Author Archives: Patti

MUFFALETTA SANDWICH (N’AWLINS STYLE)

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The rolls.

The olive and veggie “salad” and assorted meats and provolone cheese.

The top with a bit of olive oil and the bottom filled with “salad”.

Add the meat, cheese, and tomato and the sandwich is ready to be put together.

All together now, all together now…… (FEEL FREE TO SING ALONG)

Two halves of a whole.

Sorry about all the pictures. But in the case of this sandwich, I thought pictures would be better than a thousand words.  

Several years ago, we joined our dear friends Dick and Eloise for a mini vacation to the great city of New Orleans for Mardi gras. We spent 10 days in this amazing city attending parades, eating as much great food as our tummies could accommodate, and of course listened to terrific jazz in small hole-in-the-wall cafes, famous eating establishments, and funky bars so dark you wondered if you had stumbled into a jazz infused spelunking adventure filled with really interesting (think kinda scary) critters.

And frankly, had we not been staying with Dick and Eloise’s son John, DIL Carol, and kidlets in their big, beautiful home, the entire trip would probably not have been such a wonderful experience. Because there’s only so much fun I can handle before I just want to bury my head under a pillow. So, staying in a hotel near the center of all the noise and 24-hour partying might have been more than I could handle. But since we had the great opportunity to stay in a private home, we enjoyed the heck out of our visit to “The Big Easy”.

And as I mentioned above, part of the reason we enjoyed New Orleans so much was the food. On one memorable occasion, Mr. C. and I took a walk around the neighborhood where we were staying and found a small corner market/deli that advertised “great muffaletta sandwiches made to order” or some such phraseology. Never ones to shirk our responsibility to embrace local cuisine, we wholehearted bought into the whole Creole/Cajun/Southern/Italian food scene. And OMG, we were immediately hooked on this famous Italian sandwich invented in New Orleans featuring cured meats, provolone cheese, olive and veggie salad, and great bread.

So, if you too would like to have a taste of what New Orleans has to offer in the way of fantastic food, then give this sandwich a try.

And if you ever get the opportunity to visit New Orleans, try as much of the local cuisine and listen to as much jazz as your body and soul can handle. Because N’awlins is the birthplace of jazz. And the jazz performers in New Orleans are top drawer. And while you are listening to these fabulous musicians, eat everything in sight.

For additional recipes that might take you back to or introduce you to some of the types of dishes you might experience in New Orleans and environs, go to the “Categories” area on this site and search under “Creole/Cajun Recipes”.  

Well, that’s all I have to say today. Except of course, peace and love to all.

For the olive and veggie salad:

2/3 c. extra virgin olive oil, or more if needed

¼ c. red wine vinegar

1 c. pitted kalamata olives, chopped

¾ c. pimento-stuffed green olives, chopped

¼ c. chopped pepperoncini

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 T. drained capers, roughly chopped

2 T. finely chopped fresh parsley

½ c. finely chopped celery

¾ c. finely chopped carrot

1 tsp. dried oregano

freshly ground black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a glass container with a lid. If the olive oil doesn’t cover all the chopped ingredients, add a bit more until all is covered. Refrigerate until needed. Best made at least a day ahead.

For 8 homemade individual round flat dinner rolls:  

2¼ c. warm water

1 T. instant yeast

1 tsp. granulated sugar

1½ tsp. fine sea salt

5¼ c. unbleached all-purpose flour (more or less)

olive oil

In the bowl or your stand mixer, combine the water, yeast, and sugar. Ignore for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and a bit less than 5 cups of the flour. Mix with your bread hook until a soft dough has formed. Add additional flour as needed. (There should be a bit of dough hanging out on the bottom of the bowl. That’s what you want.)

Pour a bit of olive oil in the mixing bowl and using your hands and a stiff spatula form a dough ball covered in oil.

Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise at room temperature for about 80 minutes or until doubled in size.

Place a bit of flour on a pastry cloth or clean kitchen counter. Transfer the bread dough onto the floured surface using a stiff spatula. Then flour your hands and form the dough into 2 large equal sized balls.  Then divide each ball into 4 pieces. Form each piece into a fairly flat round roll. (Do not knead the dough or handle it more than necessary.)

Place the formed bread dough on top of a parchment paper lined baking sheet and using a serrated knife, gently carve 2-3 diagonal cuts on the top of each loaf.

Rest the formed dough while you fill an oven proof pan with 2-inches of water and place it on the ovens’ bottom rack. This will create steam that will help the crust become a bit hard as it bakes. Then set the oven to heat at 450-degrees.  

Once the oven has come to temperature, transfer the bread to the middle rack of your oven. 

Bake for about 13 minutes or until golden brown all over and the internal temperature reaches about 200-degrees.

Remove from oven and transfer the loaves to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before slicing the loaves in half crosswise.     

To put the muffaletta sandwich together:

8 round flat dinner rolls*or a large Italian loaf of bread (unsliced)

¾ lb. deli sliced Genoa salami

¾ lb. deli sliced ham

¾ lb. deli sliced mortadella

¾ lb. deli sliced provolone cheese

thin tomato slices

For each roll, hollow out the bread halves by pulling out about half of the insides. If using a long loaf, cut crosswise and into about 2½-inch wide pieces and remove about half of the soft bread. (Hint: Do not throw this nice lovely soft bread away. Toast it in your oven for the next time you need plain breadcrumbs.)

Coat the inside of each roll or sliced loaf with the olive oil marinade from the veggie salad. (Place most of the marinade on the top half since the salad goes in the bottom half.)

Spoon salad into the bottom halves.

Layer the salami, ham, mortadella, and provolone evenly over the salad. Add the tomato slices and place the top half of bread firmly on the tomato slices.

Serve immediately, or cover sandwiches tightly with plastic wrap and place in your fridge for several hours. Muffaletta sandwiches can be served cold, at room temperature, or slightly warmed.

Great served with thick potato chips, Classic Southern Macaroni Salad (see recipe below), and a cold beer.  

*I like to use round, flat dinner rolls because I can “capture” the filling better than if I use sections from a long loaf of bread. Just a personal preference.

CLASSIC SOUTHERN MACARONI SALAD – based on a recipe I found on the southernbite.com site

1 c. mayonnaise, or a bit more if needed

1 T. yellow mustard

3 T. white vinegar (the old-fashioned kind)

1 tsp. granulated sugar  

1 tsp. seasoned salt

freshly ground black pepper

½ tsp. granulated garlic

¼ tsp. granulated onion

½ c. finely chopped dill pickle

1 T. dill pickle juice

½ c. finely diced red onion* or green onion

½ c. finely diced celery (plus leaves)

3 c. uncooked small elbow macaroni, cooked al dente, drained and cooled by tap water

kosher salt, if needed

In a covered bowl, whisk the mayo, mustard, vinegar, sugar, seasoned salt, black pepper, granulated garlic, and granulated onion together. Then stir in the chopped dill pickle and pickle juice. Set aside. 

Place the onion, celery, and cooked macaroni in a covered bowl. Add about 2/3rds of the dressing and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate the pasta for at least 2 hours. (Refrigerate the remaining dressing too.)

When ready to serve, add remaining dressing and toss to coat. Taste and add kosher salt if needed.

*If you use diced red onion, before adding it to the rest of the ingredients, give it a bath for about 15 minutes in ice water. This will reduce the “bite” that is often associated with red onion. Be sure to drain and pat the diced onion dry with a paper towel before adding it to the salad.

EASY SOUTHERN CHEESE SPREAD

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Last evening I served a N’awlins style dinner to our dear friends Margo and Jim, Phyliss and Tim, and of course Mr. C. and yours truly. I made homemade Muffaletta Sandwiches (recipe soon to be posted), Classis Southern Macaroni Salad (recipe also soon to be revealed, and Tim’s (different Tim) potato chips. And for dessert – a Triple Bourbon Chocolate Brownie Ice Cream Cake. Well, the brownie part was so hard it made the dessert very difficult to eat. Tasty enough, but suffice it to say, this dessert is now an official “work in progress”.

As I was putting the salad together, I decided I really needed a southern style appetizer to serve while people decided what adult beverage they would enjoy before dinner. And I decided on some sort of cheese spread.

I knew Jim and Margo were bringing an appetizer, but I wanted to make something too. So, I went online to find an easy cheese spread recipe. And I found one. I’m not even going to bother you with the owner of the “lifted” recipe I started with, because of the 5 original ingredients, I deleted one, changed the amounts on two of them, and added 4 ingredients of my own. So, I feel justified in not giving anyone else the credit.

But I will give credit to Jim for coming up with a sensational baked crab and shrimp appetizer with a creamy sour cream sauce. And when he writes down all the changes he made to the original recipe, I will publish that recipe too. It was freaking amazing!

Bottom line. We had a great time together eating, drinking, and planning.

After dinner we reviewed the spread sheets, Phyllis had prepared with two proposed itineraries for our next trailer trip together in the fall of 2025. And yes, anymore, you must plan trailer trips months in advance! But back to this cheese spread.

If you would like an easy to prepare but very tasty cheese spread, this is the recipe for you. And unlike many cheese-spread recipes, this can be made and served the same day. How great is that?

Well, that’s it for today. After posting this recipe I am going to sit down in our courtyard and read more of my book. I am currently reading The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood. A dystopian (relating to or denoting an imagined state or society where there is great suffering or injustice) story if I ever read one. Beautifully written, but scary as hell! I’m only halfway through the book, but I just can’t imagine a happy ending. Almost like if a certain former president (not mentioning any name here) gets into office again. (In my humble opinion.)

Anyway, have a wonderful rest of your summer. And do make this spread. It’s terrific.

And if you haven’t read this book, do so. It’s an amazing read.

And as always, peace and love to all.

1 c. cubed sharp cheddar cheese

2 T. dry white wine

¼ c. whole milk

3 T. unsalted butter, softened

tiny clove of garlic

tiny pinch kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/8 tsp. paprika, plus more for garnish

Place cheese, wine, milk, butter, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika in a small food processor and blend until ultra smooth. Transfer to a nice serving dish and sprinkle lightly with paprika.

Cover and store in refrigerator but serve at room temperature with crackers or Crostini. (Check this site for how to make crostini.)  

GRILLED RACK OF LAMB WITH MINT CHIMICHURRI SAUCE  

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Mr. C. has been crazy busy with rehearsals and gigs this entire summer. And especially during the month of August. So, the other day we looked at each other with the same thought in mind. “Is it really too much to ask for a little boring from time to time?” And I know. We bring all this super busy life on ourselves.

But yesterday, we were actually going to be home for dinner after days and days of seemingly always being away from home for our evening meal. Hallelujah. And Mr. C. expressed a desire to be part of the thrilling experience of cooking dinner. And I remembered that my dear husband loves to grill.

Never having been much of a griller myself (as I’m sure my two cooking buddies Jim H. and Paul F. would attest to unanimously), I just don’t often think about grilling opportunities for Mr. C. But there was this lovely rack of lamb in our freezer that had been calling to me for weeks. And although I have several great baked rack of lamb recipes on this site, I decided this time I was going to find a recipe that called for the lamb to be grilled. So, online I proceeded and found this recipe on the saltpepperskillet.com site.

And oh boy was this recipe a great find. I made a few minimal changes, but then, that’s just how I roll. But the basic recipe is all on Justin.  

What really first drew my attention to this particular recipe was the Mint Chimichurri Sauce.

I had just posted a recipe (Cherry Tomatoes in an Argentine Chimichurri Sauce),and frankly, I was still on a “chimichurri high” when I found this amazing recipe. And it was just enough different from my other rack of lamb recipes, that I just had to give it a try. Yeah me!!!

So, if you too are a lamb lover as apposed to a landlubber (a person unfamiliar with the sea or sailing), I suggest you give this recipe a try. You will not be sorry.

Well, that’s it for now. We actually have some blue skies today, which we have not experienced for the last few days. But it’s quite windy and when I went out to water, it was darn right cold. I could actually feel fall in the air.

I AM NOT READY FOR IT TO BE FALL! (That sound you hear is me stomping my feet like any typical 4-year-old!) But really. We just have not had enough summer this year. And I’m not happy about the whole darn thing! (And yes, that’s still me stomping my feet!) But I must go with the flow. (But that doesn’t mean I have to like it!)  

So, my wish for you is that the rest of your summer be warm, but not too warm, sunny, but not too sunny, rainy, if you need the rain, and free of wildfires, wildfire smoke, tornadoes, eruptions, landslides, and any other egregious condition brought on by Mother Nature.  

And of course, as always, full to the brim with an abundance of peace and love.

For the Grilled Rack of Lamb:

1 garlic clove, chopped

1 tsp. chopped fresh thyme

1 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary

1 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 rack of lamb, extra fat removed

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

coarse sea salt

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, and olive oil in a small bowl. Rub mixture over the lamb and let it sit covered in your refrigerator for about 1 hour. Then remove from fridge and allow it to come to room temperature.

Pre-heat your grill to medium-hot for about 15 minutes.

Before grilling the lamb, season the lamb al over lightly with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper.

Sear the rack of lamb, bone side down, with the lid closed for about 5 minutes. Turn and grill the meaty side for another 5 minutes with the lid down. Then move the rack to indirect heat to finish cooking until the internal temperature reaches 120 to 125-degrees for medium-rare, or 130 to 135-degrees for medium.

Remove from grill and rest the lamb for 7-10 minutes on a cutting board tented with aluminum foil, then slice between the rib bones.

Sprinkle coarse sea salt on each piece of lamb before serving with the mint chimichurri sauce.   

For the Mint Chimichurri Sauce:

¼ c. packed fresh mint

¼ c. packed fresh Italian parsley

1 garlic clove 

¼ c. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. red wine vinegar, or more to taste

tiny pinch crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

¼ tsp. kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

2 T. finely diced white onion

Place the mint, parsley, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, crushed red pepper flakes, salt, and black pepper in a blender or food processor.

Pulse until the ingredients are well chopped, but not puréed.  

Transfer the sauce to a small bowl and stir in the diced red onion.

Taste and adjust seasoning. Cover and store in the refrigerator until needed.

CHERRY TOMATOES IN AN ARGENTINE CHIMICHURRI SAUCE  

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OK, I am always trying to find more and easier ways to serve fresh veggies. I love to cook, but salads have always been my least favorite dish to prepare. Especially green or raw veggie salads. I don’t know why, because I love fresh veggie salads. I think it’s because I have made so darn many of them that it’s just become a boring chore. So, when I find some new way to dress a veggie, I actually look forward to the new adventure. And when the salad is as easy to make and delicious as this recipe produces, I can’t wait to share it with you. And the best part, all the ingredients are refrigerator or pantry staples. (Or should be!)

This lovely recipe, with admittedly a few minor changes from me, comes from the aspicyperspective.com site. Great site BTW. And even though I have two recipes on this site already featuring chimichurri sauce – Grilled Argentine (Like) Marinated Flank Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Argentine Picadillo Empanadas with Chimichurri Sauce, I never thought of using chimichurri as a salad dressing. But believe me, I will be using it on other salads, and on various grilled meats, over breakfast scrambles, and even in place of garlic butter on toasted baguette slices. The uses for this delicious sauce are endless. (And it’s bloody easy to make! Hurray!)

And not to worry. The sauce is not spicy hot. In fact, it’s perfectly seasoned.

So, grab some fresh parsley out of your fridge, peel a garlic clove, and throw all the ingredients in a food processor, and call it good. No, call it GREAT!

And in case you don’t own a small food processor, let me recommend the Waring Commercial Pro Prep Chopper-Grinder. They aren’t cheap ($171.97 on Amazon), but I have had mine for many years, and I absolutely find it to be the best tool in my kitchen. Well, right up there with my KitchenAid stand mixer, that is! And lest you forgot, I do not make money by recommending any product on my site. I just tell it like it is for me. And yes, I am as passionate about both my small food processor and my KitchenAid mixer as any other tool lovin’ fool! Because good tools are very important, no matter if its building homes, painting pictures, or enjoying the entire kitchen experience.

Well, that’s it for today. Mr. C. has another outdoor gig this evening. Last Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday evenings he also had outdoor gigs. And yes, there were predictions of possible rain, thunderstorms, and heavy wind for each of those performances too. But the bands made it through, even though the chances of “raindrops keep falling on my head” was there. And just to keep everyone on pins and needles, that same chance of precipitation is looming its ugly head for this evening’s event. (Ah Western Washington. How do I love thee, let me count the ways!) (At least it’s not 116-dgrees. For which I am truly thankful!) And so far, the extreme weather predictions have happened. They have just held off until the bands stopped playing. (The weather gods must love jazz and upscale classic rock as much as I do!) But even if it had rained on these events, we would always be able to come home to a dry and safe place to get out of the storms.

May you too always have a place where you can escape the cold, hot, wet, unhealthy air quality, etc., that so many people on planet earth do not have the luxury of experiencing. We who have a safe haven are truly the lucky ones.

But we can all help. We can vote in the upcoming presidential election for decency, humanity, empathy, and a positive future for the United States. If you have doubts about our future, one way to learn more, from a historian’s perspective, is to follow Heather Cox Richardson.

And especially now, with so much at stake for our country, please learn about the candidates before just voting the party line. That approach might have made sense in the past, but it truly isn’t acting responsibly in today’s crazy political arena.

As always, peace and love to all.  

¼ c. packed fresh Italian parsley leaves (I use Italian parsley exclusively)

1 sm. clove garlic, cut in half

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. red wine vinegar, or more to taste

1 tsp. dried oregano

¼ tsp. ground cumin

¼ tsp. kosher salt, or more to taste

freshly ground black pepper

4-6 crushed red pepper flakes

1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes (2 cups), cut in half

Place the parsley, garlic, olive oil, red wine vinegar, oregano, cumin, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes in a small food processor. Process until the parsley and garlic are broken down a bit. (Chimichurri sauce is meant to be rustic.) Taste and adjust seasoning.

Pour the chimichurri sauce over the tomatoes and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Remove from fridge about 30 minutes before serving. (I find tomatoes have more flavor when served at room temperature.)

PEANUT BUTTER AND PEANUT M&M BAR COOKIES

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Hear ye, hear ye, all you peanut butter and Peanut M&M lovers out there. This is the bar cookie for you! But let me be perfectly clear about this cookie. If you don’t absolutely love peanut butter and chocolate or are of the persuasion that can take or leave either one, then this is not the cookie for you. Because these babies are super rich and absolutely chock full of chocolatey, peanut butter, and crunchy peanut goodness. So, consider yourself warned.

These cookies are not for wimps or people on a diet. These bar cookies are fattening, sugar laden, nutritionally challenged, decadent bites that should come with a dietary warning label. But good? OMG are they good! And the redeeming feature, if there is such a thing, is that you can’t eat more than one small square before your whole system screams – that’s enough! They are just that rich.

So, next time you get a hankering for a cookie that is easy to make, will feed an entire army of friends and family, and satisfy your peanut butter and chocolate craving for at least a week (or longer), get thee to your kitchen and bake up a pan of these tasty treats.

But please do not blame me if your family and friends keep requesting more, more, more. They are a bit addictive as I can attest to personally. But then, there are worse additions. (At least that is my justification for even passing the recipe on to you.)

But you are all adults and many with years of justifications of your own for eating food with no nutritional value. So, let your conscience be your guide.

And as always, peace and love to all.    

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

2 c. brown sugar

½ tsp. kosher salt

2 lg. eggs

1 T. vanilla extract

1 c. peanut butter (not natural) (I use crunchy, but creamy if fine too)

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

2 c. Peanut M&Ms (10.05 oz. bag)

Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking pan (glass is best) with cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine the melted butter, brown sugar, and salt in a large mixing bowl until well blended. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and peanut butter and mix until thoroughly combined.

Mix in the flour just until smooth and then stir in the Peanut M&M’s.

Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. (I smooth out the top with a small offset spatula.)

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 28-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. (Don’t overbake.)

Remove from oven and let cool completely before cutting into squares using a sharp knife.  

Store in an airtight container in your refrigerator. Or freeze and let sit at room temperature for an hour or so before serving.

FRESH PEACH COBBLER  

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OK, you all, it’s fresh peach season. And as the old “Get Happy” song made famous by Judy Garland goes –

Forget your troubles, c’mon get happy, you better chase all your cares away. Shout “hallelujah”, c’mon get happy, it’s peaches in a pan today!

OK, I did change the last line but, I really believe it’s better than “Get ready for the judgement day”! (That’s a little too depressing for me to handle.) But fresh peaches, in a pan covered with tasty biscuits, baked and served with vanilla ice cream! That I can really get excited about. And this recipe (a bit adjusted by me) from sallysbakingaddiction.com is fabulous. So, I am totally thrilled to share it with you. (And BTW, Sally’s site is fantastic. She is the real deal. Check it out.)

Anyway, if you haven’t gathered by now that I am really happy I found this recipe, you are simply not paying attention. Because this is the best peach cobbler I have ever produced. And believe me, I have made a few cobblers in my day. But in my humble opinion, this is a perfect recipe. (Like I know anything about being humble!) Anyway, just make this cobbler. It’s worth every bit of effort.

So, enjoy this wonderful season of fresh fruit and veggies. And please support your local farmers by visiting their stands and putting some money directly into their hands. They work so hard. And you know the produce is going to be better than anything you can buy in a store.

And as always, peace and love to all.    

For the peach filling:

¼ c. brown sugar, packed

1 T. cornstarch

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg

pinch ground ginger

1/8 tsp. fine sea salt

10 c. peeled* and cut into 1-1½ Inch chunks fresh peaches

Stir the brown sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and salt together in a mixing bowl. Stir in the peaches until each piece is coated. Scoop the mixture into a lightly buttered 9×13-inch baking pan. (Glass is best.)

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 10 minutes. Meanwhile prepare the topping.

Remove from oven and set aside. Keep the oven on 350-degrees.

For the buttermilk biscuit topping:

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed  

½ c. + 2 T. granulated sugar, divided

1½ tsp. baking powder

¼ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. fine sea salt

½ c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold and cubed

½ c. buttermilk

½ tsp. cinnamon

Place the flour, ½ cup of sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in the bowl of your food processor. Pulse until the mixture is well combined. Pour in the buttermilk, and pulse just until dough comes together.

Take handfuls of dough and gently flatten. Place dough all over the top of the warm peach filling until you have covered most of the peaches. Sprinkle with dough with remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar that has been mixed with the ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.

Bake in your already heated 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until the biscuit topping is golden brown and peach filling is bubbling around the edges. (The top is done when you stick a toothpick into the biscuit topping and if it comes out clean.

Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes before serving with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Or serve slightly warmed with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream.

Cover and store leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.

*Peeling peaches can be a pain in the patootie.

For ripe peaches: I cut the peach in quarters with a pairing knife. Then I separate the sections and remove the pit. Then I start at one end of each piece and peel the skin away.  

For peaches that aren’t quite ripe: Bring a large pan of water to a boil. Carefully add your peaches. (I lower the peaches into boiling water with a slotted spoon.) This technique, officially called blanching, helps to loosen the peach skins so they peel easily using either your fingers or a paring knife. The process is quick (about 30 seconds), so take care not to leave the peaches boiling for too long.

Using the same slotted spoon, remove the peaches into a large bowl filled with ice water. (You should set this up before starting the boiling process.) Shocking the peaches stops the cooking process and allows you to hold the peaches without scalding your hands.  

Once the peaches are cooled, remove the peaches from the ice bath. Using your hands or paring knife, gently peel away the skin. The skin should release from the flesh with minimal effort.

I have found that cutting the peaches by making the initial cut around the middle rather than from stem to stern works best for me when I use this method. And I personally like Clingstone peaches best. But I take what’s available and always remember to say thank you. I love peaches just that much!   

APPLE CARROT PECAN QUICK BREAD WITH CINNAMON STRUESEL TOPPING

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I am always looking for new quick bread recipes to take along on trailer trips or when we leave for a few days to visit family, friends, or stay in a condo on the ocean. I enjoy going out for breakfast occasionally, but much prefer to save my eating out experiences to lunches on the road or dinners where I can have a drink and leisurely enjoy my evening meal. Breakfast out simply does not carry the same cachet as having dinner at a restaurant. And frankly, except for the hashbrown potatoes, I can whip up breakfasts faster in our trailer or condo than getting in our truck and driving into whatever town may be close by. And of course, I always like to try new recipes.

For my birthday celebration I made Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe on site) because I truly love a good carrot cake. So, when getting ready to go to a family reunion in Oregon a couple of weeks ago, I decided to continue the “carrot cake” theme and made this bread to take along. And it was well received. Moist and tender with a lovely bit of crunch from the pecans and streusel topping.

So, if you too love carrot cake but feel guilty when you have a big old piece of carrot cake with cream cheese frosting for breakfast, then give this “bread” recipe a try instead. And yes, you might miss the cream cheese frosting. But I promise the streusel topping will make everything OK.

Well, it’s overcast here in Western Washington. And unfortunately, lightning storms are predicted for the Cascade Mountains. Which is always a problem. We already have a terrible wildfire burning close to the village of Stehekin, at the North end of Lake Chelan, in the heart of the North Cascades. And any lightning strike that hits land, especially in summer, is a fire just waiting to happen.

So, wherever you are, please be extra diligent in putting out your campfires, lighting and shutting down your outdoor grills, burning trash, or disposing of your cigarettes, etc. We are all in this together. And natural causes do enough damage without our avoidable assistance.

And sorry for no picture. I was so busy putting things together to take along, I failed to capture this bread on my camera. (Bad Patti!) But next time I make this bread I will rectify my error.

Peace and love to all.    

1¾ c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. fine sea salt

1½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. ground ginger

¼ tsp. ground nutmeg

3 eggs, room temp.

½ c. vegetable oil

⅓ c. sour cream

1 med. apple, peeled and grated

2 c. grated carrot

1 c. light brown sugar packed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¾ c. finely chopped pecans

Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan or 2 7-inch loaf pans. Line the bottom(s) with parchment paper.

Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and ground nutmeg in a medium bowl.  In a large bowl, stir together the eggs, vegetable oil, sour cream, grated apple, grated carrot, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and chopped pecans.

Stir the flour mixture into the carrot mixture just until combined.  Pour into prepared pan(s). Top with streusel mixture.

Bake a 9×5-inch pan in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Bake 2 7-inch loaf pans for about 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack for 5-7 minutes before removing from pan. (Also remove the parchment paper at this time.)

Streusel:

2 T. melted unsalted butter

½ c. brown sugar, packed

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

½ c. finely chopped pecans

Blend the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the flour and nuts, mix until crumbly. Place the mixture on top of bread dough and bake as instructed above.

GRILLED TERIYAKI MARINATED/SAUCED FLANK STEAK  

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I love teriyaki. I don’t care if it’s chicken or beef, as long as the meat has lots of flavor and hasn’t been cooked to death. (Isn’t that a stupid statement. Anything you cook, be it meat or vegies, is already dead. But I digress.)

Anyway, I am currently on a mission to use up the meat in our freezer that Mr. C. has deemed “obviously abandoned”. And included in that category were two small packages of mystery meat. One contained a small piece of sirloin steak (as it turned out), and the other, half a flank steak.

So, while the meat was thawing, I went to work finding a new and exciting way to give this meat the respect it deserved. And I landed on this teriyaki marinade recipe from the heartnaptime.net site. (Great site BTW.)  

And OMG, what a wonderful teriyaki dinner we had last evening. Along with steamed brown rice, I prepared Teriyaki Salad Dressing over Romaine, Carrot, Celery, and Green Onions. (Recipe to be published in the next few days.) (But get a preview by scrolling down to find the recipe below.)

Now, this is not a wimpy marinade/sauce recipe. It is bold, brazen, and any other word you might think of to mean “holy moly powerful”! So, go slowly into that good sauce when it comes time to decorate the grilled meat before serving.

Well, that’s all I have to say today. Mr. C. has a gig in Anacortes at 3:00 this afternoon. So, I am going to keep this preface short and sweet. Which reminds me, this teriyaki marinade/sauce is not too sweet. A taste of honey, as the old song title goes, but not in the least bit overpoweringly sugary. Perfectly balanced.

So, next time you get a hankering for teriyaki, give this recipe a try. Easy, and relatively inexpensive to make. And better than most beef teriyaki you can find in restaurants.

Happy Saturday to all. And of course, peace and love from our home to yours.

½ c. low-sodium Tamari or soy sauce  

¼ c. water

2 T. toasted sesame oil

2 T. honey 

2 T.  Worcestershire sauce

2 garlic cloves, finely minced

2-3 tsp. minced fresh ginger

1½ lbs. flank steak, fat and silver skin removed 

sliced green onions, garnish   

Combine the soy sauce, water, sesame oil, honey, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, and ginger in a glass bowl. Whisk until combined. Pour 1/3rd of the marinade in a small pan. Set aside.

Add the flank steak to the remining marinade, cover, and place in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. (Best when marinated for 4-6 hours.) Remove from fridge at least 30 minutes ahead of grilling.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.  

Place the steak on the hot grill and cook for 3-4 minutes. Turn the steak over and grill another 2-3 minutes. For medium-rare (135-degrees). 

Remove from grill and let rest for about 5 minutes before thinly slicing on the diagonal. Serve with remaining marinade (now teriyaki sauce) which has been brought to a boil, reduced to simmer, and cooked for about 5 minutes.

TERIYAKI SALAD DRESSING FOR ROMAINE, CARROT, CELERY, AND GREEN ONIONS

For the dressing:

½ c. mayonnaise  

1 T. rice vinegar  

2 tsp. granulated sugar  

1 tsp. soy sauce

tiny pinch granulated garlic  

1 tsp. toasted sesame oil

freshly ground black pepper (not too much)

Whisk together the mayo, rice vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, granulated garlic, sesame oil, and black pepper in a covered container. Refrigerate before serving.

For the salad:

3-4 c. chopped romaine or iceberg lettuce

½ c. shredded carrot

½ c. thinly sliced celery or cabbage

2 finely chopped green onions

Place in a bowl and toss lightly with salad dressing just before serving.

CHICKEN SAUSAGE GRAVY OVER EASY BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS

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the whole meal deal

drop biscuits

sausage gravy

OK, for me, there is nothing better for breakfast than biscuits and sausage gravy. And I say “sausage gravy” because I have been fooled when ordering biscuits and gravy in a café or restaurant. Unless so noted as sausage gravy on the menu, you might just find yourself eating a biscuit with no meat in the gravy. And then, why bother!

Anyway, the other morning we went to breakfast at a local cafe, and I ordered Country Benedict Biscuit, 2 sausage patties, 2 poached eggs, covered in Sausage Gravy with Hashbrowns. I know, I know! Way too much food and none of it what anyone in their right mind could possibly consider healthy. But it sounded good at the time.

Well, suffice it to say, I ate half a biscuit, one of the sausage patties, but the poached eggs resembled rubber. So, I’m sure they are still bouncing around in some garbage can in downtown Stanwood. The hashbrowns I brought home. But I was left with a huge desire for truly tasty biscuits and gravy. (And make that sausage gravy, thank you very much!)

And although I have a great recipe for Biscuits with Sausage Gravy and 2 recipes for buttermilk biscuits already on this site, I wanted to simplify the whole process. And that’s just what I did.

So, I hope you enjoy this recipe for easy to prepare drop biscuits smothered in chicken sausage gravy. Add an easy over egg to the plate, and life is good.

And do make the breakfasts you fix for your family as much of a treat as the dinners you serve. And I know, it takes time to make and serve breakfast especially if you are a working mom or dad. I’ve been there. But scrambled eggs, toast, and some fruit or hot cereal and toast and fruit don’t take that long to prepare. And full tummies to start the day for children especially, helps them concentrate on the hard work of learning. And these items are a whole lot cheaper and better for your family than cold cereal. OK, enough telling you how to live your life.

But I still say – peace and love to all.  

3 T. butter, divided

1 lb. bulk chicken sausage (I use Isernio’s all-natural Classic Chicken Sausage)

5 T. unbleached all-purpose flour

1¼ c. whole milk, plus more if needed  

1 c. chicken stock (or additional milk)  

½ tsp. seasoned salt

freshly ground black pepper  

Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium sized pan. Add sausage, breaking it up as it cooks, and fry until good and caramelized.  

Add the remaining 2 tablespoons butter to the pan and add the flour lifting the browned bits off the bottom as you stir the mixture. Let burble for a couple of minutes. Slowly pour in the milk and chicken stock (gently stirring the entire time) and when thoroughly blended add the seasoned salt and pepper.

Bring to a gentle boil, reduce heat and let simmer uncovered for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. (The sauce will thicken nicely during this time.)

Taste and adjust seasoning. Add additional milk if the consistency is thicker than you prefer.

Serve over Easy Buttermilk Drop Biscuits (recipe below) or your favorite baking powder biscuits.

EASY BUTTERMILK DROP BISCUITS

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed 

1 T. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. kosher salt

6 T. (¾ stick) grated cold unsalted butter

1 c. cold buttermilk, plus additional for brushing on top

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.   

In a large mixing bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together.

Add the grated cold butter to the mixing bowl. Work the butter evenly into the flour mixture using a regular table knife.  

Pour in the cold buttermilk and stir with that same table knife just until combined. (This will be a slightly wet and very sticky dough.) (BTW, a plain old table knife is one of my favorite implements for mixing thick or heavy dough. Cuts (sorry) right into the ingredients and blends the dough much better than any spoon or spatula can accomplish.)  

Using a large ice cream scoop (about a quarter cup), plop balls of dough onto your prepared baking sheet about 2-inches apart. Brush tops with additional buttermilk right before baking.

Bake in a pre-heated 450-degree oven for about 12-14 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown.

Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet.

Serve immediately (while still hot) or cool completely before storing in an airtight container in your refrigerator.   

GANACHE FILLED SHORTBREAD SANDWICH COOKIES

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So, what do you do with leftover ganache? (Oh, what a horrible problem to have. Not!) After recently making Chocolate Ganache Topped Cream Cheese Danish Pastries, (recipe on site), I had leftover ganache. But what to do with the ganache? Well, why not use it as a filling for a sandwich cookie. But not a chocolate cookie, because ganache is very rich. And although some would argue that there can never be too much chocolate, I felt that a ganache filled chocolate sandwich cookie would be over kill. So then, why not 2 shortbread cookies stuck together with ganache? So, that’s what I came up with. And it worked. Because who doesn’t love shortbread? No one I know, that’s for sure!

So, if you ever find yourself with extra ganache, (lucky you), give this recipe a try. Or just for grins and giggles you could actually make ganache just for this recipe. Because if you look at the recipe for both the cookie part and the ganache, you will find only 6 ingredients listed. (Butter being used twice, so you can call it 7 ingredients if you must.) But regardless, this is a very easy cookie to make. And perfect for chocolate lovers and as one of your afternoon tea or Christmas cookie offerings. Because frankly, these cookies are darling. And who doesn’t love a darling cookie.

Anyway, just make the darn things and be happy.

Well, that’s it for today. As I am writing up this post, our living room is being used as a rehearsal hall. Mr. C. (piano), Mike (guitar), and Brian (fiddle) are preparing for a gig on Lummi Island. So much fun for me to have live music to listen to as I diligently work to bring you one more way to spend your hard-earned money on a food item with no nutritional value. I should legitimately feel guilty for not posting another recipe with quinoa, kale, beets, lentils, or other totally healthy ingredients. But I feel justified because I do post a lot of recipes that include really healthy ingredients like spinach, lemons, garlic, lentils, raspberries, walnuts, avocados, and salmon. But culinary bliss doesn’t come from just eating healthy. At least for me it doesn’t. I need a treat once in a while. And these cookies are really a treat.

So, may everything you feed your family and friends be a perfect balance of mostly healthy, with an occasional not-so-healthy treat to make life worth living. Life is short my friends. And we must remember to live it to the fullest.

On that happy note, and as always – peace and love to all.

For the Shortbread Cookies:

1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temp.

½ c. powdered sugar

2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed

¼ tsp. fine sea salt

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine butter and powdered sugar until well blended. Add flour and salt and mix until well combined.  

On floured surface, roll dough ¼-inch thick. Cut with 1½-inch to 2-inch round or scalloped cookie cutter.

Place ½-inch apart on parchment paper lined cookie sheets.  

Bake in a pre-heated 350-degree oven for 14 to 15 minutes or until set. Don’t over bake.

Remove from oven and cool for 1 minute before removing to a cooling rack.

Cool completely before placing about 1½ teaspoons ganache on bottom of half of the baked cookies. Top with remaining cookies bottom sides down.

Store in an airtight container in your fridge.

For the Ganache:

¾ c. semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use mini chocolate chips)

3 T. unsalted butter, room temp. 

¼ c. whole milk 

In a small mixing bowl, combine the chocolate chips and butter.

In a liquid measuring cup, heat the milk in your microwave until the milk begins to bubble.

Pour the very hot milk over the chocolate chips and butter. Allow to sit for about 3 minutes, then use a whisk to stir until smooth and creamy. (It may take a minute or two to come together; it often looks separated at first. There also might be small chunks of chocolate that never melted. That’s just fine.)  

Allow to cool for about 45 minutes at room temperature before using as the filling for your sandwich cookies.