Subcategories

• Appetizers, Antipasti and Tapas

  "Tapas" is Spanish for small plates.   In recet years whole menus have been built around little plates of food, appetizers and antipasto.  
  
  Many times, when going out to eat, I would find myself ordeing a couple of appetizers and calling it good.......because they really are.
  
  I've made this section with easy dishes that you can do at home for gatherings, parties and your own indulgences.
  
  Make some of these goodies and have some friends over.
  
  
  
  
  I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.
  

  Article Count: 17
• Soups
  Hizzoner's was noted for it's soups.  We won many awards at the Allied Arts Soup Festival and accolades from customers.  I even demonstrated on air our Senegalese Chicken and Peanut soup on KCTS Chefs one year.
  
  There really is no big secret to making good soups.  In fact there are a lot of great soups that you can make out of leftovers.   That leftover pot roast will make great vegetable beef  or beef and barley soup, that leftover roasted chicken or turkey has all kinds of possibilities.  Use your imagination.
   
  I've never been one to be a stickler about what kind of stock or soup base you use.  It depends on what kind of cook you are and how much time you have to devote to it.   I see absolutely nothing wrong with using the good soup stocks available on store shelves these days.   If you work full time and have a family to take care of, why spend a lot of time trying to make your own stock when  there are so many good ones available.    Whether you use ready made stocks or canned stocks or bouillon cubes (my least preferred) just remember DO NOT ADD SALT until the end of your soup-making.    Taste the soup first.  Most of the time you won't need to add any salt if you are using a prepared stock or soup base.
  
  I also cast no judgment on frozen vegetables versus fresh.   Depends on what is in season and what is cost effective.   They all make great soups.
  
  Here's a great tip.  If a soup such as a cream of potato or broccoli soup is coming out a bit thin, use potato pearls or potato flakes to add thickness instead of a roux or corn starch.     Just add  a bit of potato pearls to your soup and stir them in, wait a few minutes to give them time to incorporate and then stir thoroughly.   If you want it thicker, simply add some more.   I really like to use potato pearls if I need to thicken a soup because they add a layer of flavor as well as do a really good job of thickening up the soup.

  Use just the plain potato pearls/flakes with only dried potato as the ingredient, no seasons or flavorings.
  
  So, here are a bunch of Hizzoner's soup recipes for you to play with.   Have a good time, make some soup, grab a loaf of crusty bread and make your family feel  really, really happy and loved.
  
  
  "Soup puts the heart at ease, calms down the violence of hunger, eliminates the tension of the day, and awakens and refines the appetite."   -Auguste Escoffier
  Article Count: 23
• Breakfast and Breads
  

   

  They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.  "Breakfast like a King, Lunch like a Prince, and Dinner like a Pauper keeps you healthy", is repeated over many cultures and nationalities.  So there must be something to it.
  
  I've included some of the breakfast foods we served at Hizzoner's.   But you know you can have anything for breakfast, it doesn't have to be your "typical'" breakfast fare.
  
  The bread recipes are tried and true by yours truly, and the no-knead recipe is amazing and works beautifully.
  
  Have a great day!!!
  
  
  I went to a restaurant that serves "breakfast at any time". So I ordered French Toast during the Renaissance.
  - Steven Wright
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   
  Article Count: 14
• Salads

  We served many different kinds of salads at Hizzoner's from entree salads to side salads to salads that were used as sandwich fillings.
  
  We had some signature dressings that were big favorites as well.   I've included some of Hizzoner's salads and dressings, and a few of my own for you to make.  Nothing like  fresh and tasty.
  
  
  
  Never eat salad from a vending machine!!!

  Article Count: 17
• Poultry
  When I was a child the only time we had chicken was for Sunday Dinner.   Back in the dark ages when I was young, chicken was not the everyday plentiful thing it is today.    Plus, we raised our own, as most people did who had a little patch of ground for a chicken coop.   
  
  Chicken has always been a big favorite for me, maybe it is because I  so looked forward to it as our 'Sunday dinner" treat.     Of course it was usually good ol' Southern fried chicken, my all time favorite thing to eat. 
  
  Turkey was only for Thanksgiving so we only had that treat once a year and the Thanksgiving meal lasted a week!!!!    
  
  I never even heard of a Cornish game hen until I was grown and out of the nest, so to speak.  But since I left home my culinary travels have taken me to many kinds of poultry and many ways to prepare it.
  
  I hope you enjoy these dishes as much as I have.
  Article Count: 14
• Meats
  Throughout my life I've tried many different ways of eating.  I've been a vegetarian and a vegan and I've done the no fat, low fat, no salt, whatever diet.   I've come back to the realization that I am, as a human being, an omnivore.   I'll eat all kinds of foods.
  
  I have no judgment on those who won't eat meat for whatever reasons.  My attitude is that you should eat what your body asks for and eat what makes you the most happy and healthy.
  
  I love all kinds of meats and  I've tried many different kinds including domesticated and wild game.   I must admit, I love meat, I'm a real meat eater.
  
  I've included a bunch of different recipes for a variety of meats for you to have some fun with.
  They are all quite tasty.
  
  
  
   
  Article Count: 22
• Seafood
  In the Pacific Northwest, seafood means salmon, dungeness crab, little sweet oysters, halibut and the bounty of the cold Pacific waters. 
  
  In Louisiana seafood means Gulf shrimp, blue crab, redfish, crawfish, big fat oysters and the bounty of the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters.
  
  I served dishes using seafood from both regions in a variety of recipes.   I've included some of  our customer's and my favorites for you to try.
  
  
  
  Happiness is a place between too little and too much.

  
  

  Article Count: 8
• Pastas
  Who doesn't love pasta dishes?   There are so many different shapes and kinds of pasta and so many different ways to serve it.  
  
  We did a lot of pasta lunch specials because they were so popular.    Here's some favorites.
  
  
  .....Too Much Garlic Is Never Enough.....
  Article Count: 8
• Sauces and Spreads
  In a lot of instances, the sauce makes the dish.  Whether it is a cream sauce,  a butter sauce or a tomato sauce, they add just the right touch and flavor to so many things. 
  
  I've included some of our customers favorite sauces and spreads and some of my own too.   None of them are difficult or complicated and they are all yummy!
  
  So, make some of these, get your kids in the kitchen and make them your sous chef, you'll all have great time and tasty meals.
  Article Count: 29
• Vegetables
  Remember when your Mother always said "eat your vegetables"!!   She was right.   Everyday we should eat something green, and red, and yellow, etc.
  
  It's better to pay the grocer than the doctor...or, it's better to pay the farmer than the pharmacy!!!
  
  In this section I've included some of our most popular vegetable recipes.   
  Article Count: 16
• Lunch Specials
  We had a different lunch special every day.  Sometimes they were fancy, sometimes simple.  Could be as simple as a soup and salad special all they way up to Jambalaya.   It depended on the season and how I felt about the weeks menu when I was planning ahead.   
  
  Our lunch specials were eclectic.  I love to cook dishes from around the world.  I  once had  a customer tell me that every time she had one of my lunch specials she felt like she had traveled to another country.   I took that as a great compliment.
  
  I've included a variety of our lunch specials  in this section, but  you will find dishes that were served as lunch specials throughout this website.  Some are easier to make than others but you can bet they are all yummy.
  
  Enjoying a meal with friends and family is as important to nutrition as what is eaten.
  Article Count: 18
• Cookies and Desserts
  I think a lot of people probably miss Hizzoner's cookies more than anything else.  Just about everyone has a sweet tooth to some extent and there's nothing more satisfying than a big soft yummy cookie to satisfy it.
  
  I've included all our cookie recipes and lots of our dessert recipes as well.  So you don't have to miss your favorite cookie or dessert, you can make it yourself!!
  
  Did you know that the Earth is the only planet with chocolate, and that chocolate is a vegetable???  And that you simply cannot go wrong with whipped cream on anything!!!
  Article Count: 28