Pork Stew in Red Chile Sauce by Diana Kennedy

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

Like many grand dames and queens of various cuisines we've featured in the 50 Women Game Changers in Food series, we have one such person at #45 with prestigious honors in Mexican cuisine - Diana Kennedy. She is a firecracker, for sure, giving even the Jalapeno chile a run for its money. Not one to suffer fools, Diana does not pay any attention to hospitality or little niceties, like many journalists/interviewers who've witnessed it first hand will tell you. Food is of the essence. A correspondent for AP wrote in an article, "The queen of mexican cuisine is scolding me with a wooden spoon." She apparently wasn't very happy with the way he was handling ingredients. 

Source: Edible Austin

She's a perfectionist and anyone who's eaten her food will attest to that. She's a strong supporter of the local food movement and the preservation of local and cultural richness of true Mexican cuisine. She has an expansive garden at her home in Mexico, where she grows her own fruits, vegetables, herbs, spices, coffee and just about anything under the sun, including a few almost-forgotten edible plants from the old days in Mexico. 

Diana was born in England in 1923. She emigrated to Canada in 1953 and four years after her stay there, she was headed back to the UK via the Caribbean to visit a friend in Jamaica. On her way, she visited Port Au Prince, where she met her husband, Paul Kennedy, whom she married within a year. Paul was a New York Times correspondent and they moved to Mexico in 1957. That is when her love affair with Mexican cuisine began. Taught by her maids, friends and their families, Diana grew more and more interested in discovering the real flavors and ingredients of food in Mexico. 

Breakfast Bars by Nigella Lawson

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

At #44 on the list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food, Nigella Lawson doesn't really need an introduction. Her name and fame speak for her. She's the reason why everyone wants to be a 'domestic goddess' and sensual cooking took on a whole new meaning. That alluring smile of hers can draw the attention of even the blindest bat. Even if one's not really interested in cooking, you can stare mindlessly at the gorgeous face gliding across the kitchen, ruffling through her pantry to show us interesting bits of knick-knacks hidden inside and cooking up food we can all relate to. And that's what I love about Nigella. There's no fancy moves, fancy techniques or juggling a million bowls in the air...even the way she cuts her vegetables is just like anyone would. It's her charisma and inviting persona that charms her way into your life.

Source: Food Network

Nigella's built quite the empire out of her love for cooking, despite the lack of any professional training. The words of her late husband, John Diamond, speak volumes and ring so true - "How proud I am of you and what you have become. The great thing about us is that we have made us who we are."

Nigella holds a Degree in Medieval and Modern Languages from Oxford and that led to an admirable career in journalism. Not happy being a full-time executive, she quit and started freelance writing, working on articles and columns for the likes of The Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, Vogue, The Times Magazine, Gourmet and Bon Appetit. She was inspired to write her first cookbook, How to Eat, when she saw a dinner party host reduced to tears with a dessert mishap. That was followed by her widely popular cookbook, How to be a Domestic Goddess, that won her the title of Author of the Year at the British Book Awards in 2001. She went on to host her own cooking show, Nigella Bites and write many more cookbooks that would become people favorites.

Parmesan and Fontina Beignets by April Bloomfield

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

April Bloomfield, at #41 of Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food, is synonymous with New York's 'Gastropub' culture. For April, it's always been about the food. You cannot mess around with the food when you're eating at any of her restaurants. Literally. She won't entertain any changes to dishes you request - it's her way or the highway! Her business partner, Ken Friedman, is believed to store condiments in a special shelf for guests who ask for things like mayo with their burgers. Hey, when you're a famous chef who's earned her chops, you get to dictate how your food goes down. And it's working... because she has TWO Michelin stars under her chef's hat, one for The Spotted Pig and the other for The Breslin, two of the three restaurants she owns with Friedman.

April Bloomfield
Source: Food Network

April was born in Birmingham to a middle-class family with no roots whatsoever in the culinary world. Her mother made steaks that were 'gray' and not something you fondly remember. She fell in love with her granny's cooking though, when she spent a year with her grandparents. April wanted to join the police force, but after she missed the application deadline, she was forced to consider other options. One of her sisters was already enrolled in culinary school and that inspired April to follow. Once she started school at the Birmingham College of Food, Tourism and Creative Studies, she took a great liking to the art and thus began her passion and journey to the top.

After culinary school, she honed her skills further working at Kensington Place, Bibendum and The Brackenbury, eventually securing a spot at the River Cafe. That's where she caught the eye of Jaime Oliver, who urged Mario Batali to check her out during one of his visits here. Batali was sold the first time they met and was impressed with her battle scars in the kitchen. He could see her passion and is supposed to have said this of her, "She's a star. I can tell." That's a pretty massive compliment for someone. He offered her a job and April packed her bags and flew over to America. She spent the summer working at Alice Waters' restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, before moving on to eventually set up her own restaurants with Friedman. There are some lovely stories on her life that you can read at The Guardian and The New Yorker. Mind you, they are a bit long, though.

Candied Sweet Potatoes by Elizabeth Andoh

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

I know I'm not a child, but, I unconsciously went into my own mode of Spring Break - ending up with a Blog Break. I haven't blogged in over a week and somehow it was good to take that break. I did miss blogging and not catching up on a lot of my favorite blogs. I will be getting to all of them this weekend and I apologize for not being there all this while. I did something for my blog during this period though - I bought my own domain name! :D It's not a big deal but it felt like my home got a face lift. And over the next week or so, I'll be tweaking some design stuff too. But next week's going to extremely busy, with Easter coming up and a lot of choir commitments during Holy week, so let's see. It's going to be fun!

Source: The Japan Times

For now, I'm getting back to my blog with the 50 Women Game Changers Series and we have one of the culinary world's leading experts in Japanese cuisine at #41 - Elizabeth Andoh. Though she's not of Japanese heritage, Elizabeth's heart and home have found their place in Japan for over 4 decades now. How she ended up in Japan happens to be a "happy accident" as she puts it. She was born in America, grew up here and studied in New York and the University of Michigan. While she was a student here, she learned of this unclaimed scholarship to Japan and took it thinking it would be interesting. So, in the mid 60s, she landed in Shikoku in rural Japan, where she later met the love of her life. Overcoming the initial cultural shock, she grew to love the place and all of Japanese culture and food. She learnt a lot from the Andoh family during her initial years - Senior Mr Andoh was the one who first took interest in teaching young Elizabeth how to speak Japanese and his wife was an inspiration when it came to food and matters of the kitchen. Her mother-in-law was a vegetarian much like the people born in the late 19th and early 20th century in Japan - Elizabeth later dedicated a book on Kansha cooking, inspired by this. 

Having developed a deep interest in the philosophy and art of Japanese cuisine, Elizabeth enrolled at the Yanagihara School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine in Tokyo. Shortly after, she launched her own culinary arts program in 1972, called A Taste of Culture. The program hosts tasting sessions, market tours, cooking classes and workshops for foreign tourists and expats who are interested to learn the intricacies of Japanese food and cuisine. She has since been the greatest advocate for Japanese cuisine among english speaking chefs and cooks.

Jam Thumbprint Cookies by Ina Garten

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

I am thrilled beyond belief that this week at #39 we have Ina Garten. Yes, THE Ina Garten. My favorite Food Network cook. For the novice cook and baker I am, Ina is an absolute joy to watch and I can sit for hours in front of the TV watching her gracefully and effortlessly pull delicious meals together. She, to me, is the epitome of simplistic elegance. When you watch her cook, you feel like there's nothing you can't do. She really does make you go, "how easy is that?", at the end of every show. Seriously. At least to me...after I've wiped off all the drool.

Source: House Beautiful

I secretly, Ok, not so secret anymore, wish my life would take the course hers has. Now, I know I'm not some big-shot brainiac working my way up to the White House Office of Management and Budget, like she did, but, I would like to think my humble career in PR comes close, even if it's a trillion miles away. Ina released all the stress and immense pressure she faced at work, by turning to her love of cooking and entertaining with dinner parties and soirees over the weekends and during any free time she got. On the side, Ina also indulged the interior decorator in her by buying, refurbishing and reselling homes. This also fattened her piggy bank, which would later come in handy.

In 1978, when Ina was looking for other creative outlets, she chanced upon an ad for a specialty food store on sale in the Hamptons. Curiosity aroused, Ina decided to investigate. After her visit, she made a low offer thinking the owner wouldn't really bite and that would give her more time to think about it. But, as fate would have it, the owner called the next day and handed her the keys to the shop. Dumbfounded, but thrilled, Ina bid adieu to the White House, dipped her hands into her piggy bank and took over the shop, previously called "Barefoot Contessa". Ina liked the name and decided to stick with it. That was the beginning of the story of Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa.

In the 18 years that followed, Ina nurtured and grew the shop into a prominent hangout that was well-known for both its style and delicacies. The store saw a lot of footfall from affluent New Yorkers and celebrities alike. It certainly caught the eye of director Nancy Meyer, who used the store as a setting for her movie, Something's Gotta Give (I need to watch this one again and pay attention now!). In 1996, Ina sold the store to two of her employees.

Potato and Caraway Cakes by Darina Allen

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

At #38 this week, we have Darina Allen, a culinary visionary and celebrity in Ireland. She's got two grand founding achievements under her belt - she's the founder of (a) the internationally renowned Ballymaloe Cookery School, Country Cork and (b) the first Farmers Market in Ireland. She still teaches at their family-run school and is actively involved in sourcing and setting up new farmers markets.

Credit: Koster Photography / Source: Cookstr

Her love for all things organic and locally-sourced also manifests itself in the way she runs the school, which is strategically located on a 100-acre organic farm. The emphasis of all teaching and operations at the school is on using the finest quality of home-grown and locally sourced ingredients and making a sustainable use of resources. The farm grows countless varieties of produce and seasonal goods, so students learn with the freshest ingredients possible and also experience first-hand the advantages of supporting your local farmers. 

Besides being a chef and teacher, Darina has written many popular, award-winning cookbooks including Darina Allen's Ballymaloe Cooking School Cookbook (nominated for best international cookbook by the James Beard Foundation) and Irish Traditional Cooking (winner of the Langhe Ceretto Prize in 1996). She's also food-writer and has appeared on many television shows and series as well. Darina was named Cooking Teacher of the Year by the IACP in 2005, and was the recipient of an honorary degree from the University of Ulster in 2003. You can read more about her achievements on her website.

Now, Darina is exactly the kind of chef/cook I love learning about since I just discovered a whole treasure-trove of recipes on her website. It's an interesting mix of Irish and international recipes, which has now been added to my list of go-to sources. I had the toughest time choosing a dish for this week since I literally wanted to make ALL of them. Seriously! I'm going back to the website for more!

Fried Apples with Pecans

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

Out of the 50 Women Game Changers in Food that we're learning more about, I'm thrilled to see someone as young as Severene von Tscharner Fleming make it to the list. At age 30, she's an accomplished young farmer, film-maker and activist with an impressive list of achievements - she's helmed a documentary on agricultural farmers, founded an organization - The Greenhorns, co-founded the National Young Farmers' Coalition and kick-started a whole movement for young farmers across North America. Phew, I feel like I've done a lot just by reading her story and the passion with which she continues to do wonders to help the nation's farming infrastructure.

Severine hails from a family where her maternal side inherited a farm for six generations. She grew up on the farm and that foundation eventually had an impact on the path she chose to persevere in life. A graduate of UC Berkeley, Severine played an active role in college activities as well, and that's where the idea for her documentary was born. While organizing a film festival at college, she noticed that all films that looked into the prospects of farming and agriculture portrayed very grim scenarios. But, as part of a young farming community, she knew very well that was not the whole truth and there needed to be awareness of the great possibilities and opportunities for young farmers. She decided to document her journey in building a network of young farmers who shared the same vision and to use the documentary to reach out to others across the nation, to inspire, help, support and offer guidance. Greenhorns, the organization, is a non-profit that promotes, supports and recruits young farmers in the US. They produce content and communications for young farmers — including film, radio, a blog, wiki, a guidebook, press, workshops, conferences, a coalition, mixers, GIS mapping and more.

Since Severine is more of an activist and farmer, there aren't any recipes of hers online that we could use to highlight her work this week. But, their website has a link to blogs of others in their farming community. So, I picked one of them and found this extremely simple recipe for fried apples and pecans.

Don't be fooled by how simple the dish looks and how easy it is to make. The aroma that fills your house when your sauteing the apples in butter and cinnamon is like heaven in a pan. It is even more yummy than the smell of baking cakes. Oh. Nothing compares to it. This doesn't even need any sugar or accompaniments. The girl who'd made it recommended serving it with fresh whipped cream. But, I preferred it without anything because the apples had such a delightful flavor on their own. Just make sure you use juicy apples. 

Fried Apples with Pecans (adapted from the blog, Make Wine & Cheese With Me)

Ingredients and instructions

• 2 crisp, tart and sweet apples, sliced into 1/4 inch slices
• 1/4 teaspoon or less of cinnamon powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter (I love salted butter)
• 1 lemon, halved
• 2 teaspoons pecans, quartered or halved

In a saucepan, melt the butter on medium heat. Once it is melted, add the apple slices and stir till all the slices are coated with butter. Add the cinnamon powder and the lemons and mix well. Saute on medium low till the apples get tender and soft. 

Remove the lemons and serve.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Deviled Eggs by Edna Lewis

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

We have another inspiring story this week as we look back on the life of Edna Lewis, who's at #36 of Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food. Edna is one of the legends of southern cooking. She grew up in Freetown, Virginia, a town founded by freed slaves, one of whom was her grandfather. All the families in Freetown lived on farms and that's where Edna's foundation was established. Every morning, all of them would help harvest crops and vegetables and raise poultry, which was their basic livelihood. At the age of 15, when the great depression struck, Edna left Freetown in search of a better life. She landed in New York and sustained herself through odd jobs. She worked as a seamstress, window dresser and also in the office of the Daily Worker, a communist newspaper. 

Edna loved cooking for her friends and slowly, her cooking started gaining popularity and praise among friends and acquaintances. In 1948, her friend, John Nicholson, an antique dealer, asked her to take on the role of head chef at the restaurant he was opening. The restaurant was a huge success and attracted famous guests like Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner and Truman Capote, who were regulars. She worked at the restaurant, serving up delicious southern food, until 1954.

She went on to travel, teach and write her own cookbooks. Her landmark book, The Taste of Country Cooking, was one of the first cookbooks by an African-American woman to reach a nationwide audience and is credited for starting the interest in genuine Southern cooking. While cooking for one of the festivals in Atlanta, she met Scott Peacock, who was in awe of her and wanted to follow her to learn everything she had to impart. Over the years, they both developed a deep friendship, working on recipes together, and even co-authored the popular cookbook, The Gift of Southern Cooking. Edna passed away in 2006, at the age of 89.

So, to honor her, I picked the recipe of Deviled Eggs, that was a dish Edna and Scott developed. This is a lovely, light appetizer that's both simple and tasty. It's extremely easy to whip up and highly customizable. Once you have the base, you can throw in either cayenne pepper to add a little bit of spice or add a herb to infuse some flavor. This is something ANYONE can make since all it involves is boiling an egg and mixing stuff with it. Unless, of course, the eggs you're working with don't co-operate with you. Like mine did. I use brown eggs that take much longer to cook and I can never figure out the right time to pull them out. So, I may have had to fight with the shell to get it off and it made my job a little harder to hide all the flaws on the outside of the egg white. But, otherwise, it's a fool-proof recipe!

While preparing the eggs, I suddenly thought of mixing things up a bit and utilizing the egg mixture in a couple of different ways. It works beautifully as a cracker topping and I'd nibbled on all of them by the time I cleaned everything up! All you have to do is chop the egg whites into tiny pieces and mix it up along with the yolk mixture (this is perfect especially if you have un-cooperative eggs like mine that come out damaged when you try to take their shells off). Then, spread away on your favorite cracker.

That same egg mixture can be used as a sandwich filling too. This is something familiar to me since my mom makes similar egg sandwiches. So, experiment and have fun with it! The possibilities are endless and limited only by your imagination! 

Deviled Eggs by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock

Ingredients and instructions:

• 1 dozen large eggs
• Fine sea salt
• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
• 2 teaspoons snipped chives and chervil (I couldn't find either so I used scallions and they tasted delicious too)

Put the eggs in a large saucepan with water to cover by 2 inches. Add 1 tablespoon of salt and bring to a rolling boil over high heat. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Pour off the hot water and fill the saucepan with cold water. Gently crack the eggs in the water to loosen the shells.

Shell the eggs. Cut a very thin slice from the bottom of each egg so the eggs will stand up. Slice off the top third of each egg and scoop the yolks into a coarse strainer; reserve the whites. Press the egg yolks through the strainer into a bowl. If you're too lazy like me to use a strainer, just mash them with a fork.

Blend in the mayonnaise, cream, sugar and vinegar. Season with salt. Using a teaspoon or a pastry bag fitted with a star tip, generously fill the egg whites. Arrange the eggs on a plate, sprinkle with the chives and chervil and serve.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Farfalle with Wild Mushrooms and Crème Fraîche

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

This week we're shining the spotlight on Delia Smith at #35 on the list of 50 Women Game Changers in Food. For someone who is Britain's best selling cookbook author and has been teaching the nation to cook since the 1970s, Delia doesn't evoke the kind of recognition or awe one would assume came with those accolades. That could also be because she has humble roots in the world of cooking and appeals to cooks all across the board. She's not one of your exuberant chefs that display complicated or fancy techniques. She's more down-to-earth, working her way through the kitchen in a laid-back manner, teaching you the basics and simple techniques in cooking. That has obviously endeared her to the larger population.

Critics sometimes call her dull, lacking in passion while working with her ingredients but, who are we kidding - she's sold 21 million copies of her cook books. She's had no formal training in culinary school. She started out enthusiastically cooking for her boyfriend when she was a young girl. I guess she truly believed the phrase - the way to a man's heart is through his stomach - even though they eventually didn't stay together. But, that was the beginning of her journey with food. She started working in the kitchen of a restaurant, doing the dishes, slowly working her way up to waitressing and then even cooking. She landed a food writer's role at The Daily Mirror's new magazine in 1969 and was on her own cooking show by the early 70s. Cook books followed and slowly she was educating the whole nation on British cooking. You can read an exhaustive biography of hers in an article by The Independent and also pore through tons of her recipes on her website, Delia Online.

I picked a pasta recipe because it is both simple and unassuming like her but, incredibly delicious in taste. The husband and I ate this along with baked meatballs in a white wine sauce and it was one of the most perfect meals! The crème fraîche really makes the difference here and lends such a delicate, creamy touch to the pasta. I love mushrooms in any shape or form, so having them in the dish was just the perfect combination for me. You should really try this, it's simple and easy to make. Bon Appetit!

Penne with Wild Mushrooms and Crème Fraîche by Delia Smith

Ingredients and instructions:

• 1 lb 2 oz penne rigate (I used farfalle) 
• 1 lb mixed fresh mushrooms (flat, chestnut, shiitake or mixed wild mushrooms, for example), finely chopped 
• ½ oz dried porcini mushrooms 
• 9 fl oz (250 ml) crème fraîche (If you don't have this, you could substitute with 3/4 measure sour cream and 1/4 measure heavy cream - still tastes divine) 
• 3 tablespoons milk 
• 4 tablespoons butter 
• 4 large shallots, peeled and finely chopped 
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
• ¼ whole nutmeg, grated 
• lots of freshly grated Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), to serve 
• salt and freshly milled black pepper 

First pop the porcini in a small bowl, then heat the milk, pour it over the mushrooms and leave them to soak for 30 minutes. Then heat the butter in a medium frying pan over a gentle heat, stir in the shallots and let them cook gently for 5 minutes.

Next, strain the porcini into a sieve lined with kitchen paper, reserving the soaking liquid, and squeeze the porcini dry. Then chop them finely and add them to the pan, along with the fresh mushrooms and the balsamic vinegar.

Next, season with salt, pepper and nutmeg. Give it all a good stir, then cook gently, uncovered, for 30-40 minutes, until all the liquid has evaporated.

About 15 minutes before the mushrooms are ready, put the pasta on to cook (see How to Cook Perfect Pasta below). Then, 2 minutes before the pasta is cooked, mix the crème fraîche into the mushrooms with the soaking liquid, and warm through.

Drain the pasta in a colander, return it to the hot pan and quickly mix in the mushroom mixture, then place the pasta back on a gentle heat so it continues to cook for 1 more minute while it absorbs the sauce.

Take it to the table in a hot serving bowl and hand the Parmesan round separately.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite.

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Bananas Foster by Ella Brennan

(Part of a weekly series by a group of bloggers, featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food - see end of post for list of bloggers participating & their blogs)

At #34, this week we have Ella Brennan, the queen of New Orleans cuisine. It is so strange that I was in New Orleans last year and never heard of Ella Brennan! Commander's Palace and Brennan's? Yes. Hurricanes from Pat O'Brien's? Oh yes. While reading about Ella, I wish there was more I'd learnt about her while I was in New Orleans because she is quite the restaurateur who's made an impact internationally. Unlike Paula Deen in Savannah, I heard absolutely nothing of Ella in New Orleans. Sad. Or maybe I just wasn't looking in the right direction.

Ella's story begins in High School when her brother, Owen Brennan, acquired a restaurant in New Orleans' French Quarter, which over the years gained its popular name, Brennan's. She criticized everything in the restaurant and didn't fail to tell her brother how she felt about the food either. So, Owen asked her to step in and prove her worth. And prove she did. By 18, she was practically running the restaurant, including operations. She had a voracious appetite for knowledge of the restaurant business and picked up as much as she could from tons of books she read and anyone from the restaurant arena she met. From there, she slowly worked her way up as a restaurant scion. She's had her share of ups and downs in life, battling through family feuds (she gave up working with Brennan's during the rift with Owen's family), growing her restaurant empire through acquisitions, including Commander's Palace, and also braving the shutting down of restaurants that didn't quite make the mark. But, in her entire career that spans over the last 65 years or so, she's forged on in taking Louisiana cooking worldwide and pioneering the notion of nouvelle Creole cuisine. In 1996, Commander's Palace was honored with the Lifetime Outstanding Restaurant Award by the James Beard Foundation and later, also with a Lifetime Service Award.

Now, Ella's not been known to cook though she has inspired and created some of the signature dishes you eat and hear of in New Orleans. One of those being Bananas Foster that she invented with the then chef of Brennan's (it is extremely strange that Martha Stewart features the exact same recipe as hers on her site). And that is what I chose for my weekly series feature. What's even better? I got to eat ALL of this deliciousness because the husband is allergic to bananas! Haha!

This dish absolutely strengthened my thoughts on butter and brown sugar being caramelized BFFs. I had to restrain myself from swiping at the mixture melting together because it is awesome! With the rum kicking in, the bananas that cook in this mixture take on a divine taste that you won't want to see the end of. I hope you enjoy! Bon Appetit!

Bananas Foster by Ella Brennan

Ingredients and instructions:

• ¼ cup (½ stick) butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon cinnamon
• ¼ cup banana liqueur (if you can't find any, you could use 1/2 teaspoon of banana extract mixed with water and a little rum to make 1/4 cup - I did this and it turned out really well)
• 4 bananas, cut in half lengthwise, then halved
• ¼ cup dark rum
• 4 scoops vanilla ice cream

On low heat in a skillet or heavy-bottomed pan, melt the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Once the sugar has melted, gently add the banana liqueur or the banana extract with water mixture. Put the bananas in, cut side down. Let it cook till it gets soft and the underneath starts browning.

This is where it gets interesting. Once the bananas are ready, slowly add the rum. Let the rum get hot and start smoking. Stand as far as you can and gently tip the pan on its side to ignite the rum. Once the flames subside, turn the heat off. 

Serve your bananas with ice cream or Cool Whip, like I did, and drizzle with the warm sauce.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades 

Creamed Spinach by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton

(Part of a series featuring Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food)

I was pleased to learn about the two ladies in the spotlight this week at #33- Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton, the dynamic duo behind Canal House Cooking, a food magazine that dishes out seasonal delicacies. They're the brains behind Canal House (opened in 2006), a unique little food and design studio that's quite intriguing to read about from other articles. It's apparently laid out like a kitchen, dining room, office, workshop, studio all rolled into one where they cook up delicious food, write, create recipes, shoot and much more. Hirsheimer and Hamilton have known each other for about 15 years and have a bunch of credits they each carry in their bags. Hirsheimer, a writer and photogrpaher, served as the food and design editor for Metropolitan Home magazine, and was a founding editor at Saveur magazine. She shoots food photos for Jacques Pepin, Lidia Bastianich, Mario Batali, and Rick Bayless. At the other end of the table, Hamilton, a chef, food stylist and recipe developer, has worked at Martha Stewart Living, Cooks Illustrated and also served as a food editor and director of the test kitchen at Saveur magazine. Both the ladies come from different cultural backgrounds - Hamilton's french heritage and Hirsheimer's california childhood - and that reflects highly in the food they lavish in their cookbooks.

When it was time to pick a recipe from their treasure trove, I first settled on their stewy roasted root vegetables. It looked so earthy and delicious that I couldn't resist. I'd planned to have the food and pictures all set by midnight Thursday so I could post it early on Friday. 

So, I gathered all the ingredients and started roasting. Every time I peered into the oven to check its done-ness, the aroma from the roasted vegetables was so heavenly. I smiled contently thinking I had a success of a dish. But, then, things slowly didn't turn out as I hoped they would. It could also perhaps be that I just discovered I can't stand the taste of parsnips. In addition, the liquid quickly dried up and my vegetables had still not completely softened, so I had to add a little more here and there. It didn't help. When I tasted the final product, all I could think was 'Blech'! No offense to the lovely ladies, but it is most likely me making a disaster of a good recipe.

There went all my plans of having the recipe and post ready for early Friday! I went back to the drawing board and started hunting for new recipes. I decided to stick with something really simple so I couldn't mess it up again. And my eyes took me straight to their version of creamed spinach, and my heart and hands followed. 

BOY, was I right to pick this one! This creamed spinach is one of the best I've ever eaten and the potatoes really add a new dimension to the dish. Me being thrilled with the results, is an understatement. I was grinning like a buffoon, is more like it! So, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did. Bon Appetit!

Creamed Spinach by Christopher Hirsheimer and Melissa Hamilton (recipe found here and in Canal House Cooking Vol. 6)

Ingredients and instructions:

For the ginger-garlic paste

• 1 5-inch finger fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
• 6 cloves garlic
• Salt
• Really good extra-virgin olive oil

For the spinach

• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1potato, peeled and diced
• Salt and pepper
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1 pound washed young spinach

For the ginger-garlic paste, pulse the ginger, garlic, and a pinch of salt in a food processor or blender until smooth. Add a little water to thin the paste. Store in a covered container with a little olive oil on the surface. Keeps for about a week.

For the spinach, melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Add 1 big tablespoon ginger-garlic paste and cook for a minute, swirling it in the butter. Add the potatoes and stir until well coated. Season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and cook until tender but not browned, about 10 minutes.

Add the cream and pile the spinach into the pot, pressing it down so that you can fit it all in. Cover and cook until the spinach wilts, about 10 minutes. Fold the spinach into the potatoes and cream, and serve.

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades

Stuffed Poblanos with Goat Cheese & Andouille Sausage by Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian

(Part of a series featuring 50 Women Game Changers in Food by Gourmet Live)

I just joined a group of bloggers (there's a list of who's participating at the end of this post), founded by Mary of One Perfect Bite, who are celebrating Gourmet Live's 50 Women Game Changers in Food. Each week, the group features one of the women ranked on the list (going sequentially) and make a dish of hers. The group's currently on #32. I'm sad that I missed 31 of them but, I'm glad that I jumped on the boat some time and best of all, one of my favorites, Ina Garten, is yet to come! :D


This week, at #32, we have Tracey Ryder and Carole Topalian. I'd never heard of them before but, once I researched them, it was interesting to read about them championing the cause of eating fresh, healthy food daily and helping people connect with resources to make that happen. They co-founded Edible Communities, Inc., America’s largest publishing company dedicated to the local foods movement, in 2002. The company currently publishes 70 titles across North America and is currently adding new magazines at a rate of 10 per year. The content for each publication is region-specific and focuses on the farmers, fishermen, chefs and food artisans from each area. They also launched their first cookbook, "Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods", in April 2010 and have 4 more in the pipeline.

I naturally picked a recipe featured in their cookbook for my dish of the week for the series. And boy, was I glad I chose the one I did because these stuffed poblanos were beyond delicious. I am generally a very humble cook but, I couldn't stop gasping in wonder at how good it tasted, thanks to Tracey and Carole. 

The goat cheese mixture with basil and cilantro is a dream (I ate spoonfuls of the mixture even before stuffing the poblanos, it was THAT GOOD) and the roasted red pepper sauce knocks this dish into the heavens and back!

There are still some notes I would make to myself. The recipe calls for roasting the peppers and chiles. Since I've never roasted anything on an open flame before, I was overly cautious. I think I removed them off the flame a little too early since I wasn't able to get all the skin off without spending hours on it. I just got what I could and left the rest on. Roasting them longer would've also made them softer and more tender. So, just be a little mindful of this if this is the first time you're roasting peppers too. Don't be worried about scorching them whole, they need to get as black as they can!

Bon Appetit!

Stuffed Poblanos with Goat Cheese & Andouille Sausage (adapted from Edible: A Celebration of Local Foods)

Ingredients & instructions:

Roasted poblanos and red peppers:

• 8 poblano chiles
• 2 large red bell peppers

Stuffed Poblanos:

• 4 ounces mild goat cheese, room temperature
• 1/2 cup grated Panela cheese or Monterey Jack
• 3/4 cup chopped Andouille sausages
• 1 shallot, very finely chopped
• 1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
• 1-2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1-2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more if needed

Red Bell Pepper Sauce:

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 3 shallots, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 Serrano chile, seeded and finely chopped
• 2/3 cup chicken broth or vegetable broth, plus more if needed
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more if needed
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Roast and peel the poblano chiles and red peppers: Over an open gas flame (on the stovetop or outdoor grill), roast the chiles and peppers, turning with tongs for even roasting, about 5 minutes each (you can roast two or three at a time on each gas burner). You can use your oven's broiler as well, if you don't have a gas stove or grill. Make sure you get the chiles and peppers blackened and blistered all over. While they should be soft, be careful not to overcook them since they need to hold the stuffing while baking.

Place the hot chiles and peppers into a large bowl. Cover the bowl with a plate or with plastic wrap; set aside for about 15 minutes. Using a paring knife, gently rub the skin off of the flesh of each chile and pepper. Wipe the surface of the flesh with paper towels to remove most of the excess skin and charred bits; discard the skin and set the chiles and peppers aside. 

Make the stuffed poblanos: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9- by 13-inch rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper or aluminum baking sheet. Carefully slit each chile down one side and remove the seeds, leaving the stems attached. In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, Panela cheese, chopped sausages, shallot, chopped red pepper, cilantro, basil, salt and pepper; stir well. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Divide the cheese mixture into eight equal portions. Place one portion into each chile, being careful not to overfill. Close each chile, overlapping the edges slightly. Transfer the stuffed poblanos to the baking sheet. Bake until just warmed through, about 10 minutes.

Make the sauce: Cut open the roasted red bell peppers; remove and discard the stems and seeds. In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the shallots, garlic and Serrano chile and cook, stirring occasionally until the shallots are tender, about 3 minutes. Transfer the mixture to a blender. Add the roasted red peppers, chicken broth, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Add more broth as needed to reach the desired consistency. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Return the sauce to the skillet to warm slightly.

To serve, pour shallow bed of sauce on the plate, place a stuffed poblano pepper in the middle and spoon a little more on it. I cut my peppers in half, sprinkled a little more Monterey Jack cheese and baked them for a few minutes till the cheese melted. 

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Here's a list of the other bloggers participating in this series. Do go over to their blogs to see what yummy dishes they've whipped up. If you'd like to join the group, please get in touch with Mary of One Perfect Bite. 

Val - More Than Burnt Toast [] Taryn - Have Kitchen Will Feed [] Susan - The Spice Garden [] Heather - girlichef [] Miranda - Mangoes and Chutney [] Jeanette - Healthy Living [] Mary - One Perfect Bite [] Kathleen - Bake Away with Me [] Sue - The View from Great Island [] Barbara - Movable Feasts [] Linda A - There and Back Again [] Nancy - Picadillo [] Mireya - My Healthy Eating Habits [] Veronica - My Catholic Kitchen [] Annie - Most Lovely Things [] Claudia - Journey of an Italian Cook [] Alyce - More Time at the Table [] Amrita -Beetles Kitchen Escapades