Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie

I've been slightly obsessed with banana cream pie ever since I made my first one in January. It's just so easy...and a great way to use up those bananas that are expiring on the countertop. And this filling recipe, which I adapted slightly from the Momofuku Milk Bar cookbook, is now my "go to" recipe.

This version was a spontaneous dessert that I concocted with ingredients I had in my pantry. I wanted a quick crust, so I used some gingersnaps to make a simple crumb crust (since I had no graham crackers). I had only very ripe bananas, so I didn't include a layer of sliced bananas. Instead, I added a layer of peanut butter. Bananas + peanut butter = YUM.

 Peanut Butter Banana Cream Pie with Gingersnap Crust

Garlicy, Lemony Kale Salad

My new favorite place to eat is Cleveland-Heath in Edwardsville, Illinois. It's a cozy, modern restaurant that features dishes which can best be described as comfort foods. Their current menu (it changes often) includes pork belly with sauteed cabbage, pozole, meatloaf sandwich, papperdelle "beef stroganoff," mac-n-cheese, homemade biscuits with cherry jam, and strawberry shortcake. I've eaten there several times since they opened, and everything I've tried has been pretty fantastic.

My favorite dish on the menu is a staple, a simple kale salad: "garlic, crushed red pepper, parmesan chips, lemon vinaigrette." It's bright green, full of flavor, and ultimately satisfying. I always order one, which is served in a generous-sized portion, and take home half of it to eat the next day. Kale is hearty enough to not wilt overnight. I've eaten as-is from the take-out container for lunch, and I've mixed it with hot pasta for a quick dinner.

I tried to recreate this salad at home tonight, and I think my attempt was pretty successful. The most prevalent flavors in CH's salad is garlic (it's actually fairly potent, so make sure your date eats some too if you plan on making out after dinner) and lemon, with a hint of heat from the red pepper flakes. Here's my version:

1 bunch of kale, stems removed & leaves torn into bite-sized pieces

1 garlic clove, minced

1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

juice of 1 lemon

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• Wash the kale & dry thoroughly. Dump into a medium serving bowl.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Pour over the kale & massage the dressing into the greens with your hands until all pieces are coated.
• Serve topped with parmesan chips, if desired.

Muy Sabrosas Margaritas

My Uncle David makes the best margaritas.  I always loved visiting his farm in Tennessee, where he and my aunt had cocktail hour at 6:00 every evening.  At least once during our visits, David would make a pitcher of his infamous margaritas.

His recipe is like a family heirloom.  Once at a wedding shower for one of my friends, the guests were asked to bring their favorite recipe written on a recipe card for the bride-to-be. My mom, who was not known to be a great cook, brought the margarita recipe.  No one was surprised.

When I asked Uncle David for the recipe a couple years ago, this is what he sent:

Start with a larger container than you think you'll need.
Add 1 unit of good tequila.
Add 1/2 unit of triple sec.
Whatever amount you then have, add half that amount of orange juice.
Whatever amount you then have, add an equal amount of good margarita mix (Cuervo, for example; the cheap shit is a sugary mess).
Add one small bottle club soda.
Adjust strength by adding more than 1 unit of tequila; above is the minimum tequila for more sedate gatherings.
Rub rims with lemon, lime, or orange wedges.
Salt rims.  (People who request "no salt" for health reasons should be asked to leave.)
Fill glass as full as possible with ice.
Squeeze in three lemon, lime, or orange wedges over the ice, leaving one of those squoozed wedges in the glass.
Shake the margaritas until you get foam.
Pour over the ice.
Drink.

The most difficult part of following David’s recipe is the mathematics involved in figuring out units and half units. Here are the actual measurements I used for a pitcherful:

3 cups good tequila (reduce to 2 cups for a sedate gathering)
1 cup of triple sec
1 ½ cups orange juice (freshly squeeze is preferable)
4 ½ cups margarita mix * (see recipe below)
1 cup club soda

* The key to a really good margarita is homemade sweet & sour mix.  The margarita mixes you can buy are made with high fructose corn syrup, artificial flavorings, and preservative chemicals.  It’s easy--and tastier--to make your own.

To make enough margarita mix for one pitcher, you’ll need 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 1 ½ cups freshly squeezed lime juice. Make a simple syrup by heating the sugar and water together in a saucepan over medium heat just until the sugar melts.  Turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.  Then add the lemon & lime juices.

Summer Cooking Class Schedule

Kitchen Conservatory's summer schedule is now posted online. To register, call Kitchen Conservatory at 314-862-2665 or register online.

This schedule features many brand new class themes and menus. My new "date night for couples" classes include a burger throwdown (June 17), a summer cocktail party (July 20), and a shrimp boil (September 23).  New "girls night out" classes feature cool summer menus, like picnic favorites (June 29) and summer pastas (July 6).

I'll be teaching a few other cool hands-on classes as well. One will be all about my favorite kitchen appliance, the Vitamix (July 22). There's also a fun summer brunch class (July 25) and a grilling & beer class (August 25).

Hope to see you there!

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: 1960'S COCKTAIL PARTY - June 9 @ 6:00-8:30 (hands-on)

• Inspired by Mad Men and the pop culture of the 1960's, we'll be creating modernized versions of dishes for a divine cocktail party. Sip on a Tom Collins after you prepare caramelized onion dip with white crudités, clams casino, Swedish meatballs with black currant dipping sauce, cheddar-gorgonzola cheese balls with bacon and smoky almonds, deviled ham canapés, plus mini dark chocolate bundt cakes with spiced rum glaze.

HEIR AND A PARENT: WIZARDS AT HONEYDUKE'S DESSERTS - June 10 @ 1:00-3:30 (hands-on)

• Muggles and wizards gather for a fun afternoon concocting delicious treats from Honeyduke's Desserts. Satisfy your sweet tooth, with Hagrid's treacle fudge, Mrs. Weasley's strawberry ice cream, marshmallow crumpets, pumpkin pasties, and amazing warm and frothy butterbeer. This class is designed for children, at least 7 years of age, plus a parent.

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: WINE BAR TAPAS - June 15 @ 6:30-9:00 (demonstration)

• Before the weekend comes to an end, spend a relaxing evening with the girls and a glass of wine, as I prepare an amazing array of tapas. Enjoy roasted olives spiced with orange and chile, stilton-walnut shortbread with pears and mascarpone, grilled bruschetta with tuna and capers drizzled with lemon oil, fried goat cheese with spicy tomato chutney, polenta bites with roasted mushrooms and caramelized onions, plus chocolate lavender truffles.

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: BETWEEN THE BUNS - June 17 @ 5:00-7:30 (hands-on)

• Discover your favorite burger, as this hands-on class for couples creates three remarkable burgers, starting with panini-style grilled Cuban burgers with ham, Swiss cheese and pickles. Also learn to make Carolina-style barbecue pork bacon burgers topped with cabbage slaw with honey-mustard sauce, tuna burgers with garlic-tomato aïoli, beer-battered onion rings with blue cheese dipping sauce, plus mouth-watering roasted pineapple-rum milkshakes.     

DATE NIGHT FOR COUPLES: SUSHI U FOR TWO - June 23 @ 6:00-8:30 (hands-on)

• Join your partner for a crash course in sushi, with a taste test for the final exam to discover the favorites of the evening. This hands-on class will create tempura-fried shrimp rolls, sesame tuna hand rolls, unagi smoked eel rolls, spicy scallop rolls, hot-smoked salmon rolls with mango and jalapeño, plus ginger-peach green tea ice cream - all served with cold beer.

GIRLS' NIGHT OUT: BEAT THE HEAT - June 29 @ 6:30-9:00 (demonstration)

• Come in out of the sweltering heat and enjoy a summer meal with the girls. Menu includes refreshing watermelon margaritas, green gazpacho shooters, shaved asparagus salad with parmesan dressing, grilled tilapia with cherry salsa served with lemon rice and crispy basil, plus chocolate-ricotta icebox cake.

Teacher of the Year

I have something to brag about.

It doesn't involve food. But, I'm going to write about it anyway. Because it's my blog...and I can. So there. ;-)

A few weeks ago, I learned that I was nominated for a teacher of the year award. Each year, the top 8% of seniors from 20 area high schools are given a Silver Medallion Award for their academic achievements. These students also name a teacher from their school to be recognized, but only one person is chosen by the Silver Medallion committee as Teacher of the Year

Last week, I won that award.

This is my second year being nominated by my students (in only my fourth year teaching at this high school). Confession: I was really hoping I'd win this year. BUT, I didn't really think I would. I mean, I'm still kinda new at this high school gig (having taught middle school & college for 15 years prior to this high school job). I just wasn't getting my hopes up.

As they announced the award--first listing adjectives that the students used to describe the winning teacher (the students all write recommendation letters with their nominations), then quoting from some of the letters--I started to realize that they were talking about me! Of course, the students sitting at my table were exclaiming: "That's from MY letter! I wrote THAT! It's YOU!" I looked over at my principal sitting at the next table, and she was slightly shaking her head "yes."

I was overwhelmed. Seriously, I started crying. Proof: Here's the pic that was published in my local paper.

Ok, so, that's not too flattering...but I DON'T CARE. I was SO HAPPY...and I'm NOT GOING TO APOLOGIZE for crying like a baby. And since I didn't really expect to win, I hadn't prepared anything to say (or chosen a very nice outfit to wear...sheesh!). I simply thanked the committee for choosing me and, most importantly, my students for nominating me. I said it was an honor to be their teacher and to know each of them. I meant that from the bottom of my heart. It IS an honor to be their teacher. This year's senior class, in particular, is pretty amazing. We have some awesome young people at our school, and I do feel lucky to know them.

This award means so much to me. First, it's very special because it's student-nominated. I'm not easy on my students; I make them work hard. Because of this, I am not usually everyone's "favorite" teacher. But, being popular among the students isn't all that important to me. My job is to teach them something. As an English teacher, I feel like it's my responsibility to teach them not only about literature and writing, but also about life...art & music, how to be a good college student, how to think critically, how to respect other people & their opinions, how to stand up for themselves & their beliefs, how to perfect the art of argument, how to pay attention to the world around them, how to analyze what they see & read, how to recognize & fight injustices...the list goes on and on for me. So, it means the world to me that they respect me enough to nominate me in the first place.

Just the other day, I was thinking about the nature of teaching. We put so much of ourselves into teaching...all the planning, teaching, grading, conferencing...it's never-ending. Anyone who thinks that teachers end their day at 3:00 is delusional. I grade or plan or answer students' questions in emails & tweets EVERY NIGHT, including weekends. I think about my classes CONSTANTLY. I have some of my students for English during their junior AND senior years. That means that I see them nearly every day for two years. I hear about their daily lives, their illnesses, their relationships, their successes, their heartaches, their problems. For some of them, I see them more than their parents do. I get to know them, I start to care about them, and I come to like them as "real" people, not just as my students who I have to see for 50 minutes a day. And then, they graduate and I often never hear from them again. I'm happy for them, of course, but it is a huge emotional release in May every year....and then it all starts again three months later.

Being a teacher is quite exhausting...mentally, emotionally, and physically (standing in front of a class all day is tiring, y'all!).

This award is also special to me because it means that I'm doing something right! I'm my biggest critic, and I often beat myself up over my job. I constantly evaluate and question myself: Am I doing everything I can to help my students? What can I do BETTER? Are they learning all the skill they will need in life? If not, how can I help them become better students, better workers, better thinkers, and--ultimately--better people?

It's been kind of a rough year, professionally & personally. I have questioned my career choice a few times over the last nine months, wondering if all the stress, frustration, and time is worth it. This recognition proves to me that it IS worth it. Teaching is what I am meant to do with my life. I've finally found my niche....it's being an English teacher at East Alton-Wood River High School.

And, despite everything you may have heard me complain about in the past, I LOVE IT.

Thanks again to my students for nominating me...and for doing your best work, for playing along, for laughing at my jokes, for listening to my stories, for knowing when I'm having a bad day also, for putting up with my tastes in literature & music & movies, for letting me bring my personality into my classes, for being great students & incredible people. You all rock. For real.

 

Also, CONGRATS on your accomplishments throughout high school. Best of luck to you all! <3