Honoring A Great Down Home Chef

 Dolly Parton was incredibly unique.She was a talented songwriter and singer, penning two of the music era's great hits Jolene  and I Will Always Love You in one session.She was also an amazing philanthropist , donating books to children around the world. Yet she was true to her hillbilly roots and was a great cook and baker. She could create some of the best sweet and savory dishes.

In the last few years she created cakes mixes that were part store bought and mostly homemade. There had to be a stick of really butter added for that homemade buttery taste. There were homey flavors like strawberry and caramel, along with chocolate and coconut.There were buttery already made frostings to add too so there was no need to whip up a bowl. Her Tennessee roots shone through with her buttermilk biscuit and cornbread mixes. Try her banana nut muffin and cinnamon swirl crumb cake - perfect for late summer desserts. There is also a pancake mix with maple syrup in a guitar shaped bottle! There are frozen dessert cups too. She created dessert cups in such yummy combos as banana cream cookies and custard,vanilla shortbread in custard and chocolate mud pie cups.There is also an original whipped cheesecake with a bit of buttermilk added and a molasses graham cracker crust. There is also a decadent chocolate pie with a flaky crust and a dusting of confectioner;s sugar on top. Families will love her peach cobbler with its' brown sugar soaking the fruit,.Serve this for holiday desserts to remember this down home baker.

 Dolly also gave her savory recipes too.The single serve dinners are perfect for someone with a busy lifestyle but craves good old fashioned dinners.  You can buy her shrimp and grits along with her chicken fried steak.The first is a perfect blend of spicy seafood and creamy grits. The chicken fried steak is batter dipped and served with green beans and homestyle mashed potatoes. Many love her  fried chicken and baked Mac. This combo has a cheese sauce infused with buttermilk for a nice tang while the chicken is really tender nuggets.There is a following for her  beef pot roast that has equal amounts if beef and veggies in a tasty gravy.Of course you have her chicken and dumplings.This is creamy gravy covering chicken and homemade dumplings for a tasty hot lunch  or dinner. Her beloved DOllywood also featured some of her favorites too.The parks Front Porch Cafe features  breaded pork chops smothered din bacon and served with succotash and mashed potatoes. Aunt Granny's Cafe offers fried catfish and friedn okra along with black eyed peas and turnip greens.

Dolly Parton devoted her whole life to music.Yet she could have easily devoted her life to cooking and baking. Her recipes, like her songs will live forever.

Tasty Care Packages

 Kids are going off to college ,some of the for the first time. They may not like what the school cafeterias have to offer. What to do? Create a care package. This could be sweet or savory, depending on what the college kid likes/

As much as young adults love to snack and nosh.m keep in mind that they also need good hygienic products and nutrition. Pack a few tubes of their favorite toothpaste and bottles of mouthwash.(why a few? they like to share with their roomies)> Also have cough lozenges and medicine along with aspirin. Pack vitamins too.They re usually too busy with studying and sports to even think of adding a few nutrients to their diet. Dried fruit is another good choice.These are perfect for late night cramming and just noshing with friends. The healthiest types to eat are dates,aprocots raisins and figs.They have high levels of antioxidant,s potassium and fiber. Every grocery store sells them. Sun Maid has their new charcuterie package which has dried cranberries blueberries and apricots, The cranberries and blueberries are also chockful of antioxidants.Craisins, dried, cranberries are popular and tasty , They're also perfect in a bowl of corn flakes and Cheerios.Pack a few bags of them too,.

There's are also the fun add ins Homemade cookies are a must. They've been in college care package for decades. Classic chocolate chip is the cookies of choice. There are so many different ways to make them. You can go with the classic which has brown sugar and milk or bitter chocolate chips.  You could make the equally classic M&M cookies and have both little and big candies in the dough. Add walnuts or almonds for the nut lover. Totally mix  it up by using mint chips in a chocolate cookie dough ro even peanut butter  chips. Shortbreads are both easy to make and easy to send, The recipe is just mixing confectioner;s sugar, butter and flour together to form a stiff dough.To make them special, dip them in melted chocolate. You can pack the cookies in homemade popcorn. Keep the  popped kernels plain and add flavorings to flavor later. Also pack microwave popcorn or plain kernels with a whole host of sprinkle on flavorings. Kernel Seasons has some great flavors like movie theater and nacho cheddar. Pack in a few before shipping.

College care packages should be fun.Have them packed with good for you and good snacks. The dorm student will appreciate it.

Late August Harvests

 It''s still summer even though there are pumpkins and pumpkin spice everywhere. What that means is late August harvests and the tasty dishes that come with them. Take advantage of this, especially with your local farms and farmer's markets.

Even though there is nothing but Cylospora and salmonella your nearby farms offer picking for a price . There are also good  local farmers markets where the produce comes from smaller , more manageable farms where produce can be monitored. Tomatoes and bell peppers are thriving at this moment. Tomatoes mean sauce for fall and winter pasta dishes but use fresh ones for a silky tomatoes Provencale and ratatouille. For a cooling dish then tomatoes stuffed with tuna and mayo and the peppers with leftover rice and home grown herbs. Also think soups. Create a tasty minestrone with  them and the addition of white and green beans along with veggie broth, fresh garlic and parsley. Cook it in your crockpot if it;s too hot to use a stovetop. Onions are also in harvest right now. Tyr them stuffed with beef ,Piedmontese style or just have them sliced and battered for onion rings. Zucchini and squash are big right now. Make them stuffed with rice ,any kind of chopped meat and rice or sliced into coins and then sauteed in a mix of oil ,butter and garlic.

There are fruits that are ripe for picking in late August. This is peach season so go to the farms and start picking. It's a great activity for the whole family and many farms do offer family rates. What to do with peaches? Try a peach  jam.This only has the peaches  , some  lemon juice for preservation and sugar to create a lovely spread for croissants .Of course there is peach crumble . This is a tasty baked fruit dish topped with a mix of oats , brown  sugar ,cinnamon and lemon juice. Keep in mind that charred peaches are the perfect dessert with vanilla ice cream. Just split and it the fruits , brush with melted butter or oil and put on the grill for three to five minutes. Serve with scoops f ice cream or whipped cream for  more decadence.Blackberries are another late August fruit that's in abundance right now. A lot of the thickets are in the wild so you can easily go into  woods and pick them . Try blackberry crumble bars for a tasty sweet snack.Use old fashioned rolled oats and  whole wheat flour for a healthier version. Blackberries can also be made into a curd.It's pureeing the berries and  add ing whole eggs and butter>These are whisked together very a low flame and then placed into jars. Use it to slather on toast for a different breakfast treat. 

It's late August.There are still harvests to be used. Try what the month has to offer in tasty savory and sweet recipes.

That Other Non Meat Quorn

 With all this ado about Impossibemeats we sometimes forget the riginal non eat quorn.It's a surprisingly good sub in for chicken and has the same taste and flavor. It's perfect for all kind of chicken dishes.

I saw the quorn cutlets and thought why not.It's different and a change up from all those nuggets and burgers I cooked throughout the summer. Quorn started in the 1960's. decades before Impossible meat was even created. It's basically a microfungus( a kind of mushroom)  which can convert carbohydrates into micro protein.

What is exciting is that they're in the shape of chicken breasts. That means you can do anything with them//

I decided to go French and fancy with them .they're first cooked in olive oil. use about two tablespoons of a light oil (you don;t want a heavier oil with the sauce) This is Stop & Shop's..

As for the sauce I wanted a light lemony French influenced one. 

Add two tablespoons  of juice or freshly squeezed lemon juice.(I used Walmart's Great Value brand  which is very good)

The add a good heaping tablespoons of butter or plant based butter like Earth Balance or Melt.

Add two to three grinds of fresh pepper(I used Lidl's brand) for a bit of zing Cook for three minutes over a medium flame.

I paired the cutlets with the Little Potato Company s' potatoes. To me this looked and tasted more like a fancy restaurant meal than just a quick summer Friday dinner. I love this quorn cutlets. It has the taste and mouth feel  of real chicken .It was really a great dish and I loved the sauce with it.I plan on using the quorn cutlets in making chicken Parmigian in the future.

Consider quorn instead of the usual plant based meats. It tastes like the real thing and can be used in all sorts of dishes. It's the perfect vegan dish.

New Twists On Classics

After so many months of barbecues ,salads and ice cream,meals ca become a bit boring.Yet imagine taking classic summer  ingredients and  cooking method, using them in a totally different way.This makes for a refreshing uplift in summer cooking. It also means new flavors and new deliciousness.

Regular contributor Ali SLagle gave good ideas for changing up summer fare in yesterday's New York Times Wednesday section. She gives great ideas to liven up any meal or dessert .It doesn't take fnc6y , imported ingredients , just the usual stuff done different. She takes barbecue sauce and turns it into a salad dressing. This is brilliant and elevate the sauce  from just something to cover chicken and ribs;Thin it out with some lime juice and serve it on hearty greens such as kale and romaine along with a great sauce for grilled veggies.Tinned fish like tuna and  anchovies are great with sliced tomatoes. They bring out the fruit's sweetness and makes for a good lunch (especially with crusty French bread) Another idea is adding whipped feta to watermelon and a salty cheese . Whipped feta is easy t o make.It;s blending feta with Greek yogurt until it's as fluffy as whipped cream. Mayo, that summer staple actually makes a great coating for chicken breasts. Adds herbs and Dijon mustard for more flavor before grilling.A new cooking technique can add oomph to veggies. Another new pairing is corn and rosemary, The herb brings out the corns ,nuttiness and warmth,

Ms Slagle recommends overcooking zucchini too This releases the water and caramelizing the veggies to a silky sweet treat. Another cooking idea is grilling hots dogs counterclockwise to get  more flavor and color.Rotate every so often to get the dogs evenly crisped. The hot dogs (and bratwurst) will have more exposure to the flames and heat and will only have gril makes on the side/ Can summer desserts get a change up? Yes! Surprisingly black pepper and strawberries are a perfect pairing Fresh ground pepper spikes the berry's sweetness ,giving them zing. Now for another wild pairing.Try peaches with  fish sauce..Peaches are very sweet while fish sauce is the opposite  - salty to the extreme degree.Pai them together to bring out the flavor in  both.Thi also can be done with sweet watermelon and mangoes too. Even classic ice cream can be elevated  and not with the typical fudge or caramel sauce.Add a thin drizzle of olive oil on plain vanilla, Ir adds sheen and silkiness the average sweet topping can ;t give it. Aim for a flavorful fruity one. This can also be dripped on coffee hazelnut or strawberry (for some reason it doesn't; work with chocolate). A sprinkle of crunchy sea salt also helps in bringing out the ice or gelato's flavor.

These are classic ingredients.Yet using them different or cooking them in a new way will make for tasty flavors.It's a fun way to add some oomph and zing to a summer meal.

A New Chapter On Mexican Cooking

 Mexican food is showing Americans that it's more than tacos and margaritas.There's a whole new generation of Mexican born chefs that are showing the varied and delicious foods of their provinces/ Itsa wide variety of different ingredients and flavors.

New contributor and winner of the James Beard award for culinary writing and regular contributor Brett Anderson wrote about this explosion of true Mexican cuisine in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. Mexican food was always a limited menu. There was just tacos and burritos, that's it. In the last fifty years , however, in the past fifty year the exican population has expanded from eight and a half million to thirty-nine million.According to Pew research in 2024 one out of ten restaurants in the US is Mexican. Eighty-five per cent of all counties in the US have at least one Mexican restaurant. What this means is that there is also a vast array of different recipes from the country's thirty-two states. A big plus is that also eleven of them received Michelin stars including Californios in San Francisco, the only Mexican anywhere to win the acclaimed award three years in a row. Unfortunately now politics also plays a role in this phenomena. Mexicans and even Mexican-Americans have been deported or contained by ICE thanks to the Trump administration

Politics ,aside the Mexicnn states are being greatly represented here. There are birria tacos from Zacatecas , a favorite with Gustavo Arellano, are porter for the Los Angeles Times and author of  Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America. He never really saw them here until the mid 20110s. These are barbeco or barbecue filling of Western Mexico, They;re usually made with goat or lamb  and flavored with vinegar,dried Chile and garlic along with herbs and spices. There are also plate sized palceros, big in New York, Manhattanites love these large tacos from central Mexico. The filling is anything from pork rinds , queso fresco, cactus flower salad and avocadies. Potatoes, eggs and rice are added for more oomph and the whole dish is topped with either fresh cilantro, diced onions or regional salsas.Even Oklahoma City birthplace of such American staples as Sonic and drive in eateries have birrio estila Aguascalientes slow roasted goat summered in guachillo ancho broth ,flavored with tomatoes and roasted cashews.Even places with small Hispanic communities like Door County ,Wisconsin have excellent Mexican restaurants.La Sirena's chef Emile Coulson Slagado uses Wagyu beef in making some of the best foods outside of Los Angeles and New York

Mexican food is becoming one of the top gourmet foods in the US<The food is top notch as is the quality.It is fast becoming a force on the American culinary scene.

An Old Fashioned Beet Salad

 One of the joys of summer eating was the old fashioned beet salad. There's something about the deep ruby slices dressed in a simple vinaigrette. It's a tart and tangy taste, reminiscent of a summer when  fresh veggies ruled the tables.

I had a craving for this after reading today's  article by Simon Bajaj in New York Times Tuesday Science Times section. Beets are muklttiaskers.They promote brain health while lowering blood pressure. The reason I wanted them was nothing scientific. I missed their sweet  earthy taste. I wish I could get fresh beets but then they lose their nutrients when boilingl. It was on to the canned sort.

They;re already cooked and sliced , marinating in their own juices. I bought Stop and Shops but any brand is good.

The dressing is so simple.A splash of olive oil and dash of white wine vinegar. Add some salt and freshly ground pepper to really bring out the natural sweetness. You could add chopped onions as my Mom did. These give a spiky sharpness.'

Mixed this is the perfect side(although I couldn't;t resist stealing forkfuls before dinner). This is the perfect change up from green bean and broccoli salad and it's perfect with any charcoal grilled steak, Chill it a few hours before making for the optimum flavor boost.

Beets are good for you. Try them in a classic salad. Enjoy the sweet taste with a tart vinaigrette. They are hard to resist,