February 23, 2012: Let the birthday continue--Cucina Pietra, Atlanta

My hubby is continuing my birthday and Valentine's combo celebration by taking me to Atlanta. This may seem like an extravagant birthday/Valentine gift, but here are some things to consider: 1. I am 55. Therefore, I could be dead soon. 2. I did a great birthday for him for the big FIVE-OH!

And I managed to get him to Genoa, Italy, Marseilles, France, Barcelona, Spain, Majorca, Sardinia, Sicily and Rome, Italy a couple of weeks BEFORE the Costa Concordia sank....close call...

My baby scored immediate points by booking us into the Artmore Hotel. This place is really beautiful and apparently was once someone's very face home in which they displayed their artwork. It is mildly reminiscent of a high profile Knoxville attorney I have met a couple of times who also built his home specifically for the purpose of highlighting his art acquistions. Here are some photos of our room:

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This is the wall behind the front desk. They turn on different color lights and it makes a gorgeous pattern. Paul planned a wonderful dinner for us at a restaurant called La Pietra Cucina. They make their own pasta there and it is really delicious. Oddly, however, they have a signature dish called black spaghetti which they do not make there. They buy it from California. We started our meal with a house cured beef "belly" carpaccio topped with watercress. This beef was very, very thinly sliced...I have no idea how they got it so narrow. But it was a good appetizer for Paul and I. Nothing too big to spoil dinner, just a nice promise for the future meal.

One thing Paul and I really enjoy doing is splitting a meal. Not only is it economical, with the man zized portions generally served in the Southeast, it keeps us from eating too much...sometiimes. It also leaves us plenty of room for dessert.

Tonight we had the house made pasta carbonara. The pasta was perfectly al dente and the carbonara sauce was really delicious. By splitting it, we got about 5-6 bites each. And we loved this serving dish also. This unfortunately left plenty of room for dessert. And boy did we have a great one.

This was an incredible semifreddo. Semifreddo (Italian: "half cold") is a class of semi-frozen desserts, typically ice-cream cakes, semi-frozen custards, and certain fruit tarts. It has the texture of frozen mousse because it is usually produced by uniting two equal parts of ice cream and whipped cream. Anything with ice cream is my hubby's favorite dessert! What was my hubby's opinion of this Italian meal?

House-cured Beef Belly Carpaccio: Really thin and light. House-made Pasta Carbonara: Great taste and texture Semifreddo: Creamy and delicious. Should you be in the Atlanta area, La Pietra Cucina, the 'stone kitchen' is located at One Peachtree Pointe, 1545 Peachtree Street • Atlanta, GA 30309. Our meal with two glasses of house white wine was $70.00. Think about trying it and if you do, ENJOY!

February 22, 2012: Happy Birthday George Washington: Bring on the Far Niente and Nickel and Nickel

Okay, it may have been Papa George's birthday, but I cannot tell a lie. My husband out did himself by helping me celebrate the double nickel birthday by going to Chez Liberty restaurant for one of their truly decadent wine dinners. This evenings wine's were all from the Far Niente winery in Oakville, California. And even though my husband didn't know it, they have a subsidiary called Nickel and Nickel. 55. Ho! Boy am I gonna start getting the senior discounts now! But not at this dinner!

Far Niente was founded in 1885 by John Benson, a forty-niner of the California gold rush and uncle of the famous American impressionist painter, Winslow Homer. John Benson was one of the very few who struck the good vein and made good and decided that wine was the way to go. The winery did pretty well in the Napa Valley until the evil Prohibition, when it did so badly, it fell into receivership for forty years.

Fast forward sixty years and this is what it looked like when Oklahoman, Gill Nickel, woke up one morning and thought, "Hell, let's buy a winery." Of course, instead of being a nutcase, turns out he was something of a genius. He was a physicist and a missile analyst for the Navy. When his military career ended, he moved home to Oklahoma and helped in his family business- a nursery. Not a human child nursery, a plant nursery. So I guess he woke up one day and said, "Making wine? It ain't rocket science." So thank you, Mr. Nickel and your wife, Mrs. Nickel of Far Niente/ Nickel and Nickel winery for making my birthday really special. And thank you Mr. Parris for paying for it! I am just going to list all these wonderful foods and wines and let it be. But let me warn you--- YOU WILL BE JEALOUS! Far Niente / Nickel & Nickel with special guest James Doering Wednesday, February 22nd, 6:30pm. In conjunction with Ashe's Wines & Spirits Greeter Nickel & Nickel 2010 Medina Vineyard Russian River Chardonnay First Nickel & Nickel 2009 Searby Vineyard Russian River Chardonnay Bibb lettuce, poached granny smith apples and Bartlett pears, blood orange vinaigrette Second Nickel & Nickel 2007 Bonfire Vineyard Dry Creek Zinfandel Cedar smoked vanilla and black pepper compressed pork belly, berry coulis Third Nickel & Nickel 2008 Darien Vineyard Syrah Housed ground coffee crusted roasted rack of lamb, fig and sweet potato hash, plum demi-sec Fourth Nickel & Nickel 2008 Napa Sullenger Vineyard Oakville Cabernet and Nickel & Nickel 2008 Napa State Ranch Vineyard Yountville Cabernet Braised veal cheeks, luxardo cherry and blueberry compote, grilled bok choy Fifth Nickel & Nickel 2008 Napa CC Ranch Vineyard Rutherford Cabernet and Nickel & Nickel 2008 Napa Copper Streak Vineyard Stag's Leap Cabernet Duo of duck: Duck confit, hibiscus and black tea syrup Pan seared maple leaf farms duck breast, cassis reduction, cocoa lavender utile Sixth Far Niente 2007 Napa Cabernet Rack of elk, baby shitake mushrooms, heirloom carrots, pan jus Seventh Nickel & Nickel 2008 Harris Vineyard Merlot Raspberry sage crème caramel Eighth Far Niente 2005 Dolce Chef's cheese selection

February 21, 2012: My Birthday=Menopause and Chili

Happy Birthday to me! I had to work today, even though it was the infamous "double nickel" birthday. Oh well. So work + social event = slow cooker AKA crockpot. Somehow, chili has been a feature recently at our house and tonight was no exception.

Tonight I made a very easy chili that only took about 4 hours on low to make. It isn't as spicy as most of the ones I make, but I think it turned out well. Here are some of the positive feautures of this chili: ground turkey which is non-red meat(!), canned precooked beans which is a big time saver. Ingredients 1 pound ground turkey 3/4 cup diced onion 3/4 cup diced celery 3/4 cup diced green bell pepper 2 cloves garlic, minced 2 (10.75 ounce) cans tomato puree 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans with liquid 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans with liquid 1 T. tablespoon chili powder 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley 1 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon dried basil 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce 2 tsp of adobo sauce Directions 1. Place the beef in a skillet over medium heat, and cook until evenly brown. Drain grease. 2. Place the beef in a slow cooker, and mix in onion, celery, green bell pepper, garlic, tomato puree, kidney beans, and cannellini beans. Season with chili powder, parsley, salt, basil, oregano, black pepper, and hot pepper sauce. 3. Cover, and cook 4-6 hours on Low Joining me in my birthday suare were my husband, Paul and my eldest niece, Paige who kindly brought me a gorgeous birthday bouquet of flowers.

My hubby's opinion of this turkey based chili with beans: A mild chili, but very flavorful. My niece's opinion: Tastes good to me! Then we went to see MENOPAUSE THE MUSICAL. This was way kitchy and stupid but still funny. If it had lasted longer than 90 minutes without an intermission, I would have drowned in the schmaltz, but overall I laughed plenty. And who laughed twice as much?

That's right. The one, the only Paul Parris.... ENJOY!

February 20, 2012: Kentucky Fried.....Cornish Hen?

As many of you know, I spend several weeks a year in Nicaragua taking care of some very nice people with very limited access to medical care.

I get LOTS of praise for this work, but the reality of the matter is, it is BIG TIME teamwork. THere are local people in Chinandega who make the ball roll and lots of great help from stateside...folks who spend their own money and give up vacation time to be a part of delivering health care to those who have none or very little. ANd all for no charge. It is a wonderful feeling to do this. They give us so much. One component of this also is DONATIONS...time, effort, money and often, medical supplies. So a big SHOUT OUT to the Nelson County Public Clinic who for several years have been donating surgical supplies to Amigos to help these folks down in Nicaragua. These health care professionals save these items that they do not need because they do not do surgery in their clinic. Twice a year I go to Bardstown, Kentucky and collect this spectacular set of donated items and eventually get them to Atlanta for shipment to Nicaragua. There are numerous people involved BUT who stores them in her garage for months on end?

Jim and Sandra Akin, that's who. Mr. Akin is the retired fire chief of Bardstown and Mrs. AKin is a retired nurse who still volunteers in the clinic. They can't go to Nicaragua in person, but everytime I operate on someone, they are there! Since Mrs. Akin, who is a stellar home cook, was afraid I would be hungry she made-- CORNISH HEN. Wow. And boy was it delicious!

Even though the Akins are not drinkers, they were kind enough to serve me this amazing Kentucky Bourbon barrel beer. If you can get your paws on this, grab it all. It is seasonal and not always availble, but always amazing.

This cornish hen tasted as amazing as it looked. Mrs. Akin served it with a mixed tropical fruit salad. It HIT the spot. Really delicious. Here is her recipe: Well, I just put some good herbs on it and roasted it. GOOD LUCK everyone :) Enjoy!

February 19, 2012: Sunday Supper is Steaks in the Snow

After a week of frenzied but enjoyable social activities, I FINALLY get to have an evening alone at home with my hubby! And it snowed. A bit, but enough to see it.

Since we had a good bit of left over baked beans, Sagar Gandhi's mashed potatoes (he used the red potatoes), and turnip greens from Dead End BBQ, we thought we could use the last couple of steaks from a package of small sirloins that the Daleys sent us for Christmas. I marinated them overnight in a marinade from Kentucky made with Bourbon (what else?) that Marcia and Hector Chavez and Jim Hoover gave us for Christmas.

I don't know where it came from (other than Kentucky!), but it made a nice marinade.

Paul cooked them 4 minutes on each side at 600 degrees on his Weber gas grill and they were a perfect medium rare. For dessert, we had Tahitian Vanilla Bean Ice Cream (or Paul did :) and pumpkin spice cookies (recipe will follow)

My husband's opinion of this meal: Steak: Good. Potatoes: Really good. Greens and Beans: I am not really a fan of greens but Dead End makes the best. Cookies: A soft cookie with intense pumpkin flavor.

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Recipe 4 cups all purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1 teaspoon allspice 2 cups vegetable shortening 2 cups granulated sugar 1 can (15 oz.) LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin 2 large eggs 4 teaspoons vanilla 2 cups raisins 1 cup nuts, chopped (I used walnuts) PREHEAT oven to 350°F. COMBINE flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice in medium bowl. Beat shortening and granulated sugar in large mixer bowl for 30 seconds. Add pumpkin, eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; beat until blended. Gradually add flour mixture into pumpkin mixture at low speed until combined. Stir in raisins and nuts. Drop by rounded teaspoonspoon onto ungreased baking sheets. BAKE for 12 to 15 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes; remove to wire rack to cool completely. Spread each cookie with frosting. FROSTING: 2/3 cup butter, softened 4 cups powdered sugar Milk BEAT butter, rum extract and remaining vanilla extract in medium mixer bowl until creamy. Gradually beat in powdered sugar and evaporated milk until smooth (frosting will be thin). Estimated Times: Preparation - 30 minutes; Cooking - 12 minutes. Yields 60 cookies (5 dozen). I divided in half and made about 30 cookies. ENJOY!

February 18, 2012: Pumpkin Waffle Brunch/ Tomato Head late night supper.

Ever since I met someone who appreciated my cooking--that is my sweet hubby-- I have been looking to add to my cooking repetoire. And one thing I think is great, although I don't eat them every day, is WAFFLES. So for months, I searched for a second hand waffle maker in thrift stores. I would go about twice a month and look at our area markets.

Several years ago while looking at Good Eats on Food Network, I heard Alton Brown talking about what to look for in a waffle iron. He recommended a high wattage and a ROUND design rather than square, but I cannot for the life of me remember why.

For months I found waffle makers, but not round ones. Finally, I guess for Christmas my husband let my mother in law, an awesome cook and waffle wielder herself, know that I was wandering through thrift stores looking for a good round waffle maker and she bought one for me.

And not just any wafflemaker mind you. A double sided FLIP waffle maker. I don't know how much she spent, but I am surprised she is not living in a tent after this purchase!

So of course, the first waffles HAD to be made for her. She brought her friend, Ron, a ninety year old very healthy guy from San Angelo, TExas over for 3 pm brunch. As if my mother in law had not done enough already, she brought fixings for mimosas!

It's great she brought them, because I didn't make it home until about 2:30pm and my guests had a bit of gracious waiting to do to get their meal.
I looked around for a great pumpkin waffle recipe, since my husband loves him some pumpkin anything. And I found an old Betty Crocker one:
Waffles
2 1/3 cups Original Bisquick® mix 1 1/2 cups milk 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix) 1/4 cup vegetable oil 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice 2 eggs 1/4 cup chopped pecans Powdered sugar, if desired .

2 Heat waffle iron; grease with cooking spray, vegetable oil or shortening. In large bowl, beat all waffle ingredients except pecans and powdered sugar with wire whisk or hand beater until blended. Pour batter onto center of hot waffle iron. Close lid of waffle iron.
3 Bake about 5 minutes or until steaming stops and waffle is golden brown. Carefully remove waffle. Sprinkle with pecans and powdered sugar. Serve with syrup

I served these with bacon and mixed sliced fruits.

My husband's opinion: Great. Pumpkin flavor very evident.

Thanks to Jenny and Ron for being our guests, as well as to Paige who was not only a guest, she helped us clean up.

We weren't sure we would eat any dinner, but about 9:30, my husband got "peckish" and wanted to walk up to Tomato Head for a pizza.

It was about 55 degrees out, so people were actually dining outside in mid February. That's one for the books!
No trip my husband makes to eat in Market Square goes without a certain feature either:

The man is ADDICTED to gelato. Coolato has wonderful flavors and since it is made with milk instead of cream, it is very healthy as well. Try them out if you haven't already!

Enjoy!

February 17, 2012: Mashed Potato Throwdown

Around Thanksgiving, one of my students, Bindhu, revealed that someone had asked her to make mashed potatoes and bring them to their Thanksgiving feast...and that there was a problem. She didn't know how to make mashed potatoes.

To a Southern woman like me who was taught that cooking was the way you fed your family, kept your husband and children up and at 'em, and to whom inexpensive ingredients, like pototoes reigned supreme, this was akin to having someone say, "No one taught me how to breathe."
You will see Ms. Bindu pictured below third from the left at the departmental Christmas suare. Lest you think her mashed potato faux pas is cultural, Bindu was born and raised in DALLAS, TEXAS, one of the universal epicenters of potato cookery. Lest you think even in the land of the Cowboy, she was schooled in Indian cooking, think again. Bindu just doesn't cook alot. But since she is from T&T (Tennessee and Texas), a group of us believed in our very souls that it was wrong to let Bindu continue in such a state of errancy...akin in the South to living for years as a heroin junkie.
As we discussed who should teach Bindu how to make mash potatoes, a series of mashed potato boasts arose--mostly from folks pictured above. Valerie Sam, first person on the left, bragged that her husband T-bone, instead of tender words, wooed her with soft spuds. Christy Lawson who is pictured to the right of Bindu displayed hubris over her hubby's Bleu Cheese and Walnut Mash.
Mariah Alexander, second person from the right, brazenly claimed her grandmother's mashed potato paprika was the winner.

Sagar Gandhi, another Texan, claimed he made the best potato on earth utilizing the diminutive red skinned potato.

So what could we do but have a MASHED POTATO THROWDOWN?
We invited world class judges, Jenni McClintic, food scientist for Bush's beans, pictured here with our other distinguished and highly qualified judge, Chef Amanda Stokes.

To round out our panel, we invited Lisa Daley, greeting card creator and home cook who made the best mashed potato I personally have ever tasted.

She is pictured here with her husband Brian who is a partner at my medical practice and who loves mashed potatoes. We didn't let him judge, though, because he knows the contestants and couldn't be UNBIASED.
After a whole kitchen full of cooks and lots of angst and trash talk, the winner was :

Christy Lawson with her Bleu Cheese and Walnut Mash.

This was definitely the highest end potato in the lot...maybe not the most traditional though and I think with our panel of judges, tradition didn't cut it!

So Christy deservedly took home the 2012 Mashed Potato Throwdown trophy. I am going to get her to give me that recipe, so I can post it for my followers.
People's choice winner was:
Mariah Alexander (she's the meat in the sandwich picture)with grandma's paprika potatoes. Not a bad showing for a girl from Guin, Alabama!

As for the "other contestants," they have nothing to be ashamed of. They made awesome potatoes. And hopefully, Bindu sees that the beauty of mashed is in the eye of the potato!

Thanks a million to everyone who came and did not compete, but spurred our contestants on to VICTORY or not...Lindsay Raumbarger (the last lovely lady inthe Sexy Women of the UT Christmas party photo), Denise Coryell--always sexy even in sweatpants, and to spouses, my niece, Paige who brought the brownies from Chick Fil A, and mostly MY SPOUSE, Paul, who spent a good bit of Friday getting wine/beer and setting up and cleaning up. You are the very best, my dear.

February 16, 2012: It Might Just be Soup and Sandwich, but Friendship is a State of Grace!

Once a month, I try to get together with a great group of friends and writers where we typically socialize and obsess over our literary babies. It's fun and very helpful. I usually try to provide some sort of tasty refreshment, because obviously I enjoy cooking, the meeting is at mealtime, and the group is very kind to let me experiment with recipes I haven't used before. It is a win-win prospect. However, last night, things went a bit awry...and then they kept going awry! Unfortunately for some poor soul whose name I cannot reveal, they were involved in a massively awful wreck up in Scott County. When the guy called me about the patient, I never expected to go to the OR with them, because I thought it was highly unlikely they would ever make it to U.T. And the helicopters couldn't fly because the weather was bad. But amazingly, clinging onto a thread, the lady spunked out and got here...26 units of blood and 3 hours later, we had a "live one" leaving the operating room. Not sure if she will make it, but thankfully, she is still hanging in tooth and nail at present. With a long row to hoe, but every minute counts.

Covered in blood and sweat with my mask marks in my face, I looked at the clock. 5:50PM. This was NOT a welcome sight, as the writer's group would be at my house in 40 minutes...and I had to use part of it to drive home.

I was tempted to have a total emotional enema or some sort of mental meltdown when it occurred to me that supper or no supper, we would probably all survive. I called Lenny's subshop and ordered 8 turkey subs (my husband thinks this is their best offering) and one veggie sub for Nikki who does nto eat meat. The girl taking the order seems super cheery and doesn't even miss a beat when I ask if I can come get them in 15 minutes. Sure. Come on. They'll be ready. No problem. Whew. I wipe the sweat off my brow and head toward my car. Lucky for me, my friend and fellow writer Nancy was near the sub shop. Major coupe! She will pick up the sandwiches. Even better to have such a great friend.

I get home. I start wheeling and dealing in crackers and cookies and think to myself, "Okay. This is going to turn out just fine after all." Eventually, Toni another friend arrives. I apologize for not having food ready. No worries, she says. We talk about her experiences with Iowa Writers Workshop. Yea, I'm thinking, all is well. Life is good.

Nancy comes in and my joy is complete! Until I look in the bag which seems awfully small and she says, "Is this what you ordered?" I have eight people including a hungry husband coming and what I have is one turkey sub and one veggie sub. That's it. Nada mas.

Wow. What am I going to do?
I start thinking, "Too bad we aren't on the sea of Galilee and Jesus isn't in regular attendance (at least not visibly) at this meeting."

Because if you could feed a "multitude" with five loaves and two fishes, we could probably even give some of these Lenny's subs to the neighbors...and their dogs.
Just like with our writing projects we brain storm. "Cut em in half," says Nancy. We look at the pathetic result. Four sammies. "Cut 'em in fourths," say Toni, displaying an excellent math aptitude I did not know she had. We look. Wow. Really pathetic.
What can I scrounge out of my cupboard? I am really committed to fresh ingredients, so my pantry is mostly flour, sugar, flavorings...basic ingredients not prepared foods. Then I see it in the back. What goes with a sammie? SOUPIE!

I put three cans of SIMILAR soups into a pot. VOILA! Dinner is served.

Now I have to say, in terms of taste and content, this was not the best food I ever served at a writer's meeting and definitely was a downshift in quality. But as far as the writer's were concerned, it was just right. They ate their food and continued on with the meeting as usual. One of them even told me how good the soup was.

So it was a great meal, because it reiterated something I already know. Your friends will cut you some slack. They will go get sandwiches. They will eat soup from a can. And friendship is a state of grace.

ENJOY!

February 15, 2012: Doing the Hospital Scrounge- Results Hibachi Leftovers and A quiz!

Back on call at the proverbial mecca of medical wisdom...for your life :)
Before I comment on my dinner, I must first comment that a patient taught me an important concept tonight. Ever have your friends ask you to go somewhere and you really didn't want to go? I usually just don't get in the car with them, but say you were already in the car when they announced they wanted to... go eat chitterlings let's say as an example. What is an effective method to get them to change their minds?
My patient came up with the ultimate showstopper. Stab yourself in the chest! It was a highly effective tool in getting her request to go elsewhere granted. Of course, the friends may object to all the blood in the carseat, but likely, you will never face this situation with them again.

On to table talk now. It's always a challenge to find something both edible and healthy in a hospital. Don't ask me why, but hospital cafeterias are some of the final bastions of the unhealthy greased up, cheese coated diet. Tonight I found leftover hibachi factory sides though in the office refrig! Rescue (sort of).

Apparently all the meats and rice were gone, but no one likes the veggies I guess. Which is great for me, because I love and actually prefer them. There were zucchini and onions and glazed carrots.

The zucchini and onions were very tasty. The glazed carrots were too sweet for my taste, but I am sure some would find them perfect. Kind of like that sickening sweet syrupy iced tea in some parts of the South. Hate it, but many LOVE it.

Tonight we will have QUIZ CARROT!

QUESTION 1.
True or False. The root words for carrot refer to its horn like shape.

QUESTION 2.
Which of the following tidbits about carrots is incorrect?
A. The carrot is native to Europe and Asia.
B. The part of the carrot you eat is the taproot.
C. The flowers on a carrot plant are white.
D. The greens on a carrot are inedible.
E. In India, carrots are part of a popular dessert.

QUESTION 3.
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
A. Growing carrots alongside tomatoes will reduce their yield.
B. Carrot pudding originated in Ireland.
C. Beta carotene, the pigmented chemical in carrots, is metabolized in
humans to Vitamin A.
D. Eating large amounts of carrots substantially improves night vision.
E. Kabul, Afghanistan claims to be the carrot capital of the world.

QUESTION 4.
True or False. Carrots take three months to mature from seed.

QUESTION 5.
True or False. Carrots can be used to treat intestinal parasites.

WHAT'S UP WITH THE CARROT ANSWER SHEET?

Question 1. True.

Someone thought carrots were "horny."

QUESTION 2. D

The greens are edible, but I have never seen anyone consume them.

QUESTION 3. C

Carrots INCREASE the yield of tomatoes. Carrot pudding is an ENGLISH dish. It does not produce any major increase in night vision to eat bunches of carrots, but the beta carotene does indeed get metabolized to Vitamin A, the friend of the eyeball. Holtville, California believes itself to be the carrot capital of the world, although Bradford Ontario, Ohakune New Zealand Croissy sur Seine, France, Aarau Switzerland, Schenectady County NY Creances France, and Beypazarı, Turkey all celebrate International Carrot Day on April 4th with a festival.

QUESTION 4. False

It takes 4 months to get a carrot from seed.

QUESTION 5. True.

Both roundworms and pinworms succumb to the powerful carrot.

Okay, go out there and eat a healthy carrot or two!