Leftovers are the Mothers of Invention

I know that the phrase is really 'necessity is the mother of invention' but when it's comes to suing up what's hanging around your fridge, sometimes those leftovers can lead to an incredible creation.

Right now the Gourmand Girl is living back at home while she writes full time. It's actually been a lot of fun because I get to cook for other people instead of just myself AND someone else does the dishes. C'est wonderful! But one of the challenges is that my Mother cannot bear to throw anything away. We must use and re-use whatever food is in the fridge until it is eaten or decides to crawl away on it's own. (Don't tell, but sometimes I take pity on the poor things and sneak them out to the garbage, shhh.) So we eat a meal of leftovers at least once a week. If the week has been good this is not a bad thing. But if it has been a lackluster week or I'm just tired of eating the same thing for the fifth time, you have to get creative. Add to this the fact that your Gourmand Girl is, shall we say, of reduced circumstances (that sounds so much better than broke). I have begun to rise to the occasion by shopping European style (buying what's in season, therefore more abundant and less expensive), looking for great bargains and yes, by frugally recycling the foodstuffs we already have.

Last week I made a pork loin, which I served with scalloped potatoes and braised collard greens. The entire meal cost me eight dollars and served three people. But of course we had leftovers. So we made barbecued pulled pork sandwiches one night. That still left a pile of pork, part of a ten pound bag of potatoes and some collard greens. So last night I baked a few of the potatoes and made a small batch of baked beans. I stuffed the baked potatoes with baked beans, collard greens, chopped barbecued pork and a sprinkle of cheese and stretched four more meals out of it. So for a grand total of ten dollars we got ten meals. I did fill in the cracks with ingredients I already had in the house. (I was too lazy to go to the store for a can of baked beans so I made my own with a can of kidney beans I already had in the cupboard.)

Let me tell you, those "Southern Stuffed Potatoes" were delicious. They were hearty and filling even without a lot of meat. The potatoes held up well under their blanket of sweet baked beans, tangy greens and spicy pork. I wasn't really sure how they would blend together when I decided to try it but I can not only report that everyone enjoyed them, but they will definitely be on the menu again. So the next time you are wondering what to make for dinner, don't be afraid of those little dibs and dabs lurking in your fridge. Try combining them together to make something new. Be brave and you might just find a brand new favorite hiding in a bunch of old ones.

Sweet and Tangy Baked Beans

1/2 small onion, chopped
1/2 green pepper, chopped (or any color you have laying around)
1/4 c. each white and brown sugar
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. mustard
1 or 2 [16 ounce] cans beans, rinsed and drained (any kind you like, pinto, kidney, red, etc.)
Salt, Black Pepper, Cayenne Pepper, SSSeasoning Blend

Saute onion and green pepper in a medium saucepan over medium heat until the onion becomes translucent. Add sugars, ketchup, vinegar and mustard and stir, until sauce comes together and starts to simmer. Add beans and bring back to simmer. Season with salt, pepper, cayene and house seasoning to taste. Simmer on low for an hour until sauce thickens to desired consistency.

(SSSeasoning is my own mixture of the spices I use most often. Make your own by blending your favorite spices in an empty salt shaker. Use the spices you find yourself reaching for the most. Or you can try mine by combining 2 parts salt with 1 part each of black pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, celery salt, paprika and 1/2 part cayenne pepper)

Fish on Fridays

No, I'm not Catholic, but I think even for those who aren't, the tradition of fish on Friday is sort of ingrained in our culture. I'm used to the soup du jour on Fridays almost always being clam chowder. (And since I love clam chowder, I'm quite happy about it.) Most school cafeterias serve fish sticks on Fridays and the root of this tradition it is due to the fact that for many years, papal law decreed that Catholics abstain from meat on Fridays as a form a penance, violation of which could be considered a mortal sin. (I'm not getting into any religious debate here, just explaining the roots of Fish Fridays). After Vatican II, you could eat meat on Friday but had to perform another sort of penance in it's place. And during Lent, as we are now, you can't even do that, there is NO meat eating on Fridays. (Apparently the Church does not consider seafood to be meat, but don't try to tell that to the Vegans).

Now I grew up in the desert and most of my fish experience as a child was limited to sweet and sour shrimp, served at the local Chinese place, and shrimp cocktails. Yes, children, there really were forty-nine cent shrimp cocktails back when I was a kid. It was a little bit of chopped celery, followed by a thick layer of very tiny bay shrimp, topped with a glop of horseradishy cocktail sauce. It was served in a sundae glass with a plastic spoon and a little package of oyster crackers. I loved it when my grandmother would take me downtown to the Four Queens Casino for one of these treats. But most of my experience with fish was limited to my ordering the fried fish fillet, extra tartar sauce, at the Harvest House cafeteria when we went to the mall and a few tuna sandwiches. Mostly this was because my father didn't eat fish (no fish, no fowl was his rule, which means my childhood was full of red meat) although he did like shellfish, but that was out of our price range most of the time. Las Vegas was pretty fish deprived as a whole, being a landlocked desert. I can remember when the first Red Lobster opened in 1984, it was an event, and actual fish restaurant at family friendly prices. So I never ate much in the way of fresh fish until I grew up.

Today I love fish which is much more available due to flash freezing techniques and world farming and lower costs. One of my favorite types of fish is tilapia, a very mild white fish. I first heard of tilapia in the 1990's during the whole "Biosphere 2" experiments. Tilapia are a fast growing fish that is easily farmed. Practically unheard of at one point, tilapia is now the fifth most consumed in the United States. I think it's beacuse of it's mild flavor and firm texture and ease of preparation. It's not a "fishy fish" which is why most people like it. Tilapia is high in protein, low in fat and very low in calories and it's also pretty inexpensive.

Here is my favorite tilapia recipe for your "Fish Friday". Enjoy!

Lemon Caper Tilapia

1/2 c. chicken broth
1/4 c. dry white wine
1/4 c. fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp. capers, drained
3 (6 ounce) tilapia fillets (you can substitute any firm, mild white fish)
1/4 c. all purpose flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
3 Tbs. butter
salt, black pepper

Combine the chicken broth, wine, lemon juice and capers in a bowl. Melt 1 Tbsp. butter and olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place flour in a shallow dish, sprinkle fish with salt and pepper and dredge fillets lightly in flour. Increase heat of pan to medium high and heat 1-2 minutes until the butter turns golden brwn. Add fillet and saute 2-3 minutes on each side, until fish flakes easily with a fork. Remove fillets from pan and keep warm. Add the broth mixture to the pan, scraping up any browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 4 inutes. Remove from heat and whisk in the remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Serve sauce over fish with plenty of crusty bread to soak up the sauce.

The Egg Came First

I believe the egg came first, since many forms of life come from eggs. And I'm grateful they do, I can go a lot longer without eating chicken than I could without eating eggs. Eggs are healthy, filling, inevpensive and delicious. Even people who claim to not like eggs probably consume them every day. They lighten, leaven, bind and bond in baked good, sauces, custards and dressings as well as egg dishes themselves.

It is said that the pleats on a chef's toque (the fancy name for a chef's hat) represent the number of ways the chef can prepare an egg. Master chef's have a hundred pleats. Even if this is really just a kitchen legend, eggs really are versatile. My brother likes his eggs scrambled well, my other likes hers poached medium and I like mine fried over easy. That's three ways right there, only ninety-seven to go.

Eggs to me are a comfort food. I remember my grandmother making me eggs on toast when I was sick, and frying my eggs for breakfast before I went to school. My father didn't cook much when I was growing up but I have fond memories of the rare occasions when he would make us all a big weekend breakfast with his delicious scrambled eggs. They were more of a cross between scrambled eggs and a custard, they were creamy and soft with a very fine texture. I adored those eggs but my mother didn't adore them as much since she had to soak her skillet for two days to finally remove the inch layer of crusted on egg.

My favorite indulgence is Eggs Benedict. There is something about the combination of salty canadian bacon, a perfectly poached egg, the yolk a rivulet of pure gold running into the lemony hollandaise that sends me over the moon. One of my guilty pleasures is to go to a local casino for their breakfast buffet where they have not only traditional Benedict but several other variations as well. I can eat as many as I want. Oh, I know, it's not very good for me but I don't do it very often and I am the Gourmand Girl after all.

I doubt that there is any preparation of eggs nearly as versatile as the omelet. They are great for breakfast, lunch or dinner, quick to make and require very few ingredients. I love cleaning out the fridge and using whatever leftovers may be on hand to fill my omelet. Even just a dab of this and a bit of that can add up to a really filling omelet. I prefer the French method, which you add water, not milk to your eggs. The water steams up while you are cooking the eggs and creates a nice fluffy omelet.

Crack one or two eggs in a bowl and beat lightly with a fork. Add a couple of teaspoons of water per egg and beat again. The water will help you beat the eggs so that they are uniform in color and texture, with no streaks of white or yolk. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat and add a bit of butter to coat the pan. Pour in the eggs and swirl the pan gently to coat. Let the eggs set a few seconds then lift the outer edges to allow any liquid egg to run underneath, repeating as necessary until there is no more liquid egg. Cover the pan for a minute until the egg is completely set. You can fill from here or if you really like your eggs well done, flip the omelet over before filling. (If you have a hard time flipping, slide the omelet onto a plate, then invert the plate back into the pan). Put in your favorite fillings and fold the omelet over in half and slide onto a plate. (You can also to the fancier tri-fold but I think it looks bigger and more impressive just folded in half.) Be sure not to use too large a skillet, smaller skillets yield a fluffier, thicker omelet.

Pictured above is my breakfast, a one egg cheese omelet topped with salsa. It didn't take any time at all and it's kept me fueled all morning long and the entire breakfast was less than 400 calories. But if you really don't have the time, try making a stack of omelet forms on the weekend. Just follow the steps above but don't fill or fold. Stack them on a plate and cover with plastic wrap. Then in the mornings, just grab a form, put some fillings in and microwave until hot. If you have to eat on the run, place a tortilla on a plate, top with an omelet form, add cheese and salsa (and whatever else you have laying around) and microwave. Roll it up and you have a homemade breakfast burrito faster than you can order at a drive thru.

The next time you are wondering about what to have to eat, think about having an egg. They really are incredible.

Welcome to the Kitchen

Hello Dear Readers,

Welcome to the kitchen of the Gourmand Girl. Here we will explore the abundance and luxury that is the word of food.

What are my qualifications to lead you on this expedition? Well, I've been eating since the day I was born and that lifelong passion for food has led to my passion for cooking and food history as well as eating. I am the daughter and granddaughter and great-grandaughter of home culinarians who passed along their knowledge and love of food.

A 'gourmand' is defined as 'one who is heartily interested in good food and drink' and I am the embodiment of that definition. My philosopy of food is that the reason that food is so popular, so pervasive in all cultures, so completely a part of any society is that food is sensual, that is it appeals to all of our senses. Picture the perfect ripe summer peach and you gaze at the pink-hued flesh, touch the warm, fuzzy skin, smell the heady perfume, biting into it, juice running down as the sweet, sweet fruit caresses your tongue, hear yourself groan at it's deliciousness. That is the sensuality of food and it's in all food, not just ripe summer peaches. Food is what brings us together in celebration, comforts us when in mourning, nourishes our bodies and feeds our souls. We eat not only to sustain life but also to enjoy life. Hopefully I will be able to help foster that enjoyment.

I am a gourmand, which to me also means that part of that "hearty interest" in food is not just in the high end, gourmet frou-frou kinds of food but also in the simple, the healthy and the 'low brow' foods we barely admit to knowing about, let alone eating. No food is sacred, no food is taboo.

Welcome to my table, pull up a chair and join me. There is always enough to go around!