All that is Aprons

What Sassy Chef would be caught in the kitchen without a most fabulous apron?? The internet is a great resource to find one-of-a-kind buys for aprons that will be a "dress to impress" factor even if your guests arrive a little early. My favorite sites to explore are:

-Sassy Chef Aprons: This online store makes limited edition aprons one at a time... so yours is custom made at the time of your order! Below is the "Haiku" edition that can be ordered here.

-Callie Micks: This online store has a great selection of a little more classic styles, and even have shorter half- aprons. The website claims that you can also have any apron custom ordered. Below is the "Julia Apron" found here.

-Dorothy's Aprons: If you're SO fashionista that you're able to sew your own apron, and want the challenge of a vintage pattern... check out this website with several free patterns that are downloadable directly from the site!

And my favorite??

-Jessie Steele: This site has an enormous collection, and the site claims that most orders can be shipped within 24 hours! Below is the "Traditional Snowflake Apron" from the Fall/Holiday 2008 collection. I'm OBSESSED with bows and love the gold bow detailing on the side! They have a great collection of Hostess aprons, Chef's aprons, Children's aprons, and great little oven mitts that are sure to be a hit in your kitchen!

Many of the Jessie Steele aprons, as well as a great collection of others, can be found in our Sassy Chef Store located on the top right hand corner of the blog!

Happy Halloween!

Brittany

Word of the Day: "Deglaze"

Chefs all over the world are deglazing their pans, but … what does that mean?

Luckily, deglazing is simple. It is the process of using a “deglazing liquid” to loosen the cooked and caramelized bits from the bottom of your pan. First, you want to remove the main dish, say a roasted meat for example, and then pour off the excess fat from the pan. Then add a few tablespoons, or enough to cover the bottom of your pan, and use a spatula (here comes that rubber spatula again!) to loosen the caramelized bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow the liquid to come to a boil for just a few seconds and then remove from the heat.

But why?: Those caramelized bits that stick to the bottom of the pan are packed with yummy flavor and the liquid makes a great start for gravies and sauces.

One more thing: Your deglazing liquid can be just about any liquid you choose, but most often it is water, stock, lemon juice, or wine. Just make sure the wine gets in the pan….

Deglazing: It doesn’t just sound fancy…. It’s sassy!

Creamy Baked Chicken Sandwiches!

This recipe is a casual version of a dish that was served at a formal event I attended recently. It's a great hot sandwich that is easy to make and just that "something different".



Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
½ package frozen spinach
½ cup sour cream
1 package refrigerated biscuit dough
Salt and Pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven according to directions on biscuit package.


2. Cut thickest 1/3 of chicken breasts away from the remainder of the breast. Pound thinner portion with meat pounder (or the class substitute for a meat pounder– the edge of a can of veggies). You can save the remaining portions for a grilled chicken salad, etc, but the thinner portion of the meat is best for this dish!


3. Season both sides of the chicken with salt and pepper and place on baking sheet. Put chicken in oven fro approximately 15-20 minutes. (This step will depend on the temperature used in step one. For a 400 degree oven, 15-20 minutes should be great!).


4. While chicken bakes, roll out biscuits into larger flat circles.


5. Combine spinach and sour cream into a creamy mixture. You could also use ricotta cheese if you prefer it over sour cream. The measurements above are approximate, but you want a creamy spinach mixture to stuff your sandwich with!


6. Remove chicken from the oven. It will NOT be all the way cooked through but should have a good start.


7. Place one biscuit below each chicken breast on the baking sheet. Then add spinach and sour cream mixture on top of chicken breast and spread in an even layer. Add another biscuit to form the top of your sandwich and press the edges of the two biscuits together on each side of the chicken breast (you don’t need a “seal” all the way around; just enough to hold the sandwich together!)


8. Put sandwiches back into the oven until the biscuits are golden brown.
   

So - there.... proof that you don't need a panini grill to make a tasty hot sandwich!

Kristy

Keep some Toothpaste in the Kitchen!

Some of you may have heard of this one, but it works so well, it’s worth sharing. Lots of dishes require some kind of base of garlic and onion, but there is absolutely nothing sassy about smelling like the two tasty companions. Though there are several new smell-cutting soaps on the market, I think this tip works the best.



The solution: you can remove the smell of dinner’s preparation with a little dollop of toothpaste. Make sure to scrub it all in and under your nails and rinse. Voila! Dinner is done, and you're back to sassy.

Kristy

Homemade Buttercream Icing

In light of Kristy's post about the fabulousness that is rubber spatulas, I wanted to post a quick recipe that you could use those great rubber spatulas to frost with! For my husband and I's one month anniversary I wanted to make a cake inspired by our white almond cake with buttercream frosting wedding cake:

So, in being a sassy chef myself, I took the quick & simple way with the cake- buying a simple white cake mix from the grocery store, and added a little splash of almond extract to the final product before it baked. The buttercream icing was worth every second of making from scratch, though.

Homemade Buttercream Icing

1/2c. solid vegetable shortening, 1/2c. butter (softened), 1t. clear vanilla extract, 4c. (apprx. 1lb) sifted confectioner's sugar, 2T. milk.

In large bowl cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use. Re-whip before using.

Here's my finished product! (I mean... it resembles our wedding cake enough, right?!) Let's be honest... the husband didn't care how it looked, but he loved how it tasted! We licked that bowl of icing 'til it was good and clean!

Happy cooking!

Brittany

Word of the Day: Chiffonade

There are lots of cooking words that may get you a little out of your comfort zone in the kitchen. Fridays are going to be the day I dedicate to taking those confounding and frustrating terms you see in recipes and making them sassy again.

Chiffonade:

Definition: A chiffonade is simply the technique which takes green leafy herbs or baby spinach and cuts them into long thing strips by first stacking the leaves, rolling them up burrito-style, and cutting into thin strips.

But why?: Chiffonades are an easy and efficient way to cut up your herbs and they also make a professional looking topping for soups, pasta dishea, and nearly any other dish.

And - the photo is straight off of Wikipedia, so let's give credit where credit is due.

If you could only have one kitchen gadget.....?

It would have to be the rubber spatula. No sassy chef would be caught in her apron without one! Truly the tool of the kitchen savvy, the rubber spatula has no match as far as versatility and functionality go. The only potential contender is the silicone spatula.... which is basically a high tech version of the rubber variety.



So, if you don't have one - get a couple of rubber spatulas and know you've made a great purchase by considering the many potential functions of the rubber (or silicone) spatula - because this type of spatula is certainly not limited to flipping pancakes or shoving around bacon. You can find some of the best available in my "Sassy Chef Store" - the link is to the right!

Top 10 uses for Rubber Spatulas in the Sassy Chef's Kitchen:



1. Folding the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients.



2. A tool for collecting the excess from your mixing bowl and licking.... to check the flavor of course.



3. Smooth icing over your first ever home-made (that means it doesn't come out of a box) cake.



4. A prop to waive around and help you look really angry when your kids stick their fingers in the icing.



5. You can stir and rotate items in your best non-stick without scratching the delicate surface.



6. You can smack your husband with it when he puts your best non-stick in the dishwasher.



7. How did we ever get shortening out of measuring cups without rubber spatulas?



8. You can also use it to get play dough out of measuring cups after your second-grader's sleep-over.



9. Any sassy chef looks occupied (meaning, too busy to carry out the trash) with a rubber spatula in her hand.



10. And in the spirit of #6, you can smack your husband if he refuses to help you out with that trash!

What is a Sassy Chef?

The Sassy Chef:

1. Is capable of stirring sauce while her nail polish dries.

2. Has a social life that doesn't leave time to look up words like chiffonade, souffle, and roux.

3. Cares more about whether her favorite pair of jeans will still fit than reading labels.

4. Wants it to taste like it took hours.... in about 10 minutes.

5. Likes flexing her creative muscle in the kitchen.