A Day from Scratch

Concierge cooking - Tailored nutrition

Peach Crisp in Fredericksburg

by Filed Under: Gallivanting, Recipes, Sweets 2 Comments

When I was about seven years old my grandparents moved from the big city (Houston) to a small German town in Texas, called Fredericksburg. They bought a lot of land with a little shack on it and my grandpa, being the engineer that he is, drew up some blueprints and began building his and my grandma’s dream house. For many years now Fredericksburg has been a cherished place for my family.

This past weekend my mom, her oldest sister Stephanie, and my cousin Frank headed from Houston to Fredericksburg for a little getaway weekend. Being that Austin is so close to Fredericksburg, only about an hour and a half drive, I decided to head on over Saturday afternoon and spend the night with them.

We spent the evening watching football, playing chicken foot, drinking some wine and relaxing.

If you don’t know, Fredericksburg peaches are DELICIOUS! They are sweet and juicy and down right perfect. So with some of Grandma’s peaches we decided to bake up a scrumptious peach crisp.

What you’ll need: 5 fresh peaches, sliced, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 a stick of softened butter, 1/2 orange, 1 teaspoon of vanilla, 1 cup pecans chopped.

Mix together the peaches, orange juice, a touch of the brown sugar and vanilla together and add to a small cast iron skillet.

In a mixing bowl add your dry ingredients, this is going to be reserved for the “crisp”

Then with a spoon add in the softened butter and mix well.

Chop up the pecans and add them to your dry ingredients. We used fresh pecans from Grandma and Grandpa’s pecan trees and beat them up with a mallet. Don’t mind my un-manicured hands…

Now start sprinkling the dry mixture over the top of the peaches.

Once it is all topped, cover the skillet with foil and bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.

Then remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the topping is crisp and brown.

Let it rest for just a few minutes. Top it with some whip cream or ice cream of just eat it as is, just be sure to serve it warm. It is so delicious and perfect for a fall desert. Mmmmm Mmmmm

Make this soon, you’ll be glad you did!

How to: Spaghetti Squash

by Filed Under: Pasta, Recipes, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

I have been a fan of spaghetti squash for quite some time, it is really easy to make and perfect to sub in for pasta noodles when looking for a healthy meal. My mom keeps asking me to show her how to make spaghetti squash, so I figure why not show her here!

In the store you will find spaghetti squash in the produce section, duh right? They are yellow in color and are about the shape of a football.

What you’ll need: one spaghetti squash and a touch of butter (you can also use olive oil)

First, preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Then, start by cutting the butts of the squash.

Then with a sharp knife slice right down the middle. Be careful as they are tough.

Then just like a pumpkin, remove the seeds from the inside. I’ve never tried toasting the squash seeds like a pumpkin, but maybe I should experiment with that. hmm…..

Then smear a touch of butter on the insides of the squash. After he’s all buttered up place the squash face down on a baking sheet. Again, I cover mine with foil just for the easy clean up.

Now put the squash into the oven for about 30 minutes or until fork tender. Be careful, it’s going to be might hot.

Once it’s ready the fun can begin. With a fork simply scrape from the top to bottom and little spaghetti like strands will pull away.

Keep going until all you have left is the shell.

Then serve it up! You can top it with marinara sauce, or serve it with some butter and herbs, the possibilities are endless.

Enjoy!

 “I’ll Fly Away” Vern Gosdin

“The Way It Goes” Gillian Welch

“Stars” Grace Potter

Chick burgers

by Filed Under: Culinary School, Pork, Beef, Lamb, Recipes 1 Comment

Every other day at Le Cordon Bleu we have a “lecture day,” these days are usually filled with learning about sanitation, watching slaughter house videos, watching our chef instructor fabricate some meat or watching power point presentations for the subject at hand. However, today’s lecture day was very different. This morning chef rolled into class and told us to break ourselves up into teams of 2-4. I sit next to two gals and so we teamed up right away. Chef then brought out a few blank sheets of paper and 10 pounds of ground beef.

“Y’all have about 10 minutes to come up with a signature burger recipe, then come up and write down the ingredients you need, I’ll go grab ’em for ya and y’all can start cookin’ I’m tired of hearing myself talk so I thought a burger day would be more fun. Ready, have at it!”

The wheels in my head immediately started turning and I asked the girls what they thought about doing a chick burger, and with mischievous looks on their faces we started pulling together our list.

What you’ll need: garlic, mayo, avocado, lime, cayenne, shallot, balsamic vinegar, tomato, oil, arugula, parmesan, ground beef and a ciabatta roll.

Recipe: I apologize that I didn’t take pictures of step by step, so I’ll give you the best details I can.

First, mince up your garlic and scape it like a paste. Add this garlic paste to your mayo and reserve for later.

Then, mash up the avocado- add a touch of lime juice, S&P, and a tiny pinch of cayenne pepper and reserve for later.

We made parmesan crisps for our burgers. Grate up a handful or so of parmesan cheese.  Onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper spread a thin layer of cheese into a circle. Be sure it’s a thin layer, but that all of the cheese touches so it stays together as a crisp. Bake in a low heated oven, about 200 degrees, just for a few minutes until the cheese looks lightly golden. Reserve on the sheet pan to let them set.

For the meat: Finely mince the shallot and fold into the ground beef along with a touch of balsamic vinegar and S&P. We are going to grill these for about 4-6 minutes on each side.

While the burgers grill, slice up the tomato rub them lightly with oil (we used canola) and S&P. Add those to the grill just for a minute or two on each side and then reserve. At this time you can also wilt your arugula in a saute pan as well as toast your ciabatta rolls.

To assemble: Trim down your toasted ciabatta to just fit the size of the patties, we also pulled out some of the middle of the bread to allow the flavors of the condiments to shine. On the bottom slice of bread, spread the garlic mayo mixture. Then top that with the arugula. Top the arugula with the hamburger patty. Top the hamburger patty with the grilled tomato. Top the grilled tomato with the parmesan crisp. On the top bread slice, spread the avocado mixture.

Ta da!

 

After we were done plating up we all brought our finished burgers to the front of the room.

 

Each group went around and explained their dishes. We had a BBQ burger, a Chipotle Mayo/ Peach preserves burger, we had a Brunch burger that had asparagus and a quail egg incorporated, we had a Classic Bacon and Cheese burger, and also our Chick burger.

 

Then we sliced them all up and got to tasting! Everyone made such good burgers and the Chick burger received high praises, especially from some of the boys.

I’ll definitely be making this Chick Burger again.

Father/ Daughter Dove Grill Off

by Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes 1 Comment

We are in the throws of Dove Season here in Texas. As I have not been very successful in my dove hunting so far, my sister has. So with extra Dove’s on hand, my dad and I decided to have a little dove breast grill off this past Sunday night. For as long as I can remember I have only eaten dove one way, so coming up with a challenging recipe was my task for the weekend and I have to say my friends, this Dove is delicious.

Say hi to my little sister Katherine, and let’s all thank her for her Dove shooting skills.

What you’ll need for Dad’s birds: A few Dove breasts, cheddar cheese block, onion, jalapeno, peppered bacon.

What you’ll need for Liz’s birds: A few Dove breasts, dates, feta cheese, thyme, and bacon. 

First you want to clean your birds up: this job had dad written all over it. Right after you shoot them you want to pluck the feathers, clip the wings, and split the breast bones to reveal the breasts. Before you cook with them, remove the remaining bones inside the meat. Once you do that, you will be left with 2 small breasts.

First up were my birds. I used two breasts for each wrap. To prep, you’ll need a few dates sliced in half, one date for each wrap, feta cheese, thyme picked and chopped and bacon.

Mix together your thyme and feta cheese (you could also use Gorgonzola or Goat cheese but my mom had a pig tub of feta so I went with that.)

Now let’s assemble the breasts; start by taking one breast in your hand. Place 1/2 of a date on top, fill with the cheese thyme mixture.

Then take another breast on top

And wrap it up with bacon and stick with a toothpick to hold it all in place.

Once I had wrapped all of my breasts it was time to let my dad step in and fix up his doves.

Dad used one breast for each wrap, topped with about 1/3 of a jalapeno de-seeded and sliced, a slice of onion and a chunk of cheddar cheese, wrapped with peppered bacon. This is how I have always eaten dove and still love them prepared this way as well.

Hi Dad!!

My sister supervising dad… remember her contribution was the birds, that and consuming wine while everyone else cooked.

Mom was cooking up twice baked potatoes, some fresh made dinner rolls and a big salad.

Hi Mom!

Even the dog’s were in on all the action!

Hi Lilly and Katie!

Once dad was done fixin’ up his birds we were ready to put them on the grill.

These birds just need to sit on a charcoal grill for about 10-12 minutes. You could also bake them at 400 degrees for about 12-15 minutes. If you have the charcoal option, go with that to get the added smoke flavor.

Once the birdies were done we all sat down to dinner and I immediately was curious to know what everyone thought of the two birds, or mainly whose recipe won.

Drumroll please…

I won! Mainly because dad didn’t even vote for his own birds. Really it was all in good fun, the four of us always have a good time and it was a blast getting together this past Sunday. If you are a dove hunter or know someone who is, these are definitely some good recipes to try out. Let me know what you think!

*A family that plays together, stays together!

Protein King

by Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes Leave a Comment

This past Monday, I started my 3rd class at Le Cordon Bleu. The main focus of this class is protein. We will learn all about Chicken, Duck, Lamb, Fish, Sausage, Pork and on and on.

On day 1 of this class we learned how to roast and break down a chicken. I have always been intrigued by roasted chickens and I am a sucker for the grocery store rotisserie chicken. After today, I will now be a sucker for THIS chicken. Mainly for 2 reasons: 1. It’s delicious and 2. My apartment smells amazing!

So here we go…

What you’ll need: 1 whole chicken (Most grocery stores will already have them tied up for you) 1 lemon, a few sprigs of thyme, 2 garlic cloves, and butta! 

There are so many different ingredient mixtures you could do; you can use an apple instead of lemon, rosemary, oranges; really anything you like. I personally love the lemon and garlic flavor this chicken takes on.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Unwrap your birdie, and wash him under some cold water and pat him dry.

I prefer organic chicken purely for their habitat conditions and treatment. That is a topic for another day, so let’s move on shall we…

Stuff the chicken cavity with the lemon, thyme and garlic cloves.

Peek-a-boo!

Then with two fingers separate the skin from the chicken breasts. You may have to use a little bit of force but I promise the skin won’t tear.

Now take a good heaping tablespoon of butter in your fingers and coat the inside of the skin. This will make the skin nice and crispy while keeping the breasts moist… and butta is delicious, right? Right!

Now, I have a roasting pan like shown above with crevices that allow the juices to drip. You can also use a baking sheet and a cookie cooling tray. You just want to make sure that the juice drippings have a place to go so the bottom of your birdie isn’t sitting in it’s own funk.

Season the outside of the chicken with some S&P and put in the oven.

We are going to let him go for about an hour and a half, so sit back and take in the beautiful aromas that are about to fill your kitchen.

After an hour and a half has passed or your chicken has reached 165 degrees (chicken safe zone) remove the bird and let it rest for about 20-30 minutes. This will allow the juices that have expanded to set inside the meat. Trust me on this one.

If your like me, you’ve already started picking at it and eating, so have at it!

I tried to take pictures of the break down process, but my fingers were greasy, the camera was slipping all over, and frankly the pictures looked like poo. So I will show you how to break down a chicken another day when someone else can take the pictures.

So for now just enjoy!

* Today is a perfect day for a perfect day!

Portobello pizza goodness

by Filed Under: Recipes, Vegetarian Leave a Comment

Let’s have a conversation about Pizza. I feel like I was an Italian in another life, I love pizza, I love it so much and in all forms! Now I know that pizza is far from healthy and should be an indulgence so I have started getting creative with the way I satisfy my pizza cravings…

Enter the portobello mushroom pizza.

These mini pizzas are delicious and healthy and perfect for Sunday night pizza cravings.

What you’ll need: 2 portobello mushrooms, bunch of parsley, Juice of 1 lemon, half an onion, half a shallot, 2 garlic cloves, 2 roma tomatoes, bunch basil, and unpictured parmesan cheese.

First start by getting your mise en place set. Pronounced (Mees ahn place) Mise en Place is a french culinary term for “everything in it’s place.” To have everything ready to go before you start cooking. So mince up your garlic, shallot, onion and tomatoes and preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

In a saute pan, add in a touch of olive oil

Suet (to sweat) your onions in the pan until they start to look translucent.

Once they start to cook down, add in your tomatoes.

Let the onion/ tomato mixture go on medium heat for a few minutes.

Then add in the garlic, shallot and lemon juice.

and a touch of salt

While that cooks down we can prep the basil. I like to either pick the basil bits with my fingers or chiffonade the basil.

To chiffonade basil start by stacking up a few leaves.

Roll the leaves into each other.

And slice them thinly.

Cutting your basil this way, rather than just a rough chop, helps to prevent bruising. Once, the basil is all sliced up, add it to the pan.

Now we are going to stuff the mushrooms…

Start by pulling the stems off and scooping out the membrane. Do not rinse the mushrooms, if you have dirty mushrooms just take a paper towel and rub them down.

You’ll see me line my baking sheets with foil alot. I like to do this for the simple fact that it makes for easier cleanup.

Now, fill the mushrooms with the tomato/ onion mixture

Here’s where they start the pizza transformation… top with shredded parmesan cheese.

Pop these bad boys into the oven for about 12 minutes. While they are baking mince up some parsley to top ’em off when they come out.

After about 12 minutes, remove the pan of yummies, top with the minced parsley and enjoy! I chose to enjoy with a glass of sauvignon blanc, but to each his own.

One of my favorite things about cooking at home is turning on some music and getting lost in the motions. So occasionally I’ll include a few songs that were on my cooking playlist…

“Merry Go Round” by Kacey Musgraves

“What’s Been Going On” by Amos Lee

“Dream” by Priscilla Ahn

and of course… “You Can Call Me Al” Paul Simon

Oh breakfast taco

by Filed Under: Poultry, Recipes Leave a Comment

I might be onto something with this taco thing…

Now that I am back in school until late afternoon, I like to have a good, filling breakfast. My previous meals of apples and coffee, or a granola bar has been replaced with hearty oatmeal, superfood smoothies or this breakfast taco.

I grew up eating breakfast tacos on saturday mornings filled with sausage, eggs, cheese and salsa. I loved them and still do, but this black bean version is perfect for a weekday morning.

What you’ll need: Tortillas, (I love corn, this is a corn/ whole wheat blend) 1/4 cup black beans, Salsa of your choice, (I used a local Texas brand, Clints) One egg per taco. You can also add some shredded cheddar but I opted out.

These are super simple: Heat the tortilla topped with beans in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds and let stand until the egg is ready.

Now, you can make your egg anyway you like. I imagine scrambled would be good, but since I opted out for the cheddar cheese I made my egg over easy to allow the rich taste from the yolk to be a star feature.

Heat up a non-stick pan and crack your egg into it. I added a touch of oil to help aid in the “flip.”

Add a touch of Salt and Pepper (S & P.) After your whites have cooked on the bottom, take a deep breath and flip the egg. You can also breath easy and use a spatula.

Amber alert: the picture of the flipped egg has gone missing, if anyone finds it, please discard. Thank you.

Once the egg is cooked to your likeness, take the reserved tortilla and beans out of the microwave, top with a touch of salsa and then slide the egg off the pan onto the plate.

Devour!

I have found myself eating this taco day after day after day… someone please send help.

* Today will never come again. Be a blessing. Be a friend. Encourage someone. Take time to care. Let your words heal and not wound. Enjoy your life.

Salmon and Kale Salad

by Filed Under: Recipes, Seafood Leave a Comment

One of my favorite restaurants in Nashville is Tavern, it’s very hip and has amazing food. One of my favorite dishes they serve is this Kale salad. It’s sweet and savory and perfect. While I lived in Nashville I frequented Tavern quite often… quite often. I love this salad so much, it was my last meal in Nashville and the leftovers made the 14 hour trek to Houston. That road trip story is for another day..

Anyway, I find myself craving this salad quite often and have come up with my own version to satisfy my cravings when I wish I could be at Tavern.

What you’ll need: Filet of Salmon, Bunch of Kale, (I like to use a fresh bunch of dinosaur kale, but my grocery was out so I used the prepackaged kind. Whatever you have works) 1/4 cup Parmesan Cheese, 1/4 cup Slivered Almonds, 2 Tbs Olive Oil, Juice of 1 lemon, and 1/4 cup whatever dried cranberry mixture you have (I used a mixture of cranberries, currants, and raisins) 

Serves 2

The key players

First, set your oven on broil to prep for the salmon. Then, in a food processor pulse down ALL of the Kale. I used one entire container and it ended up being enough for 2 servings.

After you have pulsed down all of the Kale, reserve it in a large mixing bowl. You want the kale to be pulsed very fine. If you don’t have a food processor you can finely mince with a knife.

I like my almonds toasted a little bit in a skillet, if you like them raw you can do that too. Paint a little outside the lines, no one will tell on you.

Once the almonds are done we are going to assemble our salad. Add the almonds to the mixing bowl, along with the parmesan cheese, dried fruit and lemon juice. Fold all of the ingredients together lightly. Season with a touch of salt and pepper.

Cover the salad and keep in the fridge for a bit and we’ll move onto the salmon. You can prep the salmon and make the salad while it cooks, but I like to let the flavors marry a little bit before serving.

When I went to the grocery store I saw that they had unveiled the fall beers so I had to grab a Blue Moon Pumpkin brew to go along with my cookin’. Sometimes a gal gets thirsty in the kitchen.

It’s so refreshing and made me excited for fall!       Three cheers for Pumpkin Brew!

Once your oven is heated fully on the broil setting we’ll get that salmon in the oven. There are MANY MANY ways to prepare salmon, this way is just my favorite. It’s easy and fast and keeps the moisture nicely in the fish. The key is the magic salmon seasoning. My cousin introduced me a few years back and I’ve been hooked ever since.

You can also just use some salt and pepper and a pinch of cayenne.

I let my salmon cook for about 8-12 minutes, depending on how “done” you like your salmon. Once it’s done cooking pull the salad out of the fridge and plate her up.

You can thank me later!

This definitely satisfies my Tavern cravings! Enjoy!