January is turning out to be a very chilly month! All I want to do lately is move from the bed to the couch and stay under my blanket with Luci cuddled up next to me! (Luci is my child, aka, my little terrier mix that I rescued when she was 6 weeks old.) Although she only weighs 5 lbs, she does put off some heat!
Another thing I like to do when its cold is eat warm, hearty meals. This does not coincide well with most New Years resolutions, I suppose. Many of my co-workers and friends are on some sort of diet, whether its the HCG or WW, so I do look for ways to make recipes healthier – whether you are watching your waistline or you’re just a healthy eater in general.
Ramsey Wayne Sellers...such a cutie!
This week I made two casseroles for my friends who just had a sweet little baby boy. (I actually went ahead and made myself smaller casseroles to have in the freezer for later as well.) I have no children and am not accustomed to the traditions that come with having them. But, I am learning that you no longer have much time to cook, nor do you want to. By cooking these meals ahead of time, they can be popped into the freezer, thawed the morning of, and baked with no hassle!
Winter is definitely here and there is nothing like a bowl of hot homemade soup to warm the soul. I know, your probably thinking, “My man doesn’t think soup is a meal.” Well, he won’t even realize that he is eating soup unless you tell him! This is a hearty bowl of beef and potatoes you’ll find so easy to make it will be on your list of go to recipes. My man,the one who doesn’t eat leftovers , even had this for lunch the day after I fixed it for dinner! So, lets get cookin’.
Cowboy Tortilla Soup by Dustie Butner
1 lb Ground Beef, browned and drained
3 Cups Water
1 box Au Gratin Potato Mix (used dry)
2 Cups milk
1 Cup Salsa (any kind)
1 (16 oz.) can Ranch Style Beans (I used the ones with jalapenos)
2 Cups Velveeta Processed Cheese
1 (12 oz.) can tomatoes and green chilies (optional)
Combine browned ground beef, dry potatoes and water in soup pot on stove. Cook on medium until potatoes are tender. Add milk, salsa, beans, dry potato mix and cheese. Heat on low until cheese is melted. Add tomatoes and green chilies (Rotel). Cook on low until thoroughly heated. Serve with crushed tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream and cheese on top.
I used skim milk, because that is all I ever buy and I would recommend rinsing the Ranch Style Beans to remove the “grease” from them if you are trying to eat healthier.
I hope you like this great recipe as much as my family and I do!
Jani and Whitni, in their kitchen whipping up breakfast.
Looking for something easy to fix for breakfast the next time you have overnight company? Need a simple casserole recipe to take to work or church without all the hassle? Well, we have just the recipe for you.
Christmas morning at our house is always hectic; hurrying to see what Santa brought, packing up family members to get them on the road to visit in laws and in the meantime trying to get breakfast prepared and on the table after a late night!!
Well, Whitni and I found a simple solution to the breakfast problem it is called “Omelet for a Crowd”. It was a breeze to make, easy to clean up and everyone loved it.
Omelet for a Crowd
By Kim Stewart
8 eggs slightly beaten
1 c grated cheddar cheese
1 tsp salt
6 slice bread (cubed)
2 c milk
1-lb sausage-fried, crumbled and drained
1 tsp. dry mustard
Mix all together. Put into a 9×13 pan. Refrigerate overnight. Bake @ 350 for 35 min the next morning.
What a week! I usually have some spare time to sit and be lazy on the couch at the end of the day but it seems as though I have lost some hours, if not days, lately!
I cannot believe that Christmas is this weekend! I’m so-o-o ready for family time! And of course pretty much everything is centered around eating while we are hanging out.
I’ve been to quite a few holiday parties this year and sometimes get stuck on taking the same thing every time. It was nice to open up the Stockyards City cookbook and
find something I hadn’t made before. I chose to make a simple spinach dip since the party was at my house and well….I had to clean and make sure everything was just
so. It’s a super simple recipe that doesn’t cost much to make and can be served with crackers or in my case, Hawaiian bread. Yum!
Spinach Dip
by Jana Lowry
1 pkg. Dry onion soup mix
1 C. Sour Cream
1 C. Plain Yogurt
1/2 C. chopped green onion
1 pkg. Frozen chopped spinach
(thawed and well drained)
In a bowl, blend all ingredients together. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. Enjoy!
With Christmas fast approaching I am going to deviate from our usual Stockyards City Cookbook recipe and share a favorite family recipe with you.
If you are like me you are close to panic mode. Christmas is just around the corner, there is shopping to be done, presents to be wrapped, baking, cleaning and in my case – decorating the house. Yep, you read that right! It is the 16th of December and this self proclaimed “Mrs. Claus” has not decorated her house yet. I waited too late to get a real tree so I drug the fake one out of the attic. My husband took it downstairs for me, put it together and plugged it in. Let’s just say it is going to take a lot of work to get that tree ready for decorations! So rather than work on the Christmas tree I decided to start my baking. I didn’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen so I decided to make a quick, easy recipe that my grandmother always made. I’m sure it has an official name but we call it Nana’s Graham Cracker Treats. If you need a quick treat to take to a party or even a cookie exchange this can be whipped up in no time at all.
Nana’s Graham Cracker Treats
Loyce Robinson
2 pkgs. of Graham Crackers (1/2 box)
1 C. Brown Sugar
1 3/4 sticks Margarine (1 stick plus 6 T of margarine)
1 tsp. Vanilla
1 C. chopped Pecans (optional)
Mondays are one of my favorite days of the week. How many people do you know who can say that?! I love them because I am a hairdresser so I sleep in and stay in the house in my PJs until, well…I can’t tell you how long. I did accomplish a new recipe to share though and it did not require standing in the kitchen all day!
I present to you: The Ingredients. Easy!
The girls and I were getting together at April’s as usual. When flipping through the Stockyards City cookbook, deciding what to take to dinner, the Amazing Asian Salad Toss caught my eye. We decided to build the whole meal around the salad. April made her famous homemade chicken curry to add to the mix. I must say this took all of 5-10 minutes to put together and all the girls cleaned their bowls, a few went back for seconds, and acted as if I made something from scratch!
Sticky dough, take one. Okay - sticky dough, take two. Okay, let's do cheesecake! - photo from "Pinch My Salt."
I don’t know about you, but after all the food at Thanksgiving it is hard to get motivated to cook. I wanted to make Cattleman’s Hot Yeast Rolls for you so you could have the recipe for your Christmas meal. I have to confess, I wasn’t going to tell you about this until Julie admitted that her bread did not rise at Thanksgiving.
Take One
I mixed up the recipe and my dough, unlike Julie’s, did rise, but it was too sticky. The problem being that I could not buy yeast cakes so I converted the recipe for dry active yeast and followed the instructions on the yeast package to a T. Then I continued with the recipe as it was written, not thinking to cut back on my liquid to compensate for the liquid I dissolved the yeast in. I added some extra flour and realized that by the time I got enough flour mixed in, the dough would be way too floury. So, instead of wasting any more time I dumped the dough in the trash and headed back to the store for more yeast. Just the place I was hoping to avoid the day before Thanksgiving.
Take Two
Upon arriving home I decided to call the Fleischmann’s helpline. Just what I thought, instead of dissolving my yeast in water like the package tells you to the nice lady at Fleischmann’s told me to heat up about 1/2 cup on milk from the recipe and dissolve the yeast in the milk. Again my dough was too sticky and to top it off it was the worst bread dough I have ever tasted in my life and I have eaten a lot of bread dough and cookie dough and cake batter. Sorry, back to my story. I decided to make the hot rolls just like the recipe said and see what happened. The dough rose just like it should have, but again it was very sticky. I kept telling myself that it would get better after I let it rise the three times the recipe calls for.
It’s no secret that I’m not a fan of cooking. Just take a look in my pantry. You’ll find tablecloths, napkins…just about anything one would need for entertaining. But no food. I never really tried to carry on any kind of cooking tradition. I was complaining to my mom about the lack of chocolate meringue pie at my recent Thanksgivings, and she confided in me that Marie Callender made her pie this year. She also told me that my great-grandmother used to make an oyster dressing that she (my mom) despised. The oyster dressing never made an appearance at Thanksgiving after great-grandmother’s death.
I need to thank my mom for making this executive decision to discontinue that tradition. I’m sure I would not have liked it…but now – my lack of interest in cooking has landed me in a Thanksgiving predicament.
My husband can't wait until the "day after" pie slice, so he can eat it on a steaming hot bowl of oatmeal.
I married a Yankee with three kids. They were raised on lots of northern dishes like chicken and waffles and shoe fly pie. Since I’m the odd woman out, I have learned how to make a few dishes since I would like for them to keep me around. It was clear one Thanksgiving that it’s going to take them a little longer to warm up to some of my Oklahoma dishes. I can’t understand anyone not liking brisket for Thanksgiving, but…whatever.
As it gets colder outside I am constantly looking for new yummy, fulfilling things to make for dinner. I love anything spicy so this recipe really caught my eye!
My friend April made chicken chili and I knew this would go very well with the cornbread. I will say that most of my girlfriends are constantly watching what they eat, so the chili was a Weight Watchers recipe – and – well, this cornbread is not so healthy.
I decided to make it not-so-hearty by cutting down the meat in it. I also was unable to find jalapeno cheese in OKC. If you live somewhere around a Kroger, my mom said she found some there. I added chopped green chili’s to the mix instead.
Jalapeno Cornbread
by Matt Gilson
2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix (I was raised on sweet cornbread so I substituted instead of Jiffy, although Jiffy is only 50 cents per box)
This week I have an easy casserole that you are sure to like if you are like me and have a hankerin’ for Mexican food. Honestly I could eat Mexican food everyday of the week; the sad thing is we don’t really have any good Mexican restaurants in the Memphis area. I remember as a child/teenager, any time we left Harmon County for “The City” we would go to Casa Bonita for Mexican food. We even took our kids to the one in Denver when they were little. That was a real treat since they have cliff divers while you are eating!
On to this weeks Stockyards City recipe…
Mexican Casserole
from Debby Keeler
3 cups cooked rice (I used Minute Rice)
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 can diced Rotel
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 lb. ground beef, browned
1 can whole kernel corn (do not drain)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
Spray cooking dish with non-stick spray. Layer the rice in the bottom of the baking dish. Combine ground beef, taco seasoning, corn, Rotel and mushroom soup. Spread over rice. Top with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.[slideshow]
As you can see from the picture I used Mexican cheese instead of the cheddar. Also, if you like spicier food as my family does, then I recommend using the hot Rotel and the Hot and Spicy Old El Paso taco seasoning.
Like the Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole I fixed a couple of weeks ago, this recipe makes a lot of food. I have decided that in the future I will cook half for dinner and put the other half in the freezer for a later date.
Be looking for Whitni’s and my posts between now and Christmas. There are a few recipes that we want to share with you for your holiday cooking.
Happy Cooking & Happy Thanksgiving, Jani
*Editors Note: To check out other Stockyards City cookbook recipes, simply go to the “categories” section on the right hand column of our home page and find “Stockyard City Cookbook.”
Matt Duckworth, drummer for Star Death and White Dwarfs, backstage perspective. Star Death is setting off for another tour this week. Photo printed with permission from Matt.Oh, it's just deer season in Oklahoma. Red Dirt Kelly grabbed her camera, rolled down her window, drove with her left hand and took the shot with her right hand. Shouldn't these trucks come with some kind of warning sign for passers by? "Warning, dead deer in truck. Those with queasy stomachs, please keep your eyes averted. Thank you."And, speaking of shooting...100 years ago today, The Daily Oklahoman published a front page article about a county election Chairman declaring that he will NOT resign from his position. Further, he would shoot anyone who crosses the threshold of their office and threatens the sovereignty of the "sacred ballots." He proclaimed, "I have the keys to the boxes in which they are deposited and by the eternal gods I will protect them with my life." Red Dirt Kelly says, "Go, Judge Beall!"And speaking of "Beale" (not Beall), little "Jesse" (Katie Beth) Beal makes a great Toy Story character for Halloween. Red Dirt Kelly saw no less than six "Jesses" this year, and all of them were great. Lookin' good, Katie Beth!The Goddard School in Edmond gets creative with a bale of hay. When I walked around to the other side, there was a Jack-o-Lantern face painted on it. One bale of hay, TWO seasonal displays 🙂 Photo by Kelly.Antique oil cans (jars) from a long-ago service station. Just one of the many sites to see at "The Stables Cafe" in Guthrie, Oklahoma. - Photo by Kelly
Poteau Ballon Festival, held Oct 22-23, 2010. Click photo to visit their website.
We hear the food at Poteau Balloon Fest is amazing. Mmmm, I can smell the fire, can you? - Click photo to visit the Balloon Fest website.
Not exactly fish eggs…much better! I am a hairstylist and any excuse we can find to bring food to the salon we jump at. The day before Halloween we all dressed up and had a pot luck. I have to say I don’t think I have ever seen that much food in one place before! I knew from the past that its best to take something that can easily be snacked on in-between clients. Everyone at work “jokingly” calls me Betty Crocker; little do they know it’s really not as hard as it looks!
Flipping through the cookbook I looked for a recipe that had ingredients that I might already have at home. I finally decided on Cowboy Caviar. It definitely doesn’t look too pretty, if you’re a presentation person, but sure does taste good! (Friends at work turned their noses up at first but by the end of the day it was gone!) This is a very simple recipe if you need something last minute. Also, if you are following through the cookbook with us and cooking most of these items I would suggest buying a large bag of shredded cheese and a box of cream cheese from Sams. It will save you time and money, both of which I know we can all use these days!
Cowboy Caviar
by Tracy Holland
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (8oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
2 cans chopped black olives
2 T. oil
2 T. lime juice ( I cut one lime in half and squeezed the juice from it into the mix)
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper
Combine beans, olives, oil, lime juice and spices. Let sit 2 hours. Spread cream cheese on a plate and top with bean mixture. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Happy Cooking!
Whitni
Editor’s Note – Want to see the other recipe’s Whitni and Jani have prepared from the cookbook thus far? Simply go to our “Categories” section on the right hand of our home page, and use the drop down selector to find “Stockyards City Cookbook.”
Editor’s Note – Okay, everyone…this post is from Jani, Whitni’s mother. Recall that we kicked off our Stockyards City Cookbook Cook-Through last week. Here’s their second entry!
***
I would like to begin by saying that after reading her first post I think my daughter, Whitni, has shown me up! Unfortunately there will not be a slide show with my post. I’m not even sure I know how to do that. Maybe if I am really nice she will teach me how to set up a slide show when she is home for Thanksgiving.
I looked through the Stockyards City Centennial Cookbook several times before I chose my first recipe. I ended up picking Natalie Browne’s recipe for Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole. I did make one omission to the original recipe, the mushrooms. We are not much on mushrooms at our house. In fact when I asked my husband if he wanted me to put the mushrooms in he said he only wanted mushrooms ‘…if they would give him hallucinations,’ – such a kidder!!
The recipe was very easy to make and the ingredients were easily found. For our family of three (my husband, our 17 yr. old son, and myself) there was plenty of food. In fact, we only ate half of the casserole and that was with everyone having seconds. Which means leftovers will come in handy for dinner another night when we have had a hectic day (translates to: Jani doesn’t want to cook) . Oh wait, my family doesn’t eat leftovers! Well, maybe if you decide to prepare this for your family there will be enough to keep you out of the kitchen an extra day.
We had green beans, salad, and rolls with the Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole. I loved the fact that the recipe calls for rotisserie chicken, this saved a tremendous amount of time. I will definitely make this casserole again.
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole
from Natalie Browne
1 box Uncle Ben’s Wild Rice Mix (fast recipe)
1 (8oz) sour cream; 1/4 C Italian dressing
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms
1 rotisserie chicken
1 sm pkg sharp cheddar cheese
1 can chicken broth
Shred chicken meat. Cook rice in chicken broth, last 5 minutes add mushrooms. Mix chicken, rice, sour cream and Italian dressing together. Put in a greased 9×13 inch pan. Sprinkle cheese on top. Cook in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
The only other change I made to the recipe was I used mild cheddar cheese instead of sharp. For the cheese I bought a 2 cup package of finely shredded cheese and did not use all of it.
If you are looking for an easy dinner this one fits the bill. I think you could even make this ahead of time, freeze or refrigerate, and pop it in the oven when you get home from work.
Happy Cooking, Jani
Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole - easy, lots of food and tasty!
You did it. You braved the freezing weather in your skimpy ballerina costume, or perhaps warmer than usual weather under your furry gorilla garb. You might stink due to the combination of a spandex superhero suit that didn’t breathe, or the nasty greasepaint you put on your face three hours ago. You’re possibly a little worse for the wear, sporting more than one Halloween badge of courage. Maybe you cut your tongue on the breathing and talking-hole cutout of your hard plastic mask; you know, the one with the single string of elastic that probably broke before you hit the third house in your neighborhood?
Or perhaps you stepped in a mud puddle wearing only your blue fuzzy Smurf house shoes – the ones you thought were a perfect finale for your blue sweats, blue face and white beard. You might have cuts or bruises, acquired from tripping over one too many steps on the dark sidewalks you ascended as you neared the front doors of a hundred neighbors. You may have ripped your costume in four places or cracked your tiara right up the middle.
None of this matters. What matters is that your pillow case, your plastic pumpkin with black paint flaking off the eyes, or your neatly crafted candy bag with the stuffed ghost on the side is bursting at the seams and making your arms ache from carrying it for 27 city blocks… It is now time. It’s time to pour it out on the floor of your bedroom in its bountiful splendor, look lovingly at the treasure, and start your Halloween candy sorting ritual.
Chocolate bars – these are the “exchange units” of all other candy types. They are the golden standard to which everything else is compared. You put all of them together and do a quick calculation as to how many you’re going to keep for yourself, how many you’ll need to hide from the chocolate-loving freak in your family, and how many you might use to trade with your friends or siblings for other treats on low-inventory status within your stash. And, depending upon your particular sweet tooth, you might make an extra pile for your favorite no-exchanges, no-returns bars. For my kids, these were the Reese’s cups. No amount of cajoling would get me even a crumb of a Reese’s cup.
Sour stuff – these are still valuable, but slightly below the chocolate. Included in this pile are the SweetTarts, Smarties, Sprees, Pixie Sticks, Sour Gummy Worms, etc. While still valuable, it usually takes a few of these to trade for one chocolate bar. Sometimes several. At this point, because they’re not the prime standard, you probably treat yourself to at least one packet of SweetTarts, praying that at least two of the three pieces inside the tiny packet are colors you like.
Suckers – Blow Pops, DumDums, Lifesaver Lollipops, Tootsie Rolls…you carefully pick through your stack until you find every one of your suckers. You have fun with them by arranging them into spirals on the floor, or placing them in gradually decreasing mass size, down to the tiniest ones. You think about sticking them into your ponytail the next morning (or not), and you anxiously look around to make sure you have at least one cherry flavored blow-pop and tootsie roll. Find them? You might hide those too.
Good Little Stuff – Your pile is looking messy so it’s time to start sorting the “pea-gravel.” You quickly look through the pile and pull out all the Hershey’s minis, the Hershey’s kisses, the hard candy you like, the prime bubble-gum brands, the Jolly Rancher’s and anything else of value. The entire time you’re hoping that the “good” little stuff outnumbers the “icky” little stuff. Maybe it does, maybe it doesn’t. But you always hope.
Icky Little Stuff – For me, this is where those orange and black wrapped peanut butter taffies go. Also included is the single Bit-O-Honeys and the little packages of candy corn. That’s just me. For you? Who knows…but you know you have them. The ickies are the candy that you know you’ll either give away, beg off to someone as a “bonus” when trading other pieces, or might eventually turn hard, stale and go in the trash in February. You do your best to find any last redeeming value from this pile, but usually by this time the ickies have sorted themselves out and are the last remaining candy on your floor.
Task complete, you lean back and assess your candy bank account. Was it a good year or a year of famine? You look down at your muddy Smurf house shoes, rub your bruised ankle, glance once again across the beautiful bounty of your effort and smile. You are the king or queen, and this is your treasure. Now you know exactly what it’s worth, and begin your plotting on how you’ll steward this beautiful booty.
Okay, there’s just one problem with this picture. Where do you put these weird red wax lips wrapped in cellophane?!
Editor’s Note: We’re SO glad to have Whitni and Jani kicking off our Stockyards City cookbook cook-through. I think I gained two pounds just reading this post…and, I’m making one this weekend! A big thanks to the Stockyards City team for allowing us to print the recipes on the RDC. The cooks are allowed 5 passes throughout their work in case they run into a recipe that just doesn’t fit their palate. Whitni, “the daughter,” is kicking off the series. Next week, you’ll meet the “mom” part of the culinary duo…enjoy!
– Red Dirt Kelly
*****
What can I say? I love to eat!
Its a good thing I learned how to cook in college so that I am still not surviving on Ramen Noodles. And for me, it is definitely a challenge to cook for just one person. So through my posts I will give you pointers on how to make your meals in smaller portions, or to extend their life a bit further. Here we go…
Every Monday is girls night for my group of friends. We choose a cheesy reality show or a chick flick to watch (that we usually talk over), and then pile into the living room with dinner around the TV. I chose to make the Banana Split Cake for our dessert this week. I got nothing but rave reviews. I did double the graham cracker crust and the pineapple and in exchange for the cherries I put strawberries. I will warn ya though, its enough food to feed a small army!
Banana Split Cake
by Patricia Parent
2 C Graham Cracker Crumbs (I used 4 C)
2 sticks butter (I used an extra since I made extra crust)
5 Bananas
1 can Pineapple, drained ( I used 2 cans of crushed)
1 (8oz) Pkg. Cream Cheese
2 C Powdered Sugar
1 Carton Whipped topping
To make the crust, mix together graham cracker crumbs and 1 stick of melted butter. Mash into a 9×13 dish. Refrigerate until chilled. Put sliced bananas on top of crust. Spoon 1 large can drained pineapple on top of the bananas. Mix together cream cheese, remaining butter and powdered sugar. Spoon over fruit. Add container of whipped topping over the top of the fruit. Sprinkle with nuts and maraschino cherries. Chill and serve.
Check out the slide show I made so you can see the progressive steps come together. Great summer dish to take to a friend’s pool party!
If you do what I did and accidentally search for the Ludivine restaurant in Oklahoma City by typing “Ludivine dot com” into your browser, you’ll be met with a screen full of drop dead gorgeous, blond – um…nakedness. Evidently Ludivine Sagnier, the French actress, is famous for her nude acting scenes. And, still photos of these scenes are displayed on the front page of her website in case you needed to be convinced of her ability to pull off the roles into which she was cast. Certainly it’s not just to garner website attention and attract high internet traffic, right?
I’m sharing this uncomfortable detail of my personal life because the information could be valuable in case you wish to eat at a new restaurant in the Mid-Town OKC area and you might happen to do a search at your place of employment. And, if you’re already past that stage and you work for a state agency like I do, then you might also want to do what I did: Immediately call or write your information technology friend and let them know of your faux pas. Here’s a copy of my e-mail…
Dear [Name of IT friend]–
I was looking up Ludivine restaurant because I want to go eat there tonight. I typed in Ludivine dot com (rather than the correct ludivineokc dot com) and for a brief moment was flashed with naked women photos.
Eek! I’m just telling you this because I may have set off some kind of filter or monitoring system within the workplace internet software…
See ya,[me]
In case you’re wondering if I’ll be the next state employee on the 10:00 p.m. news, the answer is no. Evidently, my anxiety level was much higher than my friend’s and his response was basically, “This stuff happens. Thanks for the heads up.”
I’m saving my e-mail just in case.
Enough about me…let’s talk about Ludivine. The restaurant. In Oklahoma City.
The Red Dirt Chronicles has already covered the establishment in three ways: a) We gave a shout out to Peach Crest farms, one of their local suppliers; b) I wrote an article about why I’m crazy about the concept of the restaurant and featured a link to their YouTube video library educating the viewer about various aspects re: their growers or producers, their purchasing philosophy, etc; and, c) the fact that they are now open for business. This review will wrap our regular coverage of the restaurant and we’ll only go back if we do some specialty work such as an interview or collaborative event. Oops – still talking about “us” now…time to get down to business.
Ludivine, New Prairie Cuisine…A Review
The restaurant site and interior
Located on the corner of 7th and Hudson, Ludivine sits diagonally across from the new Federal Building in the Mid-Town area of Oklahoma City. The streets in the vicinity are not too busy and provide ample parallel parking. At night, the restaurant sign beacons you with its bright robin egg blue color and a scissortail flycatcher punctuating the logo.
Enter the restaurant and you are met with a smart décor stitched together with pewter-look delicate chandelier placements, commissioned paintings that will keep you glancing at them throughout your entire visit, and heavy dark wood tables juxtaposed against seating covered with moss-green and soft gray textiles. A color palette of burnished fulvous, deep brick-red, ebony, gray, accents of goldenrod and a knock-out indigo made my synapses start firing…astute choices indeed. My favorite tabletop item was not the flowers grown in the Shawnee area, although they’re close. Rather, I was especially drawn to the flatware design – the forks have a 45-degree angle at the base of their tines, so they lend a trendy finish to a comfortable, sharp context.
The kitchen is in full view and guests are given a choice of sitting at the surrounding counter to watch the cooking action, or sit at a table in the dining area. The only drawback to the dining area I could see is that they could use between two and four feet more floor space width. The wait staff and guests move fluidly enough, but can be seen jockeying for position to find their way, regardless of the engaging and friendly banter.
The bar has plenty of space for a comfortable hang out, or to meet and greet prior to a meal. I’m still mulling over the large stripe patterned curtain chosen for the south window in the bar, but I’d take out-of-town guests there in a heartbeat. Overall, even with the space constraints factored in, I give the space a solid “A.” And, I tip my hat to the person or team who sweated the details to bring it all together. Nice job, Ludivine. You won’t be redecorating your space for a good long while.
Food and drink
A server fully invested in the restaurant, as well as his role as our dinner guide greeted us. He mentioned we were “lucky tonight because they had Coq au Vin on the menu,” kept the chilled water coming and answered all our questions. I had my eighteen year-old daughter with me; she decided to order the lamb burger. I ordered the Coq au Vin. We held off on appetizers because there was a strong possibility of dessert in our future, and I ordered one of their house specialty cocktails to start the evening.
A drink with a grown-up finish: The "Bees Smashed Kneecaps." Gotta love that lavender finish... - RDC Photo
I chose this particular drink because I had watched a video demonstration on their Facebook page and decided the beverage needed further investigation. When my Bee Smashed Kneecaps (an adaptation of their Bee’s Knees cocktail) arrived, I was not disappointed. A mixture of Broker’s gin, lemon, lavender, and honey – shaken and strained, filled the glass. At the same time refreshing and bold, the finish of lavender filled my “exhale” after the first gulp. I had been concerned there would be too much honey or sweetness but this fear was put to rest immediately. It was a grown up drink and a dandy one at that. The Ludivine bar also gets a solid “A.”
The chilled water plus the assortment of breads was a nice filler between courses. My daughter appreciated the pumpkin bread. I liked the bacon crumble extra-chewy baguette.
Coq au Vin - Ludivine, 10/9/10 - RDC Photo
Next came dinner. I’ve had several variations of Coq au Vin over the years, so I was curious about the Ludivine approach. They served their chicken quarter over whipped turnips, with a few Crowder peas, steamed turnip wedges and a small pickled okra spear, the Vin sauce pooling on all sides. My most important question was answered on the first bite: Yes, the chicken came before the Vin, and was not covered up by the reduction. There is a spectrum of “done” for cooked vegetables and I was surprised to find the turnip wedges at the front edge of that range. I thought they might have been slow roasted for some time. This was a good choice because with a roasted chicken in rich sauce, plus brown Crowder peas and whipped turnip bed tending to take on the Vin flavor, a difference is needed. The barely-done turnip wedges and the tender okra spear provided that difference. I’d like to see perhaps one more element of variety to set off the complete dish; perhaps kicking the whipped turnips for something that holds up better, or pooling less sauce. Still, this dish earns an “A-.”
We ordered a plate of four assorted desserts. I’m sure these rotate every evening, so I won’t dwell too much on the detail. I will say, however, that the chilled blueberry soup was one of my top picks for the evening. If that soup is available when you visit, order it. They serve their coffee French Press fashion and for that I was grateful. The blend of their beans was roasted one to two shades too dark and oily, with a slightly bitter finish. Perhaps an intentional choice to compliment the sweet palate of desserts, but I think a bit more mellow of a finish would sit better with the majority of those dining. Dessert, A; coffee; B.
Here are a few extra notes to finish off this particular review – I noticed there wasn’t a huge amount of noise coming out of the open kitchen. This is unusual and I wonder if intentional as well? For me, it was a pleasant surprise. They provide a recycled carry out container similar to a cardboard material you would see in egg cartons…another nice touch. And, although they weren’t initially taking reservations last week, they are now. A needed addition if they keep performing like they did for our visit.
In sum, from the moment we exited my car to the moment we left the building after our meal, I felt relaxed, well served, and well fed. My artistic side was nurtured by the interior design. And, I’m certain I will go back again and again. My next goal is to try some of their colder salads and check out the homemade noodles dressed with soft herb pesto.
An overall solid “A” visit. And, I feel good about sending you, your family or your business guests there any time you’d like to go. Enjoy!
Lovin’ the New Prairie Cuisine…Red Dirt Kelly
P.S. If you click here, you’ll get straight to the CORRECT website. Isn’t is nice that we took care of that little task for you?
Lamb Burger with wilted greens and sweet potatoes...Nice! - RDC Photo
For a little over six years now, I’ve walked the halls of the College of Human Environmental Sciences (CHES) at Oklahoma State University (OSU). One of the things I’ve never worried about is where I might eat my lunch in case I’m in too much of a rush to pack myself a meal. There are two restaurants in the adjoining building to ours, CHES-West. One of them is a little “faster food” style cafe’ serving both breakfast and lunch. The other is Taylor’s Dining Room, the “fine dining Lab for students in the School of Hotel and Restaurant Administration.”
I eat there about two or three times each semester. Every time I go, these thoughts come to my head: 1) The food is a good value compared to other bistro-style restaurants in larger city areas; 2) I’m contributing to the students’ education by eating there and interacting with the staff; and, 3) I get more than a meal when I go. I get a smile on my face; it’s a treat to be welcomed, seated, served and checked on by students in training within the 8th ranked hospitality and tourism programs in the world.
I visited Taylor’s about a week ago and was glad to see they continue to revamp the menu as are newly inspired from students, faculty and visiting chef’s from around the globe. In the mood to welcome autumn, I ordered the Arugula, Pear & Manchego Salad ($9) and a glass of tea.
The salad was complimented by their bread basket. They’ve changed their daily bread service since last year; the added bread sticks with caraway was a nice modification.
Like many salads I’ve had lately, I had to pick out two or three wilted leaves. Other than that, the dish was excellent. I especially liked their choice of the buttery Manchego cheese as a compliment to the sweeter poached pears.
If you have a chance to visit Stillwater and want a good meal for a good price, I suggest Taylor’s. It’s a chance to give, get and eat. Bon appetit!
One of the iconic segments for Oprah’s show is her Favorite Things series – especially her Christmas show where the audience receives one of every product she reveals. Bloggers sometimes highlight various products because they’ve been asked to place products on their site for a particular promotion, or for a payment of some sort. Shows on T.V. highlight various products that work well and sometimes the public isn’t privy to whether or not it’s a “planted advertisement,” or if the product feature is a genuine information sharing gesture.
So, to clear this one up from the beginning, there is NO product support here. Our “Favorite Things” will have an indy bent. We’ll talk about a product or idea because we like it, and that’s the only reason.
I’m sharing one of my “favorite things” with you today because it took me a few years to finally hit a product that worked well for my coffee service. I used to take my favorite coffee beans, grind them daily, then add a bit of “Sugar in the Raw” turbinado sugar plus a little half-n-half once the coffee was brewed.
However, about a year ago I found these Roland imported demerara sugar rough cut cubes. I love them because sometimes I just want a hint of sweetness, and other times I want a bit more; there are various sizes and I really like that about them. I don’t have to fill my sugar bowl with the granular product only to wipe up spills, and these cubes lend a foodie flair when I have company that the loose sugar didn’t have. I purchased my box from the International Pantry gourmet shop in Norman, Oklahoma with a gift certificate given to me by my brother.
The International Pantry has been around since 1978 and is one of the few shops that feature a full line of Le Crueset cookware. I love the orange color and have plans to start trading out my 25 year-old cookware soon for a piece at a time.
So, if you’re looking for a little something special to dress up your coffee service and love the warm flavor of demerara sugar over white sugar like I do, you might give these sugar cubes a try. I got mine for about $5.95 in the store, but you can also order them on Amazon for $4.50 plus shipping. My supply looks like it may last right at one year.
Last year during one of my “Human Sexuality and the Family” lectures, the students happened upon some information in our textbook they found especially intriguing. Evidently, there was a study cited examining why those our society deems as “attractive” women might choose to marry (again, what our society deems as) “unattractive” men. The debate heated up when pop culture examples were named by various class members. I think Woody Allen and former wife Mia Farrow were one illustration used as evidence to make their point. Okay, I could sort of see their reasoning on that one:
Woody Allen and former wife Mia Farrow. Photo from the National Portrait Gallery. Click to visit their website.
But then, they hit me where it hurt. They actually brought up the name of Garrison Keillor and his wife.
Garrison Keillor and wife Ulla Skärved. You are welcome to click this photo to go to the source, but will be met with pop-up ads galore.
I’m sorry, but at that point they had trodden upon my sacred ground. Seriously, Keillor is one of my literary gods. Only a genius could write statements like:
“Cats are intended to teach us that not everything in nature has a purpose.”
And even though I like cats, I wailed away about the beauty of his voice, his humor and his written word. They didn’t care…and I probably lost the argument. My students are excellent debaters. But as I began reviewing my Facebook page this morning (this was very early, pre-earthquake time), I began thinking about Keillor again because one particular comment caught my eye. I thought, “Okahoma is like Lake Wobegon, only – – it’s not fiction.” I then decided that perhaps I should occasionally write up a “news report” of sorts in the Red Dirt Chronicles. True stories. So, I’m starting now. And although I can only deign to approach the outskirts of Garrison Keillor’s shadow when it comes to wielding my proverbial pen, I believe I can count on our fair community to make up for what my writing loses.
Volume 1; Taxidermy and Interior Design: Domestic and Industrial
The Cherokee Hills “middle-aged plus a few years” Sunday school group drove to Meers, Oklahoma this past weekend to enjoy a scenic journey and eat a meal together at the famous Meers Store and Restaurant. Jim and Cina Gailey decided to drive separately because their shiny red T-Bird was well suited for this sort of thing.
Jim and Cina, preparing to load out for their Meers trip.
But then Jim decided he was tired of driving, having already done that quite a bit earlier in the week. So they unloaded the car, and jumped in with the rest of the crew. 90 minutes later the entire entourage was standing in line, admiring the landscape and general beauty of the hamburger establishment.
I have no credit for this photo. I stole it off the internet blatently. Okay, yes I do. Click the photo to visit the blogger who took a better picture than me.
Once inside, everyone had an enjoyable time ordering – laughing, joking and generally enjoying every minute of their outing thus far.
Their laughter died down, if only temporarily however, when they looked up and saw what hovered above them menacingly, as if to say, “Mess with me and I’ll drop the whole load on your plate.” Yes, the covered-in-dust ceiling fan became quite the target of concern at that point. Is dust bacteria-ridden? How much has to fall into your food before you should actually begin worrying? These questions and more haunted at least one or two of the more cleanliness-occupied Sunday-schoolers.
The "menace" of Meers.
It wasn’t long, however, before the attention-limited group found another focus. Mr. Deer was hanging on the wall above the party to their left, and he also needed a good dusting.
“Dusty,” the ten-point wonder buck. Oh, and for those of you outside of Red Dirt Country, those hooves below are a gun rack.
Ah, poor Dusty. He looked much older than his years because layers of dust had been accumulating for ages on his whiskers, nose and face. Just about the time everyone’s stomach was churning over the sight, however, the food arrived. And just for the record, there is a reason why people keep going back to that joint in droves, in spite of any fossilizing dust accumulation.
Smoked chicken dredged in BBQ sauce with a side of fried green tomatoes.The Meers Burger, already half eaten by the time the camera focused.Beverages served in Kerr jars.
While the group was eating, they were entertained with the fine art selection hanging on the walls. Notice the dusty frame and even the dusty slatted wood? The interior design theme of “Dust O’ Plenty” was consistent throughout the entire venue!
But the fun had to end at some point. Here is evidence of the fact that the food really is quite amazing…
“Burp.”
On the way home, Red Dirt Kelly graciously kept her husband’s full attention by taking no less than thirty or forty shots of the wind turbine farm just west of the restaurant.
They all look like this, folks. Every single one of them.
Later that week, a local Realtor posted a Facebook message asking her friends whether or not she should “…leave the mounted deer heads on the wall when staging her new listing to be sold, or take them down?” Several chimed in about the virtues of taxidermic interior design. Others wondered if perhaps the prospective buyers might be put off by the sight, just in case the deer in the home was bigger than that shot by them looking at the house. It might not be appropriate to demean their hunting skills right off the bat. Red Dirt Kelly, of course, chimed in about the virtues of dusting the deer heads, whether or not they were left up or taken down. The Realtor assured her they were well dusted and looked great. Appeased, Kelly sighed with relief and signed off until the next day.
When she signed back on this morning, however, she was met with another quandary posted by the same Realtor. Here’s the text of the actual post:
so I am about to do a preforeclosure inspection and house is stil occupied and he is a cop so if I carry I have to disclose it. figure that sets a bad tone. I guess if I am not on fb in an hour…it didn’t go well.
For those of you outside Red Dirt Country, “carry” means “gun.” I’m not sure how our gun-packin’ Realtor came out on that deal, but if I find out I’ll let you know.
In other news, a 4.5 earthquake shook the Red Dirt in our heartland today. Hordes of citizens immediately took to the Twitter air waves and began sharing their, “I was doing THIS when the 7.5 quake hit!” banter. Jokes were made about Gary England watching the quake on Doppler radar, and about the fact that Hefner Lake condos were evacuated as a preventative measure against a catastrophic Tsunami.
Then the Tweets died down, the people resumed their daily goings on, and that’s about all the news in Red Dirt Country this week.
Stay safe, dust your deer, and we’ll see you next time. Y’all come back now, ya hear?
We have a little gem of a bakery out here in the country. Backerman’s Bakery and Cheese Shoppe is a small Mennonite Bakery owned and run by a local Mennonite family. The bakery is a fairly popular stop on Highway 64 and is one of the ways I get my friends to come visit me…I promise to take them to the bakery for a fried pie.
A brief amount of research on Mennonites in Oklahoma revealed that this group played a role in the Land Run of 1889. They were key to helping Oklahoma become a major wheat-producing state. Currently there are three Mennonite churches in the tiny town of Corn (formerly Korn) which only has about 591 residents. Corn is located on the western prairie range, about twenty miles or so south of Weatherford.
Our local Mennonite community raises funds the first weekend in October in order to support their Mennonite school. The Mennonite Oktoberfest celebrates German heritage treats (without the beer) and the goodness of community. Of course, anytime I see an “O” and a “K” together, I think of Oklahoma; nothing screams “goodness of community” like my home state.
