Coulis and Compote: It's a Food Thing

The Time Has Come the Walrus Said....for Chicken Pot Pie and a Move

2011-11-14T07:34:00.000-08:00

And here is a peek at the first recipe posted on that media (all recipes from here are archived there as well Thank you Avery!)

Chicken Pot Pie.... simple, delicious, economic, make ahead, and freezable. Quite possibly one of my new favorite meals. Even the baby ate the filling and was none too impressed that I didn't give her any crust so after a large amount of whining she scored some of that too.

I am oh so happy to announce that the new web page is up. It will take me awhile to figure things out since I am as technologically savvy as the Amish. To be honest they might be offended by that because they are probably more up to date than I am. However..... I have heard that the blogspot page has some serious issues, especially with comments and I know with formatting so I am very happy to finally have a page of my own.

And just because I love you I have made it more easy than: coulisandcompote.longestblognameinhistory.somethingorother.....

It is simply... www.bossychef.com.

It has been so nice that you have all come here to share my love of food... now go on over there and keep going. I am hoping to get a multi-tab thing going eventually to separate out the kid food from the adult food, but for now there will probably be a little mix. Rest assured I will not try to feed you Millet with Zucchini Puree... well not yet anyway... come back and see me when you're 110.

Cream Cheese Filled Pumpkin Muffins

2011-10-31T13:14:00.000-07:00

These all started with a trip to the pumpkin patch. Every year our daycare center goes to the local pumpkin patch. It is like a child wonderland for Halloween. Hot cider, doughnuts, haunted houses, and lots of land for running wild once your sugar high kicks in. Last year when Monkey was an the only little one in the house we kept him home with us until it was time to meet up with the school bus to drive to the pumpkin patch. We figured he wouldn't want to ride the school bus but would prefer to ride to the pumkin patch in the quiet SUV with his parents. We were wrong. Oh so very wrong. So wrong in fact that we listened to him talk about missing the chance to take the yellow bus to the patch all morning. "Eh... he's two," we thought "he will forget about it in an hour." He did not forget about it in an hour, nor a day, month, or the rest of the year. The topic came up enough that I began to count down the days until the next pumpkin patch trip so he could ride the yellow bus and get it out of his system. At least we didn't have to ride in this.

So month after month he brought up the bus, and it was always followed by this.... "remember we went to the coffee shop before the pumpkin patch and we got the pumpkin bread with the squishy stuff inside?" "Yes buddy, I remember that." "Can we have the bread again?" "Yes buddy, we can have the bread again." However in the mad rush that is always present in our house we did not get leave on time. My husband tried to calm me by saying "It's not a big deal, we can drive him if we're late." To which I replied "No flipping way! I am not listening to his mourn the loss of a school bus ride again for an entire year. It might drive him to pre-school therapy sessions."

We managed to literally get on the bus this year but we did not have time for bread. So to make amends and forego a year of.... "Remeber when you forgot the bread because you are the worse Mother EVER and it was worse thing that has ever happened to me since you made me ride with you to the pumpkin patch?" I decided I could just make the bread at home. How hard can it be.

Step one... find a pumpkin

Or two, or a few hundred

Roast the pumpkin and puree, or simple open a can of pureed pumpkin from the store. For ease this year I did not make my own pumpkin which is sill really because I made fresh baby food every day and there is no difference really. Next? Locate your loaf pans... or if your kitchen is a disaster and you can't bear the thought of the avalanche that will be caused when you attempt to extract a loaf pan or two, use your very readily available muffin tins instead. The concept is the same. The recipe makes two full size loafs, 5 mini loaves, or 18 muffins.

While picking out your pumpkins at the pumpkin patch watch out for spiders,

and bees.

Cream Cheese Filled Bread Goods
adapted from The Joy of Baking

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Filling

8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Pumpkin Bread

1 cup pecans or walnuts
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated white sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 - 15 ounce can pure pumpkin, or homemade
1/2 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Method

Bread

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C) and place rack in the center of the oven. Butter and lightly flour two - 9 x 5 x 3 inch (23 x 13 x 8 cm) loaf pans, 5 mini loaf pans, or your muffin tins

Nuts

Place the nuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 8 - 10 minutes or until brown and fragrant. Cool completely and then chop coarsely.

Cream Cheese Filling

In your food processor, process the cream cheese just until smooth. Add the sugar and process just until smooth and creamy. Add the eggs, one at a time, processing just until incorporated. Do not over process. Stir in the flour.

Bread

In a large bowl, sift or whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In another large bowl, whisk the eggs until lightly beaten. Add the sugar and melted butter and whisk until blended. Whisk or stir in the pumpkin, water, vanilla extract, and nuts.
Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture and stir just until the ingredients are combined. (A few streaks of flour is fine.) Do not over mix as it will make the bread tough.

Divide the batter in half. Take one half and divide it evenly between the two prepared pans. Divide the cream cheese filling in half and place each half of filling on top the two pans of batter, smoothing the tops. Top with the remaining half of batter (use two spoons to place small dollops of batter on top of the filling). For muffins, divide the batter in two. Use half for the bottom of the muffins and half for the top. To be honest in the future I will take the extra effort to pull out the bread pans it has to be easier. Bake the breads for about 55 - 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean.

Place pans on a wire rack and let cool for about 10 minutes before removing breads from pans. Can serve warm, cold, or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the refrigerator or else freeze for later use.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Blueberry-Maple Compote

2011-10-25T09:02:00.000-07:00

Some days I am a genius. A culinary Goddess if you will, everything I touch in the kitchen is gold. Baked to perfection, rich and creamy, filling, heart-warming, and all done with a touch of extreme exaggeration. Okay so I can cook some things that taste nifty once in a while, and some of the time I can pull it off without a hitch. This was not the case in any sense for this recipe here.

I had a very large container of oats and was thinking they had been hanging around the kitchen longer than required and I thought... hmmmm what about those oatmeal pancakes we (and by we I mean me, but I was talking to myself so that makes me a we) saw when looking up OAMC. Those looked tasty.... but could they really use up the gigantic vat of oats. Well.... let me tell you my friend. If you screw up a recipe not once but twice you will not only use the vat you will run out and have to go purchase another container since you now have a vendetta against the recipe. And yes when you are done you will be left with more oats than you started with. Please note that you make the oatmeal according to the directions just in case it does not jive with the recipe below... but that is only the top portion. Do not get confused by the oat flour... this should be added later in the recipe. NOT say into the boiling water to make a paste that could hold up buildings. I contemplated throwing out the pot. When the world ends that concrete oatmeal mixture will still be alive and well living out its elderly years with a family of baby oats telling the tail of when it escaped the Bossy Chef's kitchen. I considered using it as a child friendly sculpting media but thought I might lose a child in its stickiness.
Trouble aside, these were delicious. And I should know better than to cook while tired.

On my way to work this morning I had the worse craving for these and wished I had some in my freezer, but once again the Monkey Man has access to that freezer and he loves himself a pancake. And thanks to leaving the room for two seconds when the doorbell rang we know that Baby girl also loves the blueberry compote. When I came back into the kitchen she had a purple smile and Monkey was saying... Juliet likes the blueberries Momma.... ahhhhh thanks for sharing buddy.

I made this on my griddle pan but feel free to make them however you want.

Why can't my pancakes just stay together and make cute little silver dollar pancakes. I believe this is some kind of punishment for a wrong doing in a past life. Not something major mind you but like maybe I let my dog chase the neighbors cat or something to that effect. Just a little annoyance to spice up life. Seriously this does not go well with my OCD. How to make it all better? Hmmm.... conundrum... I think maybe by listening to a little Marcus Foster.... ahhh that's better.

I made a double batch, flash froze them in a single (kind of ) layer and then portioned them into freezer bags. I used the new handy dandy bell plastic jar things to freeze the compote. I highly recommend all of these things.

These are best when you first make them, but refrigerated are just as good (warm them before eating obviously). Once you freeze them, they lose a little airiness but not enough to keep me from making them again so I'm going to say they are more than safe to add to your OAMC, or grocery list.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Blueberry-Maple Compote
adapted from The Flour Sack Blog

Ingredients

1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup water
Pinch of kosher salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled slightly (plus extra for the pan)
1 1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon unsulphered (not blackstrap) molasses
2 eggs
3/4 cup oat flour (or pulse 3/4 cup rolled oats in a food processor until finely ground)
1 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons natural cane sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Method

Cook the oats according to your package. You will need about a cup or so of finished oatmeal. Let cool until you need it for the recipe.

Now separately... this is where it all fell apart when I first made them... Whisk the flours (including the oat flour you made by pulsing oats in a coffee maker or blender), sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a smaller bowl, whisk the melted butter, milk, cooked oatmeal, molasses, and eggs together until thoroughly combined. I did not do this well enough and had some oatmeal lumps but you couldn't really tell once they were cooked. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Use a light hand and be careful not to over mix. You want them tender a.k.a.... fluffy. The batter will be slightly thick with a holey surface

Heat a cast iron pan or griddle over medium eat until water sizzles when plashed onto the pan. Rub the pan generously with butter. Working quickly, dollop 1/4 cup mounds of batter into the pan, 2 or 3 at a time. Once bubbles begin to form on the top side of the pancake, flip the pancake and cook until the bottom is dark golden-brown, about 5 minutes total. Continue with the rest of the batter.

Serve the pancakes hot, straight from the skillet, reheated from the fridge or freezer works too. Spoon on a bit of blueberry compote, and if you froze that too... you might want to give it a little heat as well.

Blueberry-Maple Compote

Ingredients

5 ounces blueberries, (I used fresh but honestly I think frozen would work just as well... we'll find out I saved the difference this time and bought frozen)
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (NOTE... NOT fake maple syrup that is sacrilege)
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
pinch of lemon zest

Method

Heat 3 ounces of blueberries, maple syrup, water, and lemon juice in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the berries begin to split (I think this took roughly 3 minutes for me), cool and portion for freezing or spoon over pancakes and enjoy. I cheat and add a touch more maple syrup too.

Myer Lemon-Cranberry Scones

2011-10-17T08:26:00.000-07:00

Lately I wonder if I should have ever bought a real website. I don't know how to access it and the waiting for it to get up and running is zapping my will to blog! However, these were so good it gave me a little motivation. These should have been made with fresh cranberries but alas as always Lincoln is a culinary joke and cranberries and myers lemons are not in season at the same time. I'm sure you can make these with regular old lemons, or with dried cranberries like I ended up doing but do not.... I repeat DO NOT try to make them with frozen cherries instead as you will end up with a very wet, very odd concotion in deed. These are perfect for OAMC, and I even made a double batch and froze them to make sure before I let you know. Of course it was pointless to freeze them really because our 3 year old can reach our drawer freezer and they were pulled from their freezer bag one by one until only some scone crumbs were left for the following week. No matter they don't take very long so I just picked up more lemons yesterday to make a TRIPLE batch. I'm sure you could do a single batch in your sleep. Give them a try. And if cranberries aren't your thing you could click on over here for the pumpkin scone recipe stolen from Starbucks.

Meyer Lemon Cranberry Scones

Gourmet | May 1997

The small, sweet Meyer lemon, common in California backyards, has a thin, smooth skin and a juice interior and is particularly fragrant. These scones, which are lighter than most, will spread slightly during baking.

Yield: Makes 16

Ingredients

2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest (from about 3 lemons; preferably Meyer)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar plus 3 tablespoons additional if using fresh cranberries
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 1/4 cups fresh cranberries, chopped coarse, or 1 1/4 cups dried cranberries or dried cherries
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup heavy cream

Method

Preheat oven to 400°F. and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.

With a vegetable peeler remove the zest from lemons and chop fine, reserving lemons for another use.
In a food processor pulse flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, butter and zest until mixture resembles coarse meal and transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl toss together fresh cranberries and 3 tablespoons sugar and stir into flour mixture. If using dried fruit, add to flour mixture.
In another small bowl lightly beat egg and yolk and stir in cream. Add egg mixture to flour mixture and stir until just combined.

On a well-floured surface with floured hands pat dough into a 1-inch-thick round (about 8 inches in diameter) and with a 2-inch round cutter or rim of a glass dipped in flour cut out as many rounds as possible, rerolling scraps as necessary. Arrange rounds about 1 inch apart on baking sheet and bake in middle of oven 15 to 20 minutes, or until pale golden.

Serve scones warm with crème fraîche or whipped cream. Scones keep, individually wrapped in plastic wrap and foil, chilled, 1 day or frozen 1 week.

Rustic Apple Tart

2011-10-04T13:42:00.000-07:00

I was hoping to chronicle all my treasures from my once a month cooking (OAMC) experiment for weeks to come but all I have managed to try is my meatloaf muffins based on the recipe I previously posted and the link from last week. The cilantro chicken, also posted last week (which was fantastic as I mentioned and I am making that again tonight) and a Beef-Ginger Stir-Fry that left me wondering if my love affair with the once a month cooking wasn't unlike my love of bad boys in my early 20s. While it may have seemed like a good idea at the time it ended up leaving me feeling like maybe I could have done better, not to mention the bad taste left in my mouth.

Like the bad boys, the Beef-Ginger Stir-Fry did NOT make the cut for things to try again. In fact I have a second batch all frozen are ready to go if someone would like a dry, sub-par version of NY strip steaks. What a waste (hangs head in shame). I will let you know how we continue to do and maybe I will just have to start making a pre-cooked menu of my own for tried and true recipes. You know I am picky about the way food should look and taste... I would not steer you wrong. Observe something that did make the cut.

Anyway, to uplift my poor broken food spirits, I dug deep into my bag of tricks and by this I mean my iphone and realized I never told you about the tart. Ahhhh the tart. Bright and fruity and buttery, and seasonal and a good way to help use up those 50 pounds of apples you picked because your 3 year old just had so much fun picking them with his parents and visiting Uncles.

What to do with so many? I was told they would keep forever, and so after taking them home and washing them and tossing the bags we brought them home in I looked up their website on how to best care for our lovely little treats. The website said and I paraphrase a quote "do not pre-wash your apples. Leave them in the bags we have provided with a damp paper towel in the crisper of your refrigerator." Oops. Oh well maybe I could make individual versions of the tart for my own freezable meal. I could handle eating apple tarts for breakfast with coffee. In fact this recipe is light and despite the sugar does not feel overly dessert-like because it doesn't have a hint of cinnamon. Not a trace of nutmeg or any other traditional spices that scream apple dessert to me. Such a nice change of pace although I had to really work on restraining myself. My hand was just dying to sprinkle some cinnamon somewhere! And should we run out of apple since I did not store them properly, we can always go back. It was fun after all.

and delicious... don't forget the delicious part.

Free-Form Apple Tart

Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 1 teaspoon sugar

Kosher salt

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes and chilled

About 1/2 cup ice water

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest plus 1 teaspoon juice

4 Arkansas Black or Granny Smith apples—peeled, cored and thinly sliced

1 large egg white, beaten

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar

Methods

In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle, combine the flour with 1 teaspoon of the sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Add the butter and mix at low speed until it is the size of small peas, 30 seconds. With the machine on, gradually add 1/4 cup of the ice water. Add as much of the remaining ice water as needed, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough is just evenly moistened (it shouldn't mass on the paddle). Turn the dough out onto a work surface and knead 2 or 3 times, just until it comes together. Pat the dough into a disk, wrap in plastic and chill for 1 hour or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 400° and line a large cookie sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough to a 17-inch round, then trim it to a neat 16-inch round. Transfer the dough to the cookie sheet.

In a medium bowl, combine the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar with the lemon zest and a pinch of salt. Add the apples and lemon juice and toss well. Arrange the apples on the dough in 2 concentric circles, leaving a 3-inch border all around. Fold the edge of the dough up and over the apples, overlapping the dough on itself as needed. Brush the rim with the egg white and sprinkle with the turbinado sugar.

Bake the pie in the center of the oven until the crust is golden and firm and the apples are tender, about 55 minutes. Transfer the cookie sheet to a rack to cool. Slide the pie onto a plate, cut into wedges and serve.

**Make Ahead

The dough can be frozen for up to 1 month. The tart can be baked earlier in the day and rewarmed before serving.

Cilantro Lime Chicken Breasts and OAMC

2011-09-29T13:17:00.000-07:00

For the love of cooking... cilantro lime chicken

I don't really have much of a post for this week which is a shame because I made a great Rustic Apple Tart, and about 12 other dishes last week. I was not catering, or throwing a dinner party, or anything exciting at all. I was planning. And by planning I mean plotting. And by plotting I mean I am sick of not having time to cook dinner and I think that we have ordered too many pizzas in the past month.

I say this only because my 3 year old asked me to call the lady that brings the pizza to the door so he could give her a hug. That's a hard flag to ignore. So I started searching for quick recipes and I stumbled upon Once a Month Cooking. I don't even know why I started reading up on it because I have read it all before and thought... I think not!

However this time I came across Once a Month Mom... www.onceamonthmom.com, and she had 4 full menus already there waiting. With a printable grocery list, and a prep list and fresh and tasty looking meals so I thought.... eh, why not. I made all sorts of things. Some very traditional that are my good old standbys for freezable meals. Things I make before going to the hospital to say deliver children and such. Things like meatloaf which I already told you about click here for recipe. And spaghetti sauce which I have not told you about but the recipe has recently been requested because apparently not everyone has a fast spaghetti recipe that doesn't involve opening a jar and I think this is a staple so I will get on it. Then there were Pork Carnitas, Ginger-Beef Stir Fry, Oatmeal pancakes, Scones, and CILANTRO CHICKEN. That is the photo of it up there. I didn't take any photos while making it because it was the last thing I made and I was burnt out on photos and food in general, and because honestly I didn't have high hopes for it, but it was delicious. It also took 5 minutes to make and I have a second batch in the freezer just waiting for us. Here is the link for the real recipe.

http://fortheloveofcooking-recipes.blogspot.com/2009/01/cilantro-and-lime-chicken-breasts.html

here is how I made it.... Take all ingredients... double the recipe and put into a blender or smoothie maker if you like to just throw it in the dishwasher... hypothetically speaking of course. Pulse, pulse, some more... do a little dance with the pulse to make your sick 8 month old laugh. Now while making ridiculous faces at a the ridiculously cute 8 month old who is trying to free herself from the cute hat you've just put on her...

Now throw 1.5lbs or two chicken breasts in the bag... just as they came no fancy pounding needed. Now pour half the marinade into each bag. Smoosh the chicken...why yes that is a technical term. Now remove as much air as you can, roll up the bag to take up less space and freeze. When you want to cook them take them out the night before or the morning of. At dinner time... grill. Ta da.... that's it. And it was good... so very good, and I am plotting some kind of black bean, tomato, avocado salad thing to go with it next time. I can't wait. And... there is another batch already so I don't even have to do the five minute prep just move it from the freezer to the fridge.... you can't even get a pizza delivered in that amount of time, your child's love of the delivery girl aside. And my husband is lord of the grill so that is where my job ends other to say... did you start the grill? Can you start the grill? Hellllooooo? Grill!

or how about this little gem.

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2008/11/crock-pot-chicken-taco-chili-4-pts.html

I am not a huge fan of a lot of canned foods, but I think when it comes to beans and tomatoes often it's just easier. If I had to remember to soak beans or lentils every single time I cooked them they would never be made. If you have time use dried, however.... if you had time you would probably cook something instead of using a crock pot, and honestly isn't it nice to know that you have something you can make in the house and you do not have to run out for anything. The first time I made this I forgot to thaw the chicken so I just thew the frozen breasts on top, let it cook for 10 hours on low and hoped for the best. It worked. The second time I made it I forgot to make it, and ran home at lunch and thew everything into the crock pot, turned it on high for 4 hours (thawed chicken this time) and hoped for the best and IT WORKED! Oh yeah and I didn't have cilantro that time either but I hardly missed it.

As for the Once a Month Cooking so far so good. I will be sure to get the better recipes to you. And I hope they are all good because I made double batches of EVERYTHING.... why do something twice when you can do it once?

Raspberry Flaugnarde (gesundheit)

2011-09-17T18:47:00.000-07:00

Photo by Tina Rupp

We went raspberry picking last weekend with visiting family and as we walked the rows of berries I said we need enough berries to make... ahhh... Cl... ummm.... Coul-fatie? Followed by the disclaimer that I had no idea how you pronounce it because I've only seen it in Food and Wine but it looked fabulous and I've wanted to make it ever since. I couldn't explain if it was a custard or a cake, and now that I've actually had it it's really neither. And it's not even a clafoutis it's a flaugnarde.

According to my sources (i.e. Wiki) the clafoutis is a baked classic French dessert of black cherries (containing pits) covered in a thick flan-like batter (I disagree with this description, not being a big fan of flan, which my Aunt describes as custard that couldn't get a hard on... lovely... moving on). It is dusted with sugar and served lukewarm. The dessert originates from the Limousin region and when baked with any other fruit it is actually a flaugnarde. And apparently the word is "bastardized" as Clafouti... good gracious no... a missing s... whatever shall we do?

Clafoutis/Clafouti/flaugnarde... I don't care how you spell it it is G O O D! I stole the photo from above because I didn't want to scare you with my photo.

I would like to blame my photo skills but honestly it was an ugly duckling of a dessert.

Any better? No you're right.

Some recipes call for it to be completely golden brown on top like ours but all the good photos look like the one above all creamy and white. I suspect this has something to do with food styling and using painted food when things do not appear the way we want them to. I like to think of it as proof that even gorgeous food like gorgeous people are retouched! It was getting a bit late by the time it came out of the oven so I tried to take it outdoors, then decided I would take a photo the next day in natural light. After all there were 4 1/2 of us and 8 pieces of dessert surely there would be a slice a smidge something leftover to take a photo of.... and there was... did I show you the left over berries?

I am sure it has something to do with the fresh berries that were like little pillow of fruity velvet on the tongue. Something so rich, so delicious, so fantastic that what you see above is probably all that survived the onslaught of people eating the berries with cream and just straight from the refrigerator. I have been counting the days all week until this weekend when we could go again and pick two to three times as many so that there could be many a flaugnarde in our futures but the weather did not cooperate. Maybe tomorrow... hope hope. Either way it is raspberry season get thee to a raspberry picking place and make this today. Your stomach will thank you. Oh and did I mention that it takes about 5 minutes to throw together... can't beat that with a stick could you?

Raspberry Clafoutis

Food and Wine

Ingredients

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar

Salt

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

1 1/2 pints raspberries (3 cups) (there is NOOOO way 3 cups would have fit. I used 1 1/2 tops I would say just have a lot and add them until full)

Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch gratin dish. In a bowl, whisk the flour, sugar and a pinch of salt. Whisk in the eggs, butter and lemon zest until smooth. Add the milk and whisk until light and very smooth, about 3 minutes. Pour the batter into the gratin dish and top with the raspberries.

Bake for about 30 minutes, until the clafoutis is set and golden. Let cool slightly. Dust with confectioners' sugar, cut into wedges and serve.

Vanilla Bean-Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

2011-09-12T08:13:00.000-07:00

I have been on a huge baking kick lately. Makes sense as it's a perfect kick to be on while on a diet. My thing to make this month? Cupcakes! I know they are so last year but I still like them more than the cake pops and they are conveniently portioned so that I can't cheat and say cut a bigger cupcake like I could should I have made this as a cake. My first cupcake batch was a cream cheese mini chocolate chip stuffed chocolate cupcake with a fudge frosting which will be coming soon but I need to tweak the frosting to ensure yours will not melt off the cupcakes like mine did.

I may have mentioned my obsession with coconut once or twice before. Like the Chocolate-coconut creme brulee here , Swedish dream cookies here, or the coconut blondies here, but I am always happy to add another one to the recipe box, which is what this blog really is, as much as a way to share great recipes with family and friends. No matter where my husband and I go if there is Internet or phone service we can look up a recipe to share, and you will want to share these. Actually you will want to horde all 18 for yourself but don't be selfish, share with your friends. Your friends and waistline will thank you.

I love it when you can see the specs of vanilla

Michael brought some to the daycare for his and Juliet's teachers, and I gave some to my partners in crime from school. The rest we shared with visiting family, now I'm not going to name names or anything but when I went to bed there were some left and when I woke up there was an empty cupcake holder (ahem.... cupcake thief 1 and cupcake thief 2).

Vanilla Bean-Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting

Bon Appetit

Ingredients

Reduced coconut milk 2 13-to 14-ounce cans unsweetened coconut milk* (preferably organic)

Cupcakes 2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
3 large eggs
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature

Frosting1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup reduced coconut milk (see above), room temperature
Seeds scraped from 1 split vanilla bean or 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, lightly toasted (for garnish)

Reduced Coconut Milk

Bring coconut milk to boil in large deep saucepan over medium-high heat (coconut milk will boil up high in pan). Reduce heat to medium low; boil until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, stirring occasionally, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from heat; cool completely. Transfer to small bowl. Cover; chill (coconut milk will settle slightly as it cools). DO AHEAD: Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

For cupcakes

Position rack in center of oven; preheat to 350°F. Line eighteen 1/3-cup muffin cups with paper liners. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar; beat on medium-high speed until well blended, about 2 minutes. Add 2 eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and occasionally scraping down sides of bowl. Beat in seeds from vanilla bean and remaining egg. Add half of flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Add 1 cup reduced coconut milk; mix just until blended. Add remaining flour mixture; mix on low speed just until blended. Divide batter among muffin cups. Bake cupcakes until tops spring back when gently touched and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer cupcakes in pans to rack; cool 10 minutes. Carefully remove cupcakes from pans and cool completely on rack.

For Frosting

Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar, 1/3 cup reduced coconut milk, seeds from vanilla bean, and salt. Beat on medium-low speed until blended, scraping down sides of bowl. Increase to medium high and beat until light and fluffy.

Using pastry bag fitted with large star tip, pipe frosting onto cooled cupcakes. (Alternatively, top each cupcake with 2 tablespoons frosting. Using small offset spatula, swirl frosting over top of cupcakes, leaving 1/2-inch plain border.) Sprinkle with coconut. DO AHEAD: Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight containers; chill. Bring to room temperature before serving.

* Available at many supermarkets and at Indian, Southeast Asian, and Latin markets.

I wasn't sure which would be better toasted coconut or plain coconut so I did both... do the toasted coconut. There were only plain coconut ones left at the end of the night so I knocked off the regular coconut and added the toasted. The original recipe says to use it sparingly as a garnish.... I happily threw that recommendation out the window and loaded them with it. I urge you to do the same.

Greek Grilled Chicken

2011-09-07T07:29:00.000-07:00

Some times you just make your favorite foods and never think... I really need to blog this. However in light of my new realization that people don't cook because people don't have time (I have come to this realization after realizing that in the past two nights we had pancakes and then pizza for dinner because I haven't had time to shop for food), I realized... these are the recipes people need most. Well people like me... which I think far out weigh people that have time to make the sophisticated food I dream about making again some day. Here is something so fast and tasty you will swear you picked it up on your way home from the local Greek place. It is light, diet friendly (what's a little olive oil.. okay a lot but it's healthy fat right), and deeeelicious. Make this with the Greek Salad, and some Greek Potatoes or rice and your done. Who said cooking takes a lot of time?

Greek Grilled Chicken
from the Bossy Chef

Ingredients

1-2 pounds of chicken cut lengthwise to make thin, but full sized breasts

Salt and pepper
1 ripe lemon, zested and juiced
3 tablespoon red wine vinegar, eyeball it
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
2 tablespoons fresh chopped oregano, or 1 tablespoon of dried
3 cloves garlic, chopped
Method

Place chicken in shallow dish and season with salt and pepper. Combine lemon zest, juice and vinegar in a bowl and whisk in oil. Add oregano, garlic and whisk again to combine into dressing. Pour the dressing over chicken. Turn chicken in dressing to coat. Let sit for about 15 to 20 minutes but not too long as the lemon will start to cook the meat. Preheat grill to med-high, or heat grill pan to high.

Grill chicken 4 to 5 minutes on each side. If you are using a grill pan turn the heat down after searing the chicken to ensure it gets cooked all the way through.

Ethiopian Cooking Part II... Berbere

2011-08-28T11:53:00.000-07:00

Some of you may remember a hundred years ago when I started to say that I would teach you how to cook Ethiopian food. An idea which had merit but was obvioulsy lacking in execution as here it is... a mere....~~millenia~~ 17 months later and we are finally getting to Part II. Please revisit Part I here. So the bad news is that I dropped the ball, this is no surprise with my time restraints these ~~years~~ days. The good news... here is Part II and I've given you an easy link back to Part I... and with these two ingredients you can basically make half of all Ethiopian dishes. The Nitter Kibbeh is a spiced clarified butter, and the Berbere is a spice mixture... both of which are in almost everything. I have heard that you will never get it as good unless someone brings it to you from Ethiopia. Well being fresh out of Etiopian connections I will have to make due. And since I don't know what I'm missing... I thought this was pretty darn good.... better than good. Fantastic in fact. And once you add this to your heating Nitter Kibbeh you will be in aromatic heaven. Once you are all good little students and make these two I will divulge my recipe for Doro Wat.... it's not pretty but it is soooooo good it will plant ideas of traveling through Africa just to taste the food. Does anyone else notice I make a lot of ugly food. That would have been a great catchy name for a blog. Ugly Food.... hmmm... I like it.

My spice next to the photo in the cookbook which is full of gorgeous recipes. The monkey likes to open it and go through it page by page and tell me what he likes and what he wants to eat. And why yes that is a handy dandy kids take and toss container. Note to self... do not use this container to store baby food in the future.

Berbere
adapted from Soul of A New Cusine

Ingredients

1tablespoon Fenugreek seeds
1/2 cup dried serrano chilies or other dried chilis
1/2 cup ground paprika
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons ground ginger
2 tablespoon ground onion powder
1 tablespoon cardomom seeds (I bought mine whole but out of the pod)
1 tablespoon freshly ground or grated nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon Garlic powder
1/4 tablespoon Ground cloves
1/4 Tablespoon Ground cinnamon
1/4 Tablespoon Ground allspice

Method

Ground everything together in a coffee or spice grinder. I recommend grated the nutmeg ahead of time as you are not about to grind one of those giant rocks into a fine powder otherwise. I did my stuff in batches because my grinder is small. And be careful when doing the chilis... once again I got to experience what it would be like to mace myself.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble with Irish Whiskey Butter

2011-08-22T09:24:00.000-07:00

I would love to say that I am not one to wish away a season but the truth is... I am. I totally am. I cannot wait for Summer to get here and then towards the end after a month of sticky 100+ degree days and three showers a daw and sweaty cranky children, and being held hostage in your house because you could get heat stroke if you go out into the world I am ready for Fall. Being from Vermont Fall has always been my favorite season anyway. The leaves in the mountains during foliage season are just breath taking. Go ahead and google it if you've never been. You will be amazed, you will be jealous, you will think... no way does the whole state look like that... but it pretty much does. I have so many great memories of Vermont that I often get homesick just thinking about it. I am crossing my fingers that we will get to go home during foliage for the first time since we moved out to Cornfield-Central.

I mean who wouldn't want to be around this?

Photo via Google images

or this?

Darn it, now I want to go fishing too!

One of my Summer to Fall memories as a child was eating rhubarb at my Grandmother's house. My cousins and I would go out to the side of the yard and choose our giant stalks of rhubarb, go into the house and peel them and pour out little dishes of sugar and salt to dip them in. I tried to plant some rhubarb this year so I could continue the tradition with my own children. However I was more inspired by nostalgia to plant it in the same area of the yard than by reason and the weeds in the back of the lot drowned the poor buggers in shade and I was greeted not by the blushing stalks but by whithered sad little brown strings. I am hoping some of them make it back next year but it is a small hope. Luckily you can buy rhubarb in any store or farmer's market right now and make this dish. On a positive note I saw about 4 teeny tiny strawberries on the plants we planted on the side of the house so my son is very excited about that. I don't think we will get enough to make jam as the goal is eventually but even if one survives long enough to be picked and eaten by the Monkey he will be thrilled.

these were frozen and made them a bit more sour than I expected

Strawberry-Rhubarb Irish Crumble with Irish Whiskey Butter

Ingredients

Irish Whiskey Butter:
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 cup Irish whiskey

Crumble:
5 cups quartered strawberries
3 cups sliced rhubarb, about 1/3-inch thick (fresh or frozen and thawed)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
Pinch salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced

Method

To make the Irish whiskey butter, place the butter in a mixing bowl and whip until fluffy. With the mixer running, gradually add the confectioners' sugar. Slowly add the Irish whiskey until combined. The mixture may look separated and curdled at first but if you continue whipping, it will come together. Topping may be used at room temperature or chilled.

Preheat oven to 375^o F. Lightly grease a 7-by-11-inch baking dish and set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine the strawberries, rhubarb, sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice. Toss to coat. Pour the strawberry mixture into the prepared baking dish.

In a medium, mixing bowl, add the flour, oats, light brown sugar, and salt, stirring to combine. Add the diced butter to the flour mixture, and using your fingers, work the mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Pour the crumb mixture evenly on top of the strawberry mixture.

Place the baking dish in the oven and bake for 40 minutes, or until the filling is bubbly and the topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with a spoonful of the Irish Whiskey Butter.

Spicy Ethiopian Red Lentil Stew

2011-08-17T08:18:00.001-07:00

http://iamthebossychef.blogspot.com/2011/08/ethiopian-spicy-red-lentil-stew.html

Cumin-Glazed Ribs with Avacado-Pineapple Salsa

2011-08-11T11:17:00.000-07:00

I have always thought of Memorial Day as the day that kicks of grilling and Labor Day as the day that ends the grilling season. I made these for the 4th of July weekend and every time my husband says the word grill I want them again... which is funny because now that I look back over the recipe there is very little grilling involved... which means that you can all have them for your Labor Day party, and I my friends... can have them ALL WINTER LONG if I want. It's a win-win really... well for me for sure because I've had them but it's not too late for you. I'll give you the recipe. If you're nice. And maybe beg a bit.

First procure yourself some yummy ribs. The recipe calls for baby back ribs but I could only find spare ribs. The guy at the store informed me that the difference was that spare ribs have less meat than baby back ribs which I believe is backwards but this is the same guy that told me skirt steak and flank steak are exactly the same cut of meat. This is what you do for a living buddy.... gain some knowledge. Just saying. Mix up the spice rub and cover the rib racks, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 10 hours. I do not remember doing this. It is possible that I skipped over it and just threw them in the fridge with the rub. It's been known to happen. Either way I let them sit in there for 4 hours as I was making them the day I wanted to serve them.

After they have marinated, you bake them (see below). While baking them make your glaze/saucey stuff. You will need some jalapenos...

Limes

some honey and other such ingredients. Blend that stuff up and transfer to a pot.

Simmer over low heat until glossy and thickened. The recipe says 15 but I think mine took closer to 30. Here you raise the temperature of the oven and continue to cook the ribs after brushing them with the glaze. Now the picture in the magazine shows them all reddish brown. Mine got very dark very quickly so don't freak if you're are dark too. They almost looked burnt but that is a common look for rubbed ribs in my experience.

While they are finishing up make the salsa. You will want to do this on a grill pan or grill. Grill the pineapple rings until charred.... mine were extremely juicy so I actually put them on a paper towel to soak up some of the extra juice, then set them in a bowl so I could scoop the fruit out and leave all the extra juice. Then I worried that I needed the juice to marry the flavors so I added some back in but after looking at the photo again their salsa looks all fresh and not mushy which happens when you leave pineapple juice on anything so next time I will keep them separate and as dry as possible before adding them back in. I also didn't bother to core them, I just grilled them then diced around the core to save time.

Cut up remaining ingredients for salsa and mix together.

Right before you serve them you want to either heat up the broiler or grill and heat them over high heat for about 5 minutes, then serve with the salsa.... mmmmmmmm. I wish I had these in the fridge right now it is perfect weather out to have ribs tonight.

Cumin-Glazed Ribs with Avocado-Pineapple Salsa

Susan Feniger c/o Food and Wine June 2011

Ingredients

1/4 ancho chile powder

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon cumin

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

2 racks of baby back ribs (about 5 pounds)

4 jalapenos, seeded and thinly sliced

8 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 cup honey

1 pound fresh pineapple rings, cored and sliced 1/2 inch thick

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1/4 cup finely diced red onion

1/2 cup cilantro

1 large Hass avocado

Method

In a small bowl, combine the ancho powder with 1/4 cup of the cumin, 2 tablespoons of the salt and 1/2 teaspoon of pepper. Set the ribs on a rimmed baking sheet and rub all over with the spice mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to 10 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. Add 1/4 inch of water to the baking sheet and bake the ribs for 45 minutes, until barely tender. Cover with foil and bake until tender, about 30 minutes longer. Pour off the pan juices.

Meanwhile, in a blender, puree three-fourths of the jalapenos with the garlic and 1/2 cup of the lime juice. Blend in the honey and remaining 1 tablespoon of cumin. Transfer the glaze to a saucepan and simmer over low heat until glossy and thickened, 15 minutes.

Raise the oven temperature to 450. Brush the ribs with half of the glaze. Roast until well glazed, turning once, about 20 minutes. Brush with the remaining glaze.

Light a grill or preheat the broiler. Grill the pineapple rings over high heat, turning once, until lightly charred, about 5 minutes. Finely dice the pineapple and transfer to a bowl. Add the brown sugar, onion, cilantro, avocado and remaining jalapeno and 2 tablespoons of lime juice. Season with salt and pepper.

Grill or broil the ribs over high heat, turning once, until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Cut between the bones and serve with the salsa.

HOLD THE PHONE....

2011-08-08T19:43:00.000-07:00

I know I just announced that I was changing the blog address but I have decided to take the plunge and do my very own website.... the new address will soon be www.bossychef.com. Stay tuned. I hope to be posting there soon. Until then I will post at both coulisandcompote and Iamthebossychef both on blogspot. I haven't decided if Sweet Peas will tag along on the "real" website or not. New recipe tomorrow. Have a good night.

The Bossy Chef Becomes......

2011-08-05T13:05:00.000-07:00

.... well the Bossy Chef. After two new additions to the family and a few years of blogging under my belt I have realized that I have no desire for a fancy smancy blog, nor do I have time for 12 hour processes and 2 hour photo shoots, so I am starting new with the Bossy Chef Blog. It will be the same as this blog is now it will just be a little more fitting. Please join us at: www.iamthebossychef.blogspot.com

And if you have little sweet peas in your life you can visit us here for fun kid food. www.bossysweetpeas.blogspot.com.

Now... put your mouse on the link and click.... follow me and leave lots of comments... a new recipe awaits you over there... well this recipe to be exact... :)

Asparagus with Eggs and Pumpernickel Crumbs

adapted from Richard Blais Food and Wine

Ingredients

2 teaspoons unsalted butter, softened (I used olive oil to make it dairy free)

**1 thick slice of pumpernickel bread (use your favorite gluten-free bread to make it gluten-free or leave it out all together and top with oven crisped pancetta)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1/2 medium white onion, minced
2 tablespoons capers, drained and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon raspberry vinegar (oh... I thought I had some but I didn't so I used Sherry vinegar)
3 tablespoons parsley (which I forgot to add so just sprinkled around the dish
salt and freshly ground pepper
16 medium asparagus spears, trimmed
4 large eggs

Method

Preheat the oven to 375. Spread the butter on the pumpernickel bread. Bake for about 4 minutes, until crisp. Let cool, then break the toast into 1/2-inch pieces.

In skillet, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 7 minutes. Add the capers and vinegar and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Remove from the heat. Stir in the parsley and season with salt and pepper.

Light a grill or heat a grill pan. Drizzle the asparagus with oil an season with salt and pepper. Grill over medium heat, turning, until lightly charred and crisp but tender, 5 minutes. (I did mine in the oven for 7 minutes)

Meanwhile, bring a saucepan of water to a boil. Add the eggs and simmer over moderate heat for 4 1/2 minutes. Transfer the eggs to a bowl of ice water; keep the water simmering. Gently crack the eggs all over and careful remove the shells, keeping the eggs whole.

Return the shelled eggs to the simmering water to heat through about 30 seconds (here is where my lack of attention to detail in recipes comes in. I saw the photo and assumed they were poached eggs, so that's what we made. I thought it was better and easier that way personally. I am not a fan of soft boiled eggs really. It should be really gooey or really cooked in my opinion.

Arrange the asparagus on the plates and top with the onion relish and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Scatter the pumpernickel crumbs on top and serve.

Proscuitto Wrapped Figs

2011-07-27T07:02:00.000-07:00

This recipe is so quick it would be a shame to waste a lot of time explaining it. That and I have sick children to tend to and work to catch up on from vacation... get out your pens... ready?

Get some fresh figs, green or black, or whatever floats your boat.

Cut figs into halves or quarters (I did quarters even though these are still halves at this point). And yes that is a steak knife and my husband already picks on me about using it for many things.

Take a piece of prosciutto (the kind of Italy don't go cheap here as there isn't much to hide the cheapness and Italian prosciutto is worth the little extra) and fold in half the long way, now cut that into thirds. Wrap a piece around each fig, they kind of self stick but if not use a toothpick to anchor them.

Bake at 350 for 10 minutes or until the prosciutto starts to crisp. Top with a sprinkle of good balsamic vinegar and serve immediately. These were a shockingly big hit and couldn't be easier if the figs did a little dance and wrapped themselves.

Artichokes with Smoked Herb Mayonnaise... more Summery Food

2011-07-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

My husband and I loved these. And that's saying something from a man who just a decade ago called artichokes "The fruit of the devil". He wouldn't touch them back then, watching him tear apart the artichokes last night trying to get to the delicate center leaves warmed my heart. Even the Monkey wanted to try the funny chips with the dip dip sauce, which is what my husband told him it was to get him to try them. His favorite part was throwing away the top of the leaf after scraping the tender flesh from the tips.

I love artichokes, love love love them. I did not have the smoked salt (a problem I intend to rectify when I hit the spice market in Montreal this week) so I used smoked paprika instead which the magazine mentions in the description but not in the ingredient list so I'm not sure if you're suppose to use both. I also used dried dill and my photo looks nothing like Mr. Blais' in Food and Wine but it still tasted good so who cares. I halved the recipe and it could easily have been enough dip for about 10 artichokes so I would stay away from the full cup prep unless you plan on feeding a small army, or a large family.

This is another great Summer dish. I see friends sitting around an outdoor table sipping a cocktail waiting for the main course to come off the grill while ripping the leaves off the artichokes and dipping them in between bits of gossip and catching up.

I didn't have a lot of photos which is a shame because they are so pretty and there was plenty of time for photo ops consider I screwed up this batch and they weren't cooked enough so we tossed them, and I tried again the next day and that one worked much better but I was too busy packing for our trip to take photos.... at least I don't think I took any it's all a blur. For round two I cut the tops off and trimmed the edges just like these. I then hacked off the stem and ripped off the bottom leaves and then inverted the artichoke so that the open end was pointing towards the water. Much better. My dear friend Kate eats these with butter and lemon. I think we'll do both next time as this mayonnaise dip is extrememly rich.... but ohhhhh so good.

Artichokes with Smoked-Herb Mayonnaise
Contributed by Richard Blais Food and Wine

Ingredients

4 large artichokes, stems trimmed
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tablespoons chopped dill
2 tablespoons chopped capers
1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon smoked sea salt
1/4 teaspoon smoked sweet paprika
Hot sauce
Freshly ground pepper

Method

Set a steamer basket in a large pot over 1/2 inch of boiling water. Arrange the artichokes, stem side down, in the basket. Cover and steam over moderate heat until a knife easily pierces the stems, about 30 minutes. Transfer the artichokes to a platter.

In a bowl, whisk the mayonnaise, dill, capers, lemon zest and juice, salt and paprika. Add a few dashes of hot sauce and season the mayonnaise with pepper. Serve the artichokes warm or lightly chilled with the mayonnaise.

Real Greek Salad... ahhh Summer food

2011-07-10T19:01:00.000-07:00

The first time I had Greek salad was in Montreal with my husband. I grew up in Vermont and as far as I'm aware there is still not a Greek restaurant there. There was a fabulous Greek restaurant by the name of Mezze on St. Laurent in Montreal. I say was... the restaurant is still there (I think) but in my opinion is no longer fabulous. They switched from a family platter type menu to full plated meals years ago. They went from fabulous side dishes, to tiny portions and crappy steamed flavorless side dishes. I was heartbroken. Anyway... as I was saying once upon a time they were fantastic and fun and they served a killer Greek Salad with pita. After I had it I had to have it again, only there was no Greek restaurant in Vermont. I ordered Greek salad after Greek salad every time I found it only to be served a green salad with some feta thrown in. Ahhh not quite what I had in mind. This is what I had in mind, and while we have a great Greek restaurant here in town I still like this one better.

First trick is to quick pickle the onions, a little trick I learned from other bloggers.

I found these great mini heirloom tomatoes, so pretty.

Just another shot because I'm so in love with them, I made it again last night with just red tomatoes and it just wasn't the same.

Cut up your peppers, any colors will do, I like to look at my other ingredients and go with the colors I don't have if possible. Here I had all colors for tomatoes, so I just went with my favorite which are red and yellow.

Cut up everything else, you can cut them in any style you want. I did slices here, and last night I diced everything. It's all a matter of preference. Next, you want to pull your onions out of your vinegar and add them. Use the vinegar with the salt, etc for your dressing. Toss and leave. I can't have dairy as I may or may not have mentioned (every single day), but I serve it with the feta on the side for those lucky enough to still be able to eat it. Otherwise go ahead and mix it right in. To be honest it's good both ways. Oh and last night I just threw in whole peppercini's on top for a pretty touch and then let the people that wanted them take them.

Greek Salad

From Eileen's Pea Brain

Ingredients

3/4 pound tomatoes, seeded, diced (about 2 cups)
2 cups diced seeded peeled cucumber (from about 1 large)
½ cup diced green bell pepper

½ cup diced yellow or orange bell pepper

1/4 cup pitted kalamata olives or other brine-cured black olives, halved
1/4 cup diced red onion

¼ cup peppercinis

3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 2 ounces)

Method

Toss first 8 ingredients in medium bowl and gently toss. In a small container with lid, combine olive oil, vinegar and oregano shake vigorously to blend. Dress salad and toss well to blend. Gently mix in cheese. Season with salt and pepper. (Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)

Makes about 4 1/2 cups.

Stuffed Strawberries

2011-07-05T09:05:00.000-07:00

We cancelled our travel plan for the weekend due to being overwhelmed by life and family illness, and instead spent a relaxing weekend visiting friends, and eating a lot of good food. I mean a lot! I spent a lot of time in the kitchen but stuck with relatively simple dishes. Like this quick and festive dessert that was easy and will certainly be brought to many BBQs this year. Once the cover came off these guys they did not last very long and the Monkey ate as many as his pudgy little hands could steal before the adults got to them. I used almond extract for this batch but I think I will use vanilla next time. I also toasted the pecans and did half topped with the chopped toasted pecans and half topped with mini chocolate chips. Once in the tray they were so cute all red and white I decided to fill in the remaining area with blueberries and blackberries to make it 4th friendly.... also a hit, and a keeper of an idea. Couldn't be simplier and a huge hit... what more can you ask for? What's that you say? To be able to eat dairy so you can enjoy your own dessert... why yes that would have been nice too. :)

Stuffed Strawberries
adapted from Food Network

Ingredients

20 whole large strawberries, hulled
8 ounces cream cheese, softened (next time I will use marscapone, they were out of the good cream cheese and I think the store brand was a little too cheesy)
1/4 cup confectioners' powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
2/3 cup chopped pecans

Method

Cut a thin slice from the bottom of each strawberry so the berries stand upright. Place berries, cut side down, on a serving platter. Carefully cut the berries into 4 wedges, cutting almost to, but not through, the bottoms with a criss-cross cut. Fan wedges just slightly, taking care not to break them (this fanning did not occur easily for my set... see detail about investing in bakers bag for next time). Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until combined but still stiff. Using a teaspoon or pastry bag with decorative tip (I used a ziplock sandwich bag with the corner cut off but will definitely spend the extra $2 for a bakers bag for next time), fill the strawberries with the cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle chopped pecans on top of the stuffed strawberries. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Watermelon Agua Fresca

2011-06-29T09:09:00.000-07:00

The forecast for the rest of the week here is in the 100s..... that's a little toasty for my taste. I find the difference between 100 here in the midwest and 100 in the Northeast (if it ever gets that warm) is that while in the Northeast the sun bakes you from above and you can easily take refuge in the shade of a tree. The sun and the heat of the Midwest has more of a convection oven heat. You can hide in the shade but it isn't going to do you any good... assuming you can find a tree big enough to even provide shade that is.

The best you can do is stay in your a/c and attempt to stay hydrated. If you are like the husband you get sick of water and staying hydrated can be a problem as you can't acheive this with black coffee... sorry husband but you can't. Here is a sneaky way to use up the leftovers from the giant melons that seemed like a great idea when you were in the store, and to sneak in some hydration for your coffee loving husband.

First... it is Agua Fresca... not Aqua Fresca as I have been calling it for years.... ahhh hindsight embarassment my favorite. It is my understanding that Agua Fresca means water refreshment and can be basically made from anything, although some areas make them out of things like rice and cereals which does not sound very refreshing to me but I've never tried it. I made this one from what I had in the refridgerator and it was great. I will most likely be making it again with the cantelopes that were on sale for $1 a piece at the store yesterday, I have a shopping problem and it carries over to all areas. I don't know why I thought I would need 10 cantelopes but I probably don't... or maybe it was a sixth sense that the heat was coming and I would need them for drinks, yeah that sounds good, let's go with that. Enjoy.

Watermelon Agua Fresca
From Eileen's Little Pea Brain
Adapted loosely from Gourmet

Ingredients

1 (4-pound) melon (I think I had about a 2 pound but I went with it anyway
1 1/2 cups water
1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (I used 2 of lemon)
1 tablespoon sugar (optional, I skipped this because I used tonic water)
1/4 teaspoons salt
1 quart chilled club soda or seltzer (I used leftover tonic from gin and tonics)
Method
Purée melon in batches with water in a blender or food processor. Beware, I filled our food processor too full and once it liquified the melon it spilled over the top and all over the counter and floor as the tops are apparently not leak proof.

Transfer to a colander lined with cheesecloth... I had no cheesecloth so I used a wet paper towel. Not the best solution but it was just us and it was an experiment. I will put cheesecloth on my grocery list right now. Drain for an hour or until it looks like you can get no more liquid. Use the paper towel to hold the solids while you squeeze and remaining liquid from the pulpy part of the watermelon. Discard solids. Stir in remaining ingredients and chill for an hour or serve over ice.

I read that you can made the base without the tonic or club soda ahead and just add the bubbly stuff right before serving. I will do that next time as it made a lot and we could not drink it all in one sitting. If you store it be sure to give it a good stir before serving as it separates after about an hour.

Summer and Strawberries

2011-06-20T11:46:00.000-07:00

It is safe to say between pregnancies, newborns, internships, classes, and extreme stress this is the first year I feel like I have had a Summer (at home, it always feels like Summer when we stay on the lake visiting VT) and we're just getting going.

I finished my classes a week ago, and have spent all the time since playing catch up. Catch up at work, catch up on sleep, catch up on house work, but I have taken a few moments here and there to just enjoy the time that I now have to be with my family. We started our weekend early last week by going to a concert in the park.

It was fabulous. I ran home and packed up a picnic of Korean BBQ beef, edamame, sliced peppers, hummus, tabouli, pita chips and lemonade.

We listened to jazz and I caught up with a friend from Yoga I hadn't seen since we both had babies. We walked home in the hot Summer evening and walked into a cool house and it was fabulous, but even more fun was Strawberry picking for Father's Day. Little did I know that my husband had never in his life tasted a fresh strawberry. Never been strawberry picking, nada. If I had known we woudl have gone sooner. Everyone had a blast.

The only one who complained at all about the heat was little Miss here.

After an hour or so we had our loot

and away we went

Home again home again jiggity jig....

Now what to do with them? We had about 6 pounds of strawberries because it was the end of the season and they were pretty much picked over and the remaining ones were small, but that is okay I am a fan of the little ones. I prepped and froze about 1.5 pounds, prepped another pound to be inhaled by the husband and son while playing in the baby pool in the back yard, gave some to the daughter, have some held over for strawberry shortcake tonight, and then made this super simple, and ridiculously delicious dessert last night. These are suppose to be served with whipped cream but since I cannot have dairy, we are on a mission to lose baby weight, and it was such a relaxing day I didn't want to deal with leaving the house we ate them as is... .minus the frozen waffle that was busted out at the last minute to suck up the sauce.... oh the sauce... I wish I had taken a photo of my son after he licked his plate clean. Here's the trick... do not tell your kids what is in the sauce, they don't need to know. Bla, bla... honestly and all that... they don't need to know. If they grow up and need therapy because you didn't tell them there was vinegar in their dessert, you come send them to me. I will be happy to tell them to get over it. PS... if you're spouse is picking... don't tell him either.

Start with your slightly sad looking strawberries

Clean and hull them (which just means cutting off the stem, is it necessary to have an entire word for that process I mean really).

Add 2 tablespoons sugar (avoid getting any onto your computer... the draw back of using your computer as a travelling cook book)

Add 2 tablespoon red wine vingar (it's good just do it). Now let sit at room temperature for 2 hours, stirring occasionally. The first time I made this I used balsamic vinegar, but this one is based on Raffy's Strawberries in Vinegar from Giada, not sure if it's better because I can't remember I just remember it works, and it's yummy, yummy, yummy. Now you can make whipped cream here or serve as is.

That is what they look like... I have no photo program on the new computer yet. That is just a plain ol' photo. Looks good doesn't it? It is... promise.

Marinated Skirt Steak

2011-06-13T08:36:00.000-07:00

Western Magazine Photo

So the husband and I watch a lot of Food Network. We used to watch it and then recreate recipes, but typically now we just watch it and drool and then order bad pizza because no one has time to cook in our house. Well that time my friend has come to an end. I am happy to announce that I have completed the course work for my Master degree and to celebrate I marinated a coveted skirt steak. I called it coveted because every time I have ever gone to the store looking for skirt steak here in Lincoln, they have never had it, and I have been told you can substitute flank steak and that it is the same thing. I have been LIED to. The two steaks are not even the same animal... okay well technically they are exactly the same animal but you get what I'm saying.

I would also like to mention that even if I did not have any time we could still make this (minus the million hours it took me cut off all the fat and connective tissue), it took about 10 minutes to make the marinade and it another 10 to cook it. It took about 5 minutes for it to disappear off the plate.... no joke we never even broke out the forks. The husband cut it up into thin strips and the two of us plus a friend just ate it with our fingers. Sounds a bit barbaric but it had such as nice char that it was like a mini meat appetizer of sorts...totally finger food worthy. That and it was 10pm and we were starving.

Why were we eating steak at 10pm you may ask... well for the same reason there are no photos of the actual steak... the husband had a flight that came into Omaha at 6:30 which is about an hour and 15 minutes away. I loaded up the kids and went out to meet his plane that was about 15 minutes late... which wouldn't have been a big deal but I had this in the car for a solid HOUR AND A HALF

We tried to pull over and walk around Whole Foods to see if it improved her mood, and it did... a true sign that she is a child of my heart, but as soon as we put her back in the car the tears and screaming started up again. I suspect it was her disappointment in not being able to take anything away from the cheese island due to her Milk Protein Soy Intolerance, but it might have been the lack of quail eggs that sent her over the edge, and unlike Mamma she could not console herself with a great bottle of Bordeaux, picked up on sale.

Now.... grab yourself some Tabouleh salad, and a great bottle of red and make this finger food... I mean steak that you will eat like a civilized human being with a fork.

Marinated Skirt Steak
The New American Steakhouse Cookbook
Ingredients

3/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup corn oil or other neutral oil such as grapeseed or canola
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 shallots, roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 pounds skirt steak, cleaned of all exterior fat and connective tissue

Method

Put all ingredients except the steak in a blender and blend until smooth.

Pour the marinade over the skirt steak in a nonreactive pan.

Marinate, refrigerated, for 3 to 4 hours before grilling, but no more than 10 hours.
When ready to cook the steaks, prepare your grill for grilling.

Remove the skirt steak from the marinade and clean away any excess marinade with the back of a knife.
Grill the steak over medium-high heat for 4 to 5 minutes per side to serve it rare to medium-rare.
When cooked, slice the steak thinly against the grain, starting at one corner and cutting on the bias. Serve either hot or at room temperature.

My FINAL final

2011-06-06T13:42:00.000-07:00

I'm still alive... sort of.... see you after exams.

The Lightest and Best Carrot Cake Cupcakes EVER

2011-05-24T08:17:00.000-07:00

I may have mentioned that I have a "high spirited child". Or more like a too highly spirited child. He is stubborn, moody, loud, and crazy... oh just like his parents. However all that has changed since I did a little research on the food dyes that have been all over the news as of late. Turns out they are petroleum based. Last I checked petroleum is not actually food, but hey I'm also against high fructose corn syrup so you know that makes me a tree hugging hippy around these parts. I'll admit it, I've hugged a tree, I don't care, I'll do it again. I'm not scared.

So the first thing to go was Red #40. Absolutely NO red 40 under any circumstances, and no Blue, and preferably no yellow either. Which means no processed foods, no cake mixes, and no bakery cakes. This is fine day to day but posed a problem when I remember that ummmm I don't really bake and I had a child with a birthday last week. Okay... what can we make that will pass for cake on short noticed that is not a cake that I could screw up.... dudududaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Carrot Cake to the rescue.

I was worried they weren't cooked all the way through but they were and they were moist so don't cook them until they are firm to the touch or they will dry out. I was sad to miss out on that heaping mound of cream cheese frosting but everyone else loved them. His teachers said that even the fussy kids ate them with no complaints. And the teachers have had no complaints about his new enhanced calm, and sweet disposition. Bye bye Red 40 go make someone elses children crazy. PS. The UK found that after banning food dyes that about a third of all ADHD cases disappeared. Mainly because they were most likely caused by food interactions not actual ADHD. If you have a child making you nuts, try cutting out their red food for a week (takes about a week to get out of their systems). We say a difference instantly. Now he's not a saint as he is still a 3 year old boy, but what a difference. Making a cake from scratch is a small price to pay for such amazing results.... I meant in the child, but the cake is pretty amazing too... give it a try.

The Best Ever Carrot Cake Cupcakes

Paula Deen

Ingredients

For Cake:
4 eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup apple sauce
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 8-oz. can of crushed pineapple, well drained
3 teaspoons vanilla extract, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Small pinch of ground cloves
3 cups grated carrots, grate on larger side of cheese grater
1 cup chopped pecans

For Frosting:
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Fresh coconut, shaved and toasted for garnish (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, oil, apple sauce, sugars, pineapple and 2 teaspoons vanilla. Mix in flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and small pinch of ground cloves. Stir in carrots. Fold in pecans. Pour into muffin tin lined with beautiful paper or foil liners. Fill each liner 3/4 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 min. Let cupcakes cool completely. While cooling, prepare frosting.

Frosting:
In a medium bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Pile the frosting high on the cooled cupcakes and garnish with the toasted coconut if desired.

Yes those are blue decorations but how much could be in those really?

Giveaway Winner and the Coconut Blondies

2011-05-18T12:36:00.000-07:00

And the winner is.... msheavt said...

I would LOVE to wear hats and I would love to see American women embrace the tradition! I have a baptism to attend in June and was acutally thinking of wearing something fancy. I do agree with all your comments on the above photos. I think my fav is probably the Princess of Kent.

Congratulation Msheavt! Your selected piece is on it's way and hopefully you will love it.

I was going to take this time to vent about a piece I recently ordered that I did not love. It was not from the shop above, but I decided I am above all that nonesense and will go about my day.... uh... no.. okay I have to at least show you a picture of the acclaimed "Quality piece" sent to me by AwardDesigns.

Here my friend is a $50 piece of road kill! I am sorry to say this is a fairly good picture. Let's take a look at the underside shall we?

Why yes that is glue from a hot glue gun and a metal tab froma party hat string, thank you for asking. Still fuming. I wrote to Etsy who unfortunately couldn't help me because the woman would not take this back. Looks just like what she advertises doesn't it?

I meant to say... looks NOTHING like what she advertises. Oh well.... when life hands you a piece of road kill, give it to the cat, report the shop owner to paypal and make blondies.

Coconut Blondies

Ingredients

1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut, toasted and cooled

Method

In a bowl with an electric mixer cream together the butter and the brown sugar, beating the mixture until it is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla. In a small bowl whisk together the salt, the baking powder, and the flour, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture, and beat the batter until it is just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and the coconut, spread the batter evenly in a buttered and floured 13- by 9-inch baking pan, and bake it in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and crumbs adhere to a tester. Let the mixture cool completely in the pan on a rack and cut it into squares.

Makes about 32 blondies.

Mad Hatters and a Head Decor Giveaway

2011-04-30T10:54:00.000-07:00

This is the hat I picked out to wear to the royal wedding, alas, my invitation must have been lost in the mail. Great hat though eh? I am a closet fashionista.... closested because I like to sit in my closet amongst my pretty shoes.... no not really. Closet because I cannot afford my own taste, and I have no occasion to wear any of it anyway as I am a: scientist, mother, tired wife and homecook, and live in Nebraska. I did wear a lovely fascinator once when I went out to dinner with my friend and people couldn't even pretend not to stare. Can't wait until they see the feather jobby I just purchased for the Kentucky Derby!

I have spent the week avoiding studying by trying to find a great hat to wear for the Derby, and much to my dismay we couldn't agree on anything, me and my wallet that is, but I do adore great and crazy hats. Seeing the wedding footage only fed my addiction. Let's look at the yes and nos for the day.

Claudia Braby

I want to like it. It has the whispy feathers I love and little curly q things (see I'm very knowledgeable about millinery) however I think there is a Who in Whoville somewhere that may have woken up bald and confused this morning. This is a no.

Victoria Beckham

Posh indeed. Posh flight attendant on a space craft maybe. I do secretly love it, but my husband said but this is a no as well.

Sophie, Countess of Wessex and Princess Anne

Princess Anne.... ahhhh No, and veto on the jacket as well. Sophie? No. Well maybe if we cut off the antenae... ahh still no.. hmm... yeah no, just no.

And the worse.... the worst of the worse... the dynamic duo of bad hats....

Princess Eugenie of York, and Princess Beatrice of York

Greetings Earthlings....Ladies... follow these simple instructions. Reach into your bag. Pull out your cell phone. Avoid all looks from the people attending the reception with you at this very moment. Dial your stylist. Repeat after me... YOU ARE FIRED. Apologize to the world at large for exposing them to these hideous creations and go kick the designers in the shin while you're at it. BIG NO on these two. And I hate to say it but apparently William and Harry got the looks out of the family... all I can think of when I see these two is the Ugly Stepsisters. Although it could just be the hats are that bad.

Queen Margreth II of Denmark

Little sprial thingys I love... check... cute little woman... check... classy and yet fun... check. Color... ehhhhh not a fan of the color but it seems popular among the royals so she's in. One yes for the Royal team.

These three are apparently cousins of William

All three get a yes ... well the snow fairy (the blond with the pink hat and the black dress) maybe borderline now but she gets a buy because of her friends good taste. Three yeses.

Maria Fogle

I have no idea who these people are just to let you know... but this is a great hat and nice to see someone wearing some color.... however her husband needs to note that he should match his wife as it's easier for men, so no electric blue tie when your wife wears green, k there bud? Another yes.... and P.S. after the wedding please send this hat to me.

Princess of Kent

I find this is perfection. Something about it speaks to me. It seems so put together, so regal, so age appropriate, and lovely. Love, love, love this whole get up.

Sophie Winkleman

And love this as well. Simple lines yet not boring. Please see Ms. Fogle after the ceremony to save on shipping the hats together.

Another of my picks for myself

Here is another option I loved but later decided was too old for me. And I was right... see who else loves this hat.

Camilla Duchess of Cornwall

Here she is for the wedding... but wait a minute.

Here she is in June of 2009.... and

July of 2009.... psst... Camilla. I don't want to be rude or anything but ummmm your husband's son... you know the future King of England, is getting married today... maybe this is not the time for repeats.

Whatever... love the hat, but will remember not to order it for myself for another 30 years.

Zarra Philliips

And lastly... hmmmmm looks pretty much like the hat I picked in the begining doesn't it only no feathers. I think I like this one better but I can assure you it is probably out of my price range whereas I can afford the top one, even if it's not practical for me to do so.

Anyone have any opinion out there about the wearing of hats and fasciantors? Leave a comment about your opinion on whether we should bring hats back or maybe a comment about your favorite or worse hat of the day. Winner will be selected by a random number generator on let's say.... May 14th. That should give people enough time to comment. Sorry I've never had a giveaway not sure of proper protocol. One entry per person please. You may select your choice of something like the following (unfortunately there aren't gift cards for Etsy so if these particular items sell we may have to substitute a color, but I've contacted the store owners in hopes of securing them.....

Found at: http://www.etsy.com/shop/FeatherBrain

By Featherbrain

Chicken-Prosciutto Pasta

2011-04-25T07:06:00.000-07:00

Or.... how to clean out your fridge before Easter! This was suppose to be the pasta my husband makes which has a very light and clean flavor profile, but he was stuck at work... and he also doesn't write down recipes (he thinks it makes him indespensible... which he is but don't tell him).... he is also often late and I didn't want to feed the family at 8pm so I was left to my own devices. It didn't taste like his and I used a different type of pasta. It had more of a hearty, salty flavor profile but it was delicious anyway.... here we go.

Look in the fridge and pantry. What needs to go? Take it out. Chop it up. If you are me you have. Prosciutto, chicken breast, capers, garlic, half a bottle of white white, and open carton of chicken stock, basil starting to go brown on some of the larger leaves, some grape tomatoes, and some campanelle pasta (how did that get in there? Most certainly from a Rachael Ray recipe before I gave up hope on her.)

Boil your pasta just under al dente as it will continue to cook when you add it to your pan. Chop up any meat you plan to use. I floured and peppered the chicken haphazardously... meaning I sprinkled soem flour and pepper over these piles and called it close enough. I then heated olive oil in a pan. I browned the pancetta and removed it to a paper towel. I then added the chicken and browned that, removed that to a dish and set aside. I added the garlic and a shallot and about a teaspoon of capers to the pan and sauted until soft. I then deglazed with 1/2 cup of white wine, and 1/2 cup of chicken broth. I added the tomatoes and stewed them in the liquid. Returned the meat to the liquid and stirred it around until the liquid started to thicken and become sauce-like. I then added in the pasta, gave it a good grating of parmesan cheese over the top. Stirred, added salt and pepper,and fresh chopped basil and let cook for about another minute to get the cheese hot. (Note to self... baby is not ready for dairy product, thank you no sleep-weekend). Serve it up along with the toasted sour dough bread that was just about stale but coverable under the guise of crostini.

The White Rabbit and the Dutch Baby

2011-04-21T07:21:00.000-07:00

No I'm not cooking a white rabbit (or a baby for that matter) so you can uncover your eyes.... I just feel like that white rabbit from Alice in Wonderland... I'm late, I'm late.... I'm late for EVERYTHING these days. Eh... what are you going to do? For instance this post was schedule to debut on Monday... and it's what Wednesday? Ahh no make that Thursday. Oops.

So what is a Dutch Baby you might ask? It is a German pancake with a really cool name that I cannot find right now... but image something very German sounding, and it is my husbands new specialty. Every once in a while he tries a new recipe and if we like it it will be made until he gets sick of it, then we will never see it again. Therefore I need to learn how to make this myself because I do not want to see it go the way of the Dodo.

This type of pancake is cross really between a pancake and a souffle. It has a cakey consistency and a rich eggy taste. And it looks funny while it cooks, all puffy and alien-like, it deflates when it cools but don't freak when you go to reach into your oven and it looks like it is trying to pick up and run away.

He always makes fruit compote to go with it, and our son inhales as much as we'll let him. He calls it breakfast pie. It's just easier to tell them it's a treat isn't is? And to be fair it is a treat. I get this on those rare morning when he has the kids and I get to sleep in. Usually it takes both of us to juggle the family these days. Make this as soon as you can. You probably have everything in your pantry or fridge already. Enjoy.

looks like it's injured... maybe blueberry would have been better for a photo

Dutch Baby

Not sure where he got the recipe actually.... hmmmmmm

Makes 2 to 4 servings:

Ingredients
3 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
1/2 cup sifted bread flour or all-purpose flour*
1/8 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
7 teaspoons butter
Freshly-squeezed lemon juice
Powdered (confectioners') sugar
Compote of your choice
Method

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. You CANNOT skip this step. Place oven rack in the middle rack of your oven. Place a large, heavy ovenproof frying pan or a cast iron skillet (I like to use my 10-inch cast-iron skillet), in the oven until very hot. Prepare your batter while the pan is heating.

In a large bowl, beat the eggs until light and frothy; add milk, flour, vanilla extract, and cinnamon; beat for 5 minutes more. The batter will be thin, but very smooth and creamy.

Using a pot holder DO NOT forget this step or you will be in a tremendous amount of pain and not fully enjoy your eggy treat, remove the hot skillet from the oven; add the butter; tilting the pan to melt the butter and coat the skillet.

Pour the prepared batter into the hot skillet, all at once, and immediately return the skillet to the oven.

Bake approximately 20 to 25 minutes or until puffed and golden brown (bake until the pancake puffs up around the edges - it may puff irregularly in the center).

Remove from oven, flip out onto a cutting board, wipe excess butter from bottom. Sprinkle with fresh lemon juice. Slice like a pie, or pizza, or pizza pie whatever floats your chicken. Top with topping of choice...always powdered sugar and fruit compote at our house (raspberry compote this week... see steaming bowl above) and serve immediately.

What I made... and a "Superior Meatloaf"

2011-04-11T20:09:00.000-07:00

Hmmm... I was thinking that meatloaf is kinda ugly, and so I just took the photo and got it over with. However, now I am hungry and after posting it I think it looks juuuuuuuust fine... maybe a sprig of parsley would have helped the photo? Doesn't matter what it looks like it faaaaaaaaaaaaantastic.

As a kid I hated meatloaf. HATED it... hated it... hat-ed meatloaf? How is that possible? I love meatloaf now, and ever since my husband scored this recipe from my sister (who is married to his childhood friend... this is his mother's recipe.... long story... they introduced us it's not a coincidence) it has made it's way into rotation. And let me tell you people.... it's good hot, it's good cold, you can freeze it, you can take it back out and heat it or put it on a sandwich. It is truly a "Superior Meatloaf", that's what the top of the index card said.... and it is. And it is certainly better than anything else I made this week. I made....

Pizza.... half pepperoni and half pineapple of course... in case you don't recognize blue pineapple.

I made... the baby look funny... and myself look very tired after a seminar, then staying up all night in a hotel with two kids, then an all day seminar again.... yes that's me... I'm not really cranky and bossy.... okay I am but I don't look it right? RIGHT?

And a big mess in the laundry room.... this is after 5 loads that are cleaned and folded and half put away.

Let's stick with the meatloaf. Repeat after me.... thank you Lois.

Superior Meatloaf

Lois (name withheld to protect her from the mobs of people that will want this)

Ingredients

1 ½ lbs ground beef
1 med onion chopped
2 eggs
1 stack pack saltine crackers (1 2/3 cup)
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ tbsp horseradish
1 tsp prepared mustard
1/3 cup chopped green pepper
¾ tin seasoned tomato sauce (regular size can)
½ tsp thyme
¼ tin seasoned tomato sauce for top
Method

Lightly combine all ingredients except thyme and ¼ tin tomato sauce. Pat gently into greased 2 quart loaf pan. Sprinkle with thyme and ½ remaining sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour. Turn out loaf and top with remaining tomato sauce while still hot. Yields 8 servings. Serve hot or cold.

Baking with Kids....cake pops

2011-04-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

This is how we dooooo it..... this is how we do it baby.... (insert bad 80s music here).... this is how we take care of cutsie things I want at a party that are ridiculously priced.

One gourmet recipe for cake and icing

I have volunteered to do a baby shower in June. It is for my cousin. We were born three months apart. Our mothers were best friends, our grandmothers were dear friends and also cousins (it's complicated, and we're from Vermont.... meet my brother Daryl, and my other brother Daryl).

Bake very fancy cake

We were inseparable as children, we are the best of friends and the snootiest of snooty towards each other. Mostly because we can be, even if we shouldn't be. We know we're stuck with one another and I wouldn't have it any other way.

This is her first baby, it is a boy, I am so excited I can hardly stand it. I had visions of her in a gorgeous maternity dress with a very trendy, modern, shower at a Winery. It was all planned out in my head.... just me and her and 10 of her closest friends, sipping wine (not her of course), and eating passed crab cakes while reveling in the overly large dessert table laden with ridiculous amounts of chocolate (that would definitely be for her), until I got an estimate for the guest list... yawzah.... that girl has a lotta friends. From what I was told I am guessing 50 people so my intimate swanky shower is out... however.... these were too cute not to have. The only problem being that they run about $2 a pop if you order them... for 50 people you plan to overfeed that comes out to roughly 100 of these guys minimum (there will be other desserts too).... which ends up being $200 for one dessert option... I think not. I'm all about throwing money at a problem but not that much money at such a small problem. How hard could they be? Answer.... not at all. Especially if you're all about cheating.

Very carefully and precisely break cake into equal portions (not so much)

We're not reinventing the wheel or anything around here. I mean these have been around so long they are almost... soooo yesterday. They are not new... but they are new to me, and Curly Q.

Shred into little pieces, this is very easy and satisfying in an odd way

Add the labor intensive icing

Scoop and roll into balls

add sticks, resist urge to straighten sticks then pop in freezer

go out and play for at least 30 minutes

Melt candy melts in the microwave, stirring ever so often

Coat in melted candy melts making sure get near the stick to help hold it in place. Also decorate while still wet, and either buy colored candy melts or add food coloring... I didnt' like the shade it produced so I've gone out and bought colored ones to try for the next batch. I obviously can't serve them looking like this.

These were SUPER easy, and tasty.... the only change I will make is that I will use a little less icing next time. The recommended amount is one can per box, but the cake was a little too moist, borderline too moist. I also made a bunch without the sticks as this was just a trial run to see how much effort would go into making them and if they even tasted decent enough to serve... they do. And I cannot believe how easy. I am thinking of setting up a cake pop stand at the farmer's market this summer. Maybe I can make a few thousand dollars to help pay back my student loans.... wouldn't that be just like me... tens of thousands of dollars in loans for several degrees to make a living selling boxed cake balls on the side of the road.

Missing....

2011-03-29T08:10:00.000-07:00

One woman's health, sleep, and sanity.... if found please return to.... I'm in a hell of my own making lane. See you in a week.

Sangria, Saaaangria, Sanngrilia... stop at 2 glasses

2011-03-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

Photo by Health.com

Sometimes I feel like such a slacker of a blogger. Take my blatant theft of gorgeous photos when mine look like they've been taken by kodak instamatic..... in the dark...... from a moving vehicle. I don't have giveaways because I don't have enough readers or posters to get companies to give me stuff to give away. I have toyed with finding something to give away just to get people to leave comments. How about.... I have a lovely siamese cat if you want her just post the answer to this question in the comment section.... "How would you treat a cat that attacks strangers, and wakes up sleeping babies?" I have a lot of oh so tasty soy milk products if you want to answer the question "How long can Eileen go without dairy before she cracks and injects a wedge of brie into her veins?" I have dust bunnies from under my bed if you would like to answer "Which natural disaster has struck Eileen's home in between having babies, returning to work, and taking finals for a Master's degree?"

Alas.... I don't think many people would want any of those things... I certainly don't at the moment. I will probably change my mind about the cat eventually so maybe I should take her off the market. She is awfully cute and sweet (to us anyway, to you? Not so much but she loves us... and only us so you wouldn't want her).

photo by Lucinda's Legendary

I also never get into the groove and post green things for St. Patricks Day, or hamantaschen which has been gracing everyone's blogs this week, and I don't even post things that are in season. No wonder I have no book deals or advertising people knocking on my door.

I did plan a lovely Spring dish that I wanted to share which is a spring salad with lardons and goat cheese blossoms which are so yummy and delicious I am jealous of my past diary-eating self. And since they are so delicious and I cannot have them... you can't have them either because I am mean and spiteful, and refuse to make anythign with cheese in it as it would be torture to see and smell but not eat, and if I must be tortured I am taking you all with me!

Photo by Life Hack

I do however get into foods that FEEL a season. Spring has taken its time coming to Nebraska this year and there is something about Sangria that makes me think of warm beaches, or breezy porches on calm, warm weekend evenings (more Summer than Spring but I think Mother Nature owes us at this point). My batch of Sangria was ~~just as~~ almost as gorgeous as these other photos, only the photos were not. However, I am willing to bet mine tasted better because it was the best Sangria EVER.... everyone said so! Of course they may have just been drunk, this stuff is sneaky and STR---OOO---NG! Watch yourself.

Red Wine Sangria
adapted from Bobby Flay
**unless you are entertaining a large crowd a half recipe might be a good idea

Ingredients

2 bottles red Spanish table wine
1 cup brandy (I will cut this in half next time... just a touch strong for our needs)
1/2 cup triple sec
1 cup orange juice
1 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup simple syrup, or more to taste (equal parts sugar and water, heated until sugar dissolves, cooled)
Orange slices
Apple slices
Blackberries
Pomegranate seeds

Method

Mix all ingredients together and let stand in a tightly sealed container or pitcher for at least 24 hours in the refrigerator before serving.

.

A Face Only a Mother Could Love

2011-03-15T07:31:00.000-07:00

Well not THAT face obviously... who would love that little cub-kins?

I meant the food we've been eating since I've been tending to the cub-kin in question. That is the third child I've brought into this world and yet I forget. I forget how exhausted I am.... how much I whine about being tired (it's a lot... a WHOLE lot), and how overwhelming it can be helping them adjust to life in the big (cold and snowy, and generally craptastic weathery) world. I am in full swing right now. Preparing for the end of a semester and the begining of my LAST CLASS, getting ready to go back to work on Monday (already, I mean isn't she like 4 hours old?) and trying to help her figure out that days are for playing and nights are for sleeping, not staring at the Mamma-lady smiling, although it is very cute and sweet I would prefer to do such things in the light of day, instead of by the humming glow of muted infomercials at 3am.

My husband has been cooking a lot lately and this past weekend he made a batch of chili from a new recipe, and it was good. Sooooo good people I put it on my eggs the next morning... with a tortilla. All it really needed was some shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream to make it complete, although I doubt it would help with it's visual appeal.

Alas... I still cannot have dairy so I had to make due... I know it's not pretty. Sorry. Here let me make it up to you, and to remind myself that cheese isn't the best thing in the world... this hat is.

Braised Chicken Thighs in Almond Sauce with Harticot Verts

2011-02-27T19:48:00.000-08:00

We're buds right? I mean you won't tell on me if I tell you a secret, becuase that would be really low. I mean the low of the low to rat out some random grouping of words written by a woman you don't even know.... actually as I think of my captive audience we've probably known each other since grade school as we are grade (or high) school friends/facebook re-friends.... or since birth as you are quite possibly one of my parents. As I was saying... you won't tell on me right? So here's my confession.....

I have thrown the advice of my doctors and nurses out the window and started dieting and excercising four weeks after having my baby instead of six. Well... the truth be told I have attempted to throw that advice out the window but it turns out if you disobey your doctors and nurses karma has a way of rearranging the universe to sabatage you!

There was the yoga class that inexplicably disappeared from the schedule where it used to always be. The mellow class I was taking at the end of my pregnancy... the one I thought I could sneak in without actually causing any harm, but helping me center myself in my sleep deprived (still) state, laundry consumed mind. Then there was the signing up for weight watchers only to find they have revamped their entire program and I can't just rattle off points from memory and have to look up and log every little thing... which I did... no problem.... score for me... until the husband (being the sweetie that he is) made my son and I popcorn for our jamma party... and brought me my own giant bowl... just the way I like... SWIMMING in butter... doh! And then placed that bowl on my lap next to a sleeping baby and left the room. I wanted to put it down, I swore I would just smell it a little, and then 500 cups later he returned and I made him take it away immediately. That's right I have will power of steel, I made him take all those little unpopped seeds back to the kitchen.

Then there was this recipe! I saw this recipe at least once a day while rocking the baby in her nursery. I saw the golden skin of the chicken before it is braised, I saw the creamy almond paste added to the stock and watch it thicken in the midst of all those mushrooms and I thought.... diet or no... I've already bought all the ingredients and they are sitting in the fridge calling. Listen... shhhh... can you hear them... here is what they say.... Eileeeeeeeen, it's only been 4 weeks, no one has to knows abouts it. Pst...you're not even suppose to be dieting yet, and it's chicken and harticot verts how bad could we be? Oh and mushrooms... look at all those plump little mushrooms... those don't cost ya anything for weight watcher points. And we're oh so much healthier than the take out you'll end up getting if you don't cook so stop being a wuss and just get your big post-pregnancy behind in here and cook! It was delicious, and I didn't even have to cook it because my husband rocks the cazzzzbar!

Ingredients

•Extra-virgin olive oil
•8 chicken thighs
•Kosher salt
•1/2 pound pancetta, cut into 1/2-inch dice
•2 large onions, julienned
•Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
•4 cloves garlic, smashed
•2 pounds assorted mushrooms, such as shiitake, oyster or cremini, cleaned and sliced
•2 cups dry white wine
•4 to 6 cups chicken stock
•1 bundle thyme
•4 bay leaves
•1/2 cup whole blanched almonds, toasted
•Sauteed Haricots Verts, recipe follows
•Chopped chives, for garnish

Directions

Coat a large, wide, deep pan with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Pat the chicken skin dry with paper towels and season generously with salt. Add chicken skin side down to the pan. You should hear a big sizzle as the thighs hit the pan. Do not try to move the chicken, the skin will stick itself to the bottom of the pan and will unstick itself when it is ready. If the pan is smoking excessively turn the burner down and continue to cook. When the skin is brown and crispy, turn the chicken over and brown it on the other side. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve.

Lower the heat if you have not already done so and ditch most of the excess fat. Add the pancetta and brown. When the pancetta has started to get brown and crispy add the onions. Season with salt and crushed red pepper and sweat over medium heat for 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, season with salt and saute for 3 to 4 minutes or until they release their juices. Add the wine and reduce by half. Return the chicken to the pan. Add chicken stock to almost cover the chicken. Add the thyme and bay leaves. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer the chicken for 30 to 35 minutes. Add more chicken stock, if needed.

While the chicken is cooking puree the almonds in the food processor. Drizzle in a little olive oil while the machine is running to make this a loose paste. Season with salt and reserve.

Once the chicken has cooked for 30 to 35 minutes, remove it from the pan and reserve. Taste the sauce for seasoning and stir in the almond puree. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer to thicken the sauce, if needed. The almond puree will help to thicken the sauce and to make it very rich.

Serve the chicken over Sauteed Haricots Verts or your favorite green vegetable. Spoon the mushroom almond sauce over and garnish with chopped chives.

Sauteed Haricots Verts:

•1/2 pound haricots verts (baby string beans), stem ends removed
•Extra-virgin olive oil
•2 garlic cloves, smashed
•Pinch crushed red pepper flakes
•Kosher salt

Bring a large pot of well salted water to a boil. Set up a bowl of well salted ice water for shocking.

Add the beans to the boiling water and cook until the beans are tender but still toothsome about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from the boiling water and place immediately into the salted ice water. Once the beans are cool, remove them from the water and set aside until ready to use.

Coat a large saute pan with olive oil. Add the garlic and the crushed red pepper and bring to a medium-high heat. When the garlic has become golden and very aromatic, remove it and discard. It has fulfilled its garlic destiny. Add the beans to the pan and saute until they are hot and coated with oil. Season with salt and serve right away.

Please Standy By....

2011-02-23T10:29:00.000-08:00

Please stand by... we are experiencing technical difficulties... mainly the fact that I do not sleep and am therefore overwhelmed and spend all free time plotting how to get more sleep, how to reverse the baby's schedule so that she is awake during the day and sleeps at night, and how to keep the house clean, finish homework, spend time with my son, with my husband, and still stay fed.... none of which involves anything exciting. I was going to post peanutbutter and jelly part II, but I decided it was just best to leave well enough alone.... besides thanks to baby food sensitivies I am no longer allowed to eat dairy, nuts, onions, and eggs. That combined with a post baby diet leaves little room for creativity. Everything I have cooked (which is not much) has already been posted. Therefore if you see the diagram above I have all the bubbles working for me and the one I am going with this week for the blog is reducing one's own activities. If I do that there's a chance I can get tomorrow's clothing out of a closet instead of a basket of clean and folded, but not quite put away clothing. See you next week when I show you what you can still eat with dairy, egg, nuts, onions, oh and wheat... that's what they are talking about taking away from me next. Seriously what's wrong with bottle feeding really? Is it wrong to bottle feed your baby because you want a big old hunk of morbier on baguette with a gigantic glass of wine to make you forget that you get roughly 20 hours of broken sleep a week... it is? Darn it... I mean... I knew that I wasn't really going to do it... see you next week.

"Cooking"

2011-02-06T10:23:00.000-08:00

When you have a blog you are suppose to write about things you've cooked and eaten, and loved, and invested time in. If I were to post photos of the things I have invested time in for the past two weeks it would be photos of me sitting on my couch, in the basement, with bad TV playing in the background and a baby on my chest, lap, shoulder, you name it she's there because she does NOT like to be set down. Not for a 10 minutes, not even for 5 miutes. Or perhaps the photo of me balancing the baby on a nursing pillow while balancing a lap top on my knees writing a lab write up for school.

I have given birth to some mutant baby that hates baby swings, and bouncey seats. She thinks night time starts at 3pm, and ends at 3am. Thanks to this joyful new schedule where we just sleep in tandem... two hours for me, two hours for Gregg, two hours for me, two hours for Gregg... then we sleepwalk through our entire day. Our dinner schedule has been re-runs of all things quick and easy that have already been posted on here, take out, and pb and j. So here's your recipe for the week. Plagarized photos and all.

Peanut Butter and Jelly.... Take two slices of squishy, non-nutritional white bread out of the bag. Open the peanut butter jar. Scoop out a big portion of peanut butter and spread on the bread (being completely oblivious to caloric intake). Put the cap back on... in your sleep deprived state put the jar in the freezer. Open up the jelly... be very proud of yourself that it doesn't have high fructose corn syrup... this is practically a vegetable at this point. Smear a smaller portion onto the other piece of... ummm bread I guess you call it. you want this to be like a 2/3rd portion so that the ratio is just right. Smush the two pieces together and cut it into triangles. ALWAYS triangles never down the middle into rectangles... this will throw off the karma of the entire day. Put the lid back on the jam and place in the microwave to be discovered 12 hours later. Remove from microwave and throw away. Mourn the loss of your fancy, expensive, high fructose corn syrup-free jam from France. Look around kitchen and wonder why you're there to begin with... walk back down the flight of stairs and remember you need water. Return to kitchen. Repeat often through a two week period. Enjoy.

Sausage and Eggplant Stuffed Shells in Tomato-Cream Basil Sauce

2011-01-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

We've been eating a lot of pasta around these here parts lately. That is because a) It's easy b) It reheats well and c) It freezes well... which is why we can eat these little plump guys when I would never have time to make them right now. I made a huge batch of these around New Year's Day and put aside a portion to freeze before I cooked the main batch. I even topped it with the grated cheese because I had the forethought to think... I will not happen to have fontina in the fridge when I happen to pull these out in a moment of hungry desperation.

They do take a little time to make, but if you double the batch and freeze a portion or two you can feed an army (or two), and with no more work than it takes to make a single batch... can't beat that with a stick!

Cut up your eggplant....

Cook all your filling... I like to mash it once it's all been cooked. Sometimes it can look a little liquidy from the eggplant and spinach but it works out you don't have to drain it or anything.

Once the stuffing is cooled and you've added the cheese and such it's time to get messy and stuff the shells.

I made such a large batch I actually topped this layer with sauce and laid another layer on top. Which worked but did not make it easy to serve individual good looking shells... hence the one decent looking shell the one slightly mangled shell in the photo.

Make your sauce... such an easy sauce from something so great.

Top the shells with the sauce and then the grated cheese. Cover and bake, then uncover and bake until golden and bubbly. And now that this post is complete I'm going to raid the fridge to have some leftovers... jealous?

Sausage and Eggplant Stuffed Shells in a Tomato-Cream Basil Sauce

adapted from Emeril Laggase

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
2 cups chopped onion
1 large eggplant, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (about 7 cups cubed)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1/2 cup ricotta or mascarpone cheese
12 ounces fresh spinach, blanched, squeezed dry, and chopped (about 2/3 cup chopped)
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/2 (12-ounce) package jumbo pasta shells (about 18 shells)
2 cups Italian crushed tomatoes
3 cups heavy cream
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil leaves
4 ounces coarsely grated fontina cheese

Method

In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium-high heat and saute the sausage until golden brown, stirring to break up the pieces, about 6 minutes. Add half of the onions and the eggplant, season with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper, and cook for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the vegetables are lightly caramelized and very soft. Add 1 tablespoon garlic and cook for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and transfer to a large bowl to cool.

When the mixture has cooled to room temperature, stir in the ricotta or mascarpone cheese, spinach, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, and sugar. Stir to combine well.

Lightly grease a deep 9 by 13-inch casserole or lasagna pan and set aside.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta shells until just al dente, 10 to 12 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water. Pat shells dry. Stuff the pasta shells with the sausage-eggplant mixture and place in the prepared casserole dish.

In a large saucepan, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium high heat and saute the remaining chopped onions until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the remaining tablespoon of garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the crushed tomatoes, remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper and cook for 5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and cook until the sauce is reduced in volume by about 1/3, about 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the basil to the sauce and pour the sauce over the shells in the casserole. Sprinkle with the fontina cheese and the remaining Parmesan. Cover the casserole tightly with aluminum foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove the foil and continue baking until the sauce is lightly browned in spots and bubbly around the edges, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Roasted Cauliflower Puree

2011-01-23T21:23:00.000-08:00

I've been on quite the vegetable kick lately, only I seem to be on a mission to make them as unhealthy as possible. I also haven't really been cooking a whole lot lately so my vegetable intake has been fairly limited to salads loaded with ranch dressing, salt and pepper... again... not so healthy. In my defense I haven't been cooking because I just happen to be concentrating on these little dishes right here.

Michael is a big brother! A kind and adoring big brother to our surprise and delight! And introducing.... as he says "that is baby sissy Juliet". He is adorable and completely in love with her. Whew! Anyone that knows us knows he's a little ummmm.... hmmm how do we say this nicely..... a little high spirited.

I am very happy that I have pre-cooked several meals, and plotted out a couple of quick meals, and take out stops to make life around here easier. The one thing I noticed is that if an entire family is home for about a week and they eat every meal in said home you make a lot of dishes, A LOT, A WHOLE LOT!

The one thing I did not make in advance was vegetable sides. Small problem with that. When you need energy and you should be eating healthy, you need your veggies. Okay so this is the healthiest dish I've ever made but it certainly isn't the worse.

I've made this dish a few times already from various recipes. Some steam the cauliflower first, some mash it roughly so that it still has big chunks... so far they have all been good but none have been just what I wanted... so with a few major tweaks here and there I offer you for your viewing displeasure (ugly, ugly dish) Roasted Cauliflower Puree. Now I wish I had another head of cauliflower in the fridge so I could make this again tomorrow.

Roasted Cauliflower Puree

from Eileen's Pea Brain

Ingredients

Head of cauliflower, cut into florets
2 tablespoons Olive oil, plus a little extra for shallots
2 tablespoons butter, soft
Kosher salt
1/3 cup grated parmesan
1/3 cup grated gruyere
1/8 cup half and half
Shallots, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon or less of flour

Method

Cut a head of cauliflower cut into florets and toss w/ kosher salt and olive oil.

Roast at 400F for about 40 minutes, or until cauliflower florets are turning caramel color.

Thinly sliced shallots, sprinkle with flour. Heat a little oil in a pan. Toss in shallots until brown and crispy.

Throw cauliflower in a strainer and steam for about 2 minutes just to help soften and warm. Can skip this step if you’re not picky (I was making mashed potatoes as well so I actually just put the strainer on top of the boiling potatoes and threw a lid on it).

Put roasted cauliflower, butter, half and half and parmesan in food processor and pulse until desired consistency is achieved. Some like this a little chunkier for texture but I’ve made it a few times and I like it pretty pureed. Season with salt and pepper. Add the crispy shallots and give another pulse.

Place in your serving bowl and top with grated gruyere, stir in cheese, serve warm.
Garnish with fresh parsley.

Foodie Nesting

2011-01-16T14:20:00.000-08:00

The stork is circling the house... any day now and our life as a family of four will be changed forever. How exciting and scary at the same time. You would think by our third child I would be used to this but I'm not. Maybe it has to do with how many years there were in between Kylie and Michael, so that having Michael was like having a first baby all over again. No one else to run around after. In fact after Michael Kylie was able to run around for us being that she could drive already.

And with that mini-anxiety attack...welcome to our first post of the new subtopic blog... This and That... today it means... this is what I should be doing (homework, work-work, and studying), and that is what I did (laundry, cooking, cooking, grocery shopping, and more cooking). I've been making an average of 2 to 3 things a day, which is helping with that freezer of food for post-baby dinners that I never got around to doing because I was doing the other stuff that I should be doing now. Here were a few of the highlights and the links to their recipes. I'm not sure if everything is just tasting really, really fantastic or if I'm savoring the last few days I will be able to eat warm food. I think after Michael was born I did not eat a warm meal until my mother came to visit when he was 6 weeks old. She bounced him through the whole meal so the husband and I could actually eat at the same time, and eat something that was not either cold because it came that way, as in cold cereal, or room temperature because the little monkey just knew when it was dinner time and he always wanted to eat with us bless his little heart.

Simple Roast Chicken by Thomas Keller. So easy, so salty, so divine. I stole this picture from Almost Bourdain because as soon as it came out of the oven people started ripping pieces off of it, and that didn't leave a very appetizing looking bird, although when it came out it was almost this gorgeous... allll-most.... scout's honor.

Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms by Smitten Kitchen. These were FANTASTIC. I am a mushroom junkie... well if they are cooked I'm not much for raw mushrooms, but these are drowning in butter, garlic, and capers, with a squeeze of lemon juice. I wish these could be frozen (then again they are so fast they don't need to be) as I believe they would go with anything or as a meal with a loaf of baguette and a chunk of really good cheese... ahhh good cheese, I can eat that again very soon... so excited. To make my case I made these as a side for spaghetti. Yes I realize that is odd but I thought they might not last another day forgotten in the back of the fridge and I really wanted to try out this recipe, being that I love mushrooms... and now we're looping.... moving onward.

Swiss Chard and White Bean Stew again by Smitten Kitchen... which you all know I'm in love with. It's very rare that everything you make from someone is exactly as you were hoping... minus that one chocolate cake that seemed to cause a lot of people problems from her site, but that's one ONE teeny little recipe out of dozens... I love her.... I'm sure if we were to meet I would gush about how we are foodie soul mates, how i love her site, and how wonderful her recipes are and she would say... "Seriously lady get your own damn recipes."

Now that I think of how many I make maybe I am co-dependent on her site... naaaah. This was rich and creamy, and fantastic, and finally made me learn to poach an egg. Only took me about 9 eggs to get 4 right, and that was after my 19 year old walked in and said.... what are you doing? You go like this.... and proceeded to show me the simplest form of poached egg I have ever seen and it worked like a charm. It goes like this... boil water until really boil-y..... drop in egg. DON'T TOUCH. Remove egg... ta daaaa. Why didn't I think of that? Oh and I used spinach instead of chard because... well I live in Lincoln, Nebraska you can't always get Chard when you want it, however you can normally get Kale so that will be the green of choice when I make it again.

I also made "The World's Best Meatloaf" according to my husband which is his childhood friend's mother's recipe that he scored a few months back, but I forgot to take an after picture before I sliced it up and froze it for post-baby. I was thinking of doing a post on it then when I make it into "The World's Best Meatloaf Sandwich!"

Enjoy your week. PS... all of these take NO work so you have NO excuse not to make them.

Tuscan-Style Chicken Pasta

2011-01-10T19:43:00.000-08:00

Look out... it's another pasta recipe, just what you wanted around the New Year with all those diet resolutions floating around. Well have no fear, this is fairly low cal, and if you serve it with wheat pasta I would say you could consider it healthy even.... remember pasta is not the enemy, mammoth sized portions are. I fear once again my lack of photograph skill has interferred with how bright and lively this dish really is.

However, I will trade a good photo for a quick meal and post any day. Some days (like today for instance), as I am wander through the blogs of others I actually get annoyed with them. Horrible I know. I love these people or I wouldn't have marked their pages as favorites, but I think... those cookies probably took you 30 minutes to make and setting up that shot with the perfect spray of spilled peanuts, or the miniature forks sticking out of this confection or that with a perfectly tied contrasting bow on each had to take you at least another 45 minutes. Don't people like to eat in your house? How many times did you stick your husband with that fork to keep him from spearing a potato while you adjusted your lighting? I know I'm a crank-a-saurus. I blame it on needing more sleep and less heartburn as I finish up the end of this pregnancy.

With that said... be prepared for random posts, and ugly shots of food taken while dragging a 2 year old on one leg, bouncing a newborn, and arguing with a teenager about whether or not she can have our car for the night. In fact I was thinking of renaming this blog... This and That. It will have gorgeous photos of things I have stolen off the internet and then the hideous food that I will be cooking. As in... THIS is what I wanted to cook, but THAT is what we ate instead.

This is one of the hubby's recipe that he got out of Men's Healthy I believe a few years back. It will be making a huge come back in our house as it is quick, fresh, healthy, and tasty. Feel free to use real beans instead of the ones in the can, but I will be cheating and using canned beans for the next 4-6 months as my priorities shift from all fresh, all natural, all the time.... to... can we still eat this thing in the fridge that may or may not be from this week to avoid cooking for one more night?

Warning... rinse your canned beans well. I'm not sure if it's necessary but it freaks me out that they foam.... why do they foam? What's in that can besides a bean that has detergent?

I did use fresh spinach... there's really not much in there. PS... I don't recommend upping the pasta unless you've upped the other ingredients. I tried that this time and it was a tad bland as this is not a saucy recipe. Enjoy dinner on the table in the blink of an eye... no lighting crew required.

Tuscan-Style Chicken Pasta
Men's Health.... maybe
Ingredients

2 ounces penne
10 ounces chicken, pounded to ¼” thickness (I cheated and just sliced it into strips to cut the cook time)
4 cups baby spinach leaves
2 cups cannelloni beans, rinsed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
½ teaspoon dried rosemary, finely chopped
2 heaping Tablespoons diced roasted red bell pepper
2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan

Method

Boil ½ quarts of water, drop in the penne, stir, and cook until the past is al dente (about 9-11 minutes)

While the pasta cooks, sear the chicken in a skillet on medium-high (about 4-5 minutes per side), seasoning each side with a pinch of salt and pepper as the other side cooks. Remove the chicken from the skillet and set it aside.

Reduce skillet heat to medium. Add the spinach, beans, oil, garlic, rosemary, and bell peppers. Turn frequently until the spinach wilts (about 1 to 2 minutes)

Slice the chicken and toss it with drained pasta and the spinach-bean mixture. Top each serving with 1 Tablespoon of the cheese.

Makes 2 servings

Marja Vongerichten's Mac and Cheese

2011-01-04T07:30:00.000-08:00

I have a not-so-secret-secret. I have a horrible Mac and Cheese addiction. I'm a bit of a mac and cheese floozy the truth be told. I may have mentioned how much I love cheese once or twice or ten million times, and yet I still do not make my own mac and cheese... until now. And this mac and cheese is enough to make me a one pasta girl. If you're going to do a basic dish you might as well do it right. And what better recipes are the ones thta are right (i.e. yum-tastic), and soooooooooooooooo easy. Here we go..... weigh and cook some pasta.

Grate some nutmeg. I used to always leave out the nutmeg from recipes, and now I like it. I don't know if it's the process of getting older or the process of switching to fresh nutmeg... maybe a little of both.

Mix together some ridiculously fatty, and creamy ingredients like heavy cream, whole milk, half and half, and lots o'cheese.

Combine the two parts

Throw in your favorite casserole/baking dish type thing, top with cream cheese... yeah if you're on weight watchers you can't stop reading now. This will take up your entire week's worth of points.

Bake for 5 minutes, then smear the cream cheese... mine did not want to smear. I don't know if I just cut them chunks too big, or if it was because I was using cheap cream cheese because all the good stuff was gone at the grocery store. I added another 5 minutes and tried again, still to no lucky, but next time I will just make the pieces smaller and call it day... no smearing.

Here is where I went to lay down for a nap, so my husband took the pasta out for me so no photo there. Anyway... I split it at this point and put half in the freezer. The other half got a small shaving of gruyere (not in the recipe), then broiled until it turned golden.... YUM.

Maybe the name Marja doesn't ring any bells but I would hope the name Vongerichten might ring a bell. As in Jean-George... big restaurant guy... no? Get out this minute. Okay maybe just to go to the grocery store to buy your weight in cheese so you can make this. We have half the batch frozen for after the baby comes. Come on little baby, you need to come so we can dig into the mac and cheese stash!

Marja’s Mac and Cheese

Food and Wine

Ingredients

3/4 pound elbow macaroni
Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup half-and-half
1 cup whole milk
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
1 1/2 cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 1/2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (4 ounces)
4 ounces cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large pot of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni for 3 minutes (it will still be very chewy). Drain the macaroni and return it to the pot. Drizzle lightly with olive oil and toss well.

Butter a 10-by-15-inch baking dish. In a large bowl, whisk the heavy cream with the half-and-half, milk, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper. Stir in the cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses and the macaroni. Spread the mac and cheese in the prepared baking dish and scatter the cream cheese cubes on top.

Bake the macaroni for 5 minutes. Using the back of a large spoon, spread the melted cream cheese cubes evenly over the surface. Bake for 40 minutes, until bubbling.

Remove the baking dish from the oven and preheat the broiler. Broil the mac and cheese about 3 inches from the heat source until richly browned, about 2 minutes. Let stand for at least 10 and up to 20 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead

The assembled mac and cheese can be refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before baking, or add 15 minutes to the baking time.

Braised Brussel Sprouts... Give Them a Chance

2010-12-29T21:27:00.000-08:00

I'm going to do a search, and the search is going to say.... Find me a good looking brussel sprout. I'm fairly convinced they don't exists. These, like their deep fried counterparts from a few months back are both hideous. They didn't even look good on Smitten Kitchen's website... well I mean they looked good to eat but they weren't lookers per se.

And there you go... these are fabulous, you should try them. Even if you don't like brussel sprouts you will like these. Between this recipe and the deep fried brussel sprouts I am becoming a convert... and I'm also very sick, and so is everyone else in the family... sick people don't like to talk about food. Even delicious brussel sprouts. I even have the ingredients in the fridge to make these again and I'm too sick to get off the furniture and make something to eat. Don't be me... get in your kitchen and make these. Feel free to leave out the breadcrumbs, I didn't find they added anything to the dish and plan on skipping them next time.

I'm so bad... click here. Then I don't have to copy the recipe :)

Five Days and Counting... Buttered Toffee

2010-12-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

I don't know how to tell you this but SOMEONE has been holding out on us! Well maybe not you but they definitely have been holding out on me! I was always under the impression that making toffee was difficult and involved and expensive, and many other factors were involved that kept me from ever trying to make it. My little experiment with Salted Caramel Squares did nothing to ease these fears.

However, I was looking over The Pioneer Woman's blog the other week and there was this gorgeous toffee (not well represented by my sad little picture taken at 11pm when I was completely exhausted and was just happy to be on my way to bed). I decided I would have to make the toffee, it was lovely, it was calling to me. I printed the recipe and the only thing I really did was scan the list to see if I had everything I needed... yuppers... we're good. Then after I finished my final on Saturday I pulled the recipe out and noticed.... WAIT A MINUTE.... this is simple.

However the fear from the Salted Caramel Square masacre of 2010 still haunts me a little so I eyed my candy thermometer and quietly and calmly threatened it's aluminum life should it let me down again. Turns out you can threaten inanimate objects into doing your bidding. It must have been the fault of the demon oven of days past.... not to be confused with the current demon oven, maybe that should be a lesson to the new demon oven... look what happens when you don't get in line... you are secretly removed from the kitchen in the middle of the night, never to be heard from again.

Here are the basic steps.... add ingredients. Boil ingredients (I have no picture here because I was afraid to leave the pot less we repeat the nightmare that shall not be named further) until they hit 298 on the candy thermometer. Spread resulting toffee thinly (however I had one thin batch and one thick batch because it makes quite a lot in my opinion and I prefer the thicker batch.

Let those little babies cool.

Prepare your toppings. I used sprinkle ball thingies for a little flash of color and toasted pecans on the other batch. I don't like to make only one batch of things that contain nuts in case someone can't eat them.

Melt your chocolate. Let cool briefly so as to not crack the toffee. Pour half over each batch of toffee. Using a flexi-spatula thing spread chocolate over the toffee and add toppings as thick or thin as you would like.

Let cool... this part took awhile. Probably not a problem if you're making them during the day but I made them late and was hoping to have them wrapped as part of a Christmas gift for Monkey's teachers. I ended up sticking them in the fridge.

Let cool completely. Carefully flip and repeat with second half of chocolate and toppings. Break into pieces. I attempted to break them into standardized pieces so I could make a nice little presenation for the teachers but the pieces that are left for us are a mess.... who cares really? You know other than me and my OCD?

For the recipe, details, and better photos check out Pioneer woman's site here.

Swedish Dream Cookies (Drommar)

2010-12-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

Drommar is the Swedish word for dream, as in Swedish Dream Cookies. Fitting as they look like little pillows to me, but do not let that fluffy looking exterior fool you. These little babies are crispy, light, and crumbly, but they are dreamy. At least I think so. They have coconut, J'adore coconut! More than is normal I think. In fact the day before I made these I made cherry balls that are also covered in coconut, yum. Probably not the best combination to bring to a teacher appreciation cookie swap, but when I saw the table heavy with every kind of cookie under the sun I didn't think two coconut treats would call any attention. How could they... that table was ridiculous, I think they were a little overwhelmed by the response.

'Tis the season for Christmas baking! Everywhere I look the blogs are all abuzz with Christmas cookies, but I haven't seen these anywhere yet this year. These are (I believe) a traditional Christmas cookie for some. I had my first one last year from a very talented baker friend and I had to make them. "Be warned," she said "they use baker's ammonia." What is baker's ammonia you may ask... well lets just call it baking sodas distant and more stinky relative. And I'll end the description there so as not to scare you off.

As I mixed this stuff up I was certain my house was going to stink to high heaven and that we were all going to be gassed in an attempt at obtaining these delights, but to be honest it wasn't too bad. Every now and then you catch a whiff of the ammonia, but it disapates quickly and the cookies neither smell nor taste like ammonia in any way, shape, or form. They are quite simple really. Mix up the batter, refrigerate for an hour. Roll into balls (mine was super stiff so I had to ply it between my hands to get it into ball form... I left it in the fridge for about 8 hours). The recipes says to bake the balls but it was some serious dough so I didn't want them to come out in ball form, so I smushed them a little (as recommended by others who have actually made them or at least seen them made) as you can see above. Throw them in the oven for 22 minutes exactly if you're making them in my demented oven (we're cursed, the new oven has a million problems).

Cool on a rack next to an open window if possible, because this is where it is a little smelly.

Swedish Dream Cookies
adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon crushed ammonium carbonate (also called baker’s ammonium, available at a pharmacy)
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut

Method

Sift together flour and salt.

Beat together butter and sugar with an electric mixer until pale and fluffy. Beat in ammonium carbonate and almond extract until combined well. Mix in flour mixture at low speed just until blended, then stir in coconut. Form dough into a disk and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, until firm, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls and arrange 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets. (Smush a little)

Bake cookies in batches in upper third of oven until pale golden around edges, 18 to 22 minutes. Transfer cookies to a rack to cool.

Two For One Meals: Roast Pork and Pork Panini with Garlic Aioli

2010-12-10T09:41:00.000-08:00

I hate this time of the semester. What sadist timed the end of every quarter and semester to fall near a holiday of one kind or another? While this can be tiring at the best of times, with 5 weeks to go and a husband often working too late to be of any use around the house this year is brutal!

In an attempt to make sure everyone is still fed, I once again gave the old slow cooker a whirl. I hate the slow cooker. No matter how many times I hear... oh this is fantastic, it rarely is. However, faced with a night alone after a late meeting, and a working late hubby, and child I wanted to do something that didn't involve calling the local pizza place (being that I did that on the Monday and thought twice in a week was probably pushing it).

I had a pork roast in the fridge that was suppose to be all dolled up and served with fingerling potatoes and fried brussel sprouts but it looked like just me and the little man, and while I didn't know if he would eat that stuff to begin with, I knew he wasn't going to leave me alone long enough to safely make anything fried. So out of desperation I typed Roast Pork Slowcooker recipes in the search engine. I figured, it was better than nothing, and better than throwing the pork out. Here is the recipe I got back, and it was simple, and fast, and tasted GOOD, and will be made again and again this weekend, especially after our new arrival makes sleep more important than cooking.

Recipe 1 (no photo because even if it taste good crock pot food rarely looks good):

Slowcooker Roast Pork
(not sure... the internet somewhere)

Ingredients

3 pound roast pork
6 potatoes
6 carrots
1 envelope dried onion soup mix
1 cup water

Method

Peel and chop veggies, place in bottom of slow cooker
Cut roast in half, lay on top of veggies, fat side up if you have a fatty side
Combine soup mix and water
Pour over entire thing
Cook on low for 10-12 hours.
That's it!

I was certain this would be nasty, but it wasn't... it was good, and it was nice to come home late and have the house smelling of dinner and then to only have the one pot to clean as everything was in there.

Now you may have noticed that it says 3 pounds of meat, and that I said there were two of us eating, which meant a lot of leftovers. Not only did I used to hate my crock pot I used to hate leftovers, but they have become my favorite thing in the world as I become more and more exhausted and overwhelmed. So what to do with all that pork... why turn it into one of my favorite things... the Panini!

A month or two ago my husband went to a highly recommended lunch place and I had a Pork sandwich with garlic sauce... super simple, dry as all get out! I looked over at my husband while trying to choke it down and said... we could do so much better than this... and did we ever. Here is your super simple recipe #2.

Pork Panini with Garlic Aioli
from Eileen's little pea brain

Ingredients

Leftover pork from above, shredded and reheated
Fresh ciabatta bread
1/4 cup, plus a good dollop more, of mayonnaise
1 large garlic clove, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
green of your choice
cheese of your choice, I used American because it's what we had but I would go for provolone next time

Method

Cook bread
Cut into servings, trying not to burn yourself like I did
Layer cheese, greens, and pork onto bread
In a small bowl combine remaining ingredients to taste
Throw on the sandwich

Serve with your favorite chips or fries

Coming up... Christmas Baking... hurrah!

Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving

2010-12-02T07:32:00.000-08:00

After a week of hosting, and painting nurseries and bathrooms, I completely forgot that I am also a student... which means I have work... a LOT of work that I didn't even look at the entire week of Thanksgiving... so now I am paying for it. It's all due on Saturday so I plan on getting back to the kitchen on Sunday... unless you would like a post that sounds like this.... open package of Italian sausage... fry... open jar of spaghetti sauce... dump into pot with sausage. See you next week. Hope you had a fabulous holiday.

Seriously Ugly Beef and Barley Soup and all things non-Thanksgiving related

2010-11-23T07:13:00.000-08:00

So I like to cook.... obviously, but even someone who likes to cook can have too much of a good thing, and that usually hits around the holidays. As I searched and flipped through blogs for the past week I have gotten pumpkin and pecan and turkey and stuffing overload. It's two days until thanksgiving y'all and if you don't have a menu set yet you're probably not reading a food blog... so here is a quick and easy and super vegetable laden dish that is incredibly filling and has nothing to do with thanksgiving at all unless you're referring to giving oneself a break in order to rest up for the big marathon of cooking. This was very, very, very hearty and we had some overly full people. Being that it is soup you would think you could eat a big bowl with a salad and a slice of bread and cheese and you would be okay but seriously this stuff is serious.

I made a few adaptations. For one the original recipe calls for 1 cup turnips. I'm not a fan... really, really, not a fan. I was going to swap them for carrots but completely forgot. Two, if I'm going to spend the money for filet mignon, I'm probably going to grill it not put it in soup so I used sirloin instead. I tend to think of soup as a cheap and easy dish... even when it ends up being ridiculous such as often happens with soups like French Onion, or other such soups that might contain expensive or millions of ingredients, the stock if made from scratch being the kicker for the French Onion, or the lobster from the time I made my husband lobster bisque from scratch and it ended up costing about $70 for one bowl of soup as I hated it. Ridiculous. I did however take note from other reviewers of the recipe and kept the broccoli and cauliflower in despite what my instincts told me and they were great. I also listened and added them at the end with the beef and let the whole thing go another 45 minutes. The problem I did have was that I did the begining of the soup and then let it set and despite being reassured it wouldn't happen the barley became morbidly obese and broth logged. That irks me to no end. In the future I will probably add the barley at the very end as well or maybe cook it in a net bag and then remove it or something. And I will probably use straight beef broth, and possibly homemade. I'm not sure why it called for chicken stock but it made for the ugliest looking soup you've ever seen. Almost anemic looking. In the end it didn't matter because we all ate it and everyone loved it, even the teenager that was looking in the fridge for something else to eat when she discovered what was for dinner. Happy Thanksgiving and may you have a bit of down time to relax this holiday.

Beef and Barley Soup
adapted from Bon Appetite

Ingredients

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 cups chopped onions
1 cup cauliflower florets
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup chopped peeled yams (red-skinned sweet potatoes)
1 cup chopped peeled potatoes
1 cup chopped celery
5 cups beef stock or canned beef broth
5 cups chicken stock or canned low-salt chicken broth
1 cup pearl barley
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 pounds filet mignon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Method

Melt butter in heavy large pot over medium heat. Add vegetables; sauté 10 minutes. Add both stocks; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes. Add barley, thyme and oregano. Simmer until barley is tender, stirring occasionally, about 35 minutes. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep chilled. Return to simmer before continuing.)

Add beef to soup; simmer until just cooked, about 10 minutes. Mix in parsley. Season with salt and pepper.

Flour Bakery's Sticky Buns

2010-11-15T07:38:00.000-08:00

I first saw these on Throw Down with Bobby Flay, and I thought... man that's a lot of work, who would make those... hey look... me. I would make those, and it wasn't nearly as much work as I thought it would be. Nothing ever is once you get started is it. Except remodeling, I guarantee that is always at least twice as much work as you planned.

I'm not much of a baker, but the new oven has made me bold. These are the most difficult pastry/bread type item I've ever made but they were delicious. And to be honest not that difficult, but they were a little time intensive. As are the directions so I will just link you to the recipe below. And lets face it, a pregnant woman cannot live on orange cream Tums alone.

First step is to make the dough, which makes a double batch. I halved it after figuring out I could split a 5 egg recipe if I beat and weighed that last egg then split the weight. I never found out where that elusive 6th egg was suppose to go but I am guessing maybe it was suppose to be an egg wash for the top when you bake them. I wish I hadn't halved it because then I would have an extra set of dough for next time I want to make these or to make a loaf of brioche, but honestly I only halved it because I didn't plan well and when I opened my fridge I didn't have enough butter or eggs for the full recipe.

While you're making the dough that must mix for one hundred years and thirty seconds, you can make the goo (which I didn't take pictures of for some reason) and toast the pecans. I did them in the oven for 10 minutes at 350.

When the goo, nuts, and dough are ready. Place the dough in the fridge, let the goo cool to room temp, and put that in the fridge too, and then bag the nuts.

The next day bring the goo to room temp. I left it out for 2 hours and it wasn't enough. Since I am impatient I scooped it into the pan and threw it in the oven at 200 for 5 minutes to loosen it up enough to coat the bottom of the pan. I then sprinkle half the toasted pecans over the goo.

Roll out your dough. Sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar mixture, then again with the other half of the pecans.

Roll it up tightly (easier said than done actually, mine didn't want to stay rolled at the end.

Trim the edges and cut into 8 equal portions. This went better than planned I thought it would fall apart.

Place in the pan evenly spaced on top of goo and tasted pecans

Place somewhere warm to rise for 2 hours. I placed them on top of the oven since it was warm from my goo melting, and covered them with towels.

This was helped along because we made lunch which kept the atmosphere warm. I had to run to the hospital at this point (everything is fine) but it did extend the step by quite a few hours. No matter, when we got home they looked like this.

Here is where I started to think... these look like those rolls you get in a can in the refrigerator section. Maybe that's why I'm adding so many photos this post just for proof that I made these with my own little hands.

Bake in a pre-heated oven until they are golden brown. I was worried that maybe they hadn't cooked all the way through but they had. I think I even over cooked them slightly snce I was worried and let them go a few extra minutes. No one complained.

Let them cool briefly, then depan them. Scoop out any extra goo from the pan onto the tops of the buns. Attempt not to eat it, but you will at least lick the spoon I promise.

Serve warm or warm them up before you eat them. I originally made them for book club but since I was in the hospital I missed it, so we had them for dessert, and I've brought the rest to work to give away. I cannot have these in the house when I am suppose to be watching what I eat they are that good. I had mine an hour or two after everyone else and after the first bite I looked at my husband and after adequate eye rolling said... I can't believe I made these. They were worth the extra effort. Click here. Give them a shot you'll be proud of yourself.

Red-Bean, Lentil, and Spinach Soup

2010-11-11T08:34:00.000-08:00

No those aren't Red beans, lentils or spinach... in fact it's not even my picture. I stole it from another blog a hundred years ago because I love it so much... and if I had any exposure at all I probably shouldn't even post it as I can't credit it, but I want to say it was from Gluten Free Girl (now... and The Chef), but I can't be positive so sorry, sorry, whosever photo this is. I just wish that my photo for this dish was that gorgeous... no my photo looks like this...

There is no amount of help or editing that can fix that photo. I attempted to cut the worse out of it... but don't let it scare you... maybe another photo stolen from the original blog would be good... or you could just go to Anja's Food 4 Thought and search for this recipe. She actually set up her shot instead of taking a photo at her desk fresh from the microwave while searching Forensic Journals. I think my photo reflects my mood quite well in a tortured artist kind of way... Okay I'm not an artistic but I am tortured... Why do you ask? OHHHHH let me tell you why.

I am tortured (and I'm sure some people out there can relate) because there are a few things people do not like to hear.... women people in particular. The two big ones are 1) you're old and 2) you're fat. And my OB who so lovingly told me not too many months ago... "If you're planning on more children Eileen, you had better get moving. Reproduction is a young person's game." Told me yesterday "You need to slow down your weight gain." Why do I keep this woman around?

I must say I was a little taken aback. I have felt pretty good about my weight this pregnancy, and not 5 minutes before was told by a nurse that I was fine when I cringed at the scale. I don't care if I'm pregnant or not there is nothing that makes me feel good about seeing a scale creep up.

After the inital freak out I realized that I am totally okay with how much weight I have gained with my pregnancy. It's not excessive and I'm still within the normal guidelines. In fact I still have 10 pounds to go before I hit how much I gained with my daughter and my son, and I happen to have 10 weeks left so I am thinking that I will probably gain the same for this pregnancy as I did for the last two.

Also, I should not be angry at someone for pointing out what I had already known. It wasn't my pregnancy weight that was a problem it was my PRE-pregnancy weight. Even though I lost all pregnancy weight after both of my children I wasn't where I wanted to be before I got pregnant. In fact I have already been basking in delusions of getting up to nurse a new baby and doing a hand off to the husband for a 5:45am hot yoga class. Insane visions of early evening runs with a double stroller and double babies (my son will always be a baby to me) to get rid of the extra wedded bliss that has collected on my already curvy frame. Even when in my best shape, I'm still very.... well shapely.

So after a little denial, followed by some soul/stomach searching I realized man I'm being lazy. It's no secret that I have been feeling lazy. I work full-time, go to school full-time, have two kids, and another on the way, a cat, a house, etc., etc., but to BE lazy well that's another thing all together.

There have been far too many bagels to cross my palate over the last seven and a half months. The once, once-a-week treat, has become a daily stop because I am apparently too lazy to pour a bowl of cereal or heat up the oatmeal like I did before I was pregnant. And since when did I decide it was okay to drink soda every day? I never used to drink soda.

And then in the midst of the denial of how healthy I have been eating little thought bubbles of fried potstickers, take out pizzas and occasional Blizzards (a never when not pregnant), settled in and made me realize.... in the weight gain range I wanted to be in or not I am feeding this poor baby a lot of junk food.

When I was first pregnant the thought of grease made me ill and I was bound to fresh veggies, fruit, rice, and lean proteins. Which was great because I didn't need to think about eating healthy, it was all I could eat. Some how that has slipped and must be rectified. Step one: Bagel ban for the next few weeks. I will be making the best granola ever to eat with my low-fat Greek yogurt and berries.

And for lunch to kill not one or two but THREE birds with one stone. I made Red-bean, lentil, and spinach soup last night. This will help with healthier lunches, budgeting objectives, and last but certainly not least project DO NOT FREEZE to death while waddling your pregnant butt through the soup place line during the winter months.

The only thing missing are the scones. I've told you about the scones. To round out soup as a meal you really need some kind of bread product. So I am making scones tonight.... I figure since there was only 1 tablespoon of oil in the entire vat of soup the two can fight it out on the way to my stomach! Maybe I can appease the guilt and calorie counting doctor by making mini-scones (update I did make some mini scones... of course I ate two so it was futile).

Red Bean and Spinach Soup
adapted ever so slightly from Anja's Food 4 Thought Blog
Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 1/2 cups cooked red kidney beans (I used a whole smallish sized can because I was in a hurry)
1/2 cup red lentils (I used a little more than 1/2 cup and split it between red lentils and brown lentils)
4 cups vegetable stock
1 lemon, juice of
1 teaspoon dried mint (I left this out)
2 cups fresh spinach, finely chopped (I used frozen, and used 2 cups while it was still frozen. I would cut
it back to 1 cup next time)

Method

Heat olive oil over medium heat. Saute onions, garlic and spices until onions are soft. Stir in the beans, lentils, lemon juice, mint and vegetable stock. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes, until lentils are tender, because I added the brown lentils they were not even close to tender at 20 mins. If you choose to add extra lentils soak them for a few hours first at least. I had to add extra water as well as it simmered so long I kept evaporating out my liquid. Apparently although small those suckers are solid and need the soak. Stir occasionally. Stir in spinach and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Ready to serve.

PS... click here for the scones. Soooooo yummy. I could only wish they were my recipe. Of course no one cares whose they are while eating. I used a biscuit cutter because they look cute as rounds instead of triangles but do whatever floats your boat.

Do Foodbloggers get bye weeks?

2010-11-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

The Sweet Potato Pie Cheesecake I was going to recreat from my birthday... FAIL... still haven't even found a recipe

I'm not sure of the rules. In fact I am so out of touch with sports I don't even know if I spelled that correctly. What I do know is I have been feeling slightly uninspired lately caught up in the novelty of being able to cook at all. I have given into my lazy ways and fallen back on tried and true and simple dishes to get us through the week. I had class all weekend so the things I had planned on cooking. Red Bean Lentil Soup, Flour's Sticky Buns, and Pioneer Woman's Ginger Steak Salad (which was a remake as I made it last week and it was great) all fell to the curbside in favor of take out tacos, and gasp McDonald's eaten in the car on the way to a Friday night class. Oh I paid dearly for that in heartburn levels let me tell you.

The Sticky Buns from Flour (image stolen from Food Netowork) All the ingredients, including $10 worth of pecans are sitting in my cupboard and fridge as I type, and yet no sticky bun has graced our table yet.

The only decent thing I ate at all this weekend is the leftover chicken and pasta that I am eating at this very moment from last night when my husband threw together a last minute meal when he couldn't bear the idea of pizza for dinner. If I had any technological ability I could post a picture of it from my phone as it is lovely, but I don't, so I can't. I didn't see him make it but it looks like and tastes like it has fresh garlic, grape tomatoes, capers, and rosemary. Thin chicken lightly floured, white wine,and pasta. Safe and delcious.

This one is perfect for my friends with families and busy lives. I can't wait to post this one.

I also made a delicious enchillada casserole from my cooking class last week (or was it two weeks ago), that taught us how to make home made tortillas and a super quick and easy casserole with fresh enchillada sauce (which was made with tomato sauce, chili powder, and water... that's it, that's all), but I didn't take any pictures of the homemade tortillas and that's the most important part so that recipe since I'm sure even the most inexperienced person can open a can of tomatoes and add some water. That will be coming in the near future. Quick, non-processed, cheap, and tasty.... why didn't I take a photo of the tortilla... WHY?

He wanted to check that it was a good pumpkin by knocking on it

So this week was a culinary failure aside from the small victory that everyone was fed and lives to see another week where there may be tasty treats on the horizon. Until then I have to get by nibbling on cute little people, like this one here that is still talking about the pumpkin patch where this was taken. Best day off I've spent in a long time. Check back soon, maybe I will make a new batch of tortillas or a sweet batch of crack soon. I mean sticky buns.

Smoked Gouda & Prosciutto Panini

2010-11-02T17:00:00.000-07:00

The first celebrity chef I ever recognized so many years ago was Wolfgang Puck. The only food of his I have ever eaten (before this panini) was the pizza in his take out joint in Chicago which I doubt he's ever been to, but I secretly love it anyway.... my standards drop when the options are reheated pancakes at the Chili's or dealing with really rude McDonald's workers. If you've ever been to the McDonald's at O'Hare you know exactly what I mean. Well without an oven for close to a month I could easily have fit in with those women. I was becoming crankier by the day. This was the last oven-less meal I made before the oven was installed after lots of work by the husband and a few friends... thank you all! Ta Daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

However, you may leave your standards where they are because this is amazing. Paninis are so much better than just a grilled cheese, but really you can make most of the paninis I make just like you would a grilled cheese because I put cheese on everything.... a lot of cheese... a WHOLE lot of cheese... an amount that cannot even be considered diet friendly. This time I made it just as stated so you can blame Wolfgang for the super rich and tasty and non-diet friendly sandwich.

I wanted to make this with a Moroccan Tomato Soup kind of an adult version of grilled cheese and tomato soup, but I got tooooooo lazy. Oh well next time... and there will definitely be a next time... like maybe this weekend. Oh yeah, it was that good. We served it with mini gerkins to help cut the creamy richness, and some chips, but next time if we serve it as is without soup I would make sweet potato fries. Now I want fries.

Insert amazing photo from your mind here of what the soup could of, would of, should of looked like had I not become so ridiculously lazy thanks to my imense disappointment with my kitchen after the gaping black hole where the oven should be sucked my will to live... well cook.

Smoked Gouda & Prosciutto Panini
adapted (or not) from Wolfgang Puck

Ingredients
2 slices good-quality sourdough bread, each about 1 inch thick
2 tablespoons good-quality prepared mayonnaise, extra-virgin olive oil, or unsalted butter
2 ounces thinly sliced smoked Gouda cheese
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto or cooked ham
2 tablespoons very thinly sliced red onion
2 thin slices ripe Roma (plum) tomato
1 ounce shredded Fontina cheese

Method

Combine everything, squish between two slices of bread, put onto a hot panini grill and and smash with lid. Cook until cheese gets all gooey and fantastic.

Eyes of Newt

2010-10-26T17:18:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not I try to do holiday activites with the kids. When my daughter was younger we spent hours baking and decorating cookies for Christmas and other holidays. With the monkey man I try to branch out a little more. I've gotten brave in my old age and have learned that paint, and glitter eventually comes off floors, counters, and little hands. I am great for trying holiday stuff and then waiting too long to put it up on the blog... like last year when I made hot cross buns for the first time the day before Easter. I'm sure that recipe was going to come in handy AFTER Easter. So to get in under the wire, I am posting a second entry this week... not like the soup was all that exciting anyway.

I saw this in an old issue of Martha Stewart Living and thought it would be perfect for double duty. On one hand it was a fun little project for the Monkey, and they are doubling as little Halloween treats for his teachers at day care.

Pre-step: find a washable location in your house, and a t-shirt you don't mind getting painty... however the paint washed out of our shirt.

Step1: Take one happy kid

Step 2: Add a little acrylic paint and thin it with water

Step 3: Use those little foam brushes to paint wooden craft boxes inside and out.

Step 5: Load on the praise about what a great artist you have

Step 6: Let dry. We did ours a few steps at a time to break up the fun and keep the project in 10-15 minute blocks to match a 2-year olds attention span, and a parent of a 2-year olds temper when dealing with very messy projects.

Step 7: Print the clip art from Martha's webite here.

Step 8: Make up some black tea and "age" your labels.

Step 9: Let labels dry

I moved mine after about 10 minutes so it wouldn't dry to the paper plate.

Step 10: Squirt on a little white glue and use the sponge brush to make it into a thin layer to avoid glue bubble and parts that don't stick

Step 11: Fill with "Eyes"... the website says to use green, but these boxes are a little bigger and I thought a mixture might be more enjoyable. It's the same effect as far as I'm concerned.

Step 12: Let the little ones give their special treats to their teachers. Happy Halloween.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup... No Oven Week 4....

2010-10-25T10:17:00.000-07:00

Just the company you keep can alter your personal habits. This can be both positive (people that work out together), and negative (people that do drugs together), a little on the worrisome side (people that play dungeons and dragons together), or perfectly harmless like my co-workers. I am outing all of us for the soup sucking addicts that we are.

There is a vegetarian soup shop run in Lincoln called the Grateful Bread. Multiple days a week you can hear the rounds... I'm going for soup do you want anything... oh and the scones!!! MY GOD MAN THE SCONES! They are fantastic, but since I have no oven still lets not dwell on the scones for now.

It is finally a little cooler, and I have been stockpiling some soup recipes to attempt to limit the amount of time I stand in that ridiculously long line at the Grateful Bread once I am even bigger than I am now, and the temperature begins to drop as we near Winter. I suspect standing outside in line while nine months pregnant in December will not be enjoyable... but that's just a guess.

I often find myself staring at the soups for the day thinking... why don't they ever have broccoli-cheddar soup... maybe it doesn't lend itself well to a vegetarian version but I wouldn't see why not... and then I remember... hey I've made that before, and if memory serves me corectly it was pretty good. So I dug out the recipe and here it is.... I can't for the life of me remember why I made it with evaporated milk when most people make it with cream and this time I used red potatoes when I used russet before and I think it made it a little more gritty than I would like so I will return to the russet, but really any kind of milk type product and any potato substance should work just fine.

Next up in the stockpot.... Red Bean and Spinach!! However, the stove is suppose to finally arrive on Wednesday so I suspect I will want to cook things in there just for the novelty of baking in a working oven.

Broccoli-Cheddar Soup

from 25-year old Eileen's Kitchen

Ingredients

Cooking spray
1cup chopped onion
4 cups chopped fresh broccoli (about ¾ pound divided)
2 cups diced peeled red potato (about ¾ pound)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
2 minced garlic cloves
2 (10 ½-ounce) cans of low-salt chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
Dash of pepper

Method

Coat a large dutch oven with cooking spray; place over medium heat until hot. Add onion and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of broccoli, potato, garlic powder, broth, and bay leaf; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Discard bay leaf. Place half of broccoli mixture into blender; cover and process until smooth. Spoon into a bowl. Repeat with remaining broccoli mixture. Return broccoli puree to pan; add cheese, milk, pepper, and remaining cup of broccoli. Cook over medium heat 4 minutes, or until broccoli is just tender, stirring until cheese melts.

Serves 8

No Oven Round II, Week III..... Pickled Eggs and Beets

2010-10-18T08:42:00.000-07:00

Let us pretend for this week that this is a new photo, and that I didn't ravage my library looking for something that you could make without an oven, because quite frankly last week was hell on earth with school, and sick family members, and all sorts of not fun things. And let us pretend that my meals didn't really come in foam boxes, and take out bags, and weren't poor excuses for food, minus the Greek take out that was fantastic.

And let us pretend that this monstrosity never graced my bowl or even the grocery cart for that matter....

No that is exactly what it looks like... your garden variety beef flavored Ramen. I haven't eaten it in about ten years and let me tell you I love every single bite! There was also a box of Kraft Mac and Cheese ::hangs head in shame:: Now we shall never speak of it again.

Okay, so I had the week from hell, I was assigned 4 papers to write in 5 days totally 60 pages, my kids were sick, and my husband was out of town, and I'm almost 7 months pregnant, and I just wanted to feed the faces in front of me with as little arguing as possible (my temper was not fantastic, I didn't want to push it), and I just wanted to get through the week. I was in Survival mode, and often when that happens you really don't have time to think up fun and exciting meals that can be made with a skillet, a crockpot, and a rice steamer. There were no MacGuivereque moves in the kitchen this week. No, this week we had take out and order in, and frozen things you microwave and I'm not apologizing because it was necessary and it happens like once or twice a year, and come on people... if you can do better, you are more than welcome to come on over and cook. We will eat whatever you put in front of us without a single complaint. However that time has passed for the moment and we are back to normal food.

I discovered these eggs when I once had a craving for Spicy Pickled Eggs. I never did find a good recipe and had to make one up... which was great but needs the smallest tweaks still....you find them everywhere in the Northeast, yet I have yet to see them anywhere in the Mid-west. I made these first before that spicy batch and had a hunch they weren't what I was looking for... the beets and sugar being a dead giveaway, but in the end I decided to make them again later on (if you're really observant you notice two different types of jars one from each making.

We used them for a non-dinner dinner... which is when we are in a situation like we were this week and just the idea of eating something that isn't take out, requires minimum work and clean up can brighten your day.

We sliced the eggs, beets, and onions up and served them with cheese and bread... and probably wine... the last time we ate them I don't think I was pregnant (it's an older recipe). I'm kind of cheating because I made them awhile ago, but I plan on making them this week... so it's only a semi-cheat. And it's kind of a rounded meal in my mind... eggs=protein, beets and onions = vegetable, cheese = dairy, and bread = grains.

On second thought, this is almost a double cheat because I did have an oven when I made them and I did roast them in that oven, but you could (and I have) roast them on a grill on medium heat turning occasionally so I'm not going to sweat the details.

Roast your beets....

Peel the skin and quarter....

Throw them in a jar...

Add sliced onions.... add the rest of the stuff.... let pickled in the fridge.... slice and serve on baguettew with the beets and onions as well. This can be served as a meal like we did, as a snack, or as a side for any occassion (maybe not formal, but the rest are okay).

Pickled Eggs and Beets

adapted from Emeril Lagasse

Ingredients

1 pound red beets, stems and leaves removed
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
1/8 teaspoon pickling spice
6 large hard-boiled eggs, peeled
1 small yellow onion, peeled and sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
Fresh dill sprigs, garnish
Sliced French bread, as an accompaniment

Method

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F, or grill to medium if you have no oven.

Wrap the beets tightly in aluminum foil and roast until tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven, uncover, and let sit until cool enough to handle. When cool, slip the skins from the beets and cut into eighths.

In a non-reactive saucepan, combine the vinegar, sugar, peppercorns, and pickling spice. Bring to a boil and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and let sit for 2 hours for the flavors to develop. Add the eggs, onions, garlic, and beets and turn to coat evenly. Cover tightly and refrigerate, turning occasionally, until the eggs are a deep pink color, at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.

To serve, remove the eggs, beets, and onions from the marinade and arrange on a platter. Garnish with sprigs of dill and serve with sliced French bread.

Chicken Etouffee...no oven week 2 (week 10 or 12 for the life of the oven)

2010-10-12T09:29:00.000-07:00

Or more things you can cook WITHOUT an oven! Things had briefly cooled off here and I wanted to bake up a storm, but that time has passed and it is back in the 90s!!!! Really mother nature? Lithium... look into it. The baking desire went unfulfilled at any rate because my oven still isn't working. We got rid of the demon stove and ordered a new one and it came in and it was all shiny and new and beautiful and I had high hopes that it would bake evenly without shutting itself off and all those other fancy things that stoves do!

The dutiful husband made space for the new oven, and then it was slid into place and after all the debris has been cleared and everyone else had long gone to bed, I walked into my kitchen to admire my new stove that I would soon be using with abandon. I walked up the stairs with images of smiles and warm feelings all around peeked into the kitchen and thought.... THAT IS THE DUMBEST LOOKING ARRANGEMENT I HAVE EVER SEEN! I promptly began my spiraling decent that often begins with something benign like "that stove doesn't look right" and ends with... "Well we're going to have to just sell the house, it's the only way". However after a few moments and a small number of measurements I realized we can fit a full (if not full-sized) stove with cook top all in one deal like normal people have into that space, because this simply will not do!

No your eyes are not deceiving you that is about 2 inches off the floor and my husband and I disagree as to whether or not the door sits on the floor when opened... combine that with the fact that the space to cook is about 18 X 12 inches and it MUST GO. The worse part is... it looks better in the photo.

And then there is this little problem of hideous nature that would have to be replaced should we keep this oven.... which we're not.

It is stained, it is ancient, it is broken, it is ugly! That's actually sawdust on it in the photo from where the darling husband had to make the whole bigger to fit the miracle midget II.

Google, google, google, discuss with husband... get the okay.... google, google, google, argue for the more expensive model, bring in brother-in-law for back up and wham-o! The new oven will be on its way as soon as we get someone to help us return the one we have now. Until then I am in need of some stove top recipes and am lucky enough that one of our favorite dishes is all done on the stove top. I found this recipe back when my husband and I were dating. I was recreating our first date to a fantastic Cajun restaurant in Montreal, and I happened to pair it with what ended up being our favorite wine. Although we can't get it here in the Midwest without ordering it and after a quick stop at their website I realize they have acquired more vineyards, and changed their labels and cork style... I'm very sad. It used to be a tiny vineyard, with a wax covered cork, and the grapes were still stomped by foot (not a big appeal actually), I will have to investigate further when I can actually drink wine again... however I did notice the prices were cheaper by quite a bit so that might be a fair trade. And no feet.

Now I cannot tell you how rich and delicious this is. As you're making it even the aroma hints at the depths of it flavor. It starts all simple with a roux like so many Cajun dishes (actually I'm lying it starts with searing your chicken, but half raw seared chicken isn't the most appealing thing to look at, and the recipe is below after all).

Cook that down until it loosens up and become a chocolate brown, the deeper the better as long as you're not burning it. This step can take a minute but don't rush it, it makes a huge difference.

Add your veggies and stir. It will make a veggie sludge of sorts, that doesn't look very good but smells amazing. In fact every time I get to this step I think.... this might be good to eat as is but I manage to contain myself because as great as it smells, the combo of uncooked veggies and cooked roux probably isn't as good as the finished product.

Add the Guinness and scrap down any little brown bits (or flavor crystals as the husband calls them).... add your chicken back and simmer, simmer, simmer....... take the chicken off the bone, return to the pot and cook until desire texture and by that I mean.... if you want the chicken to completely fall apart a la chicken fricassee it will, otherwise you can stop the extra cooking step while the chicken is still in chunks. I personally like a little of both so I hold back half the chicken and add it back in 15 minutes later than the first half.

This is soooooo good you will forget that you don't have an oven, and as you munch down you think.... pass me the cornbread... ohhh.... and then you're sad again, but only until the next bite. If it is Fall weather at your house you must make this. Tonight. I served it over Israeli cous cous cooked in chicken broth instead of water but you can serve it over your favorite starch. We've done potatoes, and rice as well... it's all good.

Artichoke Carmelized Onion and Roasted Red Pepper Flatbread... don't forget the capers.

2010-10-04T07:53:00.000-07:00

When you're oven is dead and you have a group of women coming over for a book club, having no food is not an option. Well it's not an option for me, especially since I cannot partake of the wine and other alcoholic goodies. Lucky for me I still have a grill and a husband that has a couple of recipes up his sleeve. One of my favorites is his grilled flatbread. I should probably call it our flatbread as I am the creative force behind the toppings. I wanted to do vegetarian toppings and this is the first time I have thrown this combination together and it was sooooooooooo delicious, it may be my new favorite. I adore artichokes especially on pizza, but I hadn't really planned ahead past picking up the artichokes at the store... brilliant I know. I blame pregnancy brain. Anyway... looking in the refrigerator I thought... hmmmmmm how about carmelized onions, aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddddddddd.... hmmmm there's a red pepper in the crisper, maybe roasted red peppers, another of my favorite. Now I would normally add goat cheese to this but since it is going to be grilled the topping don't get super hot so I couldn't have goat cheese so regular mozzarella would have to do, but I still wanted something a little salty so I used capers. Then I put them all out on the counter and thought... is that going to work together. Imagine this is where the little light bulb appears over my head. A quick check into The Flavor Bible gave me a confirmation that all of these flavors do go together, very well. YES!

The next step was to decide the sauce. I'm a big fan of olive oil and fresh herbs instead of red sauce, especially thanks to the joys of heartburn during pregnancy, but while looking at the toppings I thought that a white sauce might be great, and I personally think it was... hence the new move to favorite flatbread status.

Now we're ready..... when my husband makes the flatbread, I first decide what goes on each one then I prep the toppings and sauce and put them all together so he can just throw them together out on the grill.

First the boys prepped the dough, the recipe link to an earlier post is below... it makes 6 flatbreads, and they freeze beautifully pre-cooking so make the whole batch you won't be sorry.

I drained the artichokes (I don't do fresh artichokes they are not worth it if you're going to add them to other things), cut them in half and have them a quick sear on the grill pan.

Carmelized a little onion

Roast the pepper

I like to set it over the gas burner (don't judge my ancient stained burner... it will be replaced asap now that we've got the oven ordered), until charred. For those stubborn spots that don't like to char I have a crème brulee torch, that thing comes in handy often.

Once it's all burnt and smelling delicious, throw it in a paper bag and close the top. You want the whole thing burnt, the red parts in this photo are actually where the skin has blistered and peeled back. Leave it in the bag for about 10 minutes, open the bag stem and seed the pepper and you can either wash or scrap the skin off at this point, it should come right off.

Rinse and dry some capers and add everything to a convenient carrying case for your husband.

I won't add the photo of the sauce because it smells and tastes better than it looked under poor lighting but I'll make sure to give you the recipe.

Grill it up and serve.... don't expect a whole lot of leftover... I remembered this photo a few minutes after the flatbread hit the table.

Artichoke, Carmalized Onion, Roasted Red Pepper and Caper Flatbread... whew that's a long one
adapted from Eileen's little pea brain

Ingredients

Toppings
2 serving dough (makes 2 flatbreads, split the toppings below between the two)
olive oil
fresh oregano (to taste)
1 red bell pepper, roasted an sliced thin
1 can of artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, dried, cut in half and seared if so desired
handful of grated mozarella or cheese of choice (there is parmesan in the sauce so nothing overwhelming)
2 teaspoons of capers, rinsed and dried
white sauce (recipe below)
1/2 large white onion, carmelized

White Sauce
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
1 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons fresh basil, minced
1/2 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, shredded

Heat butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Slowly whisk in milk, adding gradually. Stir in remaining ingredients. Will thicken upon standing.

Method

Prepare toppings as stated above. Prepare white sauce, keep warm if possible or give a good stir right before adding. Prepare dough from HERE, and that link will also tell you how to grill it up. Sorry I'm totally lazy and don't want to rewrite it. Have a good week.

Steak Chimichurri

2010-09-27T09:07:00.000-07:00

This post originally started.... the weather has FINALLY cooled around here, but the little icon in the corner of my screen says it will be 90 AGAIN today! (Well it did it will be 60 today... Fall arrived sometime between when I wrote this post and today). Will someone please hand mother nature her medication and can we move on? Maybe it's the heat, or the hormones, or the sore back, but as I scrolled through my favorite food blogs today I found myself wanting to delete all the links with perfectly staged photos of gorgeous food, with intricate topped minature tarts, and perfectly lit baked goods against sickenly cute antique spoons and linens. Normally I adore those shot and aspired to some day have the time, energy, and talent to do such things. However, today, and at this stage in my life it is not happening... and I'm fairly certain it's not happening tomorrow, or next week, or anytime in the next few years to be honest. It is time to accept that the choices I have made to expand our family with little munchkins, to allow little furry children to roam around with the human children, to go back to school yet again while working, and to do all of this thousands of miles from all family means.... I will not be a sophisticated blogger anytime soon. And I've come to the realization that I don't really care, it's who I am at the moment. I blog for my friends to show them that they can cook simple easy stuff for their families without stressing, and that is not going to come through with perfect lines of macaroons, and other such things. The times when I get the most feedback/texts/and emails saying... I am making your (insert food here) today. Are the times when I make stuff that can be thrown together and is not scary or daunting in the slightest. The times when people look at the recipe and think... I can do that.

So today I am in love with the new bloggers out there, that don't have fancy cameras, or tricks up their sleeves. The ones that squeeze in a dish between walking their dog, having tea parties with their children, or working the two jobs required to pay off their over-inflated school loans. My favorites today are the off-centered photos with the off-set colors because not only do they not know how to use photoshop, they don't own it! Bloggers that don't have 3 days to make 100 bite-sized tartletts for a friend's baby shower, or their own cookbooks... people who just want to eat something that tastes good and doesn't come wrapped in a wax coated piece of paper. People that want to feed their families, clean up after dinner, and still have time to read Where the Wild Things Are for the 50th night in a row because they love to hear their 2 year old jump out of bed, and tell the wild Wild Things... BE STILL... complete with minature stomp and stop in the name of love pose. People like me really. And so if you are in an exhausted funk, and it's the end of the season where you live and you want to clear out your herb garden, make a good dinner, and have time for family and friends..... I give you.... the fastest meal this side of the SUMMER CONSTRUCTION HELL. Ta Daaaaaaa.

Throw it all in a food processor or blender...... and it doesn't even require the cooperation of one evil oven, if you should have an oven that a) never works properly under the best conditions and b) has given up the ghost once and for all as you refuse to spend another dollar fixing something you despise!

Flank Steak with Chimichurri

Adapted from Gourmet

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds trimmed flank steak
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 large garlic clove
1 1/2 cups fresh cilantro
1 1/2 cups fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Method

Preheat broiler. (or grill if you're oven has died like mine)

Pat steak dry. Stir together 1 teaspoon salt, cumin, coriander, and pepper in a small bowl and rub mixture onto both sides of steak. Broil steak on a broiler pan about 4 inches from heat 6 minutes per side for medium-rare. Transfer to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, with motor running, add garlic to a food processor and finely chop. Add cilantro, parsley, vinegar, oil, cayenne, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, then pulse until herbs are finely chopped.

Holding a knife at a 45-degree angle, thinly slice steak. Serve with sauce.

Fried Brussel Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers

2010-09-20T07:28:00.000-07:00

Oh they aren't pretty but they are delicious! I don't think qualifies as a health food of any sort with all the oil kicking around and the deep frying and all, but it is a way to eat a serious serving of brussel sprouts and want more. I saw this dish on Foodnetwork's The Best Thing I Ever Ate and was excited to see it was actually posted. Everyone seemed to love it so I figured why not, there are only so many steamed boring veggies you can eat without getting really bored. These were amazing! I made them ahead of time and left them in the bowl on top of the vinaigrette and tossed it before we were ready to eat. I think next time I would keep them separate so I could whisk the dressing one last time before serving, it separated out a little but was still fantastic. I will cut back on the oil in the vinaigrette next time, probably quite a bit.

And seriously, when's the last time you saw leftover bread and meat but a bowl of vegetables look like this?

Fried Brussel Sprouts with Walnuts and Capers
adapted from Michael Simon (Lolita)

Ingredients

*Canola oil, for deep-frying
1 clove garlic, minced
4 salt-packed anchovy fillets, rinsed, filleted and minced
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon honey
2 scallions, white and green parts, thinly sliced on the bias
1/2 cup walnut pieces, toasted and coarsely chopped
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound Brussels sprouts, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
2 cups loosely packed flat-leaf parsley leaves
2 tablespoons salt-packed capers, rinsed and patted dry
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Pour enough oil into a medium pot so that the oil comes 3 inches up the sides. Heat the oil to 350 degrees.

While the oil is heating, whisk together the garlic, anchovies, serrano, red wine vinegar, honey, scallions, walnuts and extra-virgin olive oil in a bowl large enough to toss all of the Brussels sprouts. Keep the bowl near the stovetop.

Working in batches, deep-fry the Brussels sprouts until the edges begin to curl and brown, about 3 minutes. To the last batch, add the parsley and capers (stand back-the capers will pop and sputter!). Give the contents of the pot a stir. When the color of the parsley becomes a deeper, more saturated shade of green, about 30 seconds to 1 minute, remove the contents of the pot with a skimmer and place directly in the bowl of dressing. Toss to coat. Add salt and pepper to taste.

*I saw on one of the reviews (after I made it) that Michael Simon actually uses peanut oil, but I used the canola and it was great

Salted-Caramel Squares

2010-09-12T08:35:00.000-07:00

There is just something about salty and sweet. This is nothing new. It is why there are so many salted dessert combos, it is why people dip their french fries into their milkshakes (eww), it is why I had to, had to, had to make these. Now this is a first run, and it was not perfect. In fact it was as far from perfect as it possibly could be and still have a final product that was edible. However, they tasted fantastic and I have every confidence that next time they will have the golden caramel color they should rightfully be displaying... being a salted-caramel square and all.

So what could go wrong with a baked good you ask? Ohhhh my friend, is this your first time here? Baked goods and I are not friends. We are even less friendly now that we have a mortal enemy... OUR OVEN. However, this time I cannot blame the oven as much as I really want to. It's always easier to blame someone or something else isn't it. Unfortunately, the mistake is all mine. I am always trying to squeeze my kitchen experiments in between other activities so I am usually distracted and or tired, and this time was no different. I read the measurement wrong, I'm not even sure what my problem was as what I read isn't even in the recipe. Maybe I am dsylexic as well... it's not the first time I've wondered. So instead of 2 1/4 cups of sugar for the caramel, I put in 3/4 of a cup. I have no idea, don't ask. Anyway.... it looked a little something like this.....

Having never attempted caramel from scratch I didn't know any better. I happily let the sugar water mixture bubble away it ignorant bliss.

Around this time I started thinking... this is not what caramel looks like on TV. No, no it's not... because what I was making was basically rock candy as the water started to evaporate, which gave me an idea for another thing to make. I LURVED rock candy as a kid. Anway... bubble away it did. Seven minutes came and went and I kept looking into my pan thinking... this is no where near a dark amber color... in fact this is pure white/clear and is starting to crystalize... hmmmm.... oh well. Then I added it to the cream, vanilla bean mixture....

Surprisingly adding white to white did not produce amber... hmmm funny how that works. I then dutifully waited for the bubbles to subside waiting for the colormetric miracle to kick in and turn my caramel... well ...caramel. While toying with a new name for the recipe... albino caramel? Milk caramel... bah.

I added the butter and looked again... a little more yellowy but still not caramel. This is right around the time I started visualizing all the caramels I see made on food network... let me tell you... they are caramel in color NOT WHITE. What is going on in the kitchen nightmare? That is when I started reviewing the recipe and saw my error.... take hand smack forehead.... insult the caramel's mother, and try not to cry (I told you I was tired). Think, think.... can carmel be saved some how? Should I start over... that's when I did a little tally of the price of vanilla bean and heavy cream already in mixture.... not really an option to start over. What if I cook the dickens out of this sloppy creamy milk will it turn into something resembling caramel? Certainly not without more sugar. Do a small bit of math and figure out how much sugar is missing... throw that back into a pot... now we already added the entire amount of water, but then again we cooked it to death so let's try another 1/8 of cup.... heat, stir, stir, stir... remember you are not suppose to stir... watch as it turns into this....

This also does not look anything like caramel... keep stirring... okay it's just solidifying... add a little more water... AHA!

Not perfect but way better than figures 1 and 2 don't you think? Cook, cook, bubble, and boil.... that's as dark as it's getting sister. Dump the two pans of "caramel" together and pray for a kitchen miracle.

Now, the caramel never got any darker, and it supposedly never reached 240 either, but by some miracle it did solidfy, and it did taste really great! Really, really great. Make these. And share them... it makes a large batch. I couldn't find my large pan so I had two small ones, and one would have been enough, and I still brought in half to work and shared with everyone.... and now I still have a pan at home. Oh how will I make it through with the abundance of salty-sweet goodness? I will just have to manage.... and I will have to try to make caramel again this weekend, and next weekend, and the weekend after that need be until I get it right!

Salted-Caramel Squares

Adapted from Food and Wine

Ingredients

Pastry Shell
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 large egg white, beaten

Caramel
2 1/4 cups heavy cream
1 vanilla bean, split, seeds scraped
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 3/4 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°. Line a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the short sides. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer at low speed, cream the butter. Beat in the confectioners' sugar. Add the whole eggs and beat until incorporated, then beat in the flour and salt. Press the pastry into the prepared pan in an even layer, 1/4 inch thick. Freeze until firm, 10 minutes.

Line the pastry with parchment paper and fill with pie weights. Bake for 35 minutes, until just set. Carefully remove the pie weights and parchment. Brush the shell with the egg white and bake for 20 minutes longer, until golden and cooked through. Let cool.

In a saucepan, bring the cream, vanilla bean and seeds to a simmer. Cover; keep warm.

In a large, heavy saucepan, stir the sugar into 1/4 cup of water. Simmer over moderate heat, without stirring, until a deep amber caramel forms, 7 minutes.

Remove the caramel from the heat and carefully add the cream. When the bubbling subsides, stir in the butter. Insert a candy thermometer and cook over moderately high heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the caramel reaches 240°, 10 minutes. Discard the vanilla bean and stir in the salt. Pour the caramel over the shell. Refrigerate until firm, 4 hours or overnight; bring to room temperature. Remove the bar from the pan using the parchment overhang; cut into squares.

Nigella's Damp Lemon-Almond Cake

2010-09-05T18:29:00.000-07:00

Sometimes a recipe does not always turn out the first time you make it but you had such high hopes that you must try it again. I made this for dessert for my husband's birthday LAST YEAR. However, the copy of the recipe I had said.... 1 1/3 cup ground almonds, so I threw some almonds into a food processor and went to town. What we ended up with was a) gritty from the almonds, and b) dry as all get out because we have the demon oven! Seriously hate that thing, probably part of why I do not bake often. I really want to try to make macaroons but I know it is truly hopeless in that miracle midget that we were told is an oven.

I was disappointed enough that it took me over a year to try it again, but it kept coming to mind. I thought maybe if I swapped out almond flour for the ground almonds it might work. I ordered the almond flour (I'm not kidding when I say you can't find anything in this town), and then had to google the recipe because I lost my copy. The copy I found this time said 1 1/3 cup ground almonds or almond flour, yeah thanks for that.

I don't have any prep pictures because I didn't know if would come out and when it was done and I popped the springform pan it was so horribly flat I thought it would probably be dried out again. Well it wasn't because I now know not to trust the oven. And with the quick flick of my wrist and a measuring tape I realize that it was flat because my springform pan is 10-inches not 8. Oops... I think this has been a dessert downfall more than once...must remedy that problem, but if you can see how moist this is from the picture I'm sure you'll understand that no one complained about it being a little flat, they just cut a second slice.

Nigella’s Damp Lemon and Almond Cake
adapted from Nigella Lawson

Ingredients

1 cup butter
¾ cup sugar
4 large eggs
1/3 cup cake and pastry flour
1 1/3 cups almond flour
1 teaspoon almond extract
Zest and juice of two lemons

Method

Preheat the oven to 350F. Line the bottom of one 8” (or four 4”) springform pans with parchment paper, or spray with non-stick baking spray

Cream together the butter and the sugar until almost white. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, adding a quarter of the flour after each addition. When all the eggs and flour have been incorporated, gently stir in the ground almonds, then the almond extract, lemon zest and juice. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for about 1 hour, checking after 50 minutes-you may have to cover the cake loosely with foil after 30 minutes so the tops won’t burn (4” springform pans 35 minutes)

The cake is ready when the top is firma dn skewer comes out clean when inserted in the center of the cake. Don’t overbake thecake or it won’t be damp.

Remove the cake from the oven and let it stand for 5 minutes in the pan; then turn out onto a wire rack and leave till cool.

Dust with confectioners sugar before serving.

PS... I masked the disaster last year by throwing fresh strawberries, raspberries, and black berries into a sauce pan with some amaretto, balsamic vinegar, a splash of orange juice, and a tablespoon of sugar and just stirred it until it turned into a sauce. Then loaded it over pieces of the cake and topped with fresh berries.... while there was no need to do that this time I think I may have to try that again next time because it was really, really great!