Celsius to Fahrenheit!

Celsius to Fahrenheit Conversions

 

Ever get into a cook book with Celsius?  I know there are lots of “apps” out there that will help with the conversion, but ever wonder what the formula is?

 

Celsius X 1.8 + 32 = Fahrenheit

 

I realize that you may not want to do that, so I’ve done a few conversions for you.

 

Fahrenheit	Celsius
250	120
275	140
300	150
324	160
350	180
375	190
400	200
425	220
450	230

 

French Press Coffee

French Press Coffee

 

I do love a good cup of coffee.  I’m the first to admit though, that first thing in the morning, I just want to chug down some quick caffeine and get my day going.  At those times, I’m not doing designer coffee; I’m not adding extra calories with cream and sugar, it’s just pure unadulterated caffeine.  I’m actually trying to cut down a bit.

I own a French Press, and it’s bright Red!  I love colorful items, and it makes my heart happy.  I recently was able to demonstrate how easy and thoughtful making coffee in a French Press can be.  It’s not difficult.  It takes a bit of time, and there is a feeling of ritual.  Slows down the mind, body, and soul, and let’s you relax and be in the moment.  I need to do more of this.

Today, most coffee’s will tell you what the proper brew temperature and time is on the package, and they do lots of testing and research, so I try to follow the package.

Simply scoop the rough ground coffee of your choice into the bottom of your French Press. 

Add the water;

Stir with a wooden spoon

 

Cover

 

Let set for about 5 minutes

 

P

Press the plunger down slowly

Pour a great cup of coffee

 

Relax.

 

That’s it.

 

I have to start doing this more often

 

Enjoy your coffee today!  Enjoy your day!

I am passionate about food

I am passionate about food, and I am especially passionate about your food.

 ~ Chef Terri Rees, Tuxedo Junction Catering

 

Chef Terri Rees puts the personal in personal chef. She interacts with clients to provide individualized service, whether sharing tips on equipment or ingredients, preparing an elegant dinner party, or planning hands-on fun in commercial or home kitchens. She assesses client needs – including food sensitivities and intolerances – to make every event a unique and enjoyable experience.

 

 

Her skills

Chef Terri is a graduate of Grand Rapids Community College’s prestigious Hospitality Department, and no stranger to large-scale menu planning and food preparation: as a Creative Dining Services sous chef at Davenport College, she provided 400 meals a day.

She is a classroom instructor and provides equipment and ingredient demonstrations at several locations, including Rylee’s Ace Hardware, Spartan Stores, Frederik Meijer Gardens. Those who attend her events find Chef Terri fun to be with; her joy in cooking and sharing food brings people together for a good time.

With 27 year’s experience in project management and corporate sales, Chef Terri brings excellent planning and logistical skills to event organization.

She easily accommodates food sensitivity issues in menu planning: she has extensive experience in creating gluten-free and allergen-free dishes for family and friends.

 

 

 Her Services

~ Hands-On Cooking Classes – easy, challenging or any level between; customized for your group, whether in a home or a commercial kitchen.

~ Demonstration Dinner Party – Chef Terri prepares an entire meal for your guests, who can watch and learn, ask questions and sample throughout the process. (Recipes, ingredients & equipment supplied by chef; wine provided by client.

~ Team Cooking Event – Chef Terri provides Mystery Ingredient Baskets & group divides into teams, each creating original recipes within a time limit. Hilarious food fun and a great way to build team spirit for corporate groups of 10 to 20 employees.

~ And the sky’s the limit – got a new idea for food-centered fun? Talk to Chef Terri and let her plan a unique event just for you!

 

Tuxedo Junction Catering  ~  616.304.0297

Autumn Stew

Autumn Stew

Just a quick recipe, sorry no pictures, I’ll try and get some for you. 

I had my opening night at the Culinary Classroom on Thursday Night – and I love to give my guest something to eat, in line with the curriculum for the class. 

This class was all about Sunday Dinner w/ Grandmas.

Fried chicken, pot roast, home made biscuits and crème Brulee – I know your grandma probably didn’t make crème Brulee, but I know she made pudding from scratch, not from a box!  At least mine did!

 

I made a warm and inviting Autumn Stew with pork tenderloin pieces, apples, Craisins, cider and more.  This time I served it over jasmine rice, but you could serve this over noodles, or just as it was, with a side of mashed potatoes or squash, which are at the markets right now!.  It’s a one pot meal (except for the rice) and is easy, can be done in about 30 minutes if you cut your pork, apples, and everything up fairly small.  Give it a try, I promise pictures sometime soon!

Autumn Stew

 

4	Celery Stalks diced
3	Whole Carrots diced
1	Spanish Onion diced
2 TBS	TBS EVOO
	Flour as needed for dredging
1	Pork Tenderloin
4	Mac or Granny Smith Apples-diced
4	Sprigs Thyme
1	Bay Leaf
	Salt & Pepper to taste
1 ½ cups	Apple Cider
4 Cups	Chick Stock
1 Handfull	Craisins (about cup – cup ½)

 

 

Cut pork tenderloin into bite sized pieces, about 1 inch x 1 inch

Dredge pieces in seasoned flour

Heat approximately 1 TBS of EVOO in a heavy duty Dutch oven, and brown pork.  Remove from pan.  Heat remaining oil and add onion, celery and thyme and cook until tender.  Add Apples and Cider, and stir, making sure that you do not burn the bottom of the pan.  Add Craisins and pork and cook until the pork is fork tender (simmering approximately 20 minutes)

 

 

 

Michigan Tomato Harvest

I love Tomato’s!

 

Yes I do!  But, I don’t like to can them.  I know, I know this is the time of year in Michigan where canning is very popular, but I have only my husband and myself at home, and really, I can get a good canned tomato at the store. 

 

But I do love tomatoes.   Our good friend Wayne has been letting us pick fresh tomatoes.  He has maybe 10 plants, all different types.  I brought home a bunch and thought, now what am I to do?

Oven dried tomatoes!  That’s what.  It’s easy, a couple of ingredients, a little bit of time in the oven (12 – 18 hours hands off) and you have oven dried tomatoes.  Pack them in Extra Virgin Olive Oil  - and that’s that! Done!  That’s just what I did. 

 

A lot of tomatoes, and a few good jars of very intense tomato flavor, stored in the refrigerator for a few months, and I’ll be “picking” them to add to soups, stews, and pastas.

 

All you need is lots of tomatoes.  Cleaned, cored and cut into roughly the same size pieces.

 

Cookie sheets, cooling racks, I suggest parchment paper, some salt and away you go!

I should’ve start at night time and woken to the smell of lightly roasting tomatoes, but I was to eager!!!!  So at about 170 degrees, and 18 hours or so later, packed in oil. 

 

All I can say is Yum!

 

 

 

Farmers Market Salad

Farmers Market Salad

 

I love the farmer’s markets in Michigan!  We have such a short season for fruits and veggies, and the Grand Rapids area has an abundance of local farmers.  Some even know who I am when I’m walking down and checking out all of the wonderful fruits.  Visser Farms is one of those, and this week I purchased all my fresh garden veggies for my salad at Rylees Ace Hardware. 

 

Rylees has an abundance of wonderful kitchen tools and house wares and I collaborate with them frequently, so much that they bought me a beautiful new stainless steel demonstration table!  What fun.  This weekend we did a farmers market salad and let our customers work with the corn peelers, tomato stemmers, graters, knives and more, all helping me create a great salad. 

 

I’m not one to be a “stickler” on ingredients, if you want to add to this summer time salad, please do!  I actually added in zucchini because it look so good, and we used the roma tomato’s instead of grape tomatoes.  Anything goes with a fresh salad.  I hope that you take the time to try this simple, but delicious salad.

 

Oh, and the guys in the aprons?  I have no idea who they were, but they were having fun, that’s what the weekend demo’s at Rylees Ace Hardware are all about!

  

Farmers Market Salad
INGREDIENTS
1 pint grape tomatoes
1 ripe avocado optional
2 ears of fresh sweet corn
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

2 cups chopped veggies from the farmers market – your choice

HONEY LIME DRESSING
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS


Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. The corn should have some brown spots and be tender and not mushy. Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices. Set aside and let cool. Slice the tomatoes in half. Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro. Add in any vegetables of your choice!

HONEY LIME DRESSING

1 Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

2 Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to mash the avocados. Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle. Enjoy.

1 pint grape tomatoes
1 ripe avocado optional
2 ears of fresh sweet corn
2 tbsp fresh cilantro, chopped

2 cups chopped veggies from the farmers market – your choice

HONEY LIME DRESSING
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp honey
Sea salt and fresh cracked pepper, to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
Dash of cayenne pepper
DIRECTIONS


Remove husks from corn and grill over medium heat for 10 minutes. The corn should have some brown spots and be tender and not mushy. Cut the corn off the cob then scrape the cob with the back of your knife to get the juices. Set aside and let cool. Slice the tomatoes in half. Dice the avocado and chop the cilantro. Add in any vegetables of your choice!

HONEY LIME DRESSING

1 Add all the dressing ingredients in a small bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.

2 Combine the sliced tomatoes, avocado, cilantro and grilled corn and honey lime dressing and mix gently so everything is evenly coated. Be careful not to mash the avocados. Let the salad sit for 10-15 minutes to let flavors mingle. Enjoy.

 

Cherry Sugar Cookie Macaroons

Cherry Sugar Macaroons

 

My sister Sue Odren makes a good cookie!  I’m not biased either, she’s actually a finalist in the 2013 Pillsbury Bake Off Contest!  Seriously, for a cookie?!  Yes she is – and I’m really excited for her.  She gets to go to Vegas in November and compete, and well, she’s a bit nervous and a lot excited!

I wasn’t sure what was going on about 4 months ago, I got plenty of phone calls asking about ingredients, and what might taste good together, and frankly it was a bit annoying!  But now….Wow! She did it!  She Really did, and I have to say that this week I helped her with a batch, to get organized for the actual bake off in November, and they are darn good!  Even my husband thought so!

 

She needed to use several Pillsbury ingredients and she chose the Sugar Cookie Dough,  Bakers Flaked Coconut and the Smucker’s Orchard’s Finest Michigan Red Tart Cherry Preserves.  Hey, we are from Michigan and we have the best cherries!

 

I got to her home, and we started getting organized.  I haven’t done any real competition cooking, but I’m familiar with blind baskets, mystery baskets, being in a different kitchen and other people’s ovens!  This is going to be a blast.

 

We started by taking some notes, and then getting into the dough of it!  I helped to stream line a few items and then we were ready to roll.

 

We chopped dried tart cherries; added the macadamia nuts, and then the flaked coconut to the bowl.  Mixed it up well and then added the Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough and vanilla.

 

This is where it got a bit sticky! (pun intended!)  My sister and I made cookies growing up, and well, my Dad didn’t think it was a cookie unless it was several times bigger than the recipe!  I almost failed 9^th grade home economics over that one!  I showed her how to use a scoop, then scoop all of the cookies at one time, and then roll them at one time, and we used all the dough, and had all the cookies we needed.

 

Then off to her oven and the baking.  Out of the oven, and waiting, till we could make a “dent” in the cookies for the Cherry Preserves to go in! 

 

This is a delightfully easy recipe, and I hope you try it.  Good for kids, because they can get the sensory feel of ingredients by mixing it up with their hands. 

 

I’m proud of what my sister has done, and I hope she wins, and if she doesn’t, she’s still a winner in my recipe book! 

Sue – I’m going to use your recipe in some of my classes!

 

 

Cherry Sugar Cookie Macaroons

1 roll Pillsbury refrigerated sugar cookie dough

¾ cup chopped macadamia nuts

¾ cup coarsely chopped dried tart cherries

1 bag (7oz) sweetened flaked coconut (about 2 ½ cups)

1 cup Smucker’s Orchards’ Finest Michigan Red Tart Cherry Preserves

 

Heat oven to 350 degrees.  Line large cookie sheets with parchment paper.  Let cookie dough stand at room temperature for 10 minutes to soften

 

In a medium bowl, break up cookie dough.  Add nuts, cherries, coconut and vanilla.  Mix with wooden spoon or knead with hands until well blended.  Shape rounded tablespoonfuls of dough into balls.  Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.

 

Bake 15 – 20 minutes or until edges are light golden brown.  Cool 3 minutes.  With back of teaspoon make indentation in center of each cookie.  Spoon 1 teaspoon preserves in each indentation.  Cool completely, about 20 minutes.  Store in covered Container.