that Vodka, at least to me, tasted like turpentine, best hidden by Bloody Mary mix. Tabasco Brand with Horseradish, if available. However given that awful scenario, I came across a recipe that sounded very unusual and prompted experimentation. It was in a Grey Goose Vanilla Vodka Ad. I made it for Sally & it was a hit. I have since have made it for numerous friends, who have also made it for their friends. Always a hit, tastes great, good texture, unusual, fun.

Some critics (JP) will shudder at the thought it was discovered in an ad, but good marketers should be fired if they didn't put very good, well tested recipes in ads which can be a good source of new recipes. Okay, here goes: CHILI SHRIMP ON SWEET POTATO PANCAKES WITH VANILLA VODKA BUTTER SAUCE. (see side bar for recipe)



Vodka sauce (not gravy) gourmet, turpentine, awful ! WRONG. It was intriguing because 1- I like shrimp, 2- Potato pancakes were a common occurrence in my Polish background and attracted me, 3- the change to sweet potato's interested me, and 4- a Vanilla Vodka sauce????? It was great, as Deb & Sally can attest to, and I accepted their accolades..


The sauce can be made ahead of time, as can be the pancakes. Cover them with alum. foil and heat before serving. Really easier than it sounds. Nice presentation, lots of color. Think about the cayenne your adding. Be gentle if "heat" matters.


NEXT:

As I said, I'm not a Vodka drinker but during a cruise through the Eastern Caribbean in the Spring of '09, a traveling partner ( on Regent Seven Seas Navigator) suggested, Grey Goose Vodka over crushed ice with several olives. OMG, it was delicious. I since discovered that Grey Goose, (French heritage) was really smooth as well as expensive. Research showed that we might call this cocktail a "dirty martini", and the addition of blue cheese stuffed olives is over the top. Currently my 'special occasion splurge'. Similar to a fine glass of wine.

My thoughts for today.

Do waszego zdowia ( To your health)



Supported by our sponsor:



Jim Peterson Architect & Builder, GUEST CONTRIBUTOR(sometimes), Director of Marketing and Associate Editor

2903 Dotson Drive, Louisville, KY 40223
h 502.244.1888
c 553.1010
f 244.6593
http://www.jimpetersonarchitect.com/

Future thoughts

Although I only have one comment on my blog so far (darn) I have been given various recommendations that are of interest. Many from non cooking kind of folks but who had an interest. For thought provoking moments, listen up!

Smoked Bourbon Barrel Pepper (salt ?)
Tasmanian Pepper liqueur used as a marinade
Bloody Mary's made with real vine ripened tomato's
Gravy vs. Sauce (interesting debate)

Some other interesting thing that peaked my interest were:
1) Grillades with Parmesan grits. A Cajun/Louisiana recipe( Saw it on Secrets of Louisville chefs & found a recipe in Paul Prodommes cookbook) Made it on Saturday with available ingredients and can't wait for leftovers. Recipe may follow or look it up. It was very good. I broiled some buttered corn on the cob and seved two halves with each potion. Nice visual. I can't wait to taste the leftovers. I understand the flavor will intensify. It did, Scrambled Eggs with White Cheddar Pimento cheese, toped with Grillade Sauce.

2) Our friend Deb described her niece's husbands cooking at a birthday party yesterday. Shawn, apparently is quite the cook. His meal sounded super and his wife (Melissa) very supportive & helpful. He sounded very similar to how I would describe myself. He cooks what sounds good to him/Melissa & others do dishes. What a way to go. Hope I get to meet him one of these days. and that he will consider giving an entry as guest chef into this blog.

3) I finished the book I recommended previously entitled "Mediterranean Summer". I gave it 5 stars. I'm now into reading "Living in a Foreign Language". More about treasuring food experiences.

4) I'm sure few have heard of Farmer Fred's recipe. An interesting story of how this transpired. JP has to do it but it's great as a side dish, super with pasta and just easy & good. Really organic and healthy. (Jim....your turn, let's hear it)


Life is Good
Every Day Is A Banquet
Mangiare bene a piacere la vita (Eat Well & Enjoy LIfe)

French Again

Thursday (8-20-09) we were invited to Jim & Deb's for dinner. It was supposed to be a French style meal with individual courses. Jim said, "Ain't gonna happen". It's going to be more laid back.
He lied. Okay, based on his indication and not knowing what we were eating I brought egg rolls. We loved them but..........................Chinese & French???? Why not? That and crackers & cheese, free flowing wine ( and Scotch) was the perfect start to Deb's gourmet & French contribution. She is a great "Chef" vs. cook and outdid herself (as usual)

The menu:

Le Poulet roti d'Agrume avec le sauce de creme d'ail
(Roasted cirtus chicken with garlic cream sauce)
Braised Asparagus
Fresh tomato tart
Salad with mixed greens, pine nuts, hearts of palm and balsamic vinegarette.

Dessert was (of course) Creme Brulee, carmelized by JP, and accompanied by 4 fresh and luvious strawberries. Kentucky grown I'm sure.

Review:
Great presentation--- 5 stars
Taste--- over the top 5 stars
Ease of prep---not too bad
Hosts --------The Best------6 stars out of 5
Summary------Awesome, Mobil couldn't compete.


An gastronomic meal. Delicious. Thanks. Let's do it again.

Mumblety-peg and other nutty things

Cutlery Game-
Mumblety peg is generally played between two people with the aid of a Big Kitchen Knife. In one version of the game, two opponents stand opposite one another with their feet shoulder-width apart. The first player then takes the knife and throws it to "stick" in the ground as near his own foot as possible. The second player then repeats the process. Whichever player "sticks" the knife closest to his own foot wins the game. Brings back fond memories of a delightful childhood, with a lot of dull Knives in the Kitchen drawer.
If a player "sticks" the knife in his own foot, he wins the game by default, although few players find this option appealing because of the possibility of bodily harm. The game combines not only precision in the knife-throwing, but also a good deal of bravado and proper assessment of one's own skills. I am foggy as to the outcome of these matches.

A variant of mumblety peg has evolved as a drinking game where several matches of mumblety peg are played successively. At the end of each, the loser must take a penalty—generally taking a shot. Consequently, the precision with which the knife is thrown often decreases.... as the game progresses. Whichever player backs away from the game first, is declared the loser.
Of course, the ultimate Culinary Game.... is Salmonella Roulette-
One tub of mayonnaise is left out in the sun for 6 hours. Later, five fresh tubs are shuffled w/ the evil tub. Then six or more friends make sandwiches. Wait,150 minutes.
Don't lose. Dan Bosler & I still have memories ..... of not winning. So, in this case Winning is EVERYTHING.

Bon Vivant,
Jim Peterson Architect & Builder & GUEST CONTRIBUTOR
2903 Dotson Drive, Louisville, KY 40223
502.244.1888 c 553.1010 f 244.6593
http://www.jimpetersonarchitect.com/
also on Facebook

Adding WOW to Your Next Party

This can be done in Vegas, Belgium, South Africa, Dubai, Toronto and several other countries and cities around the world. Really impressive!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZXcYHckons

Credits belong to 'le chef de cuisine' Jim Peterson (soon to be "guest contributor" with such old ideas as Mumblety-peg or his perverse gastronomic version of Russian Roulette termed Salmonella Avoidence If You Dare.

Humor can be an important spice in life.

Beginning French Cooking

This is the french version of american.


French Recettes

CROQUE-MONSIEUR CHEZ JEAN
[Grilled Cheese and Ham Sandwich]

Recipe Description: A croque-monsieur is based upon an old cheese recipe. It is a favorite French street sandwich, sold at both sidewalk kiosks and restaurants, that has a crusty exterior stuffed with ham and Gruyere cheese.

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes

Ingredients:
8 slices of crust less white bread4 tbs heavy cream4 slices of Gruyère cheese4 slices of ham2 eggs.1 tbs ButterSalt, pepper, herbs de Provence
Serves: 4 persons
Preparation:
Beat the 2 whole eggs in a container and add the cream, salt, pepper and herbs;
Dredge the bread in this mixture;
Put 4 slices of the battered bread into a hot frying pan and reduce the heat to simmer;
Place 1 slice each of the cheese and the ham on each slice of bread. Cap each build-up with a battered slice of bread;
Cover the pan and simmer on both sides until done, checking frequently [about 10 minutes].
Note 1: You can make this recipe into one for a Croque-Madame by sautéing an egg, sunny-side up, sprinkled with salt, pepper and herbs and placing it on top of the Croque-Monsieur.

Note 2: The above recipe can be deep fried by substituting about 54 g of grated Gruyère, for the sliced cheese

Book Review

I was recently recommended a book to read by Jim P. Why he decided to give me such a treasured gift, I'll never know but it is FANTASTIC. I love it and am savoring every moment. I just don't want the book to end. I'm preparing to read it again. If you watch the food channel you probably have seen Mario Batali, who happened to have written the forward.


Having cruised on a 110' yacht in the Caribbean I was able to create quite a visual image of his journey. I give the book 5 stars.

The video is 8 minutes long but informative with some nice scenery.


Enjoy!

Lake Barkley Weekend

I don't have it all together in my mind yet but I wanted to post what I remember about how and what we ate. Photos and recipes might follow later.
Thursday we head south to Lake Barkley to what we have named for our friends as "Nevermore". A wonderful and peaceful setting, on a beautiful cove. Awesome.

When we arrive it's "small plates". We've adopted an unwritten rule that travel day requires simple meals which require no major prepping of cooking time. Today it was 1) Baked Brie cheese topped with cooked apples and wrapped in puff pastry. 2) Sauteed Kielbasa rounds in a sweet (I thing peach or apricot) dipping sauce. 3) Miniature egg rolls. 4) An antipasto salad that included salami, artichoke hearts, fontina cheese, black olives, red radish, Cherry peppers, and a few other finds from the refrig..

Perfect. Not too heavy, good assortment and eaten in a fashion that stressed a lay back attitude.


Friday evening Barb & Jim (our buddies from Memphis) invite their friends Bill & Judy (Now our friends) to dinner. The menu is simple, A unique salad, get this. Arugula, topped with grilled watermelon (YES--grilled) topped with a little more arugula, drizzled with a reduced balsamic vinaigrette and extra virgin olive oil. Mmmm. It was a great summer salad. Try it. you'll be surprised. A little labor intensive with cutting the "seedless" melon into 3x3 slices and grilling but it was worth it.

The entree was filet mignons cooked in a strange way. We put the in the oven for 25 minutes at 275 degrees. Then we sauteed them on high heat to sear then. Try it. It's like a Ruths Chris steak. Delicious, medium rare but warm on the inside. That entree was accompanied with a potato casserole that is absolutely sinful. We got the recipe from Sally's cousin Nan. I might include it later but it has potato's, 3 cups of mayo, a full large box of Velveeta cheese, 2 cups of cheddar cheese ( are you having a heart attack yet ?) bacon, olives and I think that's the majority of ingredients. Taste good, yes but! Oh, we also has some rolls to accompany the meal.

Bill made homemade cream puffs oozing with cream and topped with drizzled chocolate syrup. Wow, nice way to end the meal.

Was Saturday much different. Not really. We don't usually eat breakfast so it either lunch or brunch. Today we call it lunch. Memphis bar-b-q, Corky's bbq sauce, an assortment of potato chips and leftover potato casserole (it was a huge rich casserole). We ate moderately, with an anticipation to dinner.

Dinner was a simple salad, which we call Columbia Steak House salad, named after what used to be a favorite stopping place years ago. It is comprised of shredded lettuce, onion, celery, radish and if you have it tomato (which I forgot) topped with oil & vinegar or Good Seasons Italian dressing. The entree was Spinach & Cheese Ravioli in a Red Onion, Red Pepper, garlic cream sauce topped with sauteed shrimp. The plates were empty so the group must have liked it.


Okay, I'm almost done. Sunday, started with Bloody Mary's & Screwdrivers in lieu of church services. What do we do for brunch? We cook and eat whatever is leftover. With cocktails, came leftover baked brie and crackers. The meal consisted of the leftover potato casserole to which we added any leftover steak ( they were huge) and some onion which we then warmed in the oven. We topped that with eggs over easy, some grilled asparagus and a strip of bacon. On the side was , yes, watermelon. We also toasted and buttered buns. It was good and tasty and was our parting meal.

8-12-2009 dinner

Fairly healthy dinner last night. Sally was at Costco to overload on supplies. One of the things I was opposed to for a long time was buying fresh fish at Costco. Did I make a mistake. Yesterday was the second time we bought Tuna steaks. Awesome! I highly recommend it. I've had friends get Salmon there last week. Same thing, it was supposedly really good. I've changed my viewpoint.

Okay, dinner. I marinated the tuna in just a small amount of soy sauce & terriyaki sauce mixed.
I only marinated it for maybe 10 minutes at room temperature. Just enough to flavor it but not overpower it. I seared it in a mixture of butter & extra virgin olive oil. One of my favorite techniques to allow browning without burning. Since we like tuna on the rare side, it only takes a minute or two on each side. We served it with Trader Joe's Wasabi mayonnaise. Nice kick to it.
I thank my sister for proving me a few jars for my staples bin.

What went with the fish was parsley potato's, sauteed until golden. Hey these were easy, they came out of a can. Whole white potato's, an easy thing to have on had for quick meals. Of course we did have a salad, of sorts. Fresh (locally grown) tomato's, diced scallions, and broiled asparagus, topped with a mild Italian (Good Seasons dressing)

Viola, another meal in the books.

This weekend we are out of here to join Barb & Jim at the lake. Although we have a menu, it's more important to note that we have ingredients and we'll see what transpires. Shrimp, steaks, chicken, salmon, ravioli, cream, butter, and whatever else gets packed

Until then.

Julia

On paper and on screen, "Julia" is stealing the show from "Julie."
Meryl Streep's performance as Julia Child in "Julie & Julia," which opened last weekend, has helped return the late chef's "Mastering the Art of French Cooking," a classic published nearly 50 years ago, to the top of best-seller lists.
On Monday, a $40 hardcover of "Mastering" topped the charts of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.com, easily outpacing a $7.99 paperback of the book that gave the film its title, "Julie & Julia" - Julie Powell's memoir about spending a year preparing all the recipes in Child's book.
Publisher Alfred A. Knopf has ordered an additional 75,000 copies of "Mastering," which on Monday was sold out on Amazon.
Other Child works selling strongly (and currently out of stock on Amazon) are "My Life in France," on which the film is partly based; "Julia's Kitchen Wisdom" and a paperback edition of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking."
The movie is divided between the lives of Child and Powell, but critics have found the "Julia" side far more interesting than the time devoted to "Julie," played by Amy Adams. As of Monday afternoon, Powell's book was No. 16 on Barnes & Noble.com and No. 27 on Amazon.

A Running partner's suggestion

Jim thought that the song "Cheesburger in Paradise" would be a cool theme song. I can't figure out how Sarah added music to her blog but I will figure it out (maybe with her help) BUT, the song is by Buffet-----------------How appropriate. A Banquet can be a Buffet><><><>

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bJpDMug1YMA

You have to start somewhere

I don't consider myself a good cook or an expert at cooking BUT I can tell you this--I like to cook. I get great pleasure out of starting with little more than a concept of making something I think I will like and having it turn out good. Do I follow a recipe? Sometimes one or maybe 15. I sometimes combine recipes to include the ingredients I like most.

Take the other night for example. I was in the mood for shrimp. How should I serve it. Southern style was on my mind. I happen to have picked up some country ham at the grocery the other day, so Shrimp and Grits came to mind. Hmmm, I wasn't quite into grits today but I had some basil-garlic polenta on hand. So, now we have fried Polenta, Sauteed Shrimp (which I dipped in flour with some red pepper) topped with a Red Eye Gravy sauce that was made with the country ham, left over coffee, a bit of Madiera wine and some crushed tomatos.

Did it turn out good? Great is a better description. Another success. How fun!

My favorite comment that I make to Sally (my wife & good fan of my cooking) is, "I hope you enjoy it, you'll never have it again!" Okay, so I don't really keep my own recipes. I usually go off the cuff and just try to create. I usually tell Sally to stay out of the kitchen. I like to surprise her.

Anyway, don't be afraid to try things, if it sounds good, it will be.

So much for my first attempt at blogging. Suggestions and recommendations are welcome.