Greetings from Paris!

My dear friends, I had intended to write daily but my job has me hopping and obligations to long time friends here take precedence - friendships are important. It is nearly 4:00 am (I am a chronic insomniac while I am here) and it is time for sleep but I wanted to knock this out before I keep my date with a pillow. Enough about that. I am happy to report that I am coming home with wonderful goodies for the holidays.

First let me preface the following with this; if going to France, do yourself a favor and learn a little French. Even a little goes a long way. Over the past few years I have fostered friendships with the proprietors of my favorite little kitchen haunts and suppliers and it has paid off.

I have not had much of a chance to eat great food, except for my quick jaunt to G. Detout and my fav kitchen stores, I have been confined to the room eating hotel food. I did have an interesting mushroom sauce and some of the best olives...mmmmm. The mushroom sauce had a hint of chocolate (not sweet chocolate) which really enhanced the woodsy taste of the mushrooms. I loved it! Let me tell you about these incredible olives! A combination of green and black olives soaked in cinnamon sticks, corriander seed, parsley, lemon, olive oil and a little salt. Definitely a holiday treat to try. I have asked for the recipe so I hope I get it before I leave. Follow - up: No dice on the recipe - oh well, another opportunity to put my own twist on a dish.

Well readers, my eyes are slamming shut and unless I want to use toothpicks with olive juice on them to pry them open, I had better let them close for the night. Forgive the typos and run on sentences.

See you all real soon
Kathleen

Mashed Potatoes and "Fried", Chicken, Baby!

Yes, that's right, I said fried chicken and mashed potatoes. Okay, maybe not really fried, you noticed the quotation marks, right? That's because it is possible to make crunchy chicken that is not horrible for you. Sure there is no juice oozing out of it (which is actually grease), but it can be tasty and moist and satisfy that craving. Start with boneless, skinless breasts ( I haven't tried it with anything but, so I don't know if other cuts will work). Macerate it by pounding it so that it's not uneven, but not completely flat. Then marinate it in low-fat buttermilk for as long as is convenient for you. All day would be great, so get it going in the morning before work or right when you get home, then get your potatoes boiling. The longer it marinates, the juicier it will be, but it doesn't have to be a two day affair. The acidity in the buttermilk helps break down the meat a little bit while "moisturizing" it. Okay, I'm no chemist and I didn't go to cooking school, so feel free to criticize my science, but I know lotion and that's the only description I could think of. We all know that chicken can dry out super fast, so soaking it in buttermilk does miraculous things to it. Then, instead of cornmeal or corn flakes or those canned bread crumbs, used panko which is so much crunchier and lighter and just better. You can pick those up at Culina.

A really hot oven is another key. Set conventional bake on 400 and convection on 375. Take your breasts out of the buttermilk mixture and after you've seasoned the crumbs with paprika, salt and pepper (and optionally some Victoria Taylor's Toasted Onion Herb and Tuscan Seasonings), dredge the chicken in the panko making sure they are coated fully. Spray them with a little olive oil and place them on an olive oil sprayed, Reynold's release foil-lined heavy baking sheet, the jelly roll kind. Bake them until they're nice and golden and some of the crumbs are browning to the point of almost burning. Next time I will time it, but it seemed to take 30-40 minutes. I made an extra breast, so when I thought they were close, I pulled one out and cut into it to make sure it was cooked through.

With the potatoes, I cooked them until the water was almost gone and then drained it off, but SAVE the water. It gets nice and starchy and works great for wetting the potatoes down when you reheat them. You can also add a bit of that water back to make them smooth if you're trying to cut down on butter and cream. You just want to cover the potatoes about an inch over them and boil them on high. I used homegrown potatoes, so it was a mixture of Yukon, German Butterball and some Desiree. Instead of cream, you can use half and half, a little of the low-fat buttermilk and real, unsalted butter. Hey, you've gotta do the good stuff, just not in huge quantities. I also use a bit of olive oil spread by Fleischmann's, but you can use straight olive oil in place of all of that if you'd like. Throw in some of the herb seasonings used in the chicken or anything you like. Tarragon is great in potatoes as is Rosemary, but not both together. Roasted garlic, greek seasoning, but Jane's Crazy Mixed-Up Salt is my standby. Don't forget the pepper and I like to use a little grated parmesan in there.

Saute or steam up some really green veggies and there's your not so sinful meal, but it will feel like you've just indulged. Now there's room for some light vanilla ice cream with BR Kohn Chocolate Cabernet Sauce! Oh, and don't forget the vino.

Remembering Marie Dorsey

I had a very late night. Some of you are witness to it by the time stamp on the "Cook for the Cure" newsletter deposited in your e-mail box this morning. I could not sleep due to the sad news I received yesterday about our dear friend Marie Dorsey. Marie was the owner of a thriving cookie business 'TwoSugars.biz" and was also our favorite cookie decorating instructor. We loved her so much that we brought her to Lynchburg from Montana twice last year and we were scheduled to do it again this year. Two weeks ago Marie and I spoke on the telephone for over an hour. Visiting with her was like talking to an old friend of many years. I just met her last year. Marie possessed a genuine warmth and caring of others. I trusted her and loved her as a friend.

Please visit our page "In Memoriam" for Marie. Marie and her husband shared a strong love for each other - her death is a deep loss for him. If you wish to send a card, her address is:

C/O Marie Dorsey Family

P.O. Box 414 Gallatin Gateway, MT 59730

When I took this photo of Marie she commented that she didn't mind because she almost always walked around with flour on her face as it was a trademark that she was doing what she loved. Marie left a 6 figure salary in a corporation to become TwoSugars.biz and never regretted a second of it. She told me that she wanted to "live happy". When Marie was here last February she worked under the stress of her mother in the hospital. Her mother passed soon after Marie returned - we were all devastated for her.

Marie's artistry in cookie decorating was unparalleled and her following expanded the nation. When she was scheduled to teach at our store, we had students call us from Maryland, Tennessee, North Carolina and even from her neighboring state of Wyoming asking for a seat in her class. It seems she did not teach very many places so when someone had an opportunity to get in front of her, they seized it.

The favorite cookie design of Marie's are the winter penguins .

Try as we may, we could not find penguin cookie cutters big enough for her first class with us last October. We managed to locate them this year and we were geared up for some darling cookie penguin designs from our students. Marie was a true artist with royal icing and luster dust and the cookies were the best tasting sugar cookies that I had ever eaten. That sentiment was

shared by many. As a testament, her cookies sold out within a week of arrival every time.

Many people had called to sign up for the October cookie and cake decorating workshops. For those who would like to have it. I have posted Marie's sugar cookie recipe on my website

http://www.culinainc.com/Desserts.html

Below are her sugar cookie icing recipes:

Royal Icing For cookie base
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. almond extract
1 tbsp. meringue powder
3 – 4 tbsp. water - add as needed – thick enough to hold it’s shape when piped
Mix together with a hand whisk

Royal Icing
For decorating cookies

2 cups powdered sugar
5 tbsp. meringue powder
1/3 cup water

Add all ingredients together in mixer and mix until firm.

TIP
Be patient mixing to get a firm consistency can take 15 minutes.