Also serving the communities of De Luz, Rainbow, Camp Pendleton, Pala and Pauma

More Karel Tieszen's In Your Own Kitchen:

Once you’ve met Karel Anne Tieszen you’ll probably want to know her better. That’s the same with her new cookbook, too. There were just too many interesting, intriguing and perfectly wonderful recipes to handle in one column.

So, here is more of Karel Anne Tieszen, aka Chef KAT to her many friends.

Certainly KAT has two special characteristics that make her winsome and warm: she’s honest and loves to laugh.

I could see and hear her laughter and her knowledge of the human nature of cooks as she wrote this recipe collection. Her goal, she said, was to “help people shift from ‘I can’t do that’ to ‘Yes, I can!’”

KAT says with desire and a guide people can succeed at cooking…and have fun in the process. She also wanted to present recipes that she has found or developed that have a “WOW” factor.

She also included nutritional information for her recipes, a feature sorely missing in many recent cookbooks from major publishers.

So, here is more of KAT’s “In your Own Kitchen” published by Wimmer Cookbooks.

“Couldn’t resist the ‘Freeze One for Later’ suggestion on the cranberry bag in the produce section.

Well, you’ve found one of the great recipes to use them,” Karel Anne writes about her version of Cranberry Scones.

¾ cup cranberries, rough chopped

1/3 cup sugar

1 tsp. orange zest

3 cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

4 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. salt

½ cup unsalted butter, cut up (1 stick)

2/3 cup buttermilk

1 egg

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

2. In a small bowl, combine cranberries, sugar and zest. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until coarse crumbs form.

4. Make a well in the dry ingredients and stir in the buttermilk and egg just until moistened. Fold in the cranberry mixture.

5. If the dough is very sticky, sprinkle with flour. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead just 5 or 6 times until the dough is well mixed.

6. Cut dough into 6 equal pieces, shape into balls and place on greased baking sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown. Cut in half to serve.

As Kat introduces her poppy seed and rosemary dressing, she quotes John Thorne from his book “Perfect Food,” as he wrote, “Our appetite should always be larger and more curious than our hunger.”

1/3 cup sugar

¼ cup rice wine vinegar

½ tsp. salt

1 tbsp. cocktail onions, juice only

½ tsp. dry mustard

½ cup vegetable oil

1 tbsp. poppy seeds

1 tbsp. fresh rosemary, chopped

1. In a medium saucepan, stir together sugar, vinegar, salt, onion juice and dry mustard. Gently simmer over low heat until the sugar dissolves.

2. Adding oil in a slow stream, whisk into the warm mixture until all oil is emulsified. Mixture will start to form heavily if the heat is too high. Remove from heat momentarily, if necessary.

3. When all the oil is incorporated, add the poppy seeds and rosemary.

• One suggested use is as a dressing for coleslaw

Interesting vegetables and salads are often a challenge. Here, a spinach salad has the royal treatment with currants, sherry and almonds.

10 oz. spinach leaves, stems removed

3 tbsp. currants

1 tbsp. hot water (150 degrees)

2 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

½ medium onion, cut in ½-inch dice

3 tbsp. slivered almonds, toasted

¼ cup cream sherry

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Wash the spinach and drain well.

2. Place currants in a small dish. Pour the hot water over them and cover with plastic wrap to soften.

3. Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frying pan for 20 seconds. Add the onion and sauté for five minutes or until onions are lightly golden and soft.

4. Add the almonds, currants and sherry to the onions. Stir to combine.

5. Add the drained spinach and lightly toss the mixture in the skillet. Place a lid on the pan and cook over low heat for two minutes or until the leaves are just wilted.

6. Sprinkle mixture with salt and pepper and stir gently to combine. Serve hot or at room temperature.

KAT writes fondly of the lamb cooked and eaten during her sojourn in France. She adds that Australian lamb makes a good choice, too.

Here is her version of a classic.

8 lb. leg of lamb

5 cloves garlic, slivered

2 tbsp. olive oil

¼ cup Herbs de Provence

2 large leeks

1 head garlic

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Using a non-stick spray, prepare a shallow roasting pan.

2. Trim the lamb of excess fat. Using a small sharp knife, make several evenly distributed cuts in the lamb and slide the garlic slivers completely into the meat. Drizzle the oil over the lamb and rub into the meat with your hands.

3. Remove the tops of the leeks and about 1 inch of the green ends. Slice lengthwise, fan open under running water and clean of any sandy residue. Cut to separate the green and white sections. Place the green part from the leek flat on the roasting rack. Place the lamb on top of the green of the leek. Sprinkle Herbs de Provence over the lamb and press gently to adhere.

4. Separate the remaining cloves from the heat of garlic, leaving paper skins intact. Nestle along the base of the lamb. Slice white portion of the leek and sprinkle over the garlic cloves.

5. Place the pan in the center of the oven and roast for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 375 degrees and continue roasting for about an hour and 15 minutes or until the internal temperature of the lamb reaches 140 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. Remove from oven.

6. Allow lamb to rest for 15 minutes before carving. The temperature will rise to 145 degrees for medium rare after the meat rests. Sliced leeks and roasted garlic can be used for a sauce if desired, or otherwise discarded.

 

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