Special Days Special Meals

 It is tough to celebrate anything these days. Restaurants have only limited capacity or offer dining in bubbles or tents which may or may not have heating. Your best bet is creating a birthday or anniversary lunch or dinner is at home. It can still be festive with special recipes and treats. Best of all you can control the menu for the small event.

The one thing about creating a special meal is deciding what you want. If you love grilled steak, then get the barbecue out and start grilling,. Make the cuts fancier with a round of garlic or herb butter melting on top. This is an easy mix of pressed garlic or milled herbs blended with butter and then the whole mix is shaped into a log and chilled until serving. It's then slicing the roll into half inch thick coins to be put onto the meat. You can also make these flavored butters for lobster or shrimp too as well as for salmon or tilapia. What to serve with the steak? Hasselback potatoes!! These glammed up spuds are the perfect accompaniment and can be easily made. You can use any potato for them, from Yukon Golds to Russets to Red Blisses. It's then  continually slicing each one twelve to fifteen times right before you hit the potato's bottom. Each slice should be about a quarter of an inch wide. Brush the entire spud with melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Bake for thirty minutes and then brush them again with more melted (or flavored butter) to ensure crispy edges. Add a side dish of string beans almondine for added lushness. This classic French dish is the perfect marriage of slivered almonds and green beans with garlic and lemon zest. Finish with a rich devil's food cake with a ganache topping and whipped cream or a cinnamon laced apple or pear galette.

Of course a birthday or anniversary can be fun.One of the easiest fun dishes to make is bruschetta. This , in in its' simplest form, is chopped tomatoes mixed with basil, balsamic vinegar and olive oil. This is spooned over oiled and toasted rounds of Italian and French bread. You could liven it up with a few hot pepper flakes or sweetened with chopped bell peppers. A variation involves cannellini beans and sun dried tomatoes or just the beans and grated lemon zest mixed with olive oil. Another idea is a charcuterie platter, perfect for a family of four or five. A board or large plate can hold a variety of different cold cuts. Think favorites such as salami and mortadella along with the fancier prosciutto. Have cheeses everyone likes, such as sharp cheddar and Brie. You could serve all of this with water crackers but they taste delicious with Italian or French . bread. Sparkling wine such as Prosecco works but you can also crack open whites wines and light bodied reds. Mexican food is a fun and tasty way to elevate any celebratory dinner. Think about shrimp or London broil stuffed fajitas or tacos instead of the usual ground beef or chicken. These two meats can also be incorporated into a big cheesy nacho dish too.End with spicy Mexican chocolate cupcakes and Kahkua spiked coffee.

You don;t need to eat out to celebrate a birthday or anniversary. Fancy and fun dishes can be made at home . They're even better than any offering from your favorite eateries..

Parma Vegan Parmasan Pure Cheesiness

 Vegans and vegetarians have a hard time with cheeses. Most of the time they can be gummy and zero flavor. It's even worse when it comes to Parmesan cheeses. They can be tasteless, adding nothing to the dishes they're sprinkled on. Yet there's a new cheese out there that tastes like freshly grated Parmesan.

These are Parma, vegan Parmesan cheese that comes in the original and Garlicky Green flavors as well as Chipotle Cayenne and Better Than Bacon.The company is a subsidiary of Sister River Foods which features healthy produces for healthy eating. I love the Garlicky Green, chock full of  dried basil and dried oregano in it. it is delicious on gnocchi. I sprinkled it on a plate of the potato puffs and it really amped up the flavor of both their flavor and the sauce.

I plan on making a cannllini bruschetta with it (which will be posted) along with using the Original for simple farfalla or butterfly pasta soup. The Parma cheeses will also be good for pizzas too, especially the Chipotle Cayenne and the Better Than Bacon flavor for extra taste and zing.  I may even sprinkle some on popcorn for a good for you version of cheese corn.They do need to be refrigerated, although thanks to their great taste, will not be there for long. The  cheeses are made from nutritional yeast, walnuts sunflower and hemp seeds. 

Vegan and vegetarians rejoice! Parma has given you four tasty cheeses that's perfect for Italian dishes and snacks. Try them today in your pasta or snacks.

Veggies Made Great Frittatas ; Tasty And Healthy

 There's something about breakfast for dinner. It's a fun way to get all the flavors of the morning meal for a tasty supper. The only problem is that breakfasts can be a nit unhealthy. Not to worry Veggies Made Great has created frittata cups that are flecked with Beyond Meat sausages.

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These are the perfect breakfast . lunch or dinner,They're called frittatas but are more like egg cups or muffins made from eggs, Beyond Meat, peppers and cheese. These were the ones I chose for a light supper. The company also make a mushroom and three cheese version along with a broccoli and cheddar ones.

You can make them in the oven or microwave, but they turn out better in the air fryer.

Keep in mind to turn them after being cooked for nine minutes at 350 degrees F. Then turn on their tops and cook for about six more minutes.They come out a golden brown, crispy on the outside , mousse like on the inside.

The taste is light and airy , with the sausage and peppers coming through.

The cheddar ones were flecked with a good amount of cheese. These would also be good with a salad for lunch or dinner. Veggies Made Great also has a variety of healthy muffin like cakes, packed with veggies along with veggie infused baked mac and cheese cakes.

These little egg cakes are perfect for those looking for a healthy alternative to bacon and eggs. They are flavorful yet light. Try them for breakfast, lunch or dinner.

Mighty Lil Lentils Mighty Big Taste

 No one really thinks of lentils as a snack, yet there's a new company that has taken this humble legume to new heights. Seapoint Farms has turned a kitchen staple into a fun new treat - Mighty Lil Lentils, This not only introduces snack lovers to a protein filled bean but also to a new kind of bite.

This Hunting Beach California company is known for its' healthy snacks, Seapoint Farms produces frozen and dry roasted edamame , both tasty as well as seaweed crisps. They also offer such riced veggie dishes as Buddha Un-fried Rice and Chik'n Tikka Masala along with organic edamame spaghetti and fettucine.

         Mighty Lil Lentils come in four flavors, Pink Himalayan Salt, and Barbecue.

                                                  Along with Cinnamon Sugar and Falafel.

The savory flavors are packed with taste. Any one of them is a perfect handful of snacking. They're all crunchy , sort of like dried chickpeas and have that kind of aftertaste. I can see the Pink Himalayan Salt and Falafel flavors being used in salads for extra crunch and more flavoring. The Barbecue flavored lentils could work as a crust  for pork chops or even chicken. Surprisingly the cinnamon sugar lentils isn't that wild tasting. These's a sweetness and a crispness to them which would make them perfect for sprinkling over cupcakes and cake and as a surprise on sundaes and cereal bowls. They'd also be good in a tangine, replacing raisins in the recipe. Another plus is that a quarter cup of any of the lentils is only 150 calories and that much is filling.

Mighty Lil Lentils are the perfect savory and sweet snack for those who want to eat healthy. Try them on their own or with salads or sundaes. They are the perfect little treat for those looking for something new and different.

Autumn in France

 One of the most desirable countries  in the world is France. Even better is when cooler weather descends on this country of sophisticated cities and seaports and rustic mountains and valleys. Traveling there with the lockdown is virtually impossible. There is one way to have a delicious French meal.Cooking it from your kitchen,it's a way of getting a taste of Gallic cuisine

David Tanis provided an amazing slew of recipes in yesterday's New York Times Food section. This is a hearty fare, perfect to make for the chilly days ahead.He starts out with a salad he once had in Normandy. He had it was when he was working in Paris, and taking weekends to this  historic northern country side on the English Channel. He combines beets and tomatoes with scallions, dill and watercress. Two kinds of beets are used, golden and ruby red. The tomatoes used can be yellow or red. It's dressed with a simple Dijon mustard infused  red wine vinaigrette. The beets have to be cooked separately (and no, Mr Tanis doesn't recommend using the canned ones - no flavor) in baking dishes in a 400 degree F oven.They can be cooked up to two days in advance to make it easier timewise. They can be served first or with the main dish pan roasted duck with wild mushrooms. Mr. Tanis suggests using magret or the large breasts of the Muscovy duck.Each is twelve ounces which translate into two portions each.as in typical Gallic style with a sauce flavored with red wine and trumpet mushrooms.It is a labor intensive dish with washing the mushrooms and prepping and scoring the duck breasts. The sauce and meat are made separately.More mushrooms are sauteed in the extra duck fat that's been trimmed off the breasts and then served with the meat and parsley.

The piece de resistance of any French dinner is the dessert. Mr. Tanis doesn't disappoint here.He offers up the classic Gallic lemon tart with a buttery cookie like crust. This recipe is beautifully balanced.It's neither too sweet or too puckery. There's a hint of more color thanks to the addition of freshly grated lime zest. The tart starts out with a crust made with  half a stick of butter and one egg. There's white flour and sugar too in it . Like a good cookie dough, it's refrigerated for an hour in the fridge so  it's not too soft when handled. You can even make it two days in advance. It's chilled again after it's been put in the pie pan and until the filling is added. The filling is a mix of lemon and lime juices and zests along with four large eggs and four large egg yolks.Granulated sugar is added to counterbalance the tartness. This is a type of lemon curd and like it , butter is added to make it creamy.This is made in a saucepan over a medium heat and try not to curdle it. Everything is then whisked together and then poured  through a sieve into the crust where it's baked in a 350 degree F oven for only ten minutes. Dust with confectioner's sugar for a nice touch.

There's nothing like France in the fall. This dinner will make you feel like you're there, with rich flavors and textures. It's the perfect culinary visit , right from your kitchen.

A New Kind of Thanksgiving

 Usually mid-October is the time for home chefs to plan their Thanksgiving meals. Most usually host large dinners of up to even thirty guests. However that's changed thanks to the pandemic. There will still be turkey  but a smaller one shared by the immediate family.

Kim  Severson wrote about this subject in today's New York Times Food section. Industry experts are predicting we'll still have the same holiday but with the immediate family. That means smaller birds and possibly a main course of just breasts and legs. executives at Kroger Supermarkets are closely studying their own data which indicates their shoppers will limit Thanksgiving to people living within their households. It's estimated that there's going to be a thirty percent rise in smaller more intimate meals than last year's eighteen percent.There will be more and more younger people  hosting more compact dinner parties too. This means their first time cooking a turkey and recreating dishes their parents and grandparents made. Yet the industry isn't that rosy. It's hard to predict the exact sales right now along with the threat of some home chefs opting for a big chicken or capon instead. Turkey farming is not easy either. Birds are allowed to mature to give is the ten and twenty pound roasters we're used to. They won't be in high demand  this year as they were in years past. Then there's the problem of some processing plants being breeding grounds for Covid -19 which means they  have to be shut down.

However there is some hope, despite the fact that raising small birds is not that easy. It boils down to genetics and economically driven feed formulas. These are the factors that determine when a bird matures at a predetermined size in a set amount of time. Cody Hopkins  who runs a livestock cooperative of forty farms, mostly in Arkansas, Mississippi and Missouri will ship out about thirty thousand broad breasted whites - the most common breed of American turkey -  thanks to  tweaking feeding and raising methods. Since the cooperative sells directly to families, instead of to supermarkets, farmers have been able to move processing timelines in an attempt to produce smaller birds.They will also process and sell more  turkey wings and breasts. According to John Peterson who owns Ferndale Market in Cannon Falls Minnesota and is president of turkey research and promotion council for Minnesota stated that the decisions  for the birds have to be made in March and April and they can';t be easily changed. A turkey matures to full size in only four or five months. There are poults, young turkeys, that can be sold instead along with some companies like Stew Leoanrd's  selling dinners for four , instead of eight. The industry can be saved more or less.

Thanksgiving will be different this year. Yet both home chefs and turkey farmers can rejoice. There will still be a need for the birds, albeit, smaller ones to satisfy smaller dinners with fewer dinners.

Your Own Coffee Shop Treats

 One of the best things about fall was heading to our favorite coffee shops and getting a coffee and a baked treat.Yet now with the pandemic, it's still kind of hard to get a favorite sweet and relax . However scones, muffins and doughnuts can easily be baked in your kitchen. What's even better is you can tailor them to your tastes.

Scones may sound fancy but they're not.Scones are just a variety of Scottish flatbreads called bannocks. They were first cooked in a large mound and then scored to create triangular pieces. Even today the recipe is easy and simple enough for the most novice home baker. They can be either sweet or savory. The basic recipe calls for flour, sugar, butter, heavy cream or butter milk and eggs. Baking powder is mixed in to give the scones lift along with salt which lifts the flavor. You can add vanilla if you want for a sweeter , dessert taste. The best tasting ones however, have grated frozen butter which will create pockets and a moist, crumbly inside,The best part are the add ins. Think chocolate chips and cinnamon for a sweet combo or orange and blueberries for a healthier bite. Scones can actually  be turned into a main course with the addition of ham, cheddar and scallions Just reduce the amount of sugar added and, of course, omit the vanilla. Top with flaky sea salt. Another savory idea is adding different herbs to the dough. Try garlic, rosemary , parsley and basil. These are perfect with a hot soup or chicken or ham salad.

Our favorite coffee shops are also known for their muffins and doughnuts. Muffins have been around since the early 1700's and are one of the easiest baking recipes. They're a type of quick bread, made primarily of melted butter, sugar, eggs, and milk mixed with the dry ingredients of flour,baking powder, salt and spices. Again these can have tasty variations such as chocolate chips and pecans  along with cinnamon and nutmeg. Fruit studded muffins make for a nice snack. Blueberry muffins are the most popular but you can also use strawberries and raisins too.Banana muffins are also a nice treat with coffee or tea. Keep in mind muffin recipes are fluid. You can sub in maple syrup or honey for sugar along with whole wheat and almond flour for refined white. Doughnuts rank right up there with muffins as the perfect coffee go with.Many home bakers are turned off by the fact of frying them , remember you can use an air fryer to bake them. Remember to use yeast in them for flufflier ones. You can also use premade biscuit dough too. Cake doughnuts have an easy recipe that 's your basic vanilla cake one. They're made with flour , eggs, vegetable oil ,brown sugar, and baking powder for lift. Decorate them with an easy to make glaze of confectioner's sugar , milk and vanilla.

You can still have coffee house treats with your cup of joe or tea. All it takes is some time in the kitchen and creativity. They'll be even better tasting , fresh from your oven.