Chicken, Strawberry, & Tarragon Salad w/ Cashews & Cashel Blue

Every time I make a salad, I make a proclamation that it's only the first in a line of many that will be gracing my table in weeks to come.  Visions of salad plates and dainty forks dance in my head.  And then tomorrow rolls around I promptly forget that decree.

Seriously.  Every.  Single.  Time.

Strawberry Arugula Salad w/ Hazelnuts & Blue Cheese - 50 Women Game-Changers (in Food): #48 Cat Cora

the "Gourmet" prompt...

48. Cat Cora- Being the only female Iron Chef earns Cora a spot on the list. Plus, her telegenic glamour and golden locks surely help in hooking folks on cooking—and having four sons with her wife, well, that’s just cool.

Cat grew up around food.  She's Greek, and we all know that the two go hand-in-hand, right!? Big family gatherings.  Family-owned restaurants.  Roasting meat on spits in the front yard.  What?  That's not every Greek family?  Okay fine.

50 Women Game-Changers (in Food): #11 Patricia Wells - Wedge Salad with Buttermilk-Lemon Zest Dressing

In May '11, Gourmet posted a list of 50 Women Game-Changers (in Food) that runs the gamut from food writers to cookbook authors to television personalities to restauranteurs to chefs to food bloggers.  Some are a given.  Some are controversial.  Speaking the names of some brings fond childhood memories.  Speaking the names of others will make some readers cringe.  And of course, some of our favorites were not even included.  We food-lovers are a passionate bunch of people and whether we agree or disagree, every woman on this list has earned her place for a reason.  Being a woman who is passionate about food (cooking, eating, talking about, writing about, photographing), when I caught wind of Mary from One Perfect Bite's idea of cooking/blogging her way through each of these 50 women...one per week...I knew I wanted to join her.  Many of these women paved the way for us in culinary school, in the kitchen, in cookbooks, in food writing, and on television and I think it is a fabulous way to pay tribute to their efforts.  Some of the women on the list have been tops with me for years.  Some I have heard of (perhaps even seen, read, or cooked from) before.  And there are even a handful that I am not familiar with at all.  I excited to educate myself on each of these women game-changers and hope you look forward to reading along.  We are going in order from 1 to 50.

the "Gourmet" prompt...

11. Patricia Wells-  Milwaukee–born Wells gave us France, spreading the bistro love as the Paris–based restaurant critic of L’Express and the Herald Tribune. She taught us—and reminded the French—about Provençal cooking, and… quoi? An American woman is telling the French what to eat? Oui.

Born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Journalist...author...teacher who runs her own cooking schools in Paris and Provence.  Former New York Times reporter...only foreigner and only woman to serve as restaurant critic for a major French publication, L’Express.  Global restaurant critic for the International Herald Tribune for more than 25 years.  Recipient of several James Beard Awards.  Oh yeah, she definitely deserves her slot in the "top 50".

I love Patricia Wells cookbooks.  I don't actually own any, but I check them out often from my library.  I always keep them for as long as I can (renew...use a different card and renew again...) so that I can page through and dream of making a simple country dish from Provence, a traditional Italian pasta, or a heavenly salad.  One day I would LOVE to attend her cooking school in Provence.  Or Paris.  I'm not picky.

worth further exploration:  (memoir) We've Always Had Paris...and Provence, (cookbooks) Salad as a Meal, Bistro Cooking, Patricia Wells' Trattoria, Vegetable Harvest, Food Lover's Guide to Paris, The Provence Cookbook, Simply Truffles (release date: Nov. 8 '11), (cooking classes) Provence or Paris

Patricia Wells on Facebook

Wedge Salad w/ Buttermilk-Lemon Zest Dressing
from Salad as a Meal: Healthy Main-Dish Salads for Every Season by Patricia Wells
serves 4 (& ~⅔ c. dressing)

Salad
2½ oz. (~¾ c.) smoked bacon, julienned
1 medium head iceberg lettuce, cored and cut into wedges
1 Tbs. minced fresh chives
6 oz. (~1½ c.) chilled bleu cheese, crumbled
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper

Buttermilk-Lemon Zest Dressing
¼ tsp. fine sea salt
½ c. buttermilk
grated zest of 1 lemon
2 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

salad:  Cook bacon until done and transfer to paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Combine chives, bleu cheese, and bacon with dressing* and spoon evenly over lettuce wedges.  Season with salt and plenty of pepper.  Serve.

*dressing:  Combine all ingredients in a jar and shake to blend.  Let stand for an hour to allow flavors to blend, or up to three days in the fridge.  Shake before using.

Patricia Wells (November 5, 1946 - present)

Who is cooking along with these 50 Women Game-Changers?

Mary- One Perfect Bite, Val- More Than Burnt Toast, Joanne- Eats Well With Others, Taryn- Have Kitchen Will Feed, Susan- The Spice Garden, Heather- girlichef, Miranda- Mangoes and Chutney, Jeanette- Jeanette's Healthy Living, Katie- Making Michael Pollan Proud, Kathy- Bakeaway with Me, Sue- The View from Great Island, Amy- Beloved Green, Barbara- Moveable Feasts, Linda- There and Back Again, Kathleen- Gonna Want Seconds

I am sharing this post with:

Bacon, Green Onion, & Blue Cheese Bread

Where, oh where, has this summer gone?  It was stolen by the miserable humidity and hovering-around-100° temps.  So now that the humidity has mostly dissipated and the temps have gone down a good fifteen to twenty degrees most days, we are trying to make the most of the less-than-two-weeks we have before the kids will be sitting in classrooms again.  Walking, biking, playing, coaxing bugs from under rocks (for scientific study purposes, of course)...reading and eating outside again!  For as much as I love fruits that grow in the tropical heat, I sure don't know if I could survive in it.  While my baking did slow down a bit during the last couple of months, it didn't stop completely.  Many thanks going out to my bread machine for doing the bulk of the work for me.  It would have been even better if I'd actually let the machine cook the loaves, as well...but I sort of cringe at the goofy, silo-shaped loaves it produces.  While one day I hope to have a new version with a horizontal bread pan, I am not going to cry over what has helped me so much since I've "re-discovered" it.  Especially when it helps me make loaves like this one.

Bacon, Green Onion, and Blue Cheese Bread
adapted from The Artisan Bread Machine
yield: one 2# loaf

2 Tbs. (30 mL) granulated sugar
1 tsp. (5 mL) instant yeast
1 c. + 2 Tbs. (280 mL) lukewarm water (110° F / 43° C)
½ c. (125 mL) finely chopped green onions
⅓ c. (75 mL) vegetable oil
3¾ c. (925 mL) bread flour
1 tsp. (5 mL) salt
½ c. (125 mL) cooked bacon, chopped
½ c. (125 mL) crumbled blue cheese

Add sugar, yeast, and water to bread pan of your bread machine (or mixing bowl if not using a bread machine).  Let stand until yeast starts to bubble, ~10 minutes.  Add green onions and oil.  Spoon flour on top of liquid.  Add salt, bacon, and cheese.  Select dough cycle and press start (by hand or with mixer, mix well and then knead until smooth and pliable.  Transfer to oiled bowl, cover and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, ~1 hr).

Turn dough out and punch down.  Form into a ball and place in a well-floured brotform or free-form onto a well-floured surface.  Cover and let rise 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 425° F (220° C) during last 15 minutes of rise time.  Using a serrated knife, cut deep slashes in loaf.  Spray with water and turn out onto baking stone that has been preheating (or slide free-form into oven on tray or stone).  Bake until risen and dark brown and registers 190° F (90° C) in center, ~30 minutes.  Let cool on wire rack.

The blue cheese sort of melts into the bread since it is mixed and kneaded in from the start.  I think I may try adding it in just before I let it rise next time...see if it gives me chunks of goodness.  You can still taste it, though...so my fellow stinky cheese lovers need not worry.  This bread is very sturdy...perfect for sandwiches, either toasted or just sliced.  I will be making this often...and I think I'm going to divide it in two next time and make it in loaf pans.  That is how perfect it is for sandwiches!

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I am sharing this post with:
*BBD #43:Onion Breads hosted at Judy's Gross Eats
*Yeastspotting!

The Wisconsinite Grilled Cheese (+ a cookbook review: grilled cheese, please! by Laura Werlin)

Were you aware that Colby cheese was invented in Wisconsin?  Or that Wisconsin lays claim to 46 different blue cheeses?  How 'bout the fact that cranberries are Wisconsin's numero uno fruit crop?  Or that the Mustard Museum makes its home in Wisconsin?  Did you know that for a very short time period I made my home in Wisconsin?  All of those facts, aside from the last, were laid out in the intro to this utterly addicting grilled cheese sandwich in grilled cheese, please! by Laura Werlin.  Hence the name of the sandwich...you know, for those of you who hadn't caught on yet.  Even though I felt like I lived there longer than I actually did, Wisconsin and alot of its people will always hold a special place in my heart.  I think it feels like I lived there for longer than I actually did (less than a year) because I visited so often.  One of my best friends in college was a Wisconsinite, born and bred, and I'd make the road-trip from East Lansing to Milwaukee many times before I actually moved there for a bit.  Man, those were good times.  When I remember Milwaukee I remember music (and other things that matched really well with music.  Especially when you're a college student.).  Home, concerts, bars, friends, work, the band in the basement, a drummer, camping, Summer Fest, road trips, cats...music was just a part of the air we breathed.  And my send-off was epic (at least in my mind)...two kegs of Leinie's, an integral part of daily life in Milwaukee.  They got one keg of Berry Weiss just because it was my favorite back then.  Jeff, Steph, Kel, John, Andy, Matt, Chris, Shel, Dan, Tony, Bryan, Marna, Ben, Eric (and anybody else my sometimes forgetful mind might have missed) this one's for you!  Thanks for making me an honorary Wisconsinite.

The Wisconsinite

from grilled cheese, please!

makes 4 sandwiches

¼ c. cranberry sauce

4 tsp. Dijon mustard (use a Wisconsin mustard if you can)

2 Tbs. butter, room temp.

8 sandwich sized sliced dark rye or marble rye

8 oz. Colby cheese, shredded

2 oz. blue cheese

In a small bowl, mix cranberry sauce and mustard together. fyi...this sauce rocks...make extra, you'll want to dip!

to assemble:  Spread the butter on one side of each slice of bread.  Place 4 slices of bread, buttered side down, on your work surface.  Spread the cranberry mixture on the bread.  Distribute the colby, and crumble the blue cheese over the colby.  Top with remaining slices of bread, buttered side up.

stovetop method:  Heat a large nonstick skillet I used cast-iron over medium heat for 2 minutes.  Put the sandwiches into the pan, cover, and cook for 2-3 minutes, until undersides have darkened and become crisp.  Turn the sandwiches, pressing each one firmly with a spatula to flatten slightly.  Cover and cook for 2-3 minutes, until undersides are crisp.  Remove the cover, turn the sandwiches once more, and press firmly with spatula once again.  Cook for 1 minute, or until the cheese has melted completely. (You might have to peek inside to make sure.)  Remove from the pan and let cool for 5 minutes.  Cut in half and serve.

Alternately, you could make this in a sandwich maker.

Drink with a Leinie's for a true Wisconsinite experience!

So, you may have heard me mention once or twice that I'm a total cheeseslut and mustn't go long without having a bit.  And what other quality goes better with cheeseslut than breadwhore?  Not many.  Since I'm fortunate enough to house both of those qualities deep in my being, I'm pretty sure that Laura Werlin wrote grilled cheese, please! with me specifically in mind.  It's possible, don't you think?  That while she was penning chapters with names like Just Cheese, Meat and Cheese, Anything Goes, Veggies and Cheese, Global Grilled Cheese, Grilled Cheese on the Go, Regional American Grilled Cheese, and Old Favorites and Modern Sides it was completely possible that she had my picture taped to the corner of her notebook (or computer monitor or clipboard...whatever the case may be).  But in all seriousness, don't let the compact appearance of this cookbook fool you, it is brimming with every type of grilled cheese sandwich you could imagine from Sweet-Tart Cheddar and Chorizo to the Chips and Guacamole Grilled Cheese to the Creamy, Cheesy, and Smoky Croissant (which I also tried...it was awesome) to ones you could never imagine like Erika's PB & Cheese (which has bologna, peanut butter, pickles and cheese all in one) and so, so many in between.  Werlin is an authority on cheesy things and I hope she wouldn't mind me ranking her high on the list of influential cheesesluts (because I do).  After testing so many varieties (this is actually her second book on grilled cheese), she shares the best techniques for making them in the beginning, such as when to grate the cheese, what type of bread to choose and what "fat" to use, sandwich makers, types of pans, and cooking methods.  So, if  you are a lover of warm, toasty bread filled with melty, delicious cheese...and other fillings...this is a can't-miss book for you. Check it out!

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to review, should I choose.  All opinions stated in this post are 100% mine.

I am sharing this post with:

Cookbook Review: Quick-Fix Southern by Rebecca Lang

Rebecca Lang set out to combine taste, history, family, tradition, Southern roots, and her love for the kitchen in the fast-paced world of today in the cookbook Quick-Fix Southern.  She says she was raised with grandmothers who could "run a kitchen like nobody's business" ...in a part of the country steeped in rich tradition...food playing a major role in this history.  Aiming to get meals on the table in a shorter time-frame, Lang brings Southern Classics as well as more modern dishes to the table.  Starting out with a chapter on "the basics of quick cooking in the south", you'll be itching to get into the kitchen and stock your pantry with her Southern All-Purpose Flour and Southern Self-Rising Flour, Buttermilk, Tangy Barbecue Sauce and Sugar Syrup so that you, too can bring some comforting Southern classics to your table in no time at all.

While (of course) there were little strips of paper sticking out of this book from every open edge, I started out by making a big batch of Soft Buttermilk Waffles for breakfast.  They were quick and simple.  And awesome.  I'll be using this recipe often!

I HAD to try the Jalapeño Deviled Eggs in the appetizers and snacks chapter...for Mexi's sake {ahem}.  And just as I predicted, he said they rocked.  He likes his deviled eggs as sandwich-stuffers.  Sure enough, he shoved as many as he could in between two slices of bread and raved the whole time he chewed.  Yeah.  Not a pretty sight.

Next up is a Southern classic that I've wanted to try for...like...ever, but for some reason never had.  Until now.  Classic Pimento Cheese is just as addicting as I expected.  I mean, extra-sharp Cheddar is a total weakness of mine, anyway.  Combine it with some onion and a couple of other ingredients and it was a stinky-delicious-crave-worthy container of goodness.

Now, something funny.  My friend Deb from Kahaki Kitchen just happened to review this book last week.  And she just happened to choose two of the same things to test out that I did.  That would be the aforementioned Pimento Cheese, and the Oats and Bacon Meatloaf.  Fortunately, I had the meatloaf in the oven the day I saw her post, so I knew to save some and combine it with the cheese to make a killer sandwich like she did!  Seriously.  The meatloaf doesn't have too many ingredients, but it is super tasty.  I think I may have actually enjoyed it even more cold.  Cold meatloaf and pimento cheese sammich....YUM!  Like seriously.  YUM.  Seriously.  Thanks Deb...great minds think alike☺. But we already knew that, didn't we!?

Last, but certainly not least, some popcorn...kicked up with the salty, meatiness of bacon...the musty, earthiness of rosemary...and the pungeant punch of blue cheese.  And don't forget the butter!  A great and dare I say addicting (again!) snack that I just couldn't get enough of.  Oh, and wash it down with a cold beer for good measure.  Your breath will be odorific!

Blue Cheese and Bacon Popcorn

from Quick-Fix Southern

serves 4-6  (or 2-3 in my house)

1 (3.3 oz.) bag natural microwave popcorn

3 Tbs. butter, melted

2 oz. Maytag Blue Cheese

4 slices cooked bacon, finely chopped

2 tsp. chopped, fresh rosemary

Pop the popcorn according to package directions.  Pour popcorn into a large mixing bowl.  Drizzle about half of the melted butter over the popcorn.  Grate about half of the cheese over the popcorn.  Sprinkle with (you guessed it) half of the bacon and half of the rosemary.  Toss and repeat with remaining ingredients.  Serve immediately.

There are tons more delicious recipes, tips and meal choices packed into this great cookbook...check it out!

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher to review, should I choose.  The opinions stated in this post are 100% mine!