Friends, Breaks and Dishes Worth Sharing

Remember the line from the popular sitcom Friends – “but we were on a break!”

Well, the Mama Says team has been on a break as well. We’ve used our time away from blogging to delve into new avenues and ideas. Iris is student teaching as she explores how kids learn English as a Second Language (ES) – talk about wanting to make a difference in your community. And I’ve been in the thick of remodeling a 27 year-old kitchen that was in need of TLC; taking time to focus on my local community and nesting.

We are happy to announce that our break is over. Welcome back and thank you for joining us once again in the Mama Says kitchen.

In these tough economic times it feels conspicuous to write about a kitchen remodel. Especially when the focus of the Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe collection and this blog revolves around maximizing your food dollar with fast, fresh and healthy recipes, useful tools, entertaining with an occasional splurge. That said our remodel is something my husband and I have been dreaming about and saving for during the past ten years. As we embrace the empty-nester phase of life, we’ve decided to age in-place. So the work we are doing on our home will help us do just that. We have thought about the placement and selection of appliances, cabinetry and finishes to give us another 20 years in our home. While time may improve certain wines it isn’t always a friend to your home – so this is the ideal time to replace our cook-top with its intermittent burners and address the water damage from a slow leak in both an old refrigerator and chimney…you know the list!

During the next several posts, I look forward to sharing ideas on how to survive a remodel, tips on the sort/purge/recycle process and how to create fresh and healthy meals when you don’t have a functioning kitchen.

Kitchen remodel survival tip #1: Ask For Help

Put the word out to friends and family that you are available for meals. Sweeten the deal by offering to gladly bring a dish, co-chef at their house, do the dishes, and return the favor at a future date in exchange for a home-cooked meal, time in a functioning kitchen and a dust-free home. Facebook is an ideal venue for this appeal.

Just because you don’t have a working kitchen, doesn’t mean you can’t bring a delicious fast, fresh and healthy dish to dinner. This Roasted Tomato side is made in a crock-pot! And it has all of the flavors of oven-roasted tomatoes.

Kitchen remodel survival tip #2: Fall in Love with Your Crock Pot

Roasted Tomatoes in a Crock Pot

View at Picasa

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• Cooking Spray
• 3 medium tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• Italian Seasoning, fresh thyme or other herbs
• Fresh basil, fresh thyme, Parmesan cheese (optional toppings)

Preparation

1. Spray the bottom and sides of the ceramic crock-pot
2. Slice tomatoes in half and place cut side up in the crock-pot
3. Drizzle tomatoes with olive oil and herbs, cover and cook on high for one hour.
4. To serve: sprinkle with minced fresh herb(s) and Parmesan cheese, if desired.

Leftover roasted tomatoes are wonderful in soups, chili, omelettes, and sandwiches.

Mama Says wants to know: How did you survive a remodeling project?

Simple Syrup, Caramel Cake and Regional Food

Recently, I was invited to participate in the Buick Regal Discovery Tour, a complimentary experience provided by Food & Wine, Travel + Leisure and Buick. While the program was designed to allow you to experience the new Buick Regal with a test drive, for me it was an opportunity to see discover new and old friends.

Mixology. Famed wine and spirits consultant Michael Green was on hand to mix things up as the resident mixologist and cocktail expert. Green favors chipped iced and simple syrups as the key to signature cocktails – not any simple syrup will do – flavored syrups are essential. Try cinnamon or basil to add zip and complexity to your next drink. Here is Michael Green’s formula for flavored simple syrup:

Cinnamon Simple Syrup

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup water
• 4 sticks of cinnamon

Preparation:

1. Add all ingredients to a saucepan
2. Stir
3. Simmer for 15 minutes
4. Let cool overnight at room temperate
5. Stain out the cinnamon sticks

Makes 1 cup.

Note: you can store this simple syrup for up to four weeks in a bottle.

My morning was rocked by the Travel presentation given by Michael Stern of www.roadfood.com fame.  He and his wife, Jane, are regular contributors to Lynne Rosetto Kasper’s The Splendid Table radio program on American Public Media –you  know that I’m a huge fan of this program having included it on my Foodie Finds of 2009 post. Michael and Jane are passionate about regional American cuisine. Don’t expect them to wax poetic about the hot chef or dish or the moment. They find enormous pleasure finding regional dishes served on paper plates. As Michael explained, ‘we seek out dish and/or the joint you miss most about a place – the first place you want to visit when you return. Michael is dynamic speaker and regaled us with stories about his whirlwind-eating jaunt through Atlanta before inviting us to ask him for suggestions in other areas of the country.  He is a walking encyclopedia of regional food.  Before you take your next road trip check out the RoadFood.com website for unique eating experiences

In the Atlanta area, Michael mentioned:

• BBQ Kitchen (College Park) – for the vegetables
• Mathews Café (Tucker) – mac & cheese
• Mary Mac’s Tea Room (ATL) – tomato pie
• Harold’s  (ATL) – wood vs. gas BBQ
• The audience chimed in with JJ’s Rib Shack (ATL) – BBQ

This is what is eating is all about. Celebrating what is unique and local!

And talking about local celebrations, Ardra Tippett (@cakecafeatlanta) of the Cake Café Atlanta was the featured Artisan. Her cakes are a work of art as is her zest for life, baking and butter.  We sampled her caramel sheet cake as she talked about sweet potato pie, cooking with grandma, perfecting recipes, flavored popcorn and how butter makes EVERYTHING better – all this as she prepared a layered dessert in wine glass.

For those that who don’t bake and who want to create an impressive dessert, Ardra suggests purchasing or baking a pound cake, sponge cake, cupcake or cake chucks and layering the cake with whipped cream, pudding, and fresh fruit in pretty glasses for a beautiful and tasty dessert.

Personally, I would order her caramel cake and call it the perfect ending to any meal.

Do you have a favorite local eating experience or a favorite local bakery – share your faves in the comment section below.

Special thanks to Netsy for taking the photos and for her go-with-the-flow approach to exploring ATL.  LE

Oven Roasted Potatoes

Last weekend I ran into the daughter of a dear friend who is in her mid-twenties. As we caught up on her new job and recent engagement (so much excitement)…she gushed that she and her fiance enjoy making the Greek Lemon Chicken with Artichokes from the Mama Says, “No More Frozen Pizza!” recipe collection.  They make it so often that it has become one of their “dishes.”  You can only imagine how thrilled I was to hear her talking about cooking, the cookbook and glowing (most likely due to the engagement). The Mama Says recipe collection is all about encouraging busy people to get into the kitchen to cook for themselves – it’s always a plus when they find a special someone to cook with…

One of my favorite side dishes to serve with the Greek Lemon Chicken recipe is oven-roasted potatoes with lemon and oregano.

Greek-style Lemon Potatoes

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 450° and spray a 9- by 13-in. baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl, toss diced potatoes with lemon juice, olive oil, oregano, lemon zest, garlic, and salt; layer slices in baking dish.
3. Pour 1 cup boiling water over the prepared potatoes and bake, uncovered, until most of the water has evaporated and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes. Top with feta (if using) and bake until golden, about 15 minutes more.

View at Picasa Canon Canon EOS-1Ds Mark I

Note: I’ve modified the recipe to included diced potatoes and a mixture of russet and sweet potatoes, optional feta cheese and often use more lemon zest.

Recipe inspiration: Sunset, FEBRUARY 2007 Photo Credit: myrecipes.com/ Annabelle Breakey

You can purchase the Mama Says recipe collection online at Target and Amazon.

Thank you for joining us in the kitchen.