Sh!t I'm Late & Salisbury Steak

Listen...


At the end of the day, I am a mother of a three year old, a wife, a student and extremely exhausted from the day to day motions and at times, I slip up.  Okay, so I slip up a lot.  I came home from a meeting with numerous school counselors about going back to school from my leave of absence and picked up my son 45 minutes earlier than usual.  


The kiddo, Mr. EJ as I affectionately call him, wanted an Ice Popsicle from the store and being that my 3 1/2 year old was pretty good today, I figured what the hell.  We walked into the sun:  my toasted almond ice cream with the sun dressed yellow wrapper and my son walking with his 2 minute melting fire engine and sky blue twisted ice pop.  Of course, he is extremely messy and we both took a bath as we talked about his day.  I pulled out some ground beef, not knowing what the hell I was going to make and after a few hours of lolligagging, I came across the "oh sh!t" moment.  It's 7pm...my son goes to sleep in two hours and my husband is walking in the door...what the hell can I make before it hits 8pm? Salisbury Steak of course!  


Tonight's special meal is my 1, 2, 3 Salisbury Steak w/ Caramelized Onions & Mushroom Pan Gravy.  Since I was short on time, I paired it with some sauteed red and green peppers, onions and fusilli, lightly dressed with oregano and basil.  Ideally, traditional mashed potatoes with sour cream and chives and some sort of steamed or blanched green veggie would have been perfect but I'm a woman on a mission.  Hope this recipe serves you well in your 30 minute pursuit to happiness...45 minutes tops.

1, 2, 3 Salisbury Steak with Onion & Mushroom Pan Gravy

• 2 1/2 lbs. ground beef (or turkey!)
• 1 medium onion, halved and julienned
• 1 small onion (or half med. onion), brunoise or small dice
• 4 cleaned mushrooms (I prefer baby portabella), bottom discarded and julienned
• up to 3 T of all purpose flour
• 1/3 c. pan drippings or vegetable/canola oil
• up to 1/4 c. soy sauce
• 2 T Worcestershire sauce
• 1 t onion powder
• 1 t garlic powder
• 1 T ketchup
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 c bread crumbs
• TT salt and pepper

Set oven to broil (500 - 525 degrees).  In the meantime, season thawed ground beef with onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Incorporate eggs, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs and diced/brunoise onion into ground beef.  Gather a chunk of meat, separating into 6 - 8 portions to create Salisbury Steaks.  Shape into a rectangle or oval shape and lay on either 1/2 sheet or full sheet pan.  Place steaks into oven for 10 minutes.  Flip over at 10 minute mark and leave in oven for five extra minutes.  Pull steaks off tray and set to side.  Hold grease drippings as gravy.


To create pan gravy, heat pan on medium fire.  Once pan reaches even heat, use grease drippings, approximately 1/3 c. with 90% beef, in pan and caramelize onions; add mushrooms and set vegetables to the side.  Using drippings, mix with all purpose flour, adding 1 T at a time.  Stir frequently and be patient for it to thicken.  Add soy sauce for color and season with salt, as needed.  For a little twist, add 1/3 c. white wine slowly and allow gravy to thicken.  It should be thick enough that it reaches the nappe stage (coat the back of a spoon and stay) but not too thick where it is gooey.  You can thin your gravy with oil, preferably a veggie oil.  Taste to see if it is seasoned enough and you can add onions and mushrooms in mixture.  To make it visually appealing, plate your Salisbury Steak with a coating gravy and place onion and mushrooms on top.  


Bon Appetit!

Sesame Ginger Meatballs

Two bottles of ritalin mixed in a bowl of Cocoa Puffs doesn't sound too appetizing to me but hey, I suppose if you eat McDonalds 7 days a week, it can't be that bad...  Damn, I hate their marketing techniques because as much as I am a culinary prude, I seriously think that's clever to get people to buy that much deadly fries, burgers and shakes.  Just a thought.

Anyway, my dear buddy Kaos Blac talked rekindled the thoughts of doing this Blogspot that I never fed with any information so I figured I'd post it on here.   Ironically, he sent me a text message asking about a recipe around the same time I was writing my Buttermilk Pound Cake recipe blog and asked for a meatball recipe...and shaddup you perverts....I can imagine the jokes coming out of the word "meatball."  

A few months ago, I made this Sesame Ginger Meatball recipe that people told me was awesome.  I hope it was and hope that you like it too.  If you modify it, send over the love.  I would love to see what you added or removed from my version.  ENJOY!

Sesame Ginger Meatballs

Picture coming soon!  I promise!

I used:

3 lbs. Ground Turkey

Salt and pepper, TT

1/3 c.  bread crumbs (preferably Panko or plain)

1 egg to bind (if you don't want to use egg, no problem...the breadcrumbs and moisture of the recipe will make it work)

1/4 c.  minced ginger

5 minced cloves garlic

3 scallions, uniform size chopped

3 T sesame oil

2 handfuls sesame seeds (estimate of 1/2 cup)

2 T sugar

1/2 c. soy sauce

3/4 c. fresh cilantro, chiffonade (basically a ribbon cut or if all else fails, buy dried cilantro and use 1/2 c.)

1/4 c. lime juice

enough vegetable oil or olive oil to coat pan

Season ground turkey (or beef) with salt and pepper to taste (TT).  I used Kosher salt but table salt or sea salt will be fine.  Remember kosher and sea salt has a heavier concentration  since the clumps are bigger and takes a while to settle in versus table salt.  Incorporate a whipped egg, 1/2 of the soy sauce mixture (only 1/4 c.), minced ginger, minced garlic, bread crumbs, only 2 tbsp. of sesame oil, only 1/8 of the lime juice, most of the cilantro and most of the sesame seeds.  Once incorporated, roll into small to medium meatballs.  Larger sizes mean longer cooking times; adjust accordingly.  Your mixture should be wet but firm enough to hold together and not break apart.  If it is too wet, add in more bread crumbs until firm enough to hold.  

Heat a rondeau or large pan and once even heat is distributed, add in enough oil to coat pan to prevent sticking, estimate of 2 - 3 Tbsp.  Once hot, add in turkey meatballs and cook on all sides.  An alternate way of cooking these meatballs are by placing them in a preheated oven at 375 for approximately 35 - 40 minutes.  Internal temperature should hit 165 degrees for turkey and minimum 160 degrees for beef.  With remaining ingredients, (water, sesame seeds, sesame oil, lime juice, cilantro, sugar, sesame seeds, soy sauce plus salt if needed), whisk together and this is your dipping sauce.  

When I made this dish, I served it with Jasmine Rice and didn't fluff up the rice like I typically do.  It's best with a vegetable pilaf, plain rice (you can use the marinade/dipping sauce to pour over it) or a vegetable risotto like a butternut squash in white wine risotto with this.  From start to finish, it took 35 minutes.  In hindsight, I just realized that I probably should do a blog on basic knife skills and terminology in the kitchen.  Perhaps it will be named:  'Betty Crocker Don't Know Sh!t' or something cynical like that.  FYI, I love you Betty...<3

Ah, la dolce vita!

Sunday Morning Boredom & a Buttermilk Pound Cake

Buttermilk Pound Cake
Photo by L. Shauntay Snell of The Cake Monologues
& E. Snell Design

Sunday morning, I found myself staring into a blank space wondering what I was in the mood to do.  My life thus far has been both exhilarating and at a standstill.  I suppose it depends on what side of the coin that you think looks better.


I've been in culinary school, Star Career Academy of New York, since March and it's been...entertaining.  Many would think that I'm 300 lbs. by now but that's certainly not the case.  In fact, I've lost 20+ pounds since entering school and it's July.


School has taught me a serious lesson about food:  be careful and very mindful of what you eat.  My newly discovered respect for different seasonings and ingredients has surpassed my expectations prior to entering school.  In fact, it inspired me to dig deeper into old school favorites, including revisiting a pound cake recipe that required some extra love. 


Sure, chocolate and caramel are great flavors but there's nothing like having something simple.  Simplicity brings me back to a place where things weren't so technical or second guessed.  You just...do it.  So here's to childhood, here's to plain Jane who doesn't get the credit that she deserves for being beautiful in her very organic way and here's to saying "screw extravagant."  Hope this recipe serves you as well as it has me:


Buttermilk Pound Cake


For 1 loaf pan 
(Double up on recipe to fill 2- 8x2" pans, 1- 10" bundt pan or 2 loaf pans)


1 1/4 c. all purpose flour (a/p for short)
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 c. buttermilk
1 large egg 
1/4 c. butter or margarine (Butter is better and imagine Paula Deen is saying this while you read this)
1 c. granulated sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
cooking spray or butter & flour to grease pan


Preheat oven at 350 degrees.  Sift together all purpose flour, salt & baking powder and set aside.  Cream, another term for mixing together two products until light, together butter (or margarine) and sugar until light, approximately 1 - 2 minutes on low if butter is at a decent chill, slightly above room temperature on low to medium speed.  The appearance should be a pale yellow.  Add egg to mixture until incorporated.  Combine buttermilk and vanilla into separate bowl.  Alternate using flour mixture and buttermilk mixture into whipped butter mixture until fully incorporated.  Always be mindful to start with flour and end with flour.  In addition, do not over whip your ingredients.  The last thing you want is a light and fluffy pound cake that suffers from tunneling (air pockets in baked goods).  Use plastic spatula to make sure there's no flour mixture sticking to sides or bottom.


Pour mixture into desired pan and bake for 30 - 35 minutes.  Use a toothpick or cake pricker to test if done.  If you're using this recipe for an event, slice into thick slices and top with freshly sliced fruit such as strawberries or raspberries and whipped cream.  

First Blog on Blogspot!

Spinach Stuffed Chicken with Jasmine Rice

...and I've been talked into blogging once again but this time it's all about the cakes (and other foods too).


For those who don't know me personally, my name is Latoya S. Snell, owner of Brooklyn's home based business, The Cake Monologues.  You can call me the butter cream queen, the Brooklyn cake magician on a mission or just Toya.  Either way, I still have love for you.  

It's Me!  Latoya S. Snell
Photo credits:  W. Eric Snell of  E. Snell Design

I hope that I will be able to share some of my self taught recipes, give some tips here and there about the world of pastries and please don't be fooled...this larger than life Brooklyn gal likes to throw down in the kitchen.  With that being said, check out my Blogspot from time to time to visually taste some of my good home cooking and if I'm not being a sucka...I'll share some recipes with you.  

The Cake Monologues

Please feel free to check out my website, www.thecakemonologues.com and if you are moved by some of the voodoo that I do (hehehehe), please order a cake or two.  Currently, I am able to deliver within the New York City area and part of New Jersey unless it is a special order.  Anyone who has me as a Facebook friend know that I love to post up all different types of dishes and baby, I don't discriminate.  


My mouth is kinda...eh, colorful at times but if you touched the knives that I've crossed in the kitchen, your mouth wouldn't be so pretty either.  I have a passionate love for poetry (hence the business name) so don't be surprised if you see a poem or six on here.


Please share your thoughts, opinions...good, bad, ugly and the oh no you didn't heifers, with me.  If you have a question or two, send it to me and I will try my best to help you.  I love you all already and this is my first post.   Feel free to follow me on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cakemonologues or click here.  Don't be afraid to fan The Cake Monologues on Facebook by clicking the link on the side of this blog or clicking here.  I promise not to call you a stalker unless you're lurking near my window at 2AM. 


Buona Notte!


Latoya Shauntay