The Hungry Hippo

Pretty Perky

2012-02-05T11:43:00.001-05:00

In case you're stumbling in late from the New Year and have missed my month of woe-is-me wallowing, let's just say I needed a little pick me up. Having stopped at a local farm and departed with a softball sized beet, I was hopeful that a little bright color and salty sweet goodness would do the trick. It's pretty messy to make, you may want to strip to your skivvies and then cover anything else you care about (floor, counters, pets, children) with a drop cloth, but when it's done you may just want a larger fork to get it to your mouth faster. If it's enough to make me smile, it just might get you through the winter doldrums too.

SWEET POTATO AND BEET HASH
recipe from Melissa d'Arabian.
Enough hash as a side for 2 with a smidge left over. If you wanted it to be the main event (maybe with some poached eggs) you could easily just increase the amounts.

INGREDIENTS:
1 softball sized beet (or 2 little beets)
1 large sweet potato (or 2 little sweet potatoes)
4-6 slices of bacon ( I had to make do with 3, of turkey bacon no less. It was tragic.)
1/2 a large onion or a whole small onion, diced.
olive oil
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Cover a large baking sheet with tinfoil. Remove any clothing items of value and cover what remains with an apron you're okay with ruining. Consider putting on disposable gloves. Attack the beet. Peet it, cut off the stalk and end bits and then dice into 1/4 inch pieces. Put on one side of the baking sheet. Wash up and clean up all beet mess now, before it stains. Peel the sweet potato and dice it to the same size as the beets, put the pieces on the other side of the baking sheet. I intermingled mine. But you know the beets sort of bleed a bit, and they cook at slightly different rates (the potato is faster), so you might want a way to get the potatoes out earlier than the beets, which you could do if you haven't tossed them together. Drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Gently toss each respective vegetable with only it's own kind. Bake for 45 minutes. I started checking mine around 30 minutes, and I think I could have pulled the potatoes then, but for all the mixing. With only about 15 minutes left on the timer, start your bacon. In a large skillet, add 1/4 or 1/2 inch squares of bacon. Cook on medium until crispy. Using the rendered fat (pour off a bit if there's too much), add the diced onion. Cook until sweet and translucent. It's okay if it's a bit crispy. When the beet and sweet potato are soft, add them to the pan and toss everything together. The beet will bleed a bit on everything, but that's okay. Serve as a side or just get a fork and stand over the pan.

The Life of Riley

2012-02-01T20:19:00.001-05:00

Not that I assume you've been regularly hitting refresh in hopes of a new post, but you must be wondering why there have been no new recipes. I mean surely, I must have dragged myself out of my dog-occupied closet by now. Of course I have. In fact, the lack of recipes is because I have been luxuriating in Ireland, staying at a spa, reflecting on the green rolling hills and the soft white sheep that dot the countryside. I've been sparing no expense, which is probably why I managed to blow five grand on Monday alone.

Wait...nope, that wasn't me. That was the asshole that stole my credit card number, providing the icing on the extra-tasty F- You January cake.

I'm here, pretty much where I always am, minus about 12 inches because my back hurts waaaay too much for me to sit on the sofa. Instead I am on the floor taking a brief procrastination break between cursing at a work presentation I'm preparing and making grilled sandwiches for dinner. When my evening gets to the really good part, I'll be able to lay flat on my back on the floor in my pajamas with my legs up on the coffee table. Please don't envy me too much. In a few days I'll realize it's February and get back to my normal life, which hopefully will include more cooking and less self-pity.

Drag Me Kicking and Screaming

2012-01-24T20:31:00.002-05:00

If you need me, I'll be in my closet, on the floor, next to the dog in the sorted piles of dirty laundry. I don't even care. Judge me if you must, but seriously, I'm really not coming out. You'll have to drag me, kicking and screaming. I'm sure it's no surprise to you that I pretty much loathe confrontation. So much so that I would rather compete with a snarling terrier for floor space among dirty clothes than have to deal with the work situation that I desperately want to avoid. I'm squirming inside even contemplating it and yet, I can't stop. My head aches and my heart hurts and I can't stop turning over every single detail of what has already happened and what will have to happen. So I'll just be here, in the closet, with the dog. If I give you a recipe will you go quietly? There. See? I knew you could be bought off you cheap thing you.

CHICKEN STEW WITH LEEKS AND MUSHROOMS
adapted from Donna Hay. Lord how I love Donna Hay.

INGREDIENTS:
1 pound of chicken thighs (I used boneless skinless ones)
plain flour (for dredging) - make the recipe gluten free by using rice flour or a gluten-free mix
2 T olive oil
5 oz pancetta (I use duck bacon)
2 leeks, pale green parts only, sliced and cleaned (I slice these and then pop them in bowl of water to rinse. Make sure to separate the rings so the dirt and sand fall out )
8 oz button mushrooms (you could half or quarter them, I buy them presliced because of being lazy)
2 cloves garlic finely chopped
1.5 C chicken stock
1 C white wine
1/2 C cream (feel free to use half and half)
1 T flat-leaf parsley (I always skip)
1 T thyme
salt and pepper.

DIRECTIONS:

Start by cutting any nasty bits off the thighs. I cooked this in a dutch oven, but any large pan or pot will do. So put half of the oil in the pot and heat until medium. Dredge the chicken thighs in flour, shaking off any excess flour. Then put the thighs in the hot pan, make sure there's room for them all to touch the bottom. Brown the thighs, but they don't need to cook through, so basically do about 2-3 minutes per side and then pull them out, set them on a plate and keep to the side. Then add the rest of the oil and the duck bacon or pancetta. Let your bacony product render some of its fat, so about 2-3 minutes, then add the leeks, mushrooms and garlic. Let cook until the mushrooms are nice and golden and the leeks are getting tender, about 8-10 minutes. Remove them to a bowl and set aside. Lower the heat and add the wine and stock to the pot. Scrape up any tasty brown bits from the bottom. Raise the heat until it is simmering and simmer for 3-5 minutes. Then pop the chicken back in, lower the heat and cook for 10 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and tender. You can pull it apart if you like, or keep it in big pieces for serving. Once the chicken is cooked, add the pancetta, leek, mushroom and garlic mixture back in. Then pour in the cream, thyme and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 5 more minutes.

This is delicious served over mashed potatoes or rice, even brown rice, all of which are gluten-free options. If you don't care about the gluten, you can serve it over pasta - I used egg noodles this time.

New Year? No Thanks.

2012-01-14T18:54:00.000-05:00

I'm one of those people that totally buys into the concept of a New Year. There's something sort of magical about that tiptoe crossing out of one year and into something shiny, new, fresh unmarred by disappointments and pain. I made it exactly eight days into 2012 before I wanted to give it back. Crawl back to the familiar if somewhat worn 2011. Unfortunately, unlike unwanted Christmas presents, you are unable to return unwanted years. You're stuck with them. You can hope that they get better (hey, we even get a whole extra day to try this year); you can hope that how they start is the opposite of how they'll end, but you can't really do anything else. So when the only way out is through, I'm the kind of person who'd rather not eat. I don't want to give a false impression, I'm a real believer in comfort food and the ability of delicious things to lift up your mood, but when things are really, really tough, my appetite goes missing.

This is a soup you can eat when you don't think you can force yourself to swallow one spoonful. This is a soup you can cook when you don't think you can stand at the stove.

AVGOLEMONO
Adapted slightly from my mother's trusty Time-Life series. Serves two with some leftover.
I even messed up and kind of curdled the eggs, but it was still delicious.

INGREDIENTS:
1 boneless skinless chicken breast
6-8 C chicken stock
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (really, seriously, fresh juice, don't use bottled)
1/2 C rice
4 eggs
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In a large, heavy bottomed stockpot (I used my dutch oven), pour two-three cups of the chicken stock. Rinse and dry your chicken breast and lightly salt and pepper the breast. Heat the stock to a low simmer. Add the chicken breast and cook 4-6 minutes a side until cooked through. Tear the chicken into little bite sized bits. Add the rest of the stock. I cook my rice separately because I am rice impaired. I put the 1/2 C rice with the appropriate amount of chicken stock into my rice cooker and dealt with it that way. You can certainly cook it directly in the soup. I would add raw rice to the stock after removing the chicken and then cook it for 15 minutes or until tender. Using cooked rice, I simply added it to the stock when it was done, along with the torn chicken.

In a small bowl, whisk the 4 eggs until light and frothy. Then whisk in the lemon juice. Stir in a quarter cup of the simmering stock, this will help keep the eggs from curdling. Lower the heat under your soup because I felt like I couldn't get it low enough. Slowly pour the egg/lemon juice/stock mixture into the soup pot, stirring constantly. Cook over low heat for 3-5 minutes or until the soup thickens enough to coat the spoon lightly. Do not let this boil or even bubble really because the eggs will curdle. Add additional salt to taste.

Christmas Presents

2012-01-07T17:08:00.001-05:00

One of my very best presents this year did not come in a box under the tree, wrapped in pretty paper and tied with a bow. It arrived instead, by plane, from Seattle. My aunt, uncle and cousin came to stay for the holidays! Not only did this mean excellent company, it meant that once I finished my marathon baking extravaganza, I barely cooked a thing for the rest of December. Better still, the food was delicious. Because Ryan doesn't eat red meat, he had a special Christmas dinner, duck breast with a soy balsamic glaze. The rest of us were begging for scraps around the cutting board and once we'd tasted our quarry we insisted that the duck make another dinner appearance. Luckily my husband is very easily convinced to eat the same thing two nights in a row when it's something he really loves.

DUCK BREAST WITH SOY BALSAMIC GLAZE

recipe from Uncle John

INGREDIENTS:

for 2 people

1 duck breast - we buy D'Artagnan brand, preferably the Moulard, but the Muscovy will work as well, it will just give off more fat.

kosher salt

pepper

1/3 C soy sauce - if you want to make this gluten-free, please be sure you use a gluten-free soy sauce.

1/3 C balsamic vinegar

DIRECTIONS:

Fat side up, score the duck breast by making diagonal cuts in the fat (you can see this in the picture above). Make sure you do not cut deeper than the fat. On your stovetop, heat a stainless steel or cast iron pan to medium. Once hot, place the duck in the pan, fat side down. It should sizzle, if it does not, the pan is not yet hot, so remove the breast and return it once hot. Cook for 6-8 minutes until the fat side is browned and tasty looking as shown above. Then flip the breast and cook another 3-5 minutes or until the duck reaches an internal temperature of about 110 F. You will be letting the duck rest under foil for 10 minutes or so and it should come up to 120. Slice the duck and drizzle the glaze over the slices.

For the glaze:

In a shallow pan, combine the soy and balsamic. Heat on medium-low until it reduces and becomes syrupy in consistency.

Recovery

2011-12-29T13:16:00.007-05:00

It has been a whirlwind around here for the last week or so and I have barely cooked. There was a solid 10-15 minute block of time on Christmas Eve where I tried to help with the cooking, but my eyes were closing as I was working and I had to be forcibly sent to the couch for a nap. So have I baked, yes. Oh my yes, but cooked? Not so much. NB: in the last two sentences I have typed cookied instead of cooked each time and had to go back and fix it. Clearly there has been some rewiring of my brain following the week o' baked goods.

Last night all I could think of was clean, fresh, non-butter infused flavors. Something hearty and warming though (because have you been outside? It is insanely cold out there) but not rich or creamy or anything like that. Stellacarolyn's vegetable soup sounded so tempting but I was a bit short in the vegetable departments so instead I turned to Lidia. I adapted a barley and bean soup to make it a bit less labor intensive and it is so delicious. Tomato soup, but better. Vegetable soup, but with fewer pesky vegetables. I am so very happy it made an excessively large quantity.

BARLEY AND BEAN SOUP
gluten-free adaptation at the end...

INGREDIENTS:
1 C chopped turkey bacon
1 C chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
5-6 baby carrots (maybe 2 if using full sized?)
2/3 C crushed tomatoes (from can)
8 C chicken stock
2 baking potatoes, peeled and diced
2/3 C barley
3 bay leaves
1 large sprig of fresh rosemary
about a cup of small white beans, rinsed and drained (or pick your own bean!)
olive oil
1/4 C parm (which I skipped because I accidentally over salted)
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
In a large stock pot, crisp up some turkey bacon. I cooked mine on medium for 8-10 minutes. Remove the bacon, but not the lovely bacon leavings. Toss in the chopped onion and again cook for 8-10 minutes. Toss the onion in the bacon fat so it gets all golden. In a food processor, combine the garlic and carrots with 2 T olive oil. Mix until it is very smooth. Once the onions are softened, add the garlic and carrot mixture to the pot and cook for 2 more minutes over medium low heat. Add the tomatoes and simmer for 8 more minutes. Then add the stock, the potatoes, the barley, the bay leaves and the rosemary. Bring up to a boil and the reduce to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste at this point. Add the beans and cook for 10-15 minutes more. I served mine with little toasts with mozzarella broiled on them, but as long as you have some delicious bread to soak up the sauce, you'll be all set. If adding the parm, I would mix it in right before serving. Sprinkle the reserved bacon on top.

to make gluten-free:
Make sure you're using a gluten-free chicken stock and bacon (believe me, your bacon really shouldn't have gluten in it, if it does you really need to look into better bacon). Barley is a wheat product, so you can substitute rice instead. I'd use about 1 C cooked rice. The rice should be added at the very end, after the beans. I don't like to cook rice directly in soup because it can take on too much water.

Christmas Eve Chaos

2011-12-24T11:56:00.005-05:00

It's possible I have stumbled on a fool proof diet for the holidays. It so happens that I may have made a slight error this year when I was deciding how much I could reasonably bake for Christmas. The result is something in the neighborhood of seven dozen decorated butter cookies and gingerbread cookies. And now I honestly don't even want to look at another cookie ever again. This means that my mother, my aunt, my uncle, my husband and my cousin all need to eat around 17 cookies each. Sounds reasonable to me.

I am not making much (any?) of tonight's dinner though, so I might just undo all the good I'm doing by skipping the cookies. As in years past, we're doing a buffet of appetizers. Luckily by we, I mean my uncle and my other. That's my favorite kind of we. I'm not even sure of the whole menu, but what I do know, I'm happy to share.

Christmas Eve Menu:
Empanaditas filled with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese
Deviled Eggs
Anne's Stuffed Mushrooms (I was truly hoping to have that recipe for you, but the making of them was snatched out of my hands).
Spanish Tortilla
Chorizo in Puff Pastry
Pork pie - the original version, although I've made it with turkey too.
Shrimp in garlic sauce

Christmas Past

2011-12-17T14:56:00.006-05:00

Every other year, my grandparents would come for Christmas. I went to school exactly one block away from my house. From school, you'd cross the street, walk to the end of the block and turn the corner. As I approached that corner I would be so excited hoping for a glimpse of their car parked in front of our house. Nana and I had a special Christmas ritual when she came; we'd make the bows for all the gifts. Since she and Grampy drove down from Cape Cod, they'd have wrapped the presents, but bows would have been smooshed on the journey. Nana and I would sit down with long strings of ribbon and she'd show me just how to make the first loop over my thumb, then each loop to the side growing in size until the bow was finished. We'd staple the middle and tape our handiwork to each gift. It was something special we always did, just the two of us. I didn't often cook with Nana. The treats at her house were usually made and waiting when I arrived, but I do remember making applesauce with her. Once you're old enough to be trusted around a stove, it's the perfect thing for a child to make, since other than the chopping and peeling, all the stirring, tasting and sweetening and spicing can be done by even the smallest of cooks. NANA'S APPLESAUCE

INGREDIENTS:
2 apples (although make as much as you want!!)
1 t lemon juice
1 T water
1 tsp sugar (although this you should change depending on how sweet your apples are and how you like your applesauce).
1/2 t cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
Peel, core and chop your apples (this is the job an adult needs to do). Put them in a saucepan on the stove. Add the lemon juice and water and let the apples cook down until they are soft and mushy. Add the sugar and cinnamon, I wrote you how I like it, but this is a perfect experiment for beginning chefs to try adding a bit more of each until it's how they enjoy it. You can serve it homestyle or make it smoother by putting it through a food mill or mashing it with a potato masher.

Mood Mexican

2011-12-11T11:37:00.004-05:00

On Friday, Ryan and I went out to one of our favorite local Mexican spots. When we got there, the place was dark. The sign on the door read: We've moved. I was still trying to process it when I read the next sign. Turn around. Across the street, light poured from the windows and the door swung open as people bustled in from the cold. Their new space is beautiful, so much nicer than the cafeteria level decor they'd had for the last 20+ years (yes, I've been going there for that long). We'll definitely be going back more often now that it's a pleasant place to eat. I had enchiladas, which were completely delicious. Of course, it also reminded me that I have a homemade enchilada recipe which is also completely delicious. And which I've been keeping from you due to sheer laziness and a lack of decent photos.

See? Messy. They really only look so sloppy because I used queso fresco instead of cheddar or monterery jack. It's delicious, but it certainly isn't pretty. But these enchiladas are really tasty and will definitely tide you over just in case your favorite Mexican place hasn't just moved to a lovely, cosy new spot.

DELICIOUS ENCHILADAS
adapted from Cook's Illustrated May & June 2005 issue

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 T vegetable or corn oil
1 onion chopped fine
3 garlic cloves, minced
3 T chili powder
2 t ground cumin
1/2 t salt
2 t sugar
12 oz of chicken, I used breasts but you could use thighs
1 14 oz can of crushed tomatoes
3 oz of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce - this was about 4 peppers for me
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated for filling plus 3 more for topping
corn tortillas

DIRECTIONS:
In a large pan, heat the oil to medium. Add the onion and cook until it's softened and starting to brown about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, chili powder, cumin, salt and sugar and cook stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Chop the chicken into bite sized slices and add to the pan. Toss it so it is coated with the spices. Then add the tomato sauce and a 1/2 C of water. Chop up your chipotles and add them along with the adobo sauce. Bring it up to a simmer and stir to make sure the chicken is all separated so it doesn't clump together. Cook, stirring frequently for 6-8 minutes. Try to separate out about a cup or so of sauce, by shoving the chicken to the side, so that you have a bowl of mostly sauce and a bowl of mostly chicken mixture. If you really want you can strain the sauce, but it is a huge pain in the ass and makes me dread making the recipe. Also, it is a nightmare to clean the strainer after. So feel free to go informal with it. Remove from heat, pop in the fridge to cool.

Preheat your oven to 300. Spray the tortillas (10 of them) with cooking oil. You can brush it on if you don't have a spray. Make sure you get both sides. Pop them on baking sheets in the oven for 4 minutes, until they are pliable. You can roll cold tortillas they will break on you. Once you take them out, increase the oven temp to 400 degrees F. Okay, get a large baking dish, a 13x9. Cover the bottom with a thin layer of sauce. Then take the chicken mixture and mix it with your shredded cheese. Fill the tortillas (I scooped the filling into all the tortillas and then rolled to make sure I was being fair about the filling). Then roll each one up and tuck it into the pan. Cover with the remaining chicken-free sauce. Finally, sprinkle with the rest of the grated cheese. Bake for 20-30 minutes.

Saving a Favorite

2011-12-03T17:40:00.007-05:00

As we sat newly stuffed in front of our Thanksgiving dinner plates, I was already cataloging the leftovers. And when I mentioned ragout my father's face fell. He hadn't thought about ragout. It's not one of the big, obvious in your face things that he can't eat like pasta or pizza. It's just one of his childhood favorites that happens to have homemade dumplings. I reassured him without even being sure of what I could accomplish. I promised that I would come over and make him ragout and that it would be okay. And of course I went over and made it and much to my great relief (and I'll admit, amazement) it really was okay. More than okay. It was completely saved. So just in case someone else out there is longing for some chicken and dumplings that are safely gluten-free, here's my nana's ragout:

NANA GRENON'S CHICKEN RAGOUT

Ingredients:
For the soup -
1 C onion, chopped
1 C celery chopped (I mince mine because Ryan does not like celery)
2 C carrots (cut into disks, coins, whatever you call them)
5-6 C chicken stock (or turkey stock) preferably homemade
salt and pepper
2-3 T olive oil
1 T sage
1 T thyme
approximately 2 C of chopped leftover chicken or turkey. Use what you have. The dumplings will make up for it if you don't have enough. You can use chopped white meat or all the little bits you have, it's up to you.

For the dumplings -
1 C stock - cooled
2.5 C gluten-free flour - I used Annalise Robert's mix, which you can either find in her cookbook Gluten-Free Baking Classics or purchase it ready mixed from Authentic Foods.
salt and pepper
thyme

DIRECTIONS:
Pour the oil in a large stockpot. Add the onion and celery and cook on low for about 5 minutes. Add the stock, carrots and whatever chicken or turkey bits you're add. Add salt and pepper for taste. This recipe takes a lot of salt, so taste carefully. Bring the stock almost to a boil. While you're waiting for it to boil, make the dumplings. Use a cup of cool stock (I usually set it aside before I start cooking) and mix it together with the gluten-free flour and about a teaspoon of salt and a pinch of pepper. Add about 2 t fresh thyme to the dumplings if you like. The thyme is completely inauthentic, but it is tasty. The dough will be sticky and hard to work with. Roll out the dough between two pieces of Saran Wrap, you can use cheaper rice flour to assist in the de-sticking of the dough. If you don't get it thin you will have yucky gloppy dumplings. When it's thin (maybe less than a 1/4 inch thick?) slice in 1" squares. These can and will be very irregular, some will sort of stick as you pick them up, I sort of use the knife to scrape them up and then drop them in the soup as described below. Don't worry about the irregularity, it gives the soup character. When the stock is very hot but not boiling, Add the thyme and sage and throw in the squares of dough and cook for 3-5 more minutes until the dough is cooked.

The soup is better on the second or third day because the flavors will meld.

Life After Turkey Sandwiches

2011-11-25T12:32:00.009-05:00

So, it just wouldn't be Thanksgiving without some type of cooking dilemma. This year, my generous mother-in-law was unable to purchase a bird that she felt was big enough to feed our crew (8 adults and 4 children). So she bought two, one 14.6 lb turkey and one 9.6 lb turkey breast. Of course, two rather large birds don't exactly fit in her single oven at the same time. I'm not going to go into any of the panic or research or soliciting of opinions that went into figuring out how to deal with the second bird, because in the end all you need to know is that I cooked it, it was ready in time and it was gorgeous. And...it was also completely unnecessary. The first turkey and its 14.6 lbs of poultry goodness was more than enough to feed us all and yield a heap of leftovers. Which means that we have currently over 9 pounds of leftover turkey. I like turkey sandwiches plenty but there's just no way I can dispatch that much turkey through lunch alone. Luckily my overage of turkey can be your good luck because this mishap sent me hunting through my archives in search of something, anything else we can do with turkey.

Before the guests even leave the house...
Whip up a brunch or luncheon broccoli and cheese quiche. The turkey will taste very different plus you'll make some room in the fridge before the weekend's even over.

Run with the Thanksgiving=Pie theme...
Turkey Pot Pie Turnovers will rescue even a dry bird.
Mushroom and Leek Pot Pie is an easy variant just substitute turkey for chicken.
This is the most traditional pot pie recipe I use, but sometimes classic is the way to go.
Go French Canadian and make a ~~pork~~ turkey pie. Drawback: You'll need a meat grinder. Bonus: You'll also use up a lot of leftover mashed potatoes.

Spice it up...
Add some cooked turkey to Portobello Quesadillas
White Turkey Chili - in the best news yet, this freezes like a dream. Stash some for when holiday shopping has you dreading dinner plans.
Enchiladas will mask the turkey nicely when you're feeling like you can't face it even one more time.

Soup...
There's nothing more classic than chicken soup, try my Nana Grenon's turkey ragout for a Thanksgiving twist (this will also freeze well, BEFORE the dumplings are added). Check back next week, I'm going to try a gluten-free version for my father.
I can already feel my throat getting raw and sore. I will also be really relieved to get away from traditional Thanksgiving flavors. This Asian Noodle Soup is definitely going on the menu.

Even more...
Use dark meat turkey and cream to whip up an easy pasta.
Try a different turkey sandwich by tucking some in to this Monte Cristo
Who doesn't like a nice baked pasta dish with tomato sauce? This is also a great make and freeze option, just use turkey in place of the chicken.

Thanksgiving

2011-11-19T11:57:00.008-05:00

In all honesty, Thanksgiving fills me with a sense of dread. It's all well and good to fancy myself a good cook from behind the safety of my keyboard. No one ever actually tastes my cooking. Other than Ryan and sometimes my parents and sometimes Stellacarolyn. But Thanksgiving is the time when I feel this incredible pressure to shine. Which is ridiculous, because I'm not even making some fancy gourmet Thanksgiving menu with a special theme (Southwestern! Original Pilgrim!). I'm just trying to get a turkey on the table with a minimum of cardboard flavor and a maximum of pleasantly starchy sides. This should be completely within my skill set. But it isn't. I estimate I've made a grand total of 3 turkeys in my life. I'm no expert. So I have to do something that I have very little practice at and somehow not be awful at it. It's like all my cooking cred is on the line on that day. And then there's the compounding factor that I make Thanksgiving at someone else's house. Which means I don't know where anything is. I'm trying to list everything I'll need in advance so that I'll be as well prepared as possible, but nothing really prepares you for hunting down a cup measurer or a rolling pin from the depths of someone else's cabinets. Then there's the fact that I feel like a total ass when I get stressed out in front of people. So I need to freak out very quietly and inside my head. Ryan knows this and so always offers to make the dinner so I don' t have to freak out, but he just doesn't get how much it makes me feel like a failure to not make the dinner. Right? I'm the one with the stupid blog. I should be able to make Thanksgiving dinner, shouldn't I?

Just in case you're making Thanksgiving dinner, you have my deepest sympathies, and here, some recipes that might be of use to you...you're on your own for the bird.

Starters:
Sweet Potato Soup
Winter Panzanella

Sides:
Cornbread
Dinner Rolls
Gingered Cranberry Sauce
Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Popovers

Vegetarian Main:
Stufffed Squash - fine, my recipe calls for sausage, but I make it without about as often as I make it with.

Dessert:
Apple Cake
Apple Turnovers
Sweet Potato Pie

Why I Love My Husband

2011-11-14T18:52:00.002-05:00

Growing up, I never was allowed to eat processed food. I wasn't even really aware of the whole "not allowed" part. We just didn't. It has often lead to cravings for things that I'm not actually even sure I like. Once in high school I wanted nothing but Spaghettios. For weeks, I was dying for Spaghettios. And then I had them, and they were SO gross. But tater tots? Tater tots are not gross. Tater tots are crispy balls of joy. And when we were first dating and I had a fabulous, talented repertoire of say, maybe, two whole dishes that I knew how to cook, we ate a lot of chicken nuggets and tater tots. They weren't regular chicken nuggets though, they were some special organic, all white meat, magically healthy chicken nuggets that I got from a health food store near where I lived. It's been years. (Fine, a freakin' decade!) But the other day, I decided that I really, really, really wanted to eat chicken nuggets and tater tots. And then I searched. And I could not find a single store bought nugget that I felt okay about. So I didn't buy any and I whined about it loudly and frequently. And this is why I love my husband. Because he made me, especially from scratch, without a single word, comment or expectation, homemade chicken nuggets. They are delicious. They might not fool a kid raised on the packaged (or fast food restaurant) ones, but they certainly were enough for me.

HOMEMADE NUGGETS

Ingredients:
2 boneless skinless breasts
1 t paprika
1/2 t red pepper flakes
salt and pepper
bread crumbs
egg

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Salt and pepper the chicken breasts generously. Cut the breasts in chicken nugget sized pieces. In a small bowl, whisk an egg. Add a bit of pepper to the egg. On a plate, put the bread crumbs, between a half cup and a cup, mix in a teaspoon of paprika and the red pepper flakes, a bit more salt and pepper. Then take the raw nugget hunks and dip in egg, shake, then dip in the breadcrumbs, shake again and place on a cooking sheet lined with tinfoil. Bake at 400 F for 10-12 minutes. You can flip them at 5 minutes.

Pretty Is as Pretty Does

2011-11-10T07:27:00.006-05:00

When I picked out this recipe to make, I was fondly recalling one of my favorite Philadelphia restaurants, Melograno. They're a relatively big deal in a fairly big space right now, but when we used to go, they had a tiny corner spot just a few blocks from our apartment. Despite a pretty tasty looking menu, I always ordered the same thing, beet ravioli. Here, read the menu description for yourself - homemade pasta filled with roasted beets & mascarpone cheese finished in a brown butter sage sauce and poppy seeds. It's like candy (unless of course, you're someone for whom beets taste like dirt. J, look away honey, it's going to get worse before it gets better). Dessert for dinner, in a delicate pasta shell. So in my head, this was going to be roughly the same thing. After all, it had pasta, beets, poppy seeds and brown butter. This version was much earthier, probably from the farro pasta and the goat cheese rather than ravioli with sweet mascarpone, but definitely still tasty. It wasn't all that filling though, so you may prefer it as an appetizer or with substantial sides. Also, it was seriously, mind bogglingly, pink. So, you know, if you ever need something pink to eat...

PRETTY PINK PASTA
adapted from epicurious

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb red beets, peeled and destemmed, this was about 4 bigger than a golf ball, smaller than a tennis ball sized beets
1/8 C water
1/8 C olive oil
1/2 lb farro pasta (I'm sure you could use regular or whole-wheat)
4 T butter
1 T poppyseeds
1 t salt
1/4 C pasta water
a young, mild, goat cheese

DIRECTIONS:
So, I tried to do what the recipe said in terms of roasting beets, and it didn't really work. I used a 400 F oven and cut the beets into quarters. I placed them in foil lined roasting pan and added the olive oil and water. I roasted them for an hour, but they weren't done. I upped the temperature to 450 for the last 15 minutes and it was fine. Let them cool.

Make the pasta according the the box directions.

Place the butter in a pan large enough to accommodate the pasta. Turn the heat on high and let the butter sit for 2 minutes. It should get to be a nice golden brown color. Add the poppyseeds and toast for 2 more minutes. Then add the beets, and mix well. Add your pasta water and again stir to combine. Add the drained pasta and toss well to coat. Serve with a dollop of goat cheese on top.

This Space Unintentionally Left Blank

2011-11-06T10:55:00.002-05:00

One of the things I find truly fascinating is that busy is relative. Right now, I am busy. So busy, that I have been neglecting both my blogs, totally phoning in the dinners (hello, frozen tortellini you tasty beast) and generally shirking anything I think I can, things like exercise and vacuuming. I feel this incredible sense of stress and busy because it is evaluation time in my work life, and because I have a massive work presentation tomorrow. But honestly, I'm not all that busy. Last year, I worked 3 tutoring jobs, ran an after school club and pretty much got home 2-3 hours later than I do now. Two years ago I had physical therapy for an hour and a half to two hours 3 night a week and would still make the dinner. Clearly I am not so busy as all that. Clearly I am not so busy as many of you, who are reading this. But it is really amazing how many of us have this base level of functioning that we can sustain, and then if something else is added, that's when you feel busy. It's completely relative. And I want to be clear that it is entirely my own fault that my brain is leaking out my ears and I am unable to compose a coherent post let alone come up with an interesting title.

Okay then. About that dinner. Bone in skin on chicken breasts, with a spicy crisp coating. All you need to do is "massage the bird" (thank you Julia) and stick it in the oven. It's soothing comfort food, just what you'd want someone to make for you if you were stressed and didn't have the same illicit relationship with frozen pasta or tater tots that I do.

DEVILED CHICKEN
inspired by a recipe from Cook's Illustrated book about Chicken

INGREDIENTS:
2 bone in skin on chicken breasts
2 T butter, softened
1 T dijon mustard
1 T white or red wine vinegar
1 t hot sauce (more if you like spice!)
1/4 t cayenne pepper (again, more if you like spice)
1/3 C bread crumbs
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 425. Prepare a cooking sheet with a rack over it, I've used flat racks and roasting racks, it doesn't really matter, so long as there's a way for the heat to circulate around the bird and the breading won't get mushy. Soften the butter and mash in a healthy pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper. Divide the butter equally between the breasts. Then lift the skin and rub the butter under the skin of each bird.

Mix the mustard, vinegar, hot sauce and cayenne in a small bowl. Massage the mixture over the breasts, front and back. Then coat each breast in bread crumbs.

Place on the rack and into the oven. Cook 40-45 minutes. You may want to start checking the temperature at about 30 minutes to see how it's going. You'll want 165 F for cooked poultry.

'Twas the Night Before Halloween

2011-10-30T14:40:00.013-05:00

You know, I was getting good and riled up about how all the stores want to skip directly to Christmas. I'd been making snide comments about the neighbors that have hung their holiday lights up when it's not even the end of October. But now Mother Nature's in on it all, blanketing the area in wet, heavy snow. Come on! How am I supposed to enjoy fall when even the environment conspiring to brush past fall and bring on the jingle bells?

Well, I'm not going quietly folks. Here's a list of Halloween-y dinner suggestions just in case you want to fight too.

First Course Options:

Sweet Potato Soup - make it cuter and more festive by using a witch on a broomstick cookie cutter to cut pieces of toast. Place on the soup to make it look like she's flying in front of the Harvest Moon.

Creepy Carrot Fingers - from stellacarolyn over at My Family Table.
Just in case gruesome is how you like your vegetables.

Main Dishes (Ranging From Simply Seasonal to Super Spoooooky):

Butternut Squash Lasagna - So delicious and decadent. No tricks here, it's all a treat.

Butternut Squash Mac and Cheese - Worried the kiddos will OD on candy with nary a vegetable in sight? This tastes rich and creamy, there's no need to mention all of the squashy goodness.

Fresh Fettucine with Butternut Squash - Sophisticated and sweet!

Mummy Meatloaf - stellacarolyn always does Halloween right, this time with a recipe from epicurious.

Side Dishes:

Ghostie Potatoes - doubtless the most adorable thing you can serve on Halloween. Another of stellacarolyn's amazing Halloween creations!

Frankenpeppers - stellacarolyn's menacing vegetable and pasta sides.

Dessert:
Eyeball cupcakes - Heading to a school Halloween party? You still have time to whip these up. Boxed cake mix + canned frosting and a smidge of effort will have stellacarolyn's cupcakes making you the hit of the afternoon.

Pumpkin snickerdoodles -simple, homey and perfect with a cup of cider.

Halloween sugar cookies - Not for the faint of heart, these sugar cookies will take up a lot of your time. But they're ridiculously fancy looking if you need to impress.

Tarantula cookies - I know plenty of people who'd leave a party if these were served. Which is fine. More for the rest of us, I say. Another stellacarolyn Halloween treat.

My Newest Old Love: Sara Moulton's Back!

2011-10-26T16:28:00.007-05:00

I am finished with the Food Network. Oh I watch the channel, I even get sucked into to their "Next Food Network Star" programming. Sadly, this leads to watching the show of the next "Star" (which is in quotes for a very good reason) and wishing that you were the kind of lush who plays drinking games on a Sunday morning because "chef's" narration is largely telling me to take some of this "here" and a bit of that "there" until I don't know the difference between the two anymore.

But that's all over now. I have a new love: Sara's Weeknight Suppers. Back in the day, I used to watch Sara Moulton, on what had to be one of the first call-in cooking shows (Cooking Live, if you are old enough to remember). Then the Food Network decided to trade chefs for "talent" and I spent years watching inferior shows. But now, my local PBS station is rescuing me from getting sloshed before lunch. Sara Moulton has a new show, oh glory Hallelujah.

Why I love this show:
1. Sara Moulton actually knows how to cook. CIA trained. Executive chef for Gourmet magazine.
2. She gives helpful tips (the marinade will permeate the meat faster if you leave it all on the counter instead of putting it in the fridge).
3. She knows me. In the first episode she was making four meals out of two, by repurposing the leftovers (and not by making two disgusting meals, as Robin Miller would have you do). She mentioned exactly how happy you'd be when you get home at 6 o'clock and realize you already have dinner mostly made. If I found two already cooked lamb chops in the fridge I'd think the damn food fairy came.
4. She doesn't try to bullshit you. She made nachos for dinner. With a disclaimer that she couldn't believe she was trying to pass this off as a recipe, but on a Friday night, who really cares anymore. At no point did she try to tell you that your nachos would be the centerpiece of a Cinco de Mayo feast that would be so Yum-O that your neighbors would anoint you with EVOO for being the one true queen of Mexican cuisine.
5. Her recipes work and are delicious. Case in point, these chickens. Loved the chickens Sara.
6. She really doesn't seem like an asshole and is pro-women in the workplace. Unlike some other ~~chefs~~ talent I could name.

So come on over, be converted. You don't need that Food Network cable crap. Just good old public programming and you can learn to love cooking shows again too!

CHICKEN WITH LEMON AND OREGANO RUB
adapted from Sara's Weeknight Meals

INGREDIENTS:
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
zest of one lemon
1/2 t salt
1 t oregano
black pepper
1/8 t water
extra virgin olive oil
for a super quick pan sauce: 2 T butter and a dash of white wine

DIRECTIONS:
Trim your chicken breasts and remove the tenderloins. Add a drizzle of olive oil, lay a bit of plastic wrap over the chicken and pound until uniformly thin (maybe about as thin as a tenderloin). In a small bowl, combine the lemon zest, salt, oregano, a few turns of the pepper grinder and the water. Using the back of the spoon, mash it up until it forms a paste. Rub the olive oil that you drizzles onto the chicken before all over the breasts, adding a teaspoon more if needed. Then divide the rub evenly between the two breasts. Carefully rub this all over the chicken. Don't leave clumps because it will be very strong. I put the rub on my tenderloins too. Then set it all aside to sit for 30 minutes. Right before you're ready, add 2 teaspoons olive oil to a pan and heat to medium high. Add your breasts and tenderloins and cook 3-5 minutes a side (the tenderloins will need less the breasts may need more depending on how thin you pounded them). If you are making in a pan and want a super quick pan sauce, remove the chicken to plates, add 2 T butter and a dash of white wine, let it burble, scrape off the chickeny bits that are stuck to the pan and pour it over. Delicious.

Unholy Revelation

2011-10-22T08:43:00.002-05:00

This past week, my father was diagnosed with Celiac disease. On the grand list of things that could be wrong with a person, it's not really that bad. But it's not fair. And I don't think I'm taking a too small and self-centered view of things to say that it's less fair for my father. My father loves food, passionately, nearly fanatically. It should tell you something that when I was reading Jeffery Steingarten's book The Man Who Ate Everything and I got to the part where he's checking the codes on ketchup bottles to find the ones that were bottled in summer when tomatoes are at their freshest, that I was reminded of my father. He has that level of intensity about food. The bread at the local supermarket isn't up to his standards, so he special orders it. They know him in the bakery department. How is someone who thinks most lovely, gluten packed breads aren't up to snuff supposed to get by with a substitute? It's just plain old not fair.

We are very lucky in that I happen to know quite a few people who are very knowledgeable about the subject and who shared a ton of resources with me that I could pass along to my parents. But it's not going to be an easy transition. Clearly, my mother is going to have to learn to bake all over again and I don't plan on letting her do it alone.

As a starting place, I've gone through and marked recipes on this blog as gluten-free. Some will need you to check labels carefully, but if you're cooking for someone with Celiac disease, that shouldn't be anything new. As I try out new recipes that are gluten-free (and don't suck) I promise to share them, and tag them. I'll also be experimenting with substitutions in my current recipes. I have quite a few that use flour only as a thickening agent, which should be an easy thing to fix, but I don't feel comfortable advising how to best switch the thickener until I've tried it myself.

Since I'm a complete amateur at this, feel free to let me know if there's any information or labeling that doesn't seem right.

I have faith that in time my mother and I will be able to produce baked goods that are up to snuff, but I hope my father's tastebuds survive the journey.

Pink Elephants On Parade

2011-10-16T09:08:00.004-05:00

Another year, another baby shower, another set of sugar cookies! This time, pink elephants were the star of the show.

Sugar Cookie Logistics:
Start with this recipe.

I tend to do this over two days. Either make the dough and bake one night, then ice the next or make the dough one night and bake plus ice the next. All in one night will drain you!!

You can dye the dough to make cute cookies with less icing. Keep in mind that butter cookie dough has a yellow cast and therefore blues can have a greenish, unappetizing cast (ask me about the blue elephants I didn't photograph for you).

The dough needs to be C-O-L-D when you work with it. If you have it out too long it will stick to your counter or rolling mat and you'll lose your hard work.

Ideally, the baking sheets should cool between each batch. A failure to do this will mean your cookies could have random bubbling. I am lazy and don't care. But if you're going to go fancy, you very well might.

I've never had trouble with this recipe spreading. If you usually have trouble with spreading, try this one. If you still have trouble, let me know. I'm really curious.

You must pull the cookies before they brown. You might think they're underdone, but they look so ugly when they start to brown. Act quickly!

Icing Logistics:

I use meringue powder for safety reasons, especially when baking for a baby shower. Real royal icing means raw egg whites. Ew.

Most meringue powder has its own recipe printed on the container. Mine calls for four cups of confectioner's sugar. I could probably coat every surface in my kitchen with that amount of icing. I made a quarter recipe for the detail work on about 4 dozen cookies. If you're flooding (covering the whole surface of the cookie), you may want a much larger amount, but if you're only piping on details (much easier to do well if you're a beginner), don't do it. Unless you have some holes that need spackling.

If you make a quarter recipe, like I did, you'll really want a hand mixer, not a stand mixer. It doesn't have enough volume for your stand mixer to really work with. (Yes, I've held the bottom bowl up so that the mixing attachment could actually mix it, but it's a much bigger pain that you want to deal with).

If you're flooding, you need two consistencies of icing, a thick and a thinner. Do the thick first, then when you've done the details, use water to thin out the remaining icing.

Use a ziploc bag to pipe. It's cheap and accessible. You can use a knife to poke out the bottom hole or a pair of scissors to snip. You want a TINY hole. Much easier to control that way. I usually fill the bag and dye the icing first and then snip.

It's easiest to fill the ziploc bag if you put it in a glass. Think trash bag. So pop the ziploc in a cup and arrange the edges over the side. Then the glass will hold it up for you while you pour in your icing. You can even do your dying then and stir it around with a spoon, and only squish the sealed bag to evenly distribute the colors.

A little goes a long way when it comes to color. Also, plan ahead. If you want blue icing and green, then make the blue first, use it and then add your yellow dye to that bag to make green.
Also, I'd rather run out of a color and have to dye more of the base icing than have an excess of pink and nowhere to use it. I dye each color as I need it rather than making the colors in advance.

If you trace the cookie cutter onto paper, you can use a pencil to plan your design so you know about where the eyes should go or if a tail makes it look like the elephant is pooping (hint, yes, it does).

Unless you're perfect, you'll have a couple of substandard cookies. Ice these first. You can keep them, rather than bring them to your event or serve them at your party, but it won't matter if you wreck them and it will help you get in a rhythm for icing and try out new ideas.

Icing can be really tiring. I do it sitting down at the dining room table. I find I have a steadier hand and better stamina when I sit.

Make sure you let the icing dry completely before putting the cookies away! You don't want your hard work to go to waste!

Not Just a Side Dish

2011-10-10T16:54:00.004-05:00

It seems the men in my life, despite (because of?) being hearty eaters are a bit particular about what constitutes dinner. Sample cases:

Soup - Doesn't count as dinner unless it has a filling side. This has evolved into a game of culinary chicken. Will I break first and make something to go with the soup? Or will I stay strong and force Ryan to forage and make himself something to go with the soup?

Salad - Ah, salad. It's like gambling. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. With Ryan the odds are in my favor. Salad will count. With my father, it's betting a longshot. You might get lucky, but chances are you're just wasting your time.

Macaroni and cheese has always been a side dish in these parts. Without meat or its own side dish, I just couldn't get it to pass for dinner. Luckily my mom has years of experience trying to get meals past my father. With just a few tasty additions, mac and cheese can appear in the starring role.

FANCY MAC AND CHEESE

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 oz bacon (this was about 2-3 strips)
8 oz sliced baby bella or button mushrooms
1 C frozen peas
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
1 T flour
3 T butter
1/2 C milk (whole milk is best, but any will do)
1 T mustard (I use whatever I can grab first)
1 1/2 C grated cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Set a pot of water to boil for the macaroni. Chop the bacon into smallish bacon bits - maybe 1/4" squares? Eyeball it, do not measure with a ruler or anything picky like that. Cook in a fry pan over medium high heat for 3-5 minutes until it is crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside. Retain some of the fat in the pan (pour off some if it looks like a ton). Add the mushrooms, sprinkle with salt and cook for 5-7 minutes until golden and tender. I often add a splash of balsamic. It's up to you. Then add the peas and cook for another 3-5 minutes.

When the water boils:
When it reaches a rolling boil, toss in the pasta and cook until done 8-10 minutes. Drain, and set the pasta aside in the colander. In the pan you made the pasta in, melt the butter and add the flour. Mix well and cook on very low heat for about four minutes. Turn off the heat and add the milk and the mustard. Whisk to blend. Return to heat. I always add back the cheese and cooked macaroni alternately, stirring to combine in between each addition. Then add the mushrooms, peas and bacon. Fancy.

Perfect Anytime Roast Chicken

2011-09-28T16:51:00.006-05:00

Two Sundays ago, I made this roast chicken for the first time. I couldn't believe how easy it was, or how well it turned out. Or how much it was exactly as comforting and full of fall flavors as I'd imagined, which is almost never the case with roast chicken which is often dry and lacking a little something. Nope. I overcooked this by a solid 20 minutes and it was still really, really good. And that juicy sauce you see up there? Pure heaven. I mean, it's beer+cider+chicken juice. What's not to like? You may find yourself sizing up possible dipping items, so plan well. Oh, and did I mention it cooks its own vegetables too?

Carrots and parnsips. Which taste like candy and yummier candy. Also, you can use your Dutch oven, not that stupid roasting pan which is stuck in a closet or on top of a cabinet or in some other highly inconvenient location. And it doesn't need rack. It really is the perfect roast chicken, to be made anytime. Like tonight, if you're still trying to figure out your Rosh Hashanah menu (appley! sweet! double win!) Or on Sunday, when you have the time to roast a chicken. Or anytime! Now if only I can get it to wash its own dishes. Hmmm.

ROAST CHICKEN WITH BEER AND CIDER
from Lidia.

INGREDIENTS:
4 lb roasting chicken
2 tsp kosher salt
2 medium onions peeled and quartered
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced into uniform sized pieces. Or a handful of baby carrots. Whatever.
2 medium parsnips, done like the carrots. Oh shut up. You'll like them.
2 T fresh sage leaves
1 cinnamon stick
4 whole cloves
1.5 C chicken stock
1.5 C beer or ale (make it something you like, and yeah that's a whole bottle)
1 C apple cider

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 400. Get out your Dutch oven. Get your onions, carrots and parsnips and toss in the bottom of the Dutch oven. Add the cinnamon stick and cloves and sage. You're making a nest for the chicken, so make sure they're distributed kind of evenly. Prep that chicken, trimming off the nasty bits, removing whatever lurks inside, salt and pepper the whole beast inside and out. Plop the chicken on top of the veggie bits, breast side down. Pour in all the lovely liquids - stock, beer and cider. Stick the whole thing on the stove and simmer 15 minutes uncovered on the top of the stove. Then, flip him over, so the breast side is up. Then you pop it in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, basting at 10 minute intervals. Roast another 30 minutes (if it's getting to brown, cover it with your Dutch oven lid) again basting every 10-15 minutes. Check the temperature at each basting. Poultry should get to 165 but will continue to cook a few minutes after you take it out. Roast another 10-20 minutes if needed - mine never has, but Lidia's did. Remember to watch the top for overbrowning too! When done, remove the chicken and veggies to a platter. Then put the Dutch oven o'juice back on the stove and cook on medium high (a nice boil if you please) until the sauce reduces quite a bit (half mayhaps, if you are patient). You can be carving the chicken whilst the sauce is doing it's thing. Serve with sauce. Resolve to make it weekly at least. It's that good and that easy.

Make it gluten-free: Beer is NOT gluten-free, so you'll need to substitute. I used half cider and half stock to make up the beer amount and it turned out great!

Bed & Breakfast

2011-09-24T07:23:00.005-05:00

You know what a bed and breakfast is right? Quaint little inn, where the tasty morning offerings are supposed ~~to make up for the lack of modern amenities~~ enhance the historical charm? Now I want you to imagine just how good the muffins would have to be in order for you to forgive being trapped in your room. Honest to goodness, pulling on the doorknob with both hands, calling any phone number for the main desk you can find from your cell phone (no real phones in an inn mind you), eyeballing the drop from your window to the ground, pounding on your door and shouting for help until the elderly gentleman who was staying across the hall came and liberated you, trapped in your room. Those would have to be some seriously good muffins right?

In the interest of honesty, it took more than just the muffins to placate me. They had to plane down the damn door too, so that we could come and go as we pleased. Muffins alone will not make me okay with room confinement. I require action.

This is not the recipe for the actual pear and ginger muffins provided by the inn, but they are delicious, and will go along way towards soothing any disgruntled houseguests or erm, spouses, that you may need to bribe.

PEAR AND GINGER MUFFINS
adapted from Nigella Express inspired by a Rhode Island inn that shall remain nameless since I disparaged their door situation

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 C flour
3/4 C sugar
1/2 C packed light brown sugar
2 t baking powder
1t ground ginger
2/3 C sour cream
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 T honey
2 eggs
1 1/2 C peeled and chopped pears - about a 1/4 in" dice - I used 2 bartlett pears for this
2-3 T minced crystalized ginger

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Prepare a 12-cup muffin tin with muffin cups (paper or silicon will work).

In a large bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking powder and ground ginger. In a smaller bowl, mix together the sour cream, vegetable oil, honey and eggs. Use a fork or whisk to combine well. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry. Finally, add in the pears and ginger bits. Fold in with a spatula and then fill your muffin cups. They will be quite full. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the pan to a cooling rack. These will last a few days if stored in an air-tight container, but are best right away!

Please Stand By...We Are Currently Experiencing Technological Difficulties

2011-09-21T16:36:00.002-05:00

Here's the thing people. Under normal circumstances I have access to three computers. A work computer, my own laptop and my husband's laptop. Allow me to break my current computer status down for you.

Work computer which cannot under any circumstances be used for anything other than work = dead battery.

My own laptop = dead power cord, leading to a dead battery.

My husband's laptop = at work with him. For all of the million bajillion hours he works.

Which means a) computers don't like me and b) I'm typing this right now on my mother's itty bitty netbook. So I suppose I could type up a recipe for you. Maybe I could. But it would be without a picture. And a picture is worth a thousand words, and I am not the type of person that has an extra thousand words lying around. I am the type of person whose computers all fail at the same type in some type of computer-based anti-blogging conspiracy. So I beg of you. Do not abandon me. I have AT LEAST 4 yummy recipes. Ready to go. With pictures. Just as soon as I can get the whole pictures part of that happening. And as soon as I actually, you know, type them up instead of just having them scribbled on notepaper in my kitchen and story ideas sloshing around in my brain. You could vote on which one you want first though! In my only tech-savvy move of the week - a poll!

poll by twiigs.com

Hold Yer Horses - It Ain't Fall Yet

2011-09-11T17:08:00.007-05:00

Look, they might be selling, but I'm not buying. It does not matter how many ads for school supplies, football games or Halloween costumes I see on TV. It does not matter that the school children are all safely tucked into their classrooms. It doesn't even matter that I succumbed and turned the page in my calendar so that it reads SEPTEMBER. As long as the weather is still in the eighties, it's just not fall. There are no stews or soups simmering away in my kitchen. I have no plans to begin my annual pumpkin bake off in which I try to bake and consume as many pumpkiny treats as I can. I just can't do it. I'm still struggling with my decision to turn off the air-conditioning.

Luckily, I still have some recipes left that aren't trying to hurry summer out the door. These lettuce cups are sort of seasonless, but are delicious and really sort of low effort if you're into that sort of thing.

SUPER TASTY LETTUCE WRAPS
from blogchef

INGREDIENTS:
1 lb ground turkey (or beef, whatever)
1 T vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion (about a medium onion)
2 minced garlic cloves
1 T soy
1/4 C hoisin
1 t rice wine vinegar
2 T sesame oil
1 t sambal
1 C cashews
head of lettuce (hey, I only had romaine, so I made do, although Boston would be nice)

gluten-free note: make sure to find gluten free soy sauce and hoisin (Premier Japan makes a gluten-free hoisin). Rice vinegar is gluten free and sesame oil should, although check the label of sesame oil for additives. Sambal is gluten-free as far as I'm aware.

DIRECTIONS:
Put the oil in the pan and heat the pan to medium. Toss in your onions and garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add your ground meat. Break up the meat as it browns (5-10 minutes). Then add soy, hoisin, vinegar, sambal, sesame oil. Toss gently so the sauce is throughout the meat. Cook for 1-2 more minutes, then add the cashews. Scoop the warm mixture onto your lettuce leaves. You can fold these up to eat them.

Cheddar Biscuits

2011-09-04T07:11:00.001-05:00

When I grow up, I want to be Ina Garten. I want a gorgeous house, a loving husband, amazing gardens, friends visiting all the time. I want to be both a talented chef and smart enough to work in the White House on nuclear energy policy (no really, she did). The problem is, I'm kind of already grown up and my chances aren't looking too good. Right now, just about the only list item I've accomplished is a loving husband (which is pretty important as far as list items go, but not really much headway on the whole list). Oh well. At least I can make her food, this time, cheddar biscuits that are just delicious.

INA'S CHEDDAR BISCUITS
from Ina Garten - Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

INGREDIENTS:
2 C flour - plus more for rolling out - I'd make sure you've got at least another 1/2 C to a C in the house because these are some sticky biscuits.
1 T baking powder
1 1/2 sticks (12 T) of salted butter. If you use unsalted, it says 1 1/2 t salt, but I think that's WAY too salty, so be careful.
1/2 C buttermilk shaken (I didn't have buttermilk, so I used 1/2 C milk + 1 1/2 t vinegar - let it stand for 10 minutes - magic buttermilk substitute)
1 egg
1 C grated cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 425F.
Put the 2 C of flour and the baking powder (and salt if you insist) in your stand mixer. Quickly mix to combine. I usually chop the butter up a bit and then toss it in and blend until you have a nice sandy texture. In a small bowl (or heck a large glass measuring cup if you're lazy) combine the buttermilk and the egg and whisk it a bit with a fork to combine it well. Then pour that into the dry ingredients and mix to combine. Finally, toss the cheddar with a bit of flour, add that to the other ingredients and give it a final mix. Prepare a highly floured surface for your kneading and rolling. Pour the dough onto the surface and give it a quick knead (Ina says about 6 times, I say, get it to come together and not stick to everything under the sun). The roll out the dough. Ina says to cut it into biscuits using a knife (check out her recipe for details) but I used a glass (I don't own a biscuit cutter) to make round biscuits. I put them on a Silpat mat. I did combine and reroll the scraps to get more biscuits and got quite a few more than she did. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until they are browned and cooked!

Soup for Sick People

2011-08-29T08:42:00.001-05:00

I'm a freak. I mean, you probably already knew that, but really, I am. Whenever I get sick, I get a rash. It's mainly on my neck and torso but depending on how sick I am it can spread to my arms, face, legs. It often completely stresses out doctors when they see it for the first time. They always think I have scarlet fever, or fifth disease or something else dire. But over the years I've grown used to it. Sometimes it shows up before I even feel sick, like a bad omen. When it happens like this, I lay in supplies and prepare to take off work. Sometimes it shows up in the middle, a little, Hey! Guess what? You know how crappy you feel? It's because you're SICK, IDIOT! And sometimes, it waits until I am mostly recovered and throws me a Gotcha! And you thought that was allergies FOOL! Which is exactly what happened last week. After tossing back allergy pills, sniffing prescription steroid nasal sprays and working my way through the better part of a tissue box, I found out that really, I'd just been sick after all. Oh well. At least the treatment was the same. A big bowl of homemade sausage and rice soup. And trust me this was easy to make. I made it when I was sick, after all.

SAUSAGE AND RICE SOUP
adapted from Mario Batali

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 C onion chopped
2-3 T duck fat (butter will do if you don't keep duck fat in your freezer!)
1/2 lb hot Italian sausage - casings removed (I used turkey sausage as usual - if you want gluten-free, check your sausage labeling to confirm)
2 quarts chicken stock (that's 8 C)
1-2 rinds of parmiggiano-reggiano (if you don't have these, just add a bit more parm at the end. I save my rinds in the freezer to use in soup, it adds a lot of depth of flavor with almost no effort on your part)
1 C rice
a few cups of spinach, washed and stems removed, rough chopped if it's not baby spinach.
2-3 carrots cut into coins
1/4 C grated parm (double this if you are rindless)

DIRECTIONS:

Let's talk about the rice before we even start. It is well documented that I can't cook rice. This extends to soup situations. Therefore, I put 1 C rice plus 2 C water in my rice cooker and made the rice that way. I then added it to the soup at the proper time. Mario advocates tossing the rice into boiling soup and giving it 15 minutes to cook. What you decide is your business.

Okay. In a large pot, over medium heat, add your duck fat (or butter) and your onion and sausage. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, breaking the sausage down with your spoon until it is browned and in nice little nibbly pieces. Add your stock (and your rinds if you have them) and bring it to a boil. If you have raw rice toss it in now and wait 15 minutes for it to cook. If you have cooked rice, toss it in now and keep going. Add the carrots and spinach and grated parm. Cook for about 5 more minutes (I have no idea what this would do to the raw rice?). Taste the soup. Mine required absolutely no seasoning, between the salty parm and the spicy sausage it was perfect just the way it was, but please add salt and pepper if needed.

By Popular Demand - Lemon Ricotta Cake

2011-08-25T05:41:00.002-05:00

Dairy products and I have a love-hate relationship. Milk, for example, is the nectar of the devil. It tastes awful and it makes me sick to my stomach. I need it on occasion to bake, but that is it. Consequently, it is really hard for me to tell if milk has spoiled. I have to rely entirely on how it smells, because it always tastes off to me. Cheese on the other hand, I adore. Hard cheeses, soft cheeses, stinky blue, creamy brie, nutty gruyere. So deliciously happy-making. However, in between these lie a sort of dairy limbo that includes yogurt, cottage cheese, ricotta. On any given day I can enjoy one of these thoroughly, or take against it. The latter is particularly true when freshness is in question. No amount of rational thought can ease my worries. I simply can't. Just can't. Hate. And this exact thing happened when I went to use up the ricotta from the tomato crostini. It had only been open a few days. The expiration date swore it was fine. But that nagging little dairy fairy on my shoulder was saying "ew" really loudly. And I decided the only way to deal with it was to make sure the ricotta was baked. Because somehow, that would make it okay. (Which is ridiculous, because of course it was okay, I swear I'm not baking with nasty ricotta here). Lucky for me, using up dairy that irrationally scares me can result in a completely heavenly dessert. Like little clouds of lemony cakey goodness. And the pendulum swings back to love.

LEMON RICOTTA CAKE
inspired by Giada De Laurentiis

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 C flour (all-purpose will do)
2 1/2 t baking powder
3/4 C salted butter (this is 1 1/2 sticks) plus more for greasing the pan
1 1/2 C sugar
1 1/2 C ricotta cheese (I used part skim and it worked fine).
3 large eggs
1 t vanilla
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
zest from 1-2 lemons
powdered sugar for dusting
optional: 1/4 to 1/2 C lemon curd

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350F. Grease and flour a 9" round cake pan.
In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar (about 3 minutes). Add the ricotta and mix until incorporated. One at a time add the eggs, mixing between each. Then add your vanilla, lemon juice and zest. In a bowl,combine the flour and baking powder. Add your dry ingredients and give it a final mix. My batter was lumpy and also all the zest attached itself to the paddle. I fixed the zest problem by tossing it back into the batter and quickly mixing with a spatula before pouring it in to the cake pan. The lumps baked themselves away. Bake for 35-40 minutes. It is done when a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Optional section: If you like, slice the cake in half so it has two layers (Doesn't that sound easy? It was my first attempt at something like that and those were not so even. Oh well.) Then spread lemon curd on the bottom layer. I used a quarter cup because I wanted it to be subtle, but it may have been almost too subtle so I might move up to a half cup next time. Or maybe I'll just be lazy and not do it at all. Either way.

Serve with powdered sugar on top (you do this by holding a fine mesh strainer over the cake, pouring in a bit of sugar and then tapping the side of the strainer gently so the powder comes down). If you are serving the whole cake at party powder it all at once, if you're eating the slices for dessert each night powder a slice at a time.

Cook a Book

2011-08-22T06:05:00.000-05:00

I have a particular weakness for books that involve cooking. Not just cookbooks mind you, but any books that have lots of cooking in them. My latest read that sent me running to the kitchen was a teen book called Flavor of the Week. Not the best thing I've ever read, but I've held it out of the library for about two weeks after finishing it because it has recipes. Mouth watering recipes. Recipes like this one for kitchen sink cookies. Who can resist something that is not only delicious but allows you to clean out your cabinets! Do you have any favorite foodie books that we should read?

KITCHEN SINK COOKIES
from Flavor of the Week

INGREDIENTS:
1 3/4 C flour
1 t baking soda
2 sticks butter, softened (remember, I usually bake with salted butter, so if you use unsalted, throw in a pinch of salt).
1 1/4 C firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
2 t milk
3 t vanilla extract
2 C uncooked old fashioned rolled oats (I just bought quaker, regular not instant)
1 C chocolate chips (the recipe calls for semisweet, I only had bittersweet, still delicious)
1-2 C other stuff, like nuts, or coconut flakes, or whatever. I used 1 package of mini m&ms, about a cup of chopped pecans and a half cup of mini marshmallows.

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 375 F. Combine flour, baking soda and salt (if you need salt). Mix well. In your stand mixer, combine the butter and brown sugar. Mix until creamy. Add the eggs and mix again. Add the nutmeg, milk and vanilla. Mix again. Add the flour mixture (guess what?), mix again. Remove your mixing bowl from the stand mixer, because you're finishing up by hand. Add the oats and mix by hand. The add your mix-ins. When everything is combined, drop rounded tablespoonfuls onto your lined cookie sheets (I used silpat, use parchment if you don't have silpat). Bake for 9-10 minutes. Cool for 1-2 minute on sheet before removing to a wire rack.

PS: David Lebovitz has his own version in case you're interested. He'll even let you use up bugles, or pretzels or chocolate covered marshmallow bears (I want one!).

Little Bites of Heaven

2011-08-17T10:35:00.002-05:00

Now that I live country-adjacent (the directions to get to my apartment include the words: turn at the corn) and am no longer a city mouse, I have to say that my access to ridiculously amazing produce has increased. Just the other day I stopped by a farm stand and picked up a pair of beautiful heirloom tomatoes. Best thing ever? The stand had a tray of tasting bites each labeled with the tomato name. I picked out a Purple Cherokee and a Persimmon. Really, my restraint is admirable, because I did not just eat them in the car on the way home. While you can dress up tomatoes any which way, heirlooms deserve better. They should not be buried in a sandwich or blended into gazpacho. They should be the star. Ryan complained that I even did anything to these, but I think they were delicious with the trimmings, and so easy to make!

HEIRLOOM TOMATO AND RICOTTA BITES

INGREDIENTS:
1 (or more) heirloom tomatoes
ricotta cheese
baguette
salt
extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS:
Slice your tomato into thinnish pieces, don't make them too thin, but don't do huge chunks either. Then cut the largest pieces in half. Count how many you have. Then slice a corresponding number of rounds from your baguette. Make these pretty thin, because you don't want the bread to overpower the tomato. Toast them lightly (I do mine in the toaster oven, but you'd be better off with a real oven than with a toaster-toaster). Smear a bit of ricotta (maybe a tablespoon) on each toast. Gently place a tomato slice on top. Continue until all bites are constructed. Arrange on a plate, sprinkle with salt, drizzle with olive oil, enjoy!

Salvage Mission

2011-08-14T07:10:00.004-05:00

Sometimes, I hate technology. The other day I spent over two hours on the phone with Comcast, LG, SMC and Netflix trying to figure out why my movies would no longer stream. Everyone did an amazing job of coming up with an explanation why it was someone else's fault and why they could not possibly help me. All except SMC. They just never called back. When he got home, Ryan tried his best to rescue me from the drudgery by providing one store bought rotisserie chicken for our dinner. I was so relieved I didn't even care that the chicken tasted largely of cardboard and was about as moist. It didn't matter. At that point, the day was utter crap anyway. The only problem was the next day we were left with half of a really dry chicken. And our Netflix still wouldn't work.

Fortunately, the Netflix issue randomly resolved itself. And the chicken? I could fix that easily, and so can you!! Whether you've brought home a dud from the supermarket, or you are personally responsible for the dry bird (I won't judge), with just a little kitchen magic, it can be one of the most delicious, luscious dinners you've eaten - Chicken Pot Pie Turnovers. And if you're certain you'll never need to save yourself from overcooked poultry, just tuck this away until Thanksgiving. You can use it to save yourself from another day of turkey with stuffing as well. The flaky puff pastry crust will melt in your mouth. The cream and vermouth make a rich sauce, and the duck bacon? Oh lordy, the duck bacon.

CHICKEN POT PIE TURNOVERS
Inspired by some Food Network show, although I couldn't find the recipe or the show when I went back to make it again. Sorry!

INGREDIENTS:
4 oz duck bacon (you can use regular bacon or pancetta)
1 T flour
1/2 medium onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic minced
1/2 C carrot, chopped
1/2 C peas
3-4 stems fresh thyme
1/2 C vermouth
1 C milk
1 t dijon mustard
1 1/2 - 2 C leftover chicken (or turkey), shredded
1 sheet puff pastry, defrosted (save the other, or make Apple Turnovers,
Alsatian Onion Tart or Palmiers (scroll down).)
optional: 1 egg to make an egg wash for the turnovers so they will be glossy and beautiful.

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400F. Get a large skillet, put it over medium heat. Chop your bacon product into small pieces. Cook for about 4 minutes, or until cooked through, but not overly crispy, don't blacken. Especially if you use duck bacon or pancetta this will result in a lot of delicious fat being released into the pan. Don't pour it off, but remove your bacon from the pan and set aside. To the delicious fat, add your onions and garlic, lower the heat if necessary. Cook for 3-5 minutes until softened and the onions are translucent. Add 1 T of flour and mix in. It should coat the onions and garlic and collect all that fat so that it will thicken your sauce. Then add the carrots and peas. Let it cook for just a minute or two.Then add your thyme (maybe 3-4 springs of fresh, stems removed). Increase the heat slightly and add the vermouth. Let it cook off (reduce the liquid by at least half), then reduce the heat to low and add your milk and your mustard. Mix it all in and cook until it's thickened a bit, just a few minutes. Add in your cooked chicken and your bacon. When it's time to roll the puff pastry, act fast and with cold hands. Using a bit of flour, roll out your sheet of puff pastry. Be gentle and be particularly careful with the seams, you may need to sort of press your thumb or fingers on them to keep them from separating. Use a knife to cut into four equal pieces, I think mine were about 4-5" square. Transfer these squares to your baking sheet. I lined mine with a silpat mat. Evenly divide your filling between the four squares. Fold them in half to form triangles and pinch and fold the edge closed. Cut a small slit in the top. If you want, take one egg, whisk it and the paint the top of each with egg, it will make it pretty, but won't alter the taste. I am too stingy and lazy. I used a milk wash (just brush the top with milk) instead. If you don't act fast with the pastry stage, your filling will break through the bottom, which is why I advise adding the filling once the pastry is already on the baking sheet. Pop them in the oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until the puff pastry is golden brown and tasty looking. Be incredibly grateful that your leftovers will be far superior to the initial dinner.

I Baked a Cake!

2011-08-05T15:46:00.002-05:00

During the summer I don't always get a lot done during the day. But every day Ryan asks what I did. I tend to mumble out of embarrassment due to my utter lack of productivity. "I read. I watched TV. I took a nap. I tickled the dog". But Wednesday I had something to report. I practiced saying it. Excited: "I baked a cake today!" Casual: "Oh, you know, I just baked a cake." I even debated the basic grunt and point "Urg. Cake." Because come on, isn't that cake pretty enough to do the talking for itself? Two moist chocolatey layers, light and fluffy frosting of whipped cream and cream cheese, sweet sweet strawberries. It's so good. You know you want to be able to brag about it too!

CAKE!
A million thanks to Debbie for the basis of the cake recipe and guiding me through the round pan thingy. Go Debbie!! Also, Debbie now has a cookbook. You really might need it. Lookie here.
Please note, all the things I have done to this cake firmly negate any low calorie/weight-watchery virtues she may have mentioned.

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 C flour
1 t baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt (if you use salted butter, please only use a pinch, if that. This measurement is for unsalted butter users)
1 C dutch-process cocoa (admission, I used Hershey's because it's what was in the cabinet. It sufficed).
10 T butter, softened
1 1/2 C sugar
2 t vanilla
2 large eggs
1 C plain nonfat yogurt

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Debbie suggests greasing and flouring your pans. I found this insufficient and would put parchment down in the bottom of each round if doing it again, this was a nasty little beast to remove from the pans.

In a medium bowl combine your flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt (if using). Set aside.

Cream your butter and sugar until thoroughly mixed and fluffy. Add the vanilla and eggs and then mix again until combined. Alternate adding the yogurt and the dry ingredients about a third at a time. After each addition, mix. This is a thick batter, so don't overmix it.

Evenly divide it between your pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Cool in the pan (try a half hour) and then run your knife carefully around the edge to separate it further. Very, very carefully turn it out and cool completely, on a rack if you can manage it, but one of mine was so fiddly it needed to cool on a plate. Be careful.

FROSTING!
adapted from here
INGREDIENTS:
8 oz cream cheese
2 C heavy cream
1/4 C sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Whip together the cream cheese and sugar. Then add the heavy cream and keep whipping until the cream can hold a stiff peak. Feel free to mess with the ration of cream cheese to whipping cream, just keeping in mind that the more whipped cream vs. cream cheese you use, the less stable it is, and it will need to be eaten sooner. But you may like the fluffier consistency if the cake will be eaten same day.

NB: Due to a slacker shopping job, I made/used a half recipe of this frosting. As you can see, it made do just fine. I'm giving you the whole recipe because I felt a bit stingy. You may want to feel extravagant or have the option of frosting the sides or you know, just stick your face in it. I don't judge.

ASSEMBLY!!
Rinse, dry and slice up most of a 16oz package of strawberries.

On a pretty serving plate, lay down one of the chocolate layers. Smooth on a suitable amount of the frosting. Artfully arrange the strawberries. (I'm a freak, the inside layer looks pretty much like the top, minus the one central berry). Carefully lower on the second chocolate layer. Top with more whipped cream frosting deliciousness. Artfully arrange more berries. Admire. Announce to anyone who will listen that you baked a cake.

Another Year, Another Birthday

2011-08-03T06:08:00.001-05:00

I'm a couple of weeks late with this one, but Ryan's birthday was this month and as per tradition, I did not make him a cake. He doesn't like cake remember? Or chocolate? Or ice cream? Lucky for me, he does like fruit tart, and this couldn't get any simpler. I used different fruit this year, cherries and peaches instead of berries and it turned out just as delicious.

FRUIT TART:
Just a new spin on an old favorite - berry tart

Make the crust and filling as directed in the berry tart. Peel and slice a peach - I needed a little more than 1 peach, so buy two and snack on whatever remains of the second. Pit some cherries, this used less than a bag of the prepacked kind, it seems like maybe a cup or two. Slice your cherries in half. Arrange artistically. This time I painted the glaze using warmed up ginger preserves, but it didn't taste particularly gingery. I'd use apricot if I were to do it again, no use in wasting the ginger. Just use a pale color so the peaches don't get painted red or something. Stick it in the fridge. Serve.

Company Coming!

2011-07-29T14:03:00.004-05:00

Or company came, rather. This past week I hosted some friends for breakfast and then my dearest friend came to stay with her adorable daughter. It was busy and fun. But honestly, the breakfast was fun because it was no work. I know what you're thinking. You clearly see a picture of baked something or other up there (strata, if you must know) and you are wondering how exactly this was no work unless I purchased it. I didn't purchase it. And still, I maintain it was no work. Also, really delicious. Want to have this delicious eggy cheesey browned breakfast goodness? Read on. The recipe is from this gem of an inn in Maryland. If the idea of even this no effort breakfast is stressing you out, it might be best if you just go get it from the source.

STRATA
adapted from The Brampton Inn - Chestertown, Maryland. Seriously, check out their website, gorgeous, no?

INGREDIENTS:
8 1/2" slices of crusty French bread, buttered on one side
5 eggs
3 C whole milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 C shredded sharp cheddar (I used a mix of cheddar and asiago)
6 oz crumbled breakfast sausage, cooked and drained
(optional - a few teaspoons of hot sauce)

DIRECTIONS:
1.Butter an 8" square ovenproof dish
2. Arrange bread slices in two rows, buttered side down
3. Whisk eggs in large bowl
4. Add milk, salt and pepper and hot sauce
5. Pour egg mixture over bread
7. Sprinkle with sausage and cheese
8. Cover and refrigerate overnight

Then the morning of:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees
Uncover and bake for 50-60 minutes (mine took 65), until puffed and no longer liquid in the middle and golden on top.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

See? Almost no work.

It's Too Darn Hot!

2011-07-19T21:38:00.008-05:00

If you live somewhere in the continental US, chances are if you aren't already in the middle of a blistering heat wave, you will be soon. Now I live in a very climate controlled apartment and venture out only to walk the dog, but I remember the not so distant past where my kitchen was the only room in the apartment without air-conditioning.

But really, this heat is bringing back memories from the slightly more distant past. One summer when I was home from college, my parents were out of town and I was home alone during an excruciatingly hot couple of days. The only room of the house that had air-conditioning was my bedroom and practically camped out there with the better part of the Thin Man series. On tape. This was before DVD players. I ventured out only for the bathroom and food. And food was a serious hardship. This was also before microwaves (okay, fine, there were microwaves, just not at my parents house.) I'm relatively certain I ate (I have very fond memories of barricading myself in and I rarely have fond memories when I'm hungry) but I have no idea how I managed it.

If you are currently asking yourself how you're going to manage it, I strongly suggest you find at least the first two movies in the Thin Man series, pour yourself a martini or six and check out one of my no heat needed or minimal heat needed recipes below.

NO HEAT NEEDED!

Clockwise from top left:
Crab and Avocado Salad
Gazpacho
Turkey Sandwich with Hummus
Cucumber Avocado Soup

MINIMAL HEAT, MINIMAL PREP

L to R
Row 1:
Tortellini Salad
Welsh Rabbit
Asparagus Bread Salad
Row 2:
Scallop Pasta
Vegetarian Monte Cristo
Shrimp with White Beans
Row 3:
Spinach with Rotini, Beans and Asiago Cheese
Shrimp with Orzo
Clam Pasta
Row 4:
Greek Pasta Salad
Asparagus and Goat Cheese Pasta
Fig Jam Sandwiches
Row 5:
BLT with Avocado
Lemony Broccoli and Chickpea Pasta
Chickpea Pasta

Hey, I Was Going to Read That!

2011-07-16T09:34:00.004-05:00

Once, when we were out at a restaurant in Philly, some friends and I decided we needed to know if you could mail a napkin. So we addressed the napkin, stamped the napkin and put that sucker in the nearest post box. It arrived about a week later (despite having been mailed a block from my apartment) in a little plastic baggie with a note attached apologizing for the condition of our mail. Ahem. We mailed a napkin; there was no need for such a formal apology. Which makes it all the more infuriating that two weeks ago when I received my July issue of Real Simple there was not a single page between the covers. It was an empty shell. It had the post office's lovely yellow forwarding label on it, but nothing else. Post office, let me share with you, I will notice if the magazine part of my magazine is missing. And I will care. Because the magazine part is the part I want. The cover can go hang for all I care. Luckily due to extensive complaining on my part to anyone who would listen I ended up with 2 July issues (one from my mother and one from Real Simple) plus an extra June. And even more luckily, there was something in those missing pages that intrigued and inspired me. In the three ingredient recipe section they had portobello quesadillas. Now, I couldn't be satisfied with any three ingredients, so I gussied them up a little for you. And I'll even give you the recipe in case you've received a pageless edition of Real Simple as well.

PORTOBELLO QUESADILLAS
Inspired by July's Edition of Real Simple
makes two full sized quesadillas

INGREDIENTS:
2 large portobello caps. Mine were huge. Get three if you're worried.
1 - 1/2 C thinly sliced red onion
1 1/2 t balsamic vinegar
1/2 C pepper jack
1/2 C cheddar cheese (I used all pepper jack but found the pepper overwhelming, you do what you like, just get yourself a cup o' cheese)
4 flour tortillas
olive oil
salt
pepper
butter

DIRECTIONS:
In a smallish pan, put 2 tsps of extra virgin olive oil. Turn the heat to medium Then add your thinly sliced red onion (I cheated and sliced on a mandolin because my knives are dull and I am lazy, also I don't usually wash the dishes). Add a healthy pinch of salt. Watch them, you want them to be sort of carmelized not crisped, so let them cook low and slow. Once they're more soft than hard, add your 1 1/2 t balsamic vinegar. It took mine about 10 minutes on medium low and they had the tiniest bit of resistance when you bit in, just make sure you like how done yours are. When they're done, put them in a dish. Take your portobellos. Wash/wipe the caps. If you're anti-gill like I am, scrape them out with a spoon. (I'd eaten the gills for years, and then once they tasted like dirt and now I always scrape). In a small bowl whisk up 1-2 T of extra virgin olive oil with some salt and pepper. Then rub this all over your mushrooms. Put them in a medium high pan and cook 5-6 minutes per side (if you had a grill, you could grill them, but I don't so I don't know how). When they're nice and soft, chop them into largish chunks. Grate your cheeses and mix them together. When it's time to make the quesadillas, sprinkle on half the cheese, then half the onions, then half the portobellos. Distribute evenly so each bite tastes good. I like to put a pat of butter in a large pan over medium heat, lay down the first tortilla and assemble right on it, so I don't have to move it with the fillings falling out. Then I just lay the other on top and cook about 4-5 minutes until the bottom is goldeny brown and the cheese is melty. Then flip and cook another 4 minute until done. If you're making them one at a time, keep them warm in a warm oven covered with foil, otherwise you can use all the pans in your kitchen and to them simultaneously. Evil to do to the dishwasher but efficient for the chef I say. Cut in wedges with a pizza cutter and serve with a dollop of guacamole, or salsa or whatever makes you happy.

Quick - A Quiche!

2011-07-13T12:06:00.004-05:00

Maybe it was the delicious lunch my grandmother and I had at The Tea Shoppe or maybe it was reading a book that's set in Paris (disclosure, there is no quiche in that book, crepes, mais oui, but not a quiche. I can't make crepes though, so you're stuck with the quiche). Either way, I found myself desperately wanting quiche. Usually a summer staple of mine, I can't even think of the last time I made one. Luckily I consider quiche fairly easy to throw together (hence it being a summer staple). This one is vegetarian because I resisted the urge to throw in bacon. Believe me, I had the urge but reason won out. Which is okay, because it was completely delicious without. I won't tell if you add it though.

QUICHE, NO BACON

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 recipe dough (I make a full recipe and freeze the other half for later!)
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 C sliced mushrooms
1/4 C well minced yellow onion
2-3 C washed, dried, stem removed, fresh baby spinach
3-4 sprigs of thyme (leaves only)
1 C gruyere cheese
1 1/2 C milk
4 eggs
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 450 while you make the dough. Then place the dough in a 9" pie plate. Cover it with foil and your pie weights, pennies or dried beans, whatever you use for blind baking. Bake for 8 minutes, then remove weights and foil. Prick the bottom all over with a fork and return to the oven for 4-5 more minutes. When you remove it lower your oven to 325 F.

While the pie is baking, get your fillings going. In a large pan, pour your tablespoon of olive oil. Add the mushrooms and onions, a pinch of salt and a healthy grating of pepper. Cook for 6 minutes on medium high (you don't want crispy, you want soft and tasty). Add your thyme and spinach and cook for 3 minutes more.

In a separate bowl, give the eggs a nice little beating and then pour in the milk and mix well. Add a pinch of salt and some pepper and then the gruyere. Give it another stir or two.

When the crust is ready, put the mushroom/onion/spinach mixture in the bottom of the crust. Then pour over the egg/milk/cheese mixture. Pop it in the oven (now reduced to 325 F) for 40-45 minutes or until it has set up (meaning a knife is pretty clean when you stick it in the middle). Allow it to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting in.

Beat the Heat - Tortellini Salad

2011-07-11T10:19:00.003-05:00

Right now I feel like a spoiled brat. I just got back from a week on Cape Cod. Do you know how beautiful it is on Cape Cod? How there's almost always this lovely sea breeze even when you're not actually at the beach. I wore pants. I wore a dress with three-quarter length sleeves. I brought a sweater out with me at night. I am currently a sticky melting mass of ick. Being a complete and total wimp, I succumbed and turned on the air-conditioning. I can't help it. This is not the Cape, and there is no cool breeze wafting in off the porch. There's only sun beating mercilessly down through my windows. I've closed the blinds. The dog has slunk off to a dark corner of the kitchen where he can stretch out on the cool tile. We are going to do as little as possible today. On the upside, this dinner is so easy it almost makes itself.

TORTELLINI SALAD
INGREDIENTS:
for salad:
1/2 lb tortellini, although I made that amount up, I have no idea how much I really used because I do not have a scale and I do have a family jumbo club pack of tortellini. I eyeballed it. Whatever it was it was enough for two people.
2 C broccoli
1/2 - 3/4 C julienned carrots
1/2 C quartered grape tomatoes
1 T finely chopped red onion
1 C rinsed drained small white beans
asiago cheese
for dressing:
2 T plain yogurt
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 T plus 1 t olive oil
1 T honey

DIRECTIONS:
Put on the water for the tortellini, use a medium to large pot, and salt the water. When it boils, add the tortellini and cook for 2-3 minutes, whatever the package says. Steam your broccoli, I did mine in the top part of a double boiler. I added the broccoli once the water boiled and then steamed them for 2 minutes. I removed from heat and then ran under cold water to stop the cooking. I threw the carrots in with the tortellini for the last minute of cooking because I didn't want them super crunchy, but that's up to you. When the tortellini and carrots are done, drain thoroughly and put in a big serving bowl. Add the broccoli, the white beans, the red onion and the grape tomatoes. In a separate bowl whisk together the dressing, then pour it over the pasta salad. Then grate some asiago over the top of it all. Serve.

Frenzy for Frying

2011-07-04T22:01:00.003-05:00

I have only once been to a State Fair, but oh, what a State Fair it was. Minnesota takes that sort of thing very seriously. And as tourists, my friend Lizzie and I took fair food quite seriously. We started the day out with cookies, moved on to fried cheese curds, added in a little corn on the cob and giant turkey leg and I believe finished the whole thing up with dessert on a stick. The Minnesota State Fair is very into food on a stick. Evidently, in many parts of the good old US of A it is State Fair season. I wouldn't know about that. There's probably a state fair (note the intentional lower case letters) in my state, but I know it's not serious. Nothing like a real State Fair. But even here, in State Fair season, talk turns to frying. Because nothing says fair food like some fried whatever-the-hell-it-is, fried Kool-Aid, fried Twinkies, fried beer, fried pizza, fried butter and fried hoagies (people stop the madness!) I am not ashamed to admit, I was whipped into a frenzy for frying. I had an uncontrollable urge to fry. And what food in my fridge was the lucky winner? Who exactly was going for a bath in that deep golden oily goodness? Leftover polenta, baby. Crispy on the outside, creamy goodness on the inside.

FRIED POLENTA BALLS

INGREDIENTS:
leftover polenta (don't worry I'll tell you how to make polenta)
flour
corn or vegetable oil

POLENTA INGREDIENTS:
2 C milk
1 C chicken stock
1/2 C water
1 C ground yellow corn meal - I use Quaker
2 T butter
1/2 C cheddar cheese (Shut up, the southerner in me can't help equating polenta with grits, and I can't help a little cheese in them. You're lucky it's not Velveeta.)
salt and pepper to taste

POLENTA DIRECTIONS:
In a medium pot, combine your liquids. Bring them to a boil, then remove from heat and begin to sprinkle in the cornmeal. Really sprinkle, don't just dump it, because if you dump it you'll have a congealed mass of ook. Instead, sprinkle, sprinkle, while whisking. Return it to low heat and watch it and stir it until it gets nice and thick. But not too thick. At the last minute, stir in the butter and cheese. I like to serve it under shrimp, or with a fried egg and greens, there's a lot you can do with it. But when you're done, stick the leftovers in the fridge for polenta balls!

DIRECTIONS FOR POLENTA BALLS!
In a medium pot (or whatever you use for frying), pour some oil. You need it to be deeper than the balls, but you know, don't fill the pot or anything. Heat up your oil to about 375 F. I'm totally guessing at that. My thermometer and I had a falling out. Or a jumping out, it wouldn't stay in the pan, so I just guessed at when to add the balls. While the oil is heating, take your leftover polenta. Working quickly, roll it into little balls and coat with flour. I tried to make mine meatball sized, like a small meatball, but as you can see, I was pretty irregular about it. Drop the floured balls into the hot oil and cook for a few minutes on each side. Really watch it, because you want them nice and golden. Remove (gently, they'll fall apart otherwise) and place on a plate covered with paper towels. I strongly recommend using a slotted spoon for this, because with a regular spoon you might end up dripping oil on your burner which results in fire. Ask me how I know. Keep warm in the oven until you're ready to serve. I put mine in a salad, but really, you can have your balls any way you like.

Go Ahead, Get Crabby

2011-06-26T08:20:00.004-05:00

One of my less admirable qualities is that I am a bit of a crab. For example, my work year just ended and I have vacation now. But rather than being thrilled and jumping for joy, I find myself nettled by a million different things. Days are long and a bit lonely when you're home by yourself. Household chores must be done, because really, what's my excuse for not doing them? I never know what time Ryan's going to be home, so I have to chose between not quite finishing dinner, or letting dinner sit and get cold. But this dinner is absolutely perfect. Not only does it not get cold if it sits, it's incredibly easy to make, and it's crabby just like me.

CRAB AND AVOCADO SALAD
serves 2 as an entree

Salad:
1 head of Boston or Bibb lettuce (I used romaine because that's what I had but I would have liked something more delicate.
1/4 C of tomatoes (these are optional, I didn't feel they added much, but I always worry about things not being enough dinner for Ryan)

Dressing for Greens:
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
1.5 Olive Oil
salt and pepper

Crab and Avocado:
1/2 lb fresh (not frozen)jumbo lump crabmeat
1 ripe avocado

Dressing for Crab:
2 tsp Dijon mustard ( I use Maille, which says it's gluten-free)
3 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
pinch pepper

Assembly:
Rinse the lettuce and pat dry. Tear into pieces so you can actually eat it. If you want to use cherry tomatoes, rinse and quarter them now. Put in a bowl. Mix up the 2 T of lemon juice and the 1.5 T of olive oil. Add a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Pour over the greens and toss. Set aside.

Clean the crab by going through it with your fingers and picking out any shells. In a medium bowl, whisk the dijon mustard, 3 T of lemon juice and pepper. Put the crab in the bowl and toss gently. Cut the avocado into chunks (you know you don't eat avocado peel, right?) Add it to the crab and again toss gently. I used my hands because both the avocado and crab are so delicate, I wanted to be sure I wasn't smushing anything.

Arrange your greens around the edge of a plate. Arrange the crab and avocado in the center. Revel in the fact that you have not turned on a single heat creating device in your kitchen. Be glad that you have a legitimate excuse for being crabby.

Settling In

2011-06-19T07:22:00.004-05:00

In the past two months, Ryan has gotten a new job; we've moved to a different state; I've gotten a new job and I've gotten a year older. We've been incredibly lucky because our string of changes have all been pretty positive ones. Okay fine, I could do without the moving and the getting older but the new jobs are certainly exciting. But these changes have meant that things are hectic to say the least. But at last we are settling in. The school year is not quite over and I still have a lot of packing up to do; the apartment is still a work in progress; but I've finally started actually cooking again. I have to admit though it takes me about three guesses to figure out where anything is. I did manage to get my act together enough last week to make this tangy barbecue chicken. I promise it's easy. If I could pull it together while multitasking to the degree I am now, you can too.

EASY TANGY (NOT HOT) BARBECUE CHICKEN LEGS
adapted from Giada

INGREDIENTS:
10 chicken drumsticks
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
1/2 C apple cider vinegar (Giada calls for a full cup of balsamic, but that makes for one really expensive barbecue sauce)
3/4 C ketchup (find a GF brand)
1/3 C brown sugar
1 garlic cloved minced
1 T Worcestershire sauce (Lee and Perrin's is GF)
1 T Dijon (Maille is GF)
2 t sugar
1/2 t pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Put everything other than the drumsticks in a pan and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the sauce is thick enough to coat a spoon. Preheat your oven to 375 F. Line a cookie sheet with foil. When the sauce is reduced lightly coat each drumstick with sauce. Cook the drumsticks for 30 minutes. Bring your sauce back up to a boil to kill off an nasty things that may have come from basting a raw chicken, then turn the heat way down to just keep it warm. After 30 minutes, paint those drumsticks with sauce again, and put them back in for 10 more minutes to finish them off. Repeat your heat and keep warm trick with the sauce. Remove the chickens, paint a final time and serve!

IMPORTANT NOTES:
1. The barbecue sauce is tangy not hot. I might try to add some heat next time.
2. The sauce alone is not all that great, it's vinegary, to the point where I strongly advise not to stand over the pan while it's cooking.
3. It's super tasty on the chicken and Giada claims you can put it on steak too. Mmm. Steak.
4. You can use it for grilling she claims! Many commenters report issues with it burning though, so proceed with caution.
5. I ended up with leftover sauce. Hooray. More barbecue for another day!

Mushy Quiche

2011-06-08T18:08:00.004-05:00

I took a picture of it before I knew how mushy it was, but I can't say as I should post it. It would lead you to draw completely incorrect assumptions about how my night went. You would think that I sat down to a lovely dinner of quiche (perfect for a hot day) made with some very tasty chard from the farmer's market. Maybe you would even picture me out on the balcony I featured last time, thinking that the incredible heat may have faded by nightfall and that quiche would be a lovely meal for a summer's evening.

How very wrong you would be. My actual dinner? I ate a plate of mushy quiche. No thanks to the New York Times for throwing me under the bus with that recipe. I ate my quiche by myself, at 9:20 at night, sitting on the floor of my bedroom. You might wonder why I did this. Hell, I wonder why I did this. Basically, I spent a little over an hour, live chatting with some guy at Comcast about how to get our NEW! WIRELESS! ROUTER(or whatever the heck you call that thing)! to a)provide internet service and b)restore our phone line which it knocked out when it was installed. After the hour was over, I am relieved to say that we did have both internet and phone service. I also had a little bit of rug burn on my elbows from lying on the carpet in order to be able to plug my computer into the router thingy and into its charger simultaneously, because yes, the process took so long that my laptop's battery completely drained.

Good times. Tonight's dinner involves neither Comcast nor the New York Times, so things are looking up.

Eating Out(side)

2011-05-30T13:10:00.005-05:00

Our move is finished. For the first time in nearly 12 years I am not living in a city. But this place has something that not one of my city apartments had - outdoor space. It's only a tiny little balcony overlooking a lawn and some trees, but on a beautiful night like last night, I couldn't have asked for anything more. Except for maybe more crab cakes. Two each of something that delicious just didn't seem like enough.

A Fond Philly Farewell

2011-05-26T09:28:00.006-05:00

Eight years ago I packed up my tiny Beacon Hill apartment and moved to Philadelphia so that Ryan could go to graduate school. The plan: return to Boston after he finished. In a feat worthy of the Bermuda Triangle, Philadelphia sucked us in and held us (at times against our will) for eight long years. We are moving on, finally. Sadly, not back to Boston, instead to ~~suburban hell~~ ahem ~~a soulless apartment complex~~ a location where we both have manageable commutes and access to services! How's that for damning with faint praise. Here's a little guide to my Philly Favorites, should you ever find yourself down that way.

FAVORITE NEIGHBORHOOD STORE:

MAXX'S PRODUCE

This is the kind of place where when you are a regular, you feel like a regular. One of us is usually in here daily. They've got tons packed into the tiny shop, like fresh avocados, gluten free treats, nuts, yogurt, and a some prepared salads too! You'll actually feel good about giving them your business.

FAVORITE RIDICULOUS INANIMATE BEAST:

Also, when you walk home from Maxx's, you can pass the angry cheetah left tied outside a store. I'd tell you which store but it's changed hands I think four or five times since I've lived there. The only constant is the cheetah. I will definitely miss the angry cheetah. Leopard? Maybe it's a leopard? I know nothing about big cats and even less about big cat sculpture.

LERNER AND LOEWE INDUCING SCENERY:
I'm no Freddy Eynsford-Hill, but when I walk the beautiful streets in my neighborhood I often find myself humming... "I have often walked down this street before...".
Musical Side Note: Bonus points to anyone who can explain to my satisfaction why the hell anyone would take Henry Higgins over Freddy.

SPOT WHERE TOURISTS ARE MOST LIKELY TO GET MURDERED BY NORMAL FOLK:

Reading Terminal Market may be a tourist mecca, but many of the shops there are actually meant for use by locals. Anyone who is totally broke must check out the dollar bags of veggies at OK Lee. I can't tell you how often I've been grateful for a bag of dollar cauliflower. Martin's is an absolute godsend for my non-pork eating husband. Although they have tons of pork products they have an incredible selection of poultry sausage as well. Sadly, Ochs' butcher stand has closed after 105 years. It's very sad that second rate cheesesteak hawkers and souvenir shops are pushing out legitimate businesses used by actual Philly residents. Do your protein and veggie shopping there if you've got the patience and sharp elbows. You'll need them to shove through the hoards that come to a dead stop in the middle of an aisle to ogle the Pennsylvania Dutch.

MOST HEARTBREAKING CLOSURE?:

Ron's Ribs is closed. Possibly for renovations. Possibly because chef/owner Kevin has moved on. I won't be there to find out for sure, but if you're in town, you should. Kevin did amazing things with barbecue (or Bar-B-Q). The menu was very small, but oh tasty. If you want a half chicken though, go early or call Kevin to set one aside. Those suckers go fast. It seems to be slated to reopen Summer of 2011, but only time will tell.

BEST WAY TO ~~GAIN WEIGHT~~ DROWN SORROWS:

Capogiro Gelato Artisans My waistline will not stand frequent visits here, but oh how I will miss the creamy goodness. They do have mail order, but for me, the joy is selecting the perfect combination (you have to pick two flavors). With 4 city locations there's really no excuse for not stopping by if you're in town. Unless you're a weird person who doesn't like ice cream like my husband.

TASTY MIDDLE EASTERN FOOD:

Leila Cafe - I feel kind of sorry for this guy. So many restaurants look beautiful but can't execute on food at all. Poor Leila's has the opposite problem. He just moved to a new location (on South Street). The place isn't all that great inside and the waitstaff is a tad neglectful, but the food is really tasty. Last time we went as I was walking home whimpering because I was so full, Ryan suggested we turn around and go back for more. Check them out on GrubHub for a delivery order. Otherwise, pray someone comes to his rescue.

FORGET IT JAKE; IT'S CHINATOWN

Sang Kee Peking Duck House may even be my choice for our last supper tonight. When I'm there, the orders on the other diners tables always look delicious but I cannot get myself to move past the Peking Duck Dinner for 2. Although the fried rice is seriously not special, the two duck dishes are absolutely heavenly. Mmmm.

SO THIS IS THE WAY IT ENDS, NOT WITH A BANG BUT A WHIMPER

I'm sure we'll go back to Philadelphia, but it will never inspire homesickness as Boston still does. It's really a good little city (she says condescendingly about the fifth biggest city in the country). I managed to live there for eight years without falling in love with Water Ice, engaging in a single Pat's vs. Geno's argument, or affecting an Italian accent when ordering prosciutto. All in all, I think it turned out rather well.

Next stop, the burbs.

Away Game

2011-05-11T16:45:00.002-05:00

For the next few weeks I'll mostly be away. Yes I'll be "cooking" - I feel the need to use the quotes because it's unclear if what I'm doing with food would actually count as cooking - but for the most part I won't be in my own kitchen.

I really have no right to complain, because the kitchen I'm using is my mother's. In the house I grew up in. That's right. I spent 18 years, plus some assorted summers living in this house, helping to cook in this kitchen, but despite that, I'm constantly running into reminders that it is not mine.

1. Took me a solid 5 minutes to locate a cheese grater.
2. My mother does not seem to own salad dressing.
3. She does, however, own 2 different sizes of pizza stone. Just in case.
4. Her own does not run hot like mine. An interesting lesson I should remember for when I'm no longer living in my current apartment. Things take longer to cook when your oven is not automatically set to scorch.
5. In a Through The Looking Glass turn of events, I am no longer without food. Instead I have a list of 800 million things that all must be eaten immediately if not sooner or they'll go bad. If anyone has a use for bacon, kielbasa, a roast chicken and leftover korean food please come forward. Keep in mind that my husband will eat neither the bacon nor the kielbasa.

'Tis the Season...For Deviled Eggs

2011-05-01T08:25:00.005-05:00

We are currently at a crossroads - smack in between Easter and Mother's Day. Whether you have some left over hard boileds that you're dreading facing or are organizing your brunch menu for next Sunday, it is critical that you be able to devil. Besides shower season is upon us and whether they be bridal showers or baby showers, deviled eggs are always a hit. Even when your tray of them has slid off the seat during a particularly violent braking at a stoplight.* Trust me, a bit of paprika, some cosmetic work with a spoon and paper towel, no one will be the wiser.

*Amazingly enough, while I was involved with the repair work, I was not responsible for the egg accident. I will never reveal the name of ~~Melanie~~ the person who was.

DEVILED EGGS

INGREDIENTS:
6 hard-boiled eggs
4 T plus 1 t mayonnaise (Hellman's is GF)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp dijon mustard (Maille is GF)
black pepper to taste
paprika

DIRECTIONS:
Carefully peel the eggs. Slice each egg in half and with a spoon coax out the yolk into a small bowl. When you've gathered all the yolks add the mayonnaise and mustard and mix well. I usually break up the mixture with the tines of a fork, but people who like it smoother may prefer to something else. Sprinkle in the salt and add the pepper to taste. You can pipe the filling in with a piping bag or by filling a plastic ziploc with eggy goodness, chopping off a corner of the ziploc and squeezing it through. I am usually too lazy for these and instead use a spoon to heap the mixture back into the holes. Sprinkle the tops with paprika.

Bitter Nostalgia

2011-04-26T20:41:00.002-05:00

I am hungry.

Today I have eaten the following items:
1 slice of bread
1 granola bar
3 munchkins (2 jelly, 1 cinnamon)
1 slice of chocolate cake with marshmallow icing
1 reese's peanut butter egg
1 package of these ridgy veggie chip things that I can't remember the name of but seem kind of similar to this maybe?
1 Wawa snack pack of grapes, pita chips and cheese cubes
1/2 a hard sourdough pretzel
1 slightly melted ferrero rocher chocolate hazelnut thingy
pasta with butter, parm and tomatoes

Does anyone else remember kozmo.com? You could order anything, like a Fresh Samantha, a pint of Ben and Jerry's and a movie. And they'd bring it to you. That was fabulous. I wish they existed right now. I have no idea what I'd order and chances are it would not be any more nutritious than the rest of the junk I've eaten today, but it's late, I'm lonely and I'm HUNGRY.

Please excuse me while I slink back into ~~the kitchen~~ hiding.

Mea Culpa

2011-04-25T14:44:00.003-05:00

When I was in high school I had this rather amazing English teacher who was okay with it if you hadn't done your work. She didn't like it and she certainly didn't endorse it but she knew that sometimes, things didn't get done. Once she assigned an essay on the prior night's reading assignment in The Scarlet Letter. She must have sensed our pens hovering over our papers preparing to conjure answers out of thin air because she announced:

Anyone who has not done the reading, please rise, say "Mea Culpa" and bring your blank papers to me.

There were no further consequences for any of us, except for Morgan. He had to water her plants. We were good kids; we didn't take advantage. The rest of the term I did my assignments.

But lately? I haven't been doing my work here. And I am very sorry. I will be back, I promise, with delicious recipes and tales of both happiness and woe from the kitchen. But it might not be for awhile. Maybe June? I think I could handle June. I just have some more urgent things to attend to. Some of which I should be attending to RIGHT NOW.

Mea Culpa. Mea Maxima Culpa. (Lent may be over, but the guilt never ends...)

Effortless

2011-04-13T17:32:00.004-05:00

As in, requiring no effort. Clearly I can't handle anything else these days. I know I barely post anymore, but honestly, I barely cook anymore either. I work later now than I ever have - Monday nights I'm lucky if I walk in the door before 7pm, Thursdays tend to fall in the 6:15-6:30 range. That (plus some other stressful stuff) means that I am exhausted. It's a miracle if I can tell you what I ate a few days ago, much less what I'm going to eat in the next few days.

Last night I ate hot dogs. I was sulky because I had to buy buns for the damn things.

Tonight I'm debating the pros and cons of pasta with butter and cheese or Trader Joe's gnocchi.

But this meal? This one was effortless.

ASPARAGUS AND GOAT CHEESE PASTA
Would you believe Martha does effortless?
adapted for 2 people

INGREDIENTS:
1 bunch asparagus
1/2 lb rotini
1 T olive oil
2 T butter
2 oz goat cheese
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Put a pot of water on to boil to make your pasta. Turn on your oven to 450 F. Rinse the asparagus. Chop off the bottom third of the asparagus and cut the top parts in 1 1/2" sections. Like this:
Line a sheet pan or baking dish with foil. Pour the tablespoon of oil over the asparagus and add some salt and pepper. Bake for 10-12 minutes. They should be tender but not mushy and bright happy green. I pulled my tips after 10 minutes and left the thicker parts to go for 12. Add the pasta when the water boils. Cook the pasta according to the directions. Before draining the pasta, reserve 1 C of the pasta water. You can reuse the now empty pasta pan. Over low heat melt the butter. Add the goat cheese and whisk until melted and smooth. Slowly start to add in the reserved pasta water. I added 1/4 C and that was plenty, but go according to how thick or thin you like your sauce. I tossed the pasta back in with the sauce and stirred to coat well, then I mixed in the asparagus. Definitely taste for salt and pepper, mine needed a bit. Simple, tasty (especially if you can get good asparagus), effortless.

RECIPE FOR RECOVERY

2011-04-04T18:01:00.003-05:00

INGREDIENTS:
1 deck of cards
a Connells or Smiths tape (bonus points if one side is Connells and the other Smiths)
vanilla goldfish

DIRECTIONS:
Put the tape in your tape deck (you do have a tape deck don't you?) Deal yourself a hand of solitaire. Munch on goldfish cookies. At the end of two weeks, you'll find you've gained 10 pounds, memorized untold numbers of lyrics, learned how to shuffle the less lame-ass way (but not the Vegas dealer way) and you'll feel much better. However, cards, the Connells and the Smiths, goldfish cookies and a certain type of spring weather will constantly remind you of your convalescence and make you vaguely nostalgic for what was an absolute crap part of your 16th year.

Out Like a (Really Angry) Lamb?

2011-03-26T21:30:00.006-05:00

Hold on a minute. Where in the Sam Hill did Spring go? I swear, last weekend as I was lying in bed moaning a soft warm breeze gently wafted through the room. And of course, now that I'm mostly recuperated, it's back to bleeping cold. It SNOWED Friday. It didn't stick of course, but I reserve the right to be hostile. I'm not unfamiliar with the whole warm up-cool down phenomenon. The year I turned 25 it was 45 degrees on my birthday which falls smack in the middle of June - not exactly ideal for the pool party I had planned. But I no longer live in the frozen tundra that is Boston and I expect my weather to be a bit kinder here. Do you hear that March? Also, if I'm not mistaken the month started with some roaring blustering winds. Where's the damn lamb I was promised?

For anyone who's feeling the cold as much as I am, here's one more wintry recipe to get you through these last chilly days: A nice toasty sausage and cheese calzone. All the oozy goodness of the pizza parlor, none of the leaving the house.

SAUSAGE AND CHEESE CALZONE
makes 2 calzone

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 recipe dough
1/2 lb sausage, casing removed
1 C ricotta
1/4 C Parmiggiano-Reggiano Cheese
pinch of salt and pepper
1/8 t nutmeg
2 cloves garlic
1 C shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 475 F. Place the sausage in a warm pan and break it up with a wooden spoon. Cook for 5-7 minutes until crumbly and nicely browned. Remove to a plate covered with a paper towel so that the grease drains off.

In a large bowl, combine the cup of ricotta with the parm, a pinch of salt and pepper and the nutmeg. Then use a microplane and shave the garlic cloves into the mixture. If you don't own one, you can mince the garlic. Mix well. Then add in the sausage bits and again mix well.

Divide the dough in half. Roll out each piece in a circle, roughly 8" round. Spread half of the ricotta mixture on top then cover with half of the mozzarella cheese.

Fold the top down over the bottom to form a semicircle, then fold and twist the edges to seal.
Repeat with the second circle of dough. Sprinkle a bit of cornmeal on a baking sheet and place the calzone on the sheet.
You can brush with olive oil if you like, or just pop in the oven. Bake at 475 for 10-12 minutes, until nicely browned. The crust should be hard and the middle should be deliciously gooey.

How Close Are We?

2011-03-15T16:17:00.006-05:00

People. Are we close enough yet that I can just post this recipe with no story? I'd like to think we are. I certainly hope we are anyway, because at this point I feel lucky that I can string two words together much less put together something that is coherent, much less interesting. It's been a long few days, highlighted by 10 hours in the ER and losing 7 pounds. I'm on the mend, but just barely, and of course am being stubborn and delusional about what I can actually do. Not so delusional that I think I can either cook or eat, but delusional enough to think I can just type a bunch of crap up with some pictures and a recipe and call it a blog post. So that's what we've got folks. And I hope at this point we're close enough that you won't mind.

ARTICHOKE "PESTO" PIZZA

INGREDIENTS:
1/3 recipe dough from here (again, make a full recipe, and freeze the other 2 thirds)
1 C frozen artichokes (defrosted)
2 garlic cloves, smashed
1 t salt (you could start at 1/2 t and then sprinkle more if needed, 1 t was liberal)
1 T olive oil
pepper
1/4 C Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1-2 t lemon juice
4 strips bacon
1/2 - 1 C ricotta cheese
sprinkle of cornmeal

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 475 F.
In a cuisinart like device, whir up the artichokes, garlic cloves, salt and pepper, and parm. If you have a handy-dandy, spot in the top where you can pour liquids whilst it blends, please, add the olive oil this way. Taste. Overcome the urge to find things in your kitchen you can spread it on, so that you'll have some left to put on the pizza crust. Slice the bacon into smallish bits, and cook it in a non-stick pan for about 5 minutes or until delicious and crispy. Roll out the dough. Sprinkle a giant cookie sheet with the cornmeal and then place the rolled out dough on top. Spoon the artichoke deliciousness over the top. Then sprinkle the bacon on top of that. Finally, Add rounded tablespoons of ricotta all over for extra creamy goodness. Pop into the oven and bake for 7-10 minutes (you want cooked crust and warmed toppings).

Barter System

2011-03-09T17:49:00.002-05:00

As far as I know there are two types of people in the world. Those who can be bribed with cookies, and those of us who are very relieved to find out cookies will be accepted as a bribe.
At work, this cookie-bribing thing has developed into a whole barter system.

The woman who works next to me is one of those people who has everything you would never think to have, but always somehow need. So far this year I've gone to her for pain medication, a serated knife, tin foil and popsicle sticks. I don't even think to ask anyone else. I know that somewhere in the insane miscellany of her world she will have anything I desire. And she comes cheap. All I do is pay her in cookies, usually just a few, not even a whole batch. (Or at least I haven't asked for anything major enough to warrant a whole batch yet; I'll let you know if I do!)

Just this week I had to ante up. This time it was my NEW! chocolate crinkle cookies.
So just in case you're looking to bribe someone sometime soon...

CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES
adapted from William-Sonoma, I was going to try Betty Crocker's recipe but do I have 3 hours? No, I damn well don't.

INGREDIENTS:
1 2/3 C flour
1/2 C unsweeted cocoa powder, I used Ghiradelli
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt (I omitted because I use salted butter)
1 stick butter
1 1/2 C sugar + 1/4 - 1/2 C extra for rolling (I'm not a big confectioner's sugar person).
2 eggs
1 t vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350F.
Cream together your butter and sugar (I use a stand mixer). In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cocoa powder and salt(if you're using the salt). Return to your stand mixer and your light and fluffy butter. Now add the eggs, one at a time, mixing in between. Then add your vanilla. Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix carefully. When everything is incorporated you're ready to roll! I prepared to pans by covering them with silpat but you could just grease them. Then get a small bowl and put in regular sugar (remember I think confectioner's is kind of nasty anyway). Form smallish balls, I did probably about walnut sized balls and place on the baking sheets, leaving some room for spreading. Bake for 8-10 minutes then remove to cool on a wire baking rack.

Home is Where the Bread Is

2011-03-05T13:39:00.004-05:00

Two weeks ago, I went to visit one of my dearest friends and her darling daughter. It could not have been more delightful. I gleefully indulged the baby by picking up anything she threw off her jumper and giving it back to her, just to hear her say "uh-oh" when she tossed it back over the side. (You should know that I'm pretty much a "yeah, sorry about that kid" person when it comes to the man overboard game, but "uh-oh" instead of wailing like a banshee goes a long way to melt my cold, cold heart.)

Also, there were delicious foods, including home baked bread. So it broke my heart more than a little to leave them all and come back here. Since there's nothing I can really do about missing the baby, I focused on something more concrete and solvable - the bread. Blessed with a completely unexpected (and frankly unnecessary) snow day, I had a chance to bake up my new favorite bread, James Beard's Basic Homestyle Bread. So good. It's made with milk which just makes it extra delicious in my opinion. Also it bakes up two loaves, which means if I can manage to shove one in the freezer I have a treat for later. I will admit that sometimes I lack the self-control to do this and then Ryan and I eat basically two loaves in 3 days. Shut up.

BEARD'S HOMESTYLE BREAD
1. If you'd like to make bread, and you don't own Beard on Bread, you probably should. I stole my mother's copy which she later demanded back despite the fact that she never bakes bread. Fine, I've got my own copy now dammit. Interestingly enough, you can order it for your Kindle, in case you ever wanted to see how well sticky dough covered fingers and an expensive electronic device get along.
2. James Beard spends a lot of time supposing I have things that I do not now, nor will ever have, like caraway seeds and graham flour and empty one pound coffee tins. This recipe requires none of that nonsense.

INGREDIENTS:
1 package dry yeast
2 C warm milk (100-115F) - I use my candy thermometer here, because I don't want my yeast to be killed
2 T sugar
1/4 C melted butter (Beard means unsalted but he doesn't tell you that, no, no.)
2 t of salt (Beard wants you to use 1 T, but I found that to be way too salty).
5-6 C all purpose flour

DIRECTIONS:
Heat the milk, I use the stove so I can gauge the temperature properly. Once it reaches the proper temperature, add 1/2 C of it to the yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Let it sit (and the yeast proof) while you get the other things ready. Put the rest of the milk, the salt and the melted butter (now that I do in the microwave) in the bowl of your stand mixer. Use a spatula to mix it about. Fit the mixer with your bread hook and start adding the flour, one cup at a time. After each cup, give it a good stir, scraping down the sides with a spatula as needed to make sure the flour part is in with the dough part. Once you've added the third cup of flour, add the yeast mixture. Again, run the mixer for a minute, then continue adding flour a cup at a time. The goal is to get something firmish. While the texture of the bread ends up slightly different in the end depending on how much flour you add, I liked it very well both ways. You'll end up needing between 4 and 5 cups total. Let the mixer to the main work of kneading for you, running it on a fairly high speed for a few minutes until it's holding together well. I usually finish up with a quick hand knead, just to make sure I like the texture. You want your dough to be soft, not sticky and sort of satiny. Put it in a large buttered bowl, cover with a dish towel and set in a warm draft free place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in bulk. I have a gas oven so I pop it in there (ON OFF) for the first rise.

When the dough has risen, punch it down and give it a quick knead. Then slice it in half and shape it for two well buttered loaf pans. I don't own two loaf pans, so I used a casserole dish and a loaf pan (I might even like the round better!) Don't feel sad that it looks too small for the pans, time will take care of this. Again, cover the dough and set it to rise in a warm draft-free place. In 1 1/2 to 2 hours it should look nice and puffy (fine, doubled in bulk). Like so:
If you'd been housing them in your oven, take the out and preheat your oven to 400F. If you hadn't been storing them there, you could start preheating earlier. So, while the oven's warming up, use a sharp knife to slice the loaf pan loaf down the middle and to make and x in the top of the round loaf. Then give the top a little brush over with some milk so it's shiny and browned after baking. You could do the same thing with egg white, but it's too much of a hassle for me.
Bake at 400 F for 40-45 minutes (35 in my super fast oven). The bread is done when it's beautifully golden and sounds hollow when you tap it on the bottom. Remove the bread from the pans and try to wait for it to cool before you start eating. This bread is most delicious on the first day, but makes excellent toast so will hold up a bit longer if you are a master of self-control.

(Oscar) Party Plan

2011-02-26T18:25:00.005-05:00

Come Sunday, the women of Hollywood will be corseted and poured into gowns. Their hair will be teased, sprayed and coiffed, their faces painted, their nails shellacked. They will be stunning, breathtaking, works of art. They will probably also be hungry. And uncomfortable. I will not have these problems. My Oscar night party (for one) will involve my sofa, a sloppy ponytail, very comfortable pajamas and food that is most certainly off limits to the good ladies of fashion - teriyaki chicken wings. I will think of them with pity as gnaw on these delectable bites.

Whether you are having an ultra-exclusive party like mine, or one open to your friends, surely everyone will enjoy the freedom to make a mess while enjoying food you can sink your teeth into. Extra bonus - you can do a lot ahead. Make the sauce whenever you have time, then all you'll have to do is cook off the wings.

TYLER'S TERIYAKI CHICKEN WINGS
very slightly adapted from Tyler Florence - this goes really well with Cold Sesame Noodles (which can also be made ahead)

INGREDIENTS:
For the wings -
6-8 wings per person - if you are staunchly anti-wing, try drumsticks, they'll just need to cook longer
salt and pepper
olive oil

For the sauce (I halve Tyler's when cooking for the two of us. It's enough for the wings, and some left over) -
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C grapefruit juice
2 T hoisin sauce
2 T ketchup
1 1/2 T rice wine vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1 t sambal (more if you like things fiery)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger, minced

gluten-free note: You'll need GF soy, GF Hoisin (Premier Japan is GF), GF ketchup

DIRECTIONS:
If you're cooking the wings at the same time as you're making your sauce, preheat your oven to 400F.

To make the sauce:
Chop the garlic and ginger and toss in a small saucepan. Add all the other sauce ingredients, stir and heat over medium low. Cook for 20 minutes stirring periodically or until thicker and tasty. For the love of Mike do not leave this unattended. You will not appreciate cleaning up the mess.

To make the wings:
Cover a baking sheet with foil. Salt and pepper your wings and drizzle with olive oil. Bake for 20 minutes. Coat in sauce, tuck back in for 10 more minutes. Toss in remaining sauce. Serve.

So, I usually make the sauce ahead. But if you were so inclined, get the sauce started right as you start the wings in the oven. The sauce should finish cooking right about when the wings need saucing.

Cold Enough For You?

2011-02-19T21:13:00.003-05:00

Generally speaking when you have absolutely nothing to say to another person, you talk about the weather. I know this not only because I am relatively socially awkward, but also because my building is equipped with the world's smallest, slowest elevator. It is very, very uncomfortable to stand in silence when you are less than an inch away from another person, especially when you see this person on a semi-regular basis. This winter though, the weather has done its damnedest to keep things interesting for those of us forced into frequent small talk. There's the snow, the ice, the lack of parking available due to the snow and ice, the treacherous nature of brick sidewalks especially when coated with snow and ice. And when we've enjoyed a break from the joys of precipitation there has been an undue amount of cold, punctuated by blistering, bone-rattling wind, intent on making sure that cold is blown directly into the very core of your being.

And this soup is for those of you who have been suffering this winter. It will absolutely warm you up, even if you're at the point where you're pretty sure you'll never be warm again. It won't make you think of tropical beaches and bikinis but it will coat your insides with a nice little fire. Feel free to tinker with the recipe, I certainly did.

ASIAN CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP
I found this delicious recipe over at Lady Gouda and modified it slightly, but it should be fully acknowledged that she is the brains behind this.

INGREDIENTS:
1-2" piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 T veggie oil
1/2 C onion diced finely
roughly 2 C sliced shiitake mushrooms (I used the whole package I bought)
3-4 shredded carrots (I julienned mine but I highly recommend using a mandolin)
2 C cooked chicken - I wasn't thrilled about the chicken, I felt I could have skipped it
5 C chicken broth + 1 C water - my broth was homemade and very rich so it could stand up to the supplement of water, I highly recommend using all broth.
3 T soy
2 t sriracha - this made for some seriously spicy soup, a plus in my book, but dial it back if you're wary of heat (but also don't expect it to warm you up as much either!)
3-4 heads of baby bok choy, white super crunchy bits trimmed off and well rinsed (they can be sandy).
3-4 scallions, sliced very thin (and on the diagonal)
3-4 oz rice noodles, cooked

gluten-free note: Get gluten-free soy sauce and check labeling, but sriracha should be gluten-free as should be your rice noodles.

DIRECTIONS:
In a large pot, over low heat, saute the garlic and ginger and onion until soft. Add the mushrooms (I think you could add the carrots here too, I added mine at the end with the bok choy and they cooked fully). Add the chicken, the soy and sriracha. Toss well until everything is coated. Then add the stock. Bring to a low simmer and cook for 15 minutes. While it's cooking, prepare the rice noodles according to the box - my box offered a choice of soaking them for 25-30 minutes which I really didn't have time for and boil them for 4-6 minutes which I did. My other bag has no English on it except for the words "rice noodles". Toss in the bok choy (the carrots too if you didn't add them earlier) and the scallions. Cook for about 2-4 minutes until the bok choy is wilted and tender. If you did as I advise below, add the cooked rice noodles.

A note about rice noodles: I cooked mine separately. I've had to overcook pasta before because I'd added it to cook directly in the soup and then the soup wasn't ready and the pasta ended up gross. I will not be burned again. I boiled my rice noodles separately and added them in cooked at the very end. Do whatever you think is best.

A further noodle note: I chose rice noodles because they were the only one of my several types of Asian noodles that advertised on the box that they can be used in soup. I had (very thin) soba noodles and mein noodles too. I'd planned to try all different ones but when I realized I would be the only one home for dinner my motivation disappeared. I would love to hear about further noodle experimentation.

Crummy

2011-02-13T22:42:00.004-05:00

If you want romantic and cute this Valentine's Day, please, immediately click over to one of the plethora of food bloggers peddling adorable, sexy holiday treats.

I've got none of that. I am heading into this holiday with all the joy and anticipation I imagine most people feel prior to a root canal (having never had a root canal this is purely speculation on my part). Why so bitter? Am I not happily married?

I have in fact spent the past 8 Valentine's Days with my husband. We're not big celebrators, but most of the time I try to do something to make the day, a little special, a little like what I'd want it to be. But I'm out. I completely forgot to make any type of specially themed goody. It was all I could do this weekend to rustle up dessert, to say nothing of something that would communicate endless love for my spouse.

Instead I made a very crummy chocolate cake. I wanted to make Debbie's Chocolate Yogurt Cake. But I was lazy and a fool and instead I made the Chocolate Honeycake I found in the back of my Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook. Big mistake. Huge mistake. I am now out a half a cup of store-brand (but still overpriced) honey, and I possess a cake that tastes more than a little nasty. I should have gone to the store for yogurt. Then at least whilst I wallow in my anti-Valentine's misery I could be eating something I like.

Insert Pig Joke Here

2011-02-10T18:36:00.002-05:00

A few years ago when we had that whole swine flu scare, I ended up in a very serious pig-based discussion with my third grade class. My contributions were limited to helpful observations such as: "Um, we're calling that H1N1 now." and "You know you can't get it from eating pork or bacon or ham right?" As the children paused to reflect on these pearls of wisdom, S, a terrific kid with impeccable timing said (and I quote!) "I just love pigs..." then she sighed audibly and added, "they're so adorable...and they taste delicious!"

I could not agree more. However, I am married to one of the many people out there who does not eat pork. You could say it's because he's Jewish (he is, but it's not) or because he's Muslim (he's not, so it's not) or because he's watched Pulp Fiction too many times and over associates with Samuel L. Jackson's character (although he hasn't and he doesn't). The fact is, it doesn't matter why he won't eat any tasty swine products, all that matters is that he won't.

And of course, I'm the one who suffers. Oh sure, I buy poultry sausages and I eat turkey bacon now without too much complaint. If it's hidden in a recipe, it usually won't pain me too much. But as much as turkey bacon is a cheap and slightly sad substitute for bacon, it's just painful to use it in place of pancetta. So I've been suffering along (in silence, I promise) until something better came along.

And that something better is... duck bacon. Okay, so it's pricey. But duck bacon is actually delicious. And gives off delicious fat just like pancetta would. And has a texture that is pleasing and not sort of leathery. It's not for every day, but if you've got a dish where the pancetta should shine and you're pigless? Duck bacon.

I made this Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks with turkey bacon the first time, but it is far more delicious when made with duck bacon. I can only dream what it would taste like with pancetta.

PASTA WITH DUCK BACON! AND LEEKS
adapted from The Pioneer Woman
serves between 2-4 depending on how hearty your appetites are - we had a fair amount left over

INGREDIENTS:
8 oz farfalle
4-5 slices duck bacon
2 leeks, sliced and properly cleaned (cut into rings, push rings apart with your fingers, soak in cold water, lift out the rings leaving all the sandy ick on the bottom of the bowl) - use only the white to light green parts, don't use the thick dark green leafy parts
1/4 C vermouth
1/4 C light cream (Oh for crying out loud, I usually add a smidge more. I'm a bad person)
1/4 C - 1/2 C parmigiano-reggiano cheese, plus more for garnish.
reserved pasta water

DIRECTIONS:
Cook the pasta according to the directions on the box. Chop your duck bacon into small tasty bits. Drop them into a large skillet and cook on medium-high until cooked (5-7 minutes). They will give off tons of fat, so you won't need any other oil/butter nonsense. Add the leeks and cook 8-10 minutes. You do not want them to crunch (well, I don't anyway). I like them nice and tender. They will likely not stay a pretty green like on Pioneer Woman. They are cooking in a pan full of delicious duck fat. They will become golden. Add the vermouth. Cook 1-2 minutes. Add the cream, toss well to combine. Add the pasta (I did say a large skillet). Add the grated cheese and toss. If it seems dry, feel free to add a bit of reserved pasta water, or some more cream (come on, I'll never tell). Serve and garnish with some shaved parm (use a potato peeler for pretty curls). Be very grateful that being pig free is no longer a hardship.

Third Time's A Charm

2011-02-07T18:58:00.009-05:00

I have been neglecting this blog. I can be honest. I am stressed and anxious and busy and this is the thing that has fallen by the wayside. In part because there has been no food in my house. It is incredibly hard to blog about cooking when your meals consist of things like the heel of a loaf of bread with some peanut butter on it. But I was determined to fix this, to cook something tasty, to have a worthy post. So to that end I planned and grocery shopped and tried out not one, not two, but three new recipes on Saturday night.

Most unfortunately the main result of this was me realizing just how much I can hate trying out new recipes. I tried making roast chicken with bacon and brandy, inspired by Nigella and Tyler Florence. It came out distinctly uninspiring. Also dry. But I'm blaming the meat thermometer for the dry part. I made these fancy shmancy potatoes that I once saw on Cooking for Real. They only took an extra 30 minutes to cook. Let me be real with you, I do not have an hour and a half to spend on something that looks like an armadillo and tastes exactly like a normal baked potato. Oh hell no.

It was no small blessing that dessert turned out tasty. If it hadn't there's no telling what would have happened over here. The applesauce cake is simple, old-fashioned and easy. A definite winner.

SPICED APPLESAUCE CAKE
from SmittenKitchen who is clearly better at recipe writing and testing than those suckers at Food Network

INGREDIENTS:
2 C flour
2 t baking power
1/2 t baking soda
1 t cinnamon (SK used 3/4, but I'm a cinnamon kind of girl)
1/2 t ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
1 stick butter (I almost always use salted butter, which is NOT ideal for baking, but then I omit the salt from the recipe, things usually even out)
1 C light brown sugar
1 t vanilla extract
2 large eggs (that's 1/2 C eggbeaters for those watching their cholesterol)
1 C unsweetened applesauce

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the vanilla and mix well. Add the eggs, mixing between each one. Then add the applesauce. Again, mix to combine. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves. Stir to combine. Add in small batches to the wet ingredients, mixing between each addition until all are incorporated. Grease and flour a round cake pan (I'm not a square kind of gal). Pour in the cake batter. Bake for 30-45 minutes (mine took 30 flat). Remove carefully from pan and set aside to cool. Frost when cool.

FROSTING

INGREDIENTS:
5 oz cream cheese, softened (cream cheese has these awesome lines like butter so you can cut it right, who knew?)
3 T butter, softened
1 t vanilla
1/2 t cinnamon
1 C confectioner's sugar

DIRECTIONS:
Whip together the cream cheese and butter until uniform. Add the vanilla and give it another whip. Sift the confectioner's sugar and cinnamon into the mixture. DO NOT skip on sifting because you are lazy. It will result in little lumps like I had. I don't do frosting really, so this was a learning experience for me. I realized as poured in the sugar that I was being an idiot but it was too late for me to do anything. Save yourselves. Make nice smooth pretty frosting. Sift in the stupid sugar. Beat again then frost the cake!

Pickin' Your Chicken

2011-01-28T16:40:00.008-05:00

Look, I've been keeping something from you. Nothing exciting sadly, but something potentially very helpful. And that something is my breaded chicken recipe. I make it at least twice a month. Sometimes more. So why I haven't I shared? Pure and shameful selfishness. I usually make it when I'm tired and overworked. Which means that I put absolutely no thought into it. I eyeball everything. I time nothing. So I haven't written it up for you because I knew it would be a pain in my delicate spoiled little rear to have to write down what I do and how I do it.

BUT. I'm having this recent spate of altruism where I'm feeling all sharey so I figured we might as well get this out before I go back to being self-involved. Author's note: There has been a 4 day delay between the writing and posting of this post. I am not only self-involved but flighty.

The best thing about breaded chicken? It's incredibly versatile. You can top it with fresh avocado and tomatoes and a drizzle of balsamic like I did. You can make it plain and put a little honey on the side for dipping. Mmm. Honey. You can add Parmigiano-Reggiano to the bread crumbs, delicious. Or you can make it my mother's way with a bit of thyme in the bread crumbs. It's like having 4 whole different dinners. All with one simple recipe. You can manage that. I have faith in you. Walk away from the Shake and Bake aisle. This will taste better. And eventually you will be able to throw it together without thinking like I do. Which is really helpful when you're unsure whether or not you have any brain cells left.

VERSATILE BREADED CHICKEN
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
for all three variations you need
3-4 Tablespoons Vegetable (or Canola or Olive) Oil
2 chicken breasts
1/8 Cup flour
hefty pinch of salt and several grinds of black pepper
1 egg plus 1-2 Tablespoons Water
1/4 Cup store bought plain breadcrumbs

for breaded chicken with avocado and tomato with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar you need
1 avocado (if you're making this for 1 person, squeeze a bit of lemon over the spare half and wrap it tightly in plastic wrap to slowing browning a bit)
1 C chopped tomatoes (or a few slices off a nice ripe one)
1/2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar per breast

for breaded chicken with parm
1/8 to 1/4 C grated Parm (how much is dependent on how cheesy you like things)

for breaded chicken with thyme
2 teaspoons dried thyme

for plain breaded chicken with honey to dip
a few tablespoons of honey in a bowl for dipping.

DIRECTIONS:
Remove the chicken from its packaging. Rinse it and pat it dry. Trim off any nasty bits of fat or tendony parts. Keep the chicken on a cutting board and cover it with waxed paper or plastic wrap. Use a rolling pin or flat bottomed pan to pound the chicken (as in this recipe). Remember your goal is even thickness. Then prepare your breading station. I have no counter space, so mine is cramped. But you need to put the flour (1/8 Cup) on a plate and add the salt and pepper. You need to put the egg in a shallow dish with a tablespoon or two of water and use a fork to whisk it like it's scrambled eggs. You need to put the breadcrumbs (1/4 Cup) on a final plate. For breaded chicken with parm: Add the parm to the breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. For breaded chicken with thyme: Add the thyme to the breadcrumbs and mix thoroughly. Get your pan heated up. Put the vegetable oil in a pan and make sure the bottom is well-coated. Put the heat to the high side of medium high. You'll know it's hot enough when a drop of water flicked in the pan sizzles and dances.

Okay, step one in breading: Take the chicken and dip it in the flour, until both sides are coated. Give a little shake so the extra flour falls off. Do both breasts. So you have this:

Next check your pan. You want to put the breaded chicken directly in it, so make sure it's warm enough. If it is, finish breading. Step 2 in breading: Dunk the chicken in the egg mixture. Get both sides covered. Then press it into the breadcrumbs, flip it over and press it in the breadcrumbs again. Make sure there are now blanks spots. Then put the chicken in your pan. It should make a satisfying sizzle (wear long sleeves, your oil may spit). Cook the chicken for 4 minutes on this side. Then flip. Pretty, see:

Allow 3-4 minutes on the second side, lower the heat if necessary. If you want to top it with avocado and tomato, now is the time to slice your avocado and chop/slice your tomato. When the chicken is done (I promise you'll get to know how this feels), remove it from the pan.

Now, if you like, serve it with a side of honey. Or top with the avocado and tomato and drizzle a bit of balsamic vinegar over the top. Or just eat it. It's nice to have choices, isn't it?

How to Cook a Chicken Breast

2011-01-22T16:58:00.010-05:00

No seriously. Today I'm giving out step-by-step, I honestly hope they will be easy enough even for beginners, basic chicken breast cooking directions. Yes, these days I am the very image of domesticity, but back when I first graduated from college I couldn't really cook. I could make a few very specific things (I'm pretty sure I've mentioned here that I got invited to late-night after parties in college more for my ability to make Kraft mac and cheese from a box than for my sparkling personality). But actual dinner every single night? No way. I was crap at getting a decent dinner together when no one was around to monitor what I made and ate. Heck, I still am. But I did learn to cook, with no formal training and surprisingly less swearing than I would have predicted at the outset. So if you're feeling like you need to add a basic dish to your repertoire, or maybe that you should have a dish in your repertoire, here we go. Chicken with balsamic and mushrooms, the baby steps version.

CHICKEN WITH BALSAMIC AND MUSHROOMS - THE (ILLUSTRATED) BABY STEPS VERSION
This recipe is to serve 2 people. It can easily be cut in half if you're only cooking for one, or increased if you're cooking for many.

INGREDIENTS:
1 small chicken breast per person
2 Tablespoons flour (substitute brown rice flour if you want to make this gluten-free)
3-4 Tablespoon butter
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1-2 garlic cloves
4 oz sliced mushrooms (the containers you get at the grocery store are usually 8oz, so use half of one of those - buy pre-sliced if you are lazy, it will save you a step. If you don't know what to do with the rest, you can toss some on salads, or cook then in a little butter and fold into an omelet).
1/4 Cup balsamic vinegar (balsamic comes in different degrees of fancy, don't get the cheapest, but don't buy really expensive stuff either).
3/4 Cup chicken stock (the rest can be frozen)
1 tsp dried thyme (it will keep forever, don't worry about owning a jar)
salt and pepper

EQUIPMENT:
1 large frying pan, hopefully non-stick
a cutting board
1 knife
tongs, hopefully with the plastic part covering the ends, not metal which will scrape your pan
an oven proof plate (you can use a cookie sheet if you can't find an oven proof plate)
a liquid measuring cup (for the chicken stock) and measuring spoons
something heavy like a rolling pin or the frying pan
plastic wrap or waxed paper

DIRECTIONS:
1. Turn your oven on to its lowest possible setting.
2. Clean your mushrooms by rubbing with a damp paper towel and slice, you can skip this if you buy pre-sliced.
3. Peel the garlic cloves and cut off the crusty bit at the base and discard. Chop the garlic up very fine.
4. Set the garlic and mushrooms aside in bowls ready to go next to the stove.
5. Take the chicken out of its package. Rinse it off in the sink and dry it using paper towels. There may be some fatty bits around the edges which you can trim off, and there's also a sort of gross tendony bit towards the fatter end which you can cut off. Discard the ooky bits.
6. Put the chicken on a cutting board and cover it with either plastic wrap or waxed paper. You are going to pound the chicken. See how its thick at one end and thin at the other? That will make it cook unevenly.

7. Use a rolling pin or the bottom of a flat frying pan to pound the chicken. You'll need to hit reasonably hard, but make sure your focus is on keeping it uniform in thickness. Your finished chicken may not be as pretty, but no worries, we're covering him in flour. Here it is flattened:
8. Throw out the wrap and put the rolling pin in the sink. Wash your chickeny hands.
9. Put the pan on the stove and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and 1 tablespoon of butter (butter sticks have tablespoons marked on the wrapper). Turn the heat to medium high/high.
10. Mix the flour together with a half teaspoon of salt and a few good shakes (or grinds) or pepper. Then you can sprinkle the flour right over the chicken. I poured the flour on a dry surface (I used my cutting board, but if it isn't completely dry it will be gross and clumpy, so don't do that) then made sure I coated each side of the chicken.
11. Keep an eye on that pan. The butter can get a deep golden color but you don't really want it to brown. The pan is hot enough when a droplet of water flicked into the pan sizzles and spits. Stand back when you test it like this.
12. When the pan is hot enough, pick up the chicken breast(s) and give a good shake so the extra flour falls off. Gently place in the middle of the pan.
13. Cook for four minutes. Then use your tongs to flip. Lower the temperature to medium.
14. Cook for four more minutes. The chicken will feel much firmer when it is done. Chicken must be cooked all the way through, no pink, so check by cutting open if you're paranoid and new to this.15. Remove the chicken to the oven proof plate and place in the warm oven, remember the temperature is on keep warm or whatever your lowest setting is.
16. Okay your chicken is in the oven and your pan is empty except some leftover oil and some brown crackly bits. Reduce the heat to low. Toss in the mushrooms, garlic and thyme. Add the chicken stock and balsamic vinegar. Use your spatula to scrape the good brown bits off the bottom of the pan and mix in with the mushrooms and sauce. Cook for 2-3 minutes until the mushrooms are all tender and glistening like here:17. Turn off the heat and stir in 2 more tablespoons of butter. Yum.
18. Take the chicken out of the oven (and turn the oven off). Put it on a plate and gently spoon the mushrooms and sauce over top.

See, that wasn't terrible, was it?

Snow Day Provisions

2011-01-12T17:59:00.005-05:00

I tend to feel that certain things are best marked with celebratory snacks. Snow days are definitely one of them. I don't know about you but to me snow days mean cocoa. Today while I was making the requisite cup, I started eyeing my mini marshmallows. Adorable, fluffy, cottony little bits of sweetness, they were calling out for something bigger and better than a slow melting demise on top of the cocoa. And so, rocky road cookies.

But here's the rub. I got a new silpat for Christmas and so I was able to rotate pans while baking. I baked half the cookies on my old mat and an old black standard lipped cookie pan. I baked half the cookies on my new mat on a shiny flat silvery cookie sheet. They turned out totally different. The ones on the old mat and pan were fat and plump (as well they should be, little mounds of chocolatey, nutty, marshmallowy goodness). The ones on the new mat and sheet were spread very wide and flat (still tasty but more regular chocolate between bites). What the heck happened? Clearly something mat/sheet related right? All cookies were baked for the same amount of time. They were alternated in the oven, so it wasn't like the plump ones baked up first or anything. Where the frick is Alton Brown when I need some food science answers. Probably off eating his own, non-tempermental rocky road cookies. Bastard.

ROCKY ROAD COOKIES
This recipe probably needs a bit of tinkering with given its tempermental nature. I'm thinking of cutting back on butter and sugar next time, so feel free to try doing that yourself. Less butter because I'm blaming it for the over spread, less sugar because when you're adding chocolate and marshmallows you don't need the base to be as sweet.

INGREDIENTS:
2 C flour
3/4 C cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 t salt
2.5 sticks unsalted butter
2 eggs
2 C sugar
3/4 C chopped pecans
3/4 C mini marshmallows - halved if you can stand it, full size they stick more and compromise the structural integrity of the cookie a bit
3/4 C chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350 F. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. Mix well. Add the vanilla. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add slowly, a cup or so at a time, mixing in between additions.
Add the pecans, marshmallows and chocolate chips and stir gently but thoroughly so the mix-ins are evenly distributed. Using an old black cookie sheet and your old silpat mat, put heaping tablespoons of batter on the sheet (I may have rolled mine, I'm weird like that). Leave some room for them to spread, a lot if you fear they'll bizarrely flatten like mine. Bake for 7-9 minutes, no more than 9 though. Leave to cool 5 minutes on the pan before removing to a wire rack. Try any sooner and you'll have serious cookie carnage.

A Sweet Start

2011-01-02T09:57:00.007-05:00

It's taken me a week to write this post, mainly because I'm feeling pretty down on this whole New Year's thing. Last year I was whining about New Year's Eve, but this year I'm extending the complaints to the whole concept of New Years. A new year is a pretty arbitrary designation, you know? It's only a new year by the Gregorian calendar, so why do people give it so much weight? The problems that weighed upon me in December are still right here in the New Year. There is no promise of better things.

So where does all this bitterness leave me? Going through the motions. And that I did. Despite desperately wanting to skip on the fancy dinner for New Year's Eve, I managed to make some duck, a pretty little salad and some sweet potatoes.

It's a good thing there were sweet potatoes. I certainly need something to help swallow this start that is so tinged with bitter.

MASHED SWEET POTATOES
adapted from Emeril

INGREDIENTS:
2 sweet potatoes
2 T butter
2 T greek yogurt
salt and pepper to taste

(See how the ratio is 1 T of butter and 1 T greek yogurt per potato? Go with it. Make as many as you like!)

DIRECTIONS:
Wash the sweet potatoes (you're taking off the skins later, so you probably don't need to be that thorough). Poke the skins with a fork a few times. Preheat your oven to 450 F. But you're not going to use the oven just yet. Instead, stick the sweet potatoes in the microwave and microwave for 1 minute. Then turn them over. Microwave for 2 minutes, then turn them over again. Then microwave them for 2.5 minutes. Now they're ready for the real oven. Bake for 25 minutes at 450 or until the insides are tender and fluffy. Cut open the potatoes, careful, they're hot! Scrape the insides into a big bowl (I used the bowl of my stand mixer). Add the greek yogurt and butter, season with salt and pepper. Mix well. Serve. Allow them to take the bitter edge off whatever you're up against.

Been An Angel All Year...

2010-12-30T08:35:00.003-05:00

Well not quite an angel, but Santa (erm, my parents, Ryan and friend L) certainly hurried down the chimney with lots of kitchen goodies.

1. & 2. Reusable sandwich and snack bags - no more using up ziplocs at an alarming rate, these cute little bags will keep my lunch together and do the environment some favors in the process.

3. A three piece glass food storage set, because even though I have BPA free plastic, it's still plastic and eventually they're going to find out that plastic turns you into a newt or something.

4. A tiny dish for my salt and pepper mills to sit on so they don't shed salty and peppery bits all over my counter.

5. Itty bitty portable utensil set, so I can stop eating with a spork. Because the cafeteria only gives out sporks.

6. Nigella Express - you've already benefitted from her cheddar risotto, just think of all the other delicious recipes!

7. New candy thermometer (so meat thermometers no longer need to be inserted in white chocolate).

8. A second silpat mat! I can actually prepare a second batch of cookies while the first is still baking! More cookies! More cookies!

9. Everyday French Cooking by Christian Constant. I have been kicking myself for not buying this ever since Ryan and I left Paris (a few years ago?) We loved our meal at Cafe Constant, particularly the duck (which sadly isn't in the cookbook). It is not for the faint of heart though, it has a somewhat unthinkable number of foie gras recipes.

10. Digital meat thermometer - my current meat thermometer and I often have differences of opinion. I'm hoping I get along better with this one.

11. Empanada maker - this sucker is sweet! You use the bottom to cut your circle of dough, stick the circle on top, drop in some filling, and smoooooosh! Empanadas. Turnovers. Handpies.

poll by twiigs.com

Post-Blizzard Blues

2010-12-28T08:26:00.007-05:00

You should have been here Sunday. We were still camped out at my parents' house following Christmas festivities. I spent the morning warning my family about impending snow. They spent the morning ignoring me. By mid afternoon I was dashing between the windows crying "BLEEEEEZZARD, BLEEEEEEZZARD" and singing "Let it Snow." Everyone else was looking at me like I was crazy, but I was in heaven. Sadly, all good blizzards must come to an end, and this one meant a drive home to Philly and parking in a lovely gray slush drift. The only way to stave off a post-blizzard mood crash is to have some comfort food for dinner, and this definitely worked. I found the recipe in my Christmas loot - Nigella Express.

CHEDDAR RISOTTO
adapted slightly from Nigella Express

INGREDIENTS:
1 T butter
1 leek, pale green and white parts only, minced and rinsed to be free of grit
1 1/2 C arborio rice
1/4 C dry vermouth
1/2 T dijon mustard
4-5 C veggie stock (Nigella said 4 C, I ended up using an extra C of water to make the risotto, because it wasn't soft enough with just the 4 C).
1 C grated cheddar cheese
4 pieces bacon (for garnish)

gluten-free note: Vermouth should be gf, but feel free to substitute white wine if you're more comfortable with that or even stock. Check your mustard labeling.

DIRECTIONS:
Put the butter and leek in a large pan with high sides. In a pot next to it, heat up the stock. Melt the butter and cook the leek 2-3 minutes until softened. Watch closely so it doesn't burn. Add the arborio rice and cook another 2 minutes or so, turning frequently so the rice gets coated in butter and toasts a bit. Then increase the heat and add the vermouth. Allow it to cook off, add the mustard. Add the warm stock about a ladleful at a time. Stir the risotto after you add the stock until it is mostly absorbed (I wait until I can pull a spoon through the risotto without having liquid fill up the track I've made). Then add another ladleful or two. Keep doing this until the stock is gone and the rice is soft (not mushy) but still has some texture. It should take about 18-20 minutes. Meanwhile, chop your bacon and toss it in a hot frying pan. Give it about five minutes to crisp up. Put on a paper towel to drain and set aside. When the risotto is soft enough, add the cheddar and stir. I used a nice sharp cheddar and was amazed at how cheesy the risotto tasted. I think the salt from the stock and the cheese worked beautifully together to sort of extend the cheese flavor. It was like macaroni and cheese, but with risotto not pasta. So tasty. I tossed the bacon on top and yum!

All right, already!!

2010-12-25T14:06:00.005-05:00

Last night at 10:54pm my mother received an e-mail from a friend asking for this recipe. It's my fault really. Last weekend Ryan and I went to my parents' house and had dinner with them and their friends. The pot roast was heaven, but the big winner of the night was this roast vegetable dish. I waited a whole two days before I made it again for us. And I had promised to blog it, but then the time just got away from me. So in order to stave off any other Christmas crises, here's the recipe.

ROAST CARROTS, TURNIPS AND FENNEL
from my mom
Serves 4 as a side dish
Cooking time: 1 hr

INGREDIENTS:
1/8 C olive oil
1 t salt
pepper
5 carrots
3 tennis ball sized turnips
1 smallish bulb fennel

DIRECTIONS:

Get out a small roasting pan, and preheat your oven to 425F. Peel the carrots and cut off the tips (top and bottom). Cut the bottom half off your carrots and cut that in halves lengthwise. Then cut the tops in half lengthwise and then again lengthwise. Next cut the fennel. Take off the furry fronds and the end of the bottom. Then chop into half inch strips. Put the carrots and the fennel in the roasting pan together. Finally, peel your turnips and cut off any icky ends. Chop them in half and then in pieces that are of uniform size, and about the same size as your carrot sticks. Add the 1/8 C of olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss well until everything is coated. Put the pan in the oven and roast for 30 minutes. Then toss gently to give everything a chance to be in the best roasting spots. Cook for another 30 minutes, but check every 10 minutes or so to make sure things aren't burning. The fennel especially can burn if it you cut it too small. The carrots cooked the most slowly for me. If they're really not cooking at an even pace, you can always pull out the fennel pieces and put them back in for the last few to heat up again. You shouldn't need to do this, just giving advice should things go very wrong. If you cut things in pieces of the same size to start you really should be okay. At the end, taste for salt and pepper, add more as needed. Serve and wait a few days. See if you get demanding late night e-mails looking for the recipe. Breathe easily and send them a link here, I'm already on it.

Scenes from the Kitchen

2010-12-21T23:06:00.004-05:00

Tuesday, December 14 - time undetermined: Focaccia runs out.

Friday, December 17 - 10 pm: Last of four dozen gingerbread cookies leave the oven.

Saturday, December 18 - 7:30 am: The gingerbread army starts receiving their royal icing.

Saturday, December 18 - 2:40 pm: Tupperware full of gingerbread plumets from the car dash onto the seat. Casualties are reported.

Sunday, December 19 - 9:45 am: The first of almost 150 pizzelles comes off the pizzelle iron.

Sunday, December 19 - 1:10 pm: The last of nearly 150 pizzelles comes off the pizzelle iron. Celebratory quiche is consumed.

Tuesday, December 21 - 6:50 pm: Almond bark goes into the fridge to cool.

Tuesday, December 21 - 10:25 pm: Candy thermometer stops working while I'm melting the white chocolate for peppermint bark.

Tuesday, December 21 - 10:26 pm Meat thermometer pressed into service for emergency candy duty.

Tuesday, December 22 - 10:38 pmCandy cane dust encrusts hands, counters, rolling pin.

Tuesday, December 22 - 11:28pm Exhaustion wins.

What does it look like in your kitchen these days? Mayhem? A Merry Martha Christmas? Moderately Messy? Something else entirely devoid of "M"s?

Make the Focaccia!

2010-12-13T18:13:00.005-05:00

I'm going to go ahead and assume you're not like me. That you have a whirlwind of holiday parties to attend, a beautifully decorated house, profusions of gifts already purchased, wrapped and tucked under the tree and are simply relaxing by the fire sipping something decadent and doodling menu plans on your personalized stationery. Good for you. Clearly, all you need is an easy, impressive recipe to bring to your potluck parties, or add to your already high-end gourmet spread.

Of course if you are like me, and haven't started shopping, haven't heard even one carol that was not some crappy new-age elevator music rendition, are avoiding the only party you've been invited to, you probably need some carbohydrates to help you eat away Scrooge-y feeling burning inside your two-sizes too small grinchy heart.

Either way, this focaccia will make your season bright. Celia of Fig Jam and Lime Cordial is an absolute whiz with breads and this one tempted me the moment I spied it on her blog. It did not disappoint. In fact, I made it Saturday and there is naught but a tiny corner left. I've altered her recipe only to account for the fact that I lack sea salt and bread flour and to give you the proportions of fillings I used. But feel free to experiment, I believe Celia would say that was the spirit of the thing in the first place! If you're going upscale you might want to use marinated artichokes and some kalamata olives. If you're eating away stress like me, seriously go with provolone and pepperoni - it's like a portable pizza. There are more delicious ideas for fillings on Fig Jam and Lime Cordial, so make sure to click the recipe link!

SERIOUSLY GOOD FOCACCIA
adapted from filled focaccia for a less impressive kitchen.

INGREDIENTS:
3 1/3 C flour (I used all-purpose, Celia says bread flour)
1 packet dried yeast
1 tsp table salt
1 1/3 C water
3 T + 1 t olive oil (plus more for drizzling)
1/3 lb provolone chopped
1/2 C chopped turkey pepperoni
I absolutely would use more filling next time!

DIRECTIONS:
Combine flour, salt and yeast, then add liquids, mix. Then chop up all the goodies you plan on putting inside and add them. Blend gently. Then cover with wrap and let sit for 30 minutes. See? Sitting:

Knead gently. Do this in the bowl to keep stuff from flying off everywhere. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let rise 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Pat out onto a normal sized cookie sheet covered in silpat or parchment. Let sit for 20 minutes again covered. At this point Celia recommends preheating your oven to maximum. My crappy but old school oven has a max well over 550F. I turned to 525F and smoke was coming out. Don't do that. 500 is about the best I can do with an intervention from a fan so that might have to be that.Poke holes in it with your fingers like so:

Lower the oven temperature to 425F and bake for 25 minutes. Celia advises rotating it once but I totally forgot and had no ill effects. Pretty no?

Monkeying With Tradition

2010-12-04T08:30:00.010-05:00

Those of you who know me well know that I don't like to mess with tradition, particularly around Christmastime, but desperate times call for desperate measures. You see, Christmas has always meant a pork pie. My nana has always had a pork pie. Like any good French-Canadian, her mother used to make them for Christmas Eve. Of course, Nana Grenon wasn't much for a recipe, so she showed my grandmother what to do. I tried to write that recipe up last year, but there were too many variables. You see, in my family, a pork pie recipe works a bit like this: grind up some leftover pork with some onions, mix some salt and pepper and poultry seasoning with mashed potatoes, toss it all together with leftover pork gravy and tuck between two pie crusts. How much? How wet? How fluffy? The answer to all three is enough, which isn't exactly helpful for recipe writing.

But this year Nana had a bit of a challenge for me. She needs a pork pie recipe without pork so that her holiday guests can share in her favorite holiday meal. I'd needed to improvise one some time ago since Ryan doesn't eat pork. And so here I am, the ultimate traditionalist, monkeying with tradition.

You'll have to bear with me a bit for this recipe. It's really for my Nana, but I'm sharing it with you. I know that there are parts where she'll be thinking "I know that!" or "That's not how I'd do it!" So Nana, you're probably right, do what you think is best! And there are parts where you'll be wishing I gave better instructions, but I'm afraid it can't be helped. I did my best.

PORKLESS PORK PIE
This amount of filling makes a slightly scant 9" pie. I don't want to be guessing at proportions which is what I'd be doing if I wanted to make it more stuffed.

Using up Thanksgiving leftovers? No problem. Get 12 oz of cooked turkey instead of the raw. You'll need to grind it up using your meat grinder.

INGREDIENTS:
1 recipe dough
12 oz ground turkey - preferably a high ratio of fat, so 93% fat free if you can get it. 99% fat free will taste like cardboard. Also as this is not a whole package of ground turkey, you can use the rest for something else, white turkey chili would be great.
2 C mashed potatoes
1/2 a large onion chopped - this was about a cup for me
2 garlic cloves chopped
2-3 tablespoons butter
approximately a 1/4 C of homemade turkey gravy
salt and pepper
6 leaves fresh sage (Nana - I have these in the house, you can use poultry seasoning to taste if you prefer!)

DIRECTIONS:
Make the dough and put it in the fridge. In a large pan, melt a tablespoon of butter and add the garlic and onions and a small pinch of salt. Saute for 3-5 minutes until softened. Add the ground turkey and brown over medium heat, using your spoon to break apart the meat until crumbly. Add salt and pepper to taste, plus the well minced sage leaves. Thanksgiving leftover version - still cook those garlic and onions, but mix it in with your meat grinder turkey. Then mix it with the potatoes by hand, skip the food processing step below.

Now Nana usually combines the ground meat and the potatoes by hand, but I did it in my food processor. Don't over process because you don't want a paste, but make sure the mashed potatoes and turkey don't have any big chunks left. Working with warm or room temperature potatoes helps matters. The resulting mixture should be sort of fluffy and crumbly but should smoosh together if you press it. See below:

Moisten with a 1/4 C of turkey gravy. You don't want this too wet, just moist and flavorful. If it's too dry (a real problem especially if you started with dry mashed potatoes) use more gravy or some chicken stock in a pinch. Taste this. You have to. Add more salt and pepper as needed, clearly how much you add depends on how seasoned your potatoes, gravy and turkey were to begin with. Don't worry if it feels like you're adding a lot of salt. Anything that's made primarily from a mild flavored meat and potatoes needs salt.

Preheat the oven to 325 F (Nana cook this however you would normally, if you don't use 325/45 minutes tell me and I'll fix it in this recipe!).

Roll out the bottom crust and place in your pie plate. Fill with the turkey and potato mixture. Top with another tablespoon or so of butter, pinched off.

Then roll out the top crust, add the top, pinch the sides closed, cut slits in the top and bake for 45 minutes or until the crust is golden and the pie is warm.

Merry Christmas!

Gingered Cranberry Sauce

2010-12-01T20:56:00.006-05:00

My mother-in-law is an incredibly lovely woman. This year she welcomed my family to her beautiful home for Thanksgiving. Since Ryan and I weren't arriving until the night before, she asked for a shopping list so that she could get the ingredients we needed for our Thanksgiving cooking. I dashed off an e-mail. She went to the store. The end result was that we had both whole cloves and fresh ginger in the house, but not the ground cloves or ground ginger that we needed for the pumpkin pie. I felt terrible because I hadn't said to get ground cloves and ground ginger, I just wrote cloves and ginger. My mother-in-law felt terrible because she hadn't known that I meant ground ginger and ground cloves. Then on Thanksgiving morning as we were wallowing in our respective guilt, she mentioned that she'd picked up a couple of bags of cranberries that she thought might be turned into sauce. A teensy tinesy little light went on in my head as I remember a friend of mine passing along a recipe for gingered cranberry sauce. I ran to the computer and in a true stroke of kismet learned that the recipe called not only for fresh ginger, but also whole cloves. I felt better. My mother-in-law felt better. And thankfully, the cranberry sauce was good. Delicious even. I may have been eating it straight out of the pot. And later out of the tupperware. But we won't discuss that. This is about heart-warming family moments at the holidays not dirty little secrets.

GINGERED CRANBERRY SAUCE
adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone

Below is a doubled version of the recipe because we made a lot of sauce. But when do you make sauce except at Thanksgiving? And don't you usually have a lot of people there?

INGREDIENTS:
2 12 oz bags of cranberries
1 1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 C water
2" plump knob of ginger minced
8 whole cloves
juice of a clementine (the original recipe calls for zest of 2 oranges, but we only had clementines and they don't zest well, at least not with a box grater)

DIRECTIONS: Put your cranberries in a colander and rinse them. Go over them carefully and pull out any mookie ones (squished, white). Also pull off any remaining stems. Put in a saucepan with the sugar, water, ginger, cloves and clementine. Heat to a boil then lower to a simmer. Cook until the berries pop. I found this to be incredibly forgiving, I just let it cook while I was doing other things and stopped it when it looked saucey enough. If you don't want any chunks you could puree or strain this, but I liked it the way it was. Refrigerate before serving if you like it cold.

Thanksgiving Auditions

2010-11-23T18:14:00.002-05:00

Around here, the Thanksgiving menu changes once every few decades. I remember when I was quite small, my mother would make three kinds of stuffing. There was bread stuffing with olives onions,celery and sage (icky), mashed potato and hamburger stuffing (I think I would have a bite or two of this) and there was the good old southern cornbread and sausage stuffing. Somehow over the years the cornbread stuffing emerged victorious (thank heavens). We've gone through various pie phases as well. Although apple and pumpkin are constants, we only have mince pie when my Nana is around and we only get the heavenly mocha pecan pie if my Aunt Shirley is cooking. I know, I know, that makes it sound like we're flibbertigibbets when it comes to pie, but I should point out that the mince reigned from the beginning of my memory until sometime in the 1990s and Aunt Shirley's pie was in for the early 2000s. And now we're down to apple and pumpkin. So, it would be a rash act if I suddenly introduced rolls to our Thanksgiving table. And considering that I won't even be cooking in my own kitchen, I won't be whipping up any rolls this year. But I did audition a recipe, just in case you needed one. See how giving I am? It had absolutely nothing to do with my overwhelming desire to chow down on buttery goodness on a weeknight. Just pure selflessness. Really.

PS - You really don't want to make these on a weeknight unless it's for a special occasion. You probably don't have this kind of time. I don't have this kind of time either which is why when I tried to make them I completely messed up the timing for dinner and had to make emergency mashed potatoes just to put enough food on the table and then had to freeze and defrost the rolls the next night for baking. But we could pretend that I did that just so you'd know that yes, you can freeze them (before the rise) and then bring them to room temp, then rise them, then bake.

BUTTERY CHEWY ROLLS
adapted from Cooking Light, I'd tell you which one but I tore out the page ages ago

INGREDIENTS:

3 T sugar
1 package dry yeast
1 C warm milk (Cooking light recommends 100F to 110F, I don't temp my milk, just don't make it so hot that you kill your yeast).
2 3/4 C flour (approximately, more for flouring your board)
3/4 t salt
3 tablespoons butter softened (I used melted).

DIRECTIONS:
Combine the yeast and sugar and milk. Let proof for 5 minutes. It should increase in volume. I did this in the bowl of my stand mixer. Add the flour and salt and mix until a dough forms. You can either let your mixer knead it or do it by hand. I don't think I found it sticky like they said, so I did it by hand. You want it smooth and elastic. Cover your dough with plastic and let stand for 10 minutes.

Roll out the dough to a 12 x 10 rectangle. Smear it with butter. I used a pastry brush. Then fold it in thirds lengthwise so you have a 12 x 3 rectangle. Pop it in the freezer for 10 minutes. If you use the fridge instead when you get to the next step, the butter will ooze out of every bit of the dough and you will feel annoyed.

Roll out the dough again to a 12 x 10 rectangle. Fold it in thirds again, the same way. Pop it back in the freezer (they say 10 minutes). Don't freeze for too long or you will find it incredibly difficult to roll it back out. I over froze mine at this point and there was no way in heck I was going to be able to roll it back out to an 12 x 8 rectangle. NO WAY.

Roll the dough out to an 12 x 8 rectangle. Roll it up like a jelly roll (start at one edge, roll carefully to the other edge). Pinch the crease to seal. Since there was no way I was getting a 12 x 8 rectangle I just rolled it as big as I could and then rolled like a jelly roll. No ill effects. Slice into 12 discs. Pop in a greased muffin pan and let rise 45 minutes. Then bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Let cool.

I froze my rolls before the final rise. I bring them to room temp, allow time for the rise then bake.

Farm Fresh?

2010-11-20T09:13:00.004-05:00

I grew up in a small town, the kind that seems almost made up, with one traffic light in the center of town, and the four corners of that intersection marked with a post office, a drugstore, a bank and a church. Outside the snug one mile border of the town, in almost every direction, there were farms. The closest was nothing but a small stand run by the parents of a boy I went to school with. But there were so many others. One lay across the border in another state and had delicious caramel apples. Another one was up in the hills and felt forever away from my small child perspective. But the one we used the most had corn you could feed to the animals, a cement outbuilding with a window where you could buy fresh cider and a small red painted farm store. We would go and look at the animals, and on the way back stop and my daddy would buy me an apple and polish it up on his flannel shirt. When I got a little older, they branched out and started selling cider doughnuts, plain and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Now that farm is packed weekends. People that moved into the subdivisions that have been slowly eating away open space pack up their children into their extra-large SUVs and descend upon my tranquil childhood farm like locusts. Last time I went I stood in a line that wrapped around the whole farm store and down the porch just to buy my cider doughnuts. I don't begrudge them their success; many local farms have been forced to sell, but I do miss the way thing were. Also sad? I read the ingredient list on the back on the doughnut bag. I don't think I could identify anything after the first three ingredients. So I think the time has come for me to part ways with the farm and their doughnuts. But I do have a back-up plan. Come next fall, expect to hear my opinion on these cider doughnuts from Smitten Kitchen.

Cheddar Apple Scones

2010-11-11T18:31:00.002-05:00

If we're talking literally here, I am a Jersey girl. I was born in Jersey and raised in Jersey. But my heart, and often my tastebuds, belong to New England. I love the spicy taste of ginger ice cream which is so hard to find outside of New England. I made pilgrimages to Herrell's. I was fed bites from my father's Jordan's blueberry muffins (although not often, my father's pretty stingy with those muffins). I would give almost anything for the recipe to Ma Glockner's Sticky Buns (well, not anything, but if you have the recipe, contact me immediately. I will send cookies. Or Sticky Buns). And although I've never really done it myself, I get the old New England tradition of cheddar cheese on apple pie. My grandmother loved it.

And yes, I will sadly acknowledge that there are many people who are now living in New England who don't know about Jordan's, or Ma Glockner's, or think the cheddar/apple pie thing is hogwash, but they're probably the same people who don't know what Dirty Water is, and can't tell you where they were in 1986 when their hearts broke (a farm house in Antietam), or where they were 18 years later when Foulke threw to first to end an 86 year drought (Cleveland Circle). And I'll tell you this. I'm not sharing my cheddar cheese and apple scones with them. Not if they get to live up there while I'm down here in exile.

CHEDDAR APPLE SCONES
adapted from SmittenKitchen

Ingredients:
2 apples (I used MacIntosh, but I'd love to try Northern Spies)
1 1/2 C flour (plus at least 1/4 C for the board, this is a seriously sticky dough)
1/4 C sugar
1/2 T baking powder (I know, awkward to measure)
6 T cold butter, cut into small cubes
1/2 t salt (omit this if you use salted butter)
3/4 C cheddar
1/4 C heavy cream
1 egg

Directions:
Peel and core the apples and cut them into 16 pieces each. Seriously. Have fun counting with that. Then put them on a lined baking sheet (I used my silpat, you could use parchment) and bake in a 375 degree oven for 20 minutes. Allow them time to cool.

In the bowl of your mixer, add the butter, apples, cheese, cream and egg. Mix on low to combine. Then sift together the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder. Add to the mixer slowly, in batches. Once combine, remove dough from the mixer to a well floured surface.

Gently roll or pat your dough into a 6 inch circle. I just patted mine, no need to dirty the rolling pin. Then cut your dough into 6 equal wedges. It will now be a very delicate operation getting those scones off your counter, use a spatula if you need to, and transfer the scones to a baking sheet lined with a silpat mat or parchment paper.

Bake for 20-30 minutes (come on, you know my oven is running hot these days) until golden and firm. If you can, cool them on a rack before eating.

SmittenKitchen strongly recommends not saving them for more than 2 days. So I just froze my whole batch. They did take about 30 minutes from frozen, but if they were fresh I'd certainly want to check before that.

Dinner and Movie

2010-11-05T11:47:00.003-05:00

I have to say, I admire my parents' style of entertaining. Back in the day, they'd have friends in for fabulous dinner parties. The next morning, while my parents and their guests were still in bed, I would pad through the living room and dining room in my jammies surveying the damage. Empty bottles of wine were lined up along the mantle; small plates holding uneaten chocolate bonbons waited on the table (fine, maybe I stole a few for breakfast). So where was I whilst all the merry-making took place? My parents hired the best babysitter money can buy - Fred Astaire (actually, he was totally free). Since TV watching was a rare treat, and eating in front of the TV, absolutely verboten, my Saturday night dinner and a movie set-up was just about the biggest treat I could imagine. My father would make me a special pasta dinner and set me up with an old musical and I'd be in heaven. It became such a tradition for me that when I was old enough to babysit on weekends instead of stay home I really missed my special movie time.

Start out with Swing Time, one of my favorite Astaire-Rogers films, and another classic, chicken with shells. And while this very first dinner and a movie post is perfect for occupying small children so that you can have an evening to yourself on the cheap, stay tuned. I'm planning on featuring some of my favorite movies and meals that would perfect accompaniments, because even though I'm a grown-up now I still love settling down to a delicious dinner in front of a terrific film.

DADDY'S CHICKEN AND SHELLS
serves 2

INGREDIENTS:
1 large breast of chicken
6 slices bacon
1 C frozen peas
1/2 lb shells
1/2 C chicken stock
1/4 C - 1/2 C cream
2 T butter
1 T olive oil
1/4 C Parmigiano-Reggiano

DIRECTIONS:
Chop the bacon into medium sized squares. Cook in a skillet for 5-7 minutes or until crisp. Set aside. Then raise the heat to high and add your tablespoon of olive oil. Sear for 2 minutes per side, then add the 1/2 C of stock and reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for about 5 minutes or until cooked through. When it's done remove it from the pan and let it stand for a few minutes so the juices don't all run out when you cut it. After it has rested cut it into bite sized pieces. Cook the shells according to the package directions. When they're done drain them quite thoroughly. Make sure to shake them a bit to get the water out. Then melt 2 T of butter over them and mix gently to coat. Cook off half the chicken broth, then add 1 C of frozen peas and cook them for 3 minutes. Add the 1/4 C of cream and the chicken to the broth and peas. Add the shells and 1/4 C parm. Add the bacon. Mix gently and serve.

This is Halloween! This is Halloween!

2010-10-31T07:00:00.004-05:00

I'm not sure it's a good sign that it's 8am and I already can't get the song from Nightmare Before Christmas out of my head! However, if you don't already have Halloween cookies, you may need to start making them now, because in my opinion this is really a whole day affair. Between the mixing of the dough, the refrigerating of the dough, the rolling of the dough, the cutting of the cookies, the freezing of the cookies, the baking of the cookies, the cooling of the cookies, the mixing of the royal icing, the dyeing of the royal icing, the frosting and decorating of the cookies, you can absolutely keep yourself (or your kids) occupied until the witching hour.

I used Martha Stewart's Maple Roll Out Cookie recipe for the dough. It's really delicious, but a the flavor is a bit delicate and I felt it was a bit of a waste on the ghosties who needed to be drowned in royal icing anyway. Far better to save the maple recipe for something unfrosted. Also, and I'm not sure why this didn't occur to me before, but your brain is really anticipating "sugar cookie" when you bite into one, so there's always this element of "huh" followed by "Oh yeah! This is yummy!" which is perhaps a bit more mental processing than I'd like with my dessert.

What you need to know about using Martha's recipe:
I know this is probably not going to come as a surprise to you, but the lady is a liar. I made a half recipe, because being a sane rational person who is not giving gift boxes to everyone I'd ever met, I don't need 8 dozen cookies. The half recipe made 2 and a half dozen and it's probable that I rolled them too thin to try to eke out that many. And although this is certainly enough for the two of us, it's possibly fewer than you want. If do you choose to make half recipe, really try to savor the moment where you need half an egg yolk. Afterward, try to figure out who you can feed three quarters of an egg to - my answer? Ryan. You also might want to start with a shorter cook time. Mine took about 10 minutes. Blame my oven or how thin I rolled them - either way we would have been looking at some burnt treats if I'd let it go as long as her.

Colored Pumpkins, oh boy!!:
To get half your cookies pumpkin colored, separate your dough in half. Set half aside for ghosties. Then mix 5 drops yellow food coloring and 4 drops red of McCormick Assorted Food Coloring. You can blend with a mixer a bit, but do finish kneading by hand to get rid of any streakiness.

I am a complete disaster when it comes to royal icing. Seriously. Don't listen to me. I'm not showing you the ghosts that didn't come out well. Also, I made a really small amount because I didn't actually need that much, which meant whipping by hand. Stupid. Update: You'll be a happier person if you check in with Words to Eat By. Debbie knows her stuff.

Royal Icing Advice:
If you're making them for anyone who is squicked out by raw egg, or you know is a child, pregnant woman, elderly person, person with a compromised immune system, use meringue powder. I used the recipe on the back of the meringue powder container. Not fancy, but functional. I piped on details by putting the icing in plastic baggies and poking a teensy hole in the corner. Mix your color in a bowl, not the baggies, ignore anyone who tells you otherwise. They are sadists and are probably cackling evilly as they write that direction. I poured the icing over the ghosts which takes somewhat more icing than you may think. Also let that harden completely before doing eyeballs. It takes a few hours to harden.

Stars Align

2010-10-24T14:22:00.005-05:00

You know how I'd been thinking about my repertoire, and how I didn't have enough fancy things that I could make for company? Well, about a week ago, someone was asking about for a scallop/mushroom/white wine recipe and something just clicked. Didn't my dad make some type of delicious scallop-y mushroom thing? The next night, I was a guest at my parents house and lo and behold my father was making exactly that for dinner. So for both my own purposes, and for the good of others, I followed him around as he cooked, diligently scribbling on a small scrap of paper and peppering him with questions. The result: We have a recipe! Now you (and I) can cook fancy scallops any time we feel like.

FANCY SCALLOPS
adapted from Julia Child - Julia doesn't have mushrooms. Poor Julia.
serves 4

INGREDIENTS:
3/4 lbs crimini/baby bella mushrooms (buttons only in a pinch) or 1 lb fresh chanterelles (if you'd like to go super upscale - DO NOT attempt with dried, it won't work)
1 1/2 lbs sea scallops
1 clove of garlic minced
1/2 C minced yellow onion
2 T shallot minced
1/4 t dried thyme
1/2 bay leaf
1/2 C flour
1/2 T olive oil + 1 T olive oil
1 T butter + 1 T butter + a bit more for greasing casserole dish
1/2 C vermouth or white wine
1/3 emmenthaler or gruyere
1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Prepare your scallops. Place them in a colander and rinse, then pat them dry. Be thorough. Then carefully trim off the foot/muscle area. Halve or quarter them (depending on size), you want uniform scallop chunks of about 1". Quarter or halve your mushrooms so they are in chunks only slightly smaller than the scallops. Mince up your garlic, onion and shallot. Prepare two skillets. In one, toss a 1/2 T of olive oil and the mushrooms. Cook on medium to sweat out the liquid from the mushrooms. In the other, melt the butter and cook the onions on medium low until they are translucent (about 5 minutes), then add the garlic and shallot and cook a few minutes more, then set aside. When the mushrooms are golden and there is no liquid in the bottom of the mushroom pan (5-7 minutes) set aside your mushrooms. In another small bowl, combine the thyme and bay leaf. Grate your emmenthaler. See?

Now, back to the scallops. Season with 1 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. In a large ziploc bag, combine the scallops and the flour. Gently shake to coat the scallops. Remove scallops from the bag and shake off all excess flour. Get a pan very hot and add the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and the remaining tablespoon of butter. When the pan sizzles with the addition of a drop of water, it's ready for the scallops. Sear for 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per side, you want a nice crust. DO NOT attempt to move the scallops before that time, or you will ruin everything. When the second side is seared and has a nice crust, add the vermouth or white wine, the shallot, garlic, onion, bay, thyme and mushrooms and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for about 5 minutes, covered. Remove the cover (and the bay leaf). The sauce should have thickened nicely, if not, reduce a bit more. Pour into a greased pyrex or casserole, sprinkle with the cheese (emmenthaler is terrific, if you use gruyere, use less as it is a bit stronger). Broil until the cheese is bubbly, about 2 minutes.

Bedeviled Cauliflower Mac & Cheese

2010-10-20T16:29:00.006-05:00

I'm not entirely sure about this, but I think I have already confessed to you that Ryan and I watch an inordinate number of cooking shows? Particularly cooking contest shows like Dinner Impossible, The Next Iron Chef, Chopped and The Next Food Network Star? Anyway, we started watching Ten Dollar Dinners after Melissa D'Arabian won The Next Food Network star a few years ago. I watch it because her recipes tend to turn out really well. Ryan watches it so he can heckle. He takes exception to what they claim costs under $10. Recently she roasted a chicken with potatoes, a side of swiss chard and made a dessert with Nutella and called it under ten bucks. Around here the going rate for a jar of Nutella is about $6.00 (yes, I know there's some serious price gouging in these parts). Even if you're not using the whole thing, you still have to shell out the six bucks to get it. Also, she always talks about proteins going on sale. Maybe it's this whole East-Coast-big-city thing I've got working, but I've yet to see sale chicken or steak. The one thing I do have though, is the dollar vegetable bags at the produce stand in Reading Terminal Market. This week Ryan scored a cauliflower for $1.50. I know, not a dollar, but it was a huge whomping cauliflower. With the cauliflower and the pasta being the main ingredients in this dish, I'm pretty sure we've got a real candidate for Ten Dollar Dinners here.

BEDEVILED CAULIFLOWER MAC & CHEESE
I'm calling this bedeviled because the spicing is pretty much the same as if you wanted to devil something else, like chicken or eggs.

INGREDIENTS:
4 C chopped cauliflower
1/2 lb medium shell pasta
3 T butter
1 3/4 C shredded cheddar cheese (use bright orange if you'd like your bedeviling to turn out holiday colored)
1 T flour
1/2 C milk
1 T dijon
1 t paprika
pinch cayenne pepper
topping: 1/3 C breadcrumbs + 1-2 T melted butter

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 325F. Chop your cauliflower into shell sized florets. I use a steamer basket in a pot, and started from ice cold - it took about 15 minutes until tender. If you add the cauliflower when the water is boiling it shouldn't take nearly as long. Or maybe I just had a rough day. I'd check it starting at about 5 minutes.

Boil water for the pasta and cook the pasta according to the package directions. Drain and set aside. In the pasta pot (I used a huge one), melt the 3 T of butter. Add the flour and stir well. Cook for 2-3 minutes over low heat until the flour is golden. Slowly add the milk, stirring or whisking well to incorporate the flour. Continue to stir and add the dijon, paprika and cayenne. Then slowly add the cheese until the cheese is all melted in the sauce. Add the cooked shells to the sauce and toss gently. Finally add the steamed cauliflower and again toss gently until everything is coated in cheesy goodness. Pour into a greased casserole dish (I used a 1.5 quart dish). On the stove top melt the 1-2 tablespoons of butter for the topping. Add the breadcrumbs. Toss a few times until the breadcrumbs are golden and fluffy. Top the cauliflower and shells with the breadcrumbs and bake for 20-30 minutes.

Pay Attention

2010-10-14T15:54:00.002-05:00

The other day at lunch I was chatting with some friends about how I simply feel as though I have too much to keep track of. So much in fact, that I worry that perhaps some of the things I am supposed to be responsible for will ooze out of my brain and trickle out my ears. There was a general consensus that LISTS! would save the day. "Write a list!" They said. Amateurs.

A List of My Current Lists:
1. to do for work (on my desk at work)*
2. daily to do (in my planner)
3. dinner menu for the week (Excel spreadsheet)
4. books for my book blog and which week to read them (Excel spreadsheet)
5. library book due dates (on my computer)
6. a list of my current lists (you're reading it baby)
7. a list of epiphanies I had in SuperFresh (stay with me)

*Confession: Sometimes my friend L and I keep lists for each other. So that I know what she has to do and she knows what I have to do.

It's not enough. Do you know how I know this? Last weekend, as I walked through SuperFresh, I eyed a giant display of sundae topping sauces, you know, caramel, butterscotch, hot fudge. And I had a moment of smug glee as I thought of the homemade caramel sauce sitting at home, and how I could pour it over a sundae, or dip apples in it or what-have-you. At which point I had so many epiphanies I nearly got whiplash.

1. There is no caramel sauce at home.
2. I poured all the caramel sauce into the brownies.
3. The recipe called for half the caramel sauce to go into the brownies.
4. This is why the brownies NEVER SET.
5. If it takes me TWO WEEKS to realize that I screwed up a recipe, I have TOO MUCH stuff inside my head.

So folks, today you will not be getting my version of "turtle brownies". You will get a link to She's Becoming Doughmesstic's Sea Salt Caramel Brownies with a firm admonishment to follow the damn directions. If your brain is not leaking out your ears, you could add some pecans to make them more turtle-y. I'll be here, starting some new lists.

J-U-I-C-E spells Love

2010-10-09T17:33:00.005-05:00

Let me tell you a love story. Once a long time ago, at a party, a thirteen year old girl with beautiful dark curls, fell into the lap of a handsome blue-eyed young man. He picked up a gold cigar band, slid it on her finger and told her he'd give her a real one someday. Six years later, he made good on his promise, and they were married. Like many couples they went through some difficult times, but their marriage lasted for over 60 years. My grampy is gone now, but yesterday would have been their 66th anniversary.
My grampy would show my nana he loved her in a million different ways. He would always call her "my bride". She loved having birds in the yard, so he would trap squirrels and then drive several towns over to release them so they wouldn't scare off the birds or monopolize the feeders. All over the house that he built, in the strangest places, there would be tiny notes, saying "Alice, I love you." She found one of them after he passed away. It was on a small light that had been mounted in a closet in their old house. But I remember one ritual he always had as one of the quieter ways he said "I love you."

My grampy was a carpenter and he woke up very early. Even earlier than any early bird, very small, grandchildren that might be visiting. Every morning he would bring my grandmother a glass of orange juice, with a tiny dish on top to protect it. When I was small, he would do the same for me. In that one small glass of juice, there were a million I love yous.

We should all be so lucky to have a love like theirs.

Simple Comfort

2010-10-07T16:22:00.003-05:00

This is what to have for dinner if you are feeling like a fractious five year old. Or possibly what to make for dinner if you have a fractious five year old. It is not fancy or complex. It is simple and comforting. There is nothing unexpected or deep about it. Just a nice simple chicken and pasta casserole. It would be great to have for dinner if you've had a bad day.

If, for example, you'd spent a solid 10 minutes hyperventilating this morning because when you walked to where you'd parked your car, it WASN'T THERE. And you realized that not only was your car GONE, but there was NO ONE you could call for help, because your husband was in New York, or Boston, or somewhere in between New York and Boston, and your parents were in Canada and you know NO ONE in the stupid city you live in. And you couldn't decide whether you should call 911 or the tow lot first. And you knew that if (when) your husband found out your car was stolen he would say "that's it, that's enough, we're moving out of this hellhole" never mind that we have a lease, no movers and no where to go. And besides all that, HOW WERE YOU SUPPOSED TO GET TO WORK WITH NO CAR?? And about when you'd decided to head home and start calling the tow lot and 911 and your boss and possibly Canada, you walked one more block and found your poor, sad, 15 year old car tucked into a parking space and breathed a sigh of relief so great it probably reached Canada...If that had been your morning? You definitely would want this for dinner. I wouldn't know that first hand of course. I'm just guessing.

BAKED CHICKEN AND DITALINI
adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

INGREDIENTS:
1 C ditalini
1 -2 C cooked chicken breast, diced. I used one very large breast, probably yielding about 1.5 C
14 oz of canned crushed tomatoes
1/2 C onion chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 T oregano
1 1/2 C shredded mozzarella cheese
2-4 T olive oil
1-2 T butter
1/4 C bread crumbs
1/4 C grated parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400 F. Put a pot of water on the stove, and bring it to a boil. Cook 1 C of ditalini according to the package directions. Drain, toss with 1 T of olive oil and set aside.
Put some olive oil in a pan and bring to medium high heat. Salt and pepper your chicken and chop it into medium sized pieces, like this:Add your chicken to the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes until done, turn often. Chop into bite sized pieces. In another pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil, the chopped onions and the chopped garlic. Cook for 3 minutes until the onions and garlic and softened. Add the 14 oz of tomatoes and the oregano. Stir until mixed. Butter an 8x8 baking dish. Add the ditalini and chicken to the sauce. Add the grated mozzarella and stir until well combined. Pour into the baking dish. In a small pan, melt the butter and add the bread crumbs. Toss until they are all buttery and golden. Off heat, add the parm, then use that to top the chicken pasta mixture. Bake for 20 minutes, or until golden and melty, like so:

What's in Your Repertoire?

2010-10-03T16:56:00.004-05:00

I just finished this rather grating book Cooking for Mr. Latte by food writer Amanda Hesser. In it we are treated to her special brand of snobbery which is equally applied to food and people. The one part I was interested in was this: building a repertoire. Amanda was feeling like she never knew what to cook for dinner parties or even every night cooking, because she was always chasing after the next best recipe, the next new recipe (of course, this was when she deigned to stay in and cook, which was not often). I know that feeling myself, because as a food blogger there's almost a requirement to keep cooking new things. If I don't, I have nothing to say to all of you and then you will go away and leave me and I would cry. Also, I like trying new things which keeps me from getting in too much of a rut. But I was interested in giving some thought to my go-to dishes. What do I make for special occasions? Several times a month? Which recipes do I know by heart? In Amanda Hesser's world of fine dining I got the impression that what you cook a few nights a week and what you cook for a dinner party were the same thing, all of which require at least 10 ingredients and formal cooking school training to execute, but in my world fancy and a few times a month rarely collide.

Here's my final analysis:

Fancy Dinner
Look, I don't ever have anyone to dinner except StellaCarolyn and she's often accompanied by her husband (who doesn't eat either of my fancy dinner options) or her mother (who always has a very specific idea of what she's read about here that she wants me to make - last time it was fried chicken) thus, this is only what I make for special dinners for me and Ry.

So, either it's duck with polenta or pommes anna

or a recipe for Sea Scallops I've adapted from Ming Tsai that I've never written about here, even though I've made it for New Year's Eve several year's running. Maybe this year I'll stop to tell you about it.

Clearly, I need more fancy meals! I do know how to roast a chicken, but I never do it the same way twice, so I feel like it doesn't count.

Potluck Go-Tos
Again, my friends are not Amanda's Hesser's (also, my budget is clearly not hers), and therefore canapes with fresh pate are not in the cards.

It's Tyler Florence's Sesame Noodles all the way. They always get rave reviews, and since they don't need reheating they're perfect.

If I know things can be heated, I might bring my mother's macaroni and cheese.

Do I need to point out that I'm not invited to potlucks often? I don't think where I live is potluck country.

Weekday Warriors
I cook most days. So what gets made over and over? A few times a month?

Truthfully, the dinner I make most is breaded chicken. And it's not on this blog. Mostly it's not on this blog because I could do it in my sleep. I probably have. But when I make it, it's often because I'm so tired, and so I can't possibly be bothered to time things or measure things. It's not incredibly special, so please don't feel like I'm holding out on you.

We also eat some form of turkey burger more than once a month. I make them regular, with leeks and bacon, asian style or greek style.

And once it's fall/winter, I definitely make baked shells and sausage a lot.

I really enjoyed mulling this over and definitely see some holes I want to fill. It may require more recipe testing, but it also may require remaking some things until I feel more comfortable with them.

What about you? Do you have a repertoire? Something fancy in case you have to cook for a snobby food writer? Something you cook dead on your feet after a long day at work because it doesn't require any thing? A dish everyone begs you to make for a pot luck?

Happy October!!

2010-10-01T06:12:00.000-05:00

I've always been a big fan of October. The World Series, livable temperatures, beautiful foliage, adorable children in Halloween costumes, pumpkins - what's not to like? I love October so much that I always try my hardest to squeeze every bit of Octobery goodness out of it. I watch Halloweeny movies to get in the mood. Over on Between These Pages I'll be blogging about all sorts of witchy and wizardy children's books. And here is the perfect accompaniment to all of my festive plans - Pumpkin Snickerdoodles. Oh yes. They are every bit as good as they sound.

PUMPKIN SNICKERDOODLES
a mad hybrid of Smitten Kitchen, We are not Martha with some necessary adjustments by me.
Makes an obscene 5 dozen (or a bit more) cookies. Half of mine are in the freezer waiting.

INGREDIENTS:
3 1/2 C flour
2 t cream of tartar
1 t baking soda
1/4 t salt (only if using unsalted butter)
1 stick of butter
1 1/2 C sugar
1/2 C +3 T canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
for rolling:
1/4 C sugar
2 T cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400F. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the pumpkin and mix well. Add the eggs and stir until incorporated. Sift together the flour, baking soda and cream of tarter. Add half the dry mixture to the wet. Stir. Add the rest. Stir. You will now have some incredibly wet batter. It will be beautiful and orange and it will taste delicious. Stop eating it. Don't you know there's a salmonella scare people? Stay away from the raw egg!Refrigerate for 30 minutes. At least. Please. You'll thank me. Roll into small balls and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture like so:

Arrange on a baking sheet. These do not spread as much as traditional snickerdoodles, but still need a bit of space. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack. Please all your little pumpkin eaters.

Unpretty

2010-09-28T15:50:00.002-05:00

I seem to be going through a phase where nothing I cook turns out very pretty. I blame this on my oven. I even rotated the pie a few times, but alas and alack, it did not get that uniformly golden glow that a pie should have. Luckily, it was still pretty tasty. I say pretty tasty because I was expecting a bit more, but ultimately, it tastes like chicken pot pie. But with more leeks. And mushrooms. Which shouldn't have been unexpected really, seeing as I used my chicken pot pie recipe and added more leeks and mushrooms. I know. I worry about me too sometimes.

CHICKEN, LEEK AND MUSHROOM PIE
inspired by fig jam and lime cordial

INGREDIENTS:

1 large or 2 small chicken breasts
1 C half and half or cream (Divided, 1/2 C for poaching chicken, 1/2 C for pie)
1-2 T olive oil
2 leeks
1 container mushrooms (what are those, 8oz?)
4 carrots, cut into coins
1/4 C white wine or vermouth
salt and pepper
1 T flour
2 t thyme

1 half recipe dough
1 egg, or 1/4 C egg beaters mixed with water for egg wash

DIRECTIONS:
Salt and pepper the chicken. Add 1/2 C of cream or half and half. Cook at 350 for 20-30 minutes, don't allow it to dry out. You want it moist. When your chicken is done, cut or tear it into bite sized pieces. While the chicken is cooking, slice the leeks into rings and soak in a bowl of water to remove the sand and grit. In a pot, boil some water. Add your carrot coins and cook for 2 minutes. Remove the coins and set aside. In a large pan, add 1-2 T olive oil. Heat to medium. Add the leeks and cook for 5 minutes until softened a bit. Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms are tender. Add the tablespoon of flour stir so that it coats the leeks and mushrooms, then cook for 1-2 minutes. Next raise the heat a bit and the poaching liquid from the chicken and the white wine. Give it 1-2 more minutes. Add the carrots and chicken. If it looks dry add up to an additional 1/2 C of cream. Increase your oven temperature to 425. Put your chicken mixture in a large pie dish. Roll out the dough to cover the top. Brush with egg wash. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

Planning Ahead

2010-09-26T12:55:00.004-05:00

Now that the school year is back in full swing, I simply must start planning meals again. Why plan? For several reasons:

1. I am a lot more likely to make dinner after a long day at work if I already know what I'm supposed to do. There's nothing that forces my hand more than having to make a decision when I'm exhausted. Because when I make decisions while tired and hungry, things get ugly.

2. My brain can not keep track of ingredients. These days money is tight for many of us, and one really good way to stretch your dollar is to not throw out food. Forget not buying expensive, think about how many things you've already bought that you've had to throw out. It kind of turns my stomach. Planning ahead helps me get items out of my fridge and into my dinner. This week, I need to use up a leftover leek from the chicken, leek and mushroom pie I made (I promise to post about that soon). I have some half and half left over from that too that needs using. Also, tonight I'm making something that requires half a can of canned tomatoes, so I planned something to use up the other half of the can.

3. Staving off boredom is another good reason to plan. If I know what I'm making I can keep us from eating chicken four days in a row or pasta every night. Granted there are times when I want to eat pasta every night, but I'm trying to curb those urges.

So with all that in mind, here's the week's plan:

Sunday: I'm trying out Baked Chicken and Pastina. Hopefully with some homemade breadsticks.

Monday: I need to use up some ricotta, so it's Lemon Ricotta Pancakes for me!

Tuesday: In an effort to use up leeks and cream, I'm going to make Pasta with Pancetta and Leeks. Except with turkey bacon instead of pancetta.

Wednesday: To use up the can of tomatoes I will have opened on Sunday (and to get a night off cooking), I'm asking Ryan to make turkey chili. Yum.

Thursday: I'm keeping my options open. Maybe portobello burgers. Maybe portobellos stuffed with artichokes. Either way, it will be vegetarian and mushroomy.

Friday: Turkey Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes. It takes a long time to cook, but the preparation is pretty easy. Just what I need for a Friday night.

Not as Nice as My Mother's Pommes Anna

2010-09-23T16:21:00.005-05:00

When I was little, my mother would only make Pommes Anna for special occasions. It's this heavenly melt-in-your mouth conglomeration of potatoes and butter with a crispy crust. Amazing. But you had to wait for it. Maybe it would appear along side the roast beef at Christmas. Or perhaps if a special guest were in town. Because Pommes Anna was a lot of work. At least when I was little it was. Because back then, we had no fancy slicers. The potatoes had to be sliced by hand. And for a Pommes Anna, they have to be uniform thickness. Basically, a huge pain in the you-know-what. And then, they take a long time to cook. The potatoes must be allowed to reach that beautiful, melty state.

So, I don't have a lot of time. I have almost no special occasions. What I do have is a desperate need to eat Pommes Anna. And so I learned to adapt. I use my mandoline slicer to make quick work of the potatoes. I use my baby 6" cast iron to make a Pommes Anna that is just right for two people (yes it could go for four in a pinch, but people will want seconds). I start it on the stove to hasten cook time. And while the result is not as perfect as my mother's, it's still plenty delicious, and more weekday friendly.

POMMES ANNA
for two to four people
Do not attempt without a cast iron pan!!

INGREDIENTS:
2 large Idaho potatoes
salt and pepper to taste
butter - you call the exact amount, but we're talking tablespoons here, this is not a diet dish

DIRECTIONS:
Use a fancy slicing device to get nice thin, uniform rounds of potato. In your baby cast iron, throw down a healthy (at least a tablespoon) pat of butter. Turn the heat up to medium and make sure the butter melts and coats the bottom of the pan. Preheat your oven to 400 F.

Begin to assemble your Pommes Anna. This dish gets flipped when done, so the first slices in the pan should be pretty. Save your weird off-sized ones to hide in the middle layer. Overlap beautiful uniform round pieces, like so:
Then add another layer of potatoes, this time covering the empty places. After every 2 layers, add a pinch of salt and a sprinkle of pepper. After about every 3 layers, add another pat of butter, breaking it up with your fingers into little dabs, like so:I'm a little random in my administration of the salt, pepper and butter. Just as long as you use enough. It can get rather peppery though so don't use a lot, it shouldn't be overwhelming, despite what my picture shows. When you've layered off all the potatoes and butter, cover the pan with foil and pop it in the oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until a knife goes in with no resistance. Carefully slide a knife around the edge then flip onto a plate. This is where it matters if you have a good cast iron pan or not. Mine usually pops out. It has a gorgeous presentation provided that you watch it and don't leave it in one place on a gas burner for too long while doing other things. If you do that you get a burnt spot like me. Also, feel free to throw a bit of cheese between the layers, like parm or gruyere. But it really doesn't need anything. Just potatoes, butter, salt and some high heat.

A Formal Introduction

2010-09-17T17:46:00.003-05:00

Any repeat readers among you know that we have long established my laziness, procrastination and scatterbrained tendencies as my leading character traits. So it should come as no surprise to you that it's taken a longer than polite period of time for me to get around to formally introducing you to my dear friend's new food blog. Oh sure, I tossed out a mention of it, but I didn't get much beyond that.

And this is bad because she is very much one of my very best friends. She's the one I call when I have something important to say, but she's also the one I call when I have absolutely nothing to say. She is my confidence. I cannot tell you how many nice things she says about me a day, but it's enough to make me feel like I have my own dedicated cheerleading squad. And these days, she's been my friend long enough that she's becoming my memory. Which is good, because someone's going to have to tell the stories of when we were pretty young things, I remember nothing (and admit even less). I've even spent countless hours filling her in on things that happened before we were friends so that she can remember that too.

In addition to being a stellar friend, she has actual culinary qualifications. Remember all those times I've mentioned my friend, who was a professional baker? Well that's her. The one whose grandmother actually knew Julia Child? Her again. How can you turn down talent like that?

The sum total of my foodie cred is that I'm the girl guys would ask back to their houses for the after party because I could make Kraft mac and cheese without measuring implements. That's all I've got. Better at using a stove than your average frat boy.

So basically, skedaddle on over to My Family Table. Be careful where you sit though. We have a very regimented seating hierarchy. Being close to our host is only part of our goal. We're also trying to make sure she hasn't run out of mashed potatoes.

Suddenly Fall

2010-09-14T16:54:00.002-05:00

Frankly, with all the complaining some of us did about the heat this summer, we were asking for it. The first weekend after Labor Day was cold in these parts. On Sunday we had the added bonus of a steady drizzle. Honestly, I couldn't have been happier. What better way to while away the day than curl up on the sofa and watch football while tomato sauce burbles away on the stove. This absolutely satisfied my meatball cravings.

Speaking of which, can we talk about my meatball cravings? Point of fact: as a child I did not like meatballs. Not even a little. I don't mean to cast aspersions on my mother's cooking skills, it was just the meatball itself. They just always seemed so squishy. And I did not like certain kinds of squishy. (Who are we kidding, I still don't. See: bananas, eggplant and rare hamburger.) But at some point, I outgrew this. Not only did I outgrow it, I just kept on heading in the other direction. Currently, there are three meatball recipes on this website. This makes four. I swear I'm not obsessed.

EAT MEATBALLS
adapted from For the Love of Cooking
NB: THIS TAKES ABOUT 3 HOURS TO MAKE. I wasn't kidding about the football game and the rainy day.

INGREDIENTS:

for the sauce (PS - this is what takes so long, so if you want to speed things up, buy sauce!)

2 tsp oil
1/2 of a medium onion
6 oz of mushroom (I used baby bellas)- basically this is an 8oz pack with 6-7 mushrooms pulled out
3-4 cloves of garlic
42 oz of crushed tomatoes (this is about a 28oz can and a half)
1 T balsamic
1 t oregano
1 t sugar
at least 1 t red pepper flakes, but more if you like it on the spicier side.

for the meatballs/penne
1 box of penne
enough sauce (see above) - otherwise, I bet you'd need at least a full jar.
1 lb ground turkey (or beef)
6-7 mushrooms (what was left from the sauce)
1/4 C of onion
2 cloves of garlic
1/4 C bread crumbs
1 egg
1/2 C Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese - 1/4C for the meatballs, 1/4 C for the topping
1 t salt
pepper
1 - 2 C shredded mozzarella cheese

DIRECTIONS:http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
for the sauce
Using a food processor, chop the onion, mushroom and garlic until it is a large dice. In a large pot, heat up your oil to medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, mushroom mixture and cook until soft 2-3 minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients. Simmer covered for 2 hours (although I tasted mine after one, and it was really good, so you could probably quit there).

for the rest
Preheat your oven to 350F. Cook the penne according to the directions on the box. In a large bowl, mix together the bread crumbs and egg. Let this stand while you prepare the other ingredients. Blend the mushrooms, garlic and onion in the food processor until finely chopped, but not a paste. Mix this into the bread crumb and egg mixture. Add the 1/4 C of parm, plus the salt and pepper. Finally add the ground turkey and mix gently. Form into small meatballs. In a large skillet, cover the bottom with a thin layer of oil and heat to medium high. Add the meatballs and cook until they are browned on all sides, maybe 15-20 minutes. When they are done, set them aside. Mix the penne in with the sauce. Then VERY gently, stir in the meatballs, you do not want them to break. Then even more gently stir in about half of the mozzarella cheese. Carefully spoon into a large baking dish (I used my lasagna pan). Top with the remaining mozzarella and the final 1/4 C of parm. Cook for 20-30 minutes, but don't overcook or the cheese will dry out a bit.

Yummy.

Disappointment and Pondering

2010-09-09T14:54:00.003-05:00

This is a beautiful honey cake. I made it using a fairly majorly altered version of this recipe. Sadly, as pretty as it is, it's just not for me, there just wasn't enough going on there - which is odd, because as I was mixing together the nine million ingredients I was thinking there was too much going on there. At any rate, I ended up very disappointed that I hadn't made my usual (but very nontraditional) little honey cupcakes.

Now I'm left with an underwhelming bundt to finish off and also a bit of roast chicken. (Come on, I know I'm not the only one in this position around Rosh Hashanah). The obvious choice right now is to make soup. But I'm feeling awfully whiny about what kind of soup. Also I kind of want meatballs. I know, not helpful. Since I'm being less than helpful, perhaps you can help sort it out.

poll by twiigs.com

Less Than Eloquent

2010-09-07T18:10:00.002-05:00

About 12 hours ago, I left my house to go to work. I've spent about an hour and a half driving today (hey, that's my commute) and had over an hour of physical therapy. I sat down about 10 minutes ago. I am exhausted and my verbal abilities are currently at the fbbbt, fbbbt, fbbbt level. I fully intend to be asleep within the next two hours. Lest you think I'm superwoman and somehow managed to whip up this quiche in the midst of all that, allow me to disillusion you. I did not. This is something I made last week. Back when I had time to myself and energy and eloquence.

SAUSAGE AND BLUE CHEESE QUICHE

INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 C thinly sliced sweet (Vidalia) onions
1 T extra virgin olive oil
3 links of sausage, casings removed (for me this was between a 1/2 and 3/4 of a pound)
1-2 oz blue cheese (get what you like) crumbled
1 half recipe dough
1 1/2 C milk
1/2 C egg beaters + 1 egg (alternately, 3 eggs)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 400 F.
Place the thinly sliced onions in a pan with the tablespoon of olive oil. Cook on low heat, watching closely to make sure they don't burn. Cook for 15-20 minutes until they are soft and sweet. In the meantime, remove the casings from your sausage and add to another pan. Cook over medium heat using a spoon or spatula to break the sausage up into crumbles. They should be done in about 10 minutes. Drain and set on a paper towel covered plate to dry a bit. Roll out your dough and place it in a 9" pie plate. Place foil over the dough and then fill with pie weights. Bake for 8-9 minutes then remove the foil and weight, prick the dough with a fork and bake for 2 more minutes. Remove and let cool for a few minutes while you whip up the custard. In a large bowl, combine the milk and eggs and whip until frothy. In another bowl, mix together the sausages, the onions and the blue cheese. Evenly distribute the sausage mixture in the bottom of your pie crust. Pour the egg and milk mixture over the top. Bake at 375 F for 25-30 minutes or until the center is set. Let rest for 10 minutes before eating.