Gather in My Kitchen

February 2022

Potluck dinners are a tradition with my friends and family. In fact, we have annual potluck weekends. Whenever we decide to gather for great fellowship and meals, we all prepare a dish to share with everyone. This way we end up with a variety of dishes to feast on. Lisa is the taco queen and Courtney is famous for her breakfast. Abbott is the grill master while Scotty boils the seafood and me, I just fall in wherever they need me. However, it can be a tricky situation if it isn’t well planned and that is where Amelia (who is also great with desserts) comes in. She plans everything from the menu down to the napkins and utensils. Because of her planning expertise we always have more than enough of everything we need for a successful potluck weekend.

If you’re planning on hosting a potluck event, try making it a theme party so the dishes can be different but similar at the same time. This way you won’t have clashing flavor profiles. Ask your guests ahead of time if their dish will require any oven time like lasagna or a special set up like fondu. Make sure to remind them to bring everything they will need to serve their dish because you may not have enough trivets or serving spoon to accommodate everyone. Don’t forget the leafy green salad when planning your potluck. Most potluck dinners are heavy on the meat and casserole dishes and often forget the lighter foods like salad and raw vegetables. Finally, if someone in your group doesn’t really enjoy cooking have them bring the paper goods, or a store-bought dessert, wine, or other beverages. It is important that everyone is encouraged to participate in their own way. What are you bringing to your next potluck dinner?

Recipe of the Month

Monkey Bread

Ingredients

3 (12 ounce) packages refrigerated biscuit dough
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ cup margarine
1 cup packed brown sugar
½ cup chopped walnuts
½ cup raisins
½ cup Dr. Bills Cane and Maple Syrup

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease 10-inch Bundt pan.
Mix white sugar and cinnamon in a plastic bag. Cut biscuits into quarters. Shake 6 to 8 biscuit pieces in the sugar cinnamon mix. Arrange pieces in the bottom of the prepared pan.
Continue until all biscuits are coated and placed in pan. Arrange nuts and raisins, among the biscuit pieces as you go along.
In a small saucepan, melt the Dr. Bill’s Cane and Maple Syrup, margarine and brown sugar over medium heat. Boil for 1 minute. Pour over the biscuits.
Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let bread cool in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a plate. Pull bread apart and enjoy!

Community Service

Wow, what an amazing time had by all on Sunday, January 16, 2021. I teamed up with Mockler Beverage Company (one of largest Budweiser Beer distributers in the U.S.) to support the Michelob Ultra-Pure Gold collaboration with “Feeding Louisiana”. Our goal is to raise money for the victims of Hurricane Ida who are experiencing food insecurity. We asked Rouses customers to enter a sweepstakes that might land them a private dinner with yours truly. All they had to do is FOLLOW / LIKE / SHARE the giveaway on Instagram and Facebook for a chance to win. Also, for every case of Ultra-Pure Gold purchased $1.00 would go to the charity “Feeding Louisiana”. Thank you to all who purchased beer and entered the sweepstakes, we truly appreciate your effort, but there could only be one lucky winner. Congratulations to Cara Thibodeaux of Baton Rouge, LA who opened her kitchen to us and allowed us to create Ultra-Pure Gold magic. She and her husband (on my left) hosted 6 friends as they dined on the Michelob Ultra-Pure Gold inspired menu below.

Media Highlight

I had the pleasure of Traveling to Augusta, Georgia to cook with Miss Vera Stewart while promoting the Tony Chachere brand and will be featured on The Very Vera Show, Saturday, February 26, 2022. If you aren’t in an area where it airs, please watch on YouTube.

https://www.veryvera.com/show

Physical and Mental Fitness

Visualization leads to self-actualization. Visualization is imagining what you want as if you already have it. When you hear people say walk in your greatness, visualization is what they are referring to. It simply means to live as though you are already the person you wish to be in the future. Visualization is looking through your own eyes at your perfect results.

Visualization involves the use of your five senses by creating goal pictures and seeing yourself achieving your goals, hearing what success sounds like to you, and smelling, touching, and tasting it as well. When I visualize grilling the perfect steak, I imagine what it will look like, I can hear it sizzle on the grill, smell the perfect aroma, touch the perfect firmness, and taste the perfect juicy tenderness of the steak.

When you create your visual picture pair it with a supporting affirmation. If you visualize yourself being whole your affirmation may be, “I am whole and complete in every aspect of my life.” Visualizations coupled with affirmations create a subconscious awareness of your end goal so that you instinctively expect results and as a result experience self-actualization.

If you have cooking related questions for me, please send them to chefgasonnelson@gmail.com. Maybe your question will be highlighted next month.

– Chef Gason

Q & A

Does your oven lie to you?

Carol G.

Harrisburg, PA

Answer

It isn’t often but yes sometimes my oven does lie to me. What I mean by this is that there have been occasions when I’ve tried a new recipe that requires me baking something at 350 degrees F for 1 hour and it burns, instead of coming out perfect like the recipe suggests. Of course, another chef friend of mine made the same recipe and her version was perfect. Same recipe, same temperature, same baking time, different ovens. You have to know the quirks of your oven to know when things are off with it.

In most cases when this happens it just means that your oven’s temperature reading is off. Most ovens can be recalibrated by about 35 degrees F in either direction. However, if the temperature is off by more than 35 degrees F, you might need to replace the thermostat or temperature sensor. When you notice dishes that normally cook perfectly overcooking or burning that is your signal to have your oven checked out and serviced. If you use your oven often it should be serviced annually to maintain optimal functionality.