Blueberry Goat Cheese Pizza with
Shallots, Spinach, and Pecans

I love blueberry spinach salad - so why not put it atop pizza dough for a portable easy to eat version? I had a friend over for lunch when I made this and it was a huge hit - completely gone in about five minutes.

I wanted a bit more goat cheese, shallots, and spinach so I adjusted the recipe for you here to increase those ingredients from what you see in the pictures - delicious!!

Ingredients

• 1 store bought pizza dough
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 4 shallots
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 teaspoons thyme minced
• 2 tablespoons basil chiffonade
• 1/2 cup toasted pecan pieces
• 4 ounces goat cheese
• 1 cup spinach cut
• 1 cup blueberries
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray sheet pan with non-stick cooking spray. Roll out pizza dough into desired shape. I like a rough rectangle for a rustic feel and no stress about the perfect roll out job. With a dinner fork stab the dough a few times and brush with two tablespoons olive oil.

Put in oven for about five minutes until bottom sets. Remove from oven.

Meanwhile, heat remaining one tablespoon olive oil in pan. Slice shallots into rings and saute in oil with salt and fresh ground pepper until shallots are soft and starting to crisp. Add garlic and saute for about a minute. Add in minced thyme and basil chiffonade. Stir to incorporate.

You will have a beautiful and delicious flavor base for your pizza.

Spread goat cheese on par cooked pizza dough.

Top with shallot mixture.

Top with blueberries, spinach, and toasted pecans.

Bake for an additional ten minutes until crust is golden. Spray with balsamic vinegar. (I put the vinegar in a spray bottle so it gets over every bit of the pizza.

Look how beautiful!!! I was so glad I had a friend over or I could have easily eaten the whole pizza myself. The creamy goat cheese, flavorful shallot mixture, toasty pecans and the great sweet burst of the dynamo blueberries was an amazing

flavor combination and one I will be making again.

I hope you enjoy!!

Happy Cooking and

Remember to Take Time to

Enjoy a Little Gourmet Everyday!!

Grilled Stuffed Pork Loin with Fig & Olives

I was in the mood for a lamb dish I made for a dinner party a couple of months ago but when I went to the store and found the boneless leg of lamb was $36.00 and the pork loin was only $6.00 I opted for the more economical option and had no regrets at all.

The sweet figs and briny olives are the perfect combination for the mild pork. My friend Lou said of this dish "I cook a lot of pork, I eat a lot of pork, I love pork, and this is one of the best pork dishes I have ever had."

I hope you like it. It is quick, simple, and delicious.

First, I made a paste with dried figs, kalamata olives, garlic,

thyme, lemon, and fresh black pepper.

I then butterflied the pork, opened it like a book and

pounded it to a uniform thickness.

I spread the tasty paste on one side of the pork and
topped with pinenuts and arugula

I carefully rolled the pork, tied it off then coated it with
olive oil, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

A few minutes on the grill and this delicious dish was ready.

RECIPE

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup dried mission figs stems removed and halved
  
• 1/2 cup kalamata olives
• 2 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 teaspoon minced thyme
• 1 teaspoon fresh lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons fresh ground pepper separated
  
• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts
• 1 cup arugula
• 2 pork loins
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper

Directions

This technique was inspired by an article I read in Cooks Illustrated. While I changed up the paste ingredients - rubbing the pork loin with brown sugar and cooking on the cool side of the grill ensured I had a tender and moist pork loin.

• In the bowl of a food processor combine the figs, olives, garlic, thyme, and lemon zest and pulse until combined. Add fresh ground pepper to taste.

• Lengthwise with a large knife cut the pork loins open like a book and flatten. Cover with plastic wrap and pound to an even 1/4 inch thickness. Divide the paste evenly between the two pork loins covering only about one half of the pork loin and leaving a margin around the edges.

• Top with toasted pine nuts and arugula. Carefully roll beginning with the paste side. Tie with butcher's string and coat with olive oil then. Combine the brown sugar, salt, and remaining pepper and coat the pork loins.

• Meanwhile - heat the grill. Cook the pork loins on the cool side of the grill for about 24 minutes rotating every six minutes so every side gets even caramelized. Remove, tent with foil for 5-10 minutes to rest. Slice and serve.

I served this beautiful pork on top of arugula lightly dressed in olive oil, lemon, kosher salt, and fresh ground pepper and a delicious pinot noir I picked up while at the Oregon Truffle Festival. It was delicious. I hope you enjoy.

Happy Cooking and Remember

Take Time to Enjoy a
Little Gourmet Everyday!

Fantasy or Reality: Cold Oil, Potato Batons, and 25 Minutes is All You Need For Crispy Delicious French Fries?

If It's Good Enough for Robuchon and Steingarten

It's Good Enough for Me - but More Importantly if It's Good Enough for the Colonel It's Good Enough for Me

My father is a man of few words unless he's had a second scotch or certain political opinions are involved, but when it comes to really loving food, he doesn't say much.

When we were planning his birthday dinner this year my mom asked "what kind of fries do you want" and he responded "those that Jennifer made last summer are my favorite."

When my dad brings up these fries a year after I made them that means two things, those are some darn good fries and I would be making them again.

So would you believe me if I told you that all I did was throw some cut potatoes and room temperature peanut oil into a dutch oven, turned the burner to high and left them alone for 25 minutes - save one stir about 15 minutes into the cooking.

I don't blame you for your disbelief - I didn't believe it the first time I heard of it - in fact I thought it was crazy talk. Cold oil - the only possible result would be soggy oily fries. One test of this method and I was hooked and appare

ntly so was my dad, the Colonel.

I first came across this technique perusing one of my very favorite cooking resources, Cooks Illustrated (http://www.cooksillustrated.com). A recipe for fries with this method was published in July 2009. I disregarded it initially but was so intrigued I had to look into it further.

With a little research, I learned that this technique is rumored to be how Joël Robuchon cooks fries at home. Yes, the same Joël Robuchon that was named "Chef of the Century" by Gault Millau (A famous french restaurant guide) and who has mentored such accomplished chefs as Eric Ripert and Gordon Ramsey.

Jeffrey Steingarten refers to Robuchon in his book The Man Who Ate Everything when he discusses a similar method for horse fat fries. Steingarten is one of the leading food writers in the world and a frequent judge on Iron Chef.

So, if it's good enough for Robuchon and Steingarten, it should be good enough for me - Right. Last summer I tried this crazy experiment - fries in a pot covered with room temp oil - and twenty five minutes later - perfectly crispy crunchy fries. And the toughest critic of all, the colonel, loves them - how can you go wrong. This recipe is a keeper!! (plus the fries absorb 1/3 less oil then a hot frying method - see explanation below).

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold Potatoes cut into 1/2 inch batons (or 1 potato per serving)
• Peanut Oil (enough to cover potatoes in dutch oven or stock pot)
• 1/4 cup Bacon Fat (totally optional but totally yummy)
• Kosher Salt

Directions

Slice potatoes into 1/4 inch Batons (detailed instructions below). Place fries in a dutch oven and add bacon fat and enough oil to cover fries - then turn heat to high. After five minutes, fries should be at a rolling boil. Let fries continue to cook. After about 15 minutes stir to loosen fries from the bottom and break up clumps. After an additional ten minutes, or when fries are at desired crispiness, remove from oil and drain on paper towel covered sheet pan. Sprinkle with kosher salt. Serve immediately. It is truly that simple.

Step - by - Step Instructions with Pictures

Many recipes out there for cold oil fries use russet potatoes and peel and rinse them before cooking. Reviews on these recipes are mixed and results seem to be inconsistent - I personally have not tried this method with russet potatoes.

The Cooks Illustrated recipe suggests using Yukon Gold Potatoes which have a thinner skin and don't need to be peeled and a lower starch content so the rinsing step isn't required. Two steps removed - I'm all for that! CI also adds a bit of bacon fat - they had me at bacon - and with such great results with the gold potatoes I don't feel compelled to try any other potato (however I would like to try these with goose or duck fat one day).

Square off potato by cutting a 1/4-inch-thick slice from each of the 4 long sides.

Cut potato lengthwise into 1/4-inch planks.

Stack 3 to 4 planks and cut into 1/4-inch batons. Repeat with remaining planks.

Place fries in large stock pot or dutch oven.

Pour in enough oil to cover the fries. (This is also where I poured in the bacon fat)

Turn burner to high. Fries will come to a rolling boll in 3-5 minutes. Resist the temptation to stir them - let 'em be.

After 15 minutes gently stir the fries with tongs or a slotted spoon to loosen fries from the bottom and break up clumps of fries. There may be a couple stuck to the bottom, don't worry too much about getting every single fry.

Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes until fries are golden and crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined sheet pan and sprinkle with kosher salt.

Now I won't go so far as to say these are healthy fries because they are after all fried - but the science editors at Cooks Illustrated established that they are indeed healthier then the double fried method. They found that the cold-start spuds contained about one third less fat than spuds deep-fried twice: 13 versus 20 percent. They explain:

Fries absorb oil two ways. As the potatoes cook, they lose moisture near their surface, which is replaced by oil. Then, as they cool after being removed from the hot grease, oil from their exterior gets pulled in. Because our cold-start method cooks the fries more gently, less moisture is lost (but enough so the fries stay crisp) and less oil is absorbed during frying. Plus, this approach exposes the spuds to just one cool-down, versus the two cooling-off periods of the classic method, so less oil gets absorbed after cooking as well.

So while these are certainly not guilt free fries, they are less guilty fries and any amount of healthier is something to be happy about - especially when it involves these easy and delicious fries. I hope you try this recipe - let me know how you like them.

Happy Cooking and

Remember Take Time to Enjoy

a Little Gourmet Everyday!!

An Inspirational Day in America’s Most Trusted Kitchen

to Celebrate Betty Crocker's 90th Birthday

My mom was given a Betty Crocker Cookbook for a wedding present and for every Christmas I can remember we would make Betty Crocker’s sugar cookie cut-outs for the holidays. It’s not Christmas until we have those sugar cookies with almond cream frosting and all kinds of colored sprinkles and decorations.

This year Betty Crocker held a contest asking members of Betty's website to plan a birthday bash for Betty's 90th birthday and submit the plan in 1500 characters or less along with a selection of five recipes from the Betty Crocker website. The prize - ten people would be selected to take a trip to Betty Crocker's home in Golden Valley Minnesota.

When I was notified I was a finalist and invited to visit the Betty Crocker Kitchen’s I was thrilled at the opportunity but did not anticipate how inspirational the trip would be. And icing on the cake - my dear friend Merry was also selected.

When you think of a large company like General Mills (# 155 in the fortune 500) it’s easy to think about a corporate entity instead of all the people who make such a machine operate. In the case of General Mills - a behind the scenes look did not reveal a cold operation but a wonderful group of people who clearly love their jobs and truly care about their consumers and providing quality resources to us.

The environment was so welcoming and warm (despite the cold Minnesota climate) it made me want to pack up and move to Minnesota to work with these people in a field dedicated to helping people improve their quality of life through one of life’s necessities – food.

In our day-long visit to the General Mills Headquarters we were given a behind the scenes look at many different aspects of the Betty Crocker operations.

The Photo Lab & Prop Room

We saw food shoots first hands in the GM photo labs. There were numerous sets and a wonderful variety of kitchens.

This area was particularly fascinating to me since I really want to get better at taking pictures of my own creations. I was happy to hear that the photos are not touched up with anything inedible - only natural ingredients are used such as water and oil. One set of stylists was working on the perfect cake ball and another groups was photographing the perfect fajita. it was so interesting to see them hard at work.

The prop room for the photo shoots was one of the highlights of the day - I wanted access to that room to plan my next themed party - there was every color and shape of plate that you could imagine.

The Betty Crocker Kitchens

And yes I do mean kitchens. There were numerous kitchens (I think 19 is the count) all fully functioning and used to test the recipes for various aspects of Betty Crocker and other areas of General Mills. After seeing the operation in action they deserve the honor of America's Most Trusted Kitchen.

Not only did we get to see the Test Kitchens – which were magnificent – but we actually got to cook in the kitchens and prepare items for the closing cocktail party. Our group was assigned the chocolate coal lumps. A simple recipe with cocoa puffs mixed with melted marshmellows and formed into squares and coated with chocolate. A great recipe to make with the kids during the holidays.

Here I am with my guest Felicia and one of the other finalists Beverly with her husband Gerard.

We also got to see the archive room, the food pantries, and the library. GM really opened their doors to us and made the trip incredibly memorable.

The Grand Prize Winner

The grand prize winner was Catherine from Arizona and she was the winner I would have chosen. Her party included a recipe exchange, make your own aprons, a picture with Betty Crocker and a room adorned with red roses but most importantly a reminder that there is a little Betty in all of us. Here she is signing Betty's birthday card.

The Party's Over

But thanks to betty will never end as the inspiration she provides continues. Our night ended with a wonderful cocktail party and presents for the ten finalists and our guests including the newest version of the Betty Crocker Cookbook and a wonderful gift basket of Betty Crocker items.

Happy Birthday Betty and thank you for your continued hard-work and dedication to make our lives easier. I am truly thankful to the wonderful team that planned this amazing day for us including Heather, Jodie, Kristen, Amy, Karen and the countless other members of the GM team that shared so much with us including the staff in the archive room, the photo lab, and all thew wonderful cooks in the kitchens who cooked our food and cleaned up after we cooked in the kitchens. You all made this day so special.

Thank you also for giving me new found inspiration in my culinary education. That inspiration has lead to me create my next blog series:

12 Days of Culinary Education

My holiday gift to me is to teach myself 12 cooking techniques or recipes I have wanted to learn but just haven't gotten around to. From the simple poaching of an egg to the more complicated and ever illusive souflee. Stay tuned and join me in my culinary education.

Happy Cooking and Remember

Take Time to Enjoy a

Little Gourmet Everyday!!