Quick Bechamel Sauce

Did you ever take a home economics class in school?  Me neither.  In my neck of the woods, the home ec. class is a relic of the past, along with avocado green kitchen appliances, Tang, and "Leave It To Beaver."  Although I'm happy leaving some things in the past (the avocado green, for sure), it seems like a shame that home ec. has been cut from so many school curriculums.  Sewing a button, balancing a checkbook, or making a simple meal are skills that are important for everyone.

Back in the days of home ec., the white sauce was a staple of any good curriculum.  It also happens to be part of any culinary school curriculum- you learn to make that white sauce, or Bechamel, in your basic skills class.   That's because it is simple to prepare, you can use it in countless different ways, and it can really make leftovers stretch.  You start with a roux (a paste of flour and butter) and add hot milk.  The roux thickens the milk, creating a sauce that can be used as a base for macaroni and cheese, in lasagna, or a variety of other dishes.  Here I have a recipe for a quick Bechamel and my 2 favorite ways of using it- a basic mac and cheese that you can dress up in a variety of ways and my mom's ham and cheese on rice.

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

-In the bowl of a microwave-safe bowl, microwave the milk until hot but not boiling.

-In a medium saucepan, heat the butter until melted.

-Add the flour and salt, whisking until smooth.

-Cook mixture until light golden color, about 3 minutes.

-Add hot milk all at once, whisking until mixture is smooth.

-Continue cooking until mixture has thickened and is bubbly.

-Remove from heat.

Uses:

Basic macaroni and cheese- After removing sauce from the heat, stir in 8 ounces of shredded cheese, 8 ounces al dente macaroni, 1 teaspoon ground mustard powder, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.  Stir until cheese is melted and pour into a buttered 8x8 baking dish.  Top with additional cheese, buttered Panko bread crumbs, or any other desired toppings.  Bake at 350 degrees until macaroni is bubbly and top is golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Mom's ham and cheese on rice- After removing sauce from the heat, stir in 2 cups cubed ham, 8 ounces of shredded cheddar cheese, 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce, and 1/2 teaspoon mustard.  Thin with a little milk if necessary and serve over rice.

Milwaukee, I Love You!

This past weekend, my husband and I took a trip up to Milwaukee for our 5-year reunion from Marquette University. Time certainly flies- it seems like just yesterday that I was living off of terrible dorm food, cramming for finals, and trying to get into the campus bars. College sure was fun!

We'd made plans to celebrate by visiting some of our favorite places in Milwaukee and catching up with friends. Our weekend would kick off with dinner at Louise's because they have good food and good wine. I decided somewhat last minute to do some MU logo cookies to put at each place as favors. I think they turned out pretty cute and I was especially grateful that I put a few of them in my purse for later on in the evening. They did an especially good job of satisfying those post-cocktail munchies!

The weekend was a blast and reminded me how much I love Milwaukee. It's a city big enough for there to be a lot to choose from, but not too big to be inaccessible. Perfect for a weekend away! Some of the top favorite places to eat and drink (yet slightly more respectable than our college dive bars), in no particular order:

1. Louise's: On Jefferson Street, facing Cathedral Square Park. I love their baskets of focaccia bread and their goat cheese salad. It's a great place to go for dinner on Thursday nights before Jazz in the Park.

2. Bryant's: At 9th and Lapham. It's an old-fashioned cocktail lounge with strong drinks and great music. If you like velvety walls, flaming drinks, and a soundtrack dominated by the Rat Pack, this is your place. We've had way too many great times here!

3. Milwaukee Public Market: On Water Street, in the 3rd Ward. An indoor market full of great independent merchants, it's the place to go to pick up freshly baked bread, wines, great cheeses, and spices. It's also fun for people watching!

4. Trocadero: On Water Street, on the East side. Best for brunch and bloody mary's on the weekends. It is especially fun in the summer because they have an amazing patio.

Sweet and Sour Pork

Most people I know have a "love it" or "hate it" attitude when it comes to leftovers.  As I've mentioned before, I love leftovers.  This is mostly to do with the fact that I hate to waste food, but also because there are some things that just as good, if not better, the day after.  Soups and spaghetti sauce, I've noticed, are always better the next day.  That's because the flavors have time to come together.

Leftovers can also be the start of a great new dish.  This was a talent my mom had when I was growing up- the Easter ham was cubed up for ham and cheese on rice, leftover steak became Spanish beef with tomatoes, and extra pork tenderloin was turned into sweet and sour pork.  This was my favorite - served over rice with a sprinkle of crispy chow mein noodles.  I have taught this recipe in my cooking classes, and shared it with friends along with a great marinade recipe from Real Simple that you can find here.  Everyone seems to enjoy it and it is easy to prepare.  Try it and see for yourself!

Ingredients:

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

1 green pepper, cut into pieces about the same size as the pork

1 garlic clove

2 cups cubed leftover marinated pork tenderloin

1 can pineapple chunks (save juice)

1 Tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon fresh ginger

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Directions:

-Heat oil in wok or skillet.

-Add pepper and cook until softened.

-Add garlic and saute for a minute more.

-Then, add cooked pork and saute for an additional 2 minutes to heat through.

-Drain pineapple juice into the pan.

-Add soy sauce, ginger and cornstarch.

-Let it simmer for several minutes to thicken the sauce.

-Add the pineapple chunks and serve over rice.

Nuts About Granola

My husband and I are gearing up for the Late Ride this weekend.  It is a 25 mile bike ride through the city of Chicago that starts at 1:30 in the morning and ends near dawn.  It is sure to be a great (and crazy) time- 10,000 bikers riding through the streets as all the bars let out for the night.  Imagine the possibilities!

To keep our energy up as we dodge the tipsy folks on their way home, I fixed up some granola to toss in my backpack.  Granola is a great thing to make at home- it is easy to do and you can add the ingredients that you like.  This granola recipe is very simple, and doesn't have any oil.  There is fat in the almonds, but they're good fats- monounsaturated- which have been found to lower the risk of heart disease.  Combined with the antioxidants in the blueberries, the fiber in the oats, and the alpha linolenic acid in the flax seeds, you've got a pretty good snack happening here.  Flax seeds and brown rice syrup can be found at Whole Foods, or other natural foods stores, and aren't too costly.  I like to make a batch of this granola to sprinkle on top of some fruit and yogurt for a healthy breakfast.

My Favorite Granola

Ingredients:

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1 cup shredded coconut

1 cup pepitas
1 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/4 cup flax seeds

1 pinch salt

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 cup brown rice syrup

1 1/2 cups dried fruit (raisins, cranberries, cherries, blueberries- all good!)

Directions:

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

-Combine oats, pepitas, sunflower seeds, flax seeds, salt, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl.

-Stir in the brown rice syrup.

-Spread granola on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake until golden, about 20 minutes.  Be sure to stir the granola occasionally to ensure even baking.

-Remove from oven and cool slightly before stirring in dried fruit.

Pineapple Salsa- Revisited

The best thing about having a blog is that all of my recipes are organized and in one place. It is a far better system than the binder of notecards, clippings, and printouts sitting on the bookshelf in my kitchen. When I'm looking for one of my recipes, all I have to do is click back. This is something I do pretty frequently- the recipes I have on this blog are dishes I really enjoy and make often.

The downside is, though, that every once in a rare while, I'll go back to a recipe and realize I made a typo, or there's an ingredient in there that makes me go "huh?" Take this pineapple salsa, for example. I love this recipe and have brought it to quite a few parties. It's actually one that I do from memory. That's why it took me so long to realize that my post from May of 2007 calls for a storm cloud of pepper as well as olive oil. Olive oil? I don't know what I was thinking. Here's the recipe, one more time, fine tuned and ready to serve at your next party with tortilla chips. It also makes a great topping for grilled chicken or fish!

Ingredients:

1 fresh pineapple

1 red onion

1 jalapeno pepper

Juice of 2 limes

1 cup cilantro

1/4 tsp. black pepper

1 tsp. salt

Directions:

-Have a non-reactive mixing bowl ready (plastic, glass, or ceramic).

-Peel and core the pineapple. Finely chop the fruit and add to mixing bowl.

-Finely chop the onion and jalapeno and add the mixing bowl. I prefer to deseed the jalapeno before chopping so the salsa isn't too spicy.

-Pour the lime juice over the salsa.

-Finely chop the cilantro and stir into the salsa.

-Season with salt and pepper, adjusting as necessary.

-Cover with plastic and refrigerate until needed.

Birthday Cakes

June and July are big birthday months in my family, which means parties, fun, and lots of cake!  It also means that I have lots of opportunities to practice my cake decorating skills.  Now that I'm finished with culinary school, that extra practice certainly comes in handy as I'd like to keep my skills sharp!  I seem to learn something new with each cake that I do, and I'm so grateful to have such a patient family that will let me test out new recipes on them.  Here are two birthday cakes that I recently worked on.

Nonny's 80th Birthday:  Nonny, my grandmother, recently celebrated the big 8-0 with a beach-themed birthday.  Her party channeled the many summers we all spent together on Seabrook Island, complete with palm trees and seashells- everything looked so cute!  For the cake, I decided to do a lemon coconut cake with lemon curd filling.  I really liked the flavors and I was happy with the way it turned out.  The cake was iced with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and decorated with a beach scene of graham cracker sand, tempered white and dark chocolate seashells, and the Seabrook Island logo for the sun.

Hera's First Birthday:  The theme for this party was Sesame Street's Elmo and Zoe, which I thought was very cute.  I created a cupcake "cake" of 54 yellow cupcakes iced with vanilla Swiss meringue buttercream and a little Agar piping gel for details.  I had never done a cupcake cake before, and it was definitely a learning experience.  Should you try one of your own, make sure you have a well-supported cake board.  Otherwise, the cupcakes may shift, causing flaws in the icing.  I learned this the hard way! Even though there were some imperfections, I'm pretty happy with how Elmo and Zoe turned out and I would do another cupcake cake in the future.  The fact that you don't have to cut and serve the cake is really nice- people can just grab a cupcake and enjoy!