Breakfast with Elvis

Elvis had arrived on a motorcycle at the White House Diner and ordered a breakfast of eggs over light with slightly burnt bacon and biscuits.  Our White House waitress, dressed in a pink smock covered in Elvis buttons, almost went into a trance as she recounted that morning back in the 60’s when she’d taken his breakfast order.  Noting all the Elvis buttons, I’d simply asked if she were a fan. Duh!  I’d let the genie out of the bottle.  Now in her 70’s and faithful to the booth the King had sat in, she resembled a bobble head doll.  She had survived his death and his kiss.  In lieu of a tip, she’d asked Elvis to kiss her and he had obliged.  Her head suddenly stopped its’ nervous dance; she closed her eyes and summoned that magical moment.

“He said, ‘Yes, M’am.’ Stood up, and honey, those where the sweetest, softest lips there ever where.” She exhaled slowly, her head resumed the bobble and she asked us for our order.

 Whew!!  All I could come up with was bacon – slightly burnt.

         

Cheese Olives

We're co-hosting an engagement dinner for a young couple who will be married in a romatic setting in Mexico.  Rather than another Mexican catered affair, we're giving the dinner a Spanish spin. The menu is:

Cheese Olives
Sangria
Paella
Empanadas
Mixed Salad
Garlic Bread
Kaluha Chocolate Cake
Mexican Wedding Cookies

Let's start with the Cheese Olives, an easy prepare ahead appetizer. Makes about 2 dozen.

1 10oz jar stuffed Spanish Olives
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 cup all purpose flour
2 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 stick unsalted butter room temperature

Drain olives and dry on a paper towel.

Put the grated cheese, butter, salt and paprika in a food processor and process 30 seconds. Scrape down the sides, then add flour and process until all ingredients are blended. About 45 seconds. 
Wrap 1 tbls of  dough around each olive.  A mellon baller is a great tool for this. Roll the dough covered olive between your palms to form a ball, then place on a baking sheet.  Refrigerate for 4-5 hours. Cheese wrapped olives may be frozen at this point and thawed about 30 minutes before baking.  A cold dough won't slide off the olive during baking.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees and bake 10-15 minutes. Allow a few minutes to cool before passing.  The olives are Hot inside that dough.

A Room Full of Mashed Potatoes

I thought I was dying from starvation as I sighed and squirmed on the church pew.  I had only picked at my scrambled eggs and taken a few bites of toast at breakfast.  Mother had hidden a vitamin under the eggs that rendered them inedible.  Did she think I wouldn’t notice the bitter pinkish pill dissolving under my eggs?  We struggled over the vitamin issue many mornings and this was her latest strategy.  I would swallow it without noticing. Ha! Not likely.

My mind began to fantasize of a room filled with my favorite foods. It settled on mashed potatoes; beautiful, creamy, fluffy piles of potatoes, rich with butter and milk; seasoned perfectly with salt and pepper.  I could dig into that luscious warm comfort with a spoon and eat to my heart’s content.  I could taste that smooth texture and smell their hearty aroma.  My salivary glands were starting to pump.  I wondered if that had ever happened.  Could a king or queen  have an army of cooks peeling, dicing, mashing, and whipping up a mountain of dreamy mashed potatoes to indulge a whim of the appetite.

Considering my potato famine ancestors haled from County Limerick, Ireland, it’s no wonder mashed potatoes were my idea of haute cuisine as a youngster. Their potatoes, where boiled or in a mutton stew. Butter, hot milk and a potato ricer, where, likely beyond their means back then.

There aren’t many foods that satisfy like the humble potato. Even Julia Child announced a baked potato with butter her favorite food.  Mashed potatoes are about as good as mother’s milk.

Meyer Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd, my Mother could eat it with filet mignon she loves it so much.  Lemon Curd can be used in tarts, in between cake layers, served with sweetened whipped cream and berries; spread between cookies; mix in yogurt; on English muffin.   This is the ultimate sweet-tart flavor, identified by the distinct Meyer Lemon, then enriched with butter and egg and sugar.  It’s silky smooth and really a very simple. There are a variety of recipe proportions but the ingredients are universal.  This one works best for me.

½ cup fresh squeezed Meyer Lemon juice (or any lemon or lime juice)

Zest of 1 Meyer Lemon removed with a peeler

1 ½ cup sugar

5 eggs, room temperature

1  stick of butter, room temperature

Pinch of salt

 Process sugar and lemon peel briefly in a food processor so peel is chopped fine. Cream the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, then beat in the sugar and lemon peel mixture.  Add the eggs, one at a time with mixer running, then add the Meyer Lemon juice and salt.  Mix until combined.

Pour the mixture into a heat proof bowl over simmering hot water and cook stirring constantly.  When the mixture coats a spoon, it is ready and it should register 175 degrees on a candy thermometer.   Remove from heat and pour into sterile jars and refrigerate.

The Clean Plate Club

Considering I was the only member of my first grade class who failed to join The Clean Plate Club, I’ve come along way. Think of it as one of those "eating clubs" at Princeton or Yale for a First Grader.  I didn’t have much of an appetite back then, but boy have I made up for that early embarrassment.  I simply could not get through each portion of institutional food on my divided plastic cafeteria tray.  The only thing I can remember eating every bite of was cherry cobbler.  Toward the end of the school year, I began to realize I had the only colored paper plate on the bulletin board with not a single star glued to it.  Some of my classmates’ plates where double layered in stars.  They are probably signed up with Jenny Craig now. 

The last day of school, as we cleaned out our desks, Miss Miller called each student up to claim their starry plates of cafeteria honor.  I gulped and slumped.  Finally, mine was the only one left and she quietly came to me and asked if I’d like mine anyway.  I shook my head “no”, unable to vocalize. The pink paper plate with my name on it was tossed in the trash. The school bell rang and first grade was over. 

I’m rather proud of it now.  I wanted quality not quantity, and still do.

Now, if no one is looking, I might get caught licking my plate.

Meyer Lemon and Vanilla Bean Marmalade

My sweet sister-in-law brought me a sack of Meyer lemons picked right from the trees in her parents yard in Florida.  They are as large as grapefruit.  The Meyer lemon came to us via China and is thought to be a hybrid of lemon and tangerine or orange, thus, their more orange color and sweeter flavor.  They have a thin skin and yield an enormous amount of juice.  I’ve tried a number of recipes for these juicy gems of the citrus family depending of the quality of each year’s product.   I decided to use some of them for this luscious Meyer Lemon Vanilla Bean Marmalade I found on Epicurious.com. 

1 1/4lbs Meyer Lemons

5 cups water

4 cups sugar

1vanilla bean

Pinch of salt

Rinse whole lemons and dry.  Working on a plate to catch the juices, slice lemon length wise, then slice each half into thin slices removing seeds as you go.  Measure 2 ½ cups sliced lemons packed into a measuring cup. Put lemons and water into a large nonreactive pot and heat to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for 10 mins.  Leave uncovered to cool over night. There should be about 5 ½ cups of lemons and liquid.   

Add sugar; scrape in vanilla seed and add the bean; attach a candy thermometer and cook to a boil stirring occasionally.  Maintain an active boil but adjust heat so mixture doesn’t boil over.  Cook until the thermometer reaches 230 degrees. About 30 mins. Cool to room temperature and transfer to jars.  Keep refrigerated but serve at room temperature.  Can be made 2 weeks ahead.

Blood Orange Vinaigrette

The garnet colored  flesh of Blood Oranges produces a ruby colored juice that accents the golden beets with light refreshing sweetness. 

1 small shallot, finely diced
1/2 cup blood orange juice
2 tbls sherry vinegar
1 tbls honey
2/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp fresh cracked pepper

Add the shallot to the juice along with the sherry vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper.  Slowly wisk in the oil.  Refrigerate over night before serving. Makes about 1 1/2 cups dressing.