Category: Dinner

Skirt Steak and Artichokes or Let’s go to Tahoe for the weekend

We spent last weekend at one of my favorite places in the world (not that I have traveled the world over, but even if I had, I think this would still be my favorite place because this is where I grew up)…Lake Tahoe.  It was kind of spur of the moment, but the weather had been so nice and it was supposed to remain nice, so I talked Yes!Chef! into going there for a couple of days.  We are most lucky to live about one hour from Lake Tahoe and, even luckier, we are blessed to have a cabin up there that my family has owned for a very long time.

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Karen Schmautz20 Comments

Corned Beef Hash or What does Hitchcock have to do with Corned Beef?

My husband found a recipe for making Corned Beef in the April 2012 issue of Cuisine at Home.  He thought it would be a great idea to try and make some.  We both love Corned Beef but we had never had homemade Corned Beef.  He thought this would be a great dish to try.

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Karen Schmautz7 Comments

Visit to Zac Jack Bistro

UPDATE 05/09/12:  More pictures added from the photo shoot I did at this wonderful bistro located in Cameron Park, CA.

Chef and Owner, Chef John Evans and some of his creations

Chef John welcomed my husband and I into his bistro with a friendly smile and big hug.  Yes!Chef! (Corby) interned with Chef John for over a year learning much from the Cordon Bleu (France) graduate.  Chef John’s use of fresh ingredients and elegant cooking style is something you just don’t get in many restaurants.  The food tastes as good as it looks.

I will be going back as a customer and to photograph his lunch and breakfast foods.  A very yummy assignment!

Karen Schmautz10 Comments

Hamburger with Provolone and Reduced Wine Sauce, OR Where was I when Julia was invited to dinner?

The other day Yes! Chef! and I were watching some taped shows of Julia Child and Jacques Pepin.  One show was all about potatoes and the other was about duck. At any rate, it inspired Yes! Chef! to dig out one of  Julia Childs cookbooks that my mom gave me in 1989 called,  The Way to Cook.  (You may wonder how I know my mom gave it to me in 1989.  It’s because I’m rather OCD and I always mark the year and the giver in a book when I receive one.  A little quirk that Yes! Chef! has had to learn to live with…my OCD, not the book marking.)  So, tonight he made a couple of hamburgers from some burger he had ground up from a brisket (very meaty.) Then, he used Julia’s technique for Deglazing Sauce with Red Wine.  He added shallots to the sauce which added a nice texture and flavor.

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Karen Schmautz3 Comments

A Visit to ZacJack Bistro or Don’t Eat the Hero Until I Get the Shot

A few years ago, my husband, Yes! Chef!,  had the opportunity to work with Chef John Evans at Zachary Jacques Restaurant in Placerville.  He and his wife are co-owners and he is the chef.  We have been dining at Zachary Jacques for many years and had always loved the food.  So, it was a wonderful opportunity for my husband to be able to intern one or two days a week for over a year under this excellent chef. Chef John was an” honors graduate of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts. He has worked and trained under Chef Mark Hopper of Thomas Kelller’s Bouchon in Las Vegas. He also opened Mesa Grill in Caesars Palace with Bobby Flay.”

I have also been doing some of his photography for him for several years.

Recently he opened a new restaurant called ZacJack Bistro. And he gave me a call to come on down and take a few pics for his web page.

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Karen Schmautz3 Comments

Mushroom Soup or Can I Train Obie to Hunt for Mushrooms that won’t Kill Us?

Mushroom Soup!  I love mushrooms and I adore mushroom soup, but I have never had homemade mushroom soup. I have memories of my mom making my favorite meal of chicken thighs cooked with a can of Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup mixed with a little mayo, herbs, maybe some Worcestershire Sauce and Parmesan Cheese.   Add some green beans and white rice and I was in heaven. My mom would let me and my brother pick what we wanted for our Special Birthday Meal and I always chose this chicken.  When my kids were small they didn’t like mushrooms so that whole meal was a non-starter.  Even now, the male children still do not like mushrooms.

Mushroom Haters

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Karen Schmautz16 Comments