Good Spirits

Get your hummingbird on with St~Germain ~ ~ ~ Check out my new favorite French liquer artisinale. Made from freshly handpicked elderflower blossoms, this lovely spirit pairs well with sparkling wines like Prosecco, Cava or Moscato d'Asti. The fragrance is divine and the flavor is a delightful blend of fresh fruit and flowers. It is refreshingly sublime and would be a superb addition to otherwise ordinary cocktails. Try it out today in your passion kitchen. Merci bien!

The St~Germain Cocktail

2 shots of champagne or dry white wine*

1 1/2 shots St~Germain

2 shots sparkling water or club soda

Stir ingredients in an ice-filled glass, mixing completely. Think of Paris circa 1947. Garnish with a lemon twist.

*try Prosecco, Cava, Moscato d'Asti or a nice crisp Sauvignon Blanc

Stay Fresh My Friends

Leading up to Christmas and throughout the whole season, we're filling up on cookies, fudge, cheesecake, cheeseballs, dips, chips, not to mention a whole lot of imbibing.......which brings me to FRESH! We need it! Salads, fresh fruit and veg and generally, anything of color.... The more colorful your food, chances are, the higher the nutritional value. So, eat your greens and make sure you don't skimp on the simplicity of fresh and colorful food in your diet. Your body will thank you.

Here are a few snacks/treats I prepared during the month of December to keep it delicious and nutritious . . .First, super fresh Guacamole, ala Playa del Carmen. Mark & I had THE best tableside guacamole at a cool open air restaurant in the heart of Playa del Carmen when we visited there in November 2006. It was a memorable preparation and I believe I have nailed it! I've been preparing it this way since then with a few variations. It's shown here with some crunchy tortilla chips and some cubes of queso Chihuahua.

Start with perfectly ripe avocados. I prepare each ingredient first and then combine everything all at the last minute before we dive in. Finely chop some sweet onion (like Vidalia or Oso). Finely chop some grape or cherry tomatoes. Finely chop a nice hot Serrano pepper or a firm jalapeno. Cut a lime in half. Cut the avocados in half lengthwise and remove the pit by "whacking" it with your sharp knife and then turning your knife. It will come out very easily. Mash the avocadoes in a bowl with either a fork or an old fashioned potato masher (assuming you don't have the traditional Mexican mortar and pestle get-up called a molcajete). Add the chopped onion, tomato and pepper. Add kosher salt to taste and a bit of freshly ground pepper. Add a swirl of olive oil (sssshhh.....it's a secret). Blend together with a fork until well combined. Taste for salt. Seriously, peeps, salt is the key. Good salt. Add more salt if needed and then a really generous squeeze of fresh lime.........It will wake up your gwok fo shizzle. Plus, did you know that limes have no seeds? Thus, no hassle with squeezing directly into your dishes. Who knew? One more tip. Lemon works well also! It's excellent. I swear! I love it both ways! OK. Grab your favorite chips and pig out. We actually eat guacamole for a late night dinner sometimes with (you know) a big fruity glass of Sangria. Oh Gee KT, What a surprise! Salute!

K. Here's more fresh for ya . . .

I don't really like humdrum. I do like froo froo though. We love tuna salad and who cares about mercury? Anyway, Foof up your tuna salad so that it looks happier and brighter, plus always try to add some green to your meal. In my mind, it helps cancel out all of the bad stuff. Psychological, you say? Hmmmmmm........ could be. OK. No time to cook? Throw together some tuna salad really quickly. Bumble Bee Albacore is my personal favorite for combining with mayonnaise (Hellmann's)..... A little sweet chopped onion and I'm happy. Pile a scoop of tuna salad on top of a mound of lacy and beautiful frisee', top with fresh carrot shreds (come on, it only takes a second) and sprinkle with paprika. Voila'. It's not humdrum anymore! Note: I'll talk more about tuna in a future post. If you're gonna have it "straight-up", you MUST try canned Italian tuna in olive oil for a moist and delicious treat. Look for Genova "tonno" in the can at most grocery stores or, for the ultimate treat, As do Mar tonno trancio intero.... the "primo tonno".

One more for your repertoire ~

If you have not already tried Burrata cheese, your time has come. Fresh, cream filled mozzarella. OMG. No kidding. I FINALLY found this cheese at Trader Joe's and I was, of course, thrilled! Bring back summer with an incredibly flavorful and fresh salad of Burrata, torn basil leaves, the best tomatoes you can find, kalamata olives, a sweet and dark balsamic vinaigrette and a generous sprinkling of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Don't forget the fresh pane'. Buon Appetito!

Love to all & may your holiday season be brimming with everything that keeps passion in your daily life.

XOXO,

Katie

Katie, You're Glowing (It's The Pasta)

This pasta is so delicious, I think it almost made me cry. What the? Jamie Oliver's "Fresh Tagliatelle with Sprouting Broccoli and Oozy Cheese Sauce" rocked our world Sunday night. This dish is pasta divinity. Silky, tender ribbons of homemade pasta in a glistening sauce of cheese and cream (plus a couple of egg yolks) really epitomizes the idea of enjoying the fruits of your labor. OMG. Although I closely followed Jamie's methods, I did take the liberty of using broccoli rabe (rapini) instead of purple sprouting broccoli (since I don't have any of that on the "back 40"). I also used whipping cream in place of creme fraiche ( it's tough to find at the local stores and I didn't plan far enough in advance to make a homemade batch). I adapted the recipe and provided it below with my personal tweaks, although I stuck to his directions pretty closely ...



Fresh Tagliatelle with Broccoli Rabe & Cheese Sauce

Serves 4

For the pasta ~

4 large free-range or organic eggs

2 cups unbleached flour, plus extra for dusting

kosher salt

For the cheese sauce ~

1 cup whipping cream

5 ounces of sliced Fontina cheese

5 ounces of freshly grated Parmesan cheese

kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch of broccoli rabe (rapini)

2 large free-range or organic egg yolks

a small bunch of fresh herbs, leaves picked

(I used thyme and flat leaf parsley, but a number of other fresh herbs would be great too ~ like fresh oregano, marjoram or summer savory)

The beauty of this dish is partly its mere simplicity. The sauce ingredients warm slowly right in your serving bowl which is set directly on top of your pot of boiling water. How clever is that? I used a nice large pot for the water and chose a shallow, but large bowl which would rest well on top of the pot, without touching the water. This would really be a fast and delicious dish if you didn't have the time to make the homeade pasta. Just buy some of the nice fresh pasta in the refrigerated section of the store (or I'm sure it would be great with frozen tortellini or gnocchi ).

Directions:

Crack the eggs into the food processor and add the flour and a generous pinch of salt. Whiz it up until it starts to rumble. The dough comes together really fast. Touch it. If it's sticky, add a bit more flour and pulse it again.

Take the dough out of the processor and shape it into a ball. Knead it a few times on a floured surface with floured hands. Divide it into four equal parts. Run each of the four pieces of dough through a pasta machine, moving the rollers closer together each time (about 4 or 5 times) until you have 4 silky smooth, thin sheets. Dust each sheet well with flour and fold each one over and cut into 1/2 inch wide ribbons. Gather the ribbons together with a little flour and toss them between your fingers to make your pile of tagliatelle.

In your pasta bowl, place the Fontina and Parmesan cheeses, the cream, salt and pepper. Place the bowl on top of your pot of water. Bring the water to a boil. The cream and cheese will begin to melt nicely. In the meantime, cut the dry ends off of the rapini. I also cut the stalks diagonally or split some of the thicker stalks with a knife so that they cook evenly. Leave the florets whole. When the water comes to a boil, set the pasta bowl aside and add a generous amount of salt to the water (heaping tablespoon or so) and the rapini. While the rapini starts to cook, lightly beat the two egg yolks with the fresh herbs and add the mixture to the warm cheese sauce. Mix well. Add the pasta to the pot when the water returns to a boil. Cook the pasta and the greens in the water until aldente. It only takes a few minutes for the pasta to cook.

Drain the pasta and the greens in colander. Reserve some pasta water in case you need to loosen the sauce. Add the drained pasta and rapini to the cheese sauce and mix well. The egg will cook from the heat of the pasta. Toss again to to be sure that every strand is coated with this glorious cheesy and delicious sauce. I found that the sauce was at first a little loose and then thickened up a bit and absorbed into the homemade pasta perfectly. I did not need to add any pasta water. Jamie Oliver suggests finishing the dish with some additional freshly grated Parmesan and a drizzle of olive oil. I found it to be perfect with no futher enhancements. Buon Appetito!

Caramel Learning Curve

Caramel is fun, but I really need more experimentation. The temperature thing is really important, I think. These apples have chewy and delicious caramel for those with healthy choppers and/or excellent quality dental work. I will try and try again until I get the caramel to be the absolute perfect consistency... not too soft and not too hard and chewy. I will nail it one of these days. E-mail me your favorite recipe if you know of a tried-and-true way of achieving caramel perfection, ok?

This caramel was made from scratch with brown sugar, butter, sweetened condensed milk and light corn syrup. Vanilla was added once the caramel began to cool down. These guys got rolled around in a lot of love... for example, toasted sliced almonds, coconut, mini chococolate chips, toasted pecans, hazelnuts and walnuts. I know you can feel that love. Then, a bunch of them were drizzled with melted cocoa-y chocolate and squirted with even more white chocolate. You can click on the pix for enormous close-ups if you're really hungry.

Love to all . . . from Katie's Passion Kitchen

Daylight Savings Time = Kitchen Energy aka Tagliatelle, Ricotta, Tomatoes, Apples

Wow! I must have really benefited from that extra hour . . . I had major food ambition today. I started the day reading a few pages of Jamie Oliver's "Jamie At Home" cookbook which is a beautiful tribute to "garden to table" cooking. He is such an inspired and passionate cook with an incredible flair for bringing out the best of simple fare. Rustic, yet elegant, his cooking is really creative, healthful and delicious. http://www.jamieoliver.com/

OK. So, I'm all over the board this morning, right? During our morning walk, I talked Joann's ear off about free range hens and organic eggs, my beautiful, but disappointing caramel apples (the taffy was too hard and chewy), the pure beauty of homemade ricotta cheese and the origins of junket and rennet, why it's important to slow-roast "winter" tomatoes and "don't you think Fontina cheese is absolutely luscious?" Poor Joann. I was a fountain of food love.

So, here's what that led up to........First stop after an invigorating walk on a perfect November morning: the grocery store....just for a few things. (This turned out to be about 90 minutes of inspiration gathering which included inspecting, reading, roaming, sniffing, squeezing, comparing, pondering, and searching for items like creme fraiche' and sumac). Then came checkout explanations to the befuddled young check out associate who had never heard of fennel or rapini and couldn't find them on his produce list.

Now, I'm talking to my mom on my way home, giving her the lowdown on my plans for the rest of the day. Ready?

1) Homemade Ricotta Cheese
2) Oven Roasted Tomatoes
3) Caramel Apples (to redeem myself from Friday's batch)
4) Fresh Homemade Tagliatelle Pasta with Rapini and Fontina Sauce

I cannot tell you how gratifying it was to make fresh pasta. Wow! It was defintitely a highlight in my repertoire. I am already looking forward to doing it again. Anyone interested in making any of the things you see here, please POST your requests or send me an e-mail, ok? I would LOVE to hear from you.

Thank you so much for your interest in me, my cooking, my ideas and my blog. You're always welcome and at home in Katie's Passion Kitchen.

Love, Katie

Bella Pasta

Oven Roasted Tomatoes

Super Fresh Homemade Organic RicottaPlum tomatoes are drizzled with olive oil, sprinkled with kosher salt, fresh thyme leaves, and dried oregano... slow roasted in a 300F degree oven until intensely flavored and slightly chewy (about 2 to 2 1/2 hours). They're served here on a bed of arugula, topped with fresh, homemade ricotta cheese, a drizzle of balsamic vinegar, olive oil and freshly ground black pepper.

Caramel Apples

Here are some of my caramel apples (the Halloween batch) ... they look great, except the taffy was too hard, even though I followed the directions by heating the caramel to 248 degrees. So, I tried again today and removed the caramel from the heat at 240 degrees. Still really chewy, but definitely better. LOL. Anyone out there have a caramel apple recipe with caramel that stays creamy and doesn't get too-too chewy? Please send it to me. Thank you! In the morning, I shall post some shots of the new and improved batch. Practice makes perfect, right? Candy's tricky.

P.S. Click on any (or most) photos shown in each post for a gigantic close-up, then use the back button on your browser to get back to the page...

XOXO, Katie

P.S. Tonight, I will post the recipe for the pasta with my comments and recommendations. Buon Appetito!

"FlavorFall"

Soup. Chili. Gumbo. Winter squash. Roasted birds. Apples. Pears. Cranberries. Pumpkins. Comfort food, right? I gave in to fall Sunday night, acknowledging that summer had come to an end, the air was brisk, and I needed to change tracks with my cooking. It was hard to stop thinking of spring asparagus, garden tomatoes (thank God we have a few left), Italian green beans, fresh peppers, zucchini, July bing cherries and summer barbecues. Now, we're moving into a whole new territory.

Switch tracks with me as it's time to fill the air with cold weather comforting aromas like cinnamon and allspice, slowly braised roasts. fiery chilis, pumpkin pies, homemade breads and the simple homey (not as in "hey, homey, whatz up?"), but the simple homey fragrance of roast chicken on a chilly Sunday night.

Sunday Night Dinner Menu

First Fall Meal of 2008

Northwoods Cocktails

Lemon Roast Chicken with Croutons

Roasted Orange Cauliflower & Brussel Sprouts

Acorn Squash with Butter & Brown Sugar Glaze

Smashed Red Potatoes

Note: We were way too full for dessert!

Fall for fall.

Love, Katie

XO

Bread Love ~ Blog Abandon

Hello friends and foodies! I miss you! And... I miss my blogging adventure. I have been an industrious maniac over the last few weeks. When Katie's in demand, all of this activity, unfortunately, results in blog NEGLECT! I hate when that happens. I intend to plug in a few updates on my page over the next week to give you some news and inspiration so that we can get started on our changing season and the colorful flavors of autumn.

After reading Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris for at least the second time a few weeks ago, I was compelled to order this delectable bread from the world famous Poilane Bakery in Paris. On a Tuesday morning, I received a message from Kenny O'Neal at the dealership (complete with the French accent) . . . "Bonjour Madam, your bread has arrived." I was ecstatic! It did not disappoint. Five 4 1/2 pound loaves of dense, chewy french sourdough bread with the lovely signature "P" carved into the crust. I unwrapped one of the neatly twisted paper bags and inspected the first perfect loaf. Dark and heavy, Poilane's breads are made from stone ground grey flour, spelt and French sea salt. The dough is naturally fermented and the loaves are baked in wood burning ovens. They ship bread all over the world! I swooned from the smell of fresh French bread in my little South Holland finance office. Life is good. I couldn't wait to celebrate.

Have you every had a bread and butter "toast" (I mean toasting with bread instead of champagne, for example)? That's exactly what we did the night it arrived. Since that memorable day, we have eaten much of our wonderful French bread, toasted and loaded with butter and sometimes topped with cheese and our late season homegrown beefsteak tomatoes. We also "gifted" some to a few lucky bread lovers. How can people say that bread is bad for you? Impossible. You know I am definitely NOT a carbo-phobe. P.S. We have one quarter of one loaf left in the freezer. I might have to bust that out for tonight's dinner.

Love, Katie

P.S. Check out the Poilane website if you'd like to place an order..... Click on the link under "Katie's Online Faves" on the right side of my page . . . many of my favorite places are listed in alphabetical order right here in Katie's Passion Kitchen. It's between Penzey's and Roni Benise. Kinda just like me. Bon Appetit!

Summer Fare

WOW! Don't you LOVE summer? Gardens are exploding with an abundance of fresh vegetables. Farmers markets and grocery stores are brimming with zucchini, squash, corn, tomatoes, peppers, melons, peaches and nectarines. Abundanza! I want to make it all and I want to eat it all. Since my last post, I will tell you what I've been cooking (we actually enjoyed some meals without taking pictures!! ~ the nerve ~ LOL). In the last few weeks, I've been in tomato heaven, thanks to Joey's amazing harvest. Yellow tomatoes, golden tomatoes, plums, cherries, little "light bulbs", early girls, best boys, etc. I have some tomato plants also, but they can't compare to Joey's perfect, healthy, fat, shiny, unblemished, bright, colorful, succulent, organically grown tomatoes. What? Ya think I have adjectivitis? LOL. OK. Sliced tomatoes and fresh mozzarella on toasted ciabatta bread with butter, mayo, fresh basil and a little kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper. Those little "sammies" were a lunch special at the dealership last week. Fresh and simple. What else you ask? I made a really filling and delicious Chicken Parmesan, inspired by the article in this month's Bon Appetit' magazine about Mario Batali's kitchen staff dinners. I flattened some chicken breasts and gave them the flour~egg bath~panko treatment, fried them in olive oil and butter, layered them up with homemade marinara sauce, asiago, parmesan and fresh mozzarella and baked them in the oven. Excellent and definitely not for dieters. I also made two different kinds of onion soup. Onion Soup Gratinee' right from the pages of Jacques Pepin's "The Apprentice: My Life In The Kitchen" book. AMAZING recipe. Easy and incredibly satisfying. Plus, a creamy and decadent onion soup, inspired by Emeril and his "7 Onion Soup" ~ I didn't use 7 different onions, but I did follow his methods by starting out with bacon (I know), caramelizing the onions, simmering in stock with fresh herbs, adding cream (I know) and blending with an immersion blender. The result was this creamy, intensely flavored soup, garnished with crumbled bacon (I know), finely shredded swiss, fresh snipped chives and cracked black pepper. OMG. It rocked. I also made some very tart lime bars. Oven roasted summer vegetables. Ground sirloin burgers with finely chopped portabella mushrooms and vidalia onions. Huges pans of "grill-fried" garden variety peppers. Pappardelle pasta with fresh summer vegetables. Lots of salads spiked with everything from Gorgonzola to pine nuts. And we're still savoring each and every tomato in every way possible. I even had a tomato sandwich before I went to bed last night! I plan to power-walk 10 miles this afternoon to compensate for all of this eating. Cream and bacon fat = better get your a _ _ in gear.

Today is Sunday, August 31, 2008. While "Lucky B" was checking out the Lake Michigan coastline from about 2500 hundred feet on an early morning flight in his friend, Pete's high wing Citabria sport plane, I was in Katie's Passion Kitchen, baking up a summery flashback nectarine pie. Hope he remembered to take the Bonine. No shi_, I started baking this pie in 1991. LOL. E-mail me if you'd like the recipe. (Click on my pic) and I'll send it to you. It's really really quick, easy and it SCREAMS summer! Can you hear it? Love and Summer Cheers to All! Katie


Oh, yeah, check out these little video demonstrations of the author and her pastry tool. Very educational. LOL.







Tonight's Dinner

I will try to be brief. (It's not easy for me, what can I say?) . . . Lime was the star of the show tonight. The menu: Grilled marinated flank steak, roasted marinated red bell peppers and how about a deconstructed Italian guacamole salad? LOL .... The steak was marinated in freshly squeezed lime juice (and the limes too!), fresh garlic, olive oil, s & p. The peppers were charred, steamed, peeled, and then marinated in olive oil, garlic, freshly picked herbs, kosher salt, red wine vinegar and freshly squeezed lime juice. The salad is one of my favorite (and maybe surprising to some) combination of flavors . . . chunks of ripe but firm avocado, small wedges of homegrown red and yellow tomatoes, fresh basil, thinly sliced vidalia onion, crumbly gorgonzola cheese, olive oil, freshly squeezed lime juice, kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper. I can eat endless quantities of that salad with an entire bag of hard and crunchy salted tortilla chips. El Ranchero or the other ones in the brown paper bag. I also threw a bunch of lime slices in tonight's Sangria which featured both cherry and apricot liquers. Oh yeah, one more thing . . . I made a warm fruit compote with red and purple plums, lemon slices, red and green grapes and turbinado sugar. A tart and sweet treat on top of Ben & Jerry's dense and rich vanilla ice cream. OK... I'm actually getting sleepy now. By the way, I did get my miles in . . . Not 10 though....more like 5.

Love to all, Katie

Hey Wine Lovers

Here's one of my new favorites ~ Vega Sindoa Cabernet Tempranillo 2005 . . . this is from Spain's Navarra region and I really love it. Lush and smooth, yet fresh and fruity . . . not puckery. I hate puckery. OK.... that's probably not educated wine lingo but that's my personal wine geek description. Here's the deal. Look for the wines with high point ratings, right? and great prices... this baby has a rating of 90 points!!! and it's only around 10 bucks a bottle. Check it out . . . let me know what you think! I bought mine at Binny's. Love, Katie

Hey, next time you're stranded, make sure someone calls you a "cab" . . . in this case, a cab-tempranillo! That's what I do! Salute Fellow Wine Geeks!

Neighbor Joe's Favorite

http://homecooking.about.com/od/beefrecipes/r/blbeef132.htm   

 

 

Hi Katie,

 

Link is to my favorite recipe, It's my dad's favorite, I make it for him twice a year.......very easy to prepare, just cook thoroughly, I use a meat thermometer to make sure it cooks through........slice about 1/2" thick for a great presentation

 

 

I'll have to Key lime cupcake and Sangria this weekend

 

Ney J

Key Lime Morning

Geeeez, I feel like I've been neglecting my blog and anyone who likes checking out my foodie news. So, last night, after getting my second wind, I happily dove into this wonderful recipe from Bon Appetit . . . these key lime cupcakes have a bright summery limey flavor and a moist yet fluffy texture. The cream cheese frosting (I LOVE cream cheese frosting)..... is flecked with finely grated lime peel and it's the perfect combo with these green beauties. Move over coconut cupcakes...I think I might have a new fave.

OK - so here's what else I cooked this weekend... Asian style grilled salmon on a bed of lightly dressed spinach on Saturday night . . . served with grilled yellow summer squash and onions. I also tried a few skewers of pancetta wrapped shrimp, with tomatoes and onions. marinated briefly and grilled. Pretty tasty. Yesterday, I made some herb infused olive oil (don't you LOVE summer?), a spicy and meaty ragu with porcini mushrooms, hot Italian sausage and chunks of tender beef. I bought some lovely artisan pastas at the Butler Pantry in Saugatuck on Tuesday and this homemade fusilli was screaming for a slow cooked meaty sauce . . . we pigged out, needless to say. A grape tomato salad happily welcomed the herb oil, fresh mozzarella and a chiffonade of fresh basil. Basil makes me happy.

I really need to get to work now. Love you! Katie ~ ~ ~ E-mail me for recipes or feel free to click on the Bon Appetit link for the cupcake recipe (do a search for key lime cupcakes)....Also, check out the Butler Pantry link for some wonderful kitchen finds.

ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL !! CANT WAIT 2 EXPERIENCE IT IN PERSON AGAIN IN THE NEAR FUTURE.

AWESOME KATHY.
LOVE,
JIMMY & MISHA

Your Kitchen

Kathy

I am suddenly very hungry.

Wow! Are those all pictures of food you have prepared? Looks great.

Is this a new business your are getting into into?

Regards

Joe

Joseph Amendola Regional Vice President The Warranty Group • Resource Automotive 175 W. Jackson Blvd., 11th Flr., Chicago, IL 60604 708.267.3640(C) 312.395.9525 (F) joseph.amendola@us.thewg.com

Amazing...

Holy crap Kathy, Katie... whatever... this is absolutely AMAZING and I'm so excited you've included me on your blog. I've only had the opportunity to be involved in one other blog, which is an artist'd and now this one completes the circle of all the things I love as well. The photographs are just beautiful and I can't wait to try some of the recipes. I won't be able to do the cruise but I really want to see Benise one of these days so I'll keep watching the blog for another local show. Really, this is a fantastic job!!

love you, miss you!

xoxo

jackie

Welcome to My World

Welcome to my kitchen! Ready or not, tonight I am sending friends and family the link to my newest hangout. . .Katies Passion Kitchen. There are sooooo many things I would like to present, organize, display, talk about, etc. BUT I thought I'd invite you over to my kitchen NOW while the page is still in its infancy. I'm interested in all of your suggestions as I just started playing around with this a couple of weeks ago. It will be a great platform for me to share my favorite things with you. Food. Wine. Music. More. We'll see what happens! In the meantime, click the "play" button on the little custom "radio" (upper right), listen to my favorite songwriter, composer/producer/ guitarist BENISE as well as some other great Spanish guitar music. Also, be sure to check out the links to some of my favorite online places including the "BENISE CRUISE" link (scroll down and see "Katie's Online Faves" on the right). Teri, Brianna, Julie and I have made our reservations for the cruise coming up in December. We invite all interested parties to join us for a guaranteed memorable journey featuring Roni Benise, nouveau flamenco guitarist Ottmar Liebert and violinist Karen Briggs. Of course, I'm preparing for yet another passion overflow. X O X O

So, kick back, relax and enjoy the music, the food and the ambience. I want you to always be "at home" in my kitchen.

Cheers!

X O X O Katie

aka Katharine Fioretti

SANGRIA = LOVE

I LOVE SANGRIA. Period. Here's my favorite basic recipe. I make it often (as friends and family will attest). I change the fruit and the liqueurs depending on my mood and what I have on hand. You will LOVE this! Serve it tonight and your guests will NEVER LEAVE! In the summer, I like to use Rose' wine because it's light and refreshing and goes well with grilled dishes. But..... as a red wine geek, I LOVE to make it with all kinds of reds......California Cabernets, Merlots, South American Malbecs, South African reds plus the lush and wonderful Shiraz wines of Australia. So many wines, so little time....... Lots of great buys for less than 15 bucks a bottle! Great wine source for inexpensive picks: I love Binny's, of course).....also, lots of great choices at Trader Joe's & Whole Foods. But, heck, you can get great bottles from the grocery store (Jewel, Strack & Van Til, Sam's Club) any day of the week! Enjoy the recipe and give me your feedback. I would love to hear from you.

Note: It's mandatory that I make and serve my Sangria in this kick-ass pitcher which I painted on a recent trip to Mexico (while my fellow travelers were sunning and swimming ; )........I was in the shade, painting this pitcher and drinking Electric Lemonades. LOL. Thank you Steve, for gingerly carting it home on the plane!

Basic Sangria Recipe

1 bottle of rose' or red wine

1/4 cup brandy (I like apricot)

1/4 cup orange liqueur* (Great options from France, Italy and Spain)

1 cup of orange juice (I like the one with lots of pulp)

1/4 cup simple syrup (u know - 50% water & 50% sugar - bring to a simmer & stir until the sugar melts......let it cool and store it in the fridge) - I ALWAYS have this on hand in the fridge for emergency batches of sangria and to sweeten anything in a hurry)

lots of fresh fruit - (I use orange slices, lemon slices, lime slices and tart apple slices PLUS fresh blackberries, fresh blueberries and/or fresh cherries in season)

*If you're cheap, use Triple Sec (if you can't hang with Grand Marnier).....I recommend trying Gran Gala (Italy), Gran Torres (Spain), Cointreau (France) and without a doubt, Grand Marnier, also hailing from France. To me, orange liqueur and red wine dance a delicious tango. Damn, I love that dance. Especially while listening to Pa' Bailar by Bajofondo.I start with the fruit. Toss it into your favorite pitcher. Add the booze and mash a bit with a wooden spoon. Then, add the wine, the OJ and the simple syrup. Don't add ice cuz you don't want to dilute the flavors. Stir & chill. It's great after it's been in the fridge overnight, but you can drink it immediately too, don't worry! Serve on the rocks in pretty glasses with lots more fresh fruit. I also like to throw some lemon balm or lemon verbena in the glasses. I toss some into the pitcher as well. Seriously, it's no big deal. The stuff grows like weeds. Plant some.

Salute!

Katie XOXO

WOW

Katie
I am so impressed!
Your the most remarkable lady I have ever had the privilege of knowing-----Your Blog is just wonderful---
Pictures are to die for!
Where you get the time is beyond me.That energy level of yours is amazing------wish I could borrow some of it for me.

I am suppose to be cleaning house and I am just looking at wonderful menus and listening to great music----
Here is hoping your day is as nice as you have made mine today!

Looking forard to all new posts-----
Gleycine

lovely kitchen

Your website is making me drool!  I think you did an awesome job.   And I loved the music, I felt like I was in the Mediterranean at an outdoor cafe.   Looking forward to trying new recipes.

 

Lynn (Norma's wine drinking buddy)

your blog

Katie!

I'm so impressed! You should have your own magazine like Oprah! I'm sending this to all my friends!

Love,

Gabie

---

Get the scoop on last night's hottest shows and the live music scene in your area - Check out TourTracker.com!

Will Blog For Food

Hey Friends, Family & Foodies - Please feel free to e-mail me your thoughts, requests, ideas and comments. You can e-mail me by clicking on my photo (upper right of this page) OR click on this link: KLFioretti@aol.com . Also, you can easily enter your comments on any blog entry by clicking on "Comments". If you've tried before and did not want to create a Google account, now, you can add your comments without having to create a Google account! I have eliminated that step for your convenience. Type your comments, enter the word verification and then select "Name/URL" and type in your name/nickname. That's all she wrote! Thanks for checking out what's cooking in Katie's Kitchen! Love, KLF

P.S. A little white envelope now appears at the end of each blog post. These allow you to e-mail any individual post to a friend with one little mouse click.

Hey Joe Davis

Hey Joe... This one's for U.....

Grilled Asparagus, white eggplant, and marinated roasted peppers with fresh herbs...... This picture was taken in the summer of 2003 at Betty Jean & Norm's.....I know you were there! Thanks for hanging out in my kitchen..... Love, KT ~ I know you're giddy now! LOL.....Any other requests?

Today's News ~ Music 4 U & an excellent recipe 4 U to check out!

Greetings Foodies! I added a music option to this blog page (or, as Louie calls it.... my "blob") ~ Anyway, now you can enjoy Benise and other Spanish guitar selections on this cool live feed customized radio station. Simply click the play button (upper right of my page) and if you're not too excited about the song, click on the "next" button (to the right of the square "stop" button) to switch to the next track. Enjoy the music while you check out my stuff.

After working with some of these tantalizing images over and over, I felt the need to whip up another Jacques Pepin Cheese Souffle', a recipe that he learned from his "Maman". I am sharing this recipe with you today....... don't be intimidated! It's not a traditional/textbook cheese souffle' where you're required to seperate the eggs and beat the whites and all of that extra work........It's a pure pleasure to make and it is sure to make your house smell insanely delicious. I never want to leave home when the house smells this good!

Jacques Pepin's Maman's Cheese Souffle'

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter plus more to butter a 6 cup gratin dish

6 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 cups cold whole milk

1/2 teaspoon each, salt & freshly ground black pepper

5 extra large eggs

2 1/2 cups of grated Swiss cheese (preferably Gruyere)

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter a 6 cup gratin dish. Set aside. Melt the butter in the saucepan and then add the flour. Mix well with a whisk. Cook for 10 seconds. Add the milk in one stroke and whisk well. Keep cooking and whisking until the mixture thickens and comes to a strong boil (it takes about 2 minutes). It should be thick and smooth. Remove from heat. Add salt & pepper. Allow about 10 minutes for the white sauce to cool.

Meanwhile, crack eggs into a bowl. Beat well with a fork. Add the beaten eggs, the cheese and the chives to the cooled sauce. Mix well to combine. Pour into the buttered gratin dish and cook immediately or set aside until ready to cook ~ you can do this ahead! yippee!

Bake 30 to 40 minutes until the souffle' is puffy and well browned. (See my picture below)....Serve immediately. It will stay puffed for awhile but it's best when served right away. I love to serve this with a simple green salad, lardons (thin strips of crisp bacon), fresh french bread and a glass of champagne. That's tonight's menu. Bon Appetit' my friends!

Tomato Gadget Giddiness (Dumb Video Clip)

Feeling My Way

In the development stages of this blogging thing....... lots of ideas are beginning to sprout, so stay tuned for new posts, links and information. I realize that every time someone looks at me, they think of food or wine or restaurants or music! It's funny! Here's my way of sharing, inspiring and keeping us all in touch with our inner gourmets. Love you guys! Post your comments. I would love to read them!

Day Uno

It's Day One of my brand new blog page..... In order to not get sucked in to hours of computer time, I am walking away right now......... LOL..... I will be thinking of ideas to share with those of you who are interested in my culinary adventures......................while I make a pot of bean and barley soup.............. Luv yas..... KLF