Tormented Kitchen

I think everyone has their own version of Christmas goodies. This is one of mine. We're not big pans of peanut brittle. If I substitute almonds for the peanuts, then this stuff doesn't stand a chance! Ingredients 2 cups granulated white sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 cup salted butter 1/2 cup water 2 1/2 cups nuts, peanuts, pecans, or blanched slivered almonds, or a combination 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda Method 1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. The color will gradually turn a nice toasty caramel color. Be sure to use a spoon that won't melt.   2. Using a candy thermometer, cook until 275F.  Stir in the nuts and heat up to 295F. 3.Remove pan from heat and stir in the baking soda. Mix well. 4. Pour onto buttered cookie sheets.  Spread it with a wooden spoon or forks to help pull it. 5. Allow to cool a few hours.  Break into pieces and enjoy.

Over Christmas break, I was inspired to make something new and different.  After eating some of the Charlie Palmer lobster risotto, I thought how hard can it be to make? We picked up some lobster tails at Costco and I decided not to copy Charlie Palmer's risotto. Instead, I went in my own direction. Don't be intimidated by the lobster or the fact that this is risotto. Yes, risotto can be "difficult" but just keep tasting until it's done. By the way,  doesn't it look great? Ingredients For the stock: tail shells from 6 lobsters 1 roma tomato 1/2 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped 1 carrot, roughly chopped 1 rib of celery, roughly chopped cool water to cover, about 3 quarts For the risotto: 1 shallot, finely minced 1 Tablespoon EVOO 1 Tablespoon salted butter 2 cups arborio rice 3/4 cup white wine, I used sauvignon blanc 3 1/2 cups lobster stock juice and zest from 1 Meyer lemon 1/4 cup half & half 1 sprig tarragon 1 handful ch...

Have you heard of Charlie Palmer? Perhaps you recognize the name. He has a restaurant or two. One is in Manhattan, his flagship. There is also one here in Reno. He is the executive chef at the Grand Sierra Resort (or GSR as we locals know it) and the namesake for the Charlie Palmer Steak House. I was fortunate to get a ticket to this year's annual holiday feast. It was impressive! There was an ice sculpture at the entry to the Grand Ballroom. Each course had a wine pairing, but it wasn't a sit-down traditional meal.  Guests were able to go up to serving stations and watch as chefs prepared the food, plated, and garnished it.  It was quite fascinating! The first thing I tried was the Pheasant Pot Pie with root vegetables and smoked bacon.  It was paired with Napa Cellar's 2011 Pinot Noir. It was beautiful. The "pot pie" crust was actually a chive biscuit. The pheasant was very mild, obviously since it is farm-raised. Wild pheasant has a much more pronounce...

Tonight, I wanted to use up some left-over dinner rolls. Since Justin is working late, I decided to challenge myself, sort of my own take on a Mystery Box Challenge. I made tiny cheeseburgers! Sliders! My sliders contained beef patties seasoned with Worcestershire sauce, salt, pepper, and garlic salt. Then, I made a tangy tomato-onion jam by sauteing some of my last garden tomatoes with onion and olive oil. I topped the meat with Tillamook cheddar cheese, then the tomato jam, a sweet zucchini pickle (made by Justin's step mom Cheryl), and a little ketchup. Easy food rocks! PS The kids did not eat the tomato jam. Or the pickles. Typical kids! They don't know what they're missing!

Since my dear hubby went hunting and brought home a lovely deer, we've been busy butchering it up.  Justin usually does the most basic cleaning out in the field.  He guts and skins it before it comes home.  Sometimes, he keeps the animal whole. If the weather is too warm, he quarters it and brings it home in coolers with ice. We usually cut it all down into steaks, stew, and jerky meat right away. I asked him to make some big roasts this year. I have some plans that involve making some pretty fancy British venison dishes. They mostly call for venison stock or demiglaze to complete the sauces. Here was my chance to make some stock, too. I made sure he saved me a bunch of good bones. I used the leg bones and part of the pelvis. We sawed them into pieces with the reciprocating saw, and I got busy cooking before the marrow had a chance to get weird. Now I have some beautiful stock ready for action! PS. This recipe will also work for other red meat animals if you don't...

Doesn't everyone love banana bread?  I will occasionally make it without nuts because sometimes I feel like a nut, sometimes I don't. Ba dum dum! (cymbal crash!) Ok, that was cheesy of me. Sorry. Anyhoo. I like banana bread, pumpkin bread, zucchini bread, all sorts of quick breads.  This is one of my favorites. This batch, I made using chopped Brazil nuts and it was fantastic. Rose usually makes hers with walnuts, but my dear hubby (her grandson) is allergic to them. I typically choose pecans as my general go-to nut for baking. Ingredients 1/2 cup shortening 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 2 cups AP flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup sour milk (add about 1 teaspoon lemon juice to regular milk, let set until it's curdled) 3 large ripe bananas, mashed about 1 1/2 cups 1/2 cup chopped Brazil nuts, walnuts, or pecans Method 1. Cream the shortening and sugar until mixed well.  Add the eggs and vanilla. 2. Sift to...

Oh my goodness. I forgot to post about rib cook off!  Yes, we went. We went more than one day, mind you. We are connoisseurs of ribs. It seemed like they spaced out the rib booths further from each other than in years past. That made walking around much easier.  We also took advantage of the free bus rides from the Legends mall to the downtown Sparks bus station. We got ribs from the vendors directly and then also one night we went into the Rib Village for the smorgasbord. The kids now love ribs and devoured them faster than me! We noted that few of the rib-smokers had whole suckling pigs roasting away. They were about $175 a pig. We wandered through the vendor booths and the food providers. The kids played in the water fountain in front of the theater and enjoyed a few carnival rides, day and night. We ate a little of everything. Fried zucchini, onion rings, fried peaches, funnel cake, cream puffs, ice cream bars, ribs, ribs, ribs, and washed it down w...