Fusion Cuisine is not a novel idea.

When a fancy restaurant advertises fusion cuisine, you’re paying an exorbitant price for a current fad.  Guess what?  This type of cuisine has been around for centuries.  Fusion cuisine is not just the merging of food from different cultures, but the cooking techniques as well.  As different countries and cultures, visited or invaded elsewhere, food items were either brought along, or discovered; not unusual to also discover that many went well together.  Cooking techniques were also shared, so where a culture had only baked bread over open coals, now they learned about the clay oven.

If you go into a restaurant that offers different cuisines, that is not necessarily fusion.  The dishes may be Greek, Korean and Mexican, but each dish is prepared and served in its traditional form.  An example of fusion would be to take the ingredients of a Greek Gyro (roasted lamb, taztziki sauce, vegetables), but preparing them as a Mexican Enchilada; adding some of the ingredients usually found in a traditional Enchilada, and/or taking away some of the Gyro ingredients.  While this might sound simple, care must be taken to ensure that the tastes meld together successfully.

The recipe I’m giving to you today is my attempt at fusion cuisine; a mixture of Irish with Mexican.  The O’Brien potatoes are cubed potatoes that are fried with diced onions, pimientos (roasted red bell pepper), or diced red and green bell peppers; this is the Irish part.  The other part will be ingredients that would typically go into tacos; the Mexican part.  The technique will include some frying, but finish off baking in an oven.

Taco Beef and Potato Bake

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef

1 cup diced onion, divided in half

1 envelope taco seasoning, medium

1 (14 ½ oz) can diced tomatoes with green chilies, medium

1 (16 oz) can light kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 (28 oz) bag frozen O’Brien potatoes, thawed

1 (10 ½ oz) can cheddar cheese soup

¾ cup 2% milk

¼ cup diced red bell pepper

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tbsp paprika

1 tsp ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 F.

In a skillet, over high heat, brown the beef; add ½ cup of onion halfway through cooking; drain.  Reduce heat to low; add taco seasoning and tomatoes; mix well.  Let simmer for 5 minutes.

Spray a 3qt baking dish with non-stick spray; spread meat mixture in dish.  Spread on top of meat mixture the beans and potatoes.  In a large bowl, mix together the soup, milk, bell pepper, remaining ½ cup onion and Worcestershire; pour mixture over the potatoes, spreading evenly to edges of dish.

Sprinkle the paprika and black pepper over the sauce.  Bake for 1 hour covered with foil; bake uncovered for 15 minutes.  Let rest for 15 minutes before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings.

Mary Cokenour

You have to post this recipe!

That's what Roy said after having his first helping of my baked salmon and stir fry vegetables. Hey, who am I to argue with a happy man? So, thank Roy for these recipes, and here they are:

Sunday Evening Salmon

Gave it this name simply because it is an easy recipe to make for a Sunday evening, and don’t want to make anything complicated.

Ingredients:

2 lb side of salmon, skinless and bones removed

1 tsp Chinese 5 spice, divided in half

½ tsp sea salt, divided in half

6 Tbsp teriyaki sauce, divided in half

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F.  Spray a jelly roll pan with nonstick spray.

First side of salmon, sprinkle half Chinese 5 spice and sea salt over fish; pour 3 Tbsp of teriyaki sauce over fish and massage into flesh.  Flip over, repeat on other side.

Place fish onto jelly roll pan and bake for 20 minutes.

Makes 6 servings.

Possible side dishes:

Fried rice

Stir Fry vegetables in ginger-garlic sauce

Vegetable Ramen noodles

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Ginger-Garlic Sauce for Stir Fry

Ingredients:

1/3 cup vegetable stock

2 Tbsp fish sauce

1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp ground ginger

2 Tbsp minced garlic

2 tsp corn starch dissolved in 4 Tbsp water

*optional: 1 tsp of Thai chili sauce, or ¼ tsp ground cayenne

Preparation:

In medium saucepan, on medium-high heat, add stock, fish sauce, vinegar and honey.   As mixture begins to bubble, reduce heat to low; whisk in ginger, garlic and corn starch liquid (and chili sauce or cayenne pepper if using).  Mixture will thicken in about 1 minute; remove from heat.

Makes sauce to coat 3 cups stir fry, or dressing for 4 side salads.

Usage:

Salad dressing – let sauce cool down to warm before using.

Add to hot ingredients such as vegetables or combination of meat, poultry or seafood with vegetables.  After adding sauce, let food cook additional 5 minutes before serving.

Mary Cokenour

February 27, 2011

A busy day, but well deserved.

Yesterday was certainly a busy day, up at 6:30am, on the road by 8am, and not home again till 9pm. Every six months or so, we travel up to Grand Junction, Colorado and shop till we, literally, feel like dropping. The biggest stop is Sam's Club, where we can stock up on bulk items we use a lot of, especially pet foods. Borders is closing the store in Grand Junction; we found books for ourselves from 20-40% off, and picked up a few items for friends too.

We were also celebrating a personal triumph, so indulged by going to Red Lobster; and it was Lobster Fest!. The meals were terrific, and I'm sure we walked out of there with wings on, for we were both in pig heaven.

Today we are taking a break from everything; a pajama day you might say. Oh, a simple chore has been done here and there, but anything that would take hours will have to wait for another day. Dinner is going to be baked salmon with teriyaki vegetables as a side; nothing complicated.

Since we did have lobster yesterday, I'm going to leave you with a simple recipe to try out:

Lobster Newburg

Ingredients:
3 Tbsp butter
½ cup each diced red bell pepper and onion
3 Tbsp all purpose flour
¼ tsp each paprika and nutmeg
3 Tbsp dry sherry
2 cups half n’ half
Pinch ground cayenne pepper
1 tsp crushed dry parsley
1 lb cooked lobster meat (if not available, use imitation lobster)
8 slices (1/4” thick) toasted Italian bread

Preparation:
In a large skillet, medium heat, sauté bell pepper and onion until softened. Stir in flour, paprika, nutmeg and sherry completely; continue stirring as half n’ half is added; bring to boil.

Add cayenne pepper, parsley and lobster meat; let cook for 5 minutes. Spoon mixture over toasted bread.

Makes 8 servings.


Mary Cokenour

There’s a Monkey in our house.

We have a Monkey in our house who wears a cat suit. Confused? Monkey is our orange and white Maine Coon cat; he’s 18 lbs, his most distinctive marking is the orange yin/yang symbol surrounding his nose, and he’s very mischievous and adorable. He’s a pure bundle of a loving and fun feline covered in layers of long, soft fur. Why the name Monkey? Well, he told us his name, and so that is what we call him. When he was first adopted, the folks that owned him before called him Pumpkin, but he never would respond to it. One day he was being a mischief maker, Roy said to him, “you are a little monkey, aren’t you”; Monkey stopped whatever he was doing, looked at Roy and gave this meow, as if saying, “why of course I am, that’s my name” We changed his name to Monkey, and he’s been happy with it ever since.

Here’s a bit of information on his breed: The Maine Coon is a breed of domestic cat with a distinctive physical appearance. It is one of the oldest natural breeds in North America, specifically native to the state of Maine, where it is the official State Cat.

Although the Maine Coon's exact origins and date of introduction to the United States are unknown, many theories have been proposed. The breed was popular in cat shows in the late 19th century, but its existence became threatened when long-haired breeds from overseas were introduced in the early 20th century. The Maine Coon has since made a comeback and is now one of the most popular cat breeds in the world.

Maine Coons are one of the largest breeds of domestic cat. Males weigh anywhere between 15 and 25 lbs with females weighing between 10 and 15 lbs. The height of adults can vary between 10 and 16 in and they can reach a length of up to 40 in, including the tail, which can reach lengths of up to 14 in and is long, tapering, and heavily furred, almost resembling a raccoon's tail. The body is solid and muscular, which is necessary for supporting their own weight and the chest is broad. Maine Coons possess a rectangular body shape and are slow to physically mature; their full potential size is normally not reached until they are around three or four years old.

So, in honor of our Monkey, here’s a recipe with a tropical flare. No, our Monkey doesn’t really like to eat fruit, but he does enjoy lettuce; his favorite is Romaine. Yep, he’s a strange one, and that is probably why he fits in with our family so well.

Tropic Fruit Dessert Pizza

Ingredients:

1 (12”) premade pizza crust
1 cup powdered sugar
4 Tbsp banana extract
2 Navel oranges, peeled and cut into ¼” slices
1 small pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into ¼” slices
1 pint ripe strawberries, tops removed
1 banana, cut into ¼” slices

Garnish

¼ cup powdered sugar
¼ cup toasted coconut
Vanilla ice cream

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400F. Place premade pizza crust onto pizza pan, or nonstick cookie sheet.

In a small bowl, create a “sauce” by mixing together the cup of powdered sugar with banana extract; spread evenly on pizza crust almost to edge. Beginning near the edge, arrange alternating slices of oranges and pineapple; continue to the center. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until fruit begins to caramelize; remove from oven.

Place a strawberry, cut side down, into center of each pineapple ring; place a banana slice in center of each orange slice. Sprinkle ¼ cup powdered sugar and toasted coconut evenly over pizza. Cut into 8 slices and serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour
June 10, 1996

We finally have a barbeque joint in Southeastern Utah!!!

Fattboyz Grillin'164 North Grayson Parkway (previously the Peace Tree Cafe)
Blanding, Utah, 84511

(435)678-3777

Facebook Link: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fattboyz-Grillin/135856886470228

When I was planning to move to Utah, one aspect that excited me, hey....all the barbeque places I can visit. Wrong!!! The closest one was two hours away in Durango, Colorado (Serious Texas BBQ - good place too); there used to be one in Cortez, Colorado, only one hour away, but it closed down.

Reed Sampson must have been just as disappointed as I was, fore when he decided to open up a food place, he went barbeque! Thank you Reed!!!

The menu offers a good variety; it's posted on Fattboyz' Facebook page, and we decided to try a few items. Hint, hint Reed, offer a sampler platter on the menu; a little bit of most everything for one price. We'd pay good money for that. So lets get started with the low-down:

Ribs - done on site, meaty, juicy....drool. Nuff' said.

Burgers - meaty, juicy, we loved the charbroiled flavor.

Beef BBQ sandwich - thick, meaty (am I getting redundant?) and just plain ole delicious.

BBQ sauce - hit the Bullseye; nothing wrong with Bullseye, I use it in a pinch, and KC Masterpiece too, but I do wonder if Reed doctors it up a bit...but he won't tell.

That's just the main menu items we tried; now the sides:

Mac n' Cheese - oh yes, it's cheesy and gooey, just the way mac n' cheese should be.

Beans - while they were a nice enhancement to the meat, I found them to be a little plain, but that's me. I would have liked to see them swimming in bbq sauce, diced onions, maybe a little chile pepper thrown in.

Potato salad - good flavor, potatoes were just right; not firm, but not too mushy.

Now I hear tell that the cole slaw is homemade, so next time we stop in, I intend on trying the pulled pork sandwich with cole slaw...is there any other way to eat it?

So, all in all, this place is the bomb diggety, and if you live in the area, or are just visiting, go to Fattboyz Grillin!!!

Oh Reed, in case you want a homemade macaroni salad recipe, check out my "Amish Macaroni Salad" on the Jan 16, 2011 post entitled "A salad isn't a salad...yes it is".

...and here's my recipe for homemade baked lima beans. If you use either or both recipes, just give me credit on your Facebook page, and list a link to this blog...appreciate it.

Baked Lima Beans

Ingredients:
1 (40.5 oz) can Butter beans (lima beans)
1 (4 oz) can chopped green chiles, mild
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (16 oz) bottle hickory smoked, brown sugar barbeque sauce
6-8 strips thick cut bacon, roughly chopped

Preparation:
Preheat oven at 350F. Spray a 2 quart casserole with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix together all the ingredients; spoon into the casserole dish. Bake for 2 hours.

Serves 8.

Mary Cokenour

Playing with Food.

Have you ever noticed the decorative items on a plate when you have ordered at a Japanese or Chinese restaurant? It’s an art form, and those items are actual foods and edible; a rose made from a radish, a bird made from a carrot, a lotus blossom from an onion. Not only can you eat the items, but it’s fascinating how such delicate art can come from a simple fruit or vegetable.

So, why is it we don’t encourage our children to play with their food, but just the opposite? Parents tell kids, “don’t play with your food, and just eat it”…how boring! A child is probably more willing to eat broccoli if you let him/her build a mountain, on their plate of course, of mashed potatoes, put broccoli trees on it, and then they can pretend to be a giant who eats it down. Telling them to eat it just because it’s good for them, or that people are starving somewhere else, is not an enticement.

Encourage their creativity, and yes, put limits on what they can and cannot do with their food; be a parent and a teacher at the same time. You could have a budding artist on your hands, or the next great chef; but overall, you’ll have a child who will enjoy eating their food, not going “yuck!” One other thing let your child help you in the kitchen; depending on the age, the smallest task would be something big to them.

Here are a few ideas for creating snacks with your children, and you’ll enjoy them too.

Rice Cake Snack Pizzas

Ingredients:

24 large rice cakes (plain or butter flavored)
1 container whipped cream cheese
1 jar smooth peanut butter
1 jar marshmallow fluff
1 squeeze bottle caramel sauce
1 can pineapple rings; drain juice
1 bag shredded coconut
1 box raisins
1 bag shredded carrots
4 ripe bananas, peeled and cut into ¼” slices
1 bag miniature chocolate chips

Preparation:

Carrot Cake Pizza

Spread 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter on rice cake. Cover with alternating rows of shredded carrot and raisins

Hawaiian Pizza
Spread 2 Tbsp whipped cream cheese on rice cake. Place a pineapple ring on top, fill the hole in the center with shredded coconut.

Elvis Pizza
Spread 2 Tbsp creamy peanut butter on rice cake. Starting ¼” from edge of rice cake, place banana slices in a circular pattern till the center is reached.

Ooey Gooey Pizza
Spread 2 Tbsp marshmallow fluff on rice cake. Sprinkle on chocolate chips and drizzle on caramel sauce.

Notes: The “Hawaiian”, “Carrot Cake” and “Elvis” pizzas are a great afternoon snack. When an after school event, sports practice or game, or music lessons, etc is scheduled; these become a great pick-me-up for children; or adults.

The “Ooey Gooey” pizza is an easy dessert or party treat.

Mary Cokenour
September 9, 1996

The Ultimate Italian Snack (Appetizer)

When you want to nosh, what kind of appetizer or snack would you have? Basic home snacks could be anything from crackers with a topping, veggies and dip, even cookies or a cupcake. If you're out at a restaurant, you might see on the menu: cheese sticks, nachos, tequitos, deep fried veggies, chicken fingers. Been there, done that, lets have something very different, romantic(hey, it's Italian), yummy and it's healthy (I know, I know, bad word, especially around kids, but not this snack!) It's Bruschetta, and while it might be a little difficult to pronounce the first time; you won't forget after you've had it.

Bruschetta (Italian pronunciation: [brus-ket-a]; American pronunciation: [bu-shetta], ignoring the “c” altogether ) is an appetizer from central Italy whose origin seems to date back to the 15th century, but possibly even older than that. It was a way to use stale bread by toasting or grilling it, then enhancing the flavor by rubbing with garlic and topping with extra-virgin olive oil, salt and pepper. Variations may include toppings of spicy red pepper, tomato, vegetables, beans, cured meat, and/or cheese; the most popular recipe outside of Italy involves basil, fresh tomato, garlic and onion or mozzarella. Brushchetta can be served as an appetizer, or simply enjoyed as a snack.

Bruschetta (Italian Style)

Ingredients:

loaf of Italian bread, preferably day old, cut into ½” slices
2 cloves of garlic
olive oil
salt

Preparation:

Grill both sides of the sliced bread; or place under a broiler for 1 minute, flip slices, place under broiler for another minute. Cut the cloves of garlic in half and rub cut sides over one side of bread; drizzle olive oil, sprinkle on salt.

Bruschetta Con Pomodori (Grilled Bread with Tomatoes)

Ingredients:

half loaf of Italian bread, cut into ½ “slices
1 Tbsp minced garlic
4 Tbsp olive oil
6 Roma (plum) tomatoes cut into ¼” pieces
1/8 tsp each of salt and ground black pepper
¼ cup minced fresh basil leaves
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar

Preparation:

Grill both sides of the sliced bread; or place under a broiler for 1 minute, flip slices, place under broiler for another minute. Smear one side of each slice with minced garlic.

In a small bowl, mix together olive oil, tomatoes, salt, black pepper, basil and vinegar. Top garlic side of each slice of bread with mixture.

Makes 6 servings.

Note:
1 – Shaved parmesan cheese can be placed on top of mixture.

2 – Thin slices of mozzarella can be placed on top of mixture; place under broiler for a minute to allow cheese to melt.

Mary Cokenour
September 1997
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
This recipe was published in Taste of Home Magazine, September 2007 issue. I had sent it to them way back in 1997, and then suddenly they contacted me in 2007 to say that they were going to publish it. Imagine my surprise!

Crab Bruschetta

Ingredients:

1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup olive oil, divided
2 cans (6 ounces each) lump crabmeat, drained
1 cup chopped seeded plum tomatoes
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
3/4 teaspoon minced fresh oregano or 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
8 slices Italian bread (1/2 inch thick)

Preparation:
In a large skillet, saute shallots and garlic in 2 tablespoons oil until tender. Add the crab, tomatoes, basil and oregano; cook and stir for 5-6 minutes or until heated through. Remove from the heat.

Brush both sides of each slice of bread with remaining oil. In another large skillet, toast bread for 1-2 minutes on each side. Cut each slice in half; top with crab mixture.

Makes16 appetizers.


Mary Cokenour
September 1997