Looking for that perfect meal to make for your next dinner party or family gathering?  Look no further with this tried and tested winner of a menu!  Bring a date, or a friend, and add these must-know recipes to your repertoire.

- Roasted Asparagus wrapped in Prosciutto
- Pecan Crusted Pork Chops
- Carrot Wild Rice
- Orange Butter Cakes with Creme Anglaise

Location: Jungle Jims, Cincinnati (Fairfield)

Time: 6:00 – 9:00 PM

Date: Tuesday, April 27, 2010

PS: Can’t wait for 4/27th? Schedule your own in-home cooking class.  Contact me or request information online.

Tried Cooks Illustrated recent recipe from their March & April 2010 issue titled “A New Way to Pan-Sear Chicken Breasts”

Although I didn’t really have an issue with my chicken breasts I thought this was interesting to roast the chicken first under low heat and then finishing it off with the sear. So… did it make a difference?

Oh yeah! “Mom, this is a do-over!” says my 14 yr old son. He also thought it tasted a bit like cordon blue (but there was no ham or cheese).

Here’s the recipe with the brown sauce (slightly modified)

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (6 – 8 oz each)
2 tsp kosher salt (approx)
1 Tablespoon Meyers Lemon Olive Oil (original recipe called for vegetable oil)
2 Tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp fresh ground black pepper

Sauce:
1 Tablespoon freeze dried Shallots
1 tsp garlic powder
1 cup low sodium chicken stock
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter, chilled

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and pre-heat oven to 275 degrees.

2. Using fork, poke thickest half of each chicken breast 5 to 6 times, sprinkle with salt.

3. Place chicken, skinned side down in a 13 x 9 baking dish. Insert probe thermometers into the thickest part of one of the breasts, and cover dish with foil.

4. Roast until breasts registers 145 degrees (about 35 – 40 minutes).

5. Meantime, prepare the coating for chicken: whisk flour into the 2 T of melted butter, add ground pepper and set aside.

6. Remove chicken from oven and transfer, skinned side up to paper-towel-lined plate and pat dry with paper towels.

7. Heat up oil in a 12″ skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Lightly brush top side of chicken with half of the butter mixture.

8. Place chicken in skillet, coated side down, and cook until browned, about 3 – 4 minutes.

9. Coat other side of breast, flip chicken and cook for another 3 – 4 minutes.

10. Transfer chicken to large plate and let rest while preparing pan sauce. (note: if not making sauce, let chicken sit for about 5 minutes.)

11. Add Shallots and garlic powder to pan and cook over medium heat for about 30 – 60 seconds. Add chicken broth and bring to simmer, scraping pan bottom to loosen browned bits.

12. Reduce down to about 3/4 to of cup (about 3- 5 minutes).

13. Remove from heat, whisk in butter & black pepper. Pour sauce into a container through a fine mesh strainer (so you don’t’ have the shallots or browned chicken pieces in your sauce).

14. Drizzle over plated chicken and serve.

Enjoy!

Let me know your thoughts… comment below.

Personally speaking Cuban food is my comfort food. Growing up in a Cuban-American home with my Abuela (grandmother) in the kitchen brings back happy memories.

For many of you, Cuban food is something rare and only available in tropical location with a heavy population of Cubans. Others may believe that Cuban food is similar to other Hispanic dishes… some may be similar, but none are the same!

Join me as I demystify Cuban Cooking at Home on March 3rd at Jungle Jims in Fairfield, Ohio (Cincinnati area)

Menu includes:

• Black Beans & Rice
• Chicken Fricassee
• Cuban Style Breaded Steak
• Abuela’s Flan

Class is only $50. Wed. March 3rd from 6 – 8:30 PM.

click here to register for my Cuban Cooking at Home: http://www.junglejims.com/cookingschool/classregistration.asp

My friends & family are already tired of hearing me complain about the snow and cold weather in Cincinnati.  I know the North East has it worse.. but it doesn’t make me feel any better.

As I sit here, with a glass of wine at hand (A Spanish Crianza “Castillo de Fuendejalon” from ‘06 I found for $10), moping and upset about the foot of snow outside and my cold feet, I am trying to find ways of making it better.  So let’s brainstorm…

1. Enjoy a glass of wine (doing in moderation of course.)

2. Bring the laptop by the fireplace so I can get some work done

3. make a pot of soup or chili — comfort food on a long winter day!

4. update your blog

5. play a board game with the family

6. rent or order a movie using pay per view (so you don’t have to leave the house).

7. make smores & hot chocolate

8. Close your eyes and visualize the warm ocean air while on a yacht cruising the waterways in Miami, FL.

Ahh.. I guess thinking about all the blessings I have is making me feel a lot better. Still cold… still going to be a pain in the ‘bleep’ until Spring …

Come on mother nature, bring on the 40 – 50 degree weather.

Personally speaking I am the one who over comits and honestly believes I can “do it all”.  I try to cram  14 hours of work into 8 hours.

Have I been successful?  Well… I think you know the answer to that question!  My poor family has paid the price of my great intentions.

In speaking my friend and colleague about this issue he came out with a great article about project management procedures.  Here’s the article he wrote: http://sixsigmaresource.blogspot.com/2010/02/how-many-projects-can-you-fit-into-your.html

Would love to hear your thoughts.

Recent news is highlighting stories on a new report from Kaiser Family Foundation which sates kids ages 8 to 18 spend more than 7.5 hours a day using electronic media.

This is the third wave of the study (1999, 2004 & 2009) which indicates a growth of media usage within the youth by about an hour since the study in 2004.

Also interesting to note that most kids are multi-tasking within the mediums, which equals 10:45 hours worth of media usage, compared to 2004’s study which was 8:33 hours worth of media content.

Well, this is really no surprise to most parents today, we know are children are consuming more media today than they did in 2004. I believe we are more aware of the usage during winter months when sports season is over and it’s a little chilly outside.

As a mom of a teenager and tween, I see it and live it. After all, I work in the digital media space, I run my life, and our family events, using technology and digital media.

I found it interesting the report states: “Youth who spend more time with media report lower grades and lower levels of personal contentment.” The participants in the study were grouped into three categories based on number of hours they consumed media content in a typical day:

• Heavy users: +16 hours (21%)
• Moderate users: 3-16 hours (62%) << betty’s notes: seems like a really broad range
• Light users: – 3 hours (17%)

Study states that nearly half (47%) of all heavy users say they usually get fair to poor grades (C’s & lower), compared to 23% of light media users.

The study goes on to say it “cannot establish whether there is a cause and effect relationship between media use and grades, or between media use and personal contentment.”

So what does this report mean to parents & how do we use it?

Should we be concerned that our youth is spending their time in front of electronic devices? I don’t believe the answer lies in shutting down all digital media away from our kids.

I do believe we can use this study to remind us of some fundamental parenting skills:

• Know what your kids are being exposed to
• Greet your kids with a hug and kiss each time they go off to school and when they come back home (that’s a tip from the Cuban mom in me)
• Know who they are “hanging out with” online and offline
• Have open communication and understanding that is it your right as a parent to look through text messages, emails & computer history files. Hopefully, this isn’t necessary if you have an open communication with your kids, but they should know you have that right.
• Attend teacher parent conferences even if your kids are doing well in school, it’s amazing   what learn about your child with only 10 – 15 min’s with their teacher. (and I was told by a teacher, they actually appreciate the face time with the parents.)
• Find ways to openly communicate with your children. Suggestions are:
• Turn off music during drive time and talk to your kids
• Schedule regular family dinners and turn off ALL media (i.e. don’t answer phone, cell phones put away, TV off, etc.)
• Schedule family game time, board games and outside activities (additional note: they might fight you on this, but will usually end up having fun. Plus we also include their friends in games, great way to get to know everyone.)
• Do chores together

I’m sure you all can add a few more to the list … please do & comment them below.

What does this study mean for marketers?

It’s a goldmine my marketing peeps! Study shows us stats like video game playing is more popular among 11 to 14 year old’s and music becomes increasingly popular as teens get older. There’s all sorts of demographics and statistical goodies for marketers marketing to our youth.   You can read the entire study at: http://www.kff.org/entmedia/upload/8010.pdf

One last tip from this mom of 2: Don’t be afraid of technology, embrace it, learn it and engage. If you don’t engage into what your kids are doing, they’re less likely to engage into what you’re doing.
xoxo

Had an interesting conversation today about which elements of six sigma or process improvement can be applied to cooking. Here’s are some of my thoughts, would love to hear yours.

1. Using the LEAN principles streamline the prep work. Plan ahead and cut out unnecessary steps (when it doesn’t compromise quality)

2. Map out your plan before starting to cook.

3. If a recipe doesn’t come out as planned analyze the steps to get to the root cause of the problem.

4. Reduce waste by grouping meals with similar ingrediants within same week so you can save on money and prep time.

5. Understand what your customer wants (their expectations) and make meals to meet those expectations.

Although meals are subjective and I find cooking to be creative. You can apply some basic principles to make it easier to make family meals and bring your family back around the dinner table.

As marketers we love to plan and create campaigns that drive action and make a difference for our customers.

But how do you we know what’s making a difference? We must monitor and measure the data.

Web Analytics Wednesday’s Cincinnati chapter is holding its next meeting today, January 6th at BlackFin in downtown Cincinnati.

Join me in attending as we listen to Greg Smith, assistant professor of the MIS department of the Williams College of Business at Xavier University. He will be presenting his thoughts on the role and impact of web analytics on business intelligence practices and thinking.

Additional details can be found at: Web Analytics Wednesday meeting website.

Here’s a couple of ideas for tonight’s party:

Maple Pecan Tartlet

* Pecan Pie  (I used this recipe but purchased ready made pie crust, plus made them into tartlets)
* Pressed & Grilled Cuban Style Sandwich
* Panini
* Hummus (I know this is out for ‘09 — so might as well finish the year off right)
* White Bean Puree (this is the new year’s replacement for hummus)
* Tomato and Avocado canapes* Baked Brie (always a classic)
* Chocolate Covered Apple Bites with crushed Pretzels

Hope this helps!

Happy New  Year!  May 2010 Bring you all the Love, Peace and Joy in the world.

xoxox
Betty

Are we losing the art of writing a letter to someone?

I know we email, twitter, and update our status today to communicate with friends and loved ones. We talk, text and send pictures that help us communicate. But about a good old fashion letter?

Why am I — ms. geek the social media/microblogger herself — is even bringing this to light? Well, my nephew who’s in bootcamp can only receive letters. So I ask my son to make sure he writes to him and I realize our kids may learn how to write letters in school, but they really don’t put that into practice.

Remember the days of ‘writing notes’ to your friends and passing them in school, or shoving a note into someone’s locker? LOL. You’re much younger than I am if you’re rolling your eyes! If not, you understand exactly what I’m saying and hear me loud and clear.

So…. for those of us who need a little reminder here’s a little cheat sheet on how you can write a personal letter/note to someone:

1. Start with “Dear John,” or “Hello Susan”

2. Body: Don’t forget to indent 5 spaces and you can usually start with “How are you?”, then mention how you doing what your doing lately. Other topics of discussion can include:

• what you’ve done this week (big test or project at work you’re working on?)
• how you are feeling about the recipient of the letter
• updates on your family members
• funny story about the dog
• the fact that you went on vacation
• anything else of interest

3. Closing: include your closing (i.e. Love, Peace, Sincerely) and your signature.  (A letter with a signature is extremely rude)

It doesn’t need to be a book, or some heart wrenching story. Just write and share your life, feelings and wishes towards the another person. Especially if they are in the military where they don’t have other forms of communications.

My nephew is working hard, tired and I’m sure missing his loved ones. Do you have someone that can use a little love via a letter?

If you really need help in setting this up I found this cute little site that helps you set up a letter in proper format: http://www.readwritethink.org/materials/letter_generator/

Have other suggestions or comments?  Post them here!