2011 Food Thoughts

As 2011 comes to a close, I have to reflect on this thing I spend so much time on, called food. When I wake up in the morning I have thoughts about what I will eat for breakfast; a shake, egg whites, oatmeal, Raisin Bran or a Sweet Dutch Baby. Only hours go by and then its lunchtime; will make something, go out and get something or just have a snack.
In recent news from Dr. Oz, he suggests eating in reverse,or having those heavy meals or pasta dishes by midday. You will have more time to work off the calories and full feeling. This bit of news made me think about a woman name Kay I used to work with who always brought her left-overs to work the next day and had them for breakfast (eating in reverse). I always wondered if they were left over from dinner or if she just cooked them at the dinner hour for breakfast the next morning. I'll never know, she lives in Florida now.
I not sure if I get much past the lunch hour before I begin to think about what will be on the menu for dinner. I begin to think about what's in the frig or freezer that I can prepare, the prep work involved in getting it prepped in a timely manner and what I have in the pantry or frig to go with it for a complete meal. I am pretty sure I might skip dinner if it were not for my husband. He tends to go to work without breakfast and he may or may not have lunch, then he comes home starving. Drives me nuts!
During the course of my day, I look at food magazines that I receive in the mail, watch food shows on the Food Network and the Cooking Channel,and I go to the grocery to replenish food items. Many of the e-mails I receive are from food websites about food and recipes that I often want to make. Have I gotten to dinner yet?
If we decide to go out to dinner, then its a discussion about where to go, if that's what we really want (both of us), if the service is up to par and how I feel when I'm there. We actually have been to restaurants where the staff appear unhappy to be there; if they don't want to be there why would I want to be there? I'm at a point in my life where I want to feel good when I'm in a place eating or otherwise, i.e., I don't want to feel any stress (trying to take care of the vessel)and going out to eat is about more than eating out.
I have to wonder if I'm doing myself a disservice by thinking about food so much and am I the only one doing this? It consumes so much of my time, my husband always says, "we all have the same 24 hours." Food must be the way I wish to spend my time.
Some of the biggest foods trend in 2011, was grilling veggies , incorporating different ethnic foods into American cuisine and vise versa and just keeping dishes simple and easy. I loved the 2011 food trends and I think I'll keep them going into 2012 or until something better comes along. Happy New Year!

Mealfare: Dutch Baby, Baby Dutch

Mealfare: Dutch Baby, Baby Dutch: First, I should explain that the proper name is Dutch Baby, but my mind wants to keep saying Baby Dutch. Anyway, the Dutch Baby is one big ...

Dutch Baby, Baby Dutch

First, I should explain that the proper name is Dutch Baby, but my mind wants to keep saying Baby Dutch. Anyway, the Dutch Baby is one big puffy pancake prepared in an iron skillet. If you don't want to stand at the stove and make cute little round pancakes, the Dutch Baby goes into a 10 inch iron skillet all at once to yield a big pancake.

I been wanting to make one, but never took the time and after looking at the Sunday magazine on Dec. 25 and noticing that there was a recipe in the CookSmart /USA Weekend section, I decided to give it a try. The recipe is compliments of Pam Anderson who notes that a Dutch Baby can be savory or sweet. I prepared the Sweet Dutch Baby.

Heat oven to 425 degrees after adjusting rack to a middle position in oven.
Recipe for Sweet Dutch Baby: 1 c whole milk, 4 large eggs, 2 tsps. vanilla extract, 1/4/tsp. salt (whisk all together in a medium bowl). Vigorously whisk in 1 c all-purpose flour (can let sit a few minutes and whisk again). Melt 2 Tbs. butter to the point of turning brown in an iron skillet and pour in the mixture when butter is brown. Bake in oven for 15 to 17 minutes and don't be alarmed if you see the pancake all puffy, that's normal.

Sprinkle 1Tb. sugar on top and turn on the Broiler for just a few seconds until golden.

While the pancake bakes, take out your favorite jam and measure out 1/4 c with 3 Tbs. water and warm in the microwave. Mix well and pour over pancake immediately; you can also top with dried or fresh fruit, powdered sugar and whip cream (like I did).

To me the Dutch Baby is more of a crepe and less of a pancake and a bit on the eggy side. You have to eat it immediately because it becomes less appealing as it cools off. I believe that the savory one would be good at any time of the day or night; its the same recipe except you add onions, ham and cheese and then bake. If you are watching the calories like I am, skip the ham and one half the cheese and add veggies for a new Savory Dutch Baby. Enjoy!

Cafe Lou Lou for Lunch

Cafe Lou Lou's in St. Mathews was a delicious treat when I ventured out for some lunch. Do you ever feel as though you are tired of everything (food-wise) and you don't know what you want, but you want something delicious? That's the way I was feeling when I thought about Cafe Lou Lou's. I had never been there, but heard wonderful things about the food. Well, the good I heard was on point!

The Spicy Red Lentil Soup hit the spot since it was prepared properly with just the right amount of heat and diced tomatoes. I really wasn't that hungry, but I ask our server, Dane to leave the menu, since I wanted to taste at least one other item. I decided to order the Angel Hair Pasta with Veggies, which I could not stop eating. The ratio of vegetables to pasta was perfect, the vegetables (asparagus, spinach, tomatoes and onions with a white wine garlic sauce) were

                                                       perfectly cooked and the dish was topped off with cheese.

Yes, our server offer dessert and I said, "what do you have?"  He said they had a Flourless Chocolate Cake, Creme Brulee and Bread Pudding. The dessert choices were eliminated based upon a number of issues...the Chocolate Cake was out because I used to bake a Flourless Chocolate Cake in my Bakery and well, no one could ever measure up. Now, I love Bread Pudding, but it was out, just because it's a dime a dozen and nearly every restaurant has it on the menu at this time of the year (who's brave enough not to have Bread Pudding on the menu next Fall/Winter???).

So, I ordered the Creme Brulee! It looked beautiful, with the sugar caramelized to perfection and dusted lightly with powdered sugar. I picked up my spoon and angled it just so to gather just about a teaspoonful of Creme Brulee, I looked at it (as I do everything), noticed the black speckles of a vanilla bean, thought it will taste like vanilla (which I love, used to put it in my milk with lots of sugar and stir it up as my mother was yelling that we didn't have a dam (I know, (n)) cow out back), slowly placed the spoon in my mouth for that vanilla taste and nothing! No vanilla taste at all. Sure, I ate it, it was smooth and I liked the taste of the sugar on top, it cost $6.50, but I need to taste something like, some vanilla Lou Lou! Love you, Lou Lou and I will be back because I love to eat and tell.