HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! OH AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY

The new year comes so fast it seems now. Time has sped up and life seems to be going by so quickly. I love seeing my children grow and become adults, and yet at the same time it means that we are getting older. I so enjoy the holidays; November and December are months filled with family, food and fantastic traditions. Whats not to love?? But, it is January that brings the most fun to our household.

 It starts every year at New Years. These days there is no giant party, no going drinking or dancing. Mostly our evening consists of a special dinner, and games with the kids, culminating in watching the ball drop and listening to the neighbor kids shoot off fireworks, likely one day to set my house on fire. It's the strike of midnight when the fun begins, you see my husband Mike's birthday is January 1. So in an instant we turn to birthday mode, singing and celebrating his life and accomplishments. Traditionally, we go to Brunch or lunch out somewhere, and he then hunkers down for the remainder of the day watching football and hockey, happily relaxing in front of our 50 inch television. Dinner on the other hand is where we can show our love for him and those things he enjoys most. This year he asked for an ice cream cake and thus the bar was set. We love ice cream cakes from Carvel as much as the next guy, but we recently watched a Kelsey Nixon show where she created a Raspberry, vanilla ice cream cake and I knew Carvel would not be getting my money this year.

The recipe for Kelsey's cake is in this link. http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/ice-cream-birthday-cake.html While raspberry's are a favorite of mine they are not Mike's flavor of choice, so I took her recipe and changed it up a bit, using a different crust and ice cream flavors. I would say you could mix and match any flavors you like and this would be a hit. The number one key item in this recipe is the layer of pound cake. It is the perfect cake as it holds up so nicely frozen, yet melts in your mouth.

I went shopping with my youngest daughter Samantha for the flavors and here is what we came up with in the end:

Crust: Chocolate Graham Crackers
Ice Cream: Chocolate and Mint Moose Tracks (Mint Chocolate chip works great too!)
Fudge: Chocolate Fudge
Cake: Sponge Cake
Icing: Whipped Cream

The chocolate crust was just enough crunch to add some nice texture to each bite and the way the cake layered each person had chocolate and mint in every bite. The sponge cake has a way of dividing the cake and keeping it from being too much ice cream and not enough....cake. :)

Come up with your own flavors, try this for your next birthday cake, I assure you you will not be disappointed. Let me know what you have made post it here and take a picture.

I neglected to take pictures along the way this time but will do so next time and add them.

Happy New Year and Happy Birthday Mike!!! 

What can I do with this Leftover Chicken

Ever since our oldest Alex came home from college, we apparently do not know how to buy enough food for a household of six. Add to that the kids are done with school and trolling the house and fridge during the day. There is nothing left in my refrigerator and it is Wed night! Here is what I have; roasted chicken, and the standard ingredients for a mirepoix ( french for a trio of carrot, celery, and onion). OK, first thoughts are I can make Fajita's. That became moot when I looked and found only 5 tortillas. Next thought, chicken tortilla soup. No.... not hearty enough for my husband as a meal. What to do what to do? I started looking online and found no inspiration. Then it hit me, I have been cooking long enough I can create something. (Note: I am not a big creator of something from nothing, I generally create a recipe based on the foundation of many recipes for one dish and tweak it from there) I started chopping, slicing, dicing and asked my assistant Samantha (youngest female child) to make a yellow rice. The sizzle from the pan and aroma emanating was teasing me, I was not yet sure if this was going to work. My family walked through the door and my daughter say "wow it smells so good I am soooo hungry". It smells like Chicken Parikash.( A Hungarian dish passed on from generation to generation in my family). My heart sunk, I love Chicken Paprikash as do two of my kids, but my husband and Samantha are not big fans. Did I just create another version of the same dish? Ugh! However, I used completely different ingredients and did not use any Paprika, which is a major part of Chicken Paprikash. At this point there is not much to do but serve and hope they like it. Table is set and it is the moment of truth......and OMG everyone loved it.Yippee!

Does anyone have a recipe they made up that is a big winner?

You too can use ingredients meant for something else in many ways...

I have not found myself to have been very inspired lately with our food, so there has not been much to write about. That all changed this week when it was fish night and I was buying Salmon. My youngest daughter asked if we could make pesto since we had Basil in the fridge. I looked again and saw that we had Parmesan cheese and agreed to make a side of Pasta Pesto. We try very hard to not make a meal out of Pasta, so having it once in a while as a side dish is a treat!

I got all the ingredients needed for the Pesto together and began making the sauce. If you like Pesto but don't want to have to buy all of the ingredients, and purée them, you can buy it ready made. For those of you that are kosher Pesto comes in a kosher version as well, and is a great staple to keep in your pantry.

As I completed the Pasta I had some Pesto left at the bottom of the food processor. My plan was to make the Salmon with some Panko on top. So in the moment I grabbed the leftover pesto and extra Parmesan cheese and tossed it together with the Panko. After sprinkling the crumbs on the fish I popped it in the oven and that was that. I have to say that unlike myself as a kid, my children all eat fish,but the surprise and satisfaction on their faces when they took their first bite was awesome, as a matter of fact I believe the next thing I heard was Mom are you going to Blog about this dinner? So here we are.....I am so predictable, but its still Good Food in Good Time. Check out the recipes below. Oh and if there are any leftovers it makes a great salad for lunch.

                                          My girls... the healthy glow is from fish oil!
Pasta Pesto

1 box of any pasta
Bunch of fresh Basil about 1 Cup
Pine Nuts 1-2 Tbl
Olive oil 1/2 to 3/4 cup
Salt/Pepper
2 cloves fresh garlic
2 Tbsp Parmesan cheese

Wash the basil,rip in half and toss into food processor. Add Pine Nuts,garlic,salt and pepper, and Parmesan cheese and chop. As processor is running stream the oil in to emulsify. Pesto should not be a paste nor should it be to liquidy. Set aside about 1 to 2 tablespoons of pesto. Cook pasta per directions on the box. Drain and add pesto to toss.

Salmon

1 3/4 lbs Salmon
1 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs
4 Tbsp Parmesan Cheese
Salt/pepper to taste
1 to 2 Tbsp Pesto

Place Salmon on a cookie sheet or in an oven proof dish. Salt and pepper the fish. In a separate bowl add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well. Sprinkle the crumbs on the fish to create a pretty thick cover. Place in 400 degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes. Salmon should be just opaque when it is done. If it is too light pink inside it will be dry.

Cuban Heritage

Growing up in the Midwest I did not have much opportunity to taste foods from Latin America. We stem from Eastern European descent and the closest I came to eating Latin food was Taco night. :) In 1993 I married the love of my life, and as his lineage is 1/2 Cuban I began on a journey through uncharted food territories. Dishes like Black Beans and Rice (Frijoles Negros), Plantains (2 ways), Arroz con Pollo, Picadillo, and Ropa Vieja just to name a few, lit up my taste buds in ways I never imagined. What is even more surprising is the misconception that Latin food is spicy, (It's not) or that it is complicated (its simplicity is its draw).

Let's begin with the Plantain. This comes from the Banana family, but has a starchier meat and needs to be cooked to eat it. Plantains can be eaten many ways, but I make it two ways. Ripe Plantains are black on the outside likened to a very old banana. It is at this point in its ripening that you will get a very sweet result. The sugars have completely blossomed and by just frying these in a medium heated pan sliced on the bias with oil, the fruit caramelizes and turn sweet and soft. Almost taking on a brown sugared flavor.
The second way to cook plantains, as I am generally partial to savory, is to cook them in their ripe stage"green". Using a mandolin or your knife cutting very thin pieces lengthwise and frying them in oil, salting them as they come out and serving with a dip of garlic lemon oil. My mouth is watering.

                                            Garlic Sauce

4-6 Cloves of Garlic Chopped Fine

2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

1/4 cup Lemon Juice 

1/8 cup Orange juice

(Some people use Lime juice only)

Salt and pepper

Mix all the ingredients together an dip your fried plantains in sauce or pour sauce on plantains.
Note: I have seen this made healthier by baking the chips with Pam until crispy.

My favorite of all the dishes is very similar to Pepper Steak. It is called Ropa Vieja. Crudely translated it mean old clothes. There is an old fable that tells of an old man that had family coming for dinner but did not have enough money for food. So he took old clothes and imbued them with love. When he cooked the clothes, his love for his family turned the clothes into this beautiful stew.

Ropa Vieja is made with Peppers, Onions, Tomato sauce, Tomato Paste and Chuck roast. It is a very slow cooking braise to allow the fibers in the meat to completely break down so it can be shredded later on. In my particular situation this week, I had a roast that was made during the weekend my daughter Sammi celebrated her Bat-Mitzvah. We have a pretty large immediate family of around 50 and we all lovingly fly around the states celebrating simcha's "joyus occasions" together. We had prepared Brisket for the Friday night "Shabbat dinner" but my mother was concerned there may not be enough. So, we defrosted a silver tip roast, I slathered it in a rub of chili powder, cumin, brown sugar, salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder and threw it on the grill to roast. The end result was beautiful, and I sliced it and put it in the oven to keep warm. Unfortunately from there it was forgotten as we did not need more meat during the meal. By the time I removed the roast from the oven it was overdone and dry. It broke my heart to waste a 4 LB silver tip so I threw it in the freezer figuring it would be great in soup. (which by the way I used some for a Mushroom Beef Barley soup). Fast forward a month and now I am ready to use this meat. I defrosted the package and prepared the recipe as required. Every so often we have what we like to call girls night in my house, which used to entail Daddy being out and the three girls and myself would watch a chick flick. Now that we have some toddler testosterone at home, girls nights are a lot more difficult to come by. However, every so often the planets align and we can enjoy a shortened version of girls night. Last night was one of those nights. We set up the family room with our little tables and watched Once upon a Time (weekly one hour drama) while enjoying our Cuban dinner. Served alongside this dish we make white rice and black beans. As the name of my blog suggests none of this is very time consuming as a matter of fact, I use canned black beans and just Dr. them up a bit. Tastes like the real thing, but takes no time at all. In the end its just Buena Comida a Su Debido Tiempo or "Good Food in Good time".

Buen Provecho!!!

Ropa Vieja

1 2 LB Chuck Roast                                             2 small cans of Tomato Sauce
2 Onions sliced                                                      1 can of Tomato Paste
1 Bell Pepper sliced                                              1 1/2 cups of Beef Broth
4 cloves of Garlic Sliced thin                                Cilantro (Optional)
1  Teaspoon Cumin                                               Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tablespoons Canola Oil

Heat 2 Tablespoons of oil in a pot, add onion and peppers to sweat. This would be softened but no color. Just as these are done add garlic and saute for another minute. Add Chuck Roast, Tomato sauce and Paste as well as Broth. bring to a boil and season with Salt, Pepper and Cumin. Turn pot down to simmer and cover. Simmer for 2 hours depending on the roast. Check after 1 1/2 hours to see if the meat is beginning to come apart. Once the meat is done take the pot off the stove. Remove roast to a big bowl and using two forks shred the meat pulling outward as you go. Once the roast is completely shredded add the meat back into the sauce and heat through. Serve with white rice.

Black Beans

1 Onion                                                         1 Tsp Cumin
1 Green Bell Pepper                                   Salt and Pepper
1 Can Black Beans                                      1 Tbl Canola Oil

Chop onion and Pepper and saute in oil until soft. Add a can of Black Beans not drained and mix. Add salt, pepper and Cumin and heat through. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes and serve on white rice.

The Legacy lives on...

My mother called me yesterday and asked if I had seen the Facebook post of my second cousin who lives in Hungary. My response, "I saw the picture, but she writes in Hungarian, kinda tough to know what she is saying". Turns out she was posting that she had made her favorite, chicken paprikash, which here in the states is Hungarian chicken and dumplings. My mother asked her if she was cooking it the way her grandmother and aunt made it, and she said "it was the first thing my grandmother ever taught me to cook" I can relate.

A little over two years ago we lost my grandmother Ilona. She was 92 years old lived a long full life and left a legacy to us in the way we cook and eat in many ways, among so many other things. This week it was supremely cold by Florida standards, and I could not decide what to make for dinner. I had a Chuck steak in the freezer, and a bunch of fresh and frozen veggies. So, I decided to make a veggie beef soup. It's quite easy and so hearty. Most of the time I just add barley to give it a little more body, but instead I asked my girls if they wanted it like bubbie made it, with little dumplings. Consensus YES!!! Now my kids love love love chicken paprikash and the dumplings are made the same way but, Samantha only likes the dumplings in the soup not by way of the chicken and dumplings. I defrosted the meat and away we went. It was a big warm up on such a cold evening and made a perfect lunch the following day.

I promise one day to provide the family recipe for chicken paprikash but for now here is the veggie soup. Serve it with some great bread and a salad on the side if you like.

Vegetable Beef Soup

1 Onion                                    2 Zucchini Chopped
3 Carrots Chopped                 7 Mushrooms
3 Stalks of Celery Chopped   1/4 pack frozen Spinach
3/4 lb Chuck Steak                  3 TBL  Tomato Paste
Fresh Basil                               6 cups Water
2 Garlic Cloves Chopped        3 TBL Beef Stock Bouillon
Salt and Pepper                       1/4 cup barley (optional)

Chop onion, carrots, and celery and saute in olive oil. Salt and pepper and cook until soft. Add meat cut into dice sized pieces and saute until brown. Add zucchini, mushrooms, basil, and garlic and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add water, bouillon and tomato paste. Bring to a boil. Add barley. Turn heat down, and add spinach. Season again to taste. Simmer for an hour. Enjoy.

I am sure that everyone has a legacy like our in our family, and I can say for certain that my grandmother was the matriarch of "GOOD FOOD IN GOOD TIME"

                                           Alex and my grandmother Ilona 2006
                                         

Happy New Year!!!

I am officially stating here that while I have been absent from my Blog for a few months now, I am recommitting in 2012 to continue cooking and sharing my experiences and recipes. When I say experiences I mean the nitty gritty. If something did not work as planned I will share that with you as well. None of us are perfect, we all know that about Julia Child, and can be sure that the Anthony Bourdain's, Scott Conant's and Giada's of this world have burned or undercooked their food once in a while. This brings me to my first meal of the New Year.

January 1, 2012 New Years Day and My husband Mike's birthday.

A couple of weeks ago Mike came to me and said I would love to have a rack of lamb for my birthday.

Flashback about a year... For one of the holidays I came into two racks of lamb without a clue how to cook them. I pulled out a pile of Bon Apetit magazines and began to search for a recipe. Bingo, I found the perfect recipe, could it really be that simple??? I tried it and not only was it simple but it was one of the best meals I have ever made.

Fast forward to this year... I had to order the lamb from the butcher, and for beauty and a natural handle I asked him to "French" the lamb. No he was not making out with it, he was cleaning off the bone and trimming the fat so they would be perfectly ready to cook.
They should not charge you anything extra to do this for you. Also, ask them to give you the trimming, it makes a fantastic soup base.

The menu: Rack of Lamb with Baby Potatoes and Haricot Verts

I cannot take full credit for this birthday dinner, every one of my kids had a hand in dinner.
First, I coat the lamb with salt, pepper, olive oil,and rosemary. You can use any herbs you like including mint if you like the flavor. Sear the meat on both sides in a hot pan and set into a roasting pan. Lamb does not need a lot of time to cook. It was one of the things that most amazed me when I first cooked it. Also, if you do not like rare meat lamb may not be your bag. It should be cooked Rare to medium rare for best texture and bite.

Here is where things went wrong. I placed the lamb in the oven for roasting as we sat down to our salad (spring mix with avocado, pepper, and red onion, dressing is a store bought Vidalia onion dressing). Shout out to Samantha who put the salad together. Fifteen minutes later I removed the rack to rest for a few minutes prior to cutting. I cut into the rack and it was not cooked. OH NOOOOOOO! Back into the oven it went and I filled up the wine glasses. I went back to check after round two in the oven and while it is better, the meat is still not completely cooked on the inside, ugh!!!! While we are struggling to figure this all out, we are plating the side dishes. We decide to slice the lamb chops and sear them off on the stove until just cooked. Phew! They turned out great, but not without a few moments of absolute panic. Disaster averted!

Alex was making the potatoes and we did something new. We bought these tri-colored baby potatoes, and boiled them off until just fork tender. Then we drained them and set it aside. You will want to heat oil in a skillet and toss potatoes in with salt, pepper and some herbs. Whatever herbs you used for the meat would be good. Leave the potatoes alone at this point, you want the skin to crisp up. The results were incredible, creamy on the inside,crispy on the outside. Our second side was Haricot Verts (fancy french green beans you can get at any market and don't have to stand and snap off the bottoms), simply pan fried in a bit of oil, salt and pepper until just tender.

Lastly, because what is a birthday without cake? We made a chocolate ganache cake. I know what you're thinking, its so much easier to buy a cake and it is....and I tried. The bakery did not have the cakes Mike likes. Next we went to the local grocery store that has a kosher bakery, again they had no cakes that peaked anyones interest. Next, we considered a Dunkin Hines Red Velvet. At that point, I thought, I am making a fabulous, mucho fancy dinner from scratch, and I am planning a Dunkin Hines box cake. No way!! So Chocolate Ganache cake it was, and boy did it come out yummy!! Thanks to Jessica who frosted the cake (and the plate I might add).

Pictures Below.... Happy Birthday Mike and Happy New Year to you all, may you commit to making Good Food in Good Time in 2012!



So sick of food! So what do we make for dinner???

Sunday we came off of one of the biggest Jewish eating binges on the planet. Anyone who is a Jew or knows a Jew can attest to the fact that we like to eat. We eat to celebrate a wedding, a holiday, birthdays, and even death. Yes, there I said it, the amount of food in a shiva house one cannot believe. However, I think these holidays and every other event brings families and communities together, so I say bring it on!

However, coming off one of these three day binges is enough to make you want to fast for a week, which we will be doing come Friday night and Saturday for Yom Kippur. Alas, I have kids and a husband, and much as we could not think of another morsel to put in our mouths, at 6 pm we were hungry. So the conundrum was, what can we eat for dinner that will be light enough that we can handle it but significant enough for us to be satisfied? Ah the soup and salad night....thank god my kids like soup and salad. So can yours...

Fist of all I asked them what kind of soup they wanted, and inevitably, I received three different ideas. French Onion Soup, Pasta Fagioli and Broccoli Cheddar. French Onion soup was nixed by child #2, Jessica who said it's too sweet and too beefy flavored. We all decided we were not in the mood for such a hearty soup as Pasta Fagioli, so we came to Broccoli Cheddar and every child said YES!!!!!!!
Nothing like adding cheese to a soup to get kids to eat their veggies. This soup has a standard base as do all creamy vegetable soups. They start with the standard celery, carrot and onion as a base, and then add the vegetable of choice with chicken or vegetable stock. The addition of potatoes to these soups serves as a natural thickener, when you puree the soup at the end. You want to let this cook as is, until everything is very tender. (Makes it easy to puree) Once it is all cooked through puree and voila, Cream of (insert your own veg here) Soup. At this point you can add cream, milk or even soy milk to add to the creaminess but its not necessary.

Cheesy Broccoli Soup

1 Chopped Onion                 1 Large or 2 Small Carrots
1 Stalk Chopped Celery       2 Tbs Margarine of Butter
6 cups Chicken Broth          2 Heads of Broccoli or 2 bags frozen Broccoli
4 Idaho Potatoes Chopped   2 Cloves of Garlic
1/2 Cup Milk or Cream        1 1/2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Saute onions, carrots, celery, and garlic in margarine until soft. Add broth, broccoli florets, and potatoes. Bring up to a boil and cook over medium heat until the potatoes are cooked and the florets are very soft. Take off heat and let cool briefly. Transfer soup to a blender and puree until smooth. If he own an immersion blender you can use this as well. return soup to the pot. Put back on the stove and heat through. Once  the soup comes back to temperature add cream and cheese until melted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

On to the salad . One of things I love to do is see how many ways I can turn a regular salad into something special. If you have oil, assorted vinegars, lemon juice, lime juice, even pomegranate juice, mayonnaise, salsa, I could keep going...you have a great dressing.

A couple rules when making a salad,
1. Use fresh veggies,
2. Always use ingredients that you like.

A salad can never be bad if it includes all the things you like. I personally likes chopped salads, bite size no mess. My parents tear all of their lettuce so the pieces are ginormous. I used to get teased all the time in restaurants because I would cut all my salad prior to eating. There are two schools of thought, I grew up with my mom telling me that you should not cut lettuce with a knife because it make the lettuce turn brown. I on the other hand chop all my salad with a knife and do not find that it add to the lettuce browning any quicker. So have at it, try either way and let me know what you think.

Back to Sunday dinner. Soup taken care of now on to the salad. Chopped my romaine, cucumbers (English, don't like the bur pee seeds), red onion, Bell Pepper, and an Ode to my daughter #1 Alex, soup croutons. Gotta have some crunch. OK salad is colorful, and full of great vitamins. On to the dressing...I asked Jessica what kind of dressing she felt like having and she said something garlic. Then the light bulb went on. In my pantry I have a package of Garlic and Herb Dressing from Good Seasons. You might remember, they make the dressing pack with the Cruet to mix a delicious vinaigrette, but this time I had a plan. I pulled out the mayonnaise dropped about 3 Tablespoons into a bowl, and sprinkled the seasoning packet on top. I did not use the whole packet. A little at a time, and taste as you go along, this way you don't end up with too much seasoning. Once I had the desired flavor, I added some water to thin out the dressing and would you believe we all loved it!

It just goes to show that Good Food In Good Time may come with some strange last minute additions that make all the difference to your meal. Enjoy!