The Magic of Lagniappe

Question: What do you get when you cross an actress and a chemical engineer?


Answer: You get someone who sees cooking as a science and a kitchen as the stage… and that someone is me.



One of life’s richest lessons that I learned in the restaurant business is that lagniappe — that extra measure of care — enriches and inspires every relationship. Lagniappe can be as simple as adding a few chocolate chips to Saturday morning’s pancakes or snipping a blooming flower from the yard and placing it on the dinner table in a soda bottle. The different, the unexpected and the tiny details that reflect your care will turn otherwise ordinary meals into Empty Bottle Moments. These moments really have nothing to do with empty bottles, rather with memories of wonderful times with our family and friends.
With a little imagination and creativity, tonight’s hot dogs can be a memorable event by simply turning off life’s many distractions, lighting a candle and perhaps even using the "good" dishes to give dinner new meaning. If soup and sandwiches are on tomorrow’s menu, add a dash of fresh herbs to the soup to give it a tasty kick and use a cookie cutter to shape the sandwiches. Or add a colorful straw to the ice tea glass, along with an ample pineapple wedge or juicy orange slice. The possibilities are endless, and it’s creativity — not perfection — that paves the way to Empty Bottle Moments.



Simple surprises have big impact, and they show the ones you love that mundane meals can be magically — and easily — transformed into meals with meaning.

Here are The recipes for the dinner done at North Campus Second Baptist Church Tuesday September 30th

Winter Salad with Walnuts and ......

Ingredients
Serves 4


1 Small Head of Radicchio, leaves separated, rinsed, spun dry, and torn into bite size pieces
1 Small Head of Boston Lettuce, rinsed, spun dry, and torn into bite-size pieces
1 Bunch of Watercress, rinsed, spun dry, and stems discarded
2 Belgian Endive, leaves separated and torn in half
Dressing
1 Shallot, peeled
2 tbsp Sherry Vinegar
½ tsp Kosher Salt
¼ tsp Pepper
½ c Extra-Virgin Oil
¾ tsp Walnut Oil
35 Toasted Walnut Halves
½ lb Blue or Goat Cheese, crumbled (Optional)

In a large bowl toss together the radicchio, the Boston lettuce, the watercress, and the endive.



For the Dressing:
2. Heat a ridged grill pan over moderately high heat until it is hot but not smoking and in it grill the shallots, turning them, for 5 to 7 minutes on each side, or until they7 begin tot turn golden and fragrant.
3. Let the shallots cool and chop them fine.
4. In a bowl combine the vinegar, the salt, the pepper, and the shallots, add the oils in a stream, whisking, and whisk the dressing until it is emulsified.
5. Pour the dressing over the salad and add the walnuts and blue cheese.
6. Toss the salad to combine it well and serve it with crostini.

As Lagniappe: You can also sprinkle dried cranberries and slices of apples over the salad



Chicken MILANESE
Serves: 8

¼ cup clarified butter
2 Garlic Cloves
8x 6 oz chicken breasts (pounded thin)
Seasoned flour
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

2 Eggs Beaten
2 Cups Plain Bread Crumbs mixed with 1 Tablespoon oregano 1 Tablespoon basil, 1/2 Teaspoon "To Taste" and 2 Tablespoons finely grated Parmesan cheese
1 Cup Flour

Season the chicken breasts with salt, pepper allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes..
Pass lightly through seasoned flour dust then pass through Egg wash then the bread crumbs
Melt clarified butter in a thick bottom skillet and add cloves of garlic
Saute breast on each side until lightly golden brown
Remove drain on was paper.
Place chicken breasts in oven proof container (Can be stored in refrigerator until ready to serve)
Remove from refrigerator allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes
Bake in 350 oven for 12 minutes.
Serve with Pasta in Olive Oil and Parmesan Cheese or Oven roasted potatoes




Almond Tartlets


Make 4 individual tartlets or 1 large tart that serves 6-8

8 tablespoons of butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons of sugar
1 egg
_ teaspoon of baking powder
1 cup of all-purpose flour
Preheat heat the oven to 400. Use lightly greased, individual small fruit tart pans or one ten-inch tart pan. Cream the butter and sugar thoroughly, and then add the egg and mix. Add the baking powder and flour, and mix thoroughly. Press small amounts of the party into the tart pans (approximately º-inch thick). Cool them in the refrigerator on a baking sheet.

Filling
6 tablespoons of butter
4 tablespoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1 tablespoon of milk
1/2 cup of sliced almonds

Melt the butter, sugar, vanilla and mix. Add the sliced almonds and stir them into the mixture. Bring the mixture to a simmer and remove it from the heat.
Spoon the mixture into the shells. Place them on a cookie sheet, and bake for 20 minutes. Remove them from the oven and cool completely on a cake rack.

Ike.....Destruction and Creation.......

Hurricane Ike: The source of widespread disaster and destruction, while also the creator of many empty bottle moments. ...It displaced millions whose lives will be richer forever
As Empty Bottle Moments relate to difficult circumstances, it’s not just about emptying a bottle with family and friends; rather, it’s about capturing moments — special ones — that improve and enhance our relationships… or just heighten our disposition and position in life.
I hope the following stories will encourage you to open your heart and your mind to the possibilities afforded each of us each day for creating Empty Bottle Moments.
As Ike brewed in the Gulf Coast waters, fellow Houstonians faced a fork in the road: shelter in place or evacuate. Before heading out of town, a friend in my complex dropped off a bag of abundant veggies. A few miles away, another friend made expeditious preparations to stay. Fast forward to the post-Ike scenario seen across Houston and the Gulf Coast: millions without power or water. The thoughtful veggies from one friend provided the conduit for a meal with another friend who was in darkness without power. Our five-hour visit still lingers in my heart.
Across town, two families torn apart for years by perpetual arguments and unresolved discord hunkered down together in a one-bedroom apartment to ride out the storm. Without post-storm electrical power, they played cards and board games, read books together and recall happy times shared. Amid the stillness of a storm now passed, their wounds began to heal.
With many businesses and most schools closed, a single father and his twelve-year old spent many days together. So touched by the opportunity to help her with school assignments for the very first time, he called a radio station to convey, "I am a new father."
†
And there are countless stories of singles gathering on the lawns at their complexes and families in the front yards of their neighborhoods to create "community grills" for nightly meals. New friendships were made and existing one strengthened as people congregated for fellowship and support.
Indeed, these are Empty Bottle in the most unusual circumstances.
Our lives should not (and do not) need a Hurricane Ike to create these moments. But when life hands you lemons or, in this case, an Ike, what a blessing if we take away from it the importance of community and the lasting value of creating extraordinary simple moments with our family and friends, as well as our community and city.
May these snapshots in time tap you on the shoulder as a reminder that Empty Bottle Moments abound, even in the most difficult circumstances.

Your favorite cake? Carrot,Chocolate, Italian Creme?

My favorite cake has to be the one my Aunt Lola used to make. A Rich chocolate icing with a hint of coffee extra vanilla and some secret addition . I have never been able to duplicate it. ..but can still remember Sunday lunch's around the dining room table. I tried to feed Pepe (Our black retreiver) my roast chicken so that I could leave as much room as possible for dessert... ...Those days still linger in my memory as wonderful EMPTY BOTTLE MOMENTS around the chocolate cake, or was it just the fact that the family was together and the chocolate cake added some Lagianppe to the moment......

Turning ordinary moments into extraordinary memories.

Food and Family .............They go together! Not thru the drive-thru, but together, around a table

What is your favorite cake?

I may show up at your doorstep cake in hand!!!!
clive@cookingwithclive.com

DANAS CARROT CAKE (recently named after Dana Tyson of Sunny 99.1 Houston)
INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup melted butter
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon (High quality)
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup butter, softened
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans

DIRECTIONS:
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F Grease and flour 2 8inch cake pans.
2.Beat together eggs, oil, white sugar and 2 teaspoons vanilla.

3.Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon.
4.Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into prepared pan.
5.Bake in the preheated oven for 35-45 minutes. (Use the toothpick method) make sure you turn the pans after 20 minutes.

6. Turn onto baking rack and cover with a lightly (very) damp cloth and cool completely.

Frosting: Combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla.Mix until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

Slice each round in half (horizontally)
Lightly frost between each layer.....

Cover surface with frosting and decotrate with toasted chopped pecans and some freshly grated carrots.

Once upon a time....

… Many wonderful stories begin with this simple phrase, and each one is memorable because of a colorful cast of characters and the meaningful events that unfold.

Empty bottle moments are much the same, comprising a cast of friends and family who gather to share meaningful moments and meals with a purpose. My new book, Creating Empty Bottle Moments, is a recipe for life that illustrates how a few small changes, a dollop of creativity and a dash of light-hearted joy can make your meals — and life — rich and purposeful.

Why empty bottles? Quite simply, full bottles represent possibilities, while empty ones represent treasured moments in the richest relationships of life. In fact, empty bottles are quite full, overflowing with meaning and memories.

Dating back to my childhood years assisting my mother with meal preparation, to young adult years serving as a Kosher chef in the South African Army, to a professional career as a chef and restaurant owner, the kitchen has taught me life’s richest lessons. Six basic principals, detailed in Creating Empty Bottle Moments, look beyond the obvious to find meaningful applications that apply to every person everywhere.

• Sandpaper moments — Missteps, friction and discord shouldn’t ruin a relationship or event, rather they offer opportunities to switch gears and shape relationships in positive ways.

• Lagniappe — Defined as an extra measure of care, Lagniappe can be part of everyday life to build a treasury that lasts forever.

• Oops! — A graceful reaction to bumps in the road reflects poise and passionate patience.

• Before Its Time — Haulting the exhausting urge to rush, rush, rush offers a unique perspective about priorities and wanting what you have vs. having what you want.

• Only the Best — The price tag is oftentimes more about novelty than taste, about impression than satisfaction, and perception than reality.

• Don’t Lose Your Lunch Money — Distractions are like robbers, stealing you away from things you should be investing in: family, friends and relationships.

I encourage you to take a life-changing step. Make empty bottle moments a priority in your life. Journal your own empty bottle moments as an inspiration to others, even share them here with us......

And please visit www.emptybottlemoments.com.