That’s right, blending. Now, I am not talking about loads of ice and slushy sweet concoctions. I’m talking about the way they do it in Peru for Pisco Sours… heavy on the spirit, fresh citrus, a dash of simple syrup, egg white and a touch of ice. Then flash blended until thoroughly frothy.

Photo by Kathy Casey Liquid Kitchen®.

Flash blending was the inspiration for my Snow Drift cocktail – a beautiful (and delicious) example made with botanical Martin Miller’s Gin, fresh lemon juice and housemade Cranberry Ginger Syrup… and of course egg white.
To continue reading and for the Snow Drift cocktail recipe, check out www.LiquidKitchen.com.

When I think of comfort foods, one of the first things that come to mind is mac & cheese. Gooey, warm, and of course, cheesy – this d’lish dish is always a winner!

One of my favorite recipes is a 4 Cheese Penne Bake – penne pasta, garlic and parmesan white sauce – tossed with loads of shredded cheese: cheddar, mozzarella, jack and parmesan. Cover the whole thing with some fresh, herby bread crumbs for a nice crunch.

Gooey, melted cheese bake – yum!
Photo from Dishing with Kathy Casey.

Mac & Cheese is perfect to customize, you can add your favorite ingredients like bacon for a cheddar bacon mac. Or try adding in things like chopped roasted red peppers, green onions, artichokes, smoked chicken, sautéed mushrooms, sausage, green chilies….. the list is endless!

Or how about changing up the sauce by mixing in some salsa or chipotle for a kick of heat? Nothing is off limits!

So get creative and bake up some cheesy goodness! -Kathy

4 Cheese Penne Bake With Herb Bread Crumbs
Generously serves 6 – 8.

Herb Bread Crumbs (recipe follows)
4 Tbsp butter or margarine
1 Tbsp minced garlic
4 1/2 Tbsp flour
4 cups milk*
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup grated high-quality Parmesan cheese
1 pound dry penne pasta
2 cups (8 oz. wt.) grated four-cheese blend**
2 cups (8 oz. wt.) grated Cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Make the Herb Bread Crumbs and set aside.

In a large heavy-bottom sauce pan melt the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic and stir around for about 20 seconds — do not let garlic brown. Stir in the flour and cook for about 1 minute, stirring constantly.

While stirring vigorously with a whisk, add the milk. Whisk well. Bring to a simmer and whisk occasionally until sauce is thickened, about 3 – 4 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in salt, pepper, sour cream and Parmesan cheese, and set aside.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook penne pasta per package directions until done. Drain well.

In a very large bowl mix together the pasta and sauce, then fold in the grated cheeses until well combined. Place mixture into a lightly buttered, 13-inch x 9-inch baking pan.

Sprinkle with Herb Bread Crumbs and bake in a 375-degree oven for about 30 minutes or until pasta is heated through, sides are slightly bubbling and top is golden brown.

Chef’s Notes:
*For an even richer macaroni and cheese substitute half & half for the milk.

**Four-, five- and six-cheese blends are available in most grocers’ dairy sections. If you wish to make your own grated cheese blend, try using a mixture of any of the following: Jack, mozzarella, Gouda, Swiss, Havarti.

Herb Bread Crumbs
Makes about 1 1/2 cups.

3 cups packed, 1-inch French bread chunks
4 Tbsp butter
pinch salt and pepper
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp dry basil leaves
1/2 tsp dry thyme leaves

Place bread crumb ingredients in a food processor, and pulse processor on and off until the bread becomes chopped into a fine crumb and is well mixed with the other ingredients.

Bread crumbs should be refrigerated until used and can be kept frozen for up to 1 month.

Recipe by Kathy Casey Food Studios®.

It’s almost here! My Holiday Extravaganza & Open House is back this year and all set for Saturday, December 14^th from 11:00 am – 7:00 pm! There’ll be goodies to buy and samples to try!

We’re opening the doors to my Food Studios once again for all your holiday foodie gift needs. We’ll have all sorts of things to nibble and sip on from tasty bites from my latest book D’Lish Deviled Eggs to samples of hot buttered rum and other delectable items.

There’ll be plenty of goods to grab to stuff your favorite foodies stocking from our own 5130 Honey to Dish D’Lish specialty products: seasoning salts, cocktail mixers and limited-edition preserves. For the bar enthusiast we’ll have our Liquid Kitchen Golden Era Bitters, and cocktail kits. As well as our house-made Jingle Bell “Cheese Balls” spiked with Hennessy Cognac.

The Holiday Extravaganza isn’t complete without our “Over 21” Real Fruit Cake made with Maker’s Mark. So get there early as these fly out the door faster than Santa’s reindeer!

1 lb loaf of holiday goodness!

So make sure to mark your calendars:

Kathy Casey Food Studios Holiday Open House
Saturday December 14^th 11:00 am – 7:00 pm

5130 Ballard Ave NW
Seattle, WA 98107
206-784-7840

I hope to see you soon for some holiday cheer! – Kathy

National Deviled Egg Day is this weekend! I love deviled eggs so much I wrote a whole book about them, “D’lish Deviled Eggs”, where I feature over 50 creative and classic recipes for this American appetizer icon.

Steak and Eggs? Yes, there’s an egg for that! Just mix up the yolks with a little A1 steak sauce and a touch of mayo, fill and top it all off with a small slice of grilled steak. Perfect for your next Sunday football get together.

For those who like it spicy, you’ll love my Wasabi Deviled Eggs. Wasabi paste (often served at sushi restaurants), green onion and cucumber get mixed with the yolk and I finish the whole thing off with a wasabi pea for some crunch – yum!

Or get über fancy with your next dinner party appetizer. My Lobster Deviled Eggs (oh la la!) are mixed up with wine-poached lobster and then topped with MORE lobster, and a small pouf of chives.

So think outside the box and get creative with your deviled eggs! And don’t forget to check out www.DLishDeviledEggs.com for more of my tips and tricks for this classic appetizer! – Kathy

Who’s ready to nibble on d’lish deviled eggs?
Photos from D’Lish Deviled Eggs.

Wasabi Deviled Eggs
Wasabi adds a creative kick of heat, and crisp, fresh cucumber adds textural crunch to these bold eggs. Top these little green devils with a wasabi pea for a fun finish.

Makes 24

1 dozen hard-cooked eggs (recipe follows)

Filling
6 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 tablespoon purchased wasabi paste (or 1 tablespoon wasabi powder mixed with 1 tablespoon water)
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
2 tablespoons finely minced English cucumber

Topping
24 wasabi peas

Halve the eggs lengthwise and transfer the yolks to a mixing bowl. Set the egg white halves on a platter, cover, and refrigerate.

With a fork, mash the yolks to a smooth consistency. Add the mayonnaise and wasabi paste, and mix until smooth. (You can also do this in a mixing bowl with a whip attachment.) Stir in the green onion and cucumber.

Spoon the mixture into a pastry bag fitted with a plain or large star tip, then pipe the mixture evenly into the egg white halves. Or fill the eggs with a spoon, dividing the filling evenly.

Top each egg half with a wasabi pea, whole or cracked.

Hard-Cooked Eggs
1 dozen large chicken eggs

Place the eggs in a large nonreactive saucepan and add cold water to 1 inch above the eggs. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn off the heat and let the eggs sit for 10 minutes. Remove from the stove and run cool water over the eggs in the pan until they are cooled. When cool, carefully peel them under running water.

Recipe from D’Lish Deviled Eggs by Kathy Casey, Andrews McMeel Publishing

Twelve year old super foodie Carter McCarroll is our guest blogger today. I asked him to share his culinary adventures on his first trip to Japan this past summer (I’m jealous as I’ve never been there except for layovers in the Delta lounge!). Here’s part 1 of this young man’s trip.

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Hello, my name Is Carter McCarroll. I am a twelve year old boy with a thirst for adventure. I live in Hinsdale, Illinois and I just started going to Hinsdale Middle School. My dad works for Kerry, a company that supplies food and beverage ingredients.

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Japan was the food, but there are many reasons why I love food. Foods from around the world have so much rich history, different textures, and techniques for cooking certain foods. There’s just a whole variety of them! I especially like Japanese food. I just love the intense flavor of sushi when It’s dipped in soy sauce (with bits of wasabi in it) and topped with ginger. I also admire the Japanese udon noodle bowl. Noodles have always been my favorite food and I thought it couldn’t get any better until I tried the Japanese noodle bowl – in Japan! Which I will get into more detail later. That pretty much sums up why I love food, especially Japanese food.

We left for Japan on July 21 (a day that I’ll always remember). My dad and I planned that moment for such a long time and the day was finally there and it would just be the two of us flying! I was overwhelmed with excitement. I knew that I’d miss the rest of my family while I was away, since I had never been away from them for so long, nevertheless I couldn’t wait to fly to Japan.

When the plane landed, my dad and I felt an urge to eat noodles (even though It was 3 AM in Illinois). So after nearly four hours of train rides from Narita airport to Tokyo, we finally arrived at the hotel. There were a few Japanese restaurants nearby, so we decided to go to one of them. Luckily for us, our waitress could speak a little English. I ordered a beef noodle bowl that came with a side of rice and tempura. After we ordered, I felt so tired that I could just fall asleep sitting right there (It was 7 AM in Hinsdale and I still hadn’t slept – not even on the plane). I was just about to fall asleep when the waitress placed our food on the table. Even though I was literally half asleep, I dug into my food until there was nothing left. Even the rice was about 5 times better than I usually have back in the U.S. I loved the broth for the noodles. The mixture of everything was almost perfect…… then it was back to the hotel… of course we fell asleep almost immediately.

Our hotel room’s view of Tokyo

The next day was officially my 12th birthday. We were planning to do a whole lot of exploring that day, but kept it more low-key thanks to jet-lag. After a long day and a nap, we went to a local outdoor restaurant. I still wasn’t very hungry, but I ate something anyway.  The best fried rice I ever had! It had the perfect warmth, mixture, and balanced flavor.

I felt a lot better the next day. We started off with breakfast in the hotel (which was fantastic!). There was sausages, eggs, noodles, miso soup, steamed rice with many toppings, a whole selection of breads, and so much more. After breakfast we took a cab to see some temples. Then we walked to Shibuya crossing, the busiest street crossing in the world!

Waiting our turn to cross at the busiest intersection in Tokyo!

After some more exploring, we headed back to the hotel to have a snack. We decided to share a small pizza at an Italian restaurant down the street from the hotel. We were actually surprised by how good that pizza was. This pizza was just a margherita. I’m not going to go into much detail about this, but let me just tell you – if you ever travel to Tokyo, stay in the Westin Hotel, and then if you’re In the mood for pizza, go there – its right in front of the hotel.

One of the best pizzas that I’ve ever had!

That night, we ate at a fancy Michelin star sushi restaurant. When our taxi dropped us off, it took us a while to find the entrance, but eventually we did. The first thing that caught my eye when we walked in was that this was actually a sushi bar. No tables anywhere and everyone looked so sophisticated. We sat down next to an elderly Japanese couple and right away, the waitress came and asked us what we would like…in Japanese. She was expecting us to instantly know what we were getting, but without an English-translated menu. I’m guessing that the people that come here are mostly regulars.

Me in front of the “hidden” entrance

My dad finally worked up the nerve to order with some finger pointing and limited Japanese. Our first course came ….it was a mushroom thing and some other seaweed stuff.

I didn’t even dare to try some. Especially after my dad did and said he didn’t like it at all. Next came some nicely cut raw tuna. Finally something that I could eat! It was magnificent! This tender, delicate delight was a perfectly cut juicy piece of tuna that I will never forget.

After that, we ordered some tempura. What came as a surprise was they also had fried corn! It was wonderfully sweet and savory at the same time! That was one of the best things I’ve ever eaten in my whole entire life. I think my dad liked it better than I did – he kept on talking about how brilliant it was.

Finally, we finished off with some miso soup – which was even better than the miso we had at the hotel. It was perfect blend of warm flavors. After that fabulous meal, we called it a day.

After 2 days of being In Tokyo, it was time to go to Kyoto. This used to be the capital city of the country. There are loads of very old temples with many mountains surrounding it and it’s the culinary capitol of Japan. To be continued…. – Carter McCarroll

Do you have a sweet tooth? I know I do! And I have found some great new books to help you make your favorite local goodies right in your own kitchen!

“Molly Moon’s Homemade Ice Cream”, recipes from the local beloved ice cream emporium, features sweet seasonal recipes for ice creams, sorbets and toppings made with local ingredients. I really want to try the recipe for Gingerbread and Cinnamon Ice Cream Sandwiches – Yum!

The new cookbook “Cutie Pies” is written by Dani Cone, the owner of Capitol Hill’s High 5 Pie. This book focuses on their signature miniature pies and has great tips for crusts, fillings and toppings. Her Cranberry Nut Cutie Pies would be perfect for your next holiday party!

Top Pot Doughnut fans can bake up some fun with their book “Hand Forged Doughnuts”. They reveal secrets and recipes so you can whip up the famed Valley Girl Lemon and Pink Feather Boa doughnuts at home.

And then there is liquid dessert… Autumn Martin, the founder of Ballard’s Hot Cakes has a new book: “Malts & Milkshakes: 60 Recipes for Frosty, Creamy Frozen Treats”. Can you say Chocolate Espresso Whisky Malt – YES please!

So check out these decadent books and give’em a try! -Kathy

If you are a crafty person and love to make things with your hands whether it’s quilts, jewelry, cake decorating, etc., do I have the website for you! Check out Craftsy, a fantastic online learning center for all sorts of crafts!

My friend Cynthia Nims is teaching a cooking series all about French Home Cooking: The Essential Techniques! Her class is already one of the top sellers today, which is very cool. Cynthia’s classes tie into her cooking school roots at La Varenne cooking school in France. She shares many of those basic core French cooking techniques in her lessons, which are great building blocks for you to learn and become creative with! Lessons include vinaigrette and salade verte, beef & mushroom stew, fish chowder, cheese soufflé, a couple potato dishes and homemade rich vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!

She’s even shared a link for 25% off her class price. Her entire lesson covers over 2 1/2 hours of instruction with  lifetime access!

Cynthia has so much wonderful and delicious knowledge to share. I hope you will sign up for her classes!

Guest blogger and Food Studio Associate Chef Cameon Orel shares her fondest of memories about fall and watching her Nana cook up wonderful meals.

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I love this time of year. The long days of summer have now faded, and the bbq is no longer the main source of cooking equipment. Fall is crisp filled with the promise of a new year. Kids dressed for the school bus, trees turning to the jeweled colors of autumn and I am magically transported to my Grandmother’s kitchen.  My Grandmother, let’s call her Nana, any other name would not be right. She had the ability to transform the simplest of foods in to a feast.

During this time of year I would find her surrounded by the harvest of the garden. She was a year round gardener. Her garden supplied our family and many other families in the neighborhood with a year round basket of magic. She would mindfully fill baskets with kale, chard, winter lettuces, squashes, zucchini, radishes, and the late round of beans-CSA before it was cool. I always enjoyed watching her out my bedroom window with her apron held up to hold the three types of apples soon to be turned in to a crisp for our dinner that night. Often she would sit with various cookbooks and clippings planning the next few weeks’ meals. As I write about this I am mesmerized by how effortless she made it all seem. At any given moment she could have a cake in the oven, cow’s tongue on the stove, cucumbers pickling to be put up, dark chocolate and vanilla pudding setting for a snack and my favorite cookies in the freezer ready to bake.

My most memorable meals in her home involved very few ingredients; a Hubbard squash that she made in to a curry spiced soup, green apple and winter kale salad with dried fruits and nuts, braised Ox-tail served with homemade pork sausage and braised small heads of romaine, potatoes still musky from the dirt slowly roasted with hand churn butter. These foods may not sound like a young girls dream but it was what I knew, I grew up smelling the simmering pots, the steaming vapor’s of a freshly opened oven. I held the jars as my Nana pickled and stewed pumpkin for her famous pumpkin apple spice cake.

Nana’s cookbook and notes – perfect for inspiring fall meals.

So as the trees begin to change, the light dims, and the sun glistens on the dew filled spider webs. I am blissfully happy to know that it is time to pull out my Nana’s cookbooks, filled with her notes of lower the salt, great with a touch of nutmeg, great recipe and must make this for Aunt Betty, exchanged recipes from dear friends.  I thumb through these ear marked and yellowed pages I am inspired to fall in love again with the cycle of cooking. I am reminded of a woman who many years ago knew that the best food comes from the earth.

– Cameon Orel