The Good Plate

Posts Tagged ‘Balsamic Vinegar’

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Tuesday, November 21, 2012 was Spane’s 9th birthday. He originally asked for a Red Velvet Cake, but then said he wanted Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting that I made for his 7th birthday, and was the base for the Jolly Roger Cake of the Pirate Rack Rachham that I made for his 8th birthday. At the last minute, I decided to give him his original request, a Red Velvet Cake.

Yes, I know that Red Velvet Cake is all over the place, and mostly nasty, truly horrific. When Red Velvet cake became popular all over the country, short cuts were made, and what resulted was a dense, flavorless cake, with a greasy shortening “cream cheese” frosting, that I am sure was made with cream cheese flavoring, and nary a bit of real cream cheese. I make a real Red Velvet Cake, that uses real cream cheese, cake flour, and vinegar/baking soda leavener.

Anyone who reads this blog knows that I just can’t make an ordinary anything, I always have to umph it up a bit, and this cake was no exception. Instead of using white vinegar, I used Balsamic vinegar. I also used a Mocha frosting instead of the traditional cream cheese frosting. It was a real hit.

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Recipes in this Post

Finished Balsamic Strawberry and Blueberry Trifle with Lemon Cream

• Balsamic Strawberry and Blueberry Trifle with Lemon Cream

When thinking about making this Balsamic Strawberry and Blueberry Trifle with Lemon Cream, it reminded me of something that happened many years ago. I was asked to bring something to a 4th of July potluck. I was making a yellow cake and using strawberries and blueberries for filling, with a whipped cream topping. As I was taking the cake out of the pan, my cat Lazer startled me, and I dropped the cake on the counter. I went into bunch of little pieces. Well, I had a trifle bowl, so I scooped everything up, put in the bowl with the cream and fruit, presented it as Oops 4th of July Trifle, and called it a day.

This year, I wanted something along the same lines, but a little more fun. Strawberries and balsamic vinegar are perfect together. Strawberries and Mascarpone are even better together, but I didn’t want anything that thick. So I developed a wonderful lemon cream.

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The past few days have been full of left overs. That’s a good thing, and a good way to save money, but you have to get creative.

When I made the Veal Marsala Meatballs, I made enough to freeze some for another time. Spane and I were at the market on Thursday, and I was thinking of making enchiladas, but Spane didn’t seem to enthusiastic about it, so I asked him if he wanted spaghetti and meatballs, and he said yes.

I had everything I needed to make it, the veal meatballs, a large can of diced tomatoes, basil and garlic. The only thing I needed to make a good meal was a baguette of French bread to make garlic bread to go with our pasta, so I bought a long baguette. It was large enough that I cut it in half and made my garlic butter, intending to make another half on Friday. I bought some large frozen shrimp to have on Friday.

I served the meatballs separately from the pasta, and we ate all of those, and the garlic bread. There was still spaghetti and sauce left over. I had made enough garlic butter for both halves of the bread, and had left the left over in the refrigerator.

I took some of the garlic butter, put it in a pan, and heated the shrimp in that garlic butter. By doing that, I didn’t have quite enough garlic butter for the other half of the baguette, so I added a little olive oil and balsamic butter, whirred it around, spread that on the bread, topped it with a little Parmesan cheese, and threw it in the oven for a few minutes.

We ate all the shrimp Scampi, and all the spaghetti and sauce, and were a little to stuffed to finish the garlic bread.

So, now I had left over balsamic garlic bread. Today, Saturday, was cold and rainy, so soup sounded like the perfect meal. Originally, I was going to make macaroni and cheese as an excuse to turn on Bertha, but grilled cheese sandwiches sounded like a better idea.

What kind of soup could I make and use up the left over garlic bread? Why French Onion, of course. That is such a simple soup to make, and is really fool-proof.

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Hot Tin Roof Salad

Recipes in this Post

• Hot Tin Roof Salad
• Vinaigrette Marinade
• Blue Cheese Dressing

I loved the movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman and Burl Ives. It just seemed the weather was so hot and humid in that movie, kind of like it was today in Glendale, California. Spane, Amber’s children and a friend all had a wonderful time playing in the neighbors pool, and as I watched them, I thought that a steak salad would be the perfect end to a perfect day. I decided to call the salad Hot Tin Roof Salad because it was so hot and steamy here, just like in the movie.

With that being said, one of the wonderful things about summer is all the great, fresh vegetables. Tomatoes are sweet and pop juice into your mouth. Lettuce is really crisp and the greenest of green. The little Persian cucumbers I get at the local Armenian store are tender and flavorful – not like their large watery English cousins with the waxed skins that always seem to come up on you later. Buttery Haas avocados are also plentiful – did you know that all Haas avocados come from one single tree that died at the age of 76 in La Habra Heights, California?

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I received a Blue Ribbon for Roast Pork with Balsamic Mustard Rub!

Spane and I with the Blue Ribbon for Pork Roast with Balsamic Mustard Rub

Well, what to you know about that! Spane got the mail today, and he said I had mail, and handed me a padded package. I didn’t think it was for me, I hadn’t ordered anything.

So, I tore the envelope open, and inside was a Blue Ribbon and a certificate from Just A Pinch, where I had submitted my recipe for Pork Roast with Balsamic Mustard Rub. I was stunned, to say the least, and then I visited their site, and this is what their Test Kitchen had to say:

The seasoning in this recipe is a perfect blend. Spicy and flavorful, hearty and super satisfying… Enjoy!
Just A Pinch!

Well, thank you so much Just a Pinch, specifically Janet Tharp, the head tester, chief cook and bottle washer!

I have to highly recommend this site as not only are they hosting one of my recipes, there are literally hundreds of fabulous recipes available. This is place I bookmarked and visit often.

I have also joined a few discussion groups at Just a Pinch, and would like to visit other food bloggers who are members of Just a Pinch. I would like to share their recipes here as well, with permission, of course.

Good cooking to all!

Recipes in this Post

The smoke always goes to the prettiest one.
Major Charles Monroe Boswell, 1961

• Pork Loin with Balsamic Mustard Rub
• Red and While Coleslaw with Boiled Dressing
• How to Perfectly Barbecue Chicken

On the heels of Stevie and Amber Lewis’ anniversary party, is Memorial Day, unofficially that beginning of summer when all the barbecues stretch their legs as they come out of storage. My barbecue, Lola, has been living over at Amber’s house since last summer, but she is coming home today, and will have me as her chef. I am excited!

Lola is a Weber One Touch Silver Kettle Grill 18 1/2 inches in diameter. She is the third Weber I have had, the first was stolen when the person who borrowed it forgot to lock the gate, and the second had a run in with a BVM sister. The BVM sister was fine, the barbecue did not fair so well.

I love to barbecue. I remember when I was a little girl, my father would start the barbecue up on the lawn (I don’t know why he used the front lawn, but he did). We had a Weber, and I when I complained about smoke going in my face, my father said “The smoke always goes to the prettiest one.” I still tell people that when they complain about the smoke. I’m sorry, but even with the smoke, and having to clean out the charcoal, gas barbecues just do not do as good job. Even my church, Holy Family Catholic Community, uses a Smokey Joe modified with long legs so the priest does not have to bend down to get the flame to light the Paschal Candle at Easter Vigil.

The pork roast I am preparing always comes out very flavorful, moist and tender. It is my son Spane’s favorite, and if I’m not careful, he will eat the whole thing by himself. If you don’t have a grill, you can always prepare Pork Loin with Balsamic Mustard Rub on the stove top and oven.

To accompany our roast, I prepared Potato Salad with Red Onions and Italian Parsley, Red and White Coleslaw, and I also put chicken on the grill. Yes, there is a way to not burn chicken on the grill, and I am happy to share it with you.

Perfectly Barbecued Chicken

How many of you have had blackened chicken? I’m talking about the kind that is black on the outside, and bloody pink on the inside. I am sure the answer is too many times to mention.

Most people make the mistake of putting the sauce on the chicken and then putting it on the grill. Most sauce has sugar in it, and sugar will burn way before the inside of the chicken is cooked.

To cook chicken properly on the grill, have the coals at medium heat, then put the chicken on the grill skin side down. Cover the grill, and come back in about five minutes to check the chicken. Depending on the sizes of the pieces, if the top part of the chicken has started turning white, then it is time to turn it over on the other side, otherwise, wait another five minutes and check again.

Now is the time to get out your instant read thermometer. It is very important that the chicken reaches the proper cooking temperature as under cooked chicken can be very dangerous, worse than pork. Chicken should reach an internal temperature of 175, so look to sauce it at about 170.

Once the chicken has reached that temperature, it is time to put on the sauce. Sauce one side, cover and cook about two minutes, then turn over, sauce and cover and cook another two minutes or until the sauce has begun to caramelize on the chicken.

At this point, you can remove the chicken from the grill, because it is thoroughly cooked on the inside, and nicely sauced on the outside.