Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Taste page preview
Check out our Taste page tomorrow, either online at www.paducahsun.com or pick up a paper at one of our racks around town and the region. We'll have a story and photo package about baked potato skins, a quick and yummy meal idea for these harried nights of August. My column will have details about the local Farmers' Market bounty and details about a new Kentucky-born soy sauce. Yes, you read it right. Kentucky-grown and brewed soy sauce.
Monday, August 11, 2008
Downtown salads
Rose over at the Sub Shop, inside US Bank in downtown Paducah, makes a darned good salad.
Sure, it's the same ingredients as a salad I could make at home and transport downtown to the Sun's refrigerator, but Rose has a certain touch. I've watched her make the salads that begin with a layer of simple iceberg lettuce. She then tops the lettuce with tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, black and green olives, banana peppers and jalapeno peppers, bacon bits, croûtons, etc. Picky salad eaters, like me, can request certain things be left off without affecting the taste.
It's nice to have a healthy option for a quick lunch downtown, and it's much better for me than a quick stop by the vending machine for a bag of chips and diet soda.
Sure, it's the same ingredients as a salad I could make at home and transport downtown to the Sun's refrigerator, but Rose has a certain touch. I've watched her make the salads that begin with a layer of simple iceberg lettuce. She then tops the lettuce with tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, bell peppers, black and green olives, banana peppers and jalapeno peppers, bacon bits, croûtons, etc. Picky salad eaters, like me, can request certain things be left off without affecting the taste.
It's nice to have a healthy option for a quick lunch downtown, and it's much better for me than a quick stop by the vending machine for a bag of chips and diet soda.
Friday, August 8, 2008
Eat healthy, support a good cause
I received an e-mail from a source about a good way to eat a healthy lunch and help a local charity at the same time. If you're in the Paducah area, you might want to check out Super Salad Day to benefit the Alzheimer's Association Memory Walk by ordering a grilled chicken salad on Aug. 20. Order forms are available at www.superiorcarehome.com.
Info: Call Cynthia Foster at 442-6884.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
We want your recipes
Looking through a recipe box always revives memories of special dishes and the people who made them.
My mother-in-law gave me a recipe box filled with special family recipes when my husband and I married 10 years ago. To this day, I still flip through the box to find family favorites such as Betty’s Baked Beans and Harold’s Tacos. And I still have all of my grandmother’s faded recipes stashed in a box in hopes of some day finding the time to type them into a book for my family.
I know all of you have a favorite recipe that you’d like to share. And I’d like to share your favorites with readers. Please send me your favorite recipe, along with a short description of why you like it and a photograph of yourself, and we’ll publish those several times a month on this page as Readers’ Recipes.
Please send to llandini@paducahsun.com or regular mail to Leigh Landini Wright, Features Editor, The Paducah Sun, P.O. Box 2300, Paducah, KY 42002-2300.
Chocolate and Marshmallow Delights
National S’mores Day is just four days away (Sunday). What can be better than chocolate combined with an oozy marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers?
My former neighbors’ children came over almost every weekend last fall when we burned leaves. We placed marshmallows at the end of the hot dog roasting fork and hoped for the best. Of course, our s’mores had a slightly oak-smoked taste, but they were a treat after a long day of raking leaves.
Happily, though, we don’t have to wait for an open fire to enjoy the chocolate marshmallow taste. S’mores can be placed on the grill, which avoids an intermingling of leaf and stick debris flavors with the sweet goodness.
For the grill, place half of a chocolate bar on half of a graham cracker. Toast a large marshmallow over a grill preheated to medium, toast and then place atop the graham cracker combo. Top with another graham cracker.
Or for a cooler treat during the dog days, try a s’mores ice cream pie:
S'mores Ice Cream Pie
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups vanilla or chocolate ice cream, slightly softened
3 cups miniature marshmallows
4 (1.55 oz. each) milk chocolate bars, finely chopped
Whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream (optional)
Additional graham cracker pieces, miniature marshmallows and chopped milk chocolate bars (optional)
Instructions:
Butter bottom and sides of 9-inch pie plate. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar until well blended. Press crumb mixture evenly on bottom and up sides of prepared pie plate. Freeze 5 minutes before filling. Stir together ice cream, marshmallows and chocolate bar pieces; spoon into crust. Cover and freeze until firm.
Soften slightly to serve. Garnish with whipped topping, graham cracker pieces, marshmallows and chocolate bar pieces, if desired.
8 servings.
My mother-in-law gave me a recipe box filled with special family recipes when my husband and I married 10 years ago. To this day, I still flip through the box to find family favorites such as Betty’s Baked Beans and Harold’s Tacos. And I still have all of my grandmother’s faded recipes stashed in a box in hopes of some day finding the time to type them into a book for my family.
I know all of you have a favorite recipe that you’d like to share. And I’d like to share your favorites with readers. Please send me your favorite recipe, along with a short description of why you like it and a photograph of yourself, and we’ll publish those several times a month on this page as Readers’ Recipes.
Please send to llandini@paducahsun.com or regular mail to Leigh Landini Wright, Features Editor, The Paducah Sun, P.O. Box 2300, Paducah, KY 42002-2300.
Chocolate and Marshmallow Delights
National S’mores Day is just four days away (Sunday). What can be better than chocolate combined with an oozy marshmallow sandwiched between two graham crackers?
My former neighbors’ children came over almost every weekend last fall when we burned leaves. We placed marshmallows at the end of the hot dog roasting fork and hoped for the best. Of course, our s’mores had a slightly oak-smoked taste, but they were a treat after a long day of raking leaves.
Happily, though, we don’t have to wait for an open fire to enjoy the chocolate marshmallow taste. S’mores can be placed on the grill, which avoids an intermingling of leaf and stick debris flavors with the sweet goodness.
For the grill, place half of a chocolate bar on half of a graham cracker. Toast a large marshmallow over a grill preheated to medium, toast and then place atop the graham cracker combo. Top with another graham cracker.
Or for a cooler treat during the dog days, try a s’mores ice cream pie:
S'mores Ice Cream Pie
1 1/4 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup sugar
4 cups vanilla or chocolate ice cream, slightly softened
3 cups miniature marshmallows
4 (1.55 oz. each) milk chocolate bars, finely chopped
Whipped topping or sweetened whipped cream (optional)
Additional graham cracker pieces, miniature marshmallows and chopped milk chocolate bars (optional)
Instructions:
Butter bottom and sides of 9-inch pie plate. Stir together graham cracker crumbs, butter and sugar until well blended. Press crumb mixture evenly on bottom and up sides of prepared pie plate. Freeze 5 minutes before filling. Stir together ice cream, marshmallows and chocolate bar pieces; spoon into crust. Cover and freeze until firm.
Soften slightly to serve. Garnish with whipped topping, graham cracker pieces, marshmallows and chocolate bar pieces, if desired.
8 servings.
Monday, August 4, 2008
Easy side dish for Mexican-themed meals
Or perhaps I should call this post "What to do with too much cilantro."
My small herb garden has exploded with new growth in recent weeks, thanks to a few well-timed summer showers and storms. I now have enough cilantro to stock a Mexican restaurant (OK, well maybe that's a bit much, but enough for a couple of families at least). Faced with a cilantro explosion, I decided to fix a new recipe first tested by my mother-in-law. I'll pass it along for your consideration and tweaking.
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 small can white shoepeg corn (rinsed and drained)
1 cup salsa (or more)
2 T. lime juice
Cilantro to taste (I snipped off a handful of leaves and cut them up, but some people don't want that much spice)
Green onion (I didn't use them, but mother-in-law recommends them)
1 T. vegetable oil
Dash of garlic salt
Mix all ingredients in bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with tortilla chips.
My small herb garden has exploded with new growth in recent weeks, thanks to a few well-timed summer showers and storms. I now have enough cilantro to stock a Mexican restaurant (OK, well maybe that's a bit much, but enough for a couple of families at least). Faced with a cilantro explosion, I decided to fix a new recipe first tested by my mother-in-law. I'll pass it along for your consideration and tweaking.
1 can black beans (rinsed and drained)
1 small can white shoepeg corn (rinsed and drained)
1 cup salsa (or more)
2 T. lime juice
Cilantro to taste (I snipped off a handful of leaves and cut them up, but some people don't want that much spice)
Green onion (I didn't use them, but mother-in-law recommends them)
1 T. vegetable oil
Dash of garlic salt
Mix all ingredients in bowl. Cover and refrigerate. Serve with tortilla chips.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Good eating down on the (Fancy) farm
Attention barbecue lovers: Saturday is the 128th annual Fancy Farm Picnic.
While the politicians breathe their own brand of firepower at each other, the men in the barbecue pits have their own spicy blend of firepower.
I spent last year's picnic in the pits and in the Knights of Columbus Hall to observe the amount of work behind the scenes. The men and women of the St. Jerome Parish worked tirelessly to feed the crowd, and several families explained that they know their duties from year to year.
Last year, the picnic required 120 gallons of farm-fresh corn, 12 cases of green beans, eight 20-pound boxes of lima beans, six cases of purple-hulled peas, 700 pounds of potatoes, 1,500 pounds of slaw and 500 delectable desserts. One parishioner estimated the congregation served 11 tons, or 22,000 pounds, of food to a crowd of 10,000.
The biggest treat came from hanging out with men such as Billy Hobbs in the pits. The pork and mutton slowly cooks for 18 hours over a low fire before it's chopped into small bites inside a tent and eventually served to the public.
"We have our own special barbecue sauce," Hobbs told me last year. "It's like the Bush's Beans dog, you can't give out the recipe."
Totally useless trivia ...
A recent study commissioned by Kraft Salad Dressing found that the ranch variety is the one thing Republicans and Democrats agree on, with 70 percent of those surveyed ranking it as their top dressing. Republicans list blue cheese as their runner-up, or should that be running mate; Democrats list French or Catalina.
Other findings:
— Eight in 10 Americans use the same salad dressing most of the time.
— Women are more likely to favor ranch at 75 percent while men favor thousand island at 39 percent.
— Eighty-six percent of Americans mix their salad with the dressing but 9 percent dip the salad into the dressing.
When summer's at the hottest, nothing tastes better than something chilly with a lemon twist. No, not lemonade. Try this recipe for lemon cheesecake from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat ricotta and cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remaining ingredients. Beat until smooth. Pour into a lightly buttered 9-inch springform pan. Bake for one hour. Cool completely before serving. Garnish with fresh fruit if desired.
Leigh Landini Wright, The Paducah Sun's features editor, can be contacted at 575-8658 or llandini@paducahsun.com
While the politicians breathe their own brand of firepower at each other, the men in the barbecue pits have their own spicy blend of firepower.
I spent last year's picnic in the pits and in the Knights of Columbus Hall to observe the amount of work behind the scenes. The men and women of the St. Jerome Parish worked tirelessly to feed the crowd, and several families explained that they know their duties from year to year.
Last year, the picnic required 120 gallons of farm-fresh corn, 12 cases of green beans, eight 20-pound boxes of lima beans, six cases of purple-hulled peas, 700 pounds of potatoes, 1,500 pounds of slaw and 500 delectable desserts. One parishioner estimated the congregation served 11 tons, or 22,000 pounds, of food to a crowd of 10,000.
The biggest treat came from hanging out with men such as Billy Hobbs in the pits. The pork and mutton slowly cooks for 18 hours over a low fire before it's chopped into small bites inside a tent and eventually served to the public.
"We have our own special barbecue sauce," Hobbs told me last year. "It's like the Bush's Beans dog, you can't give out the recipe."
Totally useless trivia ...
A recent study commissioned by Kraft Salad Dressing found that the ranch variety is the one thing Republicans and Democrats agree on, with 70 percent of those surveyed ranking it as their top dressing. Republicans list blue cheese as their runner-up, or should that be running mate; Democrats list French or Catalina.
Other findings:
— Eight in 10 Americans use the same salad dressing most of the time.
— Women are more likely to favor ranch at 75 percent while men favor thousand island at 39 percent.
— Eighty-six percent of Americans mix their salad with the dressing but 9 percent dip the salad into the dressing.
When summer's at the hottest, nothing tastes better than something chilly with a lemon twist. No, not lemonade. Try this recipe for lemon cheesecake from the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.
Lemon cheesecake
2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
2 packages (8-ounces) cream cheese, softened
4 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup sugar
2 T. cornstarch
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
Juice and grated rind of one small lemon
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Beat ricotta and cream cheese until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add remaining ingredients. Beat until smooth. Pour into a lightly buttered 9-inch springform pan. Bake for one hour. Cool completely before serving. Garnish with fresh fruit if desired.
Leigh Landini Wright, The Paducah Sun's features editor, can be contacted at 575-8658 or llandini@paducahsun.com
Monday, July 28, 2008
Fancy Farm Picnic: Pork or Mutton?
This weekend is the 128th annual Fancy Farm Picnic. While the politicians debate Republican or Democrat party issues, the biggest question might be among barbecue lovers in the crowd: pork or mutton.
The Catholic picnic circuit of far western Kentucky offers barbecue lovers a choice between the traditional pork or mutton. Personally, I'm not a big fan of mutton because it's a stronger taste than pork. And of course, I shudder to think about the origin of the meat.
My husband, though, looks forward to the picnic every year because he knows it's one of the few places he can actually sample mutton locally. He raves about the mutton for days and usually brings home at least a pound that serves as his lunch for several days. Sorry, but I'm a Tennessee gal and prefer slow-cooked pulled pork with a mild to spicy sauce piled on a hamburger bun. He doesn't understand why I don't like mutton and insists that I don't know what I'm missing.
So forget the burning political questions of the hour like McCain or Obama or who they'll pick as their veeps. We want to know whether it's pork or mutton? And what makes for great barbecue?
The Catholic picnic circuit of far western Kentucky offers barbecue lovers a choice between the traditional pork or mutton. Personally, I'm not a big fan of mutton because it's a stronger taste than pork. And of course, I shudder to think about the origin of the meat.
My husband, though, looks forward to the picnic every year because he knows it's one of the few places he can actually sample mutton locally. He raves about the mutton for days and usually brings home at least a pound that serves as his lunch for several days. Sorry, but I'm a Tennessee gal and prefer slow-cooked pulled pork with a mild to spicy sauce piled on a hamburger bun. He doesn't understand why I don't like mutton and insists that I don't know what I'm missing.
So forget the burning political questions of the hour like McCain or Obama or who they'll pick as their veeps. We want to know whether it's pork or mutton? And what makes for great barbecue?
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