Chicken Paella for Dorothy ...

This week's Game-Changer is all about teaching the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals. Dorothy Hamilton has earned her way onto this list by observing the best of vocational education in Europe and bringing the model to the States via her French Culinary Institute, which has morphed to become The International Culinary Institute. What started as a small school for students of French cuisine in Manhattan has become a well-respected school of culinary arts with a west coast branch in San Francisco. To boot, Hamilton has branched out to lend support to an alternative education and rehabilitation program for incarcerated folk and their families. She has also worked  on developing a vocational program designed to train housekeeping professionals with the knowledge and savvy it takes to run an estate from the winecellar up to the housekeeping quarters - kind of like an Upstairs, Downstairs training camp. Yes, of course, I'm simplifying, but you do get the ghist, right?

Her niche has been education - vocational education that implements a strong immersion model - an 'in the trenches' approach that specializes students, giving them skills and knowledge of the food and hospitality industry - laudable work, I  say, in this age where there is such a huge stress on getting into the right college, getting your degree, going for the degree that will get you big bucks ... blah, blah, blah.

So, my quandry has been deciding on what to make as a small tribute to this powerhouse of a woman? Well, I read a Dorothy Hamilton interview in which she stated her love of making chicken paella ... I KNOW! Paella!?! Well, there you go ... a French chef with a love of the cuisine to the south of France! Since I love paella ...

This one's for you, Dorothy! This is my version of Chicken Paella ... enjoy!

chickpeas in lieu of green peas

Peanut Butter Cookies

What kind of peanut butter person are you - smooth or crunchy? We have an on-going argument in our house. SB, who consumes the vast majority of the peanut butter claims that there is no place for peanut bits in the peanut butter, but I disagree. I love peanut butter crunches in peanut sauce, in peanut butter cookies, in the filling of peanut butter pie, and in mouse traps ... but that's another story. So, I buy SB his jar of smooth and have on hand the smaller jar of crunchy for my consumption needs.

Today is a day to bake peanut butter cookies. I am using crunchy peanut butter because it makes a more interesting cookie, texturally speaking ... not to mention it tastes better. Silent Bob will come out to the kitchen when he smells that first batch and he'll ask for a sample. He'll pour a glass of milk, take a bite of the first warm cookie, and moan, "Not crunchy again!" I'll smile and nod emphatically. Then, he'll moan, "Oh, okay. I guess I can stomach that." This will be said in his very best Eeyore voice. Then, he'll nab a stack of two or three warm cookies and retire to the couch to watch a little football. And that will be that ... one more little salvo in the on-going peanut butter war.

Bisque and a Book - 'The Lobster Chronicles' by Linda Greenlaw

Back in the day, lobsters were poor folk food. Don't laugh! There were actual laws prohibiting prisons from feeding their prisoners lobster more than once a week! Just imagine! Well, there's no problem in this grey cottage with eating lobster frequently - that is , if the budget would just allow!

Summertime is the time for me to splurge a few times and buy lobsters from a guy down the road. His son has a lobsterman's license over on the coast of New Hampshire, so he sells his catch inland, where he has a sure market. I go into his little shop and pick a few out of the tank, but I rarely consider all the hard work that goes into harvesting these bottom feeders. It's constant work, maintaining lobster traps and lines, hauling, baiting , resetting them. The tourists always love seeing the little lobster boats chugging in and out of harbor, but they don't consider the work either when they are tying on their lobster bibs and bellying up to a table of boiled lobster with drawn butter.

Linda Greenlaw addresses that issue for anyone curious enough to wonder just what does go into being a lobsterman (er ... woman). She has written a chronicle of a year in the life of a lobsterman and I must say, she doesn't romanticize things. It's a hard life that one has to love in order to keep to ... the sea can be a cold, dangerous, unforgiving environment. Currents can play havoc with equipment, weather conditions can be life-threatening, political intricacies can make for bad blood between fellow lobstermen, and the lobsters can come and go (often at the worst possible times). Still, Greenlaw keeps at it ... and writes of her life with honesty, poignancy, and humor. This was a fun summertime read, but on this first day of Fall ... and in honor of Homarus americanus, I am making a Lobster Bisque this evening to have with fresh bread and a green salad.

Maida Heatter - Dessert Goddess

What rock have I been under, that I have never heard of Maida Heatter? Though her education was in the art and fashion design and merchandising arena, she settled on a career as a pastry chef and cooking instructor. The quality of her recipes and finished products endeared her to Craig Claiborne and various celebrity media personalities and brought her into the realm of cookbook publishing. She has been awarded the James Beard Foundation Award on three separate occasions, had her recipes published in such places as Food & Wine Magazine, the New York Times, Women's Day, and Chocolatier. Her desserts have graced tables at Spago, The Four Seasons, and various Presidential luncheons ... high praise, indeed! Who knew? Not me!

Pumpkin and Herbed Ricotta Stuffed Shells

perfect for a centerpiece or a jack o' lantern

Pumpkin Season is upon us and I am chock full of ideas for the next few dinners, desserts, and snacks - all incorporating pumpkin mash, pumpkin cubes, and/or pumpkin seeds. Of course, I'm NOT going to overload poor SB day after day with pumpkin dishes, but we'll certainly get our fill in the next few weeks.

because only a masochist with a machete chops, stews, and mashes their own pumpkin

Tonight, I'm in the mood for pasta, so I'm making these little stuffed shells that have a pumpkin/ricotta cheese /herb filling. I halved the recipe so that we don't have them sitting in the fridge for more than a day. That way, I can make more pumpkin-y things and not have SB crabbing at me. The recipe reflects enough stuffing for twelve shells - dinner and a lunch of leftovers. Perfect for two people...

lined pasta in a lined bowl

Random Recipe - Clip-Outs and Magazine Corner Folds

Who doesn't have a pile of magazines set aside with 'must make recipes' marked by page folds? How about that folder or bag or box of newspaper clip-outs, scrawled index cards or slips of paper with recipes given by friends? I have a treasure trove of plastic shopping bags (two of them), a desk organizer, and a pile of magazines filled with such things! Dom has asked us to reach in and pull a random clipping for this month's Random Recipe - and that's exactly what I did.

Another Beautiful Cake - Chocolate Beetroot Cake

My cricket is coming home for her birthday dinner this evening and I made her a birthday cake! She will blow out a candle, open a gift, and cut into this lovely little cake that I made this morning. Pardon the purple and pink icing drizzle ... I just HAD to do it! It is SOOO reminding me of Sara's My Pretty Pony days; I swear she had little plastic ponies that were the exact shades of this icing drizzle! Come to think of it, I think she also had purple and pink sweat pants, t-shirts, barrettes, and socks! Maybe even sneakers! Yup! I'm positive ... thank God, her fashion sense has improved. Mine, however ...?

With beet juice in such a vibrant shade of purple, I just had to play with the colors! Yeah, I know pretty purple geraniums and mint are redundant, but Sara didn't see my other pretty cake of last week (another birthday cake!). It's all new to her! Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Duck With Forty Cloves of Garlic - A Silver Palate Recipe

Right now, my kitchen, my dining room, my living room, my house smells of roasting garlic, sweet fennel, and onions ... they're all roasting their way to a platter of roasted duck, made in tribute to Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins. Too bad those ladies couldn't be sitting down to dinner with us this evening. I would love to hear the stories of their first years together as a team at The Silver Palate. I'd enjoy hearing about the travels of Sheila, as she did her worldwide recipe search for her All Around the World Cookbook, and how Julee ended up owning an inn and restaurant on the shores of Lake Michigan. Alas, Sheila is no longer with us and Julee has her own schedule that is NOT aligned with mine ... alas.