Happy Birthday Roy!

Today is my husband's 39th birthday; Happy Birthday to a most wonderful man!!!

Roy was born in Denver, Colorado to an German immigrant mother and a nomad father of Scottish/Irish descent.  While his mom is a solid, steadfast woman; his father liked to roam from area to area, so Roy got to see much of Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and various other states.  He finally settled in Moab, Utah with his mom.  His father,  divorced from Roy's mom, went off on his own adventures. 

Roy eventually grew up, went to college and became a graphic designer/illustrator.  Besides his own talented artwork, he has done book and album covers, and various other media.  You can see examples of his work by clicking on his two art links listed under “Favorite Sites and Links” to the right of this post.

As a man, Roy is amazing, but then again, I am biased.  He is sweet, kind, caring, and most of all, loving; I have only seen him get angry a handful of times, and still be willing to give the other person the benefit of the doubt.  He is very loved by his family, friends, pets, and, most of all, me.  I can go on and on about Roy, but you would end up getting terribly bored of my ramblings, or terribly jealous that I hooked him.

Happy Birthday my love…kiss, kiss, hug, hug.  Your presents await you at home, so hurry back once work is done for the day.

Your wife and bestest friend,
Mary

Clean out that fridge and make dinner!

Today seemed a good day to clean out the fridge; see what can stay, and what definitely should have gone a long while ago. If it moves on its own, and even talks to you, yeah, it's time for it to go. Luckily, I didn't have to evict anyone from the fridge, but there were a few items, a cup of this, a 1/2 cup of that while still good, were taking up room that I needed.

Hold on, I thought, I have this 2 lb sirloin roast in the freezer, and this would be a good time to get creative with it. I also had left over, a half small box of mushrooms, and didn't want to just toss them. Pulling out the 4 qt crock pot, setting it on low; I got started.

Simple Stew

Ingredients:

2 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp flour
1 tsp ground black pepper
2 lb roast
1 cup sliced red onion
1 cup chopped roasted red bell peppers
2 Tbsp sliced garlic (stored in olive oil)
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
4 medium potatoes, cut into 1" pieces and parboiled.

Preparation:

Set 4 qt crock pot on low; pour in beef broth, add flour and black pepper; whisk till flour is well incorporated. Place roast into broth; place other ingredients, except the potatoes, on top of, and around, the roast. Cover, let cook for 6 hours.

Remove roast and break apart; return meat to crock pot and add in potatoes. Let cook for another 2 hours.

Makes 6 servings.

The final result was...DELICIOUS!!! The tastes of each item came out by being enhanced by the other ingredients mixed together. The sauce was so rich, and greedily soaked up by leftover biscuits I had made for breakfast. I most heartily recommend you try this recipe, but most of all, before throwing out anything from your fridge or pantry because there is very little left, a little creative thought just might end up going a very long way.

Mary Cokenour

Baking is exhausting when it takes all morning.

Roy's birthday will be on Tuesday, March 15th, and he will be turning 39 years old. I wanted to make him a special cake for his birthday; something without chocolate, as he is not too fond of it...terrible, I know. I remembered that he enjoyed the Italian Lemon Cream Cake we sometimes had from Olive Garden. The nearest Olive Garden to us is in Grand Junction, Colorado; and as much as I love Roy, I'm not driving 3 hours there, and then 3 hours back, just for a cake.

Dilemma solved! Make one, but easier said than done. Finding a number of copycat recipes on the internet, I needed to try them out and see which would come the closest. After a few trials, the closest I found was on Food.com, but it still needed a little tweaking. A little more of this, a little less of that, and I got my own copycat recipe!

...and here it is. So, if you're not a real fan of chocolate cake, like crumb cake and lemon flavor, you'll enjoy making this cake too.

Italian Lemon Cream Cake
Ingredients:
The Cake
1 (18 1/4 oz) package French Vanilla cake mix
1 1/4 cups water
1/3 cup oil
4 egg whites

Lemon Cream Filling
1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp lemon extract
3/4 cup whipped cream (homemade or canned; do not use a tub brand like Cool Whip)

Crumb Topping
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup powdered sugar
5 Tbsp cold butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

Garnish
powdered sugar

Preparation:
Make the Cake: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 10” spring form pan with nonstick baking spray; line bottom of pan with baking parchment paper. In a large bowl, mix together cake mix, water, oil and egg whites until smooth. Pour batter into pan; bake for 40-45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Let cake cool for 10 minutes before removing spring form. Let cake completely cool before cutting into two layers.

Make the Filling: In a large bowl, mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, lemon juice and lemon extract till smooth; fold in the whipped cream; set aside.

Make the Crumb Topping: In a medium bowl, cut the butter into the flour, powdered sugar and vanilla until little crumbs, about pea size, form. Refrigerate until ready to be put onto the cake.

Assemble the Cake: Flip top layer of cake onto flat dish; repeat with 2nd layer and remove spring form bottom and parchment paper. Flip 2nd layer back onto another dish, so cut part is facing up. Frost 2nd layer with half of the lemon cream filling. Flip the top layer onto the 2nd (cut sides together); frost top and sides of cake with remaining half of filling. Press the crumb topping onto sides of cake and evenly over top.

Refrigerate cake for 3 hours before serving. Sprinkle powdered sugar over cake for garnish.

Makes 10 servings.

Mary Cokenour
March 12, 2011

We've got cowboys out here!

Now, in yesterday's post, I titled it "This Cookhouse ain't just for cowboys", but what might not have dawned on you is, YES! We have cowboys out here!  Real, live cowboys that ride horses, wear boots and wide brimmed hats; a proof that the old West is still alive and well.  Now living out East, I mostly learned about the West from television shows like "Gunsmoke", "The Rifleman", "Wild, Wild West", "Have Gun Will Travel", "Big Valley" and "Bonanza".  In school, we covered American history, but nothing west of the Mississippi; and that was back in the 1960-1970's.  When my son was in school in the 1990's to 2000's, his history books covered exactly what I had learned so many years before.  In other words, school books were definitely not keeping up with the times.

Last year I attended the parade for "Pioneer Days" in my town, and I got the biggest thrill when the San Juan County Sheriff's Department came by.  They were all dressed up in their cowboy clothing, carrying their rifles and riding beautiful horses; just looking ooooooh soooooo sexy; the men that is, not the horses.  I took lots of photos, emailed them to friends and family with the caption, "Look, real cowboys!".  I'm sorry, but even when I see a cowboy walking down the street, I can't help but stop and watch him.  Now these guys are just dressed up in their everyday clothes, but to this Easterner, it's a big deal.

The cowboy, one of America's heroes; no matter if they're straight or gay, old or young; they are downright sexy.

...and here's a little stew to help heat up the situation.

Cowboy Stew for the CrockPot

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean roast beef, cut into 1 inch pieces

4 russet potatoes, unpeeled and cut into 1 inch pieces, parboiled

2 large carrots, peeled and cut into ¼” slices, parboiled

1 large onion, rough cut into 1/2” pieces

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tsp paprika

2 (28 oz) cans vegetarian beans

2 cups barbeque sauce

Preparation:

In 6 qt. crock pot, set on low, mix together beef, potatoes, carrots, onion, salt, pepper and paprika.  Spread beans over top, then bbq sauce.  Cover, let cook 3 hrs. before mixing beans and sauce into beef and veggies.  Let cook another 7 hrs, stir every 2 hrs.  Serve with cornbread or biscuits.

Note on leftovers, if there are any; the gravy will thicken and become richer.

Mary Cokenour

This Cookhouse ain’t just for cowboys.

MD Ranch Cookhouse - OUT OF BUSINESS as of September 2014

380 S. Main

Monticello, Utah, 84535

(435) 587-3299

Manager: Dan Hardy

Website: in the works

We’d heard talk that the Cookhouse was under new management, and we thought we’d give it another try.  Roy and I had not been to the Cookhouse since September of 2009.  Why you might ask?  I had asked our waitress, “Why don’t they serve real roast turkey in the open face sandwich, but thin sliced cold cuts instead?”  Her response had been, “Our menu is too big to be able to serve real food.”  “Real food?  You mean I’m paying good money for fake food?”; and her attitude towards me did not get any better with that little comment of mine.

We decided to give the new manager a good look over and see what changes, if any, the Cookhouse had experienced.  We showed up at 2:30pm, well past lunch, and way before dinner.  Dan greeted us immediately, seated us at a sunny booth and took our drink orders.  The décor had not been changed; opening the menu, we didn’t see many changes, but they were there.  A new item was the Southwest Eggrolls, a favorite of Roy’s, and I had to have my Corn Nuggets.  For a main meal, Roy chose the Philly Cheese Steak sandwich, and I got the Bacon-Swiss burger; we both had fries as a side.  For us, if an eatery messes any of these items up, then they have a problem.

Within 10 minutes we had our appetizers; the Eggrolls were crispy; the filling of beans, cheese and chicken was not overly spiced, so tasted great whether we used the ranch dressing or not.  The Nuggets were crispy on the outside, creamy and corn filled; a carb lover’s dream.  Ten minutes after that we had our main meals; and Dan made sure to keep our drink glasses filled.

Philly Cheese Steak – thin sliced, grilled, sirloin steak, grilled peppers and onions, Swiss cheese piled on a toasted roll.  Delicious and the grilled taste of the steak and veggies made it more so.

Bacon-Swiss Burger – a 1/3 lb grilled burger on a toasted bun, Swiss cheese covering it and thick sliced bacon (Roy stole some and rolled his eyes in delight – pig heaven!).  The accompanying vegetables were (lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles) looked and, here’s the important part, tasted fresh.

Fries – shoestring cut potatoes, crispy on the outside, fluffy on the inside, and just the right amount to go with our sandwiches.

Since it wasn’t busy; we were the only folks in the place until we were getting ready to leave, then another couple came in; Dan seated, served and cooked our meal.  He did very well on his own; and he’s very friendly when you start talking with him.

I told him the story on why we haven’t been going there, and he reassured us that his food has been updated and improved – it’s real food.  Just talking with him, you could tell he has a passion for what he’s trying to achieve with the Cookhouse.  We definitely intend on trying out the dinner hour, and seeing what changes to the menu have occurred there.

The Cookhouse is located on Route 191, going south towards Blanding, and is easy to spot.  It will be serving breakfast, lunch and dinner once the tourist season rolls around; hopefully they’ll be able to reestablish their liquor license.  I do have a couple of suggestions for Dan though.  When first entering, off to the left, there is an area which has some souvenirs and postcards for sale.  That would make a great area to have a buffet set up; especially on the weekend – a brunch which offers the best of breakfast and lunch; then offering the regular dinner menu when that time comes round.   Secondly, advertise!  Not just the local papers, but hit the restaurant guide that’s printed in Moab – tons of tourists travel through there, and what better way to let them know about the Cookhouse?

No recipe from me today folks, but you could always try out the Cookhouse if you’re feeling hungry.

Mary Cokenour

Pig Heaven.

Finally tried the pork bbq sandwich down at Fattboyz Grillin and it did not disappoint. I piled on that homemade cole slaw that Reed makes; each bite was a mouthful of delicious goodness. If you like bbq, but haven’t tried out anything on his menu yet, well that’s your big loss, and more for the rest of us.

Americans eat a lot of pork products: fresh pork meat such as chops, tenderloin and ribs, or processed or cured: ham, bacon and sausage.

Thank the Chinese for your love of pork; they domesticated the animal around 5000 BC. Poor creature, it provides so much to us, and yet gets little respect for the most part. Being called a pig is an insult; a demeaning term used against people who are overweight, or to indicate that someone is unclean. In some religions, the pig is deemed the equivalent of a demon spawn from hell.

Pigs are cleaner animals than you might think. Sure they roll around in the mud; they don’t have sweat glands, so coat themselves in mud to keep cool in hot weather. You would do the same if push came to shove on the issue. The sows (females) are good mothers to their piglets; they are smart, and can form attachments with their human handlers. Medically, a close relationship has been established between pigs and humans; and some of their parts can be used as transplants in humans. So, be nice to pigs, one might save your life one day.

That being said, they are still a part of human consumption, and being the carnivore that I am, I enjoy a good piece of pork now and then. Pork meat can be bland, so you need to do a little work to get the flavor infused into it. Brining (a salt water bath) and marinating are two ways; also slow cooking gives the meat time to absorb flavors from other ingredients. So, whether you’re roasting, smoking, broiling, frying or whatever technique you like to use; go slow for the best tasting results.

Pork Roast with Caramelized Onions and Marsala Sauce

Ingredients:
3 lb boneless pork loin roast
2 Tbsp olive oil
Marsala wine: ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp
2 large onions, slivered
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup beef broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1 Tbsp fresh thyme leaves (if unavailable, use ½ Tbsp dry leaves)

Preparation:
Soak the pork roast in a brine (salt and water solution) for four hours; remove and pat dry. This will help tenderize the meat, and allow it to soak in flavors more easily.

In a medium skillet, on high heat, brown all sides of the roast in the olive oil; remove the roast to a 4 qt crock pot, set on low. In the same skillet, deglaze pan with 2 Tbsp of Marsala wine; add the onions and cook till partially softened. Reduce heat to low, mix in brown sugar; cover and let cook for additional 10 minutes.

Add the onions, ½ cup wine and broth to the crock pot; cover and let cook for 6 hours. Remove roast, set heat to high; add in cream, black pepper and thyme and let cook for 15 minutes. Serve sauce over sliced pork roast.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Mary Cokenour

A “Duh!” observation.

Another ridiculous commercial for 5-Hour Energy drink was on the television, and I wonder why folks can be so gullible sometimes? Basically, it’s the idea of convenience; the quick fix. Why go through the trouble of brewing up fresh coffee when you can just twist off a cap from a small, compact bottle. Let’s see, first off, coffee tastes a heck of a lot better; it has zero calories and carbs if drunk black; it’s the add-ins like sweeteners and creamers that give the boost to calories and carbs. Secondly, a 14 oz. container of coffee contains 164 grams of caffeine, the energy drink only has 135 grams; not the boost you might have been hoping for in reality. Third, a bag of ground coffee can cost anywhere from $5 to $8 a 12 oz bag, unless you enjoy paying more for a fancy brand name, and will last a long while. The energy drink comes in a little bottle, is gone in seconds, and you just paid $3 to $4 for a one shot deal. If you really have no inclination to make coffee at home, buy a container at the local mart for $1 to $2, depending on if it’s regular coffee or those cappuccino brands. Still a bargain and still tastes loads better than the energy drink.

Need a little more inspiration for making coffee? Go to my Feb 17, 2011 post called “Chocolate and Coffee – two lovely food groups”; you’ll find a recipe and more information about coffee, and chocolate. How could you go wrong with that?

If making the cookie recipe is not up your alley, than here’s one for a simple candy, the truffle. How in the world could you resist?

Oh, before I forget, if you’re reading my blog, and I bet you are enjoying it, why not become a Follower? You can sign in using a Google (Gmail) or Yahoo account; just look to the side of this post, and you’ll see where it prompts you to become a Follower. I appreciate it greatly, and thanks!!!

Bittersweet Coffee Truffles

Ingredients:
1 (14 oz) can sweetened, condensed milk
3 cups chopped bittersweet chocolate
2 Tbsp Grand Marnier
3 Tbsp espresso coffee
1 cup crushed, roasted hazelnuts

Preparation:
In a medium saucepan, medium heat, melt together the condensed milk with the chocolate till smooth and shiny. Remove from heat; stir in Grand Marnier and coffee. Pour mixture into an 8” x 8” pan, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Using a melon baller, or teaspoon, form 1 ½ inch balls; roll these in the crushed hazelnuts. Place in decorative mini-baking cups. To store, place in an airtight container, in the refrigerator, for up to one week.
Makes 2 dozen.

Mary Cokenour
March 1, 1995