Julie & Julia the Movie and a Challenge

The other night I rented Juilie and Julia. I was thrilled with the movie! I thought it was going to be another boring movie that I could predict like I do about 90% of the movies I watch. That wasn't the case. Instead, it challenged me and my cooking.

The movie made me want to issue a challenge to myself since I'm one of those people who start things only to never finish them. I have started cookbooks, novel's, blogs, projects and never completed one of them, so I sat down and tried to think of a challenge to myself that I could finish and finish it well.

I thought about recipe writing, putting out cooking challenges, working from other's cookbooks, baking challenges (since I'm not much for baking), 2 ingredient challenges, and many more exciting food challenges to get my creativity back. SO I am stuck at a pass, which challenge do I do?

Here is what I came up with....

I'm going to choose one main ingredient a week and try 7 new dishes. A new ingredient will be picked every week by my readers and the recipes will be posted along with my families reviews. I think that will be a fun challenge to myself and to others who care to participate.

The first challenge will start Sunday, December 13th, 2009 and run through the 19th, with the new ingredient being picked on December 17th for the following week. SO every friday a new ingredient will be choosen for the following week. At the end of each month I will pick one reader from all the votings and they will win a yummy Culinary prize. So there will be a winner once a month!

So start posting your ingredient for me to cook. The ingredient recommended the most is the winning ingredient!

Rockland Cafe, Rockland Maine

Rockland Cafe 
Main St (Highway 1 North)
Rockland, ME 04841

Being a Chef I love to try new and old Restaurants. Places that people tell me, “I have to try” due to them being around for years and years. Okay, granted 50 plus years is a long tiime, but that doesn’t make it a “town must eat” place. After all who knows how many times it has changed hands over the years.

So anyway, we went and tried Rockland Cafe. First thought when I walked in was, DIRTY. No one sat us we sat ourselves at a dirty table since no one was making a move to clean it. Menus are already on the table, fine by me, but there were specials ALL over the walls and windows. You had to literally get up stand over other customers to read specials, Now I don’t know about you, but I don’t want strangers or non-employees standing over my food and table as I am eating.

So we order. Both of us got the King size Prime Rib with 2 sides for $11.99. Well we waited for our drinks, then we waited for our salads, 15 minutes later out came our food and our drinks and wow our server. SO yes our salads and drinks came out with our dinner. Oh the fun doesn’t stop there. We asked for bakers with our dinners, got mashed and gravy instead. We sent them back only to be told that they were out of bakers, not even offering us a choice mind you. So we ate our shoe leather and asked about dessert. All Homemade! Not even close. LOL.

I do love when places try to pass stuff off to me as homemade when I ask them “Does your Restaurant make it themselves?” Tell me yes and more then likely I’ll know the difference and call you on it.

I give them

1 Golden Chef Hat

Chipped Beef Cheeseball

Every Holiday that comes around, not only am I basically asked to cook everything when I go some where but I am also expected to bring my Chipped Beef Cheeseball. This has become a family tradition for the past 15 years that I have been making it. My brother and my father have both tried to reproduce it, only to fall flat from where it should be.

This yummy appetizer will become a fan amongst your friends! My family and friends tell me I have to bring it to any function that I attend. LOL.

Cheeseball Ingredients

2 8oz Packages of Cream Cheese (softened)
1 package Chipped beef (large diced)
1/2 a bunch of Green Onion Tops (large diced )
1 TBSP Creamy Horseradish
1 TBSP Worsterchire Sauce
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

Combine all ingredients, mix well. Form into a ball shape and place on your platter. Chill one hour at a minimum. Serve with an assortment of Crackers, Pita Toasts, or Bread Rounds.

If you want to make a bigger Cheeseball, just add another 8oz's of Cream Cheese, 1/2 a packet extra of Chipped Beef and a full bunch of onion tops. No need to double up on the ingredients.

You'll be asked to bring this to every event you attend!

I've had people who hate onions gobble it down. I've had people who hate horseradish eat it like it was their last meal. They LOVE it!

Sorry about the piture but I had to take one before it went to all the greedy hands around. LOL. Enjoy! Also great for when playing cards.

The Great Maine Lobster Roll Arguement

This past summer I had a chance to run a Lobster Shack in Maine.  It was a awesome experience for me to say the least. This would be the actual first time that I ever got to work with live Lobsters, most of the places I had ever worked used frozen Lobster tails. That in itself is a no no in the New England states. So this was an amazing experience for me.

The big debate in Maine is the Lobster Rolls and how to prepare them. So I had the privalige of taking a newly opened restaurant who did not use any seafood the previous season and make it mine. Being as I'm not a Lobster fan, I had never tasted a Lobster Roll, but I was up for the challenge!

My first goal; to learn how to properly break and pick a hard shelled Lobster. This was the simple step, till I got to the tiny legs and found out the best way is to suck the meat out. Well I'm surely not going to suck a customers meat out for them. LOL. So that didn't work for me.

Tip: The best way to get the succulent meat out of those tiny legs.... A rolling pin or a jar. Simply roll it back and forth till the meat is all out!

Second goal: to try making this "Lobstah" salad for the rolls and making mine the best in all of Maine. Gee could the expection from my bosses be any more demanding. LOL

So I started experimenting with different fillers, dressings, and buns or rolls. Leaving the meat ALWAYS chunky for good measure.  None of them worked with any of my food taste testers. Back to the drawing board. It was at this point that I started going through the millions of recipes on Lobster Rolls. One thing they all agreed upon; the New England style hot dog bun HAS to be toasted. No if's, ands, or buts about that one. The next thing everyone agreed on; it has to be Hellmann's Mayonnaise. Again, no way around it so don't even try to pass a Lobstah Roll off to a Mainerd with another myao in it.

It was at this point I started going around to the Best Known competition to get one of thier rolls and pick them apart....

Linda Bean's $14.95 for a 1/4 pound Lobster Roll. Meat was shredded, had fillers. Looked tiny to me.

Red Eats $14.99 for a 1/4 pound Lobster Roll with recogniction as one of the state's best Lobster Rolls. Lobster meat was frozen, not fresh picked and tiny.

Port Clyde General Store $9.99 again 1/4 pound Lobster Roll. The bun way bigger then the actual amount of meat and it was made with just mayo, but atleast the meat was chunky.

So from those 3 places I took my que and pieced together what became known as one of Rockland's best Lobster Rolls.

My recipe for the perfect Lobster Roll was simple; fresh picked Lobster Meat (chilled after picked), enough mayonnase to just get it wet, served on a toasted bun with a sprinkle of dill. My meat was chopped and when all was said and done weighed out to just below a 1/2 pound.

People went nuts over this Lobster Roll! My poor helper was mad at the amount of Lobster we were picking a day, 125lbs in the morning, then again in the afternoon. People couldn't get enough of these Lobster Rolls! We had 3 customers alone that came in daily to get multiple Lobster Rolls for themselves.

Just think if the owners don't threaten to shut it down ever year and finally break down and buy more advertising, they might someday have the best in the state of Maine!

Chili Debate.....

My friend "L" LOVES to inform me that REAL chili has no beans, isn't made with chicken nor is it made with all the variations that I make in.

Does anyone really know where the very first chili was made? NOOOOOO. It could have been made in China with rice or in Russia with herring. So what is real Chili then?

I love pushing his buttons on food. After all he thinks excellent food comes from a ready to eat package. LOL. You know I'm only teasing, but it is funny "L". You and I both know what a food critic you are when it comes to food period.

God love him though for his imput, whether us cooks like it or not. I always know I can get an honest answer out of him when it comes to my recipes.

Now the real question is, will he answer the question: Do you know where the very first Chili was made? to back his statement where Chili is concerned.

Ok I have his answer. LOL, I think he googled it. But how can we be 100% sure still? LOL

"L's" Answer;

 

"Yes actually i do have that informatiom.  Mexico guadalarjua province.  That was early 1700's very bad weather year so many of animals were eaten to feed the citizens.  Beans were added as the food moved north where vegitables were more plentiful.  Constant fued between Texas and New Mexico on chilli or chile question.  New mexico chile has no meat and is all veggie.  Texaas chilli is meat only.  Con carne is with beans.. Now many people think it is just a seasoning ..lol nanner nanner"

White Bean Chicken Chili

White Bean Chicken Chili

2 1/2 c. water
1 tsp. cumin seed
4 chicken breast halves, boneless and skinned
Cooking vegetable oil spray
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c. chopped onions
2 (9 oz.) pkg. frozen shoepeg white corn
2 (4 oz.) cans diced green chiles, undrained (use one can if you can't have the spice)
1 tsp. ground cumin (or more to taste to your liking)
2 to 3 tbsp. lime juice
2 (15 oz.) cans white or northern beans, undrained
2/3 c. crushed tortilla chips (optional)
1 1/2 oz. (2/3 cup) shredded Monterey Jack cheese

In large saucepan, combine water and cumin seed. Bring to a boil. Add chicken breast halves. Reduce heat to low and simmer 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken is fork tender and juices run clear. Remove chicken and cut into 1 inch pieces. De-fat the broth, return to saucepan, place chicken back in the stock. Spray medium skillet with cooking spray, add 1 minced garlic clove, cook and stir 1 minute (careful not to burn garlic). Add to chicken then saute 1 cup onions to skillet, cook and stir until tender. Add cooked onions, corn, chilies, ground cumin and 2 to 3 tablespoons lime juice to chicken mixture. Bring to a boil. Add beans, cook until thoroughly heated.

To serve place about 1 tablespoon each of tortilla chips and cheese in 8 individual soup bowls, ladle hot chili over top.

I like to start mine early in the day, throw it in a crock pot and let it simmer all day long. This really brings out the flavors. 

Buckeyes Candy Recipe

So you want to try your hand at making one of the Midwest’s most awesome Candies. Grab your extra helping hands, roll up your sleeves and dig in for an evening of fun at the kitchen table. Great FAMILY EVENT!

Ingredients:


6 Cups Confectioners Sugar (1 large bag)
1 1/2 Cups Smooth Peanut Butter
1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 Sticks Softened Butter
2 Bags of Semi Sweet or Milk Chocolate Chips
Toothpicks
Wax Paper

Wash your hands!

Throw the first 4 ingredients into a large bowl. Mix up the concoction by hand. It’s the best way to get a great mix on stiff ingredients such as these. Once thoroughly mixed, roll into 1 inch balls and place on a wax paper lined cookie sheets. Take the toothpicks and stab each balls, leaving the toothpicks in of course. Place the cookie sheets in the freezer for a bout an hour to give the balls time to settle up around the toothpicks.
After you have let them freeze for an hour, dump one bag of chocolate at a time into a microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for 2 minute intrevals, stirring to make sure melted threw. Take a few peanut butter balls out at a time, dipping them into the chocolate to cover 3/4 of the way (leaving a circle top uncovered). Place them back on the cookie sheet, remove toothpicks, and grab more balls to dip. Repeat this until done dipping all the peanut butter balls.

Your probably wondering what about those tiny holes in the top. Take out your cookie sheets and gently rub your finger over the hole till peanut butter covers the hole. Store your buckeyes in the fridge or covered on the counter (depends on how hard you want your chocolate to set). Let everyone taste and enjoy!

Funny story behind these; Last week my sister asked me for directions on how to make these. I wouldn’t give it to her till she promised to let my 3 year old niece help her make them. As soon as Eliza stuck her hands in the mixture to help mix it up, she started squealing about how "yucky" it felt. Well being 3 of course it was “yucky ” to her. LOL. By the time they were done my poor sister had the mixture in her hair, on her computer, and all over the dog from where Eliza was shaking her hands to get rid of the yucky. LOL. Needless to say I have been branded to “Bad Aunt Lori” status.