Mariachi Music and Chiles

Long long ago in Chicago lived Meson del Lago, an authentic Mexican restaurant run by my father Bill Contos. With my family's history in French restaurants it seems strange to have had a Mexican one but my family's extensive love affair with Mexican food has never puzzled me. I have it too!

Midnight. My travel companions and I arrived in the lovely town of San Miguel De Allende, Mexico. First things first: TACOS! So, our divine navigator wheeled us to the best Taco stand in town and within minutes three pork tacos with a side of grilled scallions was happily in front of me. "Salsa?" "YES please"!

The Clean 15 and the Dirty Dozen

As I prepare for my culinary adventure to Mexico next week, I am enjoying the snow storm! Sledding, warm spiced wine, and laughs with a great friend visiting has kept me busy. Tonight we are headed to the Kitchen Table Bistro for dinner. If the snow lets up, we will head to Montreal tomorrow to dine at Au Pied De Cochon.

The dirty dozen and the clean fifteen are good to program into your grocery shopping routine. Take note if you have not already. Both lists are fruits and vegetables; the difference is that the dirty dozen are pesticide heavy and the clean fifteen are safely eaten non-organic. In these times when you are watching your dime and may not be buying everything organic, this list can help guide you while grocery shopping. Print a copy and keep it in your reusable grocery bag.

Dirty Dozen:

1. Apples

2. Pears

3. Carrots

4. Cherries

5. Strawberries

6. Lettuce

7. Bell Peppers

8. Peaches

9. Celery

10. Nectarines

11. Grapes

12. Kale

Clean Fifteen:

1. Sweet Potatoes

2. Broccoli

3. Watermelon

4. Eggplant

5. Onions

6. Pineapple

7. Avocado

8. Mangos

9. Asparagus

10. Sweet Peas

11. Kiwifruit

12. Cabbage

13. Eggplant

14. Papayas

15. Tomatoes

Chinese New Year & Morning Muffins

Time is flying by lately. It must be the excitement of self-employment. I have been having an extremely great time teaching all sorts of cooking classes in private homes. Dinner party cooking classes seem to be the most popular this month. I am also working on a one list, 5 recipes project for a client consisting of four weeks of detailed recipes, shopping lists, chef's tips, and nutritional info. What an encouraging way to set a new direction in day to day cooking. Break your pattern of cooking those same old recipes. With my guidance eating healthy is easy!

Valentine's Day and Chinese New Year just passed and I seem to have celebrated both. Prince charming bought me the best point-and-shoot camera which I love! I missed taking pictures and am happily back in action mode. We had a blast with Chinese New Year. Below are some pictures.

Breakfast is a meal you always hear nutritionists say not to miss and I believe them. I would like to share one of my personal favorite breakfast muffins. Favorite is rated on a healthy scale because lets get one thing straight, I would love a sour cream chocolate chip muffin with cinnamon streusel. BUT not after a cookie marathon and especially not after the holidays. So this Brown Sugar Carrot Muffin recipe makes 15 medium muffins or 8 large ones. They freeze well. Just take one out before you go to sleep and in the morning you have a light breakfast.

Brown Sugar Carrot Muffins

Makes 15 medium

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup spelt flour

3/4 cup flaxseed meal

3/4 cup oat bran

1/3 cup brown sugar; plus 1/4 cup for topping

1/4 cup molasses

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

2 1/2 teaspoons fresh cinnamon, divided

1 1/2 cups grated carrots

1 large apple, grated

1/2 cup currants

1 cup walnuts, chopped

3/4 cup soy milk

2 eggs beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl mix together flours, flaxseed meal, oat bran, 1/3 cup brown sugar, molasses, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Stir in carrots, apples, currents, and nuts. Combine soy milk, eggs, and vanilla and mix well. Then add to batter. Stir until just combined do not over mix. Fill muffin cups 3/4 full. Mix 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and sprinkle on top of muffins. Add a thin slice of apple for garnish. Bake 15-20 minutes.
*These muffins freeze wonderfully! 

Sweet Clover Market

Attention Vermonters-

Not sure what to do with that defrosted chicken? This Friday, February 5th, I will be at your service at Sweet Clover Market in Essex, VT. The friendly Market is my personal favorite place to purchase local and organic foods. You will find me wandering the store offering personalized culinary advice! If you are craving some culinary guidance for your next meal or hors d'oeuvre party, come out and chat with me this Friday 3:30-4:30. My Mac Book and I will be ready to email you the recipes you need. I have easy Super Bowl Sunday one bite ideas for all tastes. Prince Charming and I love my Bacon & Cider Beef Sliders (see my 2009 Super Bowl blog post). We definitely will be making it again this year. Hey there's nothing wrong with a good thing! You will continue to find me at Sweet Clover once or twice a month on Fridays 3:30-4:30. Stay tuned to my blog and twitter page to find out about future dates.

Last night I headed out for food & wine at the Bearded Frog. Then Prince Charming and I went to see the 'Prairie Home Companion' showing at the Palace Nine. So fun. Thanks Edward Lieb for the tickets, we loved the show!

See you in your kitchen.

Bacon and Cider Beef Sliders

4 pounds beef brisket

3 garlic cloves, slivered

3 garlic cloves, crushed

1-cup apple cider vinegar

10 oz. Vermont maple smoked bacon, diced

2 medium onions, sliced thin

1-cup strong brew coffee

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

½ cup grade B maple syrup

1 tablespoon sea salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons dried oregano

20 rolls or small buns

Prepare brisket by cutting small slits all over the brisket. Insert garlic slivers into the cuts in the brisket. Pour cider vinegar over the brisket and rub it with crushed garlic.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add bacon to a preheated cast iron pan with a tight fitting lid and cook at med/low heat until bacon is crisp. Remove the bacon but leave the fat in the pan.

Heat the skillet with the bacon fat to med/high heat. Once hot, pat the brisket dry with a paper towel. Add the brisket to the pan and brown both sides (approximately 3 minutes on each side)

Remove brisket and set aside.

Decrease the heat to medium and add the onions and cook until deep brown.

Return brisket to the pan.

Combine coffee, tomato paste, cayenne, maple syrup, salt, pepper and oregano and pour over the brisket. Cover the pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Decrease the heat to 250 degrees and cook for an additional 3 ½ -4 hours until meat is tender.

Let rest for 20 minutes, carve and garnish with crisp bacon. Make sliders and save sauce on the side to dip! Yum.

News from my kitchen

Hello,

We have finally adjusted to not having an abundance of cookies in our house. The cookie marathon was extremely fun, I highly recommend it! Smiles. Actually, I am not using my oven because I am waiting for our new hood. Let me bring you up-to-date, last fall Prince Charming and I drove to Chicago to pick up my great uncle Bob's, lightly used, beautiful, monster of a Wolf stove. Eight burners of commercial btu's. Vermont gas hooked the house up and long story short the stove which we call "uncle Bob" is in the kitchen. I still jump at the sight of the large, black, eight burner beast in the kitchen! Another addition to the sacred kitchen space is an antique rock maple, end grain, hand-made, butcher block. The condition is perfect! We adore our amazing find and are using it daily to chop and prep our meals. Thanks Prince Charming for secretly scanning craigslist. We had a party for each new addition, so needless to say it has been fun and busy here at the house. Smells of goat rib chops seasoned with rosemary and lemon zest, veal meat balls with bacon (goat and veal was purchased from Consider Bardwell Farm), and tons of ethnic homemade flatbreads are in the air.

Me, I am happily self employed! I offer a whole spectrum of culinary services on my website (chefcontos.com). I am keeping busy traveling to homes teaching private cooking classes and preparing weekly menus for clients. Complete with recipes, shopping list, and helpful tips.

Yes, I am working on a cookbook proposal with my dear friend Susan Rogol. I will keep you posted on our outrageously fun progress. As far as the The Essex goes, I offer my culinary services to them for Vip events as their "celebrity chef".

In one month I will find myself learning authentic Mexican cooking at Sazon, in San Miguel Alliemte, Mexico. Sazon was voted one of the worlds best cookings by Gourmet Magazine. Click here to read...

Don't forget:

• Follow me on twitter
• Flow me on the Vermont Cheese Councils newsletter and look up past recipes
• Check out my family's restaurant history on my Bio page of chefcontos.com
• Cook one or two healthy meals a week.

Happy New Year to you all!

Continue with you emails and wonderful comments. Thank you to all my positive clients.

See you in your kitchen,

Courtney

www.chefcontos.com

Cookie Marathon Comes To an END

My cookie marathon comes to an end but not without one last recipe. Ending on a healthy note has been on mind, especially since I tallied up my cookie marathon butter totals. Yikes!

I will continue on with other things now, like culinary coaching for you, and working on my cookbook.

I would like to thank all of you for your support and for sharing your enjoyment. Prince Charming gets a big thank you for his support, encouragement, and for doing all the dishes! I would also like to mention Lauren, Belinda, and Susan, thanks, life would not the same without fabulous girlfriends.

My Blog will continue on into it's third year. You never know what spring may bring. Another marathon?

Just for fun:

Number of cookies without butter- 5

Total butter used- 41 sticks of butter

Funniest moment- Christmas day, outside arranging my gingerbread village. Prince Charming was video taping me, taking my photo shoot. Out of no where I asked my gingerbread village animals, men and women to smile for the picture.

Favorite cookie- Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk

Cookies made, but didn't make the cut- Turtle cookies, gingersnaps and cherry chocolate oatmeal.

Favorite picture- Chocolate Espresso Sparklers

Favorite moment of the month- Reading about my cookie marathon in The New York Times!

Last minute trips to the store- To many to count.

Cookie talk- I heard about sunnies and thought really? But when I tasted them I knew they were going to be the last cookie of my marathon. I wanted to end on a healthy note so Sunnies are perfect. A no-bake cookie that can be quickly prepared. This is a great cookie to keep around when you want a healthy snack. Great for the kids. Other than a few small changes this cookie is a Waite original from St. Albans Vermont. Thanks big Jim and Marilyn.

Sunnies

Makes 14

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 cup pecans or walnuts

1/4 oat bran

pinch of sea salt

1/4 cup wheat germ

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup unsweetened peanut butter

1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Place seeds, nuts, oat bran, salt, and wheat germ in food processor. Finely grind.

2. Then add honey and peanut butter. Mix until well combined.

3. Shape into balls and flatten with a fork. Top with a chocolate chip. Cover well and refrigerate.

December 31st- St. Nicolas Cookies

Gourmet Magazines from long ago have covered many surface areas in our home for a couple months. They bring me great smiles, laughs, and wonderful recipes. One recipe from a very old November Gourmet was part of our Thanksgiving meal this year, creamed pearl onions. Today I am sharing a cookie recipe I love from a 1971 issue of Gourmet Magazine. This recipe is called Speculaas - St. Nicolas Cookies. I have scanned the recipe for you and shared pictures of the cookies. You should be able to read the recipe fine if you zoom in. If not contact me. Also, I scanned old December Gourmet covers and a couple cheese adds that make me laugh!

Happy New Years Eve Day!

Below-Gourmet Magazine 1955 and 1956, cheese adds.

December 30th- Walk In The Woods Brownies

The cold weather and slippery roads has kept me home and close to the wood stove, but has not stopped me from baking. Walk In The Woods brownies are easy to prepare, sweetened with honey, and taste great! I love the chocolate chunks and nuts on top. Healthy enough to eat for breakfast?

Walk In The Woods Brownies

1/2 cup unsalted butter

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate chips

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3/4 cup honey

1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

2 beaten eggs

1 cup chopped walnuts, divided

1/2 cup dark chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 325. Melt butter, chocolate, salt and vanilla together over low heat. Mix well. Then mix in honey, flour, baking powder, eggs, and 3/4 cup nuts. Mix well and pour into a well greased 9x9x2 inch pan. Top with chocolate chunks and rest of nuts. Bake for 25 minutes. Cool on rack 15 minutes before cutting.

December 29th- Chocolate Scribs

The pate is gone and as the cookie marathon comes to an end our home has kicked into healthy cooking mode. Tonight I made Quinoa Tabbouleh served in a roasted Buttercup Squash. I made extra red quinoa which will be mixed with pinto beans I also cooked tonight becoming Bean Burgers for tomorrow night's dinner.

The beautiful snow inspired me to have a tea party using my Christian Dior Limoges China. The Chocolate Scrib Cookies may not be a tea cookie but that did not stop me from sipping green tea and savoring the flakey chocolate cookie. The large snow flakes we falling during my photo shoot and as you may notice the pates are a bit wet. But I continued on. Recently my flash broke on my camera so it will be outside photos only until I figure out what's next in my camera world. Any suggestions? Anybody own a camera shop?

You will have a touch of melted chocolate left over. Now is your chance to make a cup of the best hot chocolate. Sit, enjoy, and relax with your cup of hot cocoa. It is a bonus. I use soy milk in mine and keep it thick but whole milk will also make a wonderful rich hot chocolate.

Chocolate Scribs

Makes 4 dozen

20 tablespoons (2 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder

1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

3/4 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

2 large egg yolks

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

zest of one orange

2 1/4 cups unbleached flour

1. Melt four tablespoons butter in small pan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and espresso. Stir until mixture forms a smooth paste. Cool for 15 minutes.

2. In a bowl of mixing stand fitted with paddle attachment add butter, sugar, and cocoa mixture and mix well on hight speed for 2 minutes. Scrape sides with rubber spatula Add egg yolks, sea salt, and vanilla, mix on medium speed for 30 seconds. Scrap sides of bowl. Add flour in three parts with the mixer on low. Continue to mix until dough is formed. Divide dough into three flat discs and wrap each with plastic wrap, chill for 50 minutes.

3. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Preheat oven to 375.

4. Roll out 1 chilled dough disc between two sheets of parchment paper to even thickness of 3/16 of an inch. If dough become soft and sticky place on baking sheet and chill 15 minutes. Peel parchment paper and cut into a two inch square or two inch round. Place cut out cookies on baking sheets and chill. Gather the dough scraps and chill.

5. Bake until cookies offer slight resistance to the touch about 10-12 minutes. Rotate half way through. If the begin to darken around the edges they are over baked. Cool on trays for 3 minutes. Using a metal spatula remove form trays and place on cookie racks. Repeat with remaining dough and dough scraps.

Chocolate Glaze

8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips, tempered

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Tempering determines the final gloss, hardness, and contraction of the chocolate. When you melt chocolate, the molecules of fat separate. To put them back together, you temper it. There are a variety of ways to do it.

Here is one of many ways to temper chocolate. Tempering is achieved by adding small pieces of unmelted chocolate to melted chocolate. The amount of unmelted chocolate to be added depends on the temperature of the melted chocolate but is usually one fourth of the total amount. I usually use a whisk blender to mix the two together.

A simple method to check tempering is to apply a small quantity of chocolate to a piece of paper or to the point of a knife. If the chocolate has been tempered correctly, it will harden evenly and show a good gloss within 5 minutes.

Dip cooled cookies half way into the melted tempered chocolate. If chocolate seizes up, reheat it. Allow glazed cookies to dry for 20 minutes.

December 28th- Lemon Cookies

Rainy day here in Vermont. As a skier all this rain is a downer but snow will come around. Lots of yoga in the meantime.

Lemon cookies are delicate and full of lemon flavor with an added boost from lemon extract.

Eat them up and share the cookies with people you do not know and people you do know. I have had so much fun sharing the cookies with strangers this month. We have given cookies to Vermont Gas working in front of our house, to the folks working at the Burlington library, Phoenix Books in Essex, Sweet Clover Market, IBM, the mail carrier and more! Sharing is all part of the joy of making these little cakes.

Lemon Cookies

Makes 2 1/2 dozen

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter

1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 baking powder

1 teaspoon lemon zest

1/4 teaspoon lemon oil

1/4 cup sugar

1/3 cup confectioners sugar

2 cups all-purpose flour

Glaze

1 cup confectioners sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 - 2 tablespoons heavy cream

1. In a medium size mixing bowl, beat together the butter, cream cheese, salt, baking powder, lemon zest, and lemon oil. When the mixture is creamy, add the sugars, a bit at a time, beating until fluffy. Finally, mix in the flour. Cover the bowl and refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes.

2. Preheat the oven to 375. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silpats.

3. Scoop out two level teaspoons of dough for each cookie and roll eat piece into a ball. Place the balls on prepared baking sheets and use bottom of a drinking glass, dipped in confectioners sugar, to flatten them to a thickness of about 1/4 inch, and 1 3/4 to 2 inch diameter.

4. Bake the cookies for ten to twelve minutes until they are lightly brown.

5. To make the glaze place the sugar in a small mixing bowl, and stir in lemon juice, then add the cream, a little at a time, to achieve the consistency you like. Then spread the cookies with the glaze and let them set for a hour or so before wrapping.