Monthly Archives: November 2016

Delicious Dishes

Now We’re Cookin’ – Beans and Cornbread

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Pinto Beans and Cornbread
Beans: (feeds 8-10)
8 cups water
1 lb dry beans
1/2 Tbs. Salt
1/2 Tbs. chili powder
1/2 Tbs. garlic (paste or minced)
1 Tbs. olive, canola or vegetable oil (bacon grease if you have it)
Optional: 1/2 onion or 1 jalapeno, slit
Directions:
Look through beans and cull out any small rocks or bad-looking beans
Put into stock pot with 8 cups water (enough to cover with about 2” above top of beans)
Bring to boil on medium heat.
Remove from heat and rinse.
Refill pot with another 8 cups water and place on low-medium heat.
Add seasoning and oil.
Simmer 1-1 1/2 hours.
Check to see if more water needed so no scorching occurs or if more seasoning is needed.
Turn heat lower and simmer another hour or two.

Buttermilk Cornbread: (feeds 10-12, 9×13 pan)
1/4 cup oil
2 cups cornmeal
2 cup AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 Tbs. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
3 cups buttermilk (3 Tbs. lemon juice and add milk to 3 cup mark)
2 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Pour oil on 9×13 pan to coat and heat in oven.
Combine dry ingredients and mix well.
Add eggs and buttermilk.
Mix well.
Pour into hot pan, spreading evenly.
Bake 20-30 min., until golden brown.

Story behind this dish

Our first day of official work (but the day before our official opening) began at 6:30 a.m. with a quick trip to the grocery store to purchase forgotten items needed for the catering gig we’d landed. Yes, I’d gone the night before (after I’d left “work” at 6:30), purchased a shopping cart full of stuff, and brought it back for the next morning. But, of course, I’d forgotten one or two things.
Anywho, JoAnne was already hard at work on the carrot cake. She routinely got up at 5 a.m. to run 5 miles and would then go on into work. She really was a godsend.
Rebecca arrived as I did and we both rolled up our sleeves and got to work.
Now, I’ll tell ya, making anything at home doesn’t seem to take all that long. But when cooking for a crowd of 45, it seemed to take forever. And we weren’t dilly-dallying. All 3 of us were hurrying.
We had beans simmering, salad and dressings made, cornbread cut and packaged, paper goods boxed and ready, and the cake iced, cut and packaged.
Rebecca was making 4 gallons of tea and JoAnne was finishing the chicken n dumplins as our state health department inspector waltzed in. She was supposed to come in the afternoon. But here she was, catching us cooking for a luncheon in our uninspected kitchen.
I recognized her. She’d taken the ServSafe course with me. (A course that certifies you know kitchen requirements). This could go either way. Either she’d know I knew what I was doing and go easy or she’d know I was supposed to know better and write us up.
She asked when we were opening and I answered honestly. Rebecca and JoAnne were both friendly but kept their heads in their jobs and let me do the answering. She then asked if we were just doing prep work for it, although she could see we were full-blown cooking. Again, honesty:  I smiled, “Well, we had a pharmaceutical rep call and request a lunch for today. So we went ahead and did it. I hope that’s okay.”
She was checking our temperatures in cold storage. She just smiled. I followed her around our small kitchen checking our oven and stove temperatures, since we had them going. She observed our washing and sanitizing stations and checked our grease trap (glad we’d cleaned that out!).
“You are cleared to cook,” she said as she handed me a copy of the report she’d turn in. She smiled and wished us luck.
“Thank you,” I said as she left.
I turned to Rebecca and JoAnne.
“Glad that’s over. I was afraid she’d shut us down just for getting our cart before our horse,” I said.
Rebecca looked up from packaging the tea in our carrier, “Me too. I was nervous about that….”
As we launched into a conversation about that big stress being past us, JoAnne reminded us, “Yes, but right now we need to get this meal to 45 people on the other side of town and we are 10 minutes late.”
JoAnne would prove to be our much-needed time keeper and “reminderer”.
Cooking on a schedule was proving harder than it looked.

For a crowd: (feeds 32-40 as main dish)
Beans
1.5-2 gallons water
4 lb dry beans
2 Tbs. Salt
2 Tbs. chili powder
2 Tbs. garlic (paste or minced)
4 Tbs. olive, canola or vegetable oil (bacon grease if you have it)
Optional: 2 onions or 3 jalapenos, slit
Directions:
Look through beans and cull out any small rocks or bad-looking beans
Put into large stock pot with water (enough to cover with about 2” above top of beans)
Bring to boil on medium heat.
Remove from heat and rinse.
Refill pot with more water and place on low-medium heat.
Add seasoning and oil.
Simmer 1 1/2 – 2 hours.
Check to see if more water needed so no scorching occurs or if more seasoning is needed.
Turn heat lower and simmer another hour or two.

Buttermilk Cornbread: (feeds 40-48, 2 large steam trays)
1 cup oil
8 cups cornmeal
8 cup AP flour
1 cup sugar
8 Tbs. baking powder
8 tsp. salt
6 tsp. baking soda
12 cups buttermilk (3 Tbs. lemon juice and add milk to 3 cup mark)
8 eggs
Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Pour 1/2 cup oil into each 9×13 pan to coat and heat in oven.
Combine dry ingredients and mix well.
Add eggs and buttermilk.
Mix well.
Pour into hot pans, spreading evenly.
Bake 30-45 min., until golden brown.

Delicious Dishes

A Comforting Kick-off – Chicken’n’dumplins

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Chicken and Dumplins

2 cans (10.5 oz.) cream of chicken soup
3 cups chicken broth
4 cups chicken
5 oz. evaporated milk
1/4 Tbs. Cornstarch
1 (24 oz.) pkg. frozen dumplings (or see recipe below)

Directions
In large stock pot, mix cream of chicken soup and chicken broth with whisk.
Taste for salt and pepper and add accordingly.
Bring to rolling boil.
In small bowl, whisk together evaporated milk and cornstarch until smooth.
Slowly pour into pot and stir well.
(If using frozen dumplings, add now. Break in half and add a few at a time so they don’t stick together.)
Add chicken. Reduce heat to low and cover.
Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
(If using fresh dumplings, add now.)
Cover and let simmer.

Dumplins:
1 cup AP flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup ice water

Directions:
In small bowl, mix flour with salt.
Drizzle half of water into bowl and mix with fork. (You can use your hands if you prefer)
Add water as needed until dough begins to form pea-size chunks and form ball.
Let sit 5 minutes.
Roll dough on floured surface (will be firm) until 1/4- 1/8” thick.
Cut into pieces and drop into simmering broth. Stir occasionally to keep dumplins from sticking.

Story behind the dumplins

Two days before opening day: Rebecca, Joanne and I had been working the few groceries I had purchased into a few offerings for the front cases. We’d been at is since 7 a.m. and it was approaching 3 p.m. In the home stretch leading up to our first day of business, I was  super tired and super excited.

The phone rang and I answered all professional-like with our business name.
We had our first customer.  Someone needed a lunch taken to a medical office-45 people! The former caterer often catered lunches and told us not to turn down a lunch catering job or we might not be called the next time. We had not changed the number of the business, so here we were getting our first catering gig! Yay!
I asked when he needs the meal. He said tomorrow.
Problem 1: We were just setting up the kitchen and getting it stocked with food. (You know, for the mad rush of people who would be demanding our food though we are unknown and just starting out. Do you see how clueless I am?)
Problem 2: Our state health department inspector had not cleared us to cook in the kitchen. The former caterer had kept a great reputation with the local health inspectors, but as a new company, we need to be assessed prior to opening. She was set to come the next morning, right when we should be cooking for this potential lunch.
I put my hand on the receiver and said in a perfectly panicked voice to Rebecca and Joanne, “Hey, we have a catering job!!!! (excited voice) He wants a luncheon tomorrow for 45!!!! (excited voice).”
They both stopped what they were doing and looked at me like I’d lost my mind. (They were just figuring that out?)
“We can do it, right?” (worried voice)
We went back and forth for a couple seconds about not being inspected yet and having to run get groceries and so forth. I got back on the line and the customer said, “I’ll call back another time if you can’t do this for me. I understand you aren’t really …. Open.” He’d heard the conversation! Turns out a hand on the receiver doesn’t mask all noise like it does in the movies. Good to know.
“No, no. We can do this for you,” I said.
He sounded a little worried. “Really, I’ll call with another lunch.”
See, you don’t want to get in the habit of turning business away.
I summoned some bravado and said, “Just tell me what you want and which office you need it taken to and I’ll have it there.” (Totally false confidence in my voice, but it worked.)
He said, “Okay, this office likes comfort food so I need chicken and dumplins, beans and cornbread, and a carrot cake for 45 delivered by 11:15 tomorrow morning.”
I read the order back to him and as my eyes bugged out, I replied, “No problem. I’ll take care of it.”
I hung up the phone and turned to see 2 mouths open in disbelief.
Rebecca: “ Did you just get us a catering job?”
I read the tone as disbelief and happiness.
Joanne: “Feeding 45 tomorrow morning? ….  Not one but 2 main dishes, salad, drinks, paper goods, and a homemade carrot cake?”
I read the tone wrong. The feeling was more disbelief on the verge of “are you stupid?”
Yes, yes, I am.
I was also determined. “Yes. I’ll go to the store and get what we need and make the cake tonight and get here extra early and get it done!”
They both blinked several times and took deep breaths and went back to work.
Sheer will and utter stupidity are sometimes all you need to give a little comfort to others.

 

For a crowd: (feeding about 15-20 as main dish)
4 (10.5 oz.) cans or 1 (50 oz.) can cream of chicken soup
6 cups chicken broth
8 cups chicken, cubed or shredded
10 oz. (12 oz. can fine to use) evaporated milk
1/2 Tbs. cornstarch
2 (24 oz.) pkg. frozen dumplings (or see recipe below)
Directions
In large stock pot, mix cream of chicken soup and chicken broth with whisk.
Taste for salt and pepper and add accordingly.
Bring to rolling boil.
In small bowl, whisk together evaporated milk and cornstarch until smooth.
Slowly pour into pot and stir well.
(If using frozen dumplings, add now. Break in half and add a few at a time so they don’t stick together.)
Add chicken. Reduce heat to low and cover.
Simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
(If using fresh dumplings, add now.)
Cover and let simmer.
Dumplins:
2 cups AP flour
2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup ice water
Directions:
In bowl, mix flour with salt.
Drizzle half of water into bowl and mix with fork. (You can use your hands if you prefer)
Add water as needed until dough begins to form pea-size chunks and form ball.
Let sit 5 minutes.
Roll dough on floured surface (will be firm) until 1/4- 1/8” thick.
Cut into pieces and drop into simmering broth. Stir occasionally to keep dumplins from sticking.

Sweet Tooth

Sweet Ending from the Start – Brownies

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Chocolate Cheesecake Brownies

I had looked and looked for a cheesecake brownie recipe that gave a good contrast of a semi-tart cheesecake and a super sweet brownie. Maybe I was searching in wrong areas, but I could not find one that did not have the baker mixing the cream cheese directly into the batter of the brownie.
But I wanted a flavor fight on my palate. So I decided to tweak the brownie recipe and swirl my tart cheesecake mixture into my super sweet brownie base so each bite had all the flavors I craved. Dispel all visions of grease traps and enjoy this recipe!

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Makes 9×7 pan of brownies.

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
Whip these together in mixer.

Add:
1 egg, whipped
1 heaping tsp. sour cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Mix well

In separate bowl, mix together
1/2 cup AP flour
1/4 cups unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Add this mixture to wet ingredients in mixer bowl.
Incorporate well.
Spread in greased 9×7 pan.

Whip together:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 TBS. lemon juice
Dollop this on brownie mixture and swirl with offset spatula or knife (or whatever you have on hand)
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Read on for the beginning of my story.

As with a lot of great endeavors, mine began with an great idea … and a heavy dose of cluelessness.

An opportunity presented itself to leave a job at which I was feeling supremely unappreciated. A local caterer decided to sell – located in a strip mall, fairly good location, and with a good reputation. He’d begun using his leftover food from catering jobs to make meals and package them so locals could grab a meal and simply bake it or reheat it at home. A semi-home cooked meal, if you will. It was actually a novel idea and wasn’t being done in the big chain grocery stores and discount stores as it is now.

That’s all I knew about him or catering. All you need to know, of course.
Did I ask to see books? No. Did I ask to be trained? No. Did I do anything a responsible, knowledgeable person would? No.

I got a love of cooking and a lot of knowledge and little knack for it from my mom, an awesome cook. And I, like a lot of “foodies”, loved watching the FoodNetwork and hearing the backgrounds of the food stars. Paula Deen’s had struck me as it was akin to something I’d thought should be in my town. As I remember it, she’d taken sandwiches and sold them door-to-door. We’d had a young lady who would bring pre-made sandwiches and salads to our office and sell them … from her car. Not actually legit as a food business, but she seemed clean and the food was good and freshly made. Our office, as well as others in the area, bought from her whenever she came in. I worked downtown and it was hard to even leave for lunch some days, so I thought this could be done on a grander scale. Think food truck. My mother-in-law and I had a few of those “we should do that” conversations knowing we never would.

Until said opportunity mentioned earlier came about. Why not mix the above ingredients into one fabulous recipe for success? Rename the business so that the emphasis was on making pre-made lunches and meals, and selling those at the offices downtown, while keeping the brick-and-mortar to sell from as well. And do a little catering on the side. I loved to cook and wouldn’t catering be just like cooking a favorite meal at home? Everyone would love it and be sooooo appreciative of having home-cooked food, they’d take whatever I dished out.
Yes, yes, that is how it would go. How hard could this be?

My first partner, a lady I worked with who’d been in the restaurant business before, and I met with the caterer. As we decided to buy it, she backed out. Probably because she was smarter than I.

My husband, who is also smarter than I, still thought it was a good idea. And so I didn’t feel as stupid for desperately wanting to try my hand at it. Following a discussion with my mother-in-law, Rebecca, who saw how much we wanted to do this and would do anything for her kids, we agreed to go halvesies on the business. Process that …. My mother-in-law would be my partner. Love her to death and she tolerates me so this would be marvelous. Right?

With financing from my husband and mother-in-law, and encouragement and further offer of financing from my parents, my Dad telling me, “You’ll never know unless you try and you’ll always wonder what might have happened if you don’t do it.” Faith and money, check.
Joanne, who cooked for the former caterer agreed to stay on and help us. I think she could see how “deer-in-headlights” we were and didn’t even realize it. But she did, and so she took pity.

We bought it! I gave my two-weeks notice to all of my bosses who seemed aggravated at me for leaving. No well wishes from them. The former owner handed over the “secret recipes,” and explained the basics of operation, like don’t tick off the health department ladies and such.

Day one was to be February 1. In preparation, my father-in-law and super-great, patient, long-suffering husband laid new flooring, attached baseboards, tore down a wall, rewired electrical outlets, found a used two-bay refrigerator and more shelves and hauled those in. We cleaned and painted and cleaned and planned, and cleaned. We got new signage, set up food vendor accounts, bought packaging, and set up a cash register. Because we were going to be bringing in serious money, ya know? I took a ServSafe course for proper food handling and was set to go!

The night before we were to open, and have our health department inspection, we decided to clean the grease trap, which had been stewing in its own juices for a couple of months. To those who don’t know: Grease traps are stinky; awful; gag-the-strongest-stomach kind of yuckness.
Rebecca brought her wet/dry vac from home and since I had a strong stomach and knew nothing of grease traps, I knew I could handle it. My sweet mother-in-law hid her face in her jacket and closed me in the back room with the 20-gallon grease trap and the 10 gallon vac (do the math); and started gagging immediately, as I turned the vac on. After weeks of sitting and not being pumped, it was rank to the utmost degree. I managed to get the vac filled up, not spill it as I wheeled it out the back door, and dumped it. I can handle me some rank stuff, but this was too much. And, lord help us, I was only halfway through. Second fill-up equally gross, if not more so, and done!
We left the nearly new wet/dry vac out behind the strip mall for whoever had the guts to take it.
We were exhausted and beyond over our heads and just plain irritable at the end of that day. But I knew this was the worst of it. (Naivete showing again) I went home, took a long hot shower and polished off a cheesecake brownie with a tall glass of milk.
I thought, “This day will be the most exhausting. This will be smooth sailing once we get a handle on it and a workable schedule. Easy-peasy ……”

For a crowd: (Feeding 48-96, depending on recipe you choose)
One large box of brownie mix (the size from Sam’s) will make 2 steamer trays or 2 large sheet pans. Then proceed to the cream cheese step.
But if you want to make the brownie base from scratch, you can double most ingredients in baking with little issue.
However, to ensure a good rise on brownies, cakes or muffins (and things of that texture), you need to increase your baking powder or baking soda just a bit to neutralize the acidity in your recipe.
To make 4 times this recipe, which is 1 full-size aluminum steamer pans or 1 large sheet pan:
2 cup unsalted butter, softened
4 cups granulated sugar
Whip these together in mixer.
Add:
4 eggs, whipped
4 heaping tsp. sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
Mix well
In separate bowl, mix together
2 cups AP flour
1 cup unsweetened baking cocoa powder
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
Add this mixture to wet ingredients in mixer bowl.
Incorporate well.
Spread in greased 9×7 pan.
Whip together:
3 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 TBS. lemon juice
Dollop this on brownie mixture and swirl with offset spatula or knife (or whatever you have on hand)
Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes.