Help The Gothic Gourmet and donate for fresh products!

Dear readers, I have some wonderful items up for grabs for mere donations.

Remember when I told you that I was pressure canning items? Well, I have up for grabs (pictures enclosed) Spiced Blueberry Jam (made with fresh ground nutmeg and a few secret ingredients).

Strawberry preserves. (Can someone say YUM?) Perfect on hot rolls, toast, pancakes, and just about everything. PB&J sandwiches are also a favorite here at the Gothic Gourmet's household. Almost out of stock. Donate now to grab your own jar.

1/2 pint is up for a $7.00 donation. ` pint is up for a 9.00 donation. (I have dogs to feed) sigh. But seriously, it's good stuff and you will want more. :D

Also up for grabs are My most famous wonderful dilly hot pickles! I don't know about you, but when I was a kid, I simply loved to get a pickle out the big jar at the market that My Grandfather took Me to. In fact, I can never pass up a Kosher dill pickle, a pickle hot, mild, sour or whatever! I have to have one. ;)

I have quarts of Kosher Dills/HOT or Mild up for donations of 9.00 USD. Yes, sounds expensive but they are WORTH the money. FRESH local quality ingredients were used and rest assured that anything that you 'donate' for has been perfectly pressurized under USDA guidelines with a NEW pressure caner. I don't necessarily 'trust' water baths for jams etc. so I pressurize everything to be on the safe side. I wouldn't have you eat anything I wouldn't eat Myself.

Also up for donations are (only have a couple left) Ham And Bean Soup 1 Quart. Lovingly made all day long with smoked bacon, smoked ham, soaked beans, fresh broth, etc. etc. I can't let you know everything I put in there or it wouldn't be a secret anymore. :D

I have 3 Quarts left and they are up for a donation of 9.00 a Quart. Fine fine ingredients went into this batch including fresh herbs, fresh ground spices and special salts and fresh ground pepper. OUT OF STOCK.

Also up for donation is My fresh local pitted cherries. I pitted them Myself and yes, I do wear gloves and everything is perfectly sanitary and sterilized. (I have to add that because I always wonder where things come from and who makes them and how sterile are people?) I have OCD so I really go over and over what I do and make sure it's right.

One Quart of cherries are for an 8.00 donation. Think of the perfect pies you can make! I will even include My famous cherry pie recipe to go along with each Quart.

Another item up for donation is My peachy keen peaches in heavy syrup. I did of course, blanch and shock the peaches, peel them pit them, cut them and lovingly can them in Quart Ball jars. I purchased the peaches locally and made sure they were of excellent quality. I ate a bunch Myself. Yum! Perfect for peach pie, peach cobbler or simply to eat fresh out of the jar. A $9.00 donation is asked for these fine fine peaches. I will also of course, include My famous peach Pie recipe with each Quart and a recipe for the peach cobbler My hubby begs for. :D

Now for you hotties, I have up for donation My special super secret cha cha cha salsa. This salsa has just a hint of heat but certainly not enough to burn your tongue. I do however, have My super Cha Cha Cha green tomato and Tomatillo salsa. This batch packs some neat heat. It's nice and slowly builds up to a nice heat. I put fresh local habanero and Jalapeno, peppers into this batch along with some fresh hand ground spices, fresh shucked sweet corn, specialty salt, and excellent local made vinegar. (Not your typical cider vinegar either. This one is super secret and super delicious! This vinegar aged in barrels was also put into My 'milder' salsa. 1/2 pint is up for a donation of 6.00 one pint is up for a donation of 9.00 and I have ONE quart left of My zesty cha cha cha salsa (milder) up for a donation of 14.00.

These salsa's are wonderful with lime corn chips, regular corn chips, topped on eggs, on burritos, or any application that you want a little 'zing a ling'. Get your cha cha cha salsa while the getting is good. Almost gone.

Also up for grabs are My homemade bath salt scrubs. Ladies and men folk alike are sure to enjoy this luxury salt scrub. Made with fresh key limes, key lime zest, dead sea salt, and the finest of oils (imported from abroad) you are sure to have the finest of bath experiences. No parabens, no artificial ingredients,and NOT tested on animals. What more could you ask for? Oh, OK how about each jar is handmade (not in a large batch but each jar you get is made personally for YOU). :-)

Hand zested key limes, hand squeezed key lime juice and extracted imported fine oils and salts. Nothing is better and I stand behind this product. I make it when ordered. I use it Myself and I must confess, dying or not, I have beautiful skin.

8 OZ. for a donation of 15.00
16 OZ. for a donation of 20.00
20 OZ. for a donation of 28.00

Worth it's weight! Your skin will be silky smooth and oh so soft.


Thank you thank you thank you and enjoy! Each item is homemade under strict sterile guidelines and sure to please the picky.

Well dear readers, it is so very early in the morning and I need sleep. Until We meet again (in virtual ink that is), keep living, laughing, loving and of course cooking!

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.

Tarte Tatin!

As I type this, 'Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef' plays in the background. Ann is making braised chicken with mushrooms, bacon and pureed almonds, and chocolate-covered profiteroles. I have no idea what profiteroles are but I am soon to be informed.

Speaking of cooking, it isn't too hot today so I feel that I can at the very least use the top range and boil some Perogies and then pan fry them with butter. A dollop of sour cream (okay a LOT of sour cream as I am a sour cream junkie) and a few fresh cut chives and we are in business. I have these apples that My husband bought from one of My favorite local farmers (his name is Phil) but I digress. Back to the apples I have. I need to use them and I just got this most wonderful awesome Tarte Tatin pan. The neat factor is that it is a dish and a serving dish as well. Basically once you flip your Tatin you have a cover for it. I got it on sale at Williams-Sonoma. for a real steal. No, of course dear readers I did not 'steal it' per say, but I got it at an incredible price. They even put the quite hefty pan in a nice 'green safe' bag. I can reuse it every time I go back to Williams-Sonoma. :-)

I also got a super sized bottle of 'FINE FINE FINE' vanilla. I ask you this dear reader, can anyone have enough vanilla? I don't think so. I have vanilla beans, vanilla paste, different varieties of vanilla from different regions/Countries. Different strengths, etc. etc. etc. I LOVE vanilla. Whenever I make something that calls for Vanilla beans I get all excited because I like to scrape them out. Amazing how many seeds are in each pod eh? I then use the bean itself for vanilla sugar. Simply add your used beans to your jar of sugar and voila 'vanilla sugar'!

If I had the money I would have purchased a few more items that I truly need for My baking. The vanilla (actually might not seem like a big cost to most people) but for Me? It was expensive and I had to save up for it. I actually went there for that and that alone and ended up getting the Tarte Tatin pan because it was like only a few dollars. Still, even those few dollars could have been spent on something else but it was fun to purchase and I feel normal when I get to go shopping even if it's only for something small.

Funny how when you become poor/broke you appreciate everything. You simply don't think about things like..oh say 'I am going to go buy a hot dog and some french fries' and not bat an eyelash. Now? Now I can't simply go 'buy a hot dog and fries' without seriously thinking about it and how much I really 'want it'. There is a difference between 'wants' and 'needs'.

You all know who you are if you are in My position. Anyway, back to the topic at hand. (Wait, I have to take the water out of the stand up air conditioner I have here in My apartment as our windows won't allow Us to put in a window unit. Sigh. I have the empty out the water quite often) and hobbling over to the restroom isn't much fun either. I know, quit whining Gothic Gourmet! OK, I will.

Alright, that is done and I'm back. I'm sure you were all just waiting on bated breath to hear from Me again. Too see My incredible virtual ink right? I'll suppress My laughter for now and simply smirk.

I'm doing it again, going off the beaten path and rambling about things that I did not intend to talk about while totally forgetting about the real topic. Sigh. I do that a lot don't I? Forgive Me please. Please?

Do you have any neat Tatin recipe's? Please share them if you do! :-)
I'll let you know how this Tarte Tatin ceramic piece works out. It looks lovely. It is red which is My main color in the kitchen (that and stainless steel). Anyway, apple Tatin tomorrow or tonight depending on how I feel and I hope you enjoy the photos. Until I virtual ink again in to this big black hole, keep living, loving laughing and most of all cooking while doing all of those things. :-)

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.

A confession..

Hello dear readers (reader) nobody? I really need some help here. I have been looking around on the web at other folks blogs and see how well put together they are and then I look at Mine. Yikes!

As I type this, Iron Chef America blast in the background. Its battle banana tonight which is very interesting and fun on account that I enjoy bananas so very much. Potassium My friends which, unfortunately I lack a great deal of naturally. Back to My original point, My blog. Well, I have been searching on the internet looking for ways to beef it up and make it look nicer. Hey, I might not have too very much to say right now that interest anyone of importance but I could at the very least 'make the blog look interesting enough to read'. Any feedback and help in that area would be greatly appreciated.

I actually have so much to share with you all. Things that you would actually find very interesting but for now I have to keep mum about it for fear of rocking the proverbial 'danger boat'. You just wait though. You'll write your friends about it. (Okay, maybe not) but I'll write My friends about it when I make some that is. :-) Hey now, just kidding for those of you who really are My friends. (I can count them on one hand) but you know who you all are.

Again, any help in web layout/design would be great. My Father is a computer programmer but the last thing he wants to do when he gets off work is 'work some more'. Can you blame him? I can't wait to try some of My homemade pickles. I made mostly canned Kosher Dills with a bit of them mighty spicy the others with more of an old world traditional style. I added some lemon slices/wedges into a couple of the jars as well to see how that would work out. Maybe the extra acidity will add a more sour flavor or maybe I'll end up with a lemony pickle which would suit Me just fine. I may have made mention before that I adore lemons and limes above all other food items in the world. I love the sour, I love the acid, I love the smell. The zest is the best! Cleaning with citrus is nice too and I even decorate My windows with lined up lemons for a bright fun, cheery look.

Anyway, back Iron Chef America's battle banana. Bobby Flay, once again is being challenged. I note quite often that he seems to be the most challenged of Iron Chefs. What a difficult job that must be to hold. My husband nearly peed himself because he saw one of the challengers Chef's slice plantains with a mandolin and her fingers were really really close to that blade. I wince when I see things like that too. I mean, hey even the most seasoned of Chefs make culinary cuts so deep that it sends them to the hospital. I recall the episode of 'Chefography' which featured Iron Chef Bobby Flay in Japan. Oh My what a mess that was. Poor Mr. Flay just wasn't having a good go at it as he nearly cut his finger or or thumb (think it was his thumb) off with a food processing blade. To add insult to injury, he got electrocuted as there was water on the floor and next thing you know, ZAP! The final salt in the wound was when he stood up on the table (onto a cutting board I believe) and held his hands up high. A moment of triumph, or was it? For Me it was, I was impressed that he kept going even after all the injuries and lack of home support in another Country. He was really beaten down by Iron Chef Japan's Masaharu Morimoto who scolded him for standing on something used for cooking (a cutting board) as The Japanese see food utensils/etc. as sacred. Mr. Flay of course, was unaware of this as was I. I mean how would you know that unless you were told prior to coming to the Country?

In any event, Flay lost but was invited back for another battle in which he won! He moved the cutting board and stood back up on the counter victorious! To this day, Flay and Morimoto are very good friends and frequent each others restaurants. You really should catch that episode of 'Chefography' if you can as it was so interesting. In any event I'm off to go look for other ideas on the web to beef up My site (even if it is just Me reading it) any job you do should be a job well done (no, I take that back) an EXCELLENT and EXCEPTIONAL job.

If you see any interesting changes it is only because I found some help from one of you or from another random faceless stranger on the www.

Until then, keep living, laughing, loving, and most of all, cooking!
As always, The Gothic Gourmet.

Operation Meltdown Is Under Way...

Have you ever misread your own directions/instructions that you have handwritten? This could be a recipe you have used plenty of times (or maybe not) that has always worked out beautifully and bingo, you take a wrong turn and end up with either 1 of three things. 1) You end up with a pleasant mistake. These are called happy mistakes because your recipe has been improved or changed in a way that changed the whole molecular structure of the dish into something amazing, a discovery even. Case in point, I read once about a lady that baked the most wonderful cranberry muffins. She had made them a million times over and next thing you know, she took a wrong turn and forgot to put the sugar in her mix/batter first and ended up throwing it in at the last minute to try and salvage the batter. What happened next was pretty neat. She ended up with a yummier muffin that was moist on the inside and a little bit crisp (caramelized) on the outside. A textural change that worked out for the better and now she makes them the new way all the time.

2) You end up with something salvageable and close to your original recipe (enough that your family knows what it is and what you were trying to accomplish). Something edible but not quite up to your standards. This is called a salvageable mistake. Something you will not toss into the bin.

3) You end up with a total utter flop that you wouldn't even attempt to salvage and toss it into the bin, and afterward slowly slide your body down the side of the kitchen wall until you are sitting on the floor with your hands on your head and tears in your eyes. Every Chef/cook has done it (I think) well, I hope because I would feel pretty stupid if only a few people made culinary mistakes and that I would have to include Myself in that list of 'only a few people'.
However, I really don't think that is the case. Everyone has had some kind of flub up. The thing to remember is to pick yourself back up and try again. It is painful when it was a recipe that took all day to make or when you saved up all your pennies to purchase expensive ingredients to use in the flub up. Yep, that sure does hurt. Sometimes though, even if your mistake took you all day to make you might end up at the very least not too far in the gutter if say, you were making something like I made yesterday. Bread. Flour isn't too very expensive and yeast won't break your bank either. A bit of sugar, salt, butter and milk won't necessarily bankrupt you but still, wasted money is wasted money and nobody likes that. NOBODY. That is unless you are Mr. Rockefeller and have so much money that you light your cigars with hundred dollar bills that is.

Sigh, if only. Nope, just a poor dying servant slave to food and the pure joy of cooking/creating and painting/decorating plates. Sauces, this is something I really want to specialize in and I need to start experimenting. There is nothing like a lovely sauce to go over/on a dish or to simply garnish/decorate a lovely plate of food. Quite elegant indeed. You sort of feel like Picasso with a paint brush in hand and the pallet being that of your plate. In any event, there I go again, going off the beaten path and totally talking about something completely different than what I set out to do in the first place.

I just know this blog is nothing but a giant black hole in the Universe. Nobody reads it (maybe My Dad does) I hope he does as I have showed it to him before. Nobody comments on it. Maybe I can just treat this like My daily diary and include other things about My not so interesting life along with My recipes and food pictorials? That way, when I do expire, My husband and or any friends I may have had will have something to read and remember Me by.

Back to My flop/bread mistake of yesterday. Dang nab it! It took Me so long to go through the making of the yeast roll process and I flubbed it up with ONE yes (that is all it takes is one) mistake. I also noticed that a tool I use for kneading My dough has mysteriously gone missing in action. It was a red sturdy plastic scraper (like the paint scraper tools/metal scraper tools) that you could buy at a hardware store, only this one was made specifically for the kitchen to be used in a variety of applications (including that of kneading dough). Gone. Maybe someone could donate one to Me (hint hint) and send it over through the mail if they have a spare one that they aren't using. Okay, enough shameful begging for now right? Right.

Okay, I promise this time that I am going to tell you about My bread debacle of yesterday. I added DOUBLE the amount of melted butter that I needed for the recipe. Of course, I found this out after I had already mixed all the wet ingredients together and more than half of the flour. This means: I needed more milk, another egg perhaps, more salt, more sugar, more more more of everything as the extra butter totally screwed Me up big time. The dough did rise and I did have a good amount of dough (more dough than normal) so I could at least make the rolls larger. I figured if I did that, I could compensate for them not being as 'heavy' as they should have been. Heavy isn't even the right word. SOLID and firm would be more adequate words to describe how the dough should have been. Nope, when I started kneading it again and pinching off the pieces to make the rolls I knew something was wrong. I punched down the dough as normal but noticed that it wasn't as silky and heavy as that of My previous roll dough. I tried My best to make nice spheres and even knead each one of those to make it silky smooth and perfectly round but it had these little pot marks on them. I stuffed each muffin tin with a large amount of dough and let them rise for the second time. Again, they looked almost perfect. Almost as they should have been but they just weren't 'as solid' as they should have been. When lifting up the muffin pans they weren't as heavy or hard to lift as before. You get the gist of it.

Well, I baked them and the aroma was lovely just as you would expect from a perfect yeast roll. I peeked inside the oven and they were browning nicely, just as you would expect them to. Some were so large that the dough was hanging over parts of the muffin pans. After taking them out of the oven and putting them onto a cooling rack and took one out of the tin and onto a plate to cool more quickly so I could give it a taste. I immediately noticed the pot marks on the tops of the rolls (not smooth and perfect as they should have looked). I also immediately noticed that these rolls were light and sort of 'fluffy'. They weren't the solid stick to your ribs type rolls as I had made before. :-(

Still, they tasted just fine and We took them to a dinner party that friends of ours were throwing to serve along with the dinner they made and everyone loved them. They were actually thrilled that I brought them because they had forgotten to buy bread to serve along with the meal and now that problem was solved. My friend Julies son seemed to like them and wanted to put a piece of cheese inside one (Velveeta cheese) as I recall. Sounded good to Me too. I love hot cheese sandwiches or any type of cheese filled bread/dough. There used to be this lovely little place down the road from where We live called 'The Kolache Factory' that had tons of lovely filled breads. My Father and I simply loved that place and would frequent it quite often and bring home boxes of their wonderful Kolache's (or would that be Kolachies)? In any event, as it were, I would love to make some of those sometime soon. It is so hot as of late though that heating up the oven (even the new energy efficient oven I purchased) can be brutal so I don't do it very often at all. The range is fine and doesn't make the house heat up like that of the lower level part of the oven. You can put any type of filling from savory to sweet inside Kolaches. It was a nice chewy yeast dough like the one I use for My rolls. I especially liked the broccoli cheese and rice filled ones along with the spicy Jalapeno sausage filled Kolaches. Ham and cheese filled Kolaches were always a big winner with Me as well. I tried a few sweet ones a few times in the AM but this was because they were on special or something and not because I went there for anything sweet in nature. NOW, the breakfast Kolaches were super awesome. Egg and cheese filled, omelet filled with green peppers. YUM. I also liked the steak and cheese filled ones and of course, the Barbecue filled Kolaches.

I am hungry again. Back to the rolls. For some reason I cannot keep My mind on one topic at a time today. We ate them and they were good but they weren't 'excellent'. Time to get back on the horse again I suppose.

Until then, keep living, laughing, loving and most of all, cooking!
As always, The Gothic Gourmet.

A few photos of past projects...

Okay, so here We have a few past food projects. Lemon Meringue pie, Shepherds Pie, homemade Sushi (I actually have a couple better pictures of that and will include them later.
Next We have homemade chocolate cake with homemade chocolate butter cream frosting, Beef Wellington, plated Beef Wellington, wrapped homemade Fleur de sel caramels, and part of the caramel making process along with homemade bread.

I am getting hungry and want to make some lemon pie (which is My husbands favorite pie in the whole wide world) BUT he also loves My yeast rolls and actually, We ate every single one of them. Pair that with some homemade spiced blueberry jam (thank you Mr. Alton Brown from The Food Network) and boy howdy that's 'Good Eats'.
Looks like I'm going to be busy and I'm procrastinating right now so I had better move it on along. Until then, keep living, loving, laughing and of course, COOKING! :-)

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.

Maybe man can live on bread alone? Well, throw in a bottle of water and he can.

I am in the mood for more 'Lamberts' now 'Eve's' rolls. It sure takes a long time to make them though but it's so worth the effort. I suppose if I get My rear end upstairs after this blog entry that I may have enough time to get them done before the hubby gets home from work, and really, what makes a home smell better than the aroma of freshly baked bread? Nothing that I can think of aside from a nice scented candle or some homemade cookies baking.

Speaking of, I better get up there and make sure I have My recipe written down which also reminds Me to keep writing My cookbook. I have a groovy cookbook upstairs that you make your own entries in. I suppose I could make a virtual cookbook as well but then I run the risk of some glitch happening and losing all My valuable entries. Well, I guess I could put the recipes on the computer and then back them up on disk so I will have a copy in case something happens to the written cookbook I'm working on.

Well dear readers (you are out there aren't you?) It's time to make bread/rolls. Yes yes, I'll bring a camera upstairs. (Maybe).

Until then, take care, keep cooking, living, laughing and loving.
As always, The Gothic Gourmet.

Hmm. The Julie/Julia project.

The Julie/Julia Project

What can I say? I saw the movie and fell in love...only because I too have been a fan of Julia Child for years. Just yesterday I watched her show (hosted by Polaroid) on making 'French bread'. I had to laugh in spite of Myself because she had so many flub ups and they were all captured on film. Priceless! So funny too that 'Polaroid' was helping to host the show. STRIKE A POSE!

If you are familiar with the French bread making episode, you will recall that Julia had a paint scraper in which she was kneading her dough with. One lump of dough was totally overworked, the other was perfect. As it were, she took her paint scraper and was kneading her dough when she all of the sudden uhhh, I don't know what she did but the paint scraper went flying across her kitchen and the look on her face was PRICELESS! She laughed and said basically that 'this is not what you do'.

Anyway, I thought wow, I am a day late and a dollar short...sure I have no project such as 'Julie' had. No time line (aside that I don't know how much time I have left) but one thing I noted in the film about Julia Child was that... I watched her making hats at the like and the look on her face was something I saw in My own mirror. Discontent. Well, I don't even know if I can truly say that. I am looking for the words but coming up short.

Lets see. I worked for Dior. I truly did enjoy that job and I was wonderful at it but all though I did exceptionally well and won many awards and kudos..I had that same look that Julia (well not the real Julia) had on her face in the film.

Next I became a Flight Attendant and I truly can't complain too much about that job because even with it's horrible time lines/ lack of sleep, jet lag, etc. etc. etc. (Not knowing what nuts you were going to end up on an aircraft with for 4 or more days TRAPPED LIKE A RAT IN A CAGE..it was still groovy cool most times. Sure the flight bags were heavy to tote around, the people were arrogant and mean in First Class many times but still there were great people, great times and great places that I had the grand opportunity to visit. I have been EVERYWHERE on this planet (well almost) and for that I am thankful. I had to give up a lot for it, but in the end I still smile when I think about the places I have ventured into.

Heck, I could write a whole blog about the places I have been, people I have met, people on the planes and crazy things that have happened in the air. Mechanical failures, near misses. Near death.

FUN! (Not really) but interesting at least.

I finally (like Julia) found My 'thang' in cooking. I truly did find the joy of cooking. It is still a joy each and every day that I am spared a second longer on this planet. A true joy indeed.

I have asked My husband to buy Me 'The Joy Of Cooking' cookbook as I must readily admit, I have not read to this very day.

I hope I have enough time left to get through it. Anyway, I basically wanted to check in with this big black hole of nothing..this great void.. this meaningless virtual ink..that nobody is reading. It's OK though because, this blog helps Me even if it isn't doing what I initially intended it to. (Help others). Maybe..just maybe someone will happen upon it and like it. Maybe..just maybe I will find something worth a damn to talk about that interest other people. I am My own biggest fan and that is okay too I suppose but still, We all want to leave some sort of mark before We kick the bucket don't We? I do.

In any event, I'll hopefully see you all soon (whoever you are or whoever you aren't.) Perhaps a fig newton of My imagination. However, imagination is important in our survival don't you think? Without it, dreams cannot be created much less achieved.

I miss My dad. I wish We were still close and yes, I know this has nothing to do with cooking or this silly old blog. If anyone has any ideas on how to get closer to him again I am at least open to advice.

Until then, keep living, laughing and loving, and most importantly creating and cooking!
As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.

I Love Luca Pizza's Stuffed Pepperoni Breadsticks!

Luca Pizza has the most amazing, addictive, yummy, chewy, doughy put a smile on your face stuffed pepperoni bread sticks. I have only had them from one other pizza joint that made them (before they went belly up and closed down) that even came close to that of Luca's stuffed bread sticks.

The cheese sauce is divine as well and has just enough spice to let you know its there. Nothing too hot mind you, just a nice spice.

The cost of 4 of these spectacular bread sticks with one cheese sauce is $3.65

Now, I hate to be a stickler (for the taste alone it is worth the price) but with this economy the way it is now, and with what little money I have, I simply cannot afford to splurge on such luxuries very often. The reason I ever do splurge is if I have been extra thrifty with My money and if I am not feeling well enough to go through the labor intensive process of making them Myself. Sometimes We have to pay for convenience and as a baker/novice Chef Myself I can sure understand that. When I sell products I do add a charge for My time. What that cost is depends on how much labor/time I put into the item being sold. I really haven't sold anything just yet but I have made up a suggested price list and if I ever do sell anything I will let you know how it went.

Not to verge off the beaten path, but I once read an article about having a successful bake sale. One of the main things mentioned aside from having a good variety of products was this: Make a suggested list of prices for each item and ask for donations. Sure you will get some crummy people who will offer you a penny for an item and gladly take that brownie that cost you around 2 or more dollars in ingredients per bar alone. However, the article stated that people that are kind and generous far outweigh those who are cheap and just looking for a handout. Some people they said, would even offer you 20.00 depending on your circumstances or charity event etc.

I think I may try that. Sure, it could bite Me in the rear, but maybe, just maybe I will make it out ahead. (Profit vs/money spent on ingredients).

Another thing that the article mentioned was to offer gift certificates for a homemade meal when the person buying said gift certificate wants it. This would include a main course, perhaps a salad/soup and a dessert item. The cost of each certificate would be 50.00. You could have a list of suggested menus and the client could choose which one they preferred best. Now, for the spendy type client with more coin in his or her pocket, you could offer up a 200.00 gift certificate for a 'gourmet meal'. I have ideas on what menu items to offer including a lovely appetizer list, wine, cheese, or soup and salad (a nice gourmet salad with homemade gourmet dressing of choice) along with main course items such as 'Beef Wellington'. I make a real nice one too. I have pictures if you would like to see just ask. Heck, I may post the pictures anyway because I was very pleased with the way it came out. Now for dessert, I could offer a Creme Brulee (time consuming but oh so pleasing) whats more is I have a torch (nice effect for the guest at time of serving).

So many possibilities. I wish I could get Myself motivated and on the ball to do this as there isn't as much time as We would like to think there is and before you know it, time has passed Us by along with the opportunity to make our mark and shine.

I have a Chefs coat along with a Chefs tote (tall hat) that would look nice at the persons home for guest to see. Impressive eh? I think so.

In any event, as it were, I have really gone off the trail here and need to get back to talking about these bread sticks.

As I stated, I cannot often afford to splurge and eat out so I have to compensate by creating clones of the food items I enjoy. This often takes a lot of trial and error. Not 'failures' mind you, but not exactly what you may have been hoping for either which is an exact replica (as close as you can make it) of the dish you would normally have to pay for.

I did this with the Luca Pepperoni bread stick. I must say it is labor intensive (follow My pizza dough recipe in My prior blog entry) to prepare these tasty sticks of joy. You know, doesn't nearly everything nice take a lot of time? If it didn't, it probably wouldn't be as good would it? I feel that is an accurate statement.

After preparing your pizza dough and rolling it out on a floured surface, simply cut dough into strips about 2 inches wide and twelve or more inches long. Layer a row of fresh sliced pepperoni (or you can use the bagged kind that can be found in your local grocers deli department). After you have placed your desired amount of pepperoni in your row, simply take enough of your overlapping dough and seal over the row of pepperoni. Next roll it over ensuring that you have a nice solid roll and pinch the ends of both sides and tuck under the bread stick. Roll again until you have a nice smooth bread stick without any openings. If you desire, take your egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tbs. water and brush over your bread sticks for a nice shiny sheen. This is attractive and a step that I never skip. I do this on pies as well.

Place all your bread sticks close together on a non-stick baking/cookie sheet or line with parchment paper or spray down your aluminum foil with non-stick cooking spray and bake in a 425 to 450 F. degree oven until golden (or desired browning is achieved.)

Enjoy!

Below are pictures of My homemade pepperoni bread sticks. They taste just like if not even better than Luca Pizza's pepperoni bread sticks. HOWEVER, they take time and sometimes saving up to go purchase some already made is well worth the time saved in preparing these yourself. By the way, I phoned Luca Pizza tonight and found out that they have a happy hour (which is really a happy 1/2 hour) unless I misunderstood the times. Basically what this means is that at 9:30 (one 1/2 hour before they close) all items on their counter are 1/2 off. They would rather sell things half off than to give them away. Whatever is left over they give to their employees to take home. That's cool and makes Me want to work there but it would also be nice if they gave what they didn't sell to a local shelter of their choice. I am sure plenty of things get thrown in the trash can. I went there tonight and purchased some half off items and they had so many pepperoni bread sticks on hand that they were still unloading them out of the oven when I ordered. One of the gals behind the counter asked one of the guys there why there were so many bread sticks tonight? I didn't hear his answer but asked if I could get an even better deal if I purchased even more. (I already purchased 20 of them plus extra cheese sauces as well as two Calzones).

The gal didn't see why not because she said they would probably go in the trash can. You know maybe 60 or 70 percent off instead of just 50 percent. I would be putting more money back into the store right? She said the manager said no. Well, fine by Me. I sure wish they didn't throw those things away though. The manager could have made extra money for his store tonight plus could have fed several people at the same time but chose to be greedy and I decided not to purchase anything else.

Oh well. The bread sticks were good (as usual) and I had a good time eating them while relaxing on the sofa this evening with My hubby.

Well, it is time for Me to close as My eyes are starting to burn. I'll try and stop in real soon with some more recipes and any interesting food news that I hear about.

Until then, keep living, laughing, loving and cooking!
As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.

A few past projects with photos.

I have been thinking about past projects that were a sure fire hit and decided to include them in this blog for you
to review and possibly add a few comments/hints of your own for Me to try Myself.


















Food brings families together. Food brings people from all walks of life together. Everyone needs to eat so We can all as human beings understand food and our fascination with it.

The first past project is that of My world famous Calzones. (OK maybe not 'world' famous as not everyone in the world has tried it) but pretty famous around these parts with family and friends.

What is a Calzone? Well it is sort of like a pizza turnover. A pocket full of love, dough with fixin's inside etc. No matter what you name it or how you quite describe the Calzone, the possibilities are endless on what goes inside them.

Lets start with the dough (the MOST important) ingredient of all. Without a good canvass, an artist cannot create a perfect picture/or errr...meal. Now, first off I am going to offer a helpful hint which is this:

If you do NOT have the time to make a made from scratch pizza dough you find your favorite pizza joint and ask them for some fresh made dough balls. You would be surprised how inexpensive this can be and of course, time saving.

I Myself may not have a large family or children to contend with much less a job that takes Me out of the house so sometimes it can be quite easy to forget that not everyone has the time to do all the things I do on a regular basis.

I do know however, that time is not always on our side so do what you can to grab a few extra minutes for yourself. (Nobody will know you didn't make the dough yourself) unless that is, you tell them and quite frankly so what? At least you didn't buy some store bought dough in a can (I won't name any names) that taste like cardboard right? Nothing frozen right? Right!

I will include My pizza dough recipe that has taken quite a bit of trial and error over the years to perfect. With a bit of time and practice you will be on your way to being able to open your own pizzeria if you were so inclined to do so.

This project is family friendly. Have a contest on who makes the best Calzone. Make sure you have a wrapped present/prize waiting in the sidelines for the winner. If you are a parent, you could also maybe make the prize (no chores for such and such a time) or perhaps double your child's allowance for one week. Cooking brings families together and Mom, Dad, if you make things interesting and fun, you can keep your kids in the kitchen and at home instead of perhaps some unsavory places and out of trouble.

Certainly worth the effort and time don't you think?

Be sure to give your children some responsibility to let them know that their contributions count but be sure to keep the young ones away from sharp knives/objects and out of reach of a hot oven.

I have an idea if it works out for your family depending on the boy/girl count that is. How about a girls against the boys contest? The winning team could get a special treat say, oh the losing team making the desert and serving the winning team said desert of their choice? Sounds good to Me. Maybe a movie of the winning teams choice?

The possibilities are endless and you know what would work out for your family best so pick and choose your poison.

Now for the dough. Now keep in mind that dough is not just 'dough' every dough varies and you have to take into account the yeast factor, the kneading factor, rising, temps, how much flour? What type of flour? Oil? What type, olive or vegetable? Extra Virgin or what? Ahh you see, this is where things are a bit iffy. You have to try try and try again until you find a variable that works best for you and your family.

Do you like NY Style or Chicago (Oh My forbid forbid!) and I even lived in Chicago. But, I digress, what style do you like? Thick or thin? You are going to have to experiment and each time in the kitchen is a whole new experience isn't it? Have fun with this.

Now, with this recipe you aren't going to have a 'bad' pizza dough but you MUST experiment with it. Learn how to toss your dough back and forth between your hands. This took Me a whole lot of times to perfect and I still don't know that I can actually say that I have 'perfected' it but if you were to watch Me in the kitchen you would at the very least think I knew what the heck I was doing. ;)

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt. What go Kosher? I am not Jewish nor am I trying to keep the Sabbath or whatnot. Kosher salt is simply less 'salty' than that of table salt. It makes a big difference in baking especially that of bread products.

Roughly 3 or more cups of all purpose unbleached flour (divided).
One envelope of active dry yeast.
A wee bit of sugar say a teaspoon or more give or take.
one (1) cup of tepid water around 11o degrees F at least.
2 tbs. of EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil).

Preparation:

In a professional series KitchenAid heavy duty mixer (or a lesser brand) you know whatever you have that has a bit of oomph as far as mixers are concerned: add your tepid water, your yeast and your sugar for around 10 to fifteen minutes or until foamy and frothy.

Add half of your flour your salt and EVOO into the mixer and combine mixture until it is silky smooth and elastic with your 'paddle attachment'.

Next, put on that hook (dough hook) which should have been included with your super cool mixer. If you have a professional series like Mine, it will be metal but some are made of plastic. Makes no nevermind, it all works out in the end.

Make sure your mixer is on the very lowest speed and slowly add in the remaining flour a wee bit at a time (you don't want a super big mess in your kitchen and if you have the speed above a 2 you will get just that. Make sure everything is well incorporated.

Now it's safe to turn up the mixers speed and let the machine do the kneading for you for about 4 minutes. Talk about a muscle saver.

Your dough should be smooth now perhaps with a bit of 'stickiness'. This is OK and perfecto.

Take your dough out of your bowl and rub in a bit of EVOO (enough to coat the mixer bowl) and return the dough to the mixer bowl. Cover with Saran Wrap and put in a draft free warm area until dough is doubled in size. This could take an hour or longer depending on temps in your kitchen.

When dough is doubled in size, punch it down on a floured surface and knead for a bit and just leave it be for around ten minutes or more. (This process is called resting the dough) which helps the compounds build (gluten) and makes for a lovely dough.This also (according to Julia Child helps with the color.) I saw her make French bread once on her cooking show hosted by Polaroid and nearly busted a gut when her scraper went a flying. She just said something like 'Oh My' and laughed in her cynical way. I thought it was funny but I digress.

Now, where was I? Oh yes, cut your dough in half with a metal scraper or a pizza dough cutter if you prefer and let it rest a bit longer.

This is going to make two pizza's of medium size (or large depending on how you toss it out).

Now, don't get frustrated as this takes a bit of trial and error, but what I like to do is flour My hands and toss each dough ball (or if you want a super huge pizza don't even cut the dough in half but work it slowly but surely between your hands for a super sized pizza) how big is your oven though?

Anyway, flatten the dough into a circle and toss the dough ball back and forth between your floured hands. This can be quite fun and once you get the hang of it people will think you were born and raised in Italy. Mama Mia!

See that? The round is getting bigger with each toss from hand to hand, back and forth side to side. Now, you can be a bit brave if you have something beneath you to catch the dough in case you flub it up but toss it up in the air with your hands in fist so that you can catch the dough on your knuckles as it comes down. Why knuckles? If it were your fingertips you would surely risk the chance of tearing your lovely dough and nobody wants that! ;)

A fist toss toss fling! See how working that gluten makes for a lovely pie?

Place your homemade pizza sauce (or store bought if you must) on your pie and layer with the cheese/toppings of your choice. The sky is the limit here). We are making Calzones so I will get to a step by step guide on how to build the perfect Calzone in a wee bit. Read further but bare with Me for awhile.

I would suggest you use a pizza stone (can be purchased at any home/kitchen store) or even at larger grocery retailer stores. The stone gets quite hot and helps to crisp your crust.

If you don't have a pizza stone this is okay, just place your pizza on a baking sheet on the lowest rack of your preheated 475 degree F. oven.

Bake for 8 to ten minutes and keep checking it. You may want to take a spatula and lift up on your pizza to see how brown the crust is. Cook to your liking.

Take your pie out of the oven and let it sit for a minute or two (if you can wait that long) and cut with a pizza wheel/cutter into slices of your desired size. Eat immediately while hot and gooey.

Now, for the Calzones... (I am a bit tired so for now, not that anyone is reading this anyway) I will close and come back tomorrow (provided I have the opportunity to be alive that is) and share My pictorial step by step Calzone guide. Fool proof!
















Step 1.) Take a dough ball and work it on a floured surface to make it a flat thick circle and take that circle and pass it back and forth between your floured hands. The dough round will get bigger and easier to stretch with each pass. You can also toss this dough in the air and let it come down on your fist (not your fingers as this will tear the dough). Next, with a heavy rolling pin roll out your dough on a floured surface until you reach the size/diameter that you desire and make sure there are no air bubbles in your dough. You could also cut the dough with a pizza cutter into small sizes to make smaller sized Calzones.














Next take a Ricotta cheese mixture (My mixture follows but you could create your own) and spread on one side of the dough as thick as you like it.

Ricotta And Basil Cheese Filling:

1 Large container of Ricotta Cheese
1 Cup fresh shredded Parmesean Cheese
1 Egg beaten to bind mixture
Fresh Basil (as much as you desire)
Salt
Pepper.

In a food processor, combine all ingredients (beat your egg in a separate bowl first)
Pulse until smooth.
Finished!
















Step 3.) Lay a nice bed of fresh washed and dried Spinach on top of your cheese filling. If you do not care for spinach you can skip this step.

Step 4.) Layer fresh cleaned and dried mushrooms on top of your Spinach.

Step 5.) Layer fresh washed and sliced green bell peppers on top of your mushrooms.

Step 6.) Layer fresh cut black olives on top of your mushrooms.

Step 7.) Layer fresh banana peppers on top of
black olives.


Step 8.) Smother layers of fresh grated
Mozzarella cheese on top of your banana peppers.












Step 9.) Fold the clean side of dough over into a half moon shape and crimp the edges or
seal with a fork and make sure everything is closed up.

Step 10.) Mix one egg white with 1 Tbs. of water and brush your Calzone generously with your egg wash. If you plan to 'deep fry' your Calzone you do not need any vent holes, if you are baking, cut a few slashes on top to allow steam to escape during the baking process.

Step 11.) Bake in a preheated 550 degree oven on the lowest rack of your oven for around 8 to ten minutes and reduce your oven temp to around 450 degrees F. and move your Calzone up to the middle rack of your oven and continue baking for another 15 to 20 minutes. Check the color of your Calzone and lift the bottom with a spatula to make sure it isn't burning. If color starts to darken too quickly cover entire Calzone with aluminum foil and continue to bake while checking in on it ever so often.




When you are satisfied that it is finished to your liking, remove from oven and let it cool for at lest five minutes before slicing with a pizza wheel (This is called
resting). You can of course use any fillings that you like even meats.



















































Step 12.) ENJOY!

See you soon. Until then, keep cooking, keep living, keep smiling. Always make them wonder what you are up to. ;)

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet

Gifts that sing of home..

upcoming Holiday season I plan on giving the gift of 'good taste'.

Homemade salsa anyone? I thus far, have made two different salsa's that are sure to tickle the taste buds. One is a zesty salsa with just enough kick to make a slight 'zing' on the tongue but not too zesty to turn anyone off or away.
There is nothing like a homemade food gift. Lovingly prepared, beautifully packaged and kissed with good will.

The next is a green salsa that consist of (to name a few ingredients) green tomatoes, Asian sweet peppers, Serrano peppers (plenty of them too) Tomatillos, sweet onions, hot pepper flakes, fresh shucked sweet white corn, hot sauce, etc. etc. etc. to create a salsa that will linger but oh what a zinger! This IS a salsa to write home about not to mention, with all the green ingredients and hints of red, it sure is pretty to look at too. Sort of looks like Christmas.














Jam is always a welcome friend in any household. Who doesn't like jam? Fresh fruit in season boiled with sugar, spice and plenty of love are sure to make anyone with a heart smile. Pair jam with peanut butter (homemade if you have the time to make it) and what a lovely gift along side some homemade baked bread or yeast rolls. PB&J bring Us all back to our childhoods.



I was trying to think of a perfect gift basket and decided to include a variety of all the things I created and or canned this spring/summer season.

From homemade Kosher dill pickles to canned peaches and cherries, blueberry jam, strawberry jam, orange marmalade, salsa, corn, ham and bean soup, green olives, etc. etc. etc. a large gift basket should be sure to be a hit with any household.

So, now I have to start saving up and buying special ribbons, bows, baskets and fabrics to create perfect gift baskets for Christmas.

I have an idea to make bars in a jar which is basically dry ingredients along with a can of condensed milk and a set of instructions, a wooden spoon, perhaps a whisk or a bowl or both all tied up pretty with a bow. This way the person you gift it to can create their own 5 layer bars at home when it is most convenient for them.

Time fly's when you are having fun (and even when you aren't) so I better get a game plan ready and get to saving and get busy. I can't wait to see everyone's face when a large basket is gifted to them full of sweets, veggies and fruits. My pickles should be at full sour pucker flavor by the time the Holidays roll around..












I'll be sure to take photos of each basket I create and include tips and tricks so you can make your own baskets with your own flair and contents.

Until then, keep living, keep cooking and if you can stand the heat? Stay in the kitchen!

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet

Project Pasta coming along and some kudos for Chef Anne Burrell.

A word to the wise, never freeze pasta on paper plates without FIRST putting down plastic wrap on those plates. Learn from My mistakes and save yourself some time and energy.

I finished up most of My potato and cheese filled pasta/Perogies last night and placed them one by one on paper plates and covered them with plastic wrap for freezing so that I then in turn could put the Perogies into plastic Zip Lock freezer storage bags for easy use whenever I want a good homemade Perogie.

The Perogies stuck to the paper plates and I really had to work hard to remove them without tearing them. I did tear some and made some mends much like a doctor might make in an emergency room all though instead of sutures, I used water to repair the holes that I made in some of the Perogies while removing them.

Today I made more dough as I ran out last night without being able to make My meat and cheese filled Perogies. The dough is chilling now as I type this and I will fill several for dinner to boil along with My potato and cheese filled Perogies.

Fresh is best. I can't wait to pan fry them in butter until golden and crisp. My mouth is watering right now as I haven't eaten a thing today as of yet.

As it were, oh yes, Chef Anne Burrell. I love this lady! I am watching her show right now 'Secrets Of A Restaurant Chef'. Check her out on The Food Network. Today she is making pasta (one of her specialties) and a semifreddo. I really can't wait to try her fish and chips recipe. I wish that she were still on Comcast 'On Demand' but alas they made the huge mistake of taking her off the roster for some reason.

I did make her fresh chips (twice fried fries) and they came out beautifully. I froze some for future use (just add in the hot oil or bake them at 450 F. until heated through and crisp.

Potatoes are amazing and in the future I plan on writing an article about them. So cost friendly and always readily available, truly there isn't much you can't do with the wonderful amazing, stupendous potato. You can make dumplings with them, soup, mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, scalloped potatoes, and one of My favorites (potato pancakes) along with of course lovely crispy french fries.

Why spend all that money on fast food when you can make a far superior french fry? Yes, I understand that not everyone has time and people have jobs and are quite busy raising their children and living their lives. However, when you have a few free moments take the time and effort (which isn't really much effort at all) to make some homemade fries. You can make it a family project and have the children help (leave the hot oil to the adults along with the peeling) but they can bag and tag the fries or at least put them on a baking pan and season them. What fun!

You can truly teach your children how to stretch a dollar and have fun while doing it as well.

Okay, I am off to go start rolling out some of that Perogie dough and filling it with the meat mixture. Just a few for now until My hubby gets home and can help Me fill more (after dinner of course). I am sure that once he taste these beauties that he won't mind filling up a few for future eating. I am trying to figure out what to serve along side of these. Of course We will have fresh baked rolls but what veggie to use? Or should I make a homemade stuffing? OHHHHHHHHHH wait! I have some fresh Romaine lettuce in the refrigerator and hmmm perhaps a tomato in the crisper. I have plenty of cheeses to choose from including Feta, Parmesean, aged Gouda and sharp cheddar to name just a few. I can make a balsami vinaigrette or perhaps a simple lemon vinaigrette and toss in a few croutons for crunch and some bacon bits. Yes, for summer salad sounds fine and I do need to use this lettuce.

I go to a close by market called 'Phils market/produce' which is a small joint with flowers and fresh picked produce. You can really find some deals at times when they have an over abundance of product. I got some bananas which I made banana bread and muffins with at 5 yes FIVE pounds for a dollar. That is .20 cents per pound.

I have only found a cheaper price once before at Trader Joe's on the North side for .19 cents a pound but, when you tie in the cost of gas for the trip there from here? You really didn't save that much on bananas BUT you do get a lot of variety as far as groceries are concerned and whats more is that there is Penzley's spices in the same parking lot. I love Penzley's spices store. I will have to (while I am thinking about it) write an article on their store as well.

I also need to do a write up on a small owned shoppe called Artisano's in Indiana which is a small shoppe run by a gentlemen who is serious about Vinegars and oils as well as salts (I collect salt so I worship this guy) and hard to come by spices.

I once saved up and spent a great deal of money on some prized items from this store which I found on a lark after watching an episode of 'Good Eats' hosted by Alton Brown on The Food Network channel. I was looking for 'Grains Of Paradise' and called Penzley's spices only to find out that they did not carry it but, that Artisano's did. I phoned the number they provided Me which by the way was uber cool of them to do since I was going somewhere else to spend My beans.

After a lengthy jaunt to the North side My husband and I found this small little store which was quite homey and quaint in a small corner on the left hand side. You could miss this place if you weren't looking for it. I go inside and oh My goodness, heaven! There were barrels upon barrels of interesting and flavorful Vinegars with a tap on them and small plastic cups for sampling. There were also fine and interesting oils along the left side which to name only a few included Lemon EVOO lime, garlic, etc.

On the wall were spices on either side of the shoppe and My favorite, SALTS in several unusual clever flavors.

I purchased the Grains Of Paradise along with (much to My husbands dismay) several EVOO's and Vinegars. However, these items have proved to be quite handy and tasty in our household and very versatile as I have used them for marinating, brining, and salad dressings so incredibly wonderful that you could do back flips (if you were so inclined).

I bought 'Black Cherry, Pear, Peach, Black Current, and aged vinegars to name only a few. The salts I simply had to have all though I could not afford every one of them I did get a good many of them in small sized bags (they are weighed) so you can get as little as you need or more if you want to stock up.

My favorite salt that I purchased was the habanero salt which packs quite a kick. Very flavorful and versatile. I have used it in sauces, soups and to season meats such as chicken along with another great item I purchased there which was the 'Jamaican Jerk Seasoning'. My chicken breast were so flavorful that I could smack someone down with a sack of nickles.

I seasoned My chicken breast first with salt and pepper (a must for any meat) all though this time I used habenero salt in place of kosher salt but not too much, just enough. I then rubbed in the jerk spice and a bit of Splenda (as My Father is diabetic and cannot have regular sugar) and roasted in the oven along with some fresh garlic and lemon juice until done and tender.

I like to then cut up the meat into strips and use them on salads or just cold right out of the fridge as a no carb snack packed with protein. Put some mayo, fresh chopped celery, walnuts, grapes, celery salt and pepper along with a wee tad of lemon juice (and a couple My secret ingredients) and you have a chicken salad that puts others to shame. Put that chicken salad in a hollowed out tomato on a bed of bib lettuce or onto a croissant with lettuce and green tomato and boy howdy your lips might smack your face silly because it's so very good.

You can of course use a light mayo or even plain yogurt or sour cream as a low fat alternative but what fun is that? I know, I know some people have to watch their weight but man, every now and then have yourself a treat and splurge on something really good that is also pretty healthy for you too. Filled with vitamins minerals and protein you can eat something without having to feel too very guilty about it.

Well, I am soon off to go roll out that Perogie dough that I have been talking about but have found Myself procrastinating over.

I need to figure out what salad dressing to use as well. I do have some fresh corn cut off the cob that I can serve along side the dish which won't make Me feel overly weighted down on such a hot day. Corn is good anytime of the year. Sweet and crisp it's every food lovers friend. (I'll do a blog on corn one day too if I ever get around to it).

Until then dear readers, keep things spicy. Keep things cooking, and keep living with a smile on your face and love in your heart.

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.

Perogies project beat Me down!

Okay, I love a good project and I adore and I do mean adore food. I have a love affair with food. I have an affinity towards food however, I am sure tired after My Perogie project.

What are Perogies? The name alone is spelled three different ways but no matter how you spell it they are time consuming and yet oh so delicious! From what I understand they are Polish in origin and are basically a homemade pasta filled with the filling of your choice from savory to sweet all though the traditional Perogies are often filled with a potato cheese and onion mixture and served with caramelized onions and a dollop of sour cream on the side.

The dough itself can be made in several different ways. You can make the dough out of a cream cheese, flour and egg mixture, or a potato, flour, egg mixture or even with a sour cream flour and egg mixture.

What ever you chose to do, the sky is the limit but be prepared to spend a great deal of time in the kitchen.

I made two traditional Polish fillings one which consisted of Potato, Caramelized Onion and sharp Cheddar cheese (I also added fresh cut chives, sour cream, and salt and pepper into the mix).

The other was a ground beef, cream cheese and caramelized onion mixture with salt and pepper. For those who have an aversion to onions, I made the first mixture sans onions.

The dough I made with sour cream, butter, cream cheese, flour, egg, a bit of milk, and salt. I wrapped said dough in plastic wrap and chilled it for around an hour or more before taking bits of it at a time and rolling it out with a large heavy silicone and stainless steel rolling pin. The heavier the rolling pin the better.

I had some round plastic pasta folders which I have had for what seems to be an eternity without ever using for pasta and used the large one for folding and crimping. For those Perogies that gave Me a hard time? I used the tines of a fork. I was sure to seal the edges of the Perogies with a bit of warm water before crimping.

They came out beautiful. Simply gorgeous, but as you can see it is after 2 AM in the morning so I was up quite a bit and only did the potato filling as I ran out of dough and need to make more in the morning/afternoon.

I made 33 Perogies in totality and put them in the freezer. I will boil them tomorrow and then fry them in butter until golden, light and crispy. I will serve with caramelized onion on the side and sour cream with a few sprinklings of fresh chive. YUM!

I cannot wait to eat them. Now for the labor intensive part....I get to make more dough, roll it out and fill each pasta and crimp and freeze it (or boil it immediately before frying in butter for eating). It is going to be a long day.

The rolls are flying out the door. The hubby is in sheer bliss as I have caught him several times with a roll in his hands and a smile on his face. I will make more.

I was thinking that I can use the dough I make for the 'thrown rolls' recipe for Kalaches. (I am certain that I spelled that incorrectly) but basically what they are is rolls filled with savory or sweet fillings. I enjoy hot sausage filling and broccoli and cheese and rice filling. Whole sausages are divine wrapped in the flavorful yeast dough (hot spicy Jalapeno sausage being one of My favorites).

I won't have that much time to eat much of anything tomorrow so I suppose I will savor one of My salsas and eat that with tortilla scooping chips along with some fresh avocado (I need to use some of those up and mix them with lime juice).

Sounds good.

Another day in the kitchen and I am so very grateful for every moment I have left to spend there and with family and friends and making them happy with the food that I prepare. Smiles are My specialty and I enjoy them a great deal.

Until then dear readers/reader or Dad? Take care and keep cooking, keep living, laughing and loving!

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.

Throwed Rolls?

Yes, you read that correctly. Throwed rolls. Not a type-o.

My father recently ventured back to the Ozarks (Ozark, MO) to be exact. We used to visit Branson, MO quite often years ago and it was always a nice time and a beautiful drive with plenty of fun things to do and places to stop along the way.

Dad told Me about a place called "Lamberts" which is a restaurant that has incredibly large portions of great food and the kicker, hot heavy chewy melt in your mouth solid rolls baked fresh on the premises.

I did a bit of research and found the restaurants website Lamberts Cafe and read some pretty interesting fun factoids about the establishment.

Now, the Chef in Me just HAD HAD HAD to try and duplicate this recipe not only because the darned rolls sounded incredibly wonderful, but because I love My Dad and I wanted to give him a taste of the Ozarks since he of course cannot possibly be there all the time and enjoy such novelties as the 'Throwed Roll'.

Be sure to read the websites fun facts section which boast that Lamberts made over two million individual rolls last year alone and they also make cinnamon rolls so big that they call them hubcaps and they make over 2 thousand each week alone on average. Wow.

Another interesting thing I found was that this establishment made the Travel Channels 'Chow Down Countdown' of one of the top places out of 100 in the Country to eat at. I really have to go to this place (hint hint Dad). I'm up for a road trip! ;)

Now, back to the recipe. I found one online that was written down allegedly by a gal who used to work at the eatery itself.

As with the art of any fine bread making, things can be quite involved and time consuming. I am not sure how much time I have left but I would sure like to be baking these or even more fun (eating one of these) when I am on My way out.

My rolls came out splendidly well. They are quite solid and large and are the split roll type (they look like butts to put it bluntly). They range in a diameter of around 5 inches each which is nothing to balk at. The smell of these yeasty wonders filled the house and made Me want to melt into a puddle of goo. The best part was taking these babies out of the oven and gazing upon them. I doubled the recipe provided Me and made a total of 24 large chewy dense yet fluffy rolls.

The husband said that he could get sick if he allowed himself to do what he wanted which was to eat every one of those rolls in succession of each other until he croaked or rolled out of the room (which ever came first). Luckily for everyone else he did not so there were plenty to go around and share. There are still plenty of them left as I have a bag downstairs as well so that the hubby will have one whenever he wants.

Even better still is that I made 3 homemade jams this past week and also have fresh honey to put on the rolls. To reheat them I will place them on a baking sheet under 425 degree heat for a couple of minutes until heated through. I suppose I could freeze some of these as well (all though this batch wont last long I reckon).

The hubby went out and purchased Me some more flour 2 ten pound bags along with more fresh cream butter and yeast so that I could begin the process of making more. I wonder if these will become a staple food item here. (You know one of the things you can always find baking or around in the house no matter what time of day or night you stop by). I enjoyed making them all though they were quite time consuming. When making bread it is a fine art. You cannot cut corners and measurements must be exact as well as temperatures etc. The interesting part was rolling them out and I quickly found My groove and found a 'system' as to making the spheres nice and silky smooth.

These are a double rise so if you plan on making them, plan on spending a bit of time on them. I do have My camera and yes, I promised pictures so I will...I will take photos as I am so very proud of these. Besides, I still haven't shown you My peaches and other items I canned. I wish I still had a picture of the chocolate cheesecake and chocolate cake with chocolate butter cream frosting but alas, those items got eaten pretty quickly.

I am wondering if I can make the dough for these rolls and shape the spheres and freeze them in large Zip lock baggies and take them out at a later time to rise? I am not sure how that is done exactly without killing the yeast inside them. There has to be a way as I have seen frozen bread in the freezer section of the market that you take out and allow to rise before baking.

I'll look it up when I am finished here. I made some great Green Tomato salsa recently (I may have told you about that already) and I am hankering for some Tortilla chips and salsa right now so I will close for now.

My decisions for today are what I should make, Perogies or a home baked pie? Peach, Cherry or Blueberry? I have the perfect buttery crust recipe so that's no biggie, its the filling that I cant decide on. As far as the Perogies go, I cannot decide on what filling to put in those either. I know one of the fillings will be cheese and potato with some fresh chives and sour cream the other filling I haven't figured out yet. Sausage and cheese sounds good... I simply don't know which is why the pie might be a better option as I have narrowed the fillings down to three.

I'll let you know what I decided upon and hopefully will do as I have promised and take a picture or two for you. I do have some pictures of a few past projects including homemade Calzones and homemade caramels along with a cheesecake and a chocolate cake. Until then, stay in the kitchen and keep cooking, smiling, and living.

As always,
The Gothic Gourmet.