Potted

When we renovated our kitchen I selected a double oven/induction cook top oven. My only problem was that my mom's Revere Ware that I loved using,didn't work on the cooktop. The only pots I had that worked were a 3-quart pot from Cuisinart, and a recent purchase of a 1 qt cooking pot from HexClad. When that arrived, I was in love! 

There is something very sensual about the HexClad cooking pot. The handles, both that for the pot and that for the top,  feel good, and don't get too hot. My experience leads me to believe that cleanup is a breeze. 

I declared that it would be Christmas in July in our home, and I ordered a few more pots for cooking. I think I'm set now!

Now, if the weather would only cool down enough so that I was inspired to cook! 

Divine Divan

I think I am fortunate that we aren't the type who go out to dinner often. Cooking every night is an everyday thing for me, so unlike many of my friends, I am not struggling with quarantine cuisine during our "shelter in place" confinement. Sure, we've had our "I don't want to cook one more night" dinner of French Toast (on Easter Sunday no less!), but for the most part I manage to get something on our plates that is fairly nutritious and tasty. A few times since the lockdown began I have been inspired to go above and beyond, making do with what I have on hand. One night I became inspired to make lobster/crab fettuccine using leftovers from a Friday Night Date Night Take-Out seafood supper, a recent addition by our community eatery. My fettuccine began with a base of home made stock from lobster and crab shells and lots of other savory things. I served it on home made pasta. Oh, and it was delicious! This was something I had never made before. Thank God for the Internet and lots tons of recipes, with ratings, at one's fingertips... literally!

Bits of lobster and crab waiting for the stock to reduce.
Pasta waiting to be cooked.

Most recently my inspired meal choice was Chicken Divan. 

I've never had Chicken Divan. The idea came about from a conversation with my bff. She mentioned, with a fair bit of excitement,  that she was cooking it for dinner that evening. I mentioned that I had never had it before, and asked how she made it. She rattled off the recipe. It sounded tasty (who doesn't like gooey, melted cheese?) and I tucked it in the back of my brain. 

Flash forward... well, in these times the days don't seem to flash... but suffice it to say... later, I decided to make the dish for dinner. I searched online to look at recipes and I also found the history of the dish.

Wikipedia tells me that: "Chicken Divan is a chicken casserole usually served with broccoli and Mornay sauce. It was named after the place of its invention, the Divan Parisien Restaurant in the New York City Chatham Hotel where it was served as the signature dish in the early twentieth century. Its creator was a chef named Lagasi."

I came across a link to the WORLD'S BEST Chicken Divan and stopped there. I'm glad I did! I read through the the blog post/recipe and began pulling out the ingredients. Because I can't go running off to the grocery store I made a few substitutions and changes, working with what I had on hand. I guess we all have similar limitations! 

I certainly identified with New York Time's columnist, Sam Sifton's column entitled "Substitution City".  He wrote: "With everyone out of this pantry item or that one, recipes have become mere suggestions of where you might start. They’re like assembly charts from Ikea when you have only 60 percent of the fasteners."

 The major substitution I made was using the broth from a can of chicken noodle soup, mixed with water, for the chicken broth and bouillon... and what the heck, I threw the noodles in the casserole as well. Knowing that canned soup tends to have a ton of salt in it, I did not add any other salt in my cooking. 

The recipe link above has detailed instructions. Here is my "Cliffs Notes" version:

• Sauté seasoned cut broccoli and cauliflower (I didn't have enough broccoli) in olive oil for 30 seconds, then add 1/2 C of chicken soup liquid and water. Cover and cook for 2 minutes. Remove with slotted spoon and put in a baking dish.
• Add some butter to the pan after removing the veggies. Increase the heat. Put in cubed chicken that was previously seasoned liberally with pepper and paprika. Sear the chicken for about a minute, then stir and cook only until just done. Spoon the chicken on top of the broccoli/cauliflower mix.
• Add a hunk of butter and some olive oil to the juices in the pan. Add some flour, seasonings and make a paste. Add more of the chicken soup liquid with water, some milk (I used half and half) and cook to thicken. Add sour cream, shredded cheddar and parmesan. I also plopped in some mayonnaise. Combine and spoon over the vegetables and chicken. (The recipe called for corn starch. I used it. I wouldn't use it again. My sauce became very pasty. I don't think it needed additional thickener.)
• Pour some bread crumbs on top and cover with additional shredded cheddar. (When I make this again, I'll add some pats of butter on top of the bread crumbs)
• Bake for 30 minutes at 350 and then enjoy.... thoroughly!

Just an aside....
this was posted on FaceBook. It was written by Haroon Rashid.
Wow... what a powerful message, putting us all in our places!

We fell asleep in one world, and woke up in another. 
Suddenly Disney is out of magic. 
Paris is no longer romantic, 
New York doesn't stand up anymore, 
the Chinese wall is no longer a fortress, 
and Mecca is empty. 
Hugs & kisses suddenly become weapons, 
and not visiting parents & friends becomes an act of love.

Suddenly you realise that power, beauty & money are worthless, 
and can't get you the oxygen you're fighting for.

The world continues its life and it is beautiful. 
It only puts humans in cages. 
I think it's sending us a message:

"You are not necessary. 
The air, earth, water and sky without you are fine. 
When you come back, remember that you are my guests. 
Not my masters."

Gotta Get the Gadget

OK... maybe I am a sucker - but, then again, maybe not.. What do you think?

Recently I went to a cooking demonstration by Janet Sadlack (http://www.microwaveconnect.com) on how to use a Convection/Microwave oven. I learned a few things. For example, if you use the convection oven, and then need to microwave something in a plastic container, put a silicone pot holder under the container to keep it from melting due to the high heat of the turntable. Another thing I learned is that if you are using a 'mix' cooking setting, the microwave won't kick in until the oven gets to temperature. So, it is important to preheat the oven. I also learned that while I am preheating the oven, I can push the 'Convection" button to find out the current temperature. 

Janet is a dynamo in the kitchen. In her 60-minute presentation she demonstrated baking cookies, puff pancakes, spaghetti, asparagus, and chocolate volcano cupcakes, among other things. Janet showed us several products she likes to use (and just happened to have some on sale if we had our wallets handy!)

The "Fasta Pasta" spaghetti cooker was one of the gadgets she had on hand. Oh, and it is made in the USA!

I dangled on the hook.... she had me!

The cooker has a place to measure your portions. The amount created with "two" portions would have fed two hungry linebackers for the Denver Broncos!

A handy little chart helps you decide how much water to use and how long it should be cooked. The top is not used while cooking, but it has an area to drain the liquid from your pasta when cooking is complete.

 The pasta is finished. The Texas Toast is ready to go in the oven. Dinner is almost ready. (You may notice that I have not said anything about preparing the spaghetti sauce.... trust me... you don't want to know!)

And so, dinner proceeded. But, did I stop to take a picture? Heck, no! I was too hungry after all of this work. You'll just have to use your imagination! However, both Dreamers declared the spaghetti to be perfectly cooked. 

A Little Something

It began innocently. 

A little taste. 

Isn't that how most addictions obsessions begin?

On one of the first days of our cruise the Daily Program listed a cooking demonstration, "A Little Something" and a wine pairing. Why not? What else is there to do at that time? So, Mr. Dreamy and I made our way to Deck 7 and the Culinary Arts Theater. There we met Kaitlyn,  a delightful, bubbly "Party Planner" who demonstrated how to make a quick appetizer. As Kaitlyn finished 'plating' the appetizer, offering tips to make it look especially attractive and appealing, the wine steward arrived. He brought a wine he thought would pair well with the appetizer. He described the wine, its taste, a bit about the grapes used in making the wine, and any other information he thought would be entertaining and informative. We could purchase a glass for $4.00, a shipboard bargain. Then, the audience was given the opportunity to taste the appetizer while sipping the wine. We received recipe cards, so we could recreate the recipes at home. We were hooked.

Yeah, we collected just a few recipe cards!

Each evening we would look through the program for the next day and mark the cooking activities.  This is not something we have ever done before! Almost every evening had the appetizer demonstration and wine pairing. "At sea" days had a morning cooking demonstration with one of the chefs.

Kaitlyn and Manuel 'plate' our special luncheon

Often they demonstrated something that was available at one or more of the ship's restaurants. In addition to the demonstrations, three different cooking classes were offered.

 Mr. Dreamy and I went to school. We earned our aprons :)  The class was limited to 10 people. We cooked a fabulous luncheon that included:

• Dungeness crab cakes with Thai sweet chili sauce
• Grilled lamp chops with oregano and apple chutney
• Le Cirque chocolate souffle

Mr. Dreamy sears the lamb chops

After we finished cooking our portion of the meal, our meal was 'plated' and taken to a restaurant on Deck 8. We proceeded to the restaurant where we had the opportunity to enjoy the product of our labors.... and some extras.... and some wine. Yummy!

And the best part of the cooking class? We didn't have to clean up the mess!