Author: Rosemarie's Kitchen

I'm a wife, mother, grandmother and avid home cook.I believe in eating healthy whenever possible, while still managing to indulge in life's pleasures.

The Mardi Gras Picnic Muffuletta is Awesome Anytime

Did you know that Muffuletta is not only a sandwich, it’s also a type of round Sicilian Sesame Bread? I didn’t know that. Did you know that the Muffuletta Sandwich as we know it today was actually created in for the public in a Grocery Market on Decatur Street in New Orleans in 1906. The bread itself has been around for centuries, and is commonly eaten on the Day of the Dead, November 2. However; in America this Sicilian sandwich is a big deal at Mardi Gras. Whatever the reason, whatever the celebration or excuse, this is a great sandwich to offer up to a hungry group of people strolling through the park on a beautiful spring afternoon.

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Pack a Picnic and Take a Walk in the Park

Today is National Take a Walk in the Park Day. The day was intended to be a way to relax after a long and busy day. Walking in the part is said to be calming and therapeutic, an excellent way to clear one’s mind from the stress of the day. While all of that is great, and we should spend more time visiting our local parks, one of the things I love is to pack a light lunch to take on my stroll. I like to take my camera and a note pad, too. Spending time with nature gets my creative juices flowing. It’s nice to have the notepad for jotting down thoughts or moments that I don’t want to forget. Strolling through the park always brings new discoveries. And the most amazing discovery of all are those we make about ourselves when let our souls be still for a moment.

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Orange Chiffon Cake with Citrus Buttercream Frosting and Edible Flowers

Today is National Chiffon Cake Day. Silly me, in preparation for today’s yummy post, I went in search of a recipe that we could test drive and tweak. I was searching for something delicious, pretty, and not too difficult. Something the men in my life could master. That’s when the lights came on, and I realized I already had the perfect recipe, complete with a few pictures.

A few years back, my guys baked a beautiful Chiffon Cake for Mother’s Day. Perfect for today’s share. If these guys can turn out a delicious cake completely from scratch, I know it’s gotta be easy.

Happy Chiffon Cake Day to Everyone! Hope you enjoy the day.

Orange Chiffon Cake with Citrus Buttercream Frosting
Chiffon Cake
2 1/2 cups Cake Flour, sifted
1 1/3 cups Sugar
1 tablespoon Baking Powder
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
5 large Eggs, separated
3/4 cup fresh Orange Juice
3 tablespoons Orange Zest
1/2 teaspoon Cream of Tartar

Citrus Buttercream Frosting
1 (32-oz.) package powdered sugar
1 cup butter, softened
3 tablespoons orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
5 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon additional fresh orange juice, if needed

Optional:
Edible Flowers and Kumquats For Garnish

To Make the Chiffon Cake:
Heat oven to 350. Lightly grease and flour three 9-inch round cake pans and set aside.

Sift the cake flower into the bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer. Add the sugar, baking powder and salt.

Make a well in center of flour mixture; add oil, egg yolks, and orange juice. Beat at medium-high speed 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. Stir in zest.

In a separate bowl using a hand-held mixer, beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold the egg whites into flour mixture.

Spoon batter into the prepared cake pans.

Bake in the heated oven for 17 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks, and cool completely (about 1 hour).

To Make the Buttercream Frosting:
Sift the powdered sugar into a large bowl. Set aside until ready to use.

Cream butter, orange zest, and lemon zest at medium speed with an electric mixer 1 to 2 minutes or until creamy.

Gradually add powdered sugar alternately with lemon juice and 5 tablespoons fresh orange juice, beating at low-speed until blended after each addition.

Add up to 1 tablespoon additional fresh orange juice, 1 teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached.

To assemble cake:
Place one layer of the cooled cake on a serving platter. Spread about one-quarter of the frosting over the top. Place second layer of cake on top of the first, coat with frosting, and repeat with final third layer.

Frost the top and sides of the cake. Garnish finished cake with edible flowers as desired.

When serving, place a flower and a few kumquats as desired for a whimsical presentation.

Not My Mother’s Friday Night Fish Sticks

Today is day twenty-one of the Lenten Season, the forth Friday of Lent. I cannot think of Lenten Fridays without remembering those torturous Friday nights of my youth.

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From the Darkest Depth of German Liqueur

Wild-Arugula-Seeds-MS500-1If you check the date, in addition to being “something on a stick day”, today is Weed Appreciation Day and Black Forest Cake Day. Now I know what you are thinking – it’s a good thing today involves cake cause we gotta do something to satisfy the munchies on weed appreciation day. Right? Uh, wrong. Today is a day for appreciating a different kind of weed, as in the stuff we are always trying to keep out of our gardens.

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Something on a Stick Round Two!

Yeah, I’m still thinking about foods on a stick. I’m also thinking about a big, juice burger. A burger with cheese. A Bacon Cheese Burger. Are you hungry? I sure know I’m famished just thinking about these awesome bites.

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Let’s Eat Something on a Stick

Today in day twenty of the Lenten Season. You know what that means, right? We are at the half-way point between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday. It’s also National Something on A Stick Day.

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Raise Your Glass In Honor of This Day

Did you know that today is more than a National Day, it’s an International Day. So allow me to share a few fun facts to feed the brain while you still can. First off, you can tell where a whiskey hails from by the way it is spelled. American-English and Irish-English enjoy whiskey, while the British-English prefer theirs spelled whisky. The “e”, or lack there of, doesn’t change the liquor. Whiskey stops maturing after its bottled, so go ahead and drink that young bottle you’ve been saving, it’s not going to get any older. That said, a sealed bottle of whiskey will keep for more than 100 years. Once opened, don’t plan to keep it around more than about 5 years. The dark color of whiskey comes from the wooden barrels in which it is aged. The barrels made from American White Oak claim to produce the tastiest whiskey. The word whiskey comes from the Irish word meaning “water of life”, which might explain Ireland’s fondness for whiskey.

Now I could have given you an assortment of drinks made with whiskey, but frankly I’d rather cook with it. Bet you were expecting steak with a whiskey glaze, right? Surprise!

Soy and Whiskey Glazed Pork Chops
1 piece fresh Ginger
2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
1 lb broccoli florets
8 oz. fresh Shiitake Mushrooms
1/2 cup Water
3 tablespoons Water
1/4 cup Soy Sauce
1 tablespoons Soy Sauce
White Pepper to taste
4 boneless Pork Chops, center cut
2 Garlic Cloves
2 tablespoon Whiskey
Green Onions, thinly sliced for garnish

Cut half of ginger in quarters and finely chop remaining half.

In 12-inch skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil on medium-high until hot. Add finely chopped ginger and cook 10 seconds, stirring. Add broccoli and mushrooms. Cook 1 minute; stir in 1/2 cup water and 1 tablespoon soy sauce. Cover and cook 3 minutes or until vegetables are tender and liquid has evaporated. Transfer to serving plates; keep warm.

Wipe out skillet and heat remaining tablespoon oil on medium. Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper on pork to season both sides. Add pork to skillet and cook 7 to 8 minutes or until browned on the outside and barely pink in center, turning once. Transfer pork chops to plate.

To skillet, add garlic, whiskey, sugar, quartered ginger, remaining 1/4 cup soy sauce, and remaining 3 tablespoons water; simmer 4 to 6 minutes or until the consistency of thin syrup, stirring occasionally. Stir in any accumulated pork juices from plate. Remove and discard garlic and ginger.

To serve, divide pork chops among plates with broccoli mixture. Spoon sauce over pork.

Original Recipe: Delish

Seared Sea Scallops with Lemon Caper Sauce

One of Hubby’s all-time favorites from the sea has got to be Scallops. I had never eaten a scallop until I married this man. I’ve got to tell you, one bite and it was instant gotta have this! They are tender, sweet and so delicate that scallops compliment rather than overpower the sauce, a salad or whatever vehicle used to get them from your plate to your lips.

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Spinach and Green Apple Matchstick Salad

Spinach Day is observed on March 26th each year. Popeye must be thrilled! Spinach is one of the best sources of iron, and is loaded with cancer-fighting antioxidants. Research shows that spinach improves your cardiovascular health. Did you know that during her reign as queen of France, Catherine de Medici loved spinach so much that it was served at every meal. And have you noticed that dishes made with spinach are often called “Florentine” reflecting Catherine’s birthplace, Florence. Hum, I never knew the reason behind so many dishes bearing the name Florentine. Makes sense.

The world’s largest producers of spinach are the farmers of China, followed by the United States. No surprise that California is one of the top producing states in the country.

I adore spinach in just about everything. This spinach salad is so basic, so simple yet so delicious. Since our first recipe of the day was for a diabetic-healthily fish, I thought we’d just keep on trucking on this good-for-you delicious kick.

Spinach and Green Apple Matchstick Salad
1/3 cup Walnut Piece
1 Granny Smith apple
2 tablespoons Olive Oil
1 tablespoon Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon Mustard
Sea Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
5 oz Baby Spinach Leaves (about 5 cups lightly packed)

To Toast Walnuts:
Place walnut pieces in a dry skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, let cool before using.

To Toss the Spinach Salad:
Core the apple and slice it into match sticks. Set aside.

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, vinegar and mustard. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the spinach with the dressing until evenly coated then divide the spinach among 4 serving plates.

Sprinkle a quarter of the apple pieces on top of each salad. Follow with the walnut pieces.

Serve immediately.

Quick Skillet Tilapia and Vegetable Supper

In 1986, The American Diabetes Association designated the fourth Tuesday in March as American Diabetes Association Alert Day. It is a “wake-up call” to the American public about the seriousness of diabetes, to encourage all to take the diabetes risk test and to learn about their family’s history with diabetes. At The American Diabetes Association’s Alert Website you can take a quick risk test, learn how to lower your risk and even share information with friends and family. Who knows, maybe the life you impact will be your own.

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Annunciation Waffles with Whipped Cream and Fresh Berries

Today it is exactly nine months until Christmas. Christmas, really? Yes, Christmas. But not because I’m rushing the holiday. There’s plenty of time for that. Today, as tradition has it, is the day when the Archangel Gabriel appeared to the Blessed Mother, Mary. In the Catholic Church, this day is known as The Annunciation. So what does that mean?

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Cream of Potato-Onion Soup

A little while back, I made up a big pot of my Creamy Potato and Bacon Soup to simmer all day in a crock pot. My guys had worked their tails off, and a rich, creamy bowl of soup seemed the right choice. Kiddo surprised me by not only having seconds, but darn near climbing into the pot to lap up every last drop. He really liked that soup.

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Knights Ferry Civil War Reenactment

Wow – just attended our first ever Civil War reenactment. What a hoot! We hiked up a hill, spread out a blanket and just watched. The Yanks came marching through the covered bridge. The Southerners opened fire with cannons and a charge, but in the end it was the North that took the hill. If you ever get the chance to see a reenactment, by all means do. The roar of the cannons shakes the ground. The smell of black powder fills the air. It’s amazing!

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The Ultimate All Day Slow-Cooked Pot Roast

There’s a little town not too far from where we live that has the longest covered bridge west of the Mississippi.

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