Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Strawberries Anyone?



I know when Spring is approaching when cheery daffodils and luscious strawberries are in abundance. Strawberries are perfect on top of or swirled within one of our delicious cheesecakes…perfect for your Easter guests or Spring gathering. To find out more about the most luscious and dairy fresh cheesecakes west of New York, visit our website http://www.queensofcheesecake.com/ or give us a call at 530.306.2414

Thursday, February 3, 2011

Queens of Cheesecake and Other Wonderful Things!


Dear Friends,

I have been anxious to make contact with all of my former Redbud Café friends and share what we are up to in 2011.

Chef Gabriel is Executive Chef at the new and beautiful Maranello Restaurant in Fair Oaks. Gabriel has topped the charts again with his unique and fresh menu approach with flavors you have loved in the past. You will find Maranello welcoming, comfortable, and the food exquisite. It will easily become your new favorite. Visit Maranello's website for more information. http://www.maranellorestaurant.com/

For myself and the other Queens of Cheesecake, we are creating the most amazing and delicious cheesecakes west of New York. We bake them fresh to order and we deliver to your door.

The Queens of Cheesecake specializes in Weddings, Parties, and cheesecakes for your corporate event. Check out our webpage: http://queensofcheesecake.com/

Don't forget that Valentine's Day is Monday, February 14th. I bake heart shaped cheesecakes to surprise any sweetheart. Call to place an order...(530) 306-2414


Tuesday, February 9, 2010

'Cuz I'm a woman -- W-O-M-A-N!"

What is 2” high, thick with personal history, has bullet points, and bragging rights?

It is a stack of my resumes I have sent out in the last 6 months for employment. It’s tough out there looking for a job!

Knowing that, I don’t take it personal that I haven’t landed the big one yet. If truth be told, I couldn’t be prouder of what I have accomplished in owning my own restaurant. And I can tell you, I’m a far better woman than I was 5 years ago.

Remember that song, “I bring home the bacon, fry it up in the pan. And never let you forget you're a man. Cuz I'm a woman -- W-O-M-A-N!

I’ll be belting out that tune very soon. It’ll just takes time.

The recession isn’t going to take me out. I’ll just catch the economy on the up take.

Testing, Testing, Testing

I was wondering if anyone was really out there looking at my blog. You might think it was a clever ploy to publish my best recipe, leave out an ingredient, and see if anyone noticed. First of all…

1) I’m not that smart
2) I’m not that calculating
3) I don’t have test kitchen chefs to catch my errors

My friend Lindy caught the error in the Leek & Potato Soup. I forgot to list potatoes on the ingredients. What a ditz! So here is the revised recipe….and it’s still my best of my best recipes.

Leek & Potato Soup

½ cup butter
4 large leeks, thinly sliced
2 potatoes, diced into bite-size pieces
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups hot chicken broth
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3 cups whipping cream or half-and-half
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons chopped chives

Melt butter. Add vegetables; cook until brown. Blend in flour gradually. Stir in hot broth and bring to a boil. Simmer until vegetables are tender. Add cheese; stir until melted. Scald cream (or half-and-half) and add to mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.

Here’s where your preference comes in. Serve as a rustic, hardy main dish soup or strain.

Serve garnished with chives.

Yield: 4 to 5 main dish servings or
8 to 10 starter servings

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Leek & Potato Soup

Because I’m of a giving spirit, I am giving you my best of my best recipes:

Leek & Potato Soup

½ cup butter
4 large leeks, thinly sliced
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 carrots, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 cups hot chicken broth
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
3 cups whipping cream or half-and-half
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons chopped chives

Melt butter. Add vegetables; cook until brown. Blend in flour gradually. Stir in hot broth and bring to a boil. Add cheese; stir until melted. Scald cream (or half-and-half) and add to mixture. Season with salt and pepper. Simmer 20 minutes.

Here’s where your preference comes in. Serve as a rustic, hardy dish soup with the vegetables left in their chopped form or you can choose to strain the soup to a puree.

Serve garnished with chives.

Yield: 4 to 5 main dish servings or
8 to 10 starter servings

Monday, February 1, 2010

I can’t control my :)

I thrive on moments of well-being. I hoard them and memorize them.

If I can capture it in a photo, I paste it on my desktop so I can stare and absorb that moment over and over again.

Amy & Eddie 2009
Photo credits: LYFE Photography, Portland, Oregon
http://www.lyfephotography.net/

If I can capture that good feeling in a journal, I put pen to paper.

If it is a taste, I run the flavors over my tongue so I can remember and capture them again in my kitchen.

A reassuring touch…how is it to be chronicled or captured? Only by quickly sharing that confirming touch to someone else.

Sunday, January 31, 2010

Mom's Yum Yum Baked Beans

We’ve been invited to Chef Gabriel and Chef Jeneca Glasier’s Super Bowl XLIV party next Sunday.

If you had the opportunity to taste Gabe’s ribs, you’d know that watching the Saints vs. Colts game is secondary to the chance to enjoy his savory ribs.

So my side dish to the Super Bowl food frenzy is my Mom’s Yum Yum Baked Beans. Whenever I serve them I get a lot of Oohs! and Aahs! Anything with a pound of bacon in it can’t be without merits. Enjoy!

Mom’s Yum Yum Baked Beans

6 -15 ½ oz cans precooked beans. Select from a combination of butter, great northern, kidney, lima, or red beans. (I use 2 cans each of butter, great northern and red beans)
1 # bacon
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup dark Karo syrup
Dash of pepper
2 tsp. dry mustard
1 cup ketchup
1 cup reserved bean liquid

Drain beans (reserve 1 cup liquid for later). Put beans in large kettle. Dice bacon and mix with beans. Put rest of ingredients (including reserved bean liquid) in medium-size saucepan. Boil 10 minutes. Pour over beans and bacon. Stir. Cook 3-4 hours at 250°-300° stirring every ½ hour.

I have cooked this recipe in a crock pot but haven’t achieved as much carmelization as when cooked slowly in the oven.

 
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