She's Cookin' | from the heart » Cat Cora

Cat Cora Cookbook Giveaway

Priscilla — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 14:50:12 +0000

The WINNER of Cat Cora’s Classics With a Twist cookbook – signed by Cat is:

Comment #34 – Kim!

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Cat Cora’s Borscht and a Giveaway

Priscilla — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 12:53:21 +0000

After making this vibrant, bright soup, I thought to myself – of all the delectable recipes in her cookbook cat cora’s classics with a twist, I chose the borscht?? As Cat Cora says, either you love beets or hate them. Unfortunately, most people, and I firmly believe its only because they’re sole experience with beets have been the canned variety, fall in the latter category. Thankfully, the presence of roasted beet salads on restaurant menus has exposed a greater portion of the foodie population to beets. Like Cat Cora, I believe that we could move the minds of the haters, if we had the chance to serve them some of our favorite roasted beet dishes, so don’t give in to preconceived notions, give this under appreciated root vegetable a chance to prove itself!

Borscht with Horseradish Feta Cream

1 lb. beets (4 small or 2 large)*

2-4 cups kosher salt for roasting

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided use

1 medium onion, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

4 cups Cat’s Rich Chicken Stock or organic low-sodium chicken stock

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garnish:2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

Serves 4-6

Horseradish Feta Cream

½ cup creme fraiche**

1½ tablespoons prepared horseradish

½ cup crumbled feta cheese

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Freshly ground black pepper

Red pepper flakes (optional)

Directions for the borscht:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

*Include extra beets if you want to make a salad later in the week. Scrub the beets and pat them dry with paper towels. Fill a 9-by-13 inch baking pan about one quarter full of kosher salt and rest the bets on top of the salt. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over the beets. Roast until the beets are tender (a fork slides easily into a beet), about 1 hour for small beets and 1½ hours for larger beets.

Remove the pan from the oven. Leave the beets on the salt and when cool enough to handle (about 30 minutes), peel the skins off and chop the beets. Note: I use gloves to peel the beets, so I don’t end up with beet red hands Set aside.

Heat the remaining 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy saucepan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, add the onion, carrots, and garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables begin to show signs of browning, about 10 minutes.

Pour in the chicken stock and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the vinegar and the beets, season with salt and pepper, and cook for another 10 minutes, until the flavors meld. Serve chunky or let the soup cool and puree in a blender (hold the lid on) or in the cooking pot with an immersion blender.

Meanwhile prepare the Horseradish Feta Cream:

**I substituted sour cream for the creme fraiche. Combine the sour cream, horseradish, and feta cheese in a blender or food processor and blend at low speed for about 3 minutes. Or you can combine the ingredients in a bowl and use an immersion blender.

Add the lemon juice and pulse for a few seconds to blend. Add a few grinds of black pepper and red pepper flakes if you like a bit of heat, pulse to blend again. Cover and refrigerate. Serve borscht with a dollop of horseradish feta cream.

I was totally smitten by the horseradish feta cream which provides the twist that the title of the cookbook eludes to. I saved every last bit of it and can tell you that it was delicious spread on rye toast, on top of my Sunday football sliders with caramelized onions, and as a tantalizing accompaniment to grilled steaks.

Come join Soup-a-Palooza with TidyMom and Dine and Dish

sponsored by Bush’s Beans, Hip Hostess, Pillsbury and Westminster Crackers

And now for the GIVEAWAY: (giveaway is closed)

For a chance to win cat cora’s classics WITH A TWIST , signed by Cat Cora at a taping of Disney’s Muppet Kitchen, all you have to do is:
1. “Like” my Facebook page (yes, its called TopMomBlog but She’s Cookin’ cooks there) by clicking on the widget in the sidebar, and
2. Leave a comment below telling us whether you like or loathe beets or how you prefer your beets or whatever you feel deep down about beets

The winner will be selected by random number generator at midnight CST on Sunday October 17th and announced here and on Facebook.

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Post tags: borscht, Cat Cora, Cat Cora's Classics With a Twist, Giveaways, horseradish feta cream

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Gettin’ Messy in the Kitchen with Cat Cora

Priscilla — Thu, 07 Oct 2010 16:58:24 +0000

If you had told me that I would be visiting the Muppets Kitchen at Disney Studios I most certainly would have scoffed and looked at you as if you were delirious. But there I was ~ sitting in the front row, waiting for Iron Chef Cat Cora and muppets Chef Angelo and Pepe to make their entrance for a taping of Muppets Kitchen! I tweeted “you’re never too old for the muppets!”. Being a big fan of Cat Cora’s was the main reason I was one of the few moms there without a child under the age of 10 – not only is Cat the only female Iron Chef and Executive Chef at Bon Appétit, but I adore her Mississippi accent and the southern influence that you see in many of her culinary creations.

AND, now she’s joined Disney’s Magic of Healthy Living national multimedia initiative to partner with parents to raise healthy, happy kids. The initiative includes public service announcements by FIrst Lady Michele Obama who started the Let’s Move! campaign for raising healthier, more active kids in 2006. The new content showcases fun, easy ways that healthy living can be woven into the fabric of everyday life, and The Muppets Kitchen with Cat Cora definitely does that with short video clips that show parents how to engage their kids in the kitchen and have fun while learning about healthy foods and cooking.

We had fun watching Cat, in the parent’s role, make Popcorn Trail Mix with Chef Angelo, as the kid, while Pepe tweeted about it. Gentle banter, lessons on kitchen safety, and teachable moments abound. I’ll be sharing the recipe for the Popcorn Trail Mix on OC Family.com or you can find the recipe and many other ideas and resources for parents by going to the new website, Family.com/healthyfun. Their other new website has fun activities designed especially for the kids: Disney.com/healthyfun.

Naturally, kids are always included and take an active part in Disney events. During the taping, Cat asked questions directly to the audience and, you know kids! They say the darndest things!

Overheard: ”Look even Cat Cora makes a mess when she cooks”

Lots of food to please the palate of big and little kids!

My personal fave: the Mediterranean Pinwheel Hummus Wraps (recipe below)

Mediterranean Pinwheel Hummus Wraps
By Cat Cora

6 vegetable wraps (spinach, red pepper, or whole wheat)

1 ½ cups hummus

6 large romaine lettuce leaves

2 red bell peppers, thinly sliced

1 carrot, grated

1/3 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

6 slices turkey bacon, cooked until crispy according to package instructions

1/4 cup, grated Parmesan cheese, plus 2 tablespoons

Directions:
1.Spread 1/4 cup of hummus on each vegetable wrap.
2. On top of the hummus, place one lettuce leaf at the bottom edge of each wrap.
3. On top of the lettuce, line the leaf with a single layer of sliced bell peppers.
4. On top of the layer of peppers, spread about 1/4 cup of grated carrot.
5. On top of the grated carrot, sprinkle about 1 tablespoon of chopped sun-dried tomatoes.
6. On top of the sun-dried tomatoes sprinkle the chopped basil evenly among the 6 wraps.
7. On top of the basil, place one whole slice of cooked turkey bacon.
8. Finally, on top of the turkey bacon, sprinkle the grated Parmesan cheese evenly among the 6 wraps.
9. To roll the wrap, fold the left and right side of each wrap inward about 1 1/2 inches. Then starting from the bottom upward tightly roll the wrap keeping the layers intact.
10. Cut the wraps into 1-inch pieces and serve.

This is a great recipe to try with your kids – there’s no cooking involved and they’ll enjoy layering the ingredients and rolling them up in the tortillas!

Enjoy

AND stay tuned for a GIVEAWAY!!! A signed copy of Cat Cora’s Classics with a Twist cookbook, be sure and visit on Monday!

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Brussels Sprouts Grow on Trees

Priscilla — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:37:34 +0000

There’s been a lot of talk about brussels sprouts this past week: about children wanting to eat them (for real!) and a mom who just can’t stomach it, to Thanksgiving recipes for the cruciferous veggie (how did brussels sprouts become a Thanksgiving tradition anyway?). In response to the parents commenting on the Whrll slideshow I challenged myself to find a recipe that children, and adults could enjoy, maybe…

Did you know that brussels sprouts grew like this? I didn’t, but now the fact that they belong to the cabbage family, along with broccoli and cauliflower, becomes more clear to me. Kids are always curious about where things come from so I think they would be intrigued by this photo. I found the real thing at Trader Joes in case you want to buy some yourself.

Now the recipe, from Cat Cora of Iron Chef fame:

Ingredients
3 pounds Brussels sprouts
¼ cup unsalted butter
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Directions
Prepare the brussels sprouts by peeling off the tired outside leaves and cutting off the stem. Mark the core where the stem was with an X using a paring knife. Cut the sprouts in half.

In a 4 quart sauce pan bring 2 quarts of water to a boil. Season with 1 tablespoon of salt. Blanch the sprouts for 10 minutes, or until fork tender.

In a 10 inch sauté pan, brown the butter and add in the sprouts. Cook on medium high heat, rolling the sprouts in the pan, until the sprouts are caramelized, about 10 minutes.

Remove from the heat, and add the capers and lemon juice. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.

Serves 4 to 6

* I cut the recipe in half – my little family was not going to eat 3 ½ lbs. of brussels sprouts : )

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Post tags: Cat Cora, She's Cookin', This week's obsession...., Uncategorized, vegetable

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