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A Birthday Party for Dotter With Owls and Fondue

It seems like just yesterday we celebrated dotter’s 16th birthday. I told her and son they must never grow up but neither one of them listened to me. Son now towers over me and dotter celebrated her 20th birthday this weekend.

She’s my St Patrick’s Day baby. I told her over lunch the other day about the day she was born. She was mortified. It’s payback for her deciding to grow up.

I hid her birthday party supplies up high on a shelf but since dotter is also taller than me, I discovered that my high is not high enough. Thankfully she approved. She’s into owls lately.

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But what she did not see was all the hard work and heartache that was going into our party plans. And by heartache, I mean that these are not chocolate. I forgot about them baking for an hour and a half. It’s a six to eight-minute baking time recipe. Sigh.

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Ahhhh that’s better.

We found these adorable white chocolate shamrock mints at Common Folk in Bellevue, Washington. If you have not been, please do. And tell them I sent you. And buy mints. They are loverly.

Finally, the big day arrived. Here is dotter smiling with her cake.

Here is dotter thinking about how amazing 21 will be.

Here is dotter thinking deep thoughts.

Here is dotter… well, I don’t know what she’s doing in this picture but she’s adorable, even so.

And here is dotter ready to eat cake.

At dotter’s request, we did a fondue party. Here is my cheese fondue recipe.

Cheese Fondue:

3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup hefferveisen beer
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons mustard
2-3 cloves minced or smashed fresh garlic
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper (optional)
1 pound block* sharp cheddar cheese, grated (or more, if desired)
Sea salt & pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large saucepan. Sprinkle in flour and stir & cook for a couple of minutes (don’t skip this step or your fondue will taste yucky – like flour). Add liquids while continuing to whisk. Add remaining ingredients and cook on low heat until cheese is completely melted. Place in fondue pot or in crock pot to keep warm. If heated too high, sauce can separate, so be sure to keep over low heat.

*Block cheese is best because it’s not coated in cornstarch & will melt much better than pre-grated cheese.

And chicken broth for cooking beef & chicken. Just heat over a high heat (electric fondue pots are best for this) & add sea salt & pepper. Let everyone know how important it is that their raw chicken doesn’t touch their plates and gets cooked thoroughly before eating.

And this. Isn’t she beautiful? I adopted her from a thrift store. I love her.

Fresh berries, cutie orange pieces and banana slices ready to dip into the glorious chocolate. I love the Ghirardelli Chocolate 60% Cacao Bittersweet Chocolate Baking Chips because they don’t have the cornstarch coating that normal chocolate chips have. Instead of becoming a thick mess, they melt perfectly.

Oh, yes, and mini marshmallows.

“More strawberries, please, Dad.”

New baby cuddles for Cindy – good for the soul.

I love the way toddlers smile after each step they take upstairs that they aren’t supposed to be climbing up. This little guy is so cute, he makes me forget there is anything else going on in the room.

Oh, yeah. Dotter’s birthday. Time for gifts!

And, finally, cake. Happy birthday, dotter. My Northwest has been brighter and luckier every day since you were born.

Speaking of gifts… it is now time to give away our four tickets to the Seattle Bites Food Tour! Thank you again, Seattle Bites! Let’s do this.

Congratulations to:

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Michele, I hope you and three of your friends enjoy the tour! Congratulations!

Fresh Start Balsamic Fruit Salad Recipe

Fresh starts are a good thing. I’m pretty sure we don’t give ourselves enough of them. Fresh starts are a result of proper grieving. Proper grieving happens not only after big, life-changing moments but also needs to be a part of our every-single-freakin’-day processing. We need to grieve when other drivers are rude to us, when our go-to coffee shop discontinues our favorite syrup flavor, and when we make a silly mistake in front of co-workers. We don’t need to cry over teeny-tiny everything, but we do need to acknowledge the feelings we have over the incident, talk ourselves through it with healthy, truthful words, and move forward without ignoring the lil’ bruise to our ego.

Have I ever mentioned that I’m a counselor too? Yeah. That. For realz. For the last twenty years, I’ve helped many people find their fresh starts and this always – and I mean always – includes grieving the past. There are textbook guidelines for grieving but there is no perfect recipe for getting over stuff. I mean, sometimes it just comes on too fast to keep up with the grieving. And sometimes we just don’t want to grieve yet. And sometimes no one has ever told us how important grieving is for the soul. And sometimes we excuse every bit of pain in our lives which just allows the stink to take up residency in our soul.

May I recommend a weekend away alone at your favorite B&B to find your fresh start? And may I recommend this fresh start salad to nourish your beautiful person in the meantime?

Balsamic Fresh Fruit Salad

4 nectarines
1 pound fresh strawberries
1 pint fresh blueberries
1 pint fresh blackberries
1 pint fresh raspberries
2 kiwis, diced (optional)
3/4 cup apricot jam (for sugar-free, use sugar-free jam)
1/4 cup warm water
½ cup balsamic vinegar
2 basil leaves, minced
Salt & pepper to taste
4 Sprigs of mint (for garnish)

Rinse & drain nectarines & berries to clean. Cut nectarines in half. Set 4 halves aside.

Dice the remaining nectarines and place in large bowl. Peel and dice the kiwi and add to bowl. Remove stems from strawberries and dice then add to bowl. Add remaining berries to bowl as well.

In a separate bowl, passionately whisk together jam, water & balsamic vinegar. Add minced basil leaves and salt & pepper to taste. The salt should simply help bring out the other lovely flavors in the dressing.

Pour dressing over diced fruit & berries. Stir in gently until fruit is well-coated.

Place each nectarine half on a plate and top with diced fruit salad . Garnish each serving with a sprig of mint. Makes 4 servings.

You got this! Here’s to your fresh start. Also, this might be a good time to admit that I still haven’t forgiven Starbucks for ditchin’ their almond syrup eight years ago. Do as I say, not as I do.

Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Quiche

Sometimes I make recipes up, use them several times and then forget about them because I move on to new things. This recipe is one of those casualties. But then I made it again today. This may or may not have resulted in a Hobbit-like second breakfast. Sweet baby Jesus, this is good.

It’s bad for you. it’s good for you. It confuses the mind and comforts the soul. It is BLT quiche.

B.L.T. QUICHE INGREDIENTS:

1 Pillsbury pie crust (or homemade)
11 large eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/3 cup flour
1 cup medium cheddar cheese (or any cheese that melts well like gouda, gruyère, havarti), grated
1/2 bunch chopped green onions
3/4 cup pint tiny tomatoes cut sliced in thirds or half (grape tomatoes or cherry tomatoes)
1 cup large bacon bits (cooked, drained & cut bacon or store bought bacon bits)
Salt & pepper to taste
1/2 head of romaine lettuce sliced into thin strips (chiffonade cut) for garnish
1 cup sour cream for garnish
6-8 tiny tomatoes cut in half for garnish

Place homemade pie crust or store bought Pillsbury (this brand because it isn’t sweet) pie crust in pie pan that is sprayed with non-stick spray, poke crust with a fork about 20 times all around and then bake for 15 minutes.

Place eggs, heavy cream, flour, cheese, green onion, tomatoes, bacon bits and salt & pepper in a large bowl. Using a fork, whisk ingredients together well. Poor quiche mixture into pie crust.

Bake quiche with a baking sheet on the shelf underneath it to help catch any possible overflow. Use a guard or foil to protect the edges of the crust from over-baking once they are light golden brown. Bake for about 45 minutes or until a knife comes out clean. Quiche will continue to bake for a little while after removed from oven since it’s still hot.

Serves 6-8.

If you feel guilty, just add extra lettuce and tomatoes. Gluten-free friends, you can forget the crust and leave the flour out of this recipe.

Parmesan Chicken Recipe

We all need more crowd-pleasing recipes. If one of your new year’s resolutions is to have more dinner parties, please allow me to entertain you. This recipe is winner, winner chicken dinner every time. Literally. It’s just too bad the chicken had to become dinner to win this race.

It’s loaded with flavor when the chicken is cooked to the perfect temperature and the topping uses salad croutons instead of plain bread crumbs, so everyone will be asking you for more dinner parties. Be careful what you wish for.

PARMESAN CHICKEN RECIPE:

3 pounds boneless chicken breasts or thighs
1/2 cup butter, melted
3 cups salad croutons (garlic or italian flavored recommended), ground up in food processor
1 cup shredded parmesan cheese
Salt & pepper to taste
Raw marinara topping (optional for a refreshing, healthy twist) – see recipe below

Preheat oven to 350F.

If using chicken breasts, it’s best to butterfly pieces & pound to make them all a similar size which will allow for them to bake evenly. To butterfly, lay piece of chicken out flat onto cutting board. Cut from thickest side, inward until almost all the way through the piece. After cutting, lay out flat onto a piece of handiwrap, covered loosely (allowing for room to spread when pounded). Place on a cutting board and pound with a kitchen mallot until all parts of the chicken breast are about the same thickness.

Dip chicken pieces in melted butter. Toss parmesan cheese and ground up salad croutons together into a bowl. Coat buttered chicken with breading mixture. Place on a baking sheet – half sheet pan works well). Bake in preheated oven until chicken is 165 degrees in thickest parts (usually about 30 minutes).

RAW MARINARA TOPPING RECIPE:

5 roma tomatoes, diced
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped finely
3 sprigs fresh basil leaves, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
Sea salt & pepper

Stir together all ingredients. Salt & pepper to taste, stir and set aside while baking chicken. Place topping in a serving bowl so dinner guests can top chicken right before eating.

Lovely pairings: Beautiful World Bread, Northwest Summer Salad or Perfect Mushroom Risotto.

This recipe served with side dishes will feed about 8 people and is easy to multiply when word gets out about your crazy yummy dinner parties. You’re welcome. I’m sorry. You’re welcome.

20 Most Popular Posts in 2012

As I look back on 2012, I realize that sometimes the only thing that held me together was my high-gluten content.

Today, I present thee with the most delicious, gluteness list of my top 20 most visited recipes of 2012. There are even a few healthy ones, including number one.

How to Cook Filet Mignon Steak

Baked Potato Soup

Mini Corn Dogs Recipe

Heavenly Chocolate Pudding Parfaits Recipe

Homemade Blackberry Crumble Recipe

Chocolaty Texas Sheet Cake Recipe

Strawberry Glaze and Strawberry Tart Recipe

Saucy Balsamic Burgers Recipe AKA Saucy Balls

Sweet Swedish Rye Bread Recipe

Blueberry Cream Cheese Muffins Recipe

Almond Raspberry Truffle Cakes Recipe

Tator Tot Casserole Recipe

Buttery Cream Cheese Mints Recipe

Better Than Sex Dessert Recipe

Mud Pie Recipe

Butterscotch Milkshake Recipe

Homemade Chicken Fajita Seasoning Recipe

Layered Blueberry and Mango Smoothies

How to Make Perfect Homemade Pancakes

Seven Layer Salad Recipe

Yay, for salad! And bacon. And don’t worry. As much as I enjoy a refreshing, crispy salad, I will continue to bring you all things immoderation.

Waldorf Salad Recipe

It appears I am not the only person on the planet who has the gift of making incredibly healthy food unhealthy. I am happy to carry on the tradition which has obviously been going on for decades. The proof? The Waldorf Salad – a must for every holiday table and a perfect snack if there are leftovers.

Waldorf Salad Dressing Recipe
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Stir together and allow to rest so sugar can dissolve while chopping salad ingredients.

Waldorf Salad Recipe

Waldorf Salad Dressing (above)
4 cups chopped honeycrisp or cameo apples
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup of red & green grapes cut in half (optional)

Stir all ingredients together and place on a pretty platter or bowl. If you like, sprinkle with a few more chopped walnuts.

Merry healthy, unhealthy Christmas and may your tables be filled with an abundance of lovely food and joyful relatives and friends this year. Thank you for reading. I love you.

How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Sometimes seemingly simple things aren’t so simple. one of the most common and delicious dishes in all of the breakfast kingdom is scrambled eggs. It’s easy to end up with not enough eggs, eggs that are overcooked or maybe you just have a case of the blahs. Here’s an easy, gourmet twist on this breakfast comfort food just on time for Christmas.

Scrambled Eggs With Fresh Herbs

3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 small yellow onion, diced
12 large eggs
1/4 cup water
Sea salt & fresh ground pepper
Leaves from 5 springs of fresh thyme, minced
Leaves from 1 sprig of fresh basil, minced
Leaves from 1/2 sprig of fresh rosemary, minced
Leaves from 4 sprigs of fresh oregano, minced
1 cup fully cooked shredded ham (optional)
3/4 cup Gruyère cheese, grated

Heat olive oil in a large, non-stick pan over medium heat then add onions. Cook onions, while stirring occasionally, until translucent. Make sure your non-stick pan is in great condition so that it truly is non-stick. Never use metal utensils with non-stick pans.

In a medium-large bowl, combine eggs, water, salt & pepper. With my salt shaker, I plan on three shakes per egg plus a few more shakes for the added water (what I normally add to one fried egg). Test your salt shaker and then plan accordingly the amount you need per egg when making scrambled eggs. Whip eggs until combined and golden using a fork and your wrist action – I find this gives me more control than using a whisk. It’s good to lift the fork often as you whip the eggs to incorporate as much air as possible into them.

After onions are translucent and eggs are well-beaten, turn heat to medium-high and add eggs to pan. Use a turner to scrape bottom of pan clean as you stir the eggs. The longer they cook, the less often you stir. When eggs are still a bit wet but starting to firm, turn heat to medium again and add minced herbs (save some for the top when eggs are finished cooking if you like), and ham. End cooking by taking large amounts of the eggs and flipping over gently… this will prevent your scrambled eggs from falling into tiny pieces and unbecoming. If serving right away, sprinkle with grated Gruyère and add about a tablespoon of water into the pan. Cover with a lid right away to create steam and serve after cheese has melted.

You can tell when your eggs are over-cooked when they begin to turn brown and they will have a different smell. Burnt egg smell is unique, so train yourself to recognize it and you’ll be golden – no pun intended.

If your serving time has been delayed or you would like to cook the eggs early, you can place them on a baking sheet when the eggs are firm but still undercooked. Sprinkle with cheese and cover with foil (should fit loosely on top so cheese doesn’t stick to it but tight around sides to keep moisture in & prevent over-cooked eggs). Bake in oven heated to 170F for longer wait or 200F for 10 minutes or less.

If you saved some minced herbs, sprinkle over the melted cheese and serve. Bask in the compliments.

Braised Chicken With Dried Cherry Compote

What is gorgeous and festive and scrumptious and festive? Why, braised chicken with dried cherry compote, of course. She is sexy upon a plate of arugula and impressive for your guests. Doubled or tripled, she is perfect for a shindig – for she is a party on a plate and in your mouth.

Braised Chicken With Dried Cherry Compote

Braised Chicken Recipe

1/4 cup olive oil
1 chicken, fabricated (cut into pieces)
1 yellow onion, diced
2 cups chicken stock
Leaves from about 8 fresh thyme stems
Sea salt & pepper to taste

Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-safe pot over medium heat. Brown the chicken pieces a few pieces at a time. After skin is golden brown on all sides, set chicken pieces aside.

Add onion to remaining olive oil and cook until somewhat translucent. Add the chicken back into the pan and enough chicken stock to come to about 1/2 the way up the chicken. Sprinkle with thyme leaves, salt and pepper.

Bring to a simmer, cover lightly with foil and bake at 350F for about 60 minutes or until middle of the breasts are 165 degrees on meat thermometer. Remove from oven when done.

Dried Cherry Compote Recipe

1/2 sweet onion, diced
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup chardonnay wine
Sea salt & pepper to taste
12 ounces dried cherries
3/4 cup water
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (optional)

Cook onion in oil in saucepan over medium heat until somewhat translucent. Add sugar and balsamic vinegar. Allow to cook for about 15 minutes while stirring until sugar mixture turns a golden caramel. Carefully add wine and salt. Continue to boil, stirring for a minute or so. Add dried cherries and reduce heat to medium-low. Stir occasionally, until liquid has reduced down to become syrupy, about 45 minutes. Add water. For a sweet and spicy zing, add a 1/4 teaspoon of crushed red pepper to compote at the same time as adding the water. Cook for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When chicken is done baking, place on a platter and top with dried cherry compote. ‘Tis lovely served with Swedish rye bread.

She is sweet and saucy. She will not disappoint. Plus, you get to use the word “compote” when telling your guests about her and that is always most impressive.

Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup

The word “blizzard” has been tossed about in the northwest today. The wind is wildly dancing outside and it is likely that we will get a mix of rain, wind and snow for a few days. The media shall stir things up worse than the mighty wind and midwestern relatives will call to be sure we’re okay. We will tell them we have 2 inches of snow and they will laugh and the world will be okay again. Hot soup is the only remedy.

Ham & Great Northern Bean Soup Recipe

HAM & GREAT NORTHERN BEAN SOUP RECIPE

1 pound great northern beans, picked over, rinsed and drained
6 cups water for soaking + 7 cups water for cooking
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 large smoked ham hocks, (or 1 pound smoked ham, shredded or diced)
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1 cup chopped celery
1 medium carrot, grated
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place beans and 6 cups of water in a large bowl. Discard any beans that float to the top of the water. Soak overnight (or 7-8 hours).

After soaking time is done, drain beans and set aside.

Braise ham hocks in olive oil over medium high heat on all sides (skip this step if not using ham hocks). Remove ham hocks from heat and set aside. Place chopped onion into remaining olive oil and cook until onions are golden or somewhat translucent. Add minced garlic if desired.

Pour about seven cups of water into the pot with onions. Add beans then ham hocks (or ham) back into pan as well.

Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low and cook for about an hour. Add celery and carrots. Add salt & pepper to taste. Cook for another 30-60 minutes – until done. If using ham hocks, remove and allow to cool to the touch. Remove ham from them and place ham pieces back into soup.

Yes, we Seattlites will never make friends with the snow. Soup, on the other hand, well, it makes everything okay. Add corn muffins smothered in honey butter and blizzard? What blizzard?

Seared Scallops With Pan Sauce Recipe

Dear Scallops, I love you sizzling hot and topped with glorious sauce… a buttery wine sauce. Although I love you dearly, our relationship is short-lived for you are far too delicious to stick around for very long. Sin-sear-ly, Deanna

Rinse scallops (a few up to 1 pound) well before cooking if they came packed in juices.

Preheat pan to medium-high with a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Pat dry scallops with paper towels. Season one side with sea salt & pepper.

Cook with seasoned side down first. Salt & pepper the unseasoned side while the first side cooks. Sear until medium brown and no longer stick to the pan. Do not overload & stack scallops in the pan.

Continue cooking until second side is seared to a medium brown as well.

PAN SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

2 cups sherry wine
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 clove minced garlic
2 teaspoons crushed red peppers
1-2 tablespoons Old Bay Seasoning
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter
Leaves from 5 sprigs fresh thyme, minced
Leaves from 2 sprigs fresh basil, minced

Reduce heat to medium. Remove scallops from pan and set aside while making pan sauce. Pour sherry wine into pan. This is called “deglazing the pan”. The end results are delicious.

Add mustard, garlic, crushed red pepper, Old Bay Seasoning and salt & pepper.

Whisk in butter until melted and toss in minced fresh herbs to finish.

If sauce appears to separate, just reduce heat a bit & add more wine to save it.

Serve with sauce and enjoy with pasta, potatoes or a lovely, fresh green salad.

P.S. Nice muscles.

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Reserve Your Suite and Find Your Favorite Recipes

A Birthday Party for Dotter With Owls and Fondue

Fresh Start Balsamic Fruit Salad Recipe

Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Quiche

Parmesan Chicken Recipe

20 Most Popular Posts in 2012

Waldorf Salad Recipe

How to Make Perfect Scrambled Eggs

Braised Chicken With Dried Cherry Compote

Ham and Great Northern Bean Soup

Seared Scallops With Pan Sauce Recipe

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