Inspiration

Hi Everyone,

As a Valentine's Day present, I paid for cake decorating classes at a locally owned bakery here in town. While she is caking away, I thought I'd use this time for some much needed library time. Some inspiration if you will. Our library has SO many books dedcated to the culinary field. It is amazing what you can learn here. So I will be posting things that I learn and hopefully passing on some great culinary knowledge to you as well?

If you have any questions, ask me so I can find the answer if I don't know it already!

Talk to you soon,
Chef Hawleywood

New Year, New You! Eat Local and Grassfed!

2015 has arrived. Many of you started becoming healthy and making better food choices. There are many "fad" diets out there, but change you can make that has a million benefits is eating local beef, pork, and chicken.

When you go to the supermarket, all the different options can be overwhelming. But instead of going there for you meat, here is a better idea. As I always say, support your local farmers!

Grass fed beef has many health benefits. Here are 10 reasons to start eating Grass fed:

Score Ten for Grass-Fed Beef

Grass-fed beef is better for human health than grain-fed beef in ten different ways, according to the most comprehensive analysis to date. The 2009 study was a joint effort between the USDA and researchers at Clemson University in South Carolina. Compared with grain-fed beef, grass-fed beef was:

1. Lower in total fat
2. Higher in beta-carotene
3. Higher in vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)
4. Higher in the B-vitamins thiamin and riboflavin
5. Higher in the minerals calcium, magnesium, and potassium
6. Higher in total omega-3s
7. A healthier ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids (1.65 vs 4.84)
8. Higher in CLA (cis-9 trans-11), a potential cancer fighter
9. Higher in vaccenic acid (which can be transformed into CLA)
10. Lower in the saturated fats linked with heart disease

S.K. Duckett et al, Journal of Animal Science, (published online) June 2009, “Effects of winter stocker growth rate and finishing system on: III. Tissue proximate, fatty acid, vitamin and cholesterol content.

For benefits of all grass fed animals, click here.

Farmers work hard and are often underpaid and overworked. They don't always get the credit they deserve. So by buying directly from a farmer, you are supporting them and not big box stores. Most, if not all of them have packages to buy whole sides, half sides, and even quarter sides. They also usually offer ground beef by the pound. No matter what, they are there to get you what you want and deliver a quality product that you cannot find in a supermarket.

You can't beat the flavor of Grass fed either.

To find a local farmer near you, go to www.eatwild.com.

Cooking Classes

For those of you interested in learning some new and exciting kitchen skills and some great information, here is your chance! I am currently conjuring up ideas because I will be holding cooking classes. It will be Thursday Evenings from 5-6pm. The cost will depend on the subject matter as some items may be more costly than others. I have some ideas of subject matter but would appreciate any suggestions as to what you would be interested in. Everyone is welcome to comment/attend/etc. Any input is appreciated. 

Here are the ideas I have so far:

• How to make Homemade Pasta
• How to select and prepare quick Seafood meals
• Beef School, How to select and prepare Beef
• Chicken
• Pork, How to select and prepare Pork
• Veal, Lamb, and other meats
• Rice, Risotto, etc.
• Specific Type of Cuisine

These are just some ideas. Please let me know if there is something you want to learn or which one of these you would most like to learn. I'd like to start this on or around February 13th. I will list all details when I have it completely planned and ready to go! 

Thanks in advance for all your input!

Local Amazing Cake Artist

So now and again I come across things that I MUST share with everyone. Sometimes it's a new recipe, a really great restaurant, or a new kind of food. The same goes when I come across someone with amazing talent. Let me introduce you to Michelle Elias.

Michelle, (we call her Shelly), attended the same college as I did. She isn't just a regular cake maker.. she is a Cake Artist. Some of her works, I swear, could earn her first place on one of those television cake competitions. The best thing about her is that she isn't in it for the money. She does it for the art. Like any profession goes, quality is best achieved when it is done with passion and not just for money. She enjoys her craft and she does it well. She's the kind of person that works WITH you and is able to produce an extraordinary product based on what YOU want. She makes the cake, frosting, and fillings from scratch so you are sure to get a quality product. And they taste every bit as good as they look!

Recently, she created a cake for my wife's birthday. I wanted to surprise her with a cake from Shelly as my wife really likes them. So we discussed what my wife likes. Everything from decoration ideas to flavor of the cake. After talking for a bit, she had all the information that she needed. I posted a picture of it below. My wife LOVES owls. So she got an awesome owl cake! And it tasted SO good!  I recently talked to her about making it and this is what she said:
      "I actually loved working on that cake in particular for you guys. I enjoy the challenge of putting together a design FOR someone, and I look forward to many more cakes and challenges to come."

So whether you are looking for a cake, cupcakes, cookies, baked goods, etc., give Shelly a call or send her a message on Facebook! Any occasion or event you may have, she'll make the perfect cake for you!

Her contact info is:

At Your Artistic Service

Phone: 814-790-0830

You can find her on Facebook here.

Check her page out for more pictures but for now, here is some of the work she's done:

   

This is one of my favorite cakes!

This is the birthday cake that she did for my wife!

Leftover Turkey Pot Pie Lasagna

Every year, you spend all day cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Turkey, Stuffing, Green Bean Casserole, Candied Yams, etc. Everything is so good and your guests are all stuffed to the gills. After the food is put away and all your guests have left, it's time to relax. Then for the next week, you ask yourself every night, "What's for dinner and what do we do with all this leftover Turkey?" There's the Turkey Salad, Turkey Sandwiches, Turkey Pot Pie, and all the other typical turkey meals. But when you are craving for something just a little different, how about an easy weeknight meal such as Turkey Pot Pie Lasagna?

I was going to make Turkey Pot Pie for dinner one night when I realized that we didn't have anything to make a pie crust. (More like I didn't feel like making a pie crust.) So I raided the pantry and fridge, and came up with this recipe.

Turkey Pot Pie Lasagna

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 60 min

Ingredients

• No-Boil Lasagna Noodles
• 1 Tbls Olive Oil
• 1 Tbls Butter
• 2 Tbls Flour
• 1 Lg Carrot, diced
• 1 Stalk Celery, diced
• 1 Small Onion, diced
• 2 Cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Can Cream of Mushroom Soup
• 1 C Chicken Stock
• 1/2 C Milk or Cream
• 1 C Frozen Peas
• 3 C Shredded Mozzarella or Provolone Cheese (slices will work too.)
• 3 C Leftover Turkey, shredded
• Pinch of Ground Nutmeg
• Salt and Pepper, to taste

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350.
2. In a medium saucepan melt butter and add olive oil over medium heat.
3. Add Onion, Celery, Carrot, and Garlic to butter and oil. Cook until vegetables are tender.
4. Add flour and stir to make a roux.
5. Add Chicken Stock and bring to a simmer.
6. Stir in Soup and Milk. If sauce is too thick, add more milk.
7. Add Frozen Peas, Nutmeg, Salt, and Pepper..
8. Build your lasagna by first adding a thin layer of sauce to the bottom of an 8x8 Square Pan.Then add a layer of the Noodles.On top of that layer evenly 1 C Turkey, then Sauce, then 1 C of the Cheese. Repeat Again. On the top layer, instead of Noodles, Use the last cup of Cheese as a topper. 
9. Cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove foil and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden and bubbly.
10. Let rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Layering

Top with Sauce and Vegetables.

Top is a nice layer of cheese.

Right out of the oven

It was so good that I forgot to take a picture until it was almost gone.

There are so many variations you could do with this dish. You could use any of the cream soups.Cream of Celery, Cream of Chicken, etc. You could add or remove any vegetables, different cheeses. The combinations are infinite. I hope everyone had a great holiday! Feel free to share any ideas you have!

Grape Pie

Fall is here and that means grapes are ready! If you are lucky enough to live in grape country like I do then you know all about the plethora of grapes that are ripening in the vineyards. Every day that I drive to class, I pass at least 5 or 6. As I drive by with the windows down, I can't help but smell the air saturated with the sweet smell of grapes. There are a couple farm stands on my way there and sometimes I stop in to see what they have. I usually buy some concord grapes so I can make Grape Pie. If you've never had it, it is sweet and extremely delicious. It has a burst of grape flavor and just the right amount of tartness. The only tedious part of making Grape Pie is the separating of the skins from the grapes. Other than that, everything else is easy! I didn't make up the recipe I use but I did find a great one from Allrecipes. Click HERE for the recipe.

 

Fresh locally grown Concord Grapes

Grapes removed from skins

Grape Skins set aside

All mixed up and put in oven

All done!

Make sure you put something under the pies when baking. The filling WILL rise. In the pie on the right in the picture of them in the oven, the filling rose just over the crust. So it is imperative you place something under it. It goes great with vanilla ice cream! Let me know what you think of Grape Pie when you make one!

Cooking Basics - Stocks

Ever wonder what the difference between stock and broth is? The answer is.. Bones! Stock is made using bones only. A few flecks of meat here and there won't change it, but primarily bones. Broth is made using both bones and meat, or sometimes just meat.

The base to a great sauce starts at the stock you use. Making your own stock is by far much better than buying store bought. First of all, you control the quality of ingredients. You know what is going in it and therefore can adjust it to your cooking needs. Also, Flavor! Store bought tastes like chicken flavored water. Homemade has a much richer and flavorful taste.

Brown Stock means that you brown the bones before making the stock and obviously it will be a rich brown color. Now, if you are planning on making a nice white sauce where the light color is important, you will want to use White Chicken Stock. When making that, the process is the same, however, you won't brown the bones.

There are some key things to remember when making stock:

• Only start with and add cold water. If you add hot or warm water, the proteins will coagulate and cause your finished stock to be cloudy and muddy. 
• As it is simmering, strain the top regularly to get out the scum that forms on top. 
• Do not boil! Let it simmer nice and slow. If it boils, the scum will get churned into the stock and taste greasy and muddy.
• Don't add salt. Because the salt concentration level will be different when you are finished, there is a chance it may be too salty. You can always ADD salt, but you can't REMOVE it. Also, you can adjust seasonings when adding it to your dish.
• Once the stock has cooked, cool it down as quickly as possible. I try to freeze 2 liter pop bottles full of water and place them in the finished stock as the whole pot sits in an ice bath. Once it is cool enough, I pour it in large containers and cool overnight. The fat will rise to the top, harden, and can then be scraped off. 

Portion stock out in desired containers and freeze for later use. I use quart containers and 4 oz containers. Since I usually use a little or a lot of stock.