Happy Anniversary to The Saucy Gourmet! Let's Have a Tea Party to Celebrate!

I can hardly believe that it has been a year since I started this blog. Honestly, I do not know where the time has gone! I mentioned in my last blog, that my next blog would be about Spaetzle, but, that will have to wait another day or two.
As I have mentioned before, I have been doing a monthly Afternoon Tea class at Rolling Pin every third Tuesday of the month. September's theme was "Would You Like Lemon or Honey with Your Tea". The whole menu was planned around foods made with either lemon, honey or both. Brenda surprised me this morning with some incredible pictures from the tea, what a great present to help celebrate my anniversary! Thank you so much, I LOVE THEM!

We began our Afternoon Tea with Lemon Scones and then prepare 3 tea sandwiches,

Radish, Parsley and Lemon-Butter Tea Sandwiches

Cucumber, Hummus, and Lemon Tea Sandwiches and Turkey and

Earl Grey Honey Butter Tea Sandwiches.

For dessert, I prepare my never fail Lemon Curd and served it in shells with fruit, so refreshing and tart. I complemented the tartness with Almond and Honey Tea Cakes.

Just in case I have tempted you into coming to one of our wonderful Teas at Rolling Pin, our next one is a Harvest Afternoon Tea on October 20. I will be preparing

Orange Cream Scones
Fennel and Apple Tea Sandwiches
Apple Boursin Cheese Tea Sandwiches
Herb Apple Tea Sandwiches
Apple Tarts Glazed with Honey
Amaretto Almond Cookies

I would like to add just a personal note to celebrate my blog anniversary.

I would like to thank my daughter for surprising me with such a wonderful header for my blog, I LOVE IT!! (I do always have a glass of wine in my hand) and to thank my parents for being my constant proofers (and cheerleaders) and especially my mom for helping me with so many ideas and recipes! Thanks to Phyllis my other proofer and to Brenda for always generously sharing your pictures. But most of all thank you to my wonderful husband for all the support you have given me over the last year (well actually the last 27 years). You have had to endure so much having me as a wife, sometimes even delayed dinners because I need to take pictures :-)

Almond and Honey Tea Cakes (printable recipe)

Tea Cakes
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup oil
1/3 cup honey
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 cup almonds -- chopped

Glaze
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon lemon rind -- grated
3 teaspoons lemon juice

Preheat oven to 400.
Combine 4 dry ingredients for cakes.
Combine milk, oil, egg, honey and lemon rind.
Mix in dry ingredients, stirring till just moistened. Add nuts.
Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups.
Bake 400 F for 20-25 mins until golden.
Glaze while warm.

Glaze:
Combine glaze ingredients adding enough juice to make a smooth spreading consistency. Spread on warm muffins. Put an Almond on top.

It is Almost Time to Put on your Lederhosen and Dirndl! Oktoberfest is Right Around the Corner

I can hardly believe that October is just a week away!!! Yesterday, I realized I was way behind on getting my recipes ready for my October classes at Rolling Pin. As I was typing in my recipes, I started to crave German food, well go figure, I was typing my Oktoberfest recipes. To be honest, I abandoned the typing and went into the kitchen to cook, I did not have time to prepare the complete menu that I will be cooking on October 28, but I did have time to prepare the Rouladen and Spaetzle. If you have never tried Rouladen, you are really missing out. I know, it sounds weird to wrap beef around a pickle, but trust me, it is out of this world!
I took my thin sliced top sirloin out of the fridge (you can also use round steak) and sprinkled it generously with salt and pepper. I fried some thick slice bacon in the pan I had planned to cook the rouladen in, then drained the not too crispy bacon and paper towels and poured off most of the bacon grease.
As the bacon cooled, I lightly covered each steak with stone ground mustard, sprinkled each with chopped onion and placed a pickle spear near the end. I cut each bacon strip in half and laid them next to the pickle. My toothpicks were at the ready, so I began rolling tightly, then secured with 2 toothpicks.

I reheated the bacon grease in the pan and added the rouladens, browning all around. I added the onions and sautéd for about 2 minutes. I mixed the canned consommé with one soup can of water and poured it over the rouladens, brought it all to a low boil, turned the heat to low, covered the pan and let it simmer for about 2 hours.



While the rouladen simmered, I prepared the Herb Spaetzle. I plan to share that recipe in my next post, so check back, you will not be disappointed! Not enough time to do it today, I am in a Creole mood, so off to make Shrimp Etouffee (I'll have to wait till Feb. and Mardi Gras to blog about that)

When the rouladens were almost done, I blended together the cornstarch and water in a small covered container and gave it a good shake to combine, making a slurry. I then removed the rouladens from the pan and turned up the heat. I whisked the butter into the pan. When the butter was incorporated, I gave my slurry another good shake and poured in about half, bringing the gravy to a low boil for about one minute. The gravy was not as thick as I wanted it, so I added just a little more of the slurry. If your gravy is too thick, add a little bit of beef broth and if your gravy is too thin, add more of the cornstarch/water mixture.


Rouladen (printable recipe)

4 rouladen or 4 slices round steak, 1/4 inch thick
Salt and pepper
4 tsp. mustard
8 slices bacon, cooked
4 tbsp. chopped onion
4 pickles, quartered
1 tbsp. bacon drippings
1 onion, chopped
1 can beef consommé
1 can water
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon butter
Parsley
Season beef slices with salt and pepper. Spread 1 teaspoon mustard over each slice. Put 2 pieces of bacon on the end of each slice along with 1 tablespoon chopped onion and pieces of pickle. Roll up tightly and secure with string or toothpicks.
Heat bacon drippings in heavy pan. Add rouladen and brown all around. Add the onion and sauté for 2 minutes. Add diluted consommé and bay leaf. Bring to boil and simmer for 2 hours.
Remove rouladen onto serving platter. Mix flour, butter and water and add to gravy. Pour some gravy over rouladen and sprinkle with fresh parsley. Serve rest of gravy on the side

Now That is Using Your Noodle!

Yesterday, I was a nostalgic mood, so I decided to cook one of the first recipes I can ever remember making on my own, lasagna! The original recipe that I have is very basic, which makes it so easy to leave it as is or change it up to fit my mood (or what is available in the fridge). I cannot count the number of times I have made this recipe over the years. It traditionally became my "welcome to the neighborhood" or "congrats on the new baby" or "hope you have a speedy recovery from your surgery", or best yet "I don't feel like making dinner tonight, let's have lasagna!" dish. At any given time, you can find up to 4 lasagnas frozen in my freezer! I decided years ago, that it is just as easy to make four as it is one, and they freeze so wonderfully! You can thaw them in the fridge the night before or if you are in a rush, bake them frozen!

The biggest difference between last night's lasagna and the ones that I have been making for years and years (yes, I am that old) was that I attempted to make my own noodles and not use the hard, store-bought ones that really don't add much flavor. So out came my Kitchenaid mixer and my pasta maker again. The recipe I used in the same one from my last post "Fresh From the Sea and Saucy Like Me"

I added 4 eggs, 1 tablespoon of water, 3 1/2 cups of flour, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt to my mixer bowl, attached the flat beater, and mixed the ingredients on Speed 2 for 30 seconds. I stopped the mixer and exchanged the flat beater for dough hook and turned it back up to Speed 2 and kneaded the dough for 2 minutes, stopping once to scrape the bowl and add a little additional water since it appeared to be too dry and crumbly. Once done, I removed the dough from bowl and hand kneaded it for 1 to 2 minutes, then wrapped in plastic wrap and let it rest for 20 minutes while I made the sauce.

First, I sauteed the onion and garlic in a little oil. I had some mushrooms that needed to be used, so I sliced them as well and put them in, stirred for a minute or so, and then added the ground meat and seasonings and cooked everything until the meat was crumbly. I then added the tomato paste and hot water and simmered the mixture over low heat. Hope you don't mind the interrruption of the cooking, but there is a funny little side story I would like to share about garlic and my husband. Years ago, he did an unaccompanied tour in Korea. During the time he was gone, he and a couple of other guys decided they were getting tired of mess hall food and would take turns cooking dinner. I sent him many of his favorite recipes, but forgot one thing: he was not much of a cook at that time, which meant I really need to spell things out for him. He fessed up later that he did struggle with many of the recipes and some were not as good as mine, especially the lasagna. Turns out, he confused a clove of garlic with a head of garlic! Oh well, at least no vampires were around that evening!

I mixed up the eggs and cottage cheese and place that in the fridge while I played with the pasta dough. This is where I have to admit that I am not very coordinated. Because of that, I have to divide the dough into fourths to make it easier for me to handle. If I don't divide it and try to work with too much dough, I end up with such a mess and get so frustrated. So I only work with one fourth at a time, keeping the remaining dough covered so it will not dry out. I set the adjustment knob on Pasta Sheet Roller at 1, turned my mixer to Speed 2 and fed my first piece of flattened dough into the rollers.
I folded the dough in half and rolled it again. I repeated folding and feeding the dough through the rollers about 5 times, just enough until the dough is smooth and pliable. I needed to lightly dust the pasta with flour while rolling it to keep it from sticking. I then repeated the process with the remaining dough, laying each sheet on a lightly floured baking sheet. I then moved the adjustment knob to setting 2 and fed the dough through the rollers to flatten it even further. After all of the pieces had been fed through again, I changed to setting 3 and feed dough through rollers once more. At this point, I used kitchen shears to cut the dough sheets in half since they were getting to hard to handle (remember, I am not very coordinated). I increased the roller setting to 4 and ran the dough through one last time (setting 4 or 5 is recommend for lasagna noodles). I placed the thin sheets on my drying rack and moved on to getting everything ready to be layered in my lasagna pans.

In first went a thin layer of sauce to keep the noodles from sticking to the pan, then half of the noodles, all of the cottage cheese and egg mixture, half of the remaining sauce, my secret ingredient, thin sliced pepperoni, then the rest of the noodles and the remainder of the meat sauce. I topped it with sliced Swiss cheese and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan. Into the oven one went for dinner and the other one I wrapped tightly with heavy duty aluminum foil and put it in the freezer.

The lasagna needs to bake for about 30 minutes. Just a note, if you are not ready to bake the lasagna, pop it in the fridge, and about 1 hour before you are ready for dinner, take it out and let it sit for about 30 minutes at room temperature then bake for 30 minutes.

Here is a quick hint for slicing mushrooms: Use a egg slicer, it works perfectly and is much faster than slicing by hand!

Super Easy Lasagna (this recipe will make 2 9x13 lasagnas) (printable recipe)

1 pound fresh or dry lasagna noodles, cooked if using dry
3 tablespoons oil
2 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minsed
2 teaspoons italian seasonings
salt and pepper to taste
2 large cans tomato paste
3 cups hot water
4 eggs, beaten
2 pints cottage or ricotta cheese
thin sliced pepperoni
1 pound sliced swiss cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
any addtional ingredients you choose to add to your sauce (sliced mushroom, chopped green peppers, etc.)

Sautee the garlic and onions in hot oil, adding any additional ingredients you may have on hand. When softened, add the beef and cook till brown and crumbly. Add tomato paste, hot water and seasonings. Simmer for at least 10 minutes to blend flavors. Using a fork, blend together eggs and cottage or ricotta cheese in a bowl. Set aside.

In two 9x12 baking dishes, place in order:
- a thin layer of sauce
- half of the noodles
- all of the cottage cheese egg mixture
- half of the remaining sauce
- thin sliced pepperoni
- the rest of the noodles
- the remainder of the meat sauce
Top with sliced Swiss cheese and sprinkle with fresh grated Parmesan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Fresh From the Sea and Saucy Like Me!

I was searching the web a couple of months ago and found what sounded like a wonderful recipe for pan seared scallops. I adore just about any vinaigrette made with sherry vinegar, adding cream sherry and apple juice sounded to good to be true. Off to the store I went and picked up some wonderful sea scallops. I had originally planned to serve this with fresh spinach, but silly me forgot to pick some up at the store. I think I was just too into the scallops and sherry. No worries I had a bag of mixed greens in the fridge, it would work (and to be honest, my husband is not a huge spinach fan, fresh or cooked)
When I got home, I unwrapped the scallops and placed them between paper towels on a plate and popped them in the fridge while I played with my new Kitchenaid Pasta Maker.
I love making pasta, it is like playing with play dough without the smell and the best part is you can eat it after you play with it! I used the fresh pasta recipe from my Kitchenaid manual but cut it in half since there were only two of us dining tonight. (see below). After resting for 20 minutes, I ran it through the pasta roller to a thickness of 4, then cut it with the Fettuccine Cutter. I hung then to dry on the rack my wonderful husband made out of dowel rods. While the pasta was drying, I started the vinaigrette.I heated my pan and tossed in the sliced bacon, after about 3 minutes, I added the shallots and continued to stir constantly until they had caramelized.




Up went the heat slightly and I added the cream sherry and reduced. I stirred in the apple juice and the sherry vinegar. I hate to waste food, and we don't drink much apple juice in our home, but I do cook with it.
One cost saver that I have found is to buy the smaller 100% juice boxes, they are just about 5 ounces. If you cannot find these, you could also freeze the unused juice.

I reduced the sauce to about half and removed it from the heat. Now it was time to move on to the scallops.



I heated clarified butter in my pan (Clarified butter works best because it has a higher smoke point and will not burn as easily). It is pretty easy to make it at home or it can be found in most kitchen stores. I know Rolling Pin in Brandon, FL sells a shelf stable clarified butter that does not have to be refrigerated.














While the butter was heating I sprinkled the scallops with salt and pepper. Once the butter was hot I placed the scallops into the pan and turned the heat up to high. I turned them when they started to cook up the sides and turn opaque and the bottoms were a nice golden brown. When the bottoms began to turn lighlty brown, I removed them from the pan. While I was cooking the scallops, I started a large pot of salted water for my pasta. When ready, I cooked the pasta for 4 minutes and then drained. I reheated the sauce to a low boil, turned the heat off and put in the cooked scallops, turning to coat. To plate this wonderful meal, I placed some salad greens down the center of the plate and placed the scallops on one side and the pasta on the other. I poured the sauce over and dinner was ready and very saucy, just the way I like it!

Pan-Seared Scallops (click here for printable recipe)

1 tablespoon shallot
2 strips smoked bacon
1/2 cup cream sherry
4 tablespoons sherry vinegar
5 ounces apple juice or one small juice box
8 whole scallops
3 tablespoons clarified butter
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
Fresh Pasta
Fresh spinach or any salad greens

To make the dressing, heat a fry pan to medium low heat and add the bacon.
Once half of the fat has been rendered, add the shallots and let caramelize slightly.
Turn the heat up to medium high and deglaze the pan with the sherry and let reduce slightly. Add the sherry vinegar and the apple juice and reduce by about half.
Once this has reduced, remove from the heat, and set aside. Keep in mind it will continue to thicken as it cools.

To cook the scallops, pat them dry with a paper towel to remove any excess liquid.
Check the scallops and remove the tough muscle along the side, if there is one.
Heat a fry pan to medium high heat and add the clarified butter. While the butter is heating, season the scallops with salt and white pepper. Once the butter is hot and just begins to smoke, place the scallops into the pan and turn the heat up to high.
The scallops are ready to flip when they start to cook up the sides and turn opaque. Once ready, the bottom should be a nice golden brown, turn the heat down to medium and flip them over. The scallops are cooked when you can see about 1/4 of an inch on the top and bottom has turned opaque. When done remove to plate.

The above adapted from a recipe I found on Rouxbe.com, a great online cooking school with video recipes, tips and techniques. I love this site!

Basic Egg Pasta

4 large eggs
1 tablespoon water
31⁄2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1⁄2 teaspoon salt
Place eggs, water, flour, and salt in mixer bowl.
Attach bowl and flat beater. Turn to Speed 2 and
mix 30 seconds.
Exchange flat beater for dough hook. Turn to Speed
2 and knead 2 minutes. Remove dough from bowl
and hand knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Let it rest for
20 minutes.

This recipe is from Kitchenaid. For the above meal, I halved this recipe since there was only two of us dining. It worked great, but I did have to use a little more water.

DON'T PANIC! It Is Not Too Late To Plan A Healthy Labor Day Picnic Lunch

Two weeks ago, my Lunch and Learn at Rolling Pin was "A Wonderful and Healthy Picnic Lunch" Honestly, it was more than wonderful, it was YUMMY! The menu was Nonfried "Fried" Chicken Breasts with Mustard and Tarragon served along side Lemony Potato Avocado Salad and Green Beans with Red Onion and Mustard Seed Vinaigrette. For dessert, I made a healthy and very refreshing combination of Watermelon, Mango and Lime The great thing about this menu is everything can be made ahead and chilled and will keep wonderfully in a cooler for hours since there is no mayo! The tarragon combined with the panko crumbs makes a great breading for the chicken breast that are tenderized by soaking in buttermilk for at least 30 minutes. (the acid in the buttermilk helps to tenderize the chicken) Adding Dijon mustard to the egg saves you from having to take a dip for your chicken breast on the picnic, it is baked right in! Thanks again Brenda for the wonderful pictures from our Lunch and Learn, you are awesome!

Nonfried "Fried" Chicken Breasts with Mustard and Tarragon

4 chicken breasts -- boneless skinless
buttermilk -- to cover chicken
1 cup panko
2 large cloves garlic -- minced
1 tablespoon minced flat-leaf parsley
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 large egg
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3/4 cup flour
olive oil spray

Place chicken between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound gently to even thickness. Place in dish and cover with buttermilk, let stand 30 minutes. In shallow dish, mix together panko, garlic, parsley, tarragon, salt and pepper. In another dish, beat egg with mustard. Place flour in third dish. Drain chicken breast and pat dry, dredge each chicken breast in flour; dip in egg and then bread crumb mixture, covering completely and patting so crumbs adhere. Place on baking sheet (can be prepared ahead, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated several hours or overnight). Lightly spray breast with olive oil and place in 350F. oven and bake just until chicken is cooked through, about 10 minutes, turning once. Can be serve hot or chilled for a picnic lunch


Lemony Potato Avocado Salad

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes (about 12)
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
6 tablespoons fresh chives -- minced
2 California avocado

In a saucepan boil potatoes in salted water until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain potatoes in a colander and quarter. In a bowl stir together warm potatoes, oil, lemon juice, zest, chives, and salt and pepper to taste. Let sit till ready to serve. Pit and peel avocado and cut into 3/4-inch pieces. Add avocado to potato mixture, gently tossing to combine.

Green Beans with Red Onion and Mustard Seed Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons mustard seeds
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 medium red onion -- thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic -- minced
1 1/2 pounds green beans -- trimmed

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook mustard seeds, stirring, until they pop and are 1 shade darker, about 2 minutes. Transfer oil with seeds to a large bowl.
Simmer vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, stirring, until sugar is dissolved, then cool 5 minutes.
Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in cleaned skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then cook onion, stirring, 5 minutes, add garlic and cook another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in vinegar, then add to mustard oil in large bowl.
Have ready a large bowl of ice and cold water.
Cook beans in a pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Drain in a colander and plunge into ice water to stop cooking, then drain well.
Toss beans with vinaigrette and salt and pepper to taste. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Watermelon with Mango and Lime

4 pounds seedless watermelon -- cut in 1" cubes
2 mangos -- peeled, pitted and cut in 1 inch chunks
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lime zest
1/2 teaspoon sugar -- or to taste

Toss together all ingredients and chill, covered, stirring occasionally, 20 minutes.
It makes this an extra special dessert, you can top it with some sweetened whipped cream, but honestly I don't think you need it!

Don't They Say That Imitation Is the Sincerest Form Of Flattery?

A couple of Sundays ago, the weather was kind of gloomy here in Florida. It is very unusual to have a day that is mostly clouds and rain, since Florida is the "Sunshine State" after all. We had planned to go to the Lowry Park Zoo, but decided that walking around soaking wet would not make for a very enjoyable day, so we decided to spend the afternoon at the Florida Aquarium. The aquarium is located in the Channel District of Tampa, better known as Channelside.
They have a whole display of dragons! Well, okay, not the legendary-type dragons, but real live sea dragons from the other side of the world. Fabulous and rare, sea dragons are fantasies come to life. Their habitat is off the coast of Southern Australia, where cool kelp forests and colorful sponge gardens grow on rocky underwater cliffs. I have always been fascinated by sea horses. I probably acted worse than some kids that day when my husband insisted that it was time to move on and let someone else view the amazing creatures. I was consoled only by the promise of food! So we finished our tour of the aquarium, checked out the great gift shop and ventured forth to forage for food.

Much to our surprise, the rain had passed while we were inside and the sun was coming out, meaning we could dine outside! Last time we were at Channelside, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Margarita Mamma's, so this time we decided to give Bennigan's a try, since we had not been to one in so long and they had the perfect table outside right next to one of the cruise ships that was preparing to set sail! We really were not that hungry as we had consumed a large breakfast, so we decided to just get some appetizers and beer. The zucchini planks were my choice! They were very good, and I knew I would have to copy these since they would be great for a snack while watching college football!

The other day, I had some extra time on my hands and some zucchini in the fridge, so it was time to experiment! To make the planks, I used a very sharp knife to cut off the ends and slice them carefully into planks. My initial though had been to use my mandolin, but I was afraid that the plank would be too thin. After they were sliced, I placed them on paper towels to dry while I prepared the breading, using bowls of flour, 2 eggs thinned with some water, and Italian bread crumbs.

After prepping my breading, I dipped the first plank into the flour and very little of it stuck. Silly me, they were still too wet! I needed to get more of the water out of them, and knew salt would work. I lightly salted each side and let them stand for about 15 minutes. I covered the eggs and put them in the fridge and moved on to making some marinara sauce.

Now it was time to try breading again. I pressed the planks in paper towels to try and remove as much of the remaining moisture as possible, then wiped off any excess salt. Into the flour they went and hooray, it stuck! I then coated them in the egg mixture and then into the Italian bread crumbs they went. I allowed them to sit about 15 minutes to give the coating a chance to dry slightly.

I stirred the marina and prepared my pan for frying and set up a tray covered with paper towels to drain the fried planks. I always try to have everything ready before I begin frying......less burns that way. Once the oil was hot enough to sizzle a little of the coating, I began frying, being careful not to crowd the pan! I fried each sides for about 3 minutes, flipping them over with my tongs. When both sides were a golden brown, I removed them from the oil and put them on the paper towel-lined tray and began frying another batch. By the time they were all fried and the marina sauce was done, the pre-season football game was on! What a great snack these were! Granted, they weren't too healthy because of the fried breading, but hey, at least they had a veggie inside!

Super Easy Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 28 ounce can chopped tomatoes
1 8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon sugar
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat the oil in a medium-sized saucepan on medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring often so neither the garlic nor the onion burns.
Add the tomatoes (including the liquid), tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper and sugar. If the tomatoes chunks are too large, cut them in the pan using kitchen scissors. Bring the sauce to a simmer over over medium to medium-high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer in the pot for about 20 to 25 minutes.