Stuck on food

I can’t wait to get back in the kitchen! Until then I’ll reminisce about the many fabulous things I’ve made.

I look forward to perfecting my pastry skills. The one thing I love is to be in the kitchen creating. This is my canvas of choice on which I create my art. I’ve made some great things the first time around and others that need tweaking or were just thrown in the garbage. My favorite recipes are shortbread butter cookies, grandma’s kiss, vanilla bean cheesecake, cherry cookies, chocolate cake, red velvet cake, creamcheese frosting, chocolate chip cookies, and strawberries and creme tart. The shortbread butter cookie is everyone’s favorite by far. This is my number one requested recipe. I’ve made banana pudding, vanilla cake, coconut balls, lemon cookies, pecan topped banana cake, and orange almond lace cookies. There is so much more to sample. To view things I’ve made, you can go to www.jensweetnsavory.com.

I also love to cook! I like to take charge of the kitchen and put together a meal. I like to try to new recipes I find on-line or in magazines like Food and Wine. I have an interest in Sicilian cooking which seems to use a lot of anchovies in their recipes. One recipe that comes to mind is cheese stuffed peppers. I sautee anchovies, shallot and garlic in a pan with oil. This is added to a mixture of ricotta and basil with sliced black olives and diced tomatoes. Stuff the pepper with this mixture and bake. A variation I would like to try is with mozzarella or crumbled sausage.  This makes me think of  stuffed mushrooms which is a favorite in my house. How about sea bass with saffron and herbs of parsley, thyme and rosemary. There is nothing better than using fresh herbs to flavor your food. I love to sprinkle fresh rosemary and garlic on roasted potatoes or chicken or thyme on kernel corn. I’m heavy on herbs to accent my meats. I’m all about flavor.

 For now I settle on guiding my parents in the kitchen with my ideas for dinner or my son on whipping up a batch of chocolate chip cookies or strawberry marshmallow Chex treats.

Next stop is one of my son’s favorite dishes and the first recipe he made mostly by himself – Ratatouille.