PF Chang's - Woodland Hills, CA

I am in California, Woodland Hills to be exact and it's a little on the chilly side. I guess it could be worse, I could be home in the new snow that fell last night. I am here with Ryan and his mother and stepfather, we are here to get him settled in to his new California groove.
We decided to eat at PF Chang's for dinner last night since it's just across from the hotel. The dinner was as good as it always is, if you eat at one PF Chang's, you've pretty much eaten at them all. The only reason that I decided to post about this place was because of the waiter we had. I overheard him telling the older couple at the table next to us about how long the wait can be on Friday and Saturday nights. He told them that he would never wait over a half hour to eat there, it's only Chinese food after all and you can get that anywhere. I'm sure his manager would not have been happy to hear him say that.
The restaurant is located at 2182 Oxnard St. Woodland Hills, CA 91367 818-340-0491.

Heading For California

Now that I have found my cell phone, I am headed out the door and on my way to the airport. I am going to L.A. to get Ryan situated in his newest life venture. I am becoming quite the traveller. I will return on Monday.

Haricots Verts with Lemon and Garlic

I was trying to come up with something other than green bean casserole to prepare this Christmas. Don't get me wrong, I love green bean casserole, but I was ready for a change and did not want to take up precious oven room for another baked dish. This dish was inspired by the wonderful green beans that you order in Italy, but they never taste quite the same here. This one turned out great and everyone really liked it, they did, they really, really liked it.



Haricots Verts with Lemon and Garlic

2 bags (12oz) frozen Haricorts Verts, thawed
2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lemon
Zest of 1 lemon

In a large skillet, melt butter; add olive oil. Stir in beans, garlic, juice and zest. Cook until beans are heated through. Serve.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole

I prepared this recipe last week. It's a pretty simple weeknight recipe, but I think it could have been better if prepared the night before and baked the next day. It could also stand the addition of a can of black beans, rinsed, and added when you add the corn and some fresh green onion added as a garnish would be good. This recipe comes from Tables of Content from the Junior League of Birmingham, Alabama. My friend, Stacey, gave me the book and this is the first recipe that I have attempted from it. It's one that I would make again.



Chicken Tortilla Casserole


1 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles
1 Tbsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly ground pepper
2 cups sour cream
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
15 (6 inch) corn tortillas
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Chopped fresh cilantro for garnish



Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add chicken, onion and garlic. Saute 8 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, green chiles, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper and reduce heat to low. Simmer 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 375. Combine the sour cream, 2 cups of Cheddar, Montery Jack and 1/4 cup cilantro in a bowl and mix well. Line the bottom of a lightly greased 2 1/2 to 3 qt. baking dish with 1/3 of the tortillas, tearing as needed to completely cover bottom. Layer with 1/3 of the chicken mixture, 1/3 of the corn and 1/3 of the sour cream mixture. Repeat the process 2 more times. Sprinkle with 1 cup of Cheddar cheese and bake for 25 minutes or until cheese melts. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with chopped cilantro.

Oreo Balls

My sister made these for Christmas and they are just a little sinful, because you can't eat just one. I think, however, that they will become a Christmas staple at our house.

Oreo Balls

1 package regular size Oreos, crushed
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1 package white almond bark

Using a blender or handheld mixer, mix Oreos and cream cheese. Roll into walnut size balls. Chill for 1 hour. Melt almond bark. Stick a toothpick in an Oreo ball and dip into almond bark, repeat until all balls are dipped. Allow to cool on wax paper.

Pumpkin Pie

This was my first attempt at a pumpkin pie and it turned out well. The only other pie I have made was pecan and they are simple too. I haven't tried to make my own crust, I just used a frozen one for this recipe. It seemed to take forever to finish baking, but the end product turned out well.

Pumpkin Pie

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

2 1/2 tsp. Pumpkin pie spice

2 large eggs

1 can (15 oz) Pumpkin Puree

1 can (12 oz) Evaporated milk

1 unbaked 9-inch deep-dish pie crust

Mix sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice in a small bowl. Beat eggs in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mix. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.

Bake in preheated 425 degree oven for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees, bake for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate.

Cake Mix Cookies

This is one of those recipes that are so simple that even I can make it without screwing up. All you need is a box of cake mix, a few refrigerated items and you're pretty much there. You can use any type and any flavor and come out with some pretty tasty cookies. I used a banana cake mix and iced the cookies with Betty Crocker's Whipped Fluffy White Frosting, then sprinkled them with colored sugar.

Cake Mix Cookies

1 box cake mix

1 egg

1/2 cup milk (I used Skim)

1/2 stick butter, softened

Mix ingredients together. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 15 minutes at 350 degrees.

Merry Christmas

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and all the best in the New Year!

Dan's Chex Party Mix

Dan has been trying to make his mom's Chex mix just a little different, something he can call his own. This is the recipe that he has come up with and it's really good.

Dan's Chex Party Mix

Preheat oven to 250 degrees

6 Tbsp. butter, melted
4 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp. onion powder
6 cups Chex cereal (wheat and rice work well)
1/2 cup lightly salted peanuts
1/2 cup lightly salted cashews

Pour melted butter onto shallow baking pan. Stir in Worcestershire, salt, garlic powder and onion powder. Add cereal and nuts, stir to coat all. Heat in oven 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.

1924 main Kansas City, MO

I finally made it 1924!! Last night, Dan took me there for dinner and was it ever good. I have to say that it was one of the best meals that I have ever eaten, this place really has it going on. The menu was set up into 3 courses for $36 or $56 with wines paired with each serving.
I chose the Saffron Arancine with Chorizo Bolognese for my beginning. This was 3 fried risotto balls in a wonderful, spicy bolognese with olives and Parmesan cheese. The wine that was served with this was a 2004 Paneretta Chianti Classico from Italy. Dan had the Butter Lettuce Salad with sarta chorizo, radish, sherry vinaigrette and polenta croutons. This was served with a 2005 Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc from Clarksburg. Both of our starters were wonderful, but Dan's salad was the best.
For my middle course I had the Forever Braised Short Ribs with Parmesan polenta, balsamic braised radicchio and crispy fried onions. This was paired with a 2006 Torbeck Wood Cutter's Shiraz from Australia. This dish was incredibly good. The ribs were cooked to perfection and the combination of flavors was awesome. Dan had the Ribeye with garlic potatoes, pancetta creamed chard (YUM), fried green tomatoes and a Cabernet sauce. This was paired with a 2005 Castle Rock Cabernet from Napa Valley. The combination of flavors and textures in both of these dishes were wonderful. We also loved that fact that the amount of food was just right, no overloading the plates here.
For my ending I had the Espresso Pot de Creme with chocolate shortbread, cinnamon creme fraiche and chocolate Kahlua sauce. This was paired with a wonderful Rutherglen Muscat from Australia. Dan chose the Pineapple Spiced Rum Crepe Suzette with cream cheese ice cream and a coconut macaroon. This was served with a Chateau Hallet Sauternes from France.
Very good service, wonderful atmosphere and great food! This was a great holiday dining experience that was ended with a drive through the Plaza to see the lights. I could not have had a better gift for Christmas.
The restaurant is located at 1924 Main, Kansas City MO 816-472-1924.

Sunglow Family Restaurant-Bicknell, Utah

If you ever find yourself in Bicknell, Utah, make sure you stop in and eat at the Sunglow Family Restaurant. This was by far the best meal I had in Utah. The owner, Patty Krause was in the night we ate, along with her children. They were all cooking, waiting tables and running the food. And the food was glorious.

I started my meal with a cup of the Ham and Potato soup, which was a creamy soup with chunks of potato and ham. They also brought out a plate of bread which they called scones. These scones seemed to be deep fried bread or biscuits and were to die for, especially slathered in honey butter. My meal was a nice piece of Chicken-Fried Steak($10.99), home made garlic mashed potatoes covered in country gravy and corn. The meal was perfect and I could not eat all of it, because I had to save room for pie.

Ryan had the Sunglow Burger($6.79), six ounces of ground beef mixed with chopped jalapeno peppers, topped with cheese, a side of chipotle sauce and a side of fries. Judy's husband, Kim, ordered the same meal as me and Judy ordered the Ground Round ($9.99). The ground round was a half pound of fresh ground beef that was grilled and topped with grilled onions and brown gravy. The entrees are served with scones, veggies, your choice of potato and soup or salad.

For dessert, I had a slice of Pickle Pie. It sounds strange, but it was actually quite good. It's a blend of sweet pickles and spices and is similar in taste to a pumpkin pie. Judy tried the Pinto Bean pie, which was made with red pinto beans and looked like a pecan pie. It was not as good as the pickle, but I would order it again. You can find a recipe for the pickle pie at their website www.sunglowpies.com. Perfect for serving at your holiday table!!

The location of the restaurant is 91 E. Main Bicknell, Utah 84715 435-425-3701. They also have a 15 room motel on the property.

Back From Utah

Well, I am back from Utah and will post more on my trip there. The state is beautiful and at times it is quite magnificent. It was so good to see Ryan, but more on that later. For the most part, the food I ate was pretty bad, except for one bright spot. Stay tuned and I will post more tomorrow.

Heading to Utah

I am heading out to Utah for a few days to visit my son Ryan. I will be back on Thursday to post again.

Catalina Chicken

I came across a recipe amongst some old recipe cards that I have collected along the years. The recipe called for a 3 pound chicken cut up, an 8 ounce bottle of creamy Russian dressing, an 8 ounce jar of apricot jam and an envelope of dry onion soup mix. I could not find the Russian dressing, so I decided to try out this recipe instead. It tasted great, but next time I would use boneless-skinless breasts and thighs in order to keep the some of the fat out of the dish.

Catalina Chicken

3 to 3 1/2 lb. chicken, cut up

1 (16 oz) bottle Catalina dressing

1 envelope dry onion soup mix

Place dressing and soup mix in large resealable plastic bag and mix. Add chicken to coat, place into a 9x13 baking dish. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, basting the chicken with the sauce a couple of times.

Poco's on the Boulevard Revisited

Friday night, we met out friends Paul and Chris at Poco's On The Boulevard - Kansas City, MO . We were there at 7:00PM and the place was deserted. All I can say is that people are missing out on a great chance to try some excellent food. There are a few misses at Poco's, but overall the food is very good and it's priced well. Plus with the fact that the owner is back in the kitchen preparing the food, you know you are getting what she intends for you to get.


We decided to start out with a sampler starter special, that included crab cakes, shrimp, empanadas and ceviche. The ceviche was killer and not something that I would usually order, but in my book it was pretty much perfect. Each of the starters came with their own sauce and each was unique. She actually made 4 separate small crab cakes for each of us, that is the type of service you can expect here.


Before we ordered our meals, Chris asked the server about their mole sauce. She brought him out a sample of the rich , thick, chocolaty sauce to try. He loved it and ordered the chicken mole. The mole was served with pieces of boneless breast meat, which was little on the dry side , but the sauce and sides were very good. Paul ordered theYucatan tacos de puerco, and like Dan on our first visit wasn't all that wowed with them, he expected them to have a little more orange flavor to them. Dan ordered the salmon encrusted in tortilla and loved it,. The fish was cooked as ordered and the tortillas added a nice crunchy bite. I ordered the best meal of the evening, the cherry tenderloins. This was a very large serving of sliced pork tenderloin, cooked to perfection and covered in this amazing cherry sauce. It was served with asparagus and some really good polenta. We ended the meal by sharing a good piece of tres leches cake.


Overall, it was good experience. Great food and wonderful company are what it's all about. Check out Poco's for dinner sometime. They serve it on Thursday , Friday and Saturday nights only and it definetly worth it. They are located at 3063 Southwest Blvd. KCMO 816-931-2526.

Grandpa's Favorite Ozark Apple Cake

My maternal grandfather was from a family of Ozark hillbilly's. Everyday he ate an apple and I can still see him sitting there slicing one with his pocket knife. My Granny was an excellent cook and this is one of her recipes.

Grandpa's Favorite Ozark Apple Cake

2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
4 cups apples, peeled and chopped
1 cup pecans, chopped
1/2 cup shortening
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon

Cream together sugar and shortening; add eggs and vanilla. Mix together flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg and cinnamon. Add to creamed mixture. Add apples and nuts, mix. Place in a greased 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Pat's Shrimp Dip

Typically, I would not eat a dip with shrimp in it, but I could not stop eating this stuff. Yesterday we had a department meeting and Pat brought this wonderful shrimp dip. I was eating it before I knew what it was and for once I'm glad that I just dug in.

Pat's Shrimp Dip

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese
1 can tomato soup
1 package unflavored gelatin
1 cup green onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup onion, chopped
3 cans tiny shrimp
1 cup Miracle Whip

Add cream cheese and tomato soup to a small saucepan and melt together. Add gelatin and mix. Take it off the heat and add the rest of the ingredients, mixing well. Serve chilled.

Sour Cream Icing

Here is the recipe for the sourdough cookies. This works well on all types of sugar cookies and gingersnaps.

Sour Cream Icing

1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, soft
3 oz. cream cheese, soft
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and slowly beat in sugar. Mix until smooth and creamy. Add milk if too thick. Add food coloring if desired.

Asunta's Famous Sourdough Cookies

Okay, I don't know who Asunta is, maybe I did at one time, but it escapes my mind now. I first had these incredibly good cookies at my cousin Keri's house ( maybe Asunta was there). Anyway, these are very easy and they taste so good. These are great holiday cookies, because you can color the icing and use sprinkles and such on them and they are perfect to bake with kids.

Asunta's Famous Sourdough Cookies

1 cup butter, soft
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
4 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add sour cream, vanilla and eggs. Mix thoroughly; add flour and baking soda. Drop by the teaspoonful on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake 10 -15 minutes at 375 degrees. Cool and frost with cream cheese frosting.

Volpi Chianti Red Wine Salami

Our friend Alicia sent us some wonderful salami that she purchased at Trader Joe's. They are both from Volpi Foods, one was a Chianti Red Wine Salami and the other was a Pinot Grigio White Wine Salami. Both of them are 8 ounces and are all natural with no nitrates. They are actually made in St. Louis, MO, which is another bonus.
You can check out Volpi foods at http://www.volpifoods.com/ and you can purchase the salamis at http://www.amazon.com/ or another great site, http://www.ditalia.com/.

Toasted Cecchi, Almonds and Pistachios

I was looking for a different type of nut mix to serve at our house on Saturday and found this one at www.foodtv.com. Since it was a Giada DeLaurentiss recipe, I figured I couldn't go wrong. The flavor was good, but the texture was a little strange. The garbanzo beans, although toasted, stay soft. Plus, if you serve it warm, the nuts are stale tasting. The mix is much better served at room temperature. This would be an excellent mix if you left out the garbanzos and added some other nut.

Toasted Cecchi, Almonds and Pistachios

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
1 Tbsp. olive oil, + 3 Tbsp.
1 cup shelled pistachios
1 cup raw almonds
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. fresh rosemary leaves, chopped
1 Tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped
1 tsp. coarse sea salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne
Preheat oven to 400 degrees

Place the garbanzo beans on a foil-lined baking sheet. Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and spread the beans in a single layer. Place in oven and bake until golden, about 30 minutes.
Remove the beans. Add remaining ingredients and carefully stir to coat beans and nuts. Spread mixture into single layer. Bake for 10 more minutes. Let cool and serve.

Semolina Bread

In the past, my baking abilities have been somewhat questionable. Just this weekend I threw out a batch of cookies that I messed up and my coconut macaroons ended up tasting like amaretto cookies. But for some strange reason, my breads have been coming out perfectly. I made this loaf yesterday. It uses both all-purpose and semolina flours. Semolina is the flour used for making pasta and you can typically find it at the grocery store. This is a fairly simple recipe and will make one oval shaped loaf. If you have a heavy duty stand mixer, you don't even have to worry about the kneading part, you can let the machine do the work for you.

Semolina Bread

Sponge:
1 cup warm tap water (about 110 degrees)
1 tsp. active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
Dough:
All the sponge above
1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3/4 cup semolina flour
2 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. olive oil

To make the sponge, place warm water in a mixing bowl and stir in yeast. Stir in flour and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Set aside to rise at room temperature until dough doubles, about 1 hour.

For the dough, stir the sponge to deflate and add flour, semolina, salt and oil. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead by hand to form a smooth, elastic, slightly sticky dough, about five minutes.

if using a stand mixer, place all the ingredients into bowl of mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low to form a smooth, elastic and slightly sticky dough, about 5 minutes.

Transfer dough to an oiled bowl. Turn the dough so all sides are oiled. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn the risen dough out of the bowl to a floured work surface. Press the dough with the palms of your hands to deflate. Shape the dough into an oval loaf, tucking the long sides under. Place tucked side down on the baking sheet sprinkled with cornmeal and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Allow to rise until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

When the loaf is almost doubled, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Hold a sharp knife at a 30-degree angle to the loaf and use the blade to slash lines on each side of the loaf.

Bake the loaf for 30 to 35 minutes. or until well risen and a dark golden color. Internal temperature should reach 210 degrees. Cool on a wire rack.

Tomato Sauce for Meatballs

I never make my tomato sauce the same way twice, but have been trying to keep track of the ingredients now that I have started blogging. My Mother makes the best sauce and I have been trying to replicate her's ever since I started cooking. She never used a recipe, but I would stand there with her as she cooked, so I picked up some of her skill. I made this sauce in the the same skillet as the meatballs, I just drained the fat and went from there. The meatball recipe can be found here Meatballs in Tomato Sauce . If I had made this sauce without the meatballs, I would have cooked the garlic in 1 tablespoon of olive oil.



Tomato Sauce for Meatballs


1 (28 oz) can tomato sauce
1 (28 oz) can tomato puree
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dry basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper



Add the garlic to pan and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the rest of the ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 30 more minutes.
Note: Tomato sauce always tastes better the next day. If you have the time and energy make the sauce a day ahead and then reheat it.

Beef and Noodles

This is one of those easy kind of recipes that Sandra Lee would prepare. I almost redid my kitchen to match my outfit while I cooked it. Since I was home getting ready for the party, I decided to find something I could stick in the crock pot. After going through my cabinets and freezer, this is what I came up with.

Beef and Noodles

1/4 cup all-purpose

2 lbs. beef stew cut in 1-inch cubes

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 (18 oz) can Creamy Mushroom Soup (like Progresso)

1 (12 oz) jar fat-free beef gravy

1 cup milk

1 envelope onion soup mix

1/2 cup red wine

1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed

hot cooked noodles

Place flour in large resealable plastic bag, season with salt and pepper and add beef. Toss to coat. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, brown beef in batches. Transfer to 5qt. slow cooker. Add red wine to skillet, stir to de-glaze pan and add to crock pot. Add soup, gravy, milk and soup mix to crock pot and stir. Cover and cook on low for 7 to 8 hours. Add thawed vegetables and cook another 15 minutes. Serve over noodles.

Sun-Dried Tomato Dip

This is a great dip for chips or veggies. This is another recipe that I will be serving Saturday along with Dan's Mexican Corn Dip, Easy Cheese Ball and White Bean Dip .


Sun-Dried Tomato Dip


1/4 c. sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped (about 8)
8 oz. 1/3 less-fat cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup lite sour cream
1/2 cup lite Miracle Whip
10 to 20 dashes hot red pepper sauce
1 tsp. Pickapeppa sauce
1 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 green onions, thinly sliced, green and white parts

Combine all ingredients in food processor, except for green onion. Puree until smooth. Place into a bowl and stir in onion. Garnish with a chopped sun-dried tomato if desired. Serve at room temperature.

Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Since today was a snow day, I took a personal day from work. When you live north of the river and work in Lee's Summit, the drive can be a little on the scary side. Plus I need to get ready for a party we are throwing on Saturday for some of our neighbors! I decided to make my meatballs in tomato sauce. When they were done I put them in the freezer, so all I have to do Saturday is thaw them and place them in the crock pot. This recipe is one that I adapted from my mother.



Meatballs


3 lbs. lean ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp. fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix the ingredients in a large bowl, roll into 1-1/2" balls. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the meatballs, in batches, cooking until browned on all sides. Remove meatballs to baking dishes. When all the meatballs are browned, place into heated oven and bake for 20 minutes. Remove to plates lined with paper towels to drain. Add to prepared tomato sauce.

Panettones

I love making these wonderful mini panettones! I'm not a fan of fruit cake, but I do like these fruited Italian breads. You can use pretty much any fruit that you like, but I prefer to use candied citron, lemon and orange peel and cherries. This recipe comes from Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook with a few differences in my recipe. She uses vanilla and I use Fiori di Sicilia, a citrus vanilla flavoring that I get from http://www.kingarthurflour.com/. The Fiori di Sicilia is also great in sugar cookies and cakes. This year I purchased my candied fruit from the grocery store, but the stuff you get from the King Arthur people is much better. The recipes calls for using 2 panettone molds, I buy the mini wrappers from King Arthur and divide the dough into 12 balls. They are great for dessert or breakfast and make great gifts. When I got my yeast packets out, I only had 1 active dry and I quick rise. I used the quick rise in the first step and it worked out just fine.

Panettones

1/3 cup warm water (110 degrees)
2 envelopes active dry yeast
4 cups all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/2 cup warm milk (110 degrees)
2/3 cup sugar
4 large eggs, plus 3 large egg yolks
1 tsp. Fiori di Sicilia (or pure vanilla extract)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold, cut into small pieces
1 1/4 tsp. salt
2 cups mixed candied fruit
1 Tbsp. milk

In a medium bowl, sprinkle 1 envelope yeast over warm water. Stir with fork until yeast is dissolved and let stand until foamy, 5 to 10 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup flour and cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes.
Pour warm milk into small bowl and sprinkle with remaining yeast packet. Stir with fork to dissolve and let stand until foamy. Meanwhile, whisk together sugar, whole eggs, 2 egg yolks and Fiori di Sicilia. Whisk in milk-yeast mixture.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter, salt and remaining 3 1/2 cups flour on low speed until mixture is crumbly. With mixer on low, slowly add egg mixture and beat on medium until smooth. Add the water-yeast mixture; beat on high until dough is sticky and elastic and forms long strands when stretched, 6 to 9 minutes. Beat in fruit. Transfer dough to buttered bow and cover with buttered plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
Generously butter 2 panettone molds; set aside (if using disposable molds, you don't need to butter them). Turn out dough onto lightly floured surface; knead a few times, turning each time, until smooth. Divide dough in half (or into 12 pieces) and knead into balls. Drop balls into molds. Place on rimmed baking sheet; cover loosely with buttered plastic wrap. Let rise in warm place until dough reaches just above the top of the mold, 45 to 60 minutes. preheat oven to 400 with rack set in the lower third.
In small bowl, whisk together remaining yolk and milk. Brush tops of dough with egg wash. Using kitchen shears, cut an X in top of each ball of dough. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce oven to 350, continue baking, rotating sheet halfway through. Bake until golden brown about 45 minutes ( if baking smaller breads, bake for another 15 to 20 minutes). If tops brown to quickly, tent with aluminum foil. Transfer to wire rack and cool for 15 minutes. Loaves can be wrapped in plastic and kept at room temperature for 3 days.

Asparagus-Radicchio Risotto

Saturday night, while Alicia and Shazam were here, I decided to fix dinner. I thought a nice veggie risotto would be nice since we had been eaten so much during their visit. I shredded a head of radicchio and sauteed it with some sliced baby bella mushrooms in a little olive oil. I cut up a bunch of asparagus and blanched it , adding the heads to the water about a minute after I dropped the other pieces in. Once the asparagus was cooked to my liking I added it to the risotto. I finished it off by adding about a cup of grated Pecorino-Romano cheese and served it with bread and salad. My basic recipe can be found here: Risotto.

Zuk's Pacific Tango Sauce

A few weeks back, Green Acre's Market celebrated their 1 year anniversary at Briarcliff Village. One of the vendors sampling their wares was the creator of Zuk's sauces, Wendy. We tried them all and bought the Pacific Tango sauce, although we liked all of the one's we sampled. It's a very thick, garlicky-ginger sauce that I thought would be great on grilled chicken. I basted my grilled chicken with the sauce at the end of it's cooking time and was pleased with the results. The sauce has a very nice flavor and if you like ginger and garlic, you'll love it. You can check out the website at http://www.zuksdelights.com/.

Dining Out in Kansas City

This was a very busy weekend for us. Our friend, Alicia, came to visit from Phoenix with her new boyfriend, Sherrod (we call him Shazam!). We had a great time with them and really enjoyed getting to know Shazam. They also got to enjoy our crazy weather and some great Kansas City food.


On Thursday night we went to PizzaBella. This was like my 3rd visit there in the last 2 weeks, but I have a slight addiction to the Brussels sprouts. We ran into our friend Stacey, who had just finished dining with a friend and while we were leaving, we ran into Paul and Chris.


Alicia and Shazam ordered the crispy Brussels sprouts, fingerling potatoes and the calamari salad, all of which they loved. I had the sprouts and the mushroom pizza, while Dan ordered the green salad and the biancoverde pizza. Both of us were happy with our meals, too.


On Friday afternoon, we headed over to JP Wine Bar to meet up with Lisa and Karen. The place was much different than it was last Saturday. This time it was packed and noisy, which ruined the atmosphere for me. They had the music turned up way too loud to compensate for the human noise and that only added to the problem. We found a booth in the back and settled in for some great conversation, drink and food. We ordered the bruschetta , hummus and antipasto and enjoyed them all.


From there, we headed over to The Mango Room for dinner. They were also busy and there was live music. We had an excellent server and really had a great meal. Alicia ordered the fried chicken with mac and cheese and the fried green bean bundles. Shazam had the ox tails with the cheddar peppa' grits and fried green bean bundles. Dan ordered the salmon along with the grits and the green bean bundles and I had the pork chop with Brussels sprouts and the grits. All of the food was good and the company was excellent.



On Sunday morning we went to The Cafe at Briarcliff Village. While the food was good, the service is still a little questionable. Our server did not know the menu as well as she should have and that caused some problems with the ticket in the end. Dan and Alicia ordered the farmers breakfast and Shazam and I had the skillets. This place could be really good if they could just train the servers. We find ourselves opting for other places to eat, even though they are so close to home.