My favorite recipes - Meet Lisa Appel Frei, Palouse

Jana Mathia | Aug 05, 20100

Lisa, Rachel and Mariam

When Lisa Appel Frei was studying in Paris, she came to realize she missed the country and rolling hills of her homeland on the Palouse.

“I remember I decided I was going to come back,” she said. Lisa kept with that decision and now the family lives in a farmhouse nestled amongst the hills between Colfax and Palouse.

Lisa grew up on her family’s ranch in the Dusty area. After graduating from Colfax High School in 2000, she attended Washington State University where she pursued a degree in fashion design. Originally she was interested in art, but through different opportunities was led to fashion design and found she really liked it. She spent one semester studying in France where she took two classes and interned at the Museum of Fashion and Culture.

With years of sewing and clothing experience through 4H on her resume, her fashion major was not much of a challenge, Lisa admitted. What challenge her major lacked, she made up with through her minor in French.

While she was attending school and after, Lisa worked doing alterations at Ken Vogel’s former clothing store in Pullman.

Although Travis Frei was a friend of her brother, Lisa met him through their church at WSU. Two years later in 2005 they were married. Travis is originally from Royal City, but now has most of his family in Grangeville.

Lisa and Travis have two daughters, Mariam, 4 1/2, and Rachel, 2. They are expecting another child in November. When Rachel was born Lisa quit doing alterations and the family moved to their current home. Travis manages the Wilbur Ellis plant in Potlatch.

“We wanted to live in the country,” Lisa said.

Lisa took sewing, livestock and cooking projects in 4H from third grade through her high school senior year. Even after she quit doing alterations she didn’t put down the needle and made clothes for her girls. Mostly she did smocking and embroidery for dresses. After spending all that time working on the outfits, Lisa decided to enter them in the Palouse Empire Fair.

“This is the first time I won’t have any (sewing) to enter in the fair,” she noted as she hasn’t had time for much sewing.

Even with reduced fair entries, Lisa is going to be very busy with the fair this year because she is in charge of the 4H Fashion Revue. She has already started preparing, seeking out decorations and judges. Lisa confessed she wanted to get most of the arrangements made early since she has a trip planned with her mother and sisters prior to the fair.

The trip will also be during the same time her tomatoes come on and that’s probably a bigger concern. Tomatoes are Lisa’s favorite. This year she planted 39 tomato plants. What isn’t eaten fresh will be canned and preserved, possibly turned into pastes, sauce and salsa.

She harvested a huge tomato crop last year, and most of it is gone.

While she won’t have any sewing entries, Lisa still plans to enter baked items in the fair. She likes to bake and enjoys the process of baking and cooking.

“I don’t mind if it takes all day to make bread, or three days to make bread,” she said. So long as she gets to bake, it’s all good.

Lisa and the girls like to go to the library. The family likes to go for rides on the four-wheeler. Sometimes the destination of the ride is the top of a hill to see Steptoe Butte. Other times it’s down to Elberton or a back road.

Recipes:

Chicken Kiev

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp basil

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp salt

2 c. fine bread crumbs

1/4 c. sliced green onions

1/4 c. dry white wine

1/2 c. margarine, melted, divided

8 chicken breasts, skinned and boned

Preheat oven to 375. Mix garlic, oregano, basil and salt with bread crumbs and place on a large plate. Melt margarine; pour 1/4 c. in a small bowl. Dip each chicken piece in margarine and then in crumbs, and place in a shallow baking dish (9x13). Bake in oven 50-60 minutes. Add wine and onions to remaining margarine and pour over chicken. Cook for 3-5 minutes more. Serve over rice, potatoes, or pasta. Serves 8.

Shredded Beef Filling for Tacos or Tamales

Makes 2 1/2 cups, I often double the recipe and freeze any leftovers

1 lb. lean beef chuck roast cut into 1 1/2” pieces

1 tsp salt

1 medium onion

3 cloves garlic, peeled

3 Tbsp lard or vegetable oil

2 ripe, medium tomatoes, roasted, cored, peeled and chopped (or 15 oz can tomatoes, drained and chopped)

2 large green onions, chopped in 1/4” pieces

2-3 chiles serranos or 1-2 chiles jalapenos, stemmed, seeded and finely chopped

Salt, about 1/2 tsp

Bring 2 qt water to a boil in a large saucepan; add the meat and salt then skim off any grayish foam that rises during the first few minutes of simmering. Slice half the onion and halve 1 clove of the garlic; add to the meat. Partially cover and simmer over medium heat until the meat is very tender, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let the meat cool in the broth, if there is time. Strain the liquid and spoon off all the fat that rises to the top; set, the broth aside. Finely shred the meat with a fork, then pat dry with paper towels.

Dice the remaining onion and mince the remaining garlic. Heat the lard or oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high. When hot, add the onion and shredded beef and stir frequently for 8 to 10 minutes until well browned. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic, tomatoes, green onions and chiles, and cook, stirring frequently, until the tomatoes have softened, about 4 minutes. Stir in 2/3 cup of the reserved broth, then simmer until the liquid has evaporated, 10-15 minutes. Season with salt, and it’s ready.

Triple Chocolate Mousse Cakes

Makes 8 -12.

Vegetable oil cooking spray

2/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/3 cup unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg, room temperature

1/4 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Individual Chocolate Mousse (recipe follows)

2 ounces solid semisweet chocolate

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place eight 6-ounce (3 1/2-inch diameter) ramekins on a rimmed baking sheet, and coat with cooking spray; set aside. OR use a muffin pan to create a dozen smaller cakes.

2. Stir flour, cocoa powder, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add egg, milk, oil, vanilla, and 1/4 cup water; mix on medium-low speed until smooth and combined, about 3 minutes.

3. Divide batter evenly among prepared ramekins or muffin pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the centers comes out clean, about 20 minutes (15-18 minutes for muffin pan) Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely. Run a knife around sides of cakes; unmold. Cakes can be refrigerated, wrapped in plastic, up to 1 day.

4. Transfer cakes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut eight 10 3/4-by-4-inch strips of parchment paper. Wrap a parchment collar around base of each cake, keeping bottom flush with baking sheet. Secure each collar with tape; set aside. OR place the cakes in the bottom of tumbler or wine glasses.

5. Transfer bittersweet-chocolate mousse to a large pastry bag fitted with a large round tip (such as Ateco #808). Pipe a 1-inch layer of mousse into each parchment collar. Refrigerate until mousse is set, about 20 minutes. Repeat with milk chocolate mousse, piping on top of the bittersweet chocolate mousse. Refrigerate at least 4 hours and up to overnight.

6. Microwave semisweet chocolate until slightly warm but not melted, about 30 seconds. Scrape at a 45-degree angle with a vegetable peeler, forming curls. Before serving cakes, remove parchment collars, and garnish with chocolate curls.

Chocolate Mousses

Makes enough for 8 cakes.

3 1/3 cups heavy cream

8 large egg yolks, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup light corn syrup

7 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Salt

7 ounces milk chocolate, melted

Directions:

1. Put 1 2/3 cups cream into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment; beat on medium-high speed until soft peaks form, about 3 1/2 minutes. Transfer to a bowl; refrigerate 1 hour.

2. Put 4 egg yolks into the clean bowl of the mixer fitted with the clean whisk attachment; beat on high speed until pale and frothy, 4 to 5 minutes. Meanwhile, bring 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons corn syrup, and 2 tablespoons water to a rolling boil in a small, heavy saucepan over high heat. Cook until clear, large bubbles form, about 1 minute. Reduce mixer speed to medium-low. Carefully pour hot syrup down side of bowl. Raise speed to medium-high. Mix until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir in bittersweet chocolate, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and a pinch of salt with a rubber spatula.

3. Add one-third of bittersweet-chocolate mixture to whipped cream; whisk to combine. Add remaining bittersweet-chocolate mixture, whisking until completely combined. Press through a large-mesh sieve into a large bowl; discard any solids. Repeat entire recipe, substituting milk chocolate for the bittersweet.

Speaking of fair entries, once again the Whitman County Gazette is sponsoring the Melt in Your Mouth Chocolate Contest. We look forward to tasting your chocolate creations in the youth and adult divisions. See the Palouse Empire Fair manual for entry details.