Two fall classes at Picnic Basket: 1) Sauces, 2) Heart Healthy

Finished meal: Swai, couscous, grilled asparagus

Chef Noah made whipped cream

Cooking a roux

Fully browned roux

Concasse tomatoes, before chopping 

Tomato sauce

Smoked Salmon Vodka to add to the sauce

In class we made Swai (fish), couscous, grilled asparagus - all with a light hand.  For dessert we made pistachio pudding with whipped cream folded in, displayed on a pear half and garnished with chopped nuts.

For sauces we cooked roux (white) then cooked it further, until browned. With our knife skills we to concasse tomatoes, separating the skin from the flesh, seeding the chopping for sauce.  After cooking the sauce down quite a bit, we added the smoked salmon vodka and some cream for Vodka sauce over pasta.  

December Delights

At least once a year I make baked donuts for our dentist.  I have learned to make them small and to plate them on at least two trays since I 'know' one person will down a whole plate himself.  Making them the night before a holiday delivery, a star cookie cutter was handy for shaping the dough.  The source is a fun cooking murder mystery:  Galaxy Doughnuts from Diane Mott Davidson's, Cereal Murders  Note: I use all whole wheat flour instead of the mix in the recipe.  After baking, we always dip ours in melted butter and then dredge in a cinnamon sugar mix.  This time we added read and green sprinkles.  They never last long!

I found myself wanting some home-made apple pie.  But I didn't want to be bothered with a top and bottom crust.  So, I made a single crust and topped the sliced apple mix (combined with lemon juice, cinnamon sugar and dabs of butter) with a single crust.  After cutting slits in it and brushing with milk, I baked the pie, filling the house with that familiar cinna-scent.

Speaking of baking, on a trip to Denver we stopped at Lucille's in Littleton for brunch.  Oh my - here is a picture illustrating why they are famous for their beignets.

More November cooking

For a gathering we attended, I found a recipe in the book, Small Bites by Jennifer Joyce.  It combined pears (I used canned), arugula and prosciutto.  Topping each, a shard of parmesan and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar and a twist of freshly ground black pepper.  Rolling up all inside the prosciutto, placing seam side down for a beautiful presentation and delightful bites.  

Finding whole chickens on sale, I cooked one with piles of chopped carrots, celery and onion making lots of lovely broth.  After deboning it for a recipe of Chicken and Dumplings, I pureed the cooked veggies and about half of the broth (six cups or so) Adding a cup of white wine formed the base.  After adding the chicken in and correcting the seasonings, I mixed up a batch of dumplings, adding them to steam.  It made a lovely comfort food dinner with a side salad.

Since we generally schedule our holidays on alternate dates, I pre-made all of our Thanksgiving dishes so that they would be ready to reaheat.  A great way to use fresh out of season (not the most tender) green beans - a recipe for Crock Pot Green Beans from the Test Kitchen magazine.  Slow cooked with a mushroom white sauce, they were tender and tasty and freed me to work on other items.  For mashed potatoes, I cooked a potful of quartered Idaho potatoes (not peeled).  After cooking and draining most of the liquid, I coarsly mashed them.  By adding heated half & half, a bit of melted butter, a half cup of grated white cheddar and a half bottle of ale found depth of flavor.  Oh yum!  While the Turkey was grilling (in a foil pan, coated with melted butter and white wine), I made some Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls for breakfast and the dinner.