Wewalka Prepared Dough - Tasty and Easy!

Bistro Style Pizza.

I was recently invited to try Wewalka European Pastry Dough. The Austrian company makes 2 types of pizza crusts (Family Style slightly thicker crust dough and Bistro Style thin crust dough),  croissant dough and puff pastry dough and all the doughs are now available in the United States. All four types of dough are conveniently rolled up on parchment paper for easy use and are available at Harris Teeter locations in the Charlotte market and Ingles locations in the Atlanta area. The doughs contain no hydrogenated oils, no corn syrup and no bleached flour and they are vegetarian (no meat products).

My family truly loved these doughs - especially the round pizza dough (Bistro Style - the Family Style is rectangular) and the puff pastry dough. I made all sorts of pizzas as well as rolled croissants with sausages and with chocolate (not pictured). I really like using the puff pastry for pizza as well - very elegant and tasty. The Wewalka Recipe collection helps with more ideas. Having the pizza dough on parchment paper that you leave in place while baking is SO helpful. Although other companies' big balls of dough look fun, my experience is that rolling the dough ball into what you want can be difficult, not to mention messy! Wewalka makes it very easy with the crust already rolled and clean-up is quick and painless. Look for all four types of dough in the refrigerator case near the biscuit dough. There is also a coupon on the website here.

Pigs in blankets!

Wewalka recipe - Caramelized Onion Quiche

 

Kids White Chef's Jacket - Available at The Chef's Emporium

I recently had the opportunity to receive an adorable monogrammed mini-chef coat for my son from The Chef's Emporium. Although he is not quite big enough to use it yet - this XS size is designed for ages 3-5 years - I cannot wait until it fits and he is old enough to help me even more in the kitchen! Sizes for ages 3 - 10 years are available.

I know he will be absolutely thrilled to wear it and help stir the soup, break eggs, use cookie cutters and mix in chocolate chips (among other things) while wearing this professional-looking outfit! He already likes to pretend to help!

The kids chef jacket is available in white, blue, red, pink and lime green and as you can see, monogramming is available. Can you think of a cuter gift for the foodie-in-training or even as a baby shower gift for parents who love to cook? What a unique gift! Check back for an update in a year or two when he is actually using this jacket and helping prepare meals and treats with me!

Pre-Valentine's Day Event at Friendship Trays - fun and for a great cause!

Join us Tuesday, Feb. 12 from 5:30-7 p.m.

2401-A Distribution St.

Suggested donation: $30 per person

♥ Make a Valentine for your sweetheart.

♥ Watch a pots de crème and other sweets demonstration and leave with two keepsake cups.

♥ Taste wines, pleasant for the palate and the purse.

♥ Bake and Take and Decorate Red Velvet Cupcakes.

♥ Savor scrumptious hors d'oeuvres from the Community Culinary School of Charlotte and other Charlotte chefs.

NEW FEATURES THIS YEAR:

♥ ♥ A chocolate maker ♥ ♥

   

♥ ♥ A chef on hand to help you with cupcake decorating ♥ ♥

 

♥ ♥ Door prize! ♥ ♥

♥ ♥ New food vendors ♥ ♥

 

A few spaces remain.

Click HERE for more information and to register.

Cloister Honey - A Local Charlotte Find

Whipped honey and Arbol Pepper Infused Honey.

Cloister Honey is a local Charlotte honey company that produces all sorts of traditional and creative honey flavors, as well as beeswax candles. Everything is made with products from the owners' own hives. Although the business started as a hobby, it has now blossomed to include hives not only in the owners' backyard but also on the roof of the Ritz-Carlton Charlotte! The honey is available at Atherton Mills Market, Dean & Deluca, Whole Foods, Reids and quite a few other locations, which can be viewed here. I really enjoy the Atherton location, where you can often find co-owner Randall York, selling the honey products himself.

I had the opportunity to sample the whipped honey, the arbol pepper infused honey, and the seasonal pumpkin whipped honey and all are delicious! The arbol pepper infused honey is great for cooking - we made grilled chicken with it as a marinade/basting sauce and it was very tasty. I look forward to trying more varieties of honey and including them in homemade recipes!

Co-owner Randall York with honey and bees at Atherton Mills Market.



Bees!

Grilling Lamb Chops, Eggplant and Okra - a success!

In honor of July 4 I am posting on a recent meal that my family cooked together - lamb chops from Costco (really meaty and a great deal) plus grilled eggplant and okra. I tossed the okra in olive oil, salt and pepper and threaded them onto skewers (use small okra). I sliced the eggplant fairly thin and put each slice through a combination of olive oil and high quality balsamic vinegar, then finished it off with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Everything came out really delicious! If you do this be sure to watch the okra carefully or it will burn. HAPPY JULY 4th everyone! Hope you have a fun-filled and safe holiday.

Red Gold Tomatoes

I was offered a complimentary sample of Red Gold canned tomatoes, a family owned business based in Indiana which has been around since the 1940's. The website provides information about the company and lots of great recipes. I used the tomatoes for turkey chili, in omelets and to make bruschetta. If you are in the market for a new canned tomato you should definitely give Red Gold a try!

Pig Pickin'

The pig pit.

Friends of ours actually roasted a whole pig in their backyard in late August. The process took more than a day and the result was juicy, delicious pulled pork. We enjoyed a fun afternoon with great food and friends. More photos below.

Salmon Under Fur Coat

Over the summer a friend of ours from Russia brought the above dish as a contribution to our BBQ. Traditionally, it's "Selyodka Pod Shuboy" or "herring under fur coat". However, in this case our friend thought the American palate would be better pleased by "smoked salmon under fur coat". It was delicious, with carrots, potatoes, beets and mayo making this a superb summer salad. Try this recipe to make it yourself.

Making Sushi at Home

Salmon/avocado and tuna/cucumber rolls + inari tofu pockets stuffed with rice.

I recently made some pretty decent sushi. The best place to buy ingredients as well as fresh fish appropriate for sushi making is at the Buford Highway Farmer's Market where you can get a large portion of sushi-ready raw fish at a low price. However, this time fish from the sushi bar at Whole Foods had to do. Delicious and not as hard to make as I thought!

Chef Amy.



Close up of the sushi - also made some spicy sauce with mayo and Sriracha - yum!

Guy T. Gunter & Associates Highlights Amy on Food

Guy T. Gunter & Associates recently featured Amy on Food on their blog! Guy T. Gunter & Associates are purveyors of fine appliances and have been around since 1952. To see their website click here. Thanks for the post!

The SpongeBob Cake

The finished product - homemade for sure but there's no doubt who this is!

My favorite 8 year old requested a SpongeBob cake this year so I thought it time to try some amateur cake decorating. I used red hots as part of the shirt and cookie icing on top of homemade lemon frosting for the design. It's not the most beautiful design but it was really tasty and most importantly, the birthday girl loved it. Always fun to try something new!

A work in progress. I had to print out a photo of Bob so I could draw him on the cake! It was yellow cake with lemon frosting. I used a new recipe for the cake and it turned out moist and tasty.

Mexican Night with Homemade Salsa and Homemade Nachos

Homemade restaurant style salsa from The Pioneer Woman.

Served with corn tortillas, sauteed chicken and onions with avocado and sour cream. Oven baked nachos round out this delicious meal. For the oven baked nachos, spread large chips on a cookie sheet, spoon a small amount of salsa on each chip, followed by a bit of shredded cheese. Top with a jalepeno slice if desired. Then bake at 425 for 5-8 minutes until melted.

Pig of the Month Club

Baby Back Ribs and Pulled Pork.

The folks at Pig of the Month were nice enough to send me the above samples. They came packed in dry ice and kept fine for a few days in my refrigerator. I wanted to make a proper meal to go with this delicious meat so I opted to make a simple homemade sweet cornbread along with my grandma's slaw and okra, corn and tomatoes. The results were extremely satisfying and the Pig of the Month items held their own. I particularly liked the pulled pork, but the ribs, (I sampled Key West style) were also really delicious. This would make a neat gift (wedding present?!) for those who would like to give a gift that lasts all year.

Pulled Pork from "Pig of the Month" with homemade cornbread, cole slaw and okra, corn & tomatoes.

OK - Finally into 2011

New Year's Day feast: black-eyed peas, collard greens and cornbread. See the giant smoked chicken wing in the corner?

Although it's pathetically late, I am excited to report that the blog has officially made it to 2011 material, starting with the New Year's day traditional meal I cooked up for the family. Everything was pretty good considering it was my first time cooking greens and black eyed peas. I made some honey butter to go with the cornbread and it was delicious! I plan on catching up fast so get ready for many more posts ahead.

Pizza and Gingerbread - what could be better?

Ready to go into the oven!
One of our favorite family traditions is pizza making. We've gotten better at it over the past couple of years and the toppings only get more creative each time! One day we decorated a gingerbread house and made pizza - quite a fun day! The pizza was extremely tasty also and it made it from board to stone without getting too messy. The trick is LOTS of cornmeal - both in the dough and on the board. Having two people move the pizza from the board to the hot stone helps a great deal as well. Practice makes perfect I suppose! The dough from Your DeKalb Farmer's Market is our favorite - they have lots of tasty topping options too - check out the cheese section!

Gingerbread house decorating - what fun!

After cooking on the hot pizza stone - so delicious!

San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition

On Monday I was thrilled and honored to be asked to judge the San Pellegrino Almost Famous Chef Competition's Southeast Regions event, held at Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts in Tucker, Georgia. I, along with four awesome Atlanta chefs, watched the eight culinary students from across the Southeast prepare their signature dishes. We tasted each one and had the opportunity to ask questions of the culinary student who created each dish. The winner, Elizabeth Freer, pictured above, cooked "Rabbit Two Ways: Sweet Braised Rabbit Ravioli with a Pecan and Spice Encrusted Tenderloin". It was delicious - especially the ravioli. Other highlights: Stuffed Pork Tenderloin with Mole Scented Demi and Wasabi/Beet mashed potatoes! Sweet tea polenta also made an appearance - very creative. The other judges were: Shaun Doty of Yeah Burger (and the now closed Shaun's), Hugh Acheson of Five and Ten, The National (both in Athens) and Empire State South, Jay Swift of 4th and Swift and Ford Fry of JCT Kitchen. It was a really fun event and actually an unexpected surprise that I was included as one of the judges. Elizabeth, along with the other regional winners, gets to go to Napa Valley for the finals. Good luck Elizabeth!

Mexican Night - Home Cooking

Grass-fed ground beef tacos with oven toasted nachos.

So I know you probably think I never cook - but I do, I just usually forget about taking photos until it's too late! I recently decided to make a full-on Mexican meal at home and it turned out great. I'm so glad they sell decent corn tortillas now in most of the regular grocery stores. Sometimes you have to hunt for them as they are not with the rest of the Mexican items. Here is how I make nachos:

Preheat oven to 425
1. Spread large tortilla chips on a baking sheet.
2. Spoon a small amount of salsa on each chip.
3. Sprinkle cheese - I usually use either cheddar or Mexican mix - on top of the salsa.
4. Place a picked jalepeno slice on top of the cheese (optional).
5. Bake for 5 - 7 minutes, remove and serve as soon as possible.

I also toast the tortillas with cheese before putting in the remainder of the fillings. Yum!

The setup with all the accompaniments - the avocado really makes it better!

More Pizza Making Fun!

Double duty pizza - dinner and dessert!

We've been experimenting with pizza making more lately, including this lovely pie with proscuitto, goat cheese mozzarella, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and cilantro on the left and sweet potato butter, mild goat cheese and cinnamon-sugar spiced apple slices on the right. The sweet potato butter and mild goat cheese came from our CSA share, which I'm really missing now that the season is over. The sweet side of the pizza made for a great dessert and an interesting change from the norm. We generously mix in cornmeal with the Trader Joe's pizza dough to make it roll out better.

Gazpacho-fest

Gazpacho with avocado and tomato to sprinkle on top.

Last week I decided to make homemade gazpacho for my UUCA covenant group. Luckily I got tomatoes in my CSA last week so it worked out perfectly! I looked at several recipes before making it, but I really just threw ingredients together in the blender and continued adding spices, salt and pepper until I liked the taste. I used habenero hot sauce as well as sherry wine vinegar to add to the spice. For serving, my guests poured olive oil over the soup and sprinkled in diced avocado and tomato. Everyone brought something to share so we also had great cheese and bread, potato salad, sangria and blueberry cobbler. Yum! I would definitely make this gazpacho again.

Gazpacho in process.

Secret Ingredient - Sour Cream in Pasta Sauce

Trader Joe's Lemon Pepper pasta with spicy mushroom eggplant sour cream sauce.

I started out thinking I would make a stir-fry. Then I remembered I had Trader Joe's lemon pepper pappardelle so I decided to make an olive oil sauce. After sauteing the mushrooms, eggplant, onion and garlic and adding spices, butter and olive oil, the dish looked like it would be so good with some cream. While I didn't have any regular heavy cream, I noticed there was a small container of sour cream left over from our last nacho-fest. Hmmm... will this work?! I started off adding just a bit of sour cream and after tasting it to ensure that it wasn't ruining the dish, I added in the rest (probably about 1/2 cup total). This turned out to be a great dish, mostly because of the sour cream and the terrific pasta - another winner from TJ's.

The sauce in formation.