Cobbler...my first pastry love.

When I was nine or so my great grandmother took me to a "Pot-luck Supper" for her church. I remember thinking, "I can have anything? As much as I want?" That day I learned how to over-eat. I remember it clear as yesterday...hitting the wall and thinking there is no way I could eat more - and then the gorge opens up and it can fit endless amounts of food. I got fat after that. Not immediately of course but steadily after.

Food is wonderful. When thinking about it, on the way to get it, preparing it, smelling it, savoring it...it's an experience and like anything there can be overindulgence. I came across "Half Ton Teen" on Discovery Health Channel (pretty sure that's the channel) and I watched the mother of a 19 year old wait on her 850 lb. man-baby catering to his every need - and she was happy to do it. It's her child, she loves him and gives him whatever he wants. She said she thought that is how life would be forever - her baby would be with her and she'd take care of him. I don't even need to describe the menu but he was consuming upwards of [no exaggerating] 30,000 calories a day.

That's how one reaches that kind of weight, said his doctor, by eating far over what your body needs and then beyond what it can handle. It's unfathomable to see yourself grow past 300 onward to 850. It's scary. I topped out at 270 in 2002. At my height I should be 175 (average). I'm down to 190 and still have fat that reminds me of the "270-Days"...note I made the cobbler the night before I saw this special and it got me thinking. I don't want to babble about weight issues but I want to make issue with what people put in their bodies! Rational portions! Delicious food that loves you back! Memories of feeling fulfilled and not full! Saying that - it's OK to have rational portions of cobbler every once in a while. When that time comes around - this is a fantastic recipe that goes great with ice cream - as all cobblers do......

The needs:

(for deep dish/ 9 X 13 dish)

Topping

1 1/2 cup AP flour

1 cup Whole Wheat flour

1 cup sugar

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

zest of a lemon

3/4 - 1 cup milk

1 stick cold butter diced

Filling

Three bags frozen fruit (around 3 lbs)

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp. flour

juice of that lemon from earlier

1 tsp. vanilla

Bake @350 degrees for 45 - 1 hours

I used both types of flour because it makes it that much better for you. In this, compared to biscuits, I think it would be totally acceptable to use all whole-wheat flour and it would be delicious. I used a large aluminum loaf pan (I know better than to use aluminum - which is bad for you and your food) which is my second choice to a 9 X 13 that I don't possess. Go ahead and get it oiled up...that's what she said.

I chose peaches and blueberries - my first cobbler was all blueberry and it was completely amazing. This can be almost any berry or fleshy fruit. Strawberries have a lot of water so it can be mushy. When filling your dish with this fresh fruit it should be very full. The fruit will cook down considerably and the topping is thick in design so make it big or go to Cracker Barrel and get it there.

That orange bracelet there is for my friend Cameron who just beat Leukemia at St. Jude's in Memphis. He's a total bad ass. There's no denying it. The stuff in the bowl is the filling ingredients we were talking about earlier...come on...you should know that! Toss it around and then into the greased pan/dish.

This is just a "zest visual". It really makes the topping better than anyone else's. Your welcome for the secret.

The topping is prepared like a biscuit, but I was excited and lazy and didn't cut in the butter, I just diced and threw it in. You'll see the difference.

Pre-oven: Spread topping over fruit. It should be sweet and delicious when licked off a spoon. There's no egg in there so you can eat it all and not be a paranoid lunatic about salmonella.

**BEST TO ALWAYS BAKE COBBLER ON A PARCHMENT LINED SHEET PAN BECAUSE OVERFLOW WILL HAPPEN! When it settles you'll be glad you put so much in though!

If you made biscuits then you'd be able to compare this to biscuits with butter cut in too much. The flavor is there but it's not flaky.

The color is not well represented as I had to use my camera phone for this whole entry...anyway...I like to serve it topping down and with vanilla bean ice cream. Ugh. So good.

Briefly back to responsible eating, I want to be an example for what I preach so I will focus more on healthy things that are surprisingly delicious and occasionally include some butter. I am NOT saying people shouldn't eat butter, but in seeing others in realization of what they want to achieve (the obese teen), I have been reminded of why I wanted to do it and how close I've gotten. Time to get back in gear and tell the dude at the drive-thru, "I changed my mind, I don't want to eat that crap."

HEALTHIER FOOD!!! In and around your mouth.

Tell your friends, co-workers, street-corner entrepreneurs, neighbors and people you generally like to check out InAndAroundYourMouth.Blogspot.com

BISCUIT WARS! The White or Wheat Experiment

So this is most certainly not an example of the healthiest meal - though there are some alternatives that make them sliiiightly better for you...not as bad for you. Today is a special day. My big brother bought his first truck. A big ass redneck Ford Bronco that is as awesome as this meal was. In honor of the big ass redneck Ford Bronco and Bert, we're having a good ol' southern breakfast with sausage gravy, cheese grits, poached eggs and biscuits! For my own education, and now yours, I made two different types of biscuit: whole wheat and AP white. Here we go...

A lot of sausage, a pound or more, I didn't even look.

The needs:

Mixing Bowl and round cake pan

Measuring cups and spoons

2 cups flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1 1/4 tsp. salt (if using unsalted butter)

1 tbsp. sugar (not for sweetness - makes them fluffy)

1 stick of butter

1 cup milk

This is a precious thing to me, the biscuit. I've seen it butchered time after time. I can tell you that this same recipe (my recipe) is made in a local hotel. It isn't my hand making them but I know for a fact there is at least one person that makes them beautifully - Kristina, you're a bad ass. Anyway, pay attention to these instructions and you will have delectable fluffy biscuits in 12-14 minutes (after preparation). Remember...dear, dear precious biscuit...

Sift together (or you can whisk) all the dry ingredients.

For this experiment I'm using one recipe with wheat flour and one with white. Each of the vintage "Granddaddy" pans have one tablespoon of butter each to be melted.

These pans have had thousands of biscuits in them. My grandfather made biscuits in these for decades and when he got new ones, I got these. They're perfect.

(to learn more about how this is done, reference the gravy tricks)

Breakfast gravy should start with meat. That's what I think. Peppered gravy is a fine alternative for vegetarians, but sausage gravy is the best! I browned all of the sausage and there wasn't much fat left, just all of this good stuff stuck to the pan. Another argument for healthier cooking is that stainless is better for your health and the flavor of the food. For this, it is essential. I increased the breakfast gravy ratio by a little. Because I wanted more gravy. Who doesn't? Then I added the sausage back...(I do understand that gravy is not healthy, we're making it healthier)

...back to the biscuits...focus...

**Very important** the butter should be FROZEN!! From the moment the butter comes out of the freezer, your movement should be fluid and purposeful. Cut the butter into cubes and (preferably in a food processor, but fingers can do it too [insert joke here]) add to 1/2 cup of flour mixture (or everything if you have a big boy food processor). Pulse 3-5 times until is looks like thiiiiiis...

The average size we're going for is a pea, but bigger pieces aren't bad.

With a well in the middle, add the milk and then fold the flour/butter into the milk and back around over and over until just mixed!! The tenderness of this biscuit depends on your easy hand!

(This is the wheat version) Throw this onto a large flour'd surface and flour your hands.

I like big biscuits so I smooshed this down with my fingers until it was a uniform thickness, whatever that is. I don't have a rolling pin, if you use a rolling pin do it very lightly, keeping air in the dough.

[White flour dough pictured] Using a wine glass/biscuit cutter/cookie cutter/circular car part, cut out biscuits and place into buttered pan.

*When using wheat flour, the dough will take 1/8 - 1/4 cup more milk than the recipe calls for. The white flour will make a very soft dough that will make soft, light biscuits that should be handled with care when moving to the pan. I am a loser, do you see how I'm talking about biscuits? I can't even babysit children, but I can care about biscuits. I digress...let's check the gravy out.

You can add milk if needed, the sausage took up a lot...it was more like sausage with gravy than gravy with sausage. Nothing wrong with that...once a year.

After brushing on some egg wash (one egg and a dash of water, scrambled), bake at 450 degrees for 12 - 14 minutes, or until golden brown. You might be tempted to take them out because they will look too delicious to let the oven have them in its company anymore, but let them get brown and beautiful and it will be all the more delicious.

The wheat didn't rise as much and were more dense, but tasty in a "healthier biscuit" kinda way. The white was...it...well, not to brag but I am damn proud of this recipe and they tasted delicious. I have made this recipe with a mixture of both flours and the wheat makes it dense and heavy no matter what, but you can feel better about eating a biscuit that isn't thaaat bad.

Some cheese grits, eggs and honey were the final touches.

I don't eat like this everyday, and neither should you, but it tastes sooo good! As far as the war goes, the white tastes better [insert another joke here], but wheat is unarguably healthier. I say, "You're eating a biscuit!!" It shouldn't be heavy, chewy, dense, crumbly, floppy or ever have grape jelly on it! It should be perfect and perfect biscuits are light and fluffy and buttery and delicious and never have grape jelly on them! I didn't add any more butter to these biscuits after baking, I poached the eggs in boiling water and used honey instead of any kind of jelly which drops the calorie count a little. And makes me feel a little better about stuffing my face with delicious southern food.

I hope you try these recipes out so you too can have delicious biscuits...

in and around your mouth!!

**COMMENT!**

Cajun Cheese Sauce with Pasta con Salad

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JUST JOINING IN? READ INTRODUCTION: DELICIOUS [di-lish-uhs] FIRST!

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So, this is a healthier twist on creamy Cajun sauces. Heavy cream can be simulated by using a little gravy trickery. I will explain as we go!

...and we're chopping. Garlic is in everything I make (savory wise)...I love it.

With the trinity [celery, green bell peppers, onion] and red bell peppers.

Sautee these until soft with a little salt and pepper.

On further contemplation (and I did eat this), the red bells were not necessary.

*Gravy Trickery: Fool-proof gravy instruction.

Breakfast Gravy ratio 3 tbsp. fat/3 tbsp. flour/1 1/4 cups milk

Milk Sauce Base ratio 3 tbsp. fat/1 1/2 tbsp. flour/1 3/4 cups milk

Here's the secret to perfect gravy/sauce base. Science. Thanks to Alton Brown and his brilliance I can share the tricks and explain why they work. When beginning gravy, the fat -butter in most cases and this one today - has to release water for the flour to not clump immediately. Simmer the butter for 20 minutes...kidding, simmer for two minutes on low heat, letting water evaporate...duh, just said that. With a wisk (my preference), integrate the flour and butter. Yeah, I said integrate. We're gonna mix it up. Anyway...now were going to let this mixture simmer to release starch from the flour. This will allow for a gravy that tastes like deliciousness instead of floury biscuit sauce. After this period, wisk in the milk slowly. I use 1% at home, so that's what's in the gravy. No need for whole. When...integrating (last time) the milk and flour/butter mixture there will be tension. The flour/butter will want to be resistant but you're the boss and it's not. In breakfast gravy's case, when all the milk is inte...in there it will seem very liquidy. Season with salt and pepper to taste and simmer, stirring occasionally to kinda-obsessively. As it simmers it will thicken to perfect. Now that the gravy is explained and why we use it we'll continue. It is only me really, not we. Continuing...

After sauce base is made, add sauteed peppers, et al, and simmer.

Yes, I'm going to add all of this cheese. There is a little Irish Dubliner, Cheddar and Gouda.

This is an important step. Of course it is, it's cheese. In small amounts and on low-medium heat, "spatula-in" the shredded cheese. It's getting delicious. Is pasta ready?

*This recipe without peppers and onions is the cheese sauce for macaroni and cheese. Get thinking about the innumerable variations of "Mac and Cheese" that you can make!!

And for some healthy stuff, too! Fresh spinach, butter lettuce, grated carrot, that Dubliner cheese again and a little "Cajun Balsamic".

(Recipe at the bottom)

And the finished product!

I sauteed shrimp with garlic, olive oil, and Cajun seasoning ("Slap Ya Mama" to be exact. It's spicy and bad ass.)

In turn, you save on a restaurant, you save on calories as they will all use heavy cream, you'll save your arteries in the process and you'll get something delicious in return...in and around your mouth.

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Cajun Balsamic: I am not a vinaigrette master by any means, but I know what tastes good to me so I go off that. The ratio in a vinaigrette is usually 70% oil/30% vinegar. With that to start with I take "some" balsamic vinegar, Cajun spices, salt, pepper, paprika, brown sugar, chives, and spicy mustard. The easy and nicest way is to slowly feed the vinegar mixture oil as it swirls around in a food processor. If you don't have that, hand-wisking will get a similar effect with a shit-load more effort...or just stir it around like a crazy person and, TAAA DA, vinaigrette!!

**My spell checker tells me that what I say is "wisk" is actually "whisk". I will look that up later, but I am pretty sure that you know what that is. It's the one that isn't flat and orange in the pictures if you're not sure.

Introduction: Delicious [di-lish-uhs]

-adjective

1. highly pleasing to the senses, eps. to taste or smell: a delicious dinner; a delicous aroma

2. very pleasing; delightful: a delicious sense of humor; a delicious revenge

Welcome, to what will be a feast for the eyes and your mouths! What I love to do when I'm not working is eat. Always have. I haven't always made the right eating choices - the majority of my choices I'd say, all twenty-six and a half years included. Fast food is easy, usually cheap and tastes "delicious". The delicious I defined to begin this blog is not the "delicious" I use to describe drive-thru fare. McDonalds, Burger King, et al, are all hell bent on saying, "You don't have the time to make good choices, so we're making those choices for you and making you feel like you get a deal." It tastes "delicious"- the thing is they aren't making good choices. Their ingredients are mass produced and cheaply made, increasing profit, decreasing health standards. When things get brought to light - i.e. movie popcorn in the mid 90's and how it was as fatty as three whoppers or something - "things change", and sunflower oil is used and everybody thinks it's better. Let's not forget! It's still covered in butter! Cheap doesn't mean bad, but you should think twice about what is in it.

What I want to share with whoever reads this is what I've learned from living in "fast food heaven" to learning what good food feels like. I'll post pictures of food I've made, food I want to learn how to make, and recipes for things that are easy, delicious and healthy for you. Healthy doesn't mean eating just fruits and vegetables - it means leaving a meal feeling having helped your body and, in my opinion, it should tastes awesome, too.

I'm not saying eat everything raw, but I am saying that the grocery store is your best friend and the frozen section is, too - not the drive-thru!! We won't get on the subject of organic yet (well, briefly, certified organic products are better for you - "It's science." - Ron Burgandy), but "fresh ingredients are best, frozen is next". Frozen vegetables are awesome bases for many things like soup, enchiladas, casseroles, what I called "doctored-sides" which are melting pot of things that together make something...delicious. Don't be scared to experiment!! Why not put corn in enchiladas? Why not use different cheeses to make traditional dishes, like macaroni and goat cheese (substitute almost any cheese). Easy to make (will be explained in a future post) - you can use skim milk if you want and throw in asparagus and you have a meal. Chicken would be nice, too. You get the point? Wouldn't that taste better than a freaking double cheeseburger from Burger King?!

Cooking is a hobby. I'm not a chef. I don't want to be a chef. I want to be a cook that knows how to make beautiful, tasty, delicious food that is easy. Sometimes I feel like a challenge, and I'll post those things, too, but I hope that this might influence someone to make dinner at home. Maybe learning how to make a damn good biscuit will make someone eat one at home instead of the rubber they call biscuits at McDonalds...it is possible to make a biscuit that isn't terrible for you. I will show you.

Future postings include: Every-way Enchiladas, the right way to make cookies/biscuits, Cobbler, sauces of numerous variety and other things thrown in at random.

Like I said, I love food. Food can love you back. I want to show you how to make and experience homemade meals that will taste so good...so delicious...they will be in and around your mouth. Enjoy. And wipe your mouth.

-Walter

Examples to peak your interest...

[CLICK TO ENLARGE]

Turkey Gumbo

Herb and Garlic Rubbed Salmon with Spinach and Mixed Greens

Peach Cobbler

More to come...