Welcome to the Cooking with C.C. Blog. I will be discussing all things food and travel related. Be sure to join me for information from recipes, cookbooks, restaurants and places to visit. I look forward to hearing from you!
Balsamic Glazed Strawberries over Vanilla Ice Cream
I do love an easy dessert that tastes great! And if I can salvage something I might otherwise not use, even the better..... I love strawberries, especially this time of year when you can get them good and fresh and they really taste like strawberries. I'll still get the ones during the rest of the year, but they just aren't the same. A few years ago, my uncle had retired and they moved to run a U-pick-um farm outside of Ashville NC. Well, the whole family went up there and we had a ton of kids with us. It had been raining that week, so people had not come out to pick the strawberries and there were so many on the bushes that we all got out to pick them. Many of them were a bit overripe. They were about to throw a bunch of those away when I suggested that they let me try my recipe on them. I made the balsamic glaze and cooked up the strawberries and the adults knew the kids were not going to like this - however, I think the kids ended up eating most of it and the adults got just a little…
Zabaglione
If you missed the Marsala class a week ago, we had a great time exploring a variety of ways to cook with Marsala. For dessert, we made zabaglione - an Italian "custard" made with Marsala and we served it over fresh berries. I did a little research on Zabaglione and everyone pretty much agrees that it was being made in the late 1500's, but exactly how it came to be is not known for sure. There are some interesting stories, that honestly sound more like fables. Take your choice between the kitchen's of the famous Medici family, an Italian nobleman named Giovan Paolo Baglioni, the pastry cooks of Turin or one of several other options. I saw one book that called it "Italy's gift to the world." While the dish is very similar to a custard (and is often referred to as a custard), it is technically a "caudle" which is a thickened sauce that can be used similar to a custard. While the classic Zabaglione has 3 ingredients, other versions appear in a variety of places. You may also see it referred to as zabaione, zabajone, or in France as Sabayon. It is a very versatile sauce to learn…
The Aftermath of the Storm
For all my Huntsville friends, it sure has been an "interesting" week since the storms rumbled through here last Wednesday. I was in Florida on business and was watching the streaming feed from the local TV stations and texting Lori about what was going on. Since we lost power when the first storm blew through on Wednesday morning, she was having trouble getting information. Cellular phone calls were spotty, so text was about the only way we could communicate. I flew home first thing Thursday morning to find our house in excellent shape and very fortunate considering the loss of so many not far from where we live in the Monrovia community. If you don't live in Huntsville, and want to see more information about the extent of the damage, Christy wrote a very good post yesterday. I had a chance to talk with her while we were at the Monrovia Community Center dropping off donations. See her post at: http://www.southernplate.com/2011/05/tornadoes-your-help-is-needed.html (After looking at a variety of pictures, they cannot capture the incredible devastation that this storm caused. ) We sustained minor damage with a fallen tree and two areas of retaining walls that gave way with all of the water. …
Try a great chicken dish! Chicken Breasts with Prosciutto and Sage
It seems the standby meat today is the skinless boneless chicken breast. It is easy to overcook and end up with a dry chewy piece of chicken. Many people get tired of the same old chicken recipe. Here is a great, quick recipe that adds some fantastic flavors with the chicken. For the full recipe, click here. It is featured on the Connection Magazine page of the Cooking with C.C. Website. This is a recipe that families can easily cook on a week day night and enjoy a great meal together. To start, rinse and dry the chicken pieces. Next lay out sage leaves across the smooth side of the chicken breast. Cover and wrap with a piece of Prosciutto. In the recipe, I say to use a non-stick skillet, but I actually prefer to use a skillet that is not non-stick so I can get the small bits that stick to the pan to really flavor a sauce. These little bits are known as fond and is great when making a sauce. Heat the oil in the pan and place the breasts into the pan sage side down. Cook until the Prosciutto and sage leaves are nice a crisp…