Little Denmark, in California!!

So, let me tell you about my beautiful trip to the central California coast. For those not familiar it’s above Los Angeles, in Santa Barbara County (Sideways filmed here).It started out Monday noon, taking the Amtrak train from Fullerton to Santa Barbara, then a connection bus to Solvang.
Solvang is a Danish community founded almost 100 years ago. It is also in Wine County and those two things make it very attractive to tourism. This post is just about the food, I’m still working on the rest of the photos. I took like 100. But, don’t worry I wont post all of them!!
After our arrival on Monday, we realized the town goes to sleep early. No great eats!! But, Tuesday that’s another story. The day started out in the Olsen’s Danish Pastry Shop.
Complementary breakfast from our hotel included Danish pastries and coffee. The cinnamon roll is great, the cheese Danish my mom had seemed out of this world!!
The server in their cute Danish uniform, were very friendly!!
After that we went about the streets, took the local bus to Los Olivos, and then came back for lunch at the Paula’s Pancake House.
The potato and leek soup tasted very light, not processed or salty. The vegetarian sandwich I ordered included alfalfa, avocado, tomato, onion, cheese on rye bread. I loved it.
The only bad part? I arrived at 3:00 they close at 4:00.
With so much free time on our hands we did olive tasting, wine tasting, and chocolate tasting. Okay, that was more like stuffing ourselves with chocolate!! They had a local chocolatier, and then a fudge factory (pictured). So much good stuff!
Then after resting at the hotel we went to dinner. The Bit of Denmark seemed a good choice, offering local fare. They had a smorgasbord buffet for $16 dollars a person. I had carrot salad, green salad, olives, prickled cauliflower, and pasta salad and pumpernickel bread.
The second serving consisted of veggie broth (a little salty), mashed potatoes, German style cabbage, and havarti cheese with poppy seed bread. !!
For dessert you could choose Danish pasties, pears, gelatin, pudding or fruit salad. I couldn’t eat one more bite
I did have a glass of Firestone Riesling a local brand of wine that I loved. I even bough a bottle for home.
After that if was a sweet dream for me!!

home made pasta, pesto and trip to fresh and easy

Today has been very eventfull, in the morning I headed to sing up for decorating classes and my local Michaels (arts and crafts store). Then I returned on my bicycle and got my car to the local auto parts store, then my mom and me headed to fresh and easy to grocery shop!!
http://www.freshandeasy.com/

my favorite part of the day!!!

Arriving at around 4 pm, I set out to do the cooking. I had a lot of basil in the fridge, but didn’t feel the traditional pesto…

So I came up with a funky Three-Cheese-Basil Pasta


Ingredients:

20- 40 basil leaves…finely chopped
4 oz butter
½ cup creamy blue cheese
½ cup shredded parmesan
1 cup feta cheese

Procedure:

Heat a non-stick skillet, melt the butter gradually the three cheese, stirring constantly.
As they become a gooey mass, add the basil and stir. Pour immediately over hot pasta, toss and server.

In this occasion I used home made wheat pasta, but any pasta (fresh or dried) can be used!!

Everyone loved it. Great father’s day recipe!!!

The Centennial Pot Pie

Essentially I am vegetarian. I have been for more than two years; not because I have something against meat, but because of the way animals are treated.
However last week while browsing my local farmers market, I realized there was a farm near me, where I could buy organic free- range chicken. And I could see it; I didn’t have to rely on stamped packages flown in from far away.
So I bought one, and then came the hard part. What should I make with it? It had to be something good, but that didn’t kill the chicken flavor. It had to be something I loved, since I would not be having it for a long time. But, most of all it would have to be something I would enjoy making.
I browsed through a simple recipe book, one I bought at Wal-Mart before I entered culinary school, Potatoes and Vegetables, by Parragon Publishing, and there nestled between ham empanadas and potato bread was a pot pie. Simple, traditional, my favorite!
The recipe is a little modified from the original, but the results are to much for words.

Ingredients:
225 g potatoes (diced)
25g butter
225g chicken, (diced and sautéed)
25g all-purpose flour
300ml milk
50g carrots and zucchinis (diced and steamed)
For dough:
225g all- purpose flour
pinch of salt
pinch of cayenne
150g butter
125g crumbled blue cheese
2 egg yolks (1 extra)
4-6tbs cold water
Procedure;
1. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes, until soft. Drain and set aside.
2. Melt butter, and sauté chicken, add flour and milk (stirring as you go)
3. Take to quick boil; add potatoes, vegetables, set aside
4. In a bowl, mix flour, cayenne, and butter until it resembles coarse meal.
5. Add yolks and water, until you form paste.
6. Extend the paste in a buttered deep-dish (or 4 individual ones). Cover base and sides.
7. Spoon filling, and extend the rest of flour paste on top.
8. Extend well with a spoon, and wash with the extra egg yolk.
9. Bake and 350F 40 minutes or until cooked and browned.

I didn’t use the chicken legs, wings, or extras in the pot pie. We boiled it Mexican style in a broth, with seasoning and onion. Nobody ate it that day (the pie was just so filing).
So, the next day I got the inspiration to make cream of chicken. It was just as delicious as the pot pie, and very memorable when served with quesadillas and guacamole.

Crème de Poulet
Ingredients:
2lbs boiled chicken (from chicken broth, really soft with no bones)
1.5 qt chicken stock
1/2 onions boiled
2 zucchinis
1/4 head romaine lettuce
1tsp ground cinnamon
1tbsp hot sauce
.1tsp nutmeg
1tsp ground coriander seeds
Salt and pepper to taste
Procedure:
1. Slice zucchinis and chop lettuce, then steam for 4 minutes or until soft.
2. Once soft, put in a food processor with a few spoons of chicken broth until a smooth puree forms. Put on a large pot, set aside
3. Then put chicken and boiled onion in the food processor, 4 -6 oz chicken broth and process until smooth puree forms.
4. Combine vegetable and chicken puree, along with remaining broth and bring to a quick boil, turn down heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Add spices stirring constantly. Add salt and pepper to taste.
6. Serve wart topped with croutons and cream cheese.
Yield: 4 Servings