Summer Sabbatical is Over

Dear Salt And Pepper Readers/Fans,

I am writing on behalf of my dear mother, Susan. Don't worry. This is still her blog, and she is still the amazingly creative and faithful chef of our home. After experiencing ups and downs of chronic back-pain all summer, she admits, 'It has been difficult finding the energy to blog!' (For those of you who blog, you'll probably understand this...) So, as today is August 29, and the end of the summer is upon us, I decided to jump in here and give the Salt and Pepper Blog a little boost before fall recipes begin!! I also posted some various dishes that I prepared alongside Mom this summer on my blog (see link).

The following recipe combines a lot of fresh ingredients to make for a flavorful and light dinner meal. It converts a typical bland-tasting salad into a juicy, sweet salad. Although we used fresh nectarines, I'm sure that ripe peaches would also taste great. I would imagine that this salad would still be great throughout September. This is probably one of our family's summer favorites.

Grilled Chicken-Nectarine Salad

4 boneless chicken breast halves
4 T lime juice
2 T fresh copped thyme or 2 tsp. dried thyme
1 tsp. plus 1 T Olive oil
1 T pine nuts (toasted in oven)
1/2 Cup fresh raspberries

1 small clove garlic, minced
5 medium nectarines, thinly sliced (about 2 cups)
6 Cups mixed, torn, packed salad greens

Marinate chicken w/ 1 T lime juice, 1 T thyme and 1 tsp. oil. Season with SALT AND PEPPER. Cover and refrigerate 1-4 hours.

Turn on grill/barbeque to medium-high. Grill chicken about 5 minutes per side. Cool & cut diagonal slices.

Whisk 3 T lime juice, 1 T thyme & 1 T oil and garlic in large bowl. Season with SALT AND PEPPER. Place nectarines in small bowl; add 1 T of the dressing.

Add salad greens & toss to coat. Arrange chicken atop greens. Top with nectarines, pine nuts and raspberries.

Serves 4.

Enjoy!!!

Plan B

Ever have one of those nights when the meal you had written down wasn't going to work? Well, that has happened a lot in my cooking life and even after 29 years, it still happens....like the other night, when after a busy day of errands and grocery shopping, i came home, looked at my meal plan, got out the recipe, only to find out that the chicken needed to marinate overnight. Well, I quickly looked through the fridge and freezer and in my last 3 issues of Food and Wine and found a recipe that I could make in 30 minutes.
It is called Broken Pappardelle with Shrimp and Zucchini

A Lovely Spring Dessert

Recently I tried a new cake recipe from Food and Wine, May 2007. It is called:
Lemon Cake with Crackly Caramel Glaze

A few suggestions:
1.Err on the side of baking it for less time(check at 30 min).
2. When they say, deep honey color for the caramel, err on keeping it lighter, rather than darker.

Spring Chicken

It's time to fire up the grill and what is better than barbecued marinated chicken. But, what shall we marinate it in? Food and Wine this month has a number of different marinades to pick from: Vietnamese, Peruvian and Greek. On Monday night I used the Peruvian marinade and the outcome was delicious!!

Peruvian Marinade(makes 4 servings)

1/2 cup vegetable oil(I used olive)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
8 large garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 tsp. turmeric
1 tablespoon hot paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
salt and pepper

In a bowl, whisk all the ingredients together. Place the chicken in a large resealable bag and add the marinade. Seal the bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 4 hours.(I marinaded the chicken for 24 hours). Grill over moderate heat.

Comfort in March Madness

Yes, its that time of year again!! A whole month of NCAA Basketball! Well, we have passed the first 2 rounds and are down to the Sweet Sixteen. Now, you probably are wondering why this commentary on a recipe blog. In the last couple of years, I have sought to get a "little more into it" than just filling out the brackets. In the Jansen family, we all fill out the brackets, making our picks, etc.(My whole goal is to beat my husband!) But, to take it up another notch, I now purchase favorite snacks for the guys and plan special meals around the important games. For selection Sunday, we had Philly Cheese Steaks made with Comforting Beef and Oatmeal,Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies(I think we added a salad as a side). For the next weekend we hosted for the 1st time a March Madness 1st round tournament party, complete with Nachos and Homemade Buttermilk Cupcakes with Chocalate Ganache Frosting. So, ladies there is still time to make those basketball weekends special: there are 3 more weekends to go. Join in by cooking up something special, sit down next to your man and enjoy the madness.


Comforting Shredded Beef

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 bottom round roast(4 pounds)
salt and freshly ground pepper, to taste
1/2 cup Cognac
2 cups Beef Stock
3 cups(or as needed) Chianti or other full-bodied red wine


1. Heat the butter and oil in a Dutch oven(Le Creuset pans are excellent, fyi) over medium-high heat. Rub the roast all over with salt and pepper. Brown the beef on all sides in the hot butter and oil. It should take about 10 minutes.

2. Pour the Cognac into the pan, warm it, and flame with a match.(Make sure and step back as the flame jumps up high).

3. Pour the stock and 1/2 cup of the wine. Cover and simmer slowly over low heat for about 3 hours, adding more wine so that there is always about 1 cup liquid in the pan.

4. Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature. Remove the beef and shred onto small pieces, following the natural grain of the meat. It should fall apart quite easily.

5. Return the shredded beef to the liquid in the pan. Heat until warmed through. Serve as is, sprinkled with parsley, on toast, or as a wonderful base for a cheese steak sandwich.

6-8 portions

The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook, pg.354




Buttermilk Layer Cake(Cupcakes)

Have all the ingredients at room temperature, 68-70 F. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour cupcake pans or use liners.

Sift together:

2 1/3 cups sifted cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a large bowl, beat until creamy, about 30 seconds:
12 tablespoons(1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
Gradually add and beat on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 2-4 minutes:
1 1/3 cups sugar
Whisk together, then gradually beat in, taking about 2 minutes:
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with, in 2 parts:
1 cup buttermilk
beating on low speed or stirring with a rubber spatual until smooth and scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary. Pour the batter in the cupcake tins, filling to 1/2. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 25 minutes or so. Check after 20 minutes in case your oven runs hot. Let cool and then frost with your favorite frosting or with Chocolate Ganache.Makes about 2 dozen.

Joy of Cooking, pg.939



Chocolate Ganache Glaze or Frosting

Bring to a boil in a small saucepan:
3/4 cup heavy cream
Remove from the heat and add:
8 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Stir until most of chocolate is melted. Cover and let stand for 10 minutes. Stir or whisk very gently until completely smooth. Stir in:
1 tablespoon liqueur, or more to taste(optional)

For a pourable glaze, let stand at room temperature, stirring occasionally, until the mixture cools to 85-95F. For frosting, let stand until spreadable. If the frosting becomes too stiff, set the pan in a larger pan of hot water and stir until softened; or remelt and cool to 85-95F. for use as a glaze. This keeps for up to 3 days at room temperature or up to 1 week refrigerated. Or freeze for up to 3 months. Soften or melt befor using.

Joy of Cooking, pg. 1103



Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats(not instant)
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips(2 cups0
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350F. Cream the butter with the sugars in a mixer or by hand. Add the vanilla, milk, and eggs. Add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder to the creamed mixture and beat to combine. By hand, stir in chocolate chips, oats, and nuts. Either drop 1 1/2" apart on greased cookie sheets or roll dough into a log shape and slice them in 1/2" slices. I roll the dough and then wrap it in saran wrap and put into the refrigerator. Then, I just slice off what I want on a given evening and one has fresh baked cookies! Bake for 10-13 minutes depending on size. Let sit 1 minute, then remove to cooling racks.

The Frog Commissary Cookbook, pg. 253

Meat Loaf Anyone??

This has become a family favorite. Even a non meat loaf lover will like this one(I think?...let me know) For a wonderful variation: Try mixing ground veal and pork in equal proportions with the ground round!

Italian Meat Loaf with Fresh Basil and Provolone

Winter Soup

With all these cold, winter days...soups are in order....here is a new one to try:

Lentil and Roasted Garlic Soup with Seared Steak
Enjoy!!