Archive for the ‘Winter’ Category

Holiday Party Favorite Deviled Eggs-Start with a perfectly boiled egg

Its always fun to see a platter of Deviled Eggs at a Party Buffet – you can quickly grab one and in one good sized bite, have a good shot of protien before you approach the Fully Hosted Bar…
But it all begins with the Egg – Perfectly Boiled- heres how to do that:
How To: Hard Boil An Egg Step 1

Time Inc. Studios
1Place eggs in a pot filled with cold waterSet eggs in a single layer in a saucepan. Water should cover eggs by one to two inches.
How To: Hard Boil An Egg Step 2

Time Inc. Studios
2Boil the waterBring the water to a full, rolling boil, and cover the saucepan. Turn off the stove, remove the pot from the burner, and let  it stand, covered, for 12 minutes (set the timer).
How To: Hard Boil An Egg Step 3

Time Inc. Studios
3Submerge the eggs in cold waterDrain the pot, and transfer the eggs to a bowl of cold water, to stop the cooking process.
How To: Hard Boil An Egg Step 4

Time Inc. Studios
4Crack and peel the eggsTap each egg a few times to crack its shell, then roll it on a work surface to break the shell completely. Start peeling,  dunking the egg into the bowl of water as you go to wash away any bits of shell.
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Holiday Party Panning Guidline and Checklist

The Rush is On! Clocks ticking down the last of this year and you are going celebrate and host a little get-together at your home….May be the first party in your home – or this happens every year and ready to do it again.  Here is a little Santa-Helper of a List to help your Party Stategy.  Its our Holiday Party Panning Guidline and Checklist.

One Week Before

  • Clean the house thoroughly.

This way, you’ll need only a quick once-over before the party.

  • Set the stage.

Arrange the furniture as you’ll want it for the party, making sure that guests can move easily from one part of your house to another. Designate a coffee table or side table for coffee and dessert, if you’ll be serving them. Tuck away things that will be in the way, precious items that might get broken (or even be taken), and any clutter. Figure out the lighting: Using low-wattage bulbs or candlelight will create the right mood.

  • Take inventory of cookware and serving dishes.

If you don’t have enough for every dish you’re serving, consider purchasing inexpensive pieces from a discount or thrift store. Label each dish with a Post-it so you’ll remember what you plan to use it for at party time.

  • Stock the bar.

Plan three bottles of wine for every four people, three to four cocktails per guest for a two- to three-hour cocktail party.

Three Days Before

  • Notify the neighbors.

Let them know you’re having a party if you expect it to be large, loud, or parking-intensive.

  • Decorate.

Arrange candles, put up theme decorations, etc.

  • Check the medicine cabinet.

Remove any personal items you wouldn’t  want guests to see.

  • Set up clean-up stations.

Place a box of salt, Wine Away (red wine stain remover), club soda, and a couple of rags in a wicker basket, and store a few in strategic places in case a nasty spill occurs.

  • Specify a place for coats.

Make space in a closet and fill it with hangers. You could also choose a bed for coats (make sure the room is especially tidy and free of valuables, so you won’t need to worry about them), or purchase an inexpensive portable garment rack.

  • Finish grocery shopping.

Make a detailed cooking schedule for your remaining dishes.

One Day Before

  • Set the tables.

Or set up the buffet.

  • Buy and arrange flowers.
  • Finish as much of the cooking as you can.

Also, for any foods that require cooking on party day, do as much prep (dicing, marinating, rinsing lettuce, etc.) as possible.

  • Give your house a once-over.

Do whatever touch-ups are needed.

Day of the Party

  • Finish any last-minute cooking.

This should be absolutely minimal!

  • Place chairs.

Don’t worry about having enough seating for everyone; fewer seats will encourage mingling.

  • Display food.

One to two hours before guests arrive, set out appetizers and snacks that won’t spoil. Wrap them tightly to ensure freshness; tear off the wrap when the first guest rings the doorbell.

  • Greet guests as they arrive.

Things should be organized so you’re free to mingle, not tied to the kitchen.

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Easy Chicken Caprese Salad…

Easy Chicken Caprese Salad – Its a little late to be talking about tomatoes and summer salads but we just have to share this one with you. Grilled Chicken Breasts with a traditional Caprese Salad.  The usual ingreds. are spicy marinated mozzarella balls, (need the oil marinade for the chicken)…boneless chicken breast and cherry tomatoes sliced and basil.

Simple use the mozz. ball oil marinade to marinade the chicken for a couple

of hours. Grill off chicken, slice into bite-size pieces and toss with the sliced or whole-round mozz.  balls and basil and tomatoes (sliced or whole).

What a great easy salad to make and share even if it is a little late in the season.

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Office Morning Meeting Menu

Office Morning Meeting Menu – new from Millennium Gourmet, a new option to consider when hosting a morning meeting at the office in the greater San Jose Ca. area. mgc office morning mtg menu.  Here you can select one of the three most popular menu items including our famous Fruit and Cream Scones, our Beautiful Sliced Fruit Platter, or our One-Of-A-Kind Carrot Cake with Orange Essence Cream Cheese Frosting.

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Roasted Chicken Leftover – what to do

English: Roasted chicken Español: Pollo asado

English: Roasted chicken Español: Pollo asado (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roasted Chicken Leftover – what to do? – lately we’ve had  chicken a dozen ways , grilled, roasted, baked, slow cooker’d…well what to do with the leftover bird? we take the meat off the bone and piece and coarse-shred the meat. Refridgerate over nite.  When ready use. saute white onions, thinly sliced in EVO and lots of minced garlic,  saute  low and slow to caramelize the onions without burning the garlic, approx 30 minutes (low and slow) then add chicken pieces to heat thru and absorb all the delicious onion/garlic flavor. when heated thru, add to taco shells or warmed/toasted buns/rolls for a great hot sandwich.

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Best Organic Food Store-People and Planet

Best Organic Food Store-People and Planet    – I’m a Meat-a-tarian…I love a good steak, chop,burger….but i do  try to navigate through the “Healthy Food World”.  Here you will find all things for a Healthy Diet including Gluten Free products, organic foods ,  supplements and Fresh local Organic “seasonal” produce.   One feature of this market is that if you cant find “it” Mike and his Team will find it for you….Extreme Customer Service….

Check them out at www.peopleandplanet.com  /  call 408-782-2700

MillenniumGourmet loves these guys!!!

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Roasted Grilled Chicken California Summer Yardbird with a French Twist…

Chicken being cooked by the method of roasting.

Chicken being cooked by the method of roasting. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Roasted Grilled Chicken   California Summer Yardbird with a French Twist…- Although this is the middle of Summer in California, its been a kinda cool summer …rarely in the 90’s, a bit breezy too, so we’ve been oven roasting almost as much as we’ve been grillin’….here it is roasted grilled chicken.Lots of talk about the Classic French style of Roasting a Whole Chicken in the oven with the classic french herbs and garnishes of thyme rosemary, garlic ,oregano, lemon and lemon juice  and evo. The Twist is… we created the marinade 3 days ahead of time,  kept in the fridge and on the fourth day we added the chicken thighs  in a plastic freezer bag with the aged marinade and into the fridge for one more day…..then into the oven to roast (convection on ) till done….What an amazing difference in the depth of flavor, deeper , richer, heartier flavor from the aged marinade.

And cuz we poured all the marinade and herbs and whole garlic cloves onto the roasting pan to roast with the bird, those aromas filled the whole kitchen, like it does in the dead of winter when its rainy and cold outside….but now in the warmth of summer, all the windows open, we could pick up the scents of that delicious roasting chicken all the out on the deck where we were relaxing and taking in all that summer has to offer with kool cocktails in hand and giving the grill a much-needed break….

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Grilled Vegetables – Sizzlin’ Summer Vegi Grill-Saute

English: Bunches of scallions / green onions (...

Here is the perfect way to serve up that bounty of summer vegi’s you’ve gathered at the Farmers Market this weekend….and do it outside on the side-burner of you  shiny like-new grill – grilled vegetables…

Though the basic principles still apply, you will be aplying them in the great outdoors –  EVO, Saute pan, some butter and garlic and maybe some white wine (or not).  Wash and prep/peel slice all the vegi’s, the likes of various squash, spring onions, peppers, more onions, green beans, maybe some fresh herbs….

Get the burner on med high, start with evo, butter and garlic, (keep the garlic in cloves so as to pick out if needed after cooking (on not)…after seasoning oil and butter add all the prepped vegi’s and saute till you like them, light crunchy or soft tender, it’s all up to you….add  a splash of wine salt and pepper (more than you think you need) and cover for a minute or two….

onto a stylish platter and serve as  a side to that grilled fish or meat…

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Stainless Steel Grill – Get all up in your Grill this summer

..got that beautiful stainless steel grill shining in the summer sun???….well maybe it’s a bit dusty or crusty from being covered, in hibernation all winter…and could probably use a little TLC to get it back to pristine mint condition like that 65 Mustang that just cruzed by…..

I like to use Pledge furniture spray polish to get the grime off and build up a nice polished gleam on all the visible surfaces, its amazing how nicely  it seems to cover a lot of the slight scratches and removes almost of all the build up from past creations ….makes it look like new and you will find the more often you do this, the easier it applies and shines-up.

Now that the outside of the Grill Monster is done …lifting the cover reveals another challenge – the grates and all they have accumulated from the past yr. (or so…) …no worries  – a roll of heavy-duty aluminum foil in hand  – unroll enough to completely cover all of the grilling surface – and once pressed on – turn all burners full blast full ON and cover and let it burn hot for 30 minutes…..turn off all heat and remove the foil to reveal a very clean (maybe ashy) grill ….brush with your grill brush or ball of foil and all with be good as new….or very very close to it.

Now that shiny, clean , sparkling in the sunlite mean-machine is ready for the steaks and burgers…..Summers Here!!!!We’re Ready!!!! Rev it Up!!!

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Grilled Burgers – The Perfect Burger this summer ….is?

English: Close-up of an iceberg lettuce field ...

English: Close-up of an iceberg lettuce field in Northern Santa Barbara County between Santa Maria and Lompoc, on July 31, 2005. Македонски: Поле со марули во грофовијата Санта Барбара, САД. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Lets keep it simple and delish  –

For your Grilled Burger  – use 20% ground beef chuck, don’t forget to make a small indentation in the center of the burger patty with your thumb to keep the burger flat as it cooks.

simple sauce of a mixture of mayo and catsup and then add anything else you like relish to tabasco, adding to the sauce makes it your own “signature- grilled burgers “.

garnishes – basic is good and classic tomato, pickles, onion (under the burger patty – the juices from the hot burger patty will soften the onion just perfectly.  Use iceberg lettuce – it wont soften in the hot burger and keep its “crunch” to the last bite….

Please …Please …Please dont “smash” the burger patty with your spatula  while grilling- all the juices will hit the hot coals and vaporize when the should have saved their magic “inside” the patty for you to savor to the last bite….

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