Happy Valentine's Day Savvy Shoppers

Have a look at several Valentine's Day images to put you in a festive mood to celebrate it. Every February 14th we love the color red, roses, jewelry, and dark chocolate! This year I'll add an easy Strawberry Sparkling Rosè Wine (or Champagne) recipe to follow: 

Ingredients:

16 ounces strawberries

2 teaspoons honey (or Stevia to taste)

2 tablespoons lemon juice

A bottle of sparkling rosè wine

Directions

1) Toss the strawberries and honey into a food processor and puree until smooth (a blender will work if you can figure out how to get it out. Perhaps pour 1/2 cup of wine into the blender:). Transfer to a pitcher.

2) Add the lemon juice and sparkling rosè wine and whisk.

What a refreshing Valentine's Day sparkling wine + strawberries sangria.

💋❤️💋❤️💘 To all my Valentines, my darling readers!💘💋❤️💋❤️

💖💟💝Enjoy! Use the day to take the frost out of winter.😉🌹🌻🌷

Photo: Creative Culinary

What do you love about this day?

Happy Valentine's Day my lovelies! xoxo

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Cooking Tagines In A Tagine

Recently I walked into Williams-Sonoma and was intrigued by a Tunisian tagine.  It's the name of a hand-painted and glazed terra-cotta pot, as well as, the spicy dishes that are slowly simmered in it.  Tagines are at the heart of Moroccan cooking and are characterized by their rich, complex sauces.

The clay pot has two parts, a flat, circular base and a dome-shaped cover that fits inside the base during cooking.  When placed in an oven, the top is designed to return all the juices to the bottom, continually basting the food to moisten and tenderize it, intensifying its favors.  You end up with a hearty medley of meat, vegetables and savory tastes.  Comfort food, North African style!

In addition to traditional Moroccan stews [recipes here], you can use a tagine to prepare seriously, succulent beef shot ribs.  The tagine can be used on a stovetop with a heat diffuser.  Here's a mouthwatering recipe from William-Sonoma:

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

3 tablespoon olive oil

3 ¾ pounds bone-in beef short ribs (6-8 pieces)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 celery stalk, diced

2 carrots, diced

¾ cup finely diced shallot

1 tablespoon minced garlic

3 tablespoon tomato paste

¾ teaspoon crushed Aleppo chili

1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme

½ cup beef broth

¾ cup red wine

Mashed potatoes for serving

1)  Soak the tagine according to manufacturer's instructions.  Place the tagine on a diffuser over medium-high heat; warm 1 tablespoon oil.  Season the ribs with salt and pepper.  Dredge in flour; shake off excess.  Brown half of the ribs on all sides, about 10 minutes total; transfer to a plate.  Repeat with 1 tablespoon oil and the rest of the ribs.

2)  Reduce heat to medium; warm 1 tablespoon oil.  Cook the celery, carrots and shallot for 7-8 minutes.  Add garlic and tomato paste; cook 1 minute.  Add the Aleppo chili, thyme, broth, wine, salt and pepper; bring to simmer.  Return the ribs to the tagine.  Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook, turning ribs occasionally, until tender, about 4 ½-5 hours.  Makes 4 servings.

Now the base becomes a platter.  Serve with mashed potatoes, a bold Grenache and enjoy!

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Easy French Onion Soup

Photo: Betty Crocker

It's hard to be a great French cook while limiting fat and calories in your meals. Today I'm making French onion soup for the first time ever and will not cut calories. I don't think it's the most nutritious soup to eat -- lower in protein than many, only one vegetable -- nor is it a low calorie soup ... but at times one must eat what one wants, and today that's French onion soup!

The homemade soup is sitting on my stovetop. It smells and tastes delicious. I sampled it! For tonight's dinner, I'll add the bread and cheeses, broiling the topping in the oven until melted and slightly brown. The quantity is 4 large servings:

French Onion Soup

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

4 large onions, cut in strips (not diced small)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 large beef bouillon cube (or chicken bouillon cube; or 3/4 teaspoon salt)

3 cups beef stock (or chicken stock - I use whatever flavor is in the pantry)

1/2 cup red wine (or white - I use what's open, most often red. The color doesn't really matter. If tasty to drink, the wine makes excellent soup:)

1 bay leaf

1/2 teaspoon sage

1/2 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon Herbs of Provence

Sprinkle of garlic

Sprinkle of dried celery

Tiny pinch of sugar

white and black pepper to taste

Extra 1/4 cup of onion, diced

Swiss cheese (buy a brick of cheese)

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1) Toss the olive oil and butter into a stockpot and heat it, followed by the onions and simmer on middle-low heat for 20 minutes to caramelize. Cover with a lid. Watch and stir so the onion doesn't burn. After 20 minutes ...

2) Whisk in the flour. Add the bouillon cube (or salt, not both). You can add about 1/2 cup of water if needed to dissolve the bouillon. 

3) Next add the beef stock and wine; follow with your dried seasonings. Add a pinch of sugar too. Simmer on low-medium heat for another 30 minutes. (Without a boil, the soup won't cook properly, yet too high a flame cooks the water out. That's the dilemma. Make sure you have a low boil, not a robust boil.)

4) Near the end of the cooking time (like the last 10 minutes) dice another 1/4 cup of onion (get out another small onion) and 1/4 cup of the Swiss cheese and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheese and toss into the pot. This adds omph -- more flavor and texture.

5) Pour into soup bowls and top with bread and cheeses. Read step 6.

6) {a} - For myself, I lay a couple of slices of toasted multi-grain bread on the soup and then top with lots of Swiss and a sprinkle of Parmesan cheeses, broiling the bread-cheese topping in the oven until the cheeses are hot, melted and slightly brown.

{b} - If I were to make this soup again for guests, I'd buy a loaf of artisan bread, cut it into thick slices, butter and brown the slices on a baking sheet in the oven, then top the bowls of soup with the oven browned bread peaked with plenty of cheese. Without guests, I skip this oven-browned-bread step to get out of the kitchen. Butter-less supermarket, toasted bread topped with cheese is fine for me! Still a success.

Update: Dinner is served at 6:50 pm. I'm afraid of ruining a mug or bowl by broiling, so I used mini cake pans, different, I know!

If I say so, myself, the soup looks, smells and tastes amazing! Restaurant worthy. Good enough for guests. Mine isn't as salty as I've eaten it out, so perhaps, it's even better.

Pandemic cook is back, sister!

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Holiday Gifts For A Family

For the holidays sometimes people give one thoughtful gift for an entire family, as opposed to, individual gifts to each family member. I like the fewer, curated gift idea. People shouldn't go broke, or allow materialism to hijack the true meaning of Christmas, Hanukkah (or Festivus for that matter. Hey, to each, his own:)! Giving friends and family hospitality, treats and time together is what they remember the most. 

If you desire and can afford to throw in one gift also, here are 5 gift ideas, perhaps items a family might not think to buy for themselves, yet will love receiving:

1) Wall Heights Ruler (see above↑) - Parents can record the heights of growing children without marking up a wall or doorway with magic markers. And parents can save the ruler without ever having to paint over the height markings (here's a pricey oak ruler version). Ideal for new parents.

2) Murder Mystery Party - A house party activity ... it's a spirited game as an alternative to the usual playing card games.

3) Corkcicle Classic Wine Chiller Cork - The cold ice in the middle keeps a bottle of wine chilled until the last glass. Ideal for wine and cheese evenings at home.

4) Crep Protect Eraser Cleaner - The eraser removes spots from suede and nubuck on leather shoes, jackets and coats. I'll take a practical gift over a glitzy useless one any ole day. It's unlikely your friends will already have a leather spot remover and will love the eraser once you introduce them to it!

5) Personalized Family Mugs - Mugs start as low as $1.70 each unpersonalized. A company with good customer reviews who personalize mugs with a name or logo for about $6 per mug. You can select the size, style, quantity and how to personalize the mugs. Ideal for families with children (who will be thrilled to see their names on the mugs); or people who simply need uniform coffee and tea mugs.

As you can see holiday gifts need not break the bank, these 5 family gifts will please, as well as, suit every budget. Which is your favorite?

  
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Ground Beef Stroganoff

Photo: Betty Crocker, the recipe is not Betty Croker.

I love one-skillet dinners. What's not to love? A mishmash of flavors and textures, and all your food groups tossed into one pan to cook a balanced meal. You can add a salad, grainy bread, and a glass of wine if you wish. After eating your meal, the breezy cleanup consists of a single pan and a few plates and utensils. Here is the recipe:

Ground Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

2 tablespoon olive oil

8 ounces mushrooms, sliced

1 large onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 stalk celery including leaves, diced

1/4 cup red pepper, diced

1 - 1 1/2 lb ground beef

1/4 cup wine - red or white

4 cups water

2 large any flavor bouillon cubes, or 4 small cubes

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon each of dried chives, garlic, and parsley

A dash of Worcestershire sauce

8 ounces of curly noodles

1 cup of sour cream (which I never have so use plain Greek yogurt.)

Directions:

1) Add a tablespoon of olive oil to a 12'' chef skillet or a dutch oven and bring to a simmer to tenderize and brown the sliced mushrooms. Sprinkle in some salt. Set aside in a separate dish.

2) Use the same skillet to add another tablespoon of olive oil and tenderize the diced onion, garlic, celery, and red pepper (takes 3 - 5 minutes).

3) Toss in and brown the ground beef. A dash of salt and

pepper. It cooks for about 5 minutes.

4) Sprinkle in the all-purpose flour to coat the ground beef and cook for another 3 minutes so the flour won't taste raw.

5) Pour in the wine and 4 cups of water and dissolve the bouillon cubes. Use a wooden spoon to stir and mash up the bouillon into the liquid.

6) Add the dried spices and Worcestershire sauce.

7) Next toss the dried uncooked curly (egg or any) noodles into the dish and cook until al dente.

8) Return the mushrooms to the pan and stir. Turn off the heat.

9) Finish off with sour cream (or substitute Greek yogurt). If using Greek yogurt be mindful of curdling. Temper the yogurt with a small amount of stroganoff sauce before dumping it all into the dish.

A simple one-pan meal that sticks to your ribs. Delish!

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DIY Cork Bulletin Board

Recently I mentioned to a neighbor I wanted to make a cork bulletin board, but it would take me forever to collect all the corks needed to complete it. He drinks wine, so I joked he should save all his corks for me. Well, low and behold ... 4 months later he handed me a bag of corks. What a good boy he is!! He got me started.

I gathered the the first row of corks, myself, by attending 2 wine receptions. At each reception, I asked my waiter for a glass of Pinot and all his corks.😄 My benefactor's corks got the board 3/4 of the way done.

Next I visited a nearby wine shop and Mexican restaurant, where I picked up the balance of the corks to finish the bulletin board. 

Truthfully, I have no freaking idea what I'm doing, but when has that ever stopped me?😳 So far, I am using materials I have at home: 1) A trimmed side of a shipping box as a backing; 2) Elmer's glue; 3) and I don't know what to do for a frame yet. Do you like the cork board frameless? 

Someone set a clean, flawless block of wood out in the trash. It would be perfect, if I had tools and the skills to cut the wood into a frame. I do not. Alas, I have to let the wood go.

If you are inspired to make a cork bulletin board know: A sturdy card board box as a back and Elmer's glue work fine. Not only did I glue the corks to the card board backing, I glued the tops, bottoms and sides of the corks to one another for extra adhesive strength. I then laid a stack of books on the bulletin board for several days while the glue dried. After drying, those corks are staying put!

You will notice the corks are light and dark shades. I dispersed the different shades, as opposed to, gluing lights, or darks in a clump of sameness. Dispersing the shades look appealing! A few synthetic corks aren't spoilers. It also helps if the corks are mostly the same size, though they won't all be, and I suppose, the imperfections add to the charm of a DYI project.

Also, decide on a pattern before you start. I played with a few ideas, laying a couple of rows down unglued before I committed. Visualizing what you intend to do (i.e. having a plan) is a must. Next, have patience and fun in creating. If you are more crafty than I am, go for it ... design away!

It took an entire bottle of glue to finish the cork board. Luckily, I bought Elmer's glue when my local drugstore offered a 2 for 1 sale. So my new bulletin board cost me nothing in dollars and cents to make and very little time. Plus, the rows-of-corks as a bulletin board are lovely, right?

My 2nd cork board using an old frame. Got it for $2 at Housing Works,  a thrift store.

If you have an old frame at home, you could start with it. Toss the glass (or reverse it as a layer of support inside the frame). Glue your corks on the inside backing (usually it's card board), so the cork side looks out (like a photo would), minus the glass. Likely, fitting the corks to a ready-made-structure is easier than finding a frame after the work is done. Hey, my first effort ... I didn't know what I was doing. Am I Frank Lloyd Wright? Nooo.


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5 Dollar Dinners Cooked in 5 Minutes From Top Chefs

Why not start a new year by learning some new dishes you can prepare at home?  Cooking at home can be healthy, inexpensive and fun.  Quick and easy, here are two dishes that can go from a stovetop to your plate in 5 minutes flat. Simple like ordering a pizza.  Costs about $5 a serving.  Eat like this for 30 days and as a bonus, you could lose 5 pounds.    

Michael Symon's Grilled Salmon With Carrot Peanut Salad

Ingredients: 

4- 6 ounce pieces of salmon

salt and pepper

4 ounce extra virgin olive oil plus extra for salmon

3 medium organic carrots

1 tablespoon cumin seed

1 bunch scallions

1 cup mint leaves

1/2 cup toasted peanuts

2 ounce red wine vinegar

Directions:

1. Season the salmon with salt, pepper and olive oil.

2. Grill for 2 minutes.  Now may be a good time to invest in a cast iron skillet.

3. While the salmon is grilling, shave the carrots, toast the cumin seeds, thinly slice the scallions and tear the mint leaves.

4. Place the carrots, cumin seeds, scallions and mint in a large mixing bowl with the peanuts.

5. Whisk together the oil and red wine vinegar and add to the shaved vegetables. Season liberally with salt and pepper.

6. Place the salmon on a platter and top with the shaved carrot salad.

This is delicious served with fresh spinach and wild rice.

                                

Bobby Flay's Low Calorie Filet Mignon

Ingredients:

For the Vinaigrette --

3 tablespoons white wine vinegar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

½ small shallot, minced

2 tablespoons reduced fat mayonnaise

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons chopped tarragon

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Touch of clover honey

4 filet mignon steaks (2 1/2 inches thick each) – or lean steaks of your choice, i.e. whatever goes on sale.

Canola oil – I use extra virgin olive oil.

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bobby Flays Steak Rub*

Tarragon sprigs, for garnish

Parsley leaves, for garnish

Directions:

1) For the vinaigrette, combine vinegar, lemon juice, shallot, mayonnaise, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper in a blender and blend until smooth.

2) With the motor running, add the oil until emulsified. 

3) Add honey if needed.

4) Then, remove the steaks from the refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking and let sit at room temperature. 

5) Heat a large cast iron pan over high heat until almost smoking. 

6) Take each filet - brush both sides with oil and season with salt and pepper. 

7) Season one side with the rub. 

8) Place the steaks in the pan, rub-side down and cook until golden brown and a crust has formed, about 2 minutes.

9) Flip over and continue cooking until cooked to medium-rare doneness (internal temp of 135 degrees F).

Serves 4.  It tastes great with potatoes and a green salad. 

*To make your own steak rub:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cumin

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon granulated garlic

1 tablespoon granulated onion

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon white pepper

Directions: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.

Bon appétit!

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Eggnog, An Old Holiday Tradition

Eggnog has oodles of calories, too many to mention.  But since we only drink it once a year, I want the real thing.  Down through history, people weren't afraid of fat or sugar, they just didn't overdo it.  Processed foods didn't exist until modern times, and the majority of people weren't rich enough to be couch potatoes.  So let's learn a lesson from our ancestors.  Enjoy a few holiday treats, but in moderation.  And whenever possible, make them yourself using the finest ingredients.  Trust me, if you prepare eggnog from stretch, you won't get fat, because you won't make it that often!

Eggnog comes to us from England, although some historians think it aquired its name in the New World.  The drink became popular with the British upper class, who could afford milk and eggs in an age before refrigeration.  They mixed it with brandy, Madeira wine or sherry.  When the beverage crossed the Atlantic, the colonists, in an effort to avoid a wine tax, used rum and later bourbon to make the brew.  Egg and grog (i.e. spirits, rum) got shortened to eggnog.  Ha! Alcohol has that effect!  

In Great Britain, Canada and the US, eggnog is served to celebrate Thanksgiving [USA], Christmas and New Year's.

Traditionally, it is a social drink.  When quality matters, and you want to give your guests the very best, make this recipe:

Old Fashioned Eggnog

Ingredients: 

6 pasteurized eggs  {sold at 7 Eleven, C-Town, Associated, Whole Foods and many grocery chains.  Or pasteurize the raw eggs yourself. Here's how.}

¾ cup sugar

4 cups whole milk

4 cups {whipping} cream

½ cup brandy

½ cup rum

3 tablespoons vanilla extract

½ cup confectionery sugar

sprinkle cinnamon

sprinkle nutmeg

Directions: 

1.  Separate the eggs: yolks and whites.

2. Beat the yolks, then add ¾ cup sugar, a little at a time.

3. Add in the brandy, rum and vanilla.  Beat, beat, beat.

4. Next add and whisk in the milk and half of the cream.

5. Set aside until serving.

6. Then beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold the whites into the eggnog mixture.

7. Combine the rest of the cream and confectionery sugar, and whip until thick.

8. Pour the eggnog into 8 glasses, and top each serving with the {whipped} cream.

9. Garnish with cinnamon and nutmeg. (Extra points if you grind your own.)

++++++++

I also make a tasty, easy, low-fat eggnog custard.

Ingredients:

6 eggs

¼ cup sugar

12 ounces evaporated skim milk

3 cups skim milk

2 tablespoons vanilla extract

½ teaspoon cinnamon

¼  teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1) Combine all the ingredients into a mixing bowl, one at a time, and beat with an electric mixer.

2) Pour into a sauce pan and heat on the stovetop, stirring continuously.

3) Simmer about 5 minutes until it thickens.

4) Let the custard cool a bit before pouring the mixture into a blender and mix for a minute or so.  This step produces a light custard.

5) Pour into 8 custard dishes.  Serve it warm, or refrigerate and eat cold.

You can turn this custard recipe into a low-fat eggnog drink by not cooking it, but be sure to use pasteurized eggs.  To make a beverage, you also have to separate the eggs; whisk the yolks and whites, separately, as well as, slowly add in, then beat each ingredient.  Enjoy!

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