Happy New Year!

Well it's the time for resolutions and the time to get things going that you have been putting off. Now honestly I am not much of a procrastinator, but there are some things that I have been waiting to do . . . well no more! In this next year I plan on trying a new cuisine or dish at least once a month, I know not too terribly challenging for me HAHA!! My other personal resolution is going to be reading through the Bible in a year. I have been wanting to do it for a long time and feel bad that as a newly re-born Christian that I have never done it. My goal is to be fairly knowledgable about the Bible, but I think it will take more than once through to begin to even truly understand. Now onto the other thing, as I stated in an earlier post, with the holidays and family and some miscommunications, I have not been in the kitchen that much and have not been playing or experimenting like I usually do. I have even at times resorted to Hot Pockets, I know that is the culinary equivalent to grand theft auto! But with a very generous and appreciated Christmas gift my culinary aptitude and longing has returned! One of my favorite tasters and fellow growing foodie (I like to think) and someone very special to me got me a food processor, and a nice one at that, probably nicer than I would have gotten myself. So as one of my heroes, Alton Brown, always says it doesn't matter what tools you have to utilize in your kitchen as long as you get the desired results, but it does make it easier to have the RIGHT tools. So a big thanks to my benefactor! I foresee many processed and chopped things in my future! Salsa, guacamole, eggplant parmesan, dressings, sauces, purees, bread crumb toppings, ok ok I have to be done so I can go home and play in my command center of all things food!

Morning Soup!!

No I didn't have soup for breakfast. I made soup AFTER breakfast!! I, as always, got the sudden call to create something in my playland and decided it was a day for soup, but not just any soup. I have come to find that with soup I love flavors and textures of many different soups. The flavor of tomato soup, the creaminess of a good cheese based soup, the many flavors of a good minestrone and the chunkiness of potatoes in a soup. I love all those things, and suffice to say there really isn't a, "everything but the kitchen sink" section in the soup aisle. So what do you do when you want something that you can't find, you CREATE. You chop, dice, mince stir, caramelize and slow cook to perfection, exactly what YOU want to taste and feel in your mouth! So a quick run down of my, "All or Nothin'" soup: carrots, green pepper, potato, onion, broccoli, tomato soup and cheddar cheese soup. Spices and seasonings; sage, garlic and of course the ever versatile, salt and pepper. As I type this, I anxiously await having a bowl of it when I get home. I have found that I do indeed love getting everything together and putting it all in the slow cooker for later, that smell, the texture and of course the EASE of it! So I say not why not put everything you want in one dish, one way or another, because you get what you want, how you want and best of all, how much you want!! Soup's On!!

Famished for D.C.

Well I got an amazing Christmas present last week. My former boss, the Honorable Senator John Barrasso M.D., presented me with two tickets to the Presidential Inauguration ceremony and ball on the 20th of January. Now while I wish that it was John McCain that was getting sworn in, this is HISTORY plain and simple. I am just lucky and fortunate to be able to say that I got to witness such a momentous event in our country's history. Now, the other great thing about going to D.C. would have to be the cuisine. Being that it is a metropolitan area with so much diversity, my gastronomical experiences are sure to be enhanced. I can't wait to find some tiny little diner near Capitol Hill and have coffee and watch the comings and goings of the D.C. life. Finding some upscale restaurant is definitely on top of my list of things to do. I have been craving good sushi and some of the people that I worked with in the Senate office said there were some really authentic sushi places. I cannot wait to eat myself into a frenzy of palatable delight! I think the even better part about it, is that I cannot find these places here in Wyoming, my goal will to be to find wild and new things. I sort of built a list, so here goes: 1. Diner (D.C. local favorite) 2. Sushi 3. Really good wine bar 4. Cheese shop 5. A dinner that costs at least $50 (cuz I've never paid that much before!!).
I can't wait to share with everybody once I get back.

It's been a while!

Ok so with Christmas and family time, not only have I not had much time to get on here and share things, but I haven't had that much time to really experiment or get anything accomplished in the kitchen. I have wanted to but just no time. I have however ingested quite a bit of sugar. I had my first sugar high on Christmas eve in a long time! It hurt so good!!
This weekend is going to be a time for cooking and playing though. I have lots of things that have gotten pushed aside and now it's time to get back in the laboratory and "DO WORK SON!!"
I think the first thing I'm going after is going to be a sausage dish. I love it, but have been doing the same old stuff with it and need something to excite my palate.
One thing I have discovered is my love for red wine, and what better excuse than the holiday season to drink!! I love it and will continue to discover new varieties.
Until next time!! And hopefully I will have something culinary to share with everyone next time, I'm sure I will!!!

Aubergine Delight!

Well I know that most people know the bulbous, purple and delicious prize as an eggplant, but for the sake of this post, we are going to refer to the wonderful veggie by it's other name, aubergine. Now I love aubergine and I have found many ways to cook them. I think they are a very versatile addition to any meal. One of the first dishes that I made with an aubergine was late this summer, I attempted a sad version of a stuffed aubergine. I didn't really put anything in the stuffing mixture and for sure didn't cook it as well as it should have been. Well in experiencing that failure I went on to other ways to slice, dice and devour the aubergine. Well I have been dying to try it lately, and it just so happens that some of our favorite combinations are tomatoes, aubergine and for me sweet Italian sausage (soon to be liked by my dinner guest as well). So I pulled it together and really did it right this time. We even had a little red wine to go with our wonderful, elegant aubergines. So basic ingredients went in, scoop the "meat" out of the center, boil; brown the sausage, remove let cool; saute onions, garlic and red peppers. Then drain the aubergine "meat" mix all ingredients in a bowl with S&P, bread crumbs, basil and one egg. Oh and some kind of cheese, we used cheddar. Then stuff the hollowed out shells and bake for about 45 mins. Needless to say they were delicious, definitely something we will be doing again.

Travel

Lately I have been having this undying need to discover new things in the gastronomical world. I am tiring of trying to replicate the latest Tyler Florence "Ultimate" or making healthy what I read about in cookbooks. Don't get me wrong I love seeing if I can make even come close to resembling the pictures or descriptions. But the problem is, I don't know how it's suppose to taste. That saddens me. I just want to try a true New Orleans Gumbo (from a grandma's house) or a true Thai dish from Thailand, oh and the French and Italian dishes that need to be discovered by me yearning palate are endless. Duck confit, osso bucco, croque monsieur, and oh the desserts! I think that given the chance this summer, ok so probably next summer, I'm going abroad, I'm gonna discover the food world on my terms and find the roots of all the things that are eluding my naive taste buds.
OK so maybe I have been watching too much Andrew Zimmern and Tony Bourdain, but those guys are like my culinary discovery mentors. They know what's up and they do it on their own terms, I like that and clearly respect it.

Crocker . . . Betty Crocker!

Well in keeping with the cold weather and the season of warm, melt in your mouth, memory stirring and sweet treats, I have taken a real interest and liking to baking. It has however come to my attention though, that I don't like to bake for myself. I made the first couple batches of things that I liked and remembered from my childhood, but than I realized that was good. So when I baked this weekend it suddenly hit me why my mom always made so many batches, dozens and loaves of the baked goods. Having all this bread and sweets in front of me, suddenly made me want to share with people and give the gift of food. So I decided that I would bring some to my coworkers and of course, that special somebody! But more than that, I have decided to have a little baking party to gift away some things to people. I can remember when my mom did it and how happy people were to receive a loaf of homemade banana bread or Christmas cookies spread over a "Frosty" plate. It's a good feeling for everyone involved.
I hope that I can make people as happy as my mom did! Or they had better at least pretend!

Everybody Salsa . . . or Guacomole

First and foremost I just want to say that since I have been exploring more into the culinary world I have discovered a new way to connect to people and have realized that as the old saying goes . . . food is love!
So anyway, last night was another fiesta night at the Singleton house. A certain somebody had said once that she liked, rather loved avocados. Now while I am not a huge fan of the fruit, I do however make a mean guacamole and knew that I would enjoy that. So the ingredients came out and we started the culinary whirlwind of spice. First was salsa, then green chiles, 1/2 a jalapeno, 2 avocados, salt, pepper, garlic, lime juice and some love!! We stirred it up threw it in the fridge to kind of pull together and started in on the cocktails.
The Matador= awesome taste, bad next day! Well matador in the dictionary is a bullfighter, in my glass it was tequila, limeade, fresh squeezed OJ and zest and sugar free rockstar. So if the contents of my glass was a "bullfighter" so to speak and I was the bull, let's just say I got fought and the matador won!! Definitely a drink that I will be indulging in again.
Well it's the weekend and I am probably off to bake and discover something amazingly delightful to the palate. So until Monday!

A New Level of Comfort Food!

So I guess I can say that I really was raised on comfort food. Stews, chilis, macncheese, quick breads, mashed potatoes, all the good stuff!! My mom was never much of a spice queen or exotic dish creator, but man you better believe my plates were always clean!! This is part of the reason I think that I have been on a quest to discover new foods and ideas and tastes. I long for something unfamiliar and knowledge of experiences that I can share with others. I guess you could say that I long to have a little Tony Bourdain and Andrew Zimmern-esque experiences!! But recently I have been waring a little thin on always trying something new . . . in my kitchen that is. We don't have many varietal restaurants in my hometown so I dont feel that a trip to the local Olive Garden will really satisfy my need for pasta or Perkins for pancakes! So I always make my own stuff, but lately I have gotten tired of it and have rediscovered my roots in simple food and the love for single or few flavors combined to just really give you that warm feeling of home. Lately I have rediscovered egg sandwiches . . . I know it sounds remedial, but trust me try one and you will remember why youloved them as a kid. I have been using my dill rye bread that I love so much, couple eggs and a slice or two of cheese. Now the kick is, I put jelly on the toast and a little bit of ketchup on the eggs while still in the pan! Again like many of my other dishes, don't knock it til you try it!! I hope to be discovering some more things that I have forgotten about. Tonight I think it may just be time for a grown up mac and cheese, I have some shallots that were gifted to me that are begging to be sweated and I haven't had pasta at all this week so I think we all know what I'm having for dinner tonight.

A Glass . . . or two, a day!

So I have been dying to try a red wine. I have always liked white wine, mostly from cooking with it and the usual pairing of pasta and white wine (for me anyway). But it was time to move outside my comfort zone, spread my wings of wine indulgence and experience the bliss -in-a-bottle that awaited me. Needless to say I'm in trouble . . . I loved it, absolutely loved it. We got a bottle that was basically a newbie brand and flavor. It was a good intro though and got me wanting to try more and expose my palate to what else is out there. I will continue my mission with vigilance!!
So I made a Cabbage and Butternut Squash soup the other night. I followed another recipe that I had found for it. I had a head of cabbage and a butternut that I didn't know what I wanted to do with either one, so I decided to combine them and that's when I came up with the idea of the soup, did a little bit of searching and found that recipe on another site. It was really good I simmered the mire poix and the butternut until everything was caramelized and then threw it ALL in the slow cooker. Let it cook all night and we had it for lunch the next day. It was very good! Squash, cabbage, tomatoes, crushed red pepper and some other seasonings, made for a good warm meal on a cold day in the Rocky Mountain area!!

Holy Pastries Batman!!!

Ah yes another wonderful weekend with the family doing nothing but simply enjoying our time together, ok and me going nuts in the kitchen at every nap time!
My oldest son loves those overpriced, oversalted, oversized and cheese friendly soft pretzels from the vendor in the mall. Well in tradition of trying to make things that we would usually buy from others, I decided to give it a whirl. Well not only was it one of the few times as of yet that I have baked, it was the first time that I had done anything with yeast. When the recipe says that it will double in size while resting, it really means double in size. I had dough hanging over the edge of the bowl, it looked just like an episode of I Love Lucy or something. Either way they turned out awesome, once I figured out how to really play with the dough. Next time, by the suggestion of a "silent partner" I will be adding ingredients/toppings to the mix, cheese, herbs, veggies, and so on!!
Next on the list was to utilize what my wonderful coworker brought me . . . about a pound of fresh blueberries. Well I do love breakfast pastries. But well they are expenxive and not the best thing for you and I refuse to support Starbucks anymore than I absolutely have too!!! So I decided that scones were in order, I love scones, especially with fresh blueberries that were so deliciously fragrant that I could barely wait til they were in the mix and baked to eat them! Well half an hour later we turned out about nine warm, airy, soft and wonderful blueberry scones. They were really really good and of course didn't last long, between handing some out and taste testing there just wasn't much left. But that only leaves me to want to make more, this time raspberry/blackberry.
Last but not least, I had a special request, that since I was going Betty Crocker on my kitchen, to try my hand at a cobbler. Well not just any cobbler, a peach/blueberry combo of tastebud tantalizing goodness and warmth. I honestly didnt even know what cobbler was, until I saw the final product, I thought it was that crumbly stuff that goes on top of baked apple dishes and the like. It was also amazing and I had a little help (ok lots of help from the inspiration for the dish). I think we will be making more things that she wants, that was good!!!!

Deep Sea Cuisine!!

Well tonight it finally happens. I get to have my mussels. Steamed, garlicky, buttery, play with your fingers goodness!! I can't wait to clean those lil' guys off get 'em steamin' and get a nice big pot of spaghetti boiling. Now of course the best part of the meal is picking a good wine to drink with it, since we are cooking them in wine of course. No work tomorrow, so it's ok.
Now you're probably saying well there is no way that his kid's are gonna eat those things, well you're right, mussels are for the date and me, the kids get WACKY MAC noodles dad-ified!! They love noodles just like their daddy, so I can't deny them that. However I am gonna try to get my oldest to try one of the mussels, he might just do it, if I bribe him with something good! HAHA!! So eat, drink and be merry everybody and as always . . . GOD BLESS!!

Winter is Here!!

Well with the snow, wind and bitter cold air, it makes one want something warm and comforting and filling. For me that means nothing better than soup and a good hearty grilled cheese (or 2). Being as that I have become such a fan of winter squash I believe that I am going to attempt a butternut squash tomato cream sauce. I know, I know, it sounds like quite the conglomeration of flavors, but I think that it will be very good. I don't want the normal butternut cream soup and I love tomato based soups, but you need a little cream in there too. I don't know, too many choices. Either way, the true focal point of the comforting meal will be the sandwich. A grilled cheese is not just a kid's treat anymore. The right cheese, bread, herbs and some smoked turkey or ham make a grilled cheese an adventure in gooey stretchy goodness. I think that something good may just come out of this cold weather yet. Oh and you can't forget the other part of days like this, a good book that you can't put down is vital!! Everybody get a bowl of soup and a sandwich, find your favorite literary adventure and stay warm!

Oh, we broke bread!

Never again will I discount any form of cooking, until I fully embrace it. I don't bake much, as of last night I BAKE!! A certain somebody came over last night and well we donned the aprons, rolling pins and kitchen timers and unleashed our inner betty crocker. Well like I said in my post yesterday, I have been dying to make my mom's old banana bread recipe, well we did and it was amazing. I am not one for tweaking a recipe first time (for consistency and learning purposes) but this time we just follwed the basic setup and threw in our own cooking flair. Needless to say CINAMMON was thrown in!! What a great night played some yahtzee while we waited for the bread, talked, laughed it was good. We walk up the stairs to the smell of banana heaven. It was one of the most amazing smells ever. Well it tasted as good as it looked and smelled. The best part was I thought of my mom the whole time while eating it, which must mean we made it "right." Things didn't end there though. I started to want to do more, so when you wanna bake more, what are you to do? Bake more! So this time, in keeping with the quick breads, I busted out two little flavorful zucchinis that I had in the fridge begging to be used. So we slapped that together, waited an hour and well let's just say, I'm gonna have to make more if I want to share with other people! HAHA! The best part of the two breads was the toppings, yes bread toppings. Elisha had the idea for the first one, by putting sliced banana on top, then I wanted to be creative so I said well what goes with zucchini, CARROTS. So shredded carrots got carefully and expertly placed on top and it looked amazing! Thanks to my helper and I will be making more this weekend, DUH!

Come break bread with me!!

So I have been having a carb-craving lately. Last week it was pasta, now this week bread. I have always been one of those people that is good with plain-old white or wheat bread, never much for anything to extraordinary. Well that all came to an end when I was going through my mom's old recipes. She was really quite an amazing cook and baker (I think that's where I get the desire to "play" in the kitchen). Well one of her signature things was her banana bread. Man have I been wanting to get at it with that recipe and see if I have the talent that she had or if I will blow it completely! Well needless to say I have my "over-ripe" bananas blackened and ready to go. I think it's time to try my hand at it and see how it comes out.
Now for the other side of things, also reminiscent of my mom, who absolutely loved different types of rye bread. Mostly those orowheat brands at the store. I can always remember the smell and the distinct taste of it, never really appreciating it then, but man I bought a loaf last night at the store and I'm not really sure if it was the fact that it reminded me of my mom so much or that it really was so absolutely delicious that made me enjoy it so much! REAL bread is so much more than your plain old loaf of white or wheat bread. So now I think I am on a search for the best sandwich bread. If anybody has any ideas please let me know! I am very excited to have rediscovered the world of good bread! Thanks Mom!

Oh the Elusive Saffron

I have to say that I have the most amazing people in my life, first of all! I have been seeing a lot of use with saffron lately and realized that I have never tried it, nor did I really know what to do with it. All I knew was that it is expensive. Well I shared my lack of culinary knowledge and foodie experience with someone very close to me and how I had looked everywhere in our town for the herb and could not find it. Well being the wonderful and amazing person that she is, she went on a secret saffron mission. She came over for dinner that I was making and brought me a present. It was the most beautiful jar I had ever seen, the tiny little threads of red whimsy carefully placed inside, sealed tightly waiting to enrich the meal of choice (that now I have to do research on). I was so excited and thankful and surprised that she found it before I did, definitely not complaining though! So now I embark on the task of finding the perfect dish to experiment with it in. Oh JOY!

Creativity in a Crock Pot

Hope everybody had a wonderful thanksgiving and weekend, I know I did. So I didn't make anything special for Thanksgiving dinner, but I made up for it the other days I was off for the hoilday weekend. I created a different pasta dish pretty much every night, utilizing everything from roasted veggies to shrimp to cream of mushroom (say what you will about the canned stuff, but I love it and it is so easy to use). I would have to say though that my prized concoction, came late Saturday night. I had a little of my garlic roast left and a can of garbanzo beans that were begging to be used. So, creativity was flooding through me and I started mixing and matching. I used the roast, garbanzo beans, a mix of green enchilada sauce and tomato sauce, celery, onions and garlic. I seasoned it with cumin, chili powder and a little extra red cayenne pepper for that added little kick! Let it simmer for a couple hours and had wuite the midnight snack, with some crusty wheat rolls.
I have to say that I have found it far more enjoyable to go outside the realm of recipes and the norm of cooking. Often times I find myself putting together flavors that I know I like and making a slurry of flavors! Not gonna lie, it usually turns out pretty decent, or YUM-O as Rachel Ray would say!! HAHA.