Grillin' & Chillin' for Father's Day

 Mother's Day is all about taking mom out to brunch / dinner so that she won't have to cook and clean, Father's Day is the day you'll want to bring your 'A' game to the grill. Makes no difference if it's steaks, burgers, ribs, brats, chicken, seafood, or a plethora of fresh veggies, the family BBQ is where it's at for Dad's big day. What could be more perfect than a photo of dad sipping on an icy cold beer in one hand and chowing down on a juicy dog in the other.  

Fancy restaurants won't work for Father's day, most dad's I know don't do fancy. Just plenty of good solid food and family, that's all our dad ever wanted. We're extremely fortunate to be able to spend Father's day with our dad.  He's 87 years young, sharp as a tack, and still travelling the world with his beautiful wife. Woody is one of a kind, if you've had the pleasure of meeting him I know you'll agree, he's one super cool dad. So in honor of all the wonderful dad's in this world and in our lives, what's going to be cookin' on your grill this upcoming Father's Day?

The BBQ revolution exploded in this country over the last decade and is unrivaled by any other food trend. Grilled and smoked food is IN and it's here to stay. Why? Because it's tactile hands on, non fussy cooking and it's delicious. 

I won't go into gas grill versus charcoal or wood fired. I get it that a die hard pitmaster would rather eat Chinese take out than risk a beautiful brisket on a tasteless propane grill, but I gotta say, the ease and convenience that it offers does have it's place. We have both, a convenient gas grill hooked up to a gas line, and a PK Kitchen smoker/grill. Depending on the Bossy Chef's mood and energy on any given day, determines which piece of equipment will be fired up. 

If you're an avid BBQ enthusiast and would like to hone your culinary grilling skills, here are two books that would make a terrific gift or be a great addition to your own cooking collection:

'Franklin Barbecue - A Meat-Smoking Manifesto', written by Aaron Franklin and Jordan Mackay. Located in Austin, TX., Franklin Barbecue is the most popular, critically acclaimed barbecue joint in the country - possibly the world, and Franklin is the winner of every major barbecue award there is.

Another great read is 'Meathead' by Meathead Goldwyn with Greg Blonder, Ph.D.

Both of these books explain the science of great barbecue cooking and grilling by severing fact from fiction, and teaching you to be a smarter / better cook through proper techniques and understanding the underlying science of what is happening inside that cooker.

You most likely already have your favorite recipe for ribs, brisket, chicken, pork, etc., and I'm sure you have a go to rub or sauce that's become a staple. So, I'm not going to get into the center of the plate, but what I would like to share with you today are some stand out sides that are easy to make and feed a crowd. Click on the highlighted names for a pdf version of the recipes.

Cornbread

Who does not LOVE cornbread? I know some people prefer theirs sweet and cake like, while most Southerner's say no to any sugar or flour whatsoever. Doesn't matter, cornbread is perfect to serve at any BBQ. It's ridiculously easy to make, versatile, and travels well. I've played around with lots of different recipes and have finally come up with one that is just right for us. It's not too sweet, not to sour, it's just right. I love a super crunchy crust outside and a tender, moist inside. Top it with butter, honey, or beans, it's killer good. 

Just Right Cornbread

Beans

Truly good beans can be the second star of the show. The humble bean if treated right is not only incredibly delicious but full of vitamins, protein, and low in fat. A ladle of beans spooned over cornbread, add a little chopped fresh onion and you have a great dinner. The recipe for these beans comes from  Franklin's Barbecue, cooked brisket is added in for extra flavor and heft, how could you not love these beans!

Franklin's Beans

Dessert - Momofuku Compost Cookies

Outrageous, that's all I can say about these kitchen sink cookies. They're a little bit of work to make but are so worth it. These are my dad's favorite cookies, I'll be making a special gift box of them just for him on Father's Day, because he's so worth it! Use them to create ice cream sandwiches, they will blow your mind.
Side note, you can substitute corn syrup for the glucose that's called for in the recipe.

Compost Cookies

I wish everyone a wonderful Father's Day, especially all of you amazing dad's. You're the rock we rely on, thank you, we love you.

Happy Father's Day Dad

and

Happy Eating! 

I am forever grateful for your referrals, trust, and support. Please contact me if I can answer any real estate questions or help you with any real estate needs. I am never too busy for you!

Becky Goldsmith, Broker, GRI, CNE, SRES

Equity Colorado Real Estate

720-979-3184

Becky@beckygoldsmith.com

Sunday Dinner

Sunday. Hands down, favorite day of the week. If I'm not showing houses or holding an open house, it's the one day of the week we can lounge in bed, enjoy an extra cup of coffee, an unhurried breakfast, and not feel guilty. Weekends are typically busy Realtor days, so if I have a free Sunday I make the most of it. From the moment I wake til I tuck back into bed, my goal is to squeeze every minute out of a Sunday.

For some folks, Sunday brunch hits all the right foodie buttons. Bloody Mary's, bottomless glasses of champagne, saucy Eggs Benedict, and endless hotel tables piled high with too much food. I love a well laid out brunch too, it's a fun way to gather friends and family. But for me, the planning and cooking of Sunday Dinner is the opportunity to cook with love for the ones you love. It hits all the homey pleasure points that Cancerians (like me) hold near and dear. If your sun sign is Cancer or you know someone who is, chances are you know what I'm talking about. We revere home, hearth, and family above all else. OK, yes, money is right up there, but only because it wraps us up in a nice cozy blanket of security. 

Sunday Dinner is about comfort food. Food that brings back memories of family gatherings with friends and loved ones. It's recreating the feelings of long ago Sunday dinners spent on my grandparents farm in rural New Mexico where my brother, sister and I spent several incredible summers when we were kids. Prepared in their country kitchen, Sunday dinner was a big affair with 2-3 kinds of meat, vegetables from the garden, breads, and dessert. And no meal was ever served without sweet tea, gallons of the stuff. I think they had 50 gallon barrels of sweet tea stockpiled in the barn in case of an unforeseen world catastrophe. One should be prepared.... 

After morning chores, we would put on our Sunday best then head to church. When we returned, often with the preacher in tow, the house would be filled with aromas of the roast grandma had put in the oven before we left. After squirming through a long sermon, sitting on hard wooden pews, in a stifling hot church, the smells coming from the kitchen made the long wait for supper seem particularly cruel. Our grandparents raised cattle, hogs, and chickens, vegetables were grown in their massive garden. They always had a milking cow, so there was fresh cream, butter, and milk. I didn't appreciate it then, but I now realize how lucky we were to have experienced life on the farm.

Sunday dinners are a little different now. Yoga and long walks are my church of choice, and we don't have easy access to fresh ingredients from the farm. But the joy that Bossy and I get when we plan and cook dinner for family and friends is just as special. 

We made meatballs with creamy polenta and marinara recently and I'd put this dish up against any Sunday contender. A side of sauteed greens or a salad and you're done. The meatballs were tender and succulent with a little crunch from being rolled in bread crumbs before sauteing. We made a large batch and froze half, so we have an easy meal in our future. 

Pop open a nice bottle of Chianti and give these meatballs a try the next time you want to show some love for your Sunday meal, I guarantee it'll help you forget the next day is Monday! 

This recipe is from 'Autentico - Cooking Italian, the Authentic Way' by Rolando Beramendi

Meatloaf and Meatballs: Il Polpettone E Le Polpette

This recipe makes either one large meatloaf (Il Polpettone) or 16 meatballs (Polpettine) the size of ping-pong balls.

Click the link below for a printable pdf recipe:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/77ezszna18460wl/Il%20Polpettone%20E%20Le%20Polpette.pdf?dl=0

We hope you love your Sundays and enjoy cooking for friends and family on these special days as Bossy and I do. But if you would like to spend the day shopping for houses or are thinking of selling your home, I can help with that too! Give me a call, send a text or email, I am available and ready to assist in all of your Real Estate needs. 

HAPPY EATING!

Becky Goldsmith, Broker, GRI, CNE, SRES

Becky@beckygoldsmith.com

720-979-3184

Equity Colorado Real Estate

My lifelong quest for the ultimate Brownie

I began making brownies long before I was of legal drinking age. I'm not going to tell you how many years ago that was, let's just say '21' has come and gone several times since I came into this world. I don't know when or why brownies became an obsession of mine, maybe because they're easy to make, they usually taste pretty darn good no matter who's recipe you use, and you're bound to make new friends if you show up at the party bearing a platter of gooey, cakey, chocolaty, nutty goodness. I've tried 100's of recipes searching for the ultimate brownie where the first bite would say to me, 'Eureka! You Hold In Your Hands The Ultimate Badass Brownie!' 
Well folks, I think I found it. Actually, Bossy found it and said "We should try these, they sound good." (Translation: I want these, will you make them for me please?)  Always in pursuit of the perfect chocolaty square, I said, "I'm on it Boss" and immediately dove into making my first batch of Stella Parks' Glossy Fudge Brownies. 
First, a little about Stella Parks. She's a CIA trained pastry chef, food writer, and all around pastry wizard. Her bio states that she once cashed out her savings in order to attend language school in Tokyo just so she could read the menu at her favorite sushi restaurant, my kinda girl. She also claims in her brownie video that she thinks about brownies more than anyone else. Um, I think I could give her a run for her money on that one. At any rate, she's funny, super talented, and I'm ordering her cookbook BraveTart: Iconic American Desserts  right now ($23.79 on Amazon).

What makes these brownies stand out are a couple of things: Instead of just melting the butter she browns the butter. Then she uses both cocoa powder and chopped dark chocolate, along with a combination of white and brown sugar. When I read the recipe it made so much sense to brown the butter. Why had I not thought of that?  I liken it to toasting nuts before adding them to whatever you're making, it brings out the rich goodness of the nuts. The depth of flavor that browned butter brings to the batter along with using cocoa powder and brown sugar, is pure genius.  
Technique also plays an important role. The eggs and sugar are whipped until thick and frothy to lighten the batter instead of it being overly dense. Stella doesn't include nuts in her recipe but I love 'em so I added about a cup of toasted chopped pecans. One other change that I made, I used the standard 9x9x2 inch brownie pan which made for taller, thicker brownies. They needed to cook about 10- 15 min longer than the recipe stated, but they turned out amazing.

Click on the link below for the recipe and a video with complete 'how to' information and step by step directions to brownie nirvana. Make a batch and let me know if these aren't the best you've ever had! 

http://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2018/02/bravetart-glossy-fudge-brownies.html


Cooking and baking in our new kitchen has been more fun than we ever imagined. Not to mention that it added tremendous value to our home. Well worth the temporary inconvenience of cooking in a makeshift kitchen and washing dishes outside in bus tubs for 3 months! If you've been wondering whether a kitchen or bath remodel is worth the time, money, and disruption for you and your family,  give me a call. It would be my pleasure to discuss the pros and cons and possible financial gains that a major remodel can do for you. 
And if you have other real estate questions or needs please keep me in mind, I am always available to help.

Happy Eating!

Becky Goldsmith

Equity Colorado Real Estate

7887 E. Belleview Ave Suite 175

Denver, Co. 80111

Becky@beckygoldsmith.com

720-979-3184

Perfect polenta, every time

Rich, creamy, versatile, and highly addictive. Polenta done right, will become your new favorite comfort food for those nights when you want to spoil yourself and those around you. One of the great qualities of polenta is that it goes with just about everything; chicken, beef, lamb, pork, fish, and all by itself for a fantastic vegetarian meal. Polenta is something you can play with and make it your own. Keep it simple as side, or dress it up and make it the star of the plate. It can be baked, fried, cut into crispy little cakes or served smooth and creamy. You can sauce it, stuff it, layer it, sandwich it, serve it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or brunch. It's the Forest Gump of corn! Limited only by your imagination, creativity, and what you have in your fridge and pantry, polenta will be your new best friend in the kitchen. And did I mention that it is really easy to make? Well it is, it's super cinchy once you learn a few tricks. The one thing to remember is that it takes time to do it right. It's not something you can whip up in five or ten minutes, unless of course you're using the instant variety, but I haven't found any of those that are worth the calories so I don't mess with them.

Through trial and error and experimenting with countless recipes I now make perfect polenta every time. I'll share with you two techniques that although very different will achieve the same delicious results. The first is the traditional long, slow cooked method, it takes at least an hour, requires frequent stirring and makes a sticky mess in the pot. The second version gets it's start in the morning before you head out for work then takes about 15 minutes to finish up when you get home. It's from Maria Speck and found in the Food 52 Genius Recipes Cookbook. The secret is that you 'pre-soak' the polenta for at least 8 hours, (overnight or before you leave for work) which shortens the actual cooking time to about 15 minutes. You'll have amazing slow cooked, traditional polenta in a fraction of the time, it's Genius!

Starting with the polenta itself, for everyday cooking I like Bob's Red Mill Polenta (Also known as Grits). Americans call it grits, Italians call it polenta. Bob's is easy to find in most supermarkets and I think its a good product for the $$. There are gourmet brands such as Anson Mills and Moretti, they're wonderful but you'll probably have to order them online and they can be a lot pricier.

I prefer a medium to coarse ground for basic polenta, there is also a fine grind which is great for cakes, and there are yellow and white varieties as well.

A few tips:

1. Maybe because Colorado is so dry, but I increase the amount of liquid  by at least a cup or more. The worst that can happen is that the polenta will need to cook a little longer, which won't hurt it at all. Most polenta recipes are a ratio of 1 cup of polenta to 4 cups liquid, I find the polenta becomes firm long before the grains have fully cooked and the flavor has not developed. I use at least 5 cups of liquid sometimes more depending on how much time I have. With Bob's polenta I always need more liquid, other brands may not be the same. But the longer it cooks the more flavorful it becomes so it's more of a time issue rather than a quality issue.
2. I like to use a ratio of 1 cup polenta, 3 cups water, 1 cup good quality chicken broth and one cup milk, you can also use heavy cream if you like it really rich. (Don't be afraid to add more liquid if needed!)
3. If you're using the traditional long slow cooking method, once you've whisked the polenta into the boiling liquids turn the heat way down, so low that the polenta simmers like an old volcano, one or two bubbles at a time, then stir occasionally. I use a cooking spray which helps with clean up because the polenta does make a sticky mess in the pan.
4. You'll know if your polenta hasn't cooked long enough if you add butter and cheese at the end and it becomes runny and soupy, it means the grains have not soaked up enough liquid.
If this happens the fix is to let the polenta continue cooking until it's reached the desired consistency. (If you use the Genius method this won't happen).

Experiment and have fun, there are so many ways to enjoy this wonderful comforting food and I'm sure you'll create a favorite go to version that will become a staple in your kitchen just as we have in ours.

Click on or copy and paste the links below to your browser for printable pdf recipes for each cooking method.

Basic Polenta: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/81103778/Blogs/Basic%20Polenta.pdf

Genius Method: 
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/81103778/Blogs/Maria%20Speck's%20Shortcut%20Polenta%20by%20Genius%20Recipes%20-%20Recipe%20Print%20View.pdf



The spring buying and selling season is just around the corner, are you thinking about buying or selling your home this year? Call or email me with your Real Estate questions. I promise, no one will work harder for you than I will and I would love to help you.

Becky Goldsmith - Broker, GRI, CNE

720-979-3184

www.Becky-EquityColorado.com

Selling Colorado Real Estate since 2001

Yankee or Southerner? How you like your cornbread tells all.

"Them's Fightin' Words Son"

 No self respectin' Southern cook worth their grits would consider adding sugar or wheat flour to a batch of cornbread. Over 150 years ago the Civil War split this country in half because of the attempted secession of eleven southern states from the Union and the issue of slavery. The battle to preserve authentic Southern cooking is not quite as contentious but is still fought to this day. Arguments are heated over what defines true southern BBQ, fried chicken, pies, cakes, cobblers, and yes, cornbread. The sweet cake-like cornbread confection that many of us are familiar with has nothing in common with the coarse, cracklin' savory cornbread made without wheat flour and sweetener but with tangy buttermilk, bacon, and cornmeal that you will find in many a southern kitchen. If you're a fan of one kind, it's a pretty good bet you won't like the other.

My mother and father grew up during the great depression. Mom on a dairy farm in rural New Mexico and dad in a small town in east Texas. My Southern roots run deep. Bossy on the other hand hails from upstate N.Y. and as Yankee as they come. When I want down home soul food I boot his uppity Northern butt out of the kitchen. "The North thinks it knows how to make cornbread, but this is a gross superstition," Mark Twain wrote in his autobiography. Bossy can whip up a lovely bernaise or bordelaise all day long but get him outta the way when there's Southern food to be cooked.

There are three key components to making great cornbread:
1. Cornmeal
2. Cast iron skillet
3. Cooking method

1. Cornmeal, the single most important component of the three. Today, good cornmeal is as hard to find as a family run farm. In the early part of the 20th century a huge shift occurred in the cornmeal industry, one that changed the very nature of cornmeal and forced cooks to alter their cornbread recipes. During the 19th century, toll milling was the way most farm families got the meal for their cornbread. Farmers took their own corn to the local mill and had it ground into enough cornmeal for their families, leaving some behind as a toll to pay the miller.
The mills were typically water-powered and used large millstones to grind the corn. Starting around 1900, however, new "roller mills" using cylindrical steel rollers began to be introduced in the South. Unlike stone mills, steel roller mills eliminate much of the corn kernel, including the germ; doing so makes the corn shelf stable but also robs it of much flavor and nutrition. The friction of steel rolling generates a lot of heat, too, which  further erodes corn's natural flavor. The most significant difference, though, is the size of the resulting meal. With stone milling you get a diverse particle size. Steel roller milling creates a finer meal with all of the particles being the same size. When cornmeal's taste and texture changed, cooks had to adjust their recipes. Hence, the addition of sugar and flour.

To the rescue:  Glenn Roberts of Anson Mills in Columbia, South Carolina.

 Beginning in the 1990's, Roberts embarked on a mission to revive and rediscover the heritage grains that were all but lost since the advent of the industrialization of agriculture and food production that we have today. He's developed a network of farmers to grow heirloom corn, rice, and other grains and he built Anson Mills to mill them in the traditional ways and distributes them to restaurant chefs and home cooks. To order products or read more about what they're doing go to: www.ansonmills.com

If ordering Anson Mills products is not practical, seek out the best stone ground cornmeal that you can find, as it will have the single biggest impact on the final cornbread.

2. Cast iron skillet. This is non-negotiable, it's what cornbread is cooked in, just get one. Period.

3. Cooking Method:  To get the outside golden and crunchy and inside moist and crumbly, you have to pre-heat the skillet so that it is screeching hot, (450 degree oven) then pour about a tablespoon of fat into the hot pan, either bacon drippings, butter or oil, get that hot, then you pour in the cornbread batter and send it all into the oven to bake.

James Beard award winning chef Sean Brock, owner of three acclaimed Southern restaurants grew up in the coalfields of Virginia not far from Kentucky. His obsession for exploring Southern foods and preserving and restoring heirloom ingredients are legendary. He admits that he's a cornbread snob, and believes that the muffin-like cornbread served in most restaurants isn't worth eating, he won't touch the stuff. His cornbread is savory, crunchy, a little smokey from bacon and very dense, no sugar, no wheat flour. He's a huge fan of Anson Mills products.

I have to admit, as Southern as my roots are, I do like a little sweetener and touch of flour in my cornbread. Not so much that I'm having dessert alongside my dinner, but just a little to mellow out the savoriness of hard core Southern cornbread. Like Goldilocks, not too sweet, not too savory, juuuust right!

I'm going to share three recipes with you. The first is Sean Brock's Cracklin' Cornbread, from his cookbook 'Heritage'. The second is the sweet, cake like type that kids love, our granddaughter Macy will eat it all day long. And the third is a recipe that I've adapted to make a cornbread that is somewhere in between.

Copy and paste the link below into your web browser to access the recipes in PDF form

https://db.tt/Ig8Pttyi

I hope you enjoy these, cornbread is very forgiving so feel free to adjust the cornmeal / flour ratio as well as the honey / sugar ratio to your liking.

Thank you for reading and please feel free to share with your friends and family if you think they would enjoy this blog. If there are any special food topics you would like to see let me know!

Lastly, if you have any real estate needs or questions please give me a call, I would love to help and be your Realtor of choice!

HAPPY EATING!!

Real Estate

Becky Goldsmith

720-979-3184

Becky@beckygoldsmith.com