Lunch in Switzerland... How about Baked Brie!

Incredibly impressive and yet so brainy frugal...

All you need is one cylinder of refrigerated croissant dough and two Brie rounds. This will feed 2-4 people; four if you serve them in halves. Otherwise, plan on one whole Brie per person; and thus, if serving 4 you will need two dough cylinders and 4 Brie rounds.

Heat the oven to 425. Open the cylinder and containers of Brie. Wrap each Brie round with dough slices and place on a pizza pan with foil. 

 Bake for 25 min or until Brie rounds are brown and crusty.

Serve with toast and jam!

~ Tutti a Tavola

Green Sides and I don't mean Salad...

A green side can be: green beans, asparagus, zucchini, green peppers, spinach and even broccoli or kale. Green vegetables are nature’s multivitamin and are packed with antioxidants and nutrients such as vitamins A, C & K, calcium, potassium and iron, to name a few.

 *Check out these dishes on the Brainy Gourmet Blog - Just type 'green' in the search box!'
 * Source ~ https://www.healthsomeness.com/best-green-vegetables/

Simple Home Cooking... Brings em to the Table!

You don't need a fancy kitchen for simple home cooking; i.e. chicken and dumplings. You just need a skillet and hot stove!

Start with thawed out or fresh bought 'skin on, bone in' chicken thighs. On high heat, sear the skin side down in olive oil and fresh dried herbs along with a splash of garlic powder, red pepper flakes and black pepper. Turn the thighs over and let the underside brown a bit too. Then cover for 4 min on med heat. Next, add 1/2 cup of chicken stock, cover again and let simmer for 24-30 min on low heat.

As for preparing the dumpling mixture: 2 cups of flour, 1/2 tsp of baking soda and 1 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt, 1/2 cup of cold milk, 1/4 cup of cold buttermilk, add one egg and beat. If you think it is either too creamy or too stiff, then add either more flour or add a tbs or two vinegar diluted with cold water.

It should look like this -sticking to the whisk as you pull up...

To this add a sprinkle of dried herbs. Remove the chicken from the skillet, leaving all liquid. Turn up the heat until the juices becomes a rolling boil and then drop in your dumpling mixture (a serving spoonful at a time). As they puff and cook, they will absorb the liquid which is good but if they start to stick to the skillet, add a dollop of butter and drop or two of cold water. When they have fluffed up nicely, put the chicken thighs back, cover with the heat off until you are ready to serve!

Prepare the table!

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Sharing Food and Offering Food... Its Brainy Positive!

Did you know that food preferences are not shaped in isolation? In saying that, all preferences are not shaped in isolation and that includes who we prefer to 'hang out' with, live with, love and eat with.

Sure, we can wage war against intolerance but whatever we or others say we tolerate is still shaped by preferences which are acquired within a social group including newly formed ones that appear  to offer a social advantage (laws of governing 'social' dynamics).

I always told my university students, to consider and look forward to the day they will eat broccoli or kale (as an example having no prejudice against either) as it will be the day they are either invited to dinner at the boss's house or future in-laws. Yes, it works like this. Sure, you can refuse but you will risk not getting what you really want.

You see, in the larger social reality, we will find ourselves doing things, eating foods that we may not like or ever thought to try. Why? Because, even though we have our preferences, we soon discover that society at large is not restrained to our personal preferences unless it sees an advantage in them and one example is 'pizza' or McDonald's. In those two cases, society at large sees vast benefits in serving up both to the masses.

However and with that in mind, we should remember that to work for food that perishes (Jn 6:27, NASB) to put everything we have into food that goes in and comes out is futile. Truly, it is the sharing of the food, offering of it that counts and coming together to do so whether around your family table or wherever you are.

Food preferences are not shaped in isolation; eating is an inherently social behavior. A meal shared with others is held in higher esteem and regarded as more of a proper meal than food consumed by oneself (Sobal et al., 2002). Infants are fully dependent upon caregivers for food provision and become conditioned to associate having their needs met with the presence of others (Hofer, 2006).

*Source ~  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3907771/

Brainy West African Delight...

A West African delight ~ exotic food served at home never tasted so good...

Being a Brainy Gourmet means thinking on your feet ~ fast and frugal. As I have said many times before on this blog, you as a home chef should know what you like and don't like; sweet/savory, herbs and spices. You should know which of the five senses works best for you when you cook . For me its smell. Seriously, when I cook, I take a deep breath and I know what I have to add.

For this dish, you can use either chicken or pork (white meat) in stew size chunks. To begin, start a sauce pan with 2 cups of water to boil 1 cup of wild rice. Then saute one onion in olive oil. When browned on the edges, add 3 tbs of butter. Next add the pork and let sizzle slowly until the meat turns from pink to white. Pour in 2/3 cup of peanut butter (the oily self stir brand).

Then, add dried herbs: rosemary, mint and oregano along with 2-3 tbs of red pesto, 3-4 tbs of soy sauce and 1/4 cup of heavy cream.  As it thickens, you may add water but slowly for the preferred consistency. You can also prepare a side of green beans, adding color.

When the rice is tender, drain and ladle onto a serving plate. Pour over the pork and sauce, lay on the green beans and serve.

~ Tutti a Tavola!

Mark's Spicy Pork...

Its great to grill out weather permitting...  but, when there is a will, there is a way to bring back the sun.

For this dish you will need: 2 lbs of pork loin. Marinate in olive oil, balsamic vinegar, garlic powder, sea salt, paprika, basil, rosemary, oregano with red pepper flakes, coriander and brown sugar crumbled over the top. Let sit for about 20 min. Heat the oven to 350. Once the temperature is reached, pop them in the oven. After about 30 min. reduce the heat to 250 and let slow roast for another 25 min.

In the meantime, prepare a side of double baked, mashed potatoes with a couple pats of butter, sour cream, a shake of oregano and parmesan topped with shredded Gouda. Par boil as many potatoes as you will need. Once tender, mash along with all mentioned ingredients. Then bake on 375 for about 20 min. Remove and stir, smooth out the top, pressing down and back into the oven until crispy on top. For an additional side, green beans fresh from the garden if possible.

~ Enjoy ...


 *Guest blogger ~ Mark

Go all out... Italian Style!

*Chicken Sicilian, Mediterranean Chicken, Chicken Piccata, Ravioli, Veal Parmesan, Eggplant Parmesan, Minestrone, and Roasted Italian Chicken...