Food for the Soul: Cooking for Others

There are things that we get away from as society grows and we further isolate ourselves from our neighbors. The more we turn toward our computers, our phones, and our own needs, the more we lose the connections with those around us. Don't get me wrong, I'm not anti progress, but there are certain old fashioned ways that I hold dear and will do my best to continue. Here is something about me: I like to be useful. But sometimes, the best way to be useful is to not incessantly ask someone "what can I do?" The most important times in our lives, the ones that are the highest peaks and the lowest valleys, are the times when people are needed. But what CAN you do? You can feed the soul by feeding the person.

Food is a group hug for your stomach. Your stomach told me this.

I tend to be good at bad situations. I can't think of a better way to put it. When the world around me is falling apart, the only way I thrive is by being the one who keeps it together. And I keep it together by doing what I can do for the people who have lost more than I have. When someone loses a loved one, I cook. If I can't cook because we have to leave town to be there, I clean. If I can't cook and I can't clean, I send flowers and eat ice cream at home while watching a rom com.

When a new baby is born, I LOVE IT. While I didn't get it as much before having my own baby, how can you not LOVE a brand new baby and all of the brand new joy that goes along with it? You have to. Those are the rules. When a baby is born, I cook. And then I buy monogrammed things and tell L she has a new friend (who she can only look at and not touch for four months), and then I cook some more.

Because I have been the recipient of meals cooked lovingly by others I know how much they really mean. It's more than just a meal, it is love and it is warmth and it is food for the SOUL. When you haven't slept all night because you have a new baby and you have amazing friends drop something from their kitchen on your front door, it is better than Christmas. When you wake up after an hour of sleep to breast feed a colicky baby and find your mother cooking in your kitchen, it is a memory that will last a lifetime. 

I am fortunate enough to not yet be the recipient of sympathy food, but sympathy food is something that is somewhat selfish for me. When I know someone that I love is hurting, it is something I can do for them that is useful and that I know will serve a purpose.

At the end of last week, S's first cousin once removed passed away. He and S's father grew up together and he thought of him very much like a brother, so it was a difficult loss for his parents. He was also a really fun and wonderful man in lots of ways who hosted us in Pittsburgh when we were engaged and helped us celebrate our wedding. He was instrumental in the craft beer movement in Pennsylvania and although he was taken too soon, he lived a great life. 

When I heard that he had passed away, I was already on my way to the store, so I stocked up on the things I needed to make a casserole for S's parents so they wouldn't have to worry about cooking for a few days. My first rule in bringing food to others is to cook something that you love to eat. That way you know that it is good. I went for King Ranch Casserole and I was on a time crunch since I had Landy with me and because S's dad was going to swing by and pick it up. Also, this is not a "healthy" recipe, but I make it as healthy as possible. Please just don't focus too much on the cheese quantity. You are the one sprinkling, you can sprinkle as much as you want (or don't want).

Time Crunch King Ranch Chicken Casserole (for the soul)

Makes two pans if you use a 7" x 11" rectangular pan

I made one in a 13" x 9" rectangular pan with another small one in an 8" x 8" square pan

Ingredients: 

time crunch ingredient: Store Rotisserie Chicken

or

non time crunch ingredient: 3 - 4 cups of cooked, shredded chicken

2 large onions

1 red bell pepper

1 green bell pepper

3 - 6 cloves of garlic (optional, if you like garlic)

1 T EV Olive Oil

2 cans of healthy request cream of chicken soup (low sodium if they have it)

2 cans of healthy request cream of mushroom soup (low sodium if they have it)

2 cans of original rotel, drained

2 t Chili Powder

2 t garlic powder

20 corn tortillas

4 C of shredded cheese (mexican four cheese blend works well)

Salt & Pepper to taste

Chop your onions and peppers and mince your garlic. Then put a large stock pot on the stove over medium heat to warm up the pan. Combine the onions, peppers and garlic.

Chopped Onion with a trash bowl nearby.

Chopped peppers

About to murder the garlic. Then combine it all.

Pour the EV Olive oil in the pan to coat the bottom and add the onion, pepper, garlic mixture to pan, cooking over medium and stirring until everything is soft.

Pan Party

If I cook my own chicken, I actually do that first so it has time to cool before I need to shred it. Since I used a rotisserie chicken I shredded it while the vegetables were cooking.

Half way mark for shredding.

When your veggies are soft and the onions are clear, add the cans of chicken and mushroom soup, the rotel (drained), the shredded chicken, the chili powder, and the garlic powder. Salt and pepper to taste.

REMINDER: if you are making for someone else and you don't know their salt/pepper preferences, keep your salt and pepper in check. They can always season later to their taste.

Empty soup

Rotel

One big gooey family.

After a couple minutes over medium heat, remove the mixture from the stove. At this point in my cooking, S's dad showed up early and I was put into overhaul mode to finish their larger casserole. What you see below is just the smaller one we kept for ourselves.

Grease the bottom of your pan with your preffered method. Then add a layer of tortillas, torn, until the bottom is covered.

torn tortilla bottom

Next, add a layer of your chicken mixture

Second layer

And last, sprinkle with cheese

Then start again with torn tortillas

More chicken mixture

More cheese

Grand finale, one more tortilla layer, skip the chicken mixture and go straight to the cheese. This layer gets really crispy and crunchy when you put the casserole in the oven.

And there you have it.

A side view of the layers.

If you were making this for immediate consumption, you would put it in the oven at 350 degrees for 25 - 30 minutes or until the top is toasty with bubbling cheese.

Our casserole was a giveaway and we didn't cook the one we made for ourselves until the following day. In these isntances you cover the casserole and put it in the refrigerator. If well covered you can also freeze the casserole. To cook after freezing or refrigerating, simply bring the casserole back to room temp and heat your oven to 350 degrees and cook it for 25 - 30 minutes or until the top is toasty with bubbling cheese.

If there was a food in the world with the ability to group hug, it would be a warm casserole. This is one of my favorites.

Cooking for others doesn't have to be a practice you turn to just for loss of life or new births. Maybe you know someone who is having a hard time, maybe you have new neighbors, or maybe you just want to see a friend smile. That's right guys, I'm getting cheesy and sentimental, but it's true. Cooking for someone else is a wonderful gift and it means so much to the recipient of the meal that took your time and thought to create.

Cooking is a cherished practice that should be undertaken by everyone. Make every meal a celebration, and every time you cook remember that you are feeding more than just an empty stomach.

-RT

Naked Dinner Parties

Get your mind out of the gutter. No matter what you are thinking, naked dinner parties aren't like this:

Who wants to go to this dinner party?

EVERYONE.

 Confession: Until last Saturday I thought that Jamie Oliver was called "The Naked Chef" because he started his career cooking in the nude to gain recognition. Seriously. Just think about the naked cowboy and it makes total sense. Come on, it does. Well anyway, it turns out I was wrong.

Our friends R & C invited us over to their new place for dinner last Saturday night. You might remember R and her amazing hors. She is fantastic. For years and years and lots of dinners out we heard about how C was such a great chef. It was all very suspicious though because he is British and they never invited us over to eat. Just a low brow Brit cooking joke for C to rib me about later. For company and cooking's sake, we were really looking forward to dinner. 

We arrived at their gorgeous new home and kicked things off with wine and a tour. We also cut into the cheese and bread with a vengeance, so please forgive me for the following picture...

Oops. We ate it all before I got the blogging bug.

 R made an amazing orzo veggie toss in advance. It was a recipe she got from her mom and it was fantastic. We took leftovers and Landy was all over them. So was I. 

R & C were just across the pond for a family wedding and brought back some proper Hunter Wellies for L. ADORE.

Also known as galoshes, but not as fun to say.

While R & I were drooling over wellies and she was showing me this fantastic new blog design she surprised me with (the one you are seeing right now. really, she is the MOST amazing, trust me), the boys were finishing up dinner in the kitchen. While I am lacking knowledge of exactly what was going on back in the kitchen, I have pieced some bits together.

Upon arrival we saw a pizza stone in the oven. MAJOR excitement. It's so professional and very legit. I had to try and not eat too much crusty bread so I would have more room for pizza crusty crust. Decisions decisions. I have never used a pizza stone, but C says you need to preheat it in the oven until it is super hot (475 or more) to achieve maximum crusty crust all around. I said "crusty crust",  not him.

We brought crackers and no one ate them. This bread was warm, crusty, and the only thing my eyes could see.

C reads my blog because he's cool like that. He told me I would really like Jamie Oliver because we cook in a very similar fashion. My response: "Isn't he the guy who cooks naked?" Guys, you don't even know. I wasn't thinking he wasn't a good chef or anything, I just thought he was a showman. Someone who did crazy things for PR. Then I felt like a HUGE idiot. Especially after I looked into him some more. C was right. J.O. (that's what I call him now) is my man. We pretty  much share the same food philosophy. Please enjoy it in his words:

Fully Clothed Naked Chef.

 "My philosophy to food and healthy eating has always been about enjoying everything in a balanced, and sane way. Food is one of life's greatest joys yet we've reached this really sad point where we're turning food into the enemy, and something to be afraid of. I believe that when you use good ingredients to make pasta dishes, salads, stews, burgers, grilled vegetables, fruit salads, and even outrageous cakes, they all have a place in our diets. We just need to rediscover our common sense: if you want to curl up and eat macaroni and cheese every once in a while – that's alright! Just have a sensible portion next to a fresh salad, and don't eat a big old helping of chocolate cake afterwards.

Knowing how to cook means you'll be able to turn all sorts of fresh ingredients into meals when they're in season, at their best, and cheapest! Cooking this way will always be cheaper than buying processed food, not to mention better for you. And because you'll be cooking a variety of lovely things, you'll naturally start to find a sensible balance. Some days you'll feel like making something light, and fresh, other days you'll want something warming and hearty. If you've got to snack between meals, try to go for something healthy rather than loading up on chocolate or potato crisps. Basically, as long as we all recognize that treats should be treats, not a daily occurrence, we'll be in a good place. So when I talk about having a 'healthy' approach to food, and eating better I'm talking about achieving that sense of balance: lots of the good stuff, loads of variety, and the odd indulgence every now and then." - J.O.

I will say that I probably believe in a few more indulgences than J.O., but still, I feel the same except I say potato "chips" instead of "crisps" and prefer Big "Ole" instead of big "old". It makes a difference. Either way, C turned me onto his great world of online cooking videos and I'll definitely be picking up some of his books.

So back to it, R & C are putting together this amazing meal and as R & I drift back over to the kitchen I realize I need to start documenting. C was pulling together a tomato salad with chorizo that I can't even being to say enough about. It was, of course, a Jamie Oliver inspired dish. 

I dipped my pizza crust in this.... be jealous.

 Then Chef C took is pizza crust out of the oven. He had made the pizza with a ready made dough from Central Market. He left it out in a covered bowl at room temp for a few hours so it could warm up and gently rise. He spread a simple base sauce over it with sliced fresh buffalo mozzarella. That was all that went in the oven. The rest came flying forward in a fantastic way, freshly dropped upon the warm pizza base...

 chorizo slices and fresh arugula have been added. Then I heard "I'm not done yet."

Fresh chunks of Mozzarella and still "not done yet."

FINALLY done with fresh Parma Ham and some drizzled EV Olive Oil.

Adding back in the beautiful orzo pasta that R put together, my plate was going to look like Thanksgiving day.

SO fresh, SO delicious & a goat cheese bonus.

Upon my request, C created a perfect plate. As a reward, we let him eat it. And he did. With second portions  if I am not mistaken. I had seconds too... and would have had thirds, but you'll find out why I didn't soon.

"Let's have this for dinner every night!" said the fat girl who lives inside of me.

 This entire meal was just perfection. Major kudos to R & C for one of the best meals I have had at someone else's home. And for the GRAND FINALE.... R hits one out of the park.

Not prefrozen, not from a box, not from a bag... hand mixed homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Fresh from the Oven.

I learned about the "naked" chef and C learned that you just "plop" cookies down on a cookie sheet and they go from "squidgy" to round and delicious. 

I still can't get over this meal. It had something for everyone. Then I fell in love with the Hunter Wellies, while S had his own take home prize.

Good friends bring Scotch home from the UK.

If you are going to make your own pizza at home, take some advice from C: "the key to making pizza is less is more." Although I'm pretty sure I didn't desire less chorizo, less parma ham, less cheese, OR less arugula, so take that as you may.

Here is the youtube vid of Jamie Oliver making his Tomato Salad with Chorizo in a field. Really, in the middle of a field. This guy is special.

There is much to be said about a perfect night dining at home with wonderful friends. It is one of my very favorite things in the world. I'm just glad my friends let me blog about it later.

-RT

PS: The wellies were put to good use in the rain on Sunday morning and they matched perfectly with Landy's duck PJs from The Peabody.

Beer in Thailand, Vodka in Poland, all on one Sunday in Houston

Just when you think you are getting too old for a Sunday Funday, one drops right into your lap! Yesterday we had the great fortune to head out on one of Houston's culinary tours. Saveur Magazine put the premise behind these tours in much better (and more simple) terms than I could. "The visitors bureau of Houston, Texas, has hit on a great idea for food tours: round up the most passionate chefs in the city, ask them where they love to eat on their days off, and build an itinerary around that. Then invite the public." I had the pleasure of helping to set the logistics behind these tours in motion a few years ago with my former colleague who now handles all of the logistics with his new company Experience Houston.  It was a pretty fantastic day. 

So we kicked things off in the US. I had Special K for breakfast around 8am and headed to the grocery store. Once upon a time I did two of these tours back to back. The media was in town and it was during Rodeo, so in the morning we did a media tour that ended at the Rodeo Cook Off where we picked up the next media group for the afternoon tour. Eight restaurants in about eight hours. Thankfully I was working so I didn't have time to completely stuff my face. I did learn from watching others, so I tried to mentally prepare for the food marathon before me. We had 4 planned stops between 11am and 4pm. I knew I could do it. 

The tour in question was a version of the Long Point Road tour with Chef Bryan Caswell of Reef (former "Next Iron Chef" contestant) and Chef Chris Shepherd of new media darling, Underbelly. I don't mean for "media darling" to take anything away from Underbelly. We had an amazing experience dining and drinking there with friends a few months back.  And also, their PR team is working overtime. Neither of these chefs are strangers of PR. Caswell's Reef is undeniably some of the best seafood in Houston and he has had multiple James Beard nominations. This pair was also well put together. Both fun loving and ready to get things going. The bus meets up with everyone at Central Market to load up. 

Caswell's H-Town Glamour Shot

You can tell he is a chef because he has a cleaver. And also, he is wearing a chef's coat.

 We crack open some Saint Arnold Beer and head to our first destination. Vieng Thai is located in a strip center near the start of Long Point Road. There is not a functioning website to link to, but foodies are into it, so you can google it and find plenty of info. Before moving back to Houston I knew nothing about Thai Food. Houston has the third largest Vietnamese community in the United States, so spring rolls and Banh Mi abound. I am still just getting to know the true and delicious Thai selections. Vieng Thai is not to be missed. I could have stayed there the entire four hours filling my face. The items we had were as follows: E-sarn Sausage, Som Tum (green papaya salad), Massamum curry (above and beyond amazing), Plaa Pad Ped (Spicy catfish with basil, fantastic), Pat Sar-tor (shrimp with chili paste), Yum Nheam (I was afraid of this one because it was basically raw sausage, but I tried it. Then I tried it again. Then again. Fab), and lastly, the Pad See Ewe (noodle with black bean sauce, egg and pork). Everything we had was fantastic. The beer went with it perfectly. Great spices, great flavors, a few beers in and we were off!

You can tell it's good because there is neon on the outside AND the inside.

We were running ahead of schedule, so we swung by Korean Grocery Store H-Mart. Or as I have come to think of it, Costco for Asians. One of my favorite things about Asian mega grocery stores is the food court. It is always amazing and noodly (new word) and deliciousness. H-Mart did not disappoint. We picked up some ripe cherries for a dollar and some change a pound. We headed for the sake section and got a couple bottles of cold sake to share with our tour friends. Then we headed back to the bus. 

KIMCHI for one and all at H-Mart!

The "second" stop was Korea Garden, further down Long Point and next to a Karaoke joint. You know it's good Asian food when there is Karaoke nearby. We had actually been here before with one of S's friends from grad school who is Korean. No one spoke English at that time. They pretty much still don't. We were brought to the back room where the gas grills on the table were already burning and before they brought water they asked who wanted a beer. Two please, and a few bottles of Soju. The table was already laid out with raw meat and seafood ready to be grilled and seafood pancakes. The barbeque was followed up by bibim Nengmyun (Chilled buckwheat noodles) and Samgye Tang (chicken ginseng soup). The food is amazing and Soju is like sweeter, less alcoholic vodka that makes for great sipping. Additionally you get the fun feeling of grilling your own meat on the grill that lives in the middle of your table. Lots of soju later, we head on. 

We were cooking all on our own, but I found this professional photo by
Julie Sopher from a previous tour and it gives you a better idea of the set up.

Samgye Tang

Hite & Soju. Soju. Soju.

Stop three was Kong Ju Rice Bakery where they apparently make the best Kimchi in town. Even if you haven't been here, if you have eaten Kimchi in Houston, it was likely from Kong Ju Rice Bakery. They put on a great demo of how they make Kimchi and they dressed it up big time for us. They also had fantastic rice treats and amazing rolls with pickled veggies. And I can't tell you about the dumplings. The dumplings. Holy dough and spice and fish cakes and wow. Here are some shots: 

Neon Blue Prada pumps in the kitchen. Just another day at Kong Ju Rice Bakery.

The dumplings with the spices with the fish cakes with the.... YUM.

Pickled veggie rolls. Fantastic.

WHO WANTS DUMPLINGS?!?!?! Then he kicked his leg and posed and I LOVED IT!

Rice Bakery treats.

One large Kimchi

Somehow we ended up in Poland... or actually a block or so off of Long Point on Blalock at Polonia. We walk in and the table is set and spread with a shot of vodka at each setting and platters full of perogies. Polish heaven. Then potato pancakes, polish sausage and sauerkraut and followed up with cheese blintz drizzled in chocolate. Guys.. Oh yeah, we had more vodka. And then they brought out beer steins as big as two Popeye forearms. Then all of the sudden, four bottles of vodka were empty. Don't be too impressed. There were at least 25 people. And some of them were from New Orleans, so they had hollow legs or something. Things were getting messy. We got back on the bus and in true party form we broke out the BOTTLED WATER!!!! Effin' party animals. 

Polish Sausage

Perogies

He had a business meeting to go to...

In the words of S's email to me this morning: "Sunday Funday equals Monday nofunday." It would have been more prophetic had we thought about that yesterday. So then I came back to the US and took care of life at home and sent out happy I LOVE HOUSTON blog vibes to the world and went to bed. 


For more on the Houston Culinary Tours click here. They sell out in minutes and space is limited so if you want to jump on the bus, be quick about it. 


Tomorrow - an easy meatloaf recipe and some ladybug food. Tonight: Newsroom & bed. 


Here's to Sunday Funday (in moderation).


- RT