Ooohhh...I had such plans tonight of sitting in front of the fire and blogging tonight but got totally sucked into Office reruns. Why is that show so funny even when you know what's going to happen??
Dinner tonight: homemade pepperoni pizza with veggies added: onion and mushroom for me; onion, mushroom, and a big handful of diced green pepper for DH (discovery - nothing keeps me from eating too much pizza like putting green pepper on two thirds of it...). Everyone got a side of snow peas for munching.
Happy New Year! I'll be back next week.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Monday, December 28, 2009
You Say You Want A Re(s)olution
Okay readers, any food resolutions this year? I have one: Up our veggie intake. I've written before that since DH and I don't always like the same vegetables, I can be a little lax about serving them around here. But this year I'm going to make a bigger effort to find common ground, get us out of our peas/sweet potatoes/salad rut, and make vegetables have a bit more of a starring role at the dinner table. Added bonus - searching out more vegetable ideas and recipes gives me something to write about!
I got a jump start tonight. I made one of our favorites, homemade tomato soup, for dinner. But I upped the nutrition a smidgen by adding some of the carrots that Rudolph and friends didn't polish off last Friday night. It was great with the carrots - just slightly sweeter, but if I hadn't told you, you would never have known. I've posted the recipe before, but here it is updated, with the carrots included. This makes 8 large servings.
Classic Tomato Soup
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like Muir Glen brand)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
32 ounces chicken stock
2 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (My favorite tomatoes for this soup are the Cento brand tomatoes)
In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add onion, carrot, salt and pepper, cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Use your immersion blender to puree the soup, making it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer. I actually like mine pretty smooth. Taste for seasonings - need more salt and pepper? Add it in. Serve hot. (Note - when I give this to my boys, I actually mix it with some milk, roughly 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup of soup. It cuts the acidity, making it a more mellow taste, and cools it off).
Perfect on these chilly nights we've been having!
I got a jump start tonight. I made one of our favorites, homemade tomato soup, for dinner. But I upped the nutrition a smidgen by adding some of the carrots that Rudolph and friends didn't polish off last Friday night. It was great with the carrots - just slightly sweeter, but if I hadn't told you, you would never have known. I've posted the recipe before, but here it is updated, with the carrots included. This makes 8 large servings.
Classic Tomato Soup
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
3 carrots, peeled and diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like Muir Glen brand)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
32 ounces chicken stock
2 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (My favorite tomatoes for this soup are the Cento brand tomatoes)
In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add onion, carrot, salt and pepper, cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Use your immersion blender to puree the soup, making it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer. I actually like mine pretty smooth. Taste for seasonings - need more salt and pepper? Add it in. Serve hot. (Note - when I give this to my boys, I actually mix it with some milk, roughly 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup of soup. It cuts the acidity, making it a more mellow taste, and cools it off).
Perfect on these chilly nights we've been having!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Clean It Up
As my husband often says at the end of a 72 hour shift: I am beginning to fatigue. I have been on a tear in the past 3 hours to get all Christmas decorations packed up and put away. Normally we enjoy them for another week, but we have so much going on this week that this is my only chance to do it. I'm almost finished, but sat down for a moment to ponder how it's possible that my ornaments apparently tripled in volume this month.
We had a wonderful, wonderful Christmas. Absolutely amazing, and after much reflection, I've decided that it's because we started and ended the day just right.
With chocolate.
In the morning we had our chocolate croissants from Williams-Sonoma. Hello!! Put it on your calendar RIGHT NOW to order them for your family next year. They were amazing (and I swear, no affiliation here with W-S). They are officially our new family food tradition.
In the evening we had a wonderful Christmas dinner of baked brie with cranberries, roasted beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes with gravy, salad with warm goat cheese, and peppermint chocolate trifle (made by Attorney Mom, whose family's presence is now forever mandatory at our Christmas table). Amazing, amazing, amazing. I promise next year to blog all of those recipes at the beginning of December (Attorney Mom, are you paying attention? Write it down!) - I think it's a safe assumption that everyone is ready to move on from the Big Heavy Holiday Meals?
Which brings us to dinner tonight. In an effort to use up the massive amounts of leftovers we have, without actually repeating Christmas dinner, here is what's on our menu:
Roast beef sandwiches (serves 2). Slice two small wheat baguettes in half, broil for approximately 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and spread each piece of baguette with a thin layer of goat cheese. Slice cold roast beef as thinly as possible and place on baguette (4-6 thin slices per person). Add baby greens, and serve with a big handful of cherry tomatoes on the side.
Happy eating!
We had a wonderful, wonderful Christmas. Absolutely amazing, and after much reflection, I've decided that it's because we started and ended the day just right.
With chocolate.
In the morning we had our chocolate croissants from Williams-Sonoma. Hello!! Put it on your calendar RIGHT NOW to order them for your family next year. They were amazing (and I swear, no affiliation here with W-S). They are officially our new family food tradition.
In the evening we had a wonderful Christmas dinner of baked brie with cranberries, roasted beef tenderloin, mashed potatoes with gravy, salad with warm goat cheese, and peppermint chocolate trifle (made by Attorney Mom, whose family's presence is now forever mandatory at our Christmas table). Amazing, amazing, amazing. I promise next year to blog all of those recipes at the beginning of December (Attorney Mom, are you paying attention? Write it down!) - I think it's a safe assumption that everyone is ready to move on from the Big Heavy Holiday Meals?
Which brings us to dinner tonight. In an effort to use up the massive amounts of leftovers we have, without actually repeating Christmas dinner, here is what's on our menu:
Roast beef sandwiches (serves 2). Slice two small wheat baguettes in half, broil for approximately 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Remove from oven and spread each piece of baguette with a thin layer of goat cheese. Slice cold roast beef as thinly as possible and place on baguette (4-6 thin slices per person). Add baby greens, and serve with a big handful of cherry tomatoes on the side.
Happy eating!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
We have officially arrived at what is to me the best part of the Christmas season: the Happy Anticipation phase. We've moved past the Cheerful-Hustle-And-Bustle phase, right through the Panicked-It-Will-Never-All-Get-Done phase (which, given how terrible a head cold I had last week, teetered dangerously on turning into a Screw-It-There's-Always-Next-Year phase), and now I get to do what I look forward to every year.
Enjoy it.
Gifts are all bought (though not wrapped - there's still time for that). Cards have been mailed. Tree is trimmed, halls are decked, and "Santa is watching" has been completely worn out as a parenting tool. Nothing left to do but eat too much. Ah, how I love the holidays.
***
A follow up on my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Jessica (she of the perfectly lumpy cookies) arrived with her family Friday night, and first thing Saturday morning we had a cookie tutorial. I think we've decided I might have been overmixing the dough by using my standmixer. I'm proud to say I made my own batch of perfect cookies today, and promptly gained 45 pounds. Thanks, Jessie.
***
Peppermint bark follow up - on the suggestion of a posting on another website, this year I'm making it with a layer of dark chocolate underneath. Mmmmm.
***
Merry merry, everyone.
Enjoy it.
Gifts are all bought (though not wrapped - there's still time for that). Cards have been mailed. Tree is trimmed, halls are decked, and "Santa is watching" has been completely worn out as a parenting tool. Nothing left to do but eat too much. Ah, how I love the holidays.
***
A follow up on my oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Jessica (she of the perfectly lumpy cookies) arrived with her family Friday night, and first thing Saturday morning we had a cookie tutorial. I think we've decided I might have been overmixing the dough by using my standmixer. I'm proud to say I made my own batch of perfect cookies today, and promptly gained 45 pounds. Thanks, Jessie.
***
Peppermint bark follow up - on the suggestion of a posting on another website, this year I'm making it with a layer of dark chocolate underneath. Mmmmm.
***
Merry merry, everyone.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
I'm Dreaming of a White Pizza
Brilliance alert!
(Okay, perhaps 'brilliance' is too strong a word. But I'm a little jazzed up on cold medicine and given to hyperbole today).
Easy and fast dinner idea, and oh so yummy. Here are the steps:
1) Review pizza tips post, and remember to check that you have cornmeal.
2) Before you leave for work/school/crazy errand running in the morning, take your pizza dough out of the freezer and set it on the counter. Leave it there all day, and it will have plenty of time to defrost and rise (minimum 6 hours, and leaving it alone as long as 9 hours will be just fine). If the package is tied with a twist tie, don't forget to loosen it so the dough will have room to rise.
3) On your way home from work/school/crazy errand running, pop into the grocery store and pick up a jar of pesto, a rotisserie chicken, and a package of mozzarella cheese. (I've actually been using pesto I made last summer and froze, when my basil was growing out of control) (If you're really organized, you could make roasted chicken one night and then use the leftovers for this pizza - just have the cheese and pesto ahead of time, and you've saved a trip to the market).
4) When you walk in the door, your dough is ready for you. Preheat your oven, to 425, roll out the dough, and spread on the pesto. Top with cheese and roasted chicken. Bake for 20 minutes until the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly. That gives you just enough time to pour some wine, flip through the mail and marvel at all the Christmas card pictures, and get every one's hands washed.
5) Supper is ready!
Enjoy.
(Okay, perhaps 'brilliance' is too strong a word. But I'm a little jazzed up on cold medicine and given to hyperbole today).
Easy and fast dinner idea, and oh so yummy. Here are the steps:
1) Review pizza tips post, and remember to check that you have cornmeal.
2) Before you leave for work/school/crazy errand running in the morning, take your pizza dough out of the freezer and set it on the counter. Leave it there all day, and it will have plenty of time to defrost and rise (minimum 6 hours, and leaving it alone as long as 9 hours will be just fine). If the package is tied with a twist tie, don't forget to loosen it so the dough will have room to rise.
3) On your way home from work/school/crazy errand running, pop into the grocery store and pick up a jar of pesto, a rotisserie chicken, and a package of mozzarella cheese. (I've actually been using pesto I made last summer and froze, when my basil was growing out of control) (If you're really organized, you could make roasted chicken one night and then use the leftovers for this pizza - just have the cheese and pesto ahead of time, and you've saved a trip to the market).
4) When you walk in the door, your dough is ready for you. Preheat your oven, to 425, roll out the dough, and spread on the pesto. Top with cheese and roasted chicken. Bake for 20 minutes until the crust is brown and the cheese is bubbly. That gives you just enough time to pour some wine, flip through the mail and marvel at all the Christmas card pictures, and get every one's hands washed.
5) Supper is ready!
Enjoy.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Season's Greetings
Cold and flu season, that is.
Do you remember the old commercial for cold medicine that featured a family of huge, red noses? That's us. We have been a group of pathetic snifflers this weekend, and all semblance of household caretaking has gone right out the window. No laundry, no errands, no meal planning, no cooking...only pitiful shuffling between the medicine cabinet and the tissues, with vague worries about whether 5 hours in a row of Christmas specials would turn my kids' brains into mush.
On the upside - it looks like we're all on the mend. Which means I can get back to the real business at hand: Christmas.
I've pulled out my various clippings of favorite Christmas recipes, and stumbled on one I haven't made for a while: peppermint bark. This is an old Martha Stewart recipe, and truly could not be easier (or more fun for your kids, for that matter - give them a meat mallet and let them go nuts breaking up the peppermint).
Peppermint Bark
Melt 2 pounds of white chocolate (I use white chocolate chips) in the top of double boiler, or in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Place 12 candy canes in a plastic bag and crush into 1/4 inch pieces with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer. Stir chopped candy cane and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract into melted chocolate. Remove from heat, and pour mixture onto an 11x17 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Chill until firm; break into pieces. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Do you remember the old commercial for cold medicine that featured a family of huge, red noses? That's us. We have been a group of pathetic snifflers this weekend, and all semblance of household caretaking has gone right out the window. No laundry, no errands, no meal planning, no cooking...only pitiful shuffling between the medicine cabinet and the tissues, with vague worries about whether 5 hours in a row of Christmas specials would turn my kids' brains into mush.
On the upside - it looks like we're all on the mend. Which means I can get back to the real business at hand: Christmas.
I've pulled out my various clippings of favorite Christmas recipes, and stumbled on one I haven't made for a while: peppermint bark. This is an old Martha Stewart recipe, and truly could not be easier (or more fun for your kids, for that matter - give them a meat mallet and let them go nuts breaking up the peppermint).
Peppermint Bark
Melt 2 pounds of white chocolate (I use white chocolate chips) in the top of double boiler, or in a heat proof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water. Place 12 candy canes in a plastic bag and crush into 1/4 inch pieces with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer. Stir chopped candy cane and 1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract into melted chocolate. Remove from heat, and pour mixture onto an 11x17 inch baking pan lined with parchment paper. Chill until firm; break into pieces. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Baby, It's Cold Outside
We have been in survival mode this week, between travels for work, an incredibly sick little one, and other general craziness. Do you ever feel like you're under attack from your own life? That's us this week.
I intended to test another cookie recipe this week, but since life got in the way, we'll do that this weekend. Instead, since the entire country seems to be having cold weather (even Savannah!), here's a delicious white chili recipe to keep you toasty warm. Side note: isn't it funny how food carries with it such powerful memories? I have a distinct memory of the first time I made this at home, watching UNC beat UConn in basketball - that particular win sticks out, since it was the 8-20 year (aka The Year We All Want To Forget).
Stay warm!
White Chili
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 4 ounce can diced green chilis
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 15 ounce cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 14ounce can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups finely copped cooked chicken (I often use a grocery store rotisserie chicken for this)
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion and garlic in the oil in a medium stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat for 4 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add chiles, flour, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add beans and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 10 minutes or until thick. Stir in the chicken. Cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish as you like with Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, salsa, and/or chopped green onions.
I intended to test another cookie recipe this week, but since life got in the way, we'll do that this weekend. Instead, since the entire country seems to be having cold weather (even Savannah!), here's a delicious white chili recipe to keep you toasty warm. Side note: isn't it funny how food carries with it such powerful memories? I have a distinct memory of the first time I made this at home, watching UNC beat UConn in basketball - that particular win sticks out, since it was the 8-20 year (aka The Year We All Want To Forget).
Stay warm!
White Chili
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 4 ounce can diced green chilis
3 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons oregano
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 15 ounce cans great northern beans, rinsed and drained
1 14ounce can chicken broth
1 1/2 cups finely copped cooked chicken (I often use a grocery store rotisserie chicken for this)
Salt and pepper to taste
Saute onion and garlic in the oil in a medium stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat for 4 minutes or until onion is translucent. Add chiles, flour, cumin, oregano, and cayenne. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add beans and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 10 minutes or until thick. Stir in the chicken. Cook until heated through. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and garnish as you like with Monterey Jack cheese, sour cream, salsa, and/or chopped green onions.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Cookie Monster
I am actually blogging a recipe before I've even tasted it. This seems terribly backwards, but it's a cookie recipe, I've just taken them out of the oven, and they are far too hot to eat. So I've got about 5 minutes during which I can either fold laundry or get started on tonight's blog.
Anything, anything, to avoid folding laundry.
Atlanta Mom sent me this recipe, which looked wonderful. I gotta tell you, though, my finished product looks nothing like the picture. Let's hope all our mothers were right, and looks really aren't everything.
Let me start by saying: Oh, hell.
I just went to the website to copy the recipe and noticed a very helpful link. To step-by-step pictures of the recipe being made. And let me tell you - not only do my cookies not look like the picture, but my steps didn't quite resemble theirs, either.
Pressing on. Here's the recipe, with my notes.
Sparkling Cranberry Gems, courtesy of King Arthur Flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, organic preferred; or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I did the white whole wheat flour. Who knew such a thing existed? Not me until about a week ago, but I'm going to try it in my pumpkin bread recipe next)
1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) dried cranberries, packed
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into pats
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) milk
Coating
scant 1/2 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) coarse white sparkling sugar (Which, for the record, is NOT the same as natural turnadino sugar. Guess which one I bought at the grocery store, since my Publix apparently does not sell coarse white sparkling sugar. )
Place the flour and dried cranberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the cranberries are coarsely shredded. Imagine a single dried cranberry cut into about 4 pieces: that’s your goal. (Okay, I was totally with you here)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. (Got it. Done.)
Whisk together the flour/cranberry mixture, sugar, baking powder, and salt. (Oops. From the pictures that I NOW see, when you said "whisk," you actually meant "whisk." I must admit that caused some confusion when I was making these, because here I was, trotting along in my food processor. And then I thought, surely they don't mean for me to pull out two major countertop appliances all for one recipe? So I didn't. But you did.)
Add the vanilla and butter, mixing until the butter is thoroughly distributed, but some pea-sized chunks still remain. Dribble in the milk while mixing; the dough will become cohesive. (So far, so good, this still worked out okay in the food processor, at least theoretically. Hey, if it's good enough for pie crust, it's good enough for cookies, right? RIGHT?)
Place the coarse sugar in a plastic bag; about 1-quart size should do. Using a teaspoon cookie scoop (or a spoon), scoop the dough by 1 3/4-teaspoonfuls (about 1 ¼" balls) into the bag, 6 or 8 at a time. Close the top of the bag, and gently shake to coat the balls with sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, and use the bottom of a glass to flatten them to about ¼" thick (about 1 ½" in diameter). (I must confess, I didn't do this step. I had a comment from a reader with my last post that perhaps I should refrigerate my cookie dough to keep it from spreading. So tonight, once I had the dough made, I popped it in the fridge for about 2 hours, and then wasn't going to blow all that effort by mushing them down myself - otherwise how would I know if they spread or not? Sure enough, I have a whole sheet pan of still-fat cookies cooling downstairs. Brilliant. I'll try the oatmeal ones one more time.) Repeat with the remaining dough.Bake the cookies for 16 to 17 minutes, until they’re set and barely, BARELY beginning to brown around the very edge; the tops shouldn’t be brown at all. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan.
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies. (Really? Because I barely got 19. Is this where the whisk would have helped me out?)
***
For those of you who want the helpful link, instead of my version, here it is.
***
Now - hold on just a sec, I'm running downstairs for a glass of milk and a taste test.
***
I'm back. And the verdict is...
Um. Weird.
But perhaps you'll have better luck, following the real directions?
Happy eating!
Anything, anything, to avoid folding laundry.
Atlanta Mom sent me this recipe, which looked wonderful. I gotta tell you, though, my finished product looks nothing like the picture. Let's hope all our mothers were right, and looks really aren't everything.
Let me start by saying: Oh, hell.
I just went to the website to copy the recipe and noticed a very helpful link. To step-by-step pictures of the recipe being made. And let me tell you - not only do my cookies not look like the picture, but my steps didn't quite resemble theirs, either.
Pressing on. Here's the recipe, with my notes.
Sparkling Cranberry Gems, courtesy of King Arthur Flour
1 cup (4 1/4 ounces) King Arthur White Whole Wheat Flour, organic preferred; or King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (I did the white whole wheat flour. Who knew such a thing existed? Not me until about a week ago, but I'm going to try it in my pumpkin bread recipe next)
1 1/2 cups (7 ounces) dried cranberries, packed
2 tablespoons (1/2 ounce) confectioners’ sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
6 tablespoons (3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into pats
3 tablespoons (1 1/2 ounces) milk
Coating
scant 1/2 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) coarse white sparkling sugar (Which, for the record, is NOT the same as natural turnadino sugar. Guess which one I bought at the grocery store, since my Publix apparently does not sell coarse white sparkling sugar. )
Place the flour and dried cranberries in the bowl of a food processor. Process until the cranberries are coarsely shredded. Imagine a single dried cranberry cut into about 4 pieces: that’s your goal. (Okay, I was totally with you here)
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease (or line with parchment) two baking sheets. (Got it. Done.)
Whisk together the flour/cranberry mixture, sugar, baking powder, and salt. (Oops. From the pictures that I NOW see, when you said "whisk," you actually meant "whisk." I must admit that caused some confusion when I was making these, because here I was, trotting along in my food processor. And then I thought, surely they don't mean for me to pull out two major countertop appliances all for one recipe? So I didn't. But you did.)
Add the vanilla and butter, mixing until the butter is thoroughly distributed, but some pea-sized chunks still remain. Dribble in the milk while mixing; the dough will become cohesive. (So far, so good, this still worked out okay in the food processor, at least theoretically. Hey, if it's good enough for pie crust, it's good enough for cookies, right? RIGHT?)
Place the coarse sugar in a plastic bag; about 1-quart size should do. Using a teaspoon cookie scoop (or a spoon), scoop the dough by 1 3/4-teaspoonfuls (about 1 ¼" balls) into the bag, 6 or 8 at a time. Close the top of the bag, and gently shake to coat the balls with sugar. Place them on the prepared baking sheet, and use the bottom of a glass to flatten them to about ¼" thick (about 1 ½" in diameter). (I must confess, I didn't do this step. I had a comment from a reader with my last post that perhaps I should refrigerate my cookie dough to keep it from spreading. So tonight, once I had the dough made, I popped it in the fridge for about 2 hours, and then wasn't going to blow all that effort by mushing them down myself - otherwise how would I know if they spread or not? Sure enough, I have a whole sheet pan of still-fat cookies cooling downstairs. Brilliant. I'll try the oatmeal ones one more time.) Repeat with the remaining dough.Bake the cookies for 16 to 17 minutes, until they’re set and barely, BARELY beginning to brown around the very edge; the tops shouldn’t be brown at all. Remove them from the oven, and cool right on the pan.
Yield: about 3 dozen cookies. (Really? Because I barely got 19. Is this where the whisk would have helped me out?)
***
For those of you who want the helpful link, instead of my version, here it is.
***
Now - hold on just a sec, I'm running downstairs for a glass of milk and a taste test.
***
I'm back. And the verdict is...
Um. Weird.
But perhaps you'll have better luck, following the real directions?
Happy eating!
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Got Milk?
I am hosting our neighborhood moms' annual cookie exchange, which means I have the perfect excuse to test cookie recipes all month. Now, I am NOT a baker. I try, I really do, but there's a lot of precision and attention to detail required when baking that I find simply unattainable. Particularly when baking with my 5 year old, who insists on doing all the measuring and mixing himself. But we do the best we can and figure Santa isn't that picky about the cookies we leave him.
Today's recipe is my all time favorite cookie recipe. To me, it's not Christmas without these cookies. At least, as long as my friend Jessica is making them. When she makes them, they are delightfully dense and fat, like little wonderful lumps of yumminess. When I make them, they still taste good, but they spread out so much they're more like pancake cookies. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I've tried everything - switching my cookie sheets, cooking at a lower temperature, making sure the butter is room temperature, making sure the butter is cool room temperature...either when she gave me the recipe she left out some secret ingredient or step, or I'm just incompetent.
The good news is, she and her adorable family are coming to visit for a night in a couple of weeks, and if I am very, very lucky she'll bring me some. In the meantime, I'm posting the recipe so you, dear readers, can try them. And if you're an expert and know what I'm doing wrong, please please tell me. I want my lumps of yummy, and I want them now.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks of butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 cups old fashioned oats
Preheat oven to 375 (note: I've also done 350. Works fine at that temp, but they still spread). Mix butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs in one bowl until smooth. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet. When completely mixed, add oats and then chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake until light golden brown. Makes 5 dozen cookies.
Today's recipe is my all time favorite cookie recipe. To me, it's not Christmas without these cookies. At least, as long as my friend Jessica is making them. When she makes them, they are delightfully dense and fat, like little wonderful lumps of yumminess. When I make them, they still taste good, but they spread out so much they're more like pancake cookies. I have no idea what I'm doing wrong. I've tried everything - switching my cookie sheets, cooking at a lower temperature, making sure the butter is room temperature, making sure the butter is cool room temperature...either when she gave me the recipe she left out some secret ingredient or step, or I'm just incompetent.
The good news is, she and her adorable family are coming to visit for a night in a couple of weeks, and if I am very, very lucky she'll bring me some. In the meantime, I'm posting the recipe so you, dear readers, can try them. And if you're an expert and know what I'm doing wrong, please please tell me. I want my lumps of yummy, and I want them now.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks of butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 cups old fashioned oats
Preheat oven to 375 (note: I've also done 350. Works fine at that temp, but they still spread). Mix butter, sugar, vanilla extract, and eggs in one bowl until smooth. Mix flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet. When completely mixed, add oats and then chocolate chips. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake until light golden brown. Makes 5 dozen cookies.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Christmas Morning
WHEW.
Is any one else completely tired of all things food-related? After all the planning, shopping, preparing, and of course EATING last week, even I don't want to give food another thought.
And yet here I am, already planning for Christmas morning.
When I was growing up, my Mom always made a fabulous coffee cake for Christmas breakfast, and I love it to this day. But I don't make it now because my husband isn't as crazy about it (though let's be honest - his holiday tastes are a little suspect, as he comes from a family that has cookies and diet coke for Christmas breakfast). I've tried doing cinnamon rolls, which are fine but nothing special, and big breakfast casseroles, which are great but too much work to put together on Christmas Eve now that we have to help Santa get everything ready for Christmas morning.
But now, I think I've settled on a new tradition for our family: chocolate croissants. My friend Leigh brought these to our last girls weekend trip (where the inspiration for this blog was born), and they were, in a word, Fabulous. I've just placed my order from them from Williams-Sonoma, and am feeling quite pleased with myself to have at least one meal in this crazy month planned.
***
Another recipe from our supper club, this one from our French friend Lucie, who is so incredibly stylish that even her food looks gorgeous.
Roasted Veggies Couscous Salad (serves 6 people)
2 cups of couscous
2.5 cups of chicken stock
Roast half a butternut squash, 2 sweet potatoes (olive oil , salt and pepper in the oven at 350 for an hour)
Pour the boiling chicken stock over the dry couscous - cover and wait 5 minutes....add the roast veggies and as many blanched snow peas as you like.
Dressing: whisk together and pour over couscous 2 tbs of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of harissa paste (chili paste), 1/4 cup of chopped mint, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1 tbs of honey
voila! bon appetit!
Is any one else completely tired of all things food-related? After all the planning, shopping, preparing, and of course EATING last week, even I don't want to give food another thought.
And yet here I am, already planning for Christmas morning.
When I was growing up, my Mom always made a fabulous coffee cake for Christmas breakfast, and I love it to this day. But I don't make it now because my husband isn't as crazy about it (though let's be honest - his holiday tastes are a little suspect, as he comes from a family that has cookies and diet coke for Christmas breakfast). I've tried doing cinnamon rolls, which are fine but nothing special, and big breakfast casseroles, which are great but too much work to put together on Christmas Eve now that we have to help Santa get everything ready for Christmas morning.
But now, I think I've settled on a new tradition for our family: chocolate croissants. My friend Leigh brought these to our last girls weekend trip (where the inspiration for this blog was born), and they were, in a word, Fabulous. I've just placed my order from them from Williams-Sonoma, and am feeling quite pleased with myself to have at least one meal in this crazy month planned.
***
Another recipe from our supper club, this one from our French friend Lucie, who is so incredibly stylish that even her food looks gorgeous.
Roasted Veggies Couscous Salad (serves 6 people)
2 cups of couscous
2.5 cups of chicken stock
Roast half a butternut squash, 2 sweet potatoes (olive oil , salt and pepper in the oven at 350 for an hour)
Pour the boiling chicken stock over the dry couscous - cover and wait 5 minutes....add the roast veggies and as many blanched snow peas as you like.
Dressing: whisk together and pour over couscous 2 tbs of olive oil, 1/2 tsp of harissa paste (chili paste), 1/4 cup of chopped mint, 1/4 cup of lemon juice, 1 tbs of honey
voila! bon appetit!
Monday, November 23, 2009
Giving Thanks
It's hard to believe it is the week of The Food Holiday, aka Thanksgiving, and I've written almost nothing about Thanksgiving food. I wish I had an airtight excuse, but here's the real reason: basketball season has started. My evenings are now taken up with yelling at the TV and glaring at my husband if he so much as whispers that I might be scaring the dog. At the moment, however, it's halftime, so if I type quickly I'll get another post in.
***
I'll have to save my turkey frying tips for next year, since this year I'm going to take notes to be sure I'm telling you the right things to do. But just so I don't completely miss out on talking turkey, here's a tip. My roasted chicken and wild rice soup is amazing with leftover turkey (and freezes wonderfully). I posted the recipe here.
***
Of the many things I am thankful for this year, one of them is our supper club. We have an amazing group of people who are pulled in 14 million different directions during our daily lives, but we all come together to break bread at someone's house once every 6 weeks. We do it potluck style, with the host and hostess providing the main dish, and everyone else filling out the meal. Each dinner has a theme, and our latest theme was Fall Harvest. Let me tell you - we outdid ourselves. Seriously. I asked everyone to send me their recipes so I could post them here. I'll do them in order of the meal.
First up, Attorney Mom with appetizers!
***
Red Onion Jam with Bacon and Bourbon
3-4 large red onions, thinly sliced
3/4 package bacon, cooked and finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon (or substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
2-3 tablespoons Olive oil
In a large saucepan, saute the onions with olive oil until they begin to soften. Add the chopped bacon, and continue to cook over low heat. Once the onions begin to reduce and thicken, add the brown sugar, to taste, and the bourbon or vanilla. (I actually used vanilla, but "onion and vanilla jam" sounds repulsive, although the result is quite tasty...so you may want to use the official recipe name for your guests!) Cooking time is around 35-45 minutes, and you will know your jam is done when it's the consistency you wish to spread onto a cracker. Continue stirring throughout the cooking process. Serve warm or at room temperature with crackers or toast points.
Ginger-Apricot Chutney
* I adapted this recipe from one that did not use quantities, and I also added extra ingredients to get the smell I was looking for, so all quantities are approximate, and please use your nose as your guide!
1/2-3/4 pound dried apricots, chopped (quantity per size of your crowd)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1 small pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
5 whole cloves
Place apricots in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over low heat. Add lemon juice, ginger, cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and continue to simmer, covered, until the mixture begins to thicken. Approximate cooking time is 35-45 minutes, or until whenever the apricots are a desirable consistency. Continue stirring during the cooking process. Continue to add water if it boils off and you desire to keep reducing the mixture. Give it a taste before you finish cooking and add any additional quantities of the ingredients above. Once done, remove cloves, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Happy eating, and Happy Thanksgiving!
***
I'll have to save my turkey frying tips for next year, since this year I'm going to take notes to be sure I'm telling you the right things to do. But just so I don't completely miss out on talking turkey, here's a tip. My roasted chicken and wild rice soup is amazing with leftover turkey (and freezes wonderfully). I posted the recipe here.
***
Of the many things I am thankful for this year, one of them is our supper club. We have an amazing group of people who are pulled in 14 million different directions during our daily lives, but we all come together to break bread at someone's house once every 6 weeks. We do it potluck style, with the host and hostess providing the main dish, and everyone else filling out the meal. Each dinner has a theme, and our latest theme was Fall Harvest. Let me tell you - we outdid ourselves. Seriously. I asked everyone to send me their recipes so I could post them here. I'll do them in order of the meal.
First up, Attorney Mom with appetizers!
***
Red Onion Jam with Bacon and Bourbon
3-4 large red onions, thinly sliced
3/4 package bacon, cooked and finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons bourbon (or substitute 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)
2-3 tablespoons Olive oil
In a large saucepan, saute the onions with olive oil until they begin to soften. Add the chopped bacon, and continue to cook over low heat. Once the onions begin to reduce and thicken, add the brown sugar, to taste, and the bourbon or vanilla. (I actually used vanilla, but "onion and vanilla jam" sounds repulsive, although the result is quite tasty...so you may want to use the official recipe name for your guests!) Cooking time is around 35-45 minutes, and you will know your jam is done when it's the consistency you wish to spread onto a cracker. Continue stirring throughout the cooking process. Serve warm or at room temperature with crackers or toast points.
Ginger-Apricot Chutney
* I adapted this recipe from one that did not use quantities, and I also added extra ingredients to get the smell I was looking for, so all quantities are approximate, and please use your nose as your guide!
1/2-3/4 pound dried apricots, chopped (quantity per size of your crowd)
1 teaspoon lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh grated ginger
1 small pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
5 whole cloves
Place apricots in large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, and then simmer over low heat. Add lemon juice, ginger, cayenne, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves and continue to simmer, covered, until the mixture begins to thicken. Approximate cooking time is 35-45 minutes, or until whenever the apricots are a desirable consistency. Continue stirring during the cooking process. Continue to add water if it boils off and you desire to keep reducing the mixture. Give it a taste before you finish cooking and add any additional quantities of the ingredients above. Once done, remove cloves, and serve warm or at room temperature.
Happy eating, and Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
The Great Pumpkin, Part 2
News flash: did you, dear reader, realize that Thanksgiving is NEXT WEEK? Yes, a week from tomorrow. I truly did have it in my head that we were still 2 weeks away. We are hosting this year, and I had a moment of panic when I thought about all the things I haven't done to get ready. Like, plan the menu. Grocery shop. Make my pie crusts like I so smugly instructed the rest of you to do on Monday. Put extra leaves in the table. Polish silver. Stock up on liquor.
Ah -ha! You thought that last one was to survive the holiday, didn't you? But no. It is the super secret ingredient in my pumpkin pie.
Here's what you do: follow the instructions for pumpkin pie on the back of a Libby's can of pumpkin. But, before you add the evaporated milk, remove one shot glass worth of it. Then add one shot of Mount Gay (dark) rum. And carry on with making your pie - same cooking time, etc.
Do you think that sounds crazy? It's not - it's wonderful. Your guests will never know there's rum in the pie, but it gives it a depth of flavor that can't be beat. Serve with homemade whipped cream, and enjoy!
Ah -ha! You thought that last one was to survive the holiday, didn't you? But no. It is the super secret ingredient in my pumpkin pie.
Here's what you do: follow the instructions for pumpkin pie on the back of a Libby's can of pumpkin. But, before you add the evaporated milk, remove one shot glass worth of it. Then add one shot of Mount Gay (dark) rum. And carry on with making your pie - same cooking time, etc.
Do you think that sounds crazy? It's not - it's wonderful. Your guests will never know there's rum in the pie, but it gives it a depth of flavor that can't be beat. Serve with homemade whipped cream, and enjoy!
Monday, November 16, 2009
The Great Pumpkin, Part 1
First, a question: Is it possible to die of cabin fever?? We had 3 straight days of rain, and now I've had 4 days of sick kids. The result is that I've been stuck in the house even more than usual (since I work from home, I'm already here a LOT), and I am literally about to climb the walls.
Next, the real topic of the day. Pie. Before the boys got sick and I lost 4 days of my life, this was going to be the Thanksgiving Of Two Pies. I've been searching for the perfect apple pie recipe for several years, and I have finally found a couple that look like winners. My plan for this past weekend was to test both of them and settle on one for Thanksgiving, to accompany our traditional pumpkin pie. Alas, it now ain't gonna happen. We shall remain a One Pie Family for yet a while longer. On the upside, I suppose it gives me something to look forward to next year. (See how in the Thanksgiving Spirit I can be?).
Which brings us to pumpkin pie. I am famous for my pumpkin pie. Seriously. Or rather, I am famous for my grandmother's pumpkin pie, as this was originally her recipe. (At first I was honored that she gave it to me and I got to be the Pie Maker, but I've gotten wiser to her tricks and I now realize this was just her way of passing on the dessert responsibilities.) And to make your Thanksgiving that much more fun, I'm now sharing it with you.
Part one: Tonight, after kiddos are in bed and you've started the laundry, make your pie crusts. Yes, make them yourself. They are so, so easy to make, but the trick is to make them ahead of time. Disaster always looms when you haven't given yourself enough time to let them come together in the refrigerator (there is a technical baking term for that, but I can't remember what it is).
Here you go. This recipe is for one pie crust, so double it if you need to.
12 tablespoons very cold butter (I find it handy to dice the butter and then stick it in the freezer while I get everything else ready)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt (Do NOT forget the salt. Last year I was rushing and forgot the salt. Oh what a disaster that was. My poor family was so polite and ate the pie anyway, and didn't say a word, but when I took my bite I just about spit it out across the table. Gross. Let this be a lesson to you. And NO, this is not why I am famous for my pies.)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening (I buy the Crisco sticks, stick them in the freezer with the butter)
6-8 tablespoons ice water (about 1/2 cup)
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water one tablespoon at a time down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Once the dough begins to form a ball, you can stop adding the water. I find that here, where it's so humid, I often only need 5 or 6 tablespoons of water, but if it's drier where you are, you might need all 8. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and quickly pack it into a ball. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, put into a resealable freezer bag, and pop into the freezer until next week.
Part II comes tomorrow...theoretically...
Next, the real topic of the day. Pie. Before the boys got sick and I lost 4 days of my life, this was going to be the Thanksgiving Of Two Pies. I've been searching for the perfect apple pie recipe for several years, and I have finally found a couple that look like winners. My plan for this past weekend was to test both of them and settle on one for Thanksgiving, to accompany our traditional pumpkin pie. Alas, it now ain't gonna happen. We shall remain a One Pie Family for yet a while longer. On the upside, I suppose it gives me something to look forward to next year. (See how in the Thanksgiving Spirit I can be?).
Which brings us to pumpkin pie. I am famous for my pumpkin pie. Seriously. Or rather, I am famous for my grandmother's pumpkin pie, as this was originally her recipe. (At first I was honored that she gave it to me and I got to be the Pie Maker, but I've gotten wiser to her tricks and I now realize this was just her way of passing on the dessert responsibilities.) And to make your Thanksgiving that much more fun, I'm now sharing it with you.
Part one: Tonight, after kiddos are in bed and you've started the laundry, make your pie crusts. Yes, make them yourself. They are so, so easy to make, but the trick is to make them ahead of time. Disaster always looms when you haven't given yourself enough time to let them come together in the refrigerator (there is a technical baking term for that, but I can't remember what it is).
Here you go. This recipe is for one pie crust, so double it if you need to.
12 tablespoons very cold butter (I find it handy to dice the butter and then stick it in the freezer while I get everything else ready)
3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt (Do NOT forget the salt. Last year I was rushing and forgot the salt. Oh what a disaster that was. My poor family was so polite and ate the pie anyway, and didn't say a word, but when I took my bite I just about spit it out across the table. Gross. Let this be a lesson to you. And NO, this is not why I am famous for my pies.)
1 tablespoon sugar
1/3 cup very cold vegetable shortening (I buy the Crisco sticks, stick them in the freezer with the butter)
6-8 tablespoons ice water (about 1/2 cup)
Place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse a few times to mix. Add the butter and shortening. Pulse 8 to 12 times, until the butter is the size of peas. With the machine running, pour the ice water one tablespoon at a time down the feed tube and pulse the machine until the dough begins to form a ball. Once the dough begins to form a ball, you can stop adding the water. I find that here, where it's so humid, I often only need 5 or 6 tablespoons of water, but if it's drier where you are, you might need all 8. Dump the dough out on a well-floured board and quickly pack it into a ball. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, put into a resealable freezer bag, and pop into the freezer until next week.
Part II comes tomorrow...theoretically...
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Shepherding in Fall
Savannah has had a nasty bout of cold and rainy weather (though luckily for us, it never lasts. This weekend looks to be sunny and in the 70s - woo-hoo!). We were in the mood for something new and cozy, so, totally seduced by his show on this a few weeks ago, I tried Alton Brown's Shepherd's Pie. If you have meat and potato lovers in your house, this is the recipe for you. But caution: this is not a good weeknight recipe. The recipe says 45 minutes to prep but it took me well over an hour to get it all together. Yes, much of that was because of little rugrats and their distressingly-easy-to-break-if-you-step-on-them toys that were underfoot, but still. This would be better to make on a Sunday afternoon, giving you the leftovers either for Monday lunch or dinner. That said, it was absolutely delicious and definitely a keeper. The original recipe with my notes follows.
Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (Whoa. Let's stop right there. Yukon gold potatoes make much, much better mashed potatoes - and potato salad - for that matter. I used 4 large ones.)
1/4 cup half-and-half (Clearly I am not a stickler for following someone else's directions, because I substituted this as well. I did 1/4 cup skim milk.)
2 ounces unsalted butter (This, according to my kitchen scale, is just shy of 4 tablespoons.)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
For the meat filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil (Again with the substitutions. I used olive oil.)
1 cup chopped onion (I used one medium-sized Vidalia onion.)
2 carrots, peeled and diced small (I love carrots in stews and soups, so I actually doubled this to 4 carrots.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb (Sigh. Can't I do ANYTHING right? I'm beginning to think I didn't actually follow his recipe at all. Funny how I do all these things as I go along, and it's not until I start to write it all down that I realize how many liberties I took. But, our grocery store did not have ground lamb, so I substituted a combo of ground beef and ground pork. It was absolutely wonderful, but I would like to try it with lamb at some point. I supposed without lamb it's not even technically Shepherd's Pie, but Cowboy Pie or Pig Farmer Pie doesn't have the same ring to it...)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves (No more fresh herbs in the garden, so I just substituted 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary.)
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves (See above, here I did 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas
Directions
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. (Alton doesn't say anything about salting your water, but salt it just like you would if you were cooking pasta.) Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. (I skipped that step altogether. I just added them straight to the potatoes and figured they'd warm up enough. I did cut the butter into 4 or 5 pieces so it would melt more easily.) Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Absolutely delicious! And perfect on a chilly and rainy night. Happy eating!
Shepherd's Pie
Ingredients
For the potatoes:
1 1/2 pounds russet potatoes (Whoa. Let's stop right there. Yukon gold potatoes make much, much better mashed potatoes - and potato salad - for that matter. I used 4 large ones.)
1/4 cup half-and-half (Clearly I am not a stickler for following someone else's directions, because I substituted this as well. I did 1/4 cup skim milk.)
2 ounces unsalted butter (This, according to my kitchen scale, is just shy of 4 tablespoons.)
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 egg yolk
For the meat filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil (Again with the substitutions. I used olive oil.)
1 cup chopped onion (I used one medium-sized Vidalia onion.)
2 carrots, peeled and diced small (I love carrots in stews and soups, so I actually doubled this to 4 carrots.)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 pounds ground lamb (Sigh. Can't I do ANYTHING right? I'm beginning to think I didn't actually follow his recipe at all. Funny how I do all these things as I go along, and it's not until I start to write it all down that I realize how many liberties I took. But, our grocery store did not have ground lamb, so I substituted a combo of ground beef and ground pork. It was absolutely wonderful, but I would like to try it with lamb at some point. I supposed without lamb it's not even technically Shepherd's Pie, but Cowboy Pie or Pig Farmer Pie doesn't have the same ring to it...)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons tomato paste
1 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 teaspoons freshly chopped rosemary leaves (No more fresh herbs in the garden, so I just substituted 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary.)
1 teaspoon freshly chopped thyme leaves (See above, here I did 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme.)
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/2 cup fresh or frozen English peas
Directions
Peel the potatoes and cut into 1/2-inch dice. Place in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water. (Alton doesn't say anything about salting your water, but salt it just like you would if you were cooking pasta.) Set over high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Once boiling, uncover, decrease the heat to maintain a simmer and cook until tender and easily crushed with tongs, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Place the half-and-half and butter into a microwave-safe container and heat in the microwave until warmed through, about 35 seconds. (I skipped that step altogether. I just added them straight to the potatoes and figured they'd warm up enough. I did cut the butter into 4 or 5 pieces so it would melt more easily.) Drain the potatoes in a colander and then return to the saucepan. Mash the potatoes and then add the half and half, butter, salt and pepper and continue to mash until smooth. Stir in the yolk until well combined.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
While the potatoes are cooking, prepare the filling. Place the canola oil into a 12-inch saute pan and set over medium high heat. Once the oil shimmers, add the onion and carrots and saute just until they begin to take on color, approximately 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and stir to combine. Add the lamb, salt and pepper and cook until browned and cooked through, approximately 3 minutes. Sprinkle the meat with the flour and toss to coat, continuing to cook for another minute. Add the tomato paste, chicken broth, Worcestershire, rosemary, thyme, and stir to combine. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer slowly 10 to 12 minutes or until the sauce is thickened slightly.
Add the corn and peas to the lamb mixture and spread evenly into an 11 by 7-inch glass baking dish. Top with the mashed potatoes, starting around the edges to create a seal to prevent the mixture from bubbling up and smooth with a rubber spatula. Place on a parchment lined half sheet pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake for 25 minutes or just until the potatoes begin to brown. Remove to a cooling rack for at least 15 minutes before serving.
Absolutely delicious! And perfect on a chilly and rainy night. Happy eating!
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Stir It Up
Attorney Mom guest blogs today. Happy Veteran's Day, and a special shout out to Hunter Army Base here in Savannah.
***
This blog is fabulous for quick, fresh meals, and every single recipe works, like magic! (Note from Barefoot Savannah: Why, thank you!) I wanted to add one of my "go-to" meals because on the days I get home close to 6 o'clock, this is my lifesaver, and only requires having a fridge and/or freezer full of odds and ends!
Best Stir-Fry Ever:
2 cups basmati rice (rice comes in lots of varieties, but this is my favorite, and does double duty, as you'll see in a bit!)
1/2 cup Coco Lopez coconut milk (this is optional; if you are having a spicy stir-fry, sweet rice can be an excellent counter. If you do use it, just substitute 1/2 cup coconut milk for 1/2 cup of the water you need for your rice)
1 package chicken breasts, chopped into slices
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 cup edamame beans, shelled and defrosted if taken from freezer
1 pepper, your color choice, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
Any other veggie you find in your fridge!
1/2 to 1 cup Hoisin sauce (I've found it! The secret to making your stir fry taste like take-out! Hoisin!)
Olive oil
Cashews
A generous handful candied ginger*, 10-20 pieces, chopped
This whole process should take you about 20 minutes: Start your rice, with all water or the water/coconut juice combo as above. With a little olive oil, start browning your chicken. As the chicken cooks, add hoisin sauce, in an amount per your tastes, with a little water to thin it out. Now, add in your vegetables in order of how crunchy you like them (veggies you like more well done go in first, veggies you like to remain crunch go in last). Continue cooking chicken/veggies until almost done, and then add candied ginger. Once chicken/veggies are completed, add cashews (optional), and serve over rice. Done! Enjoy!
Wait, how does that basmati rice do double duty? Since you made 2 cups of it, you have leftover rice...and tomorrow, you can add curry powder and peas, for a great Indian side dish! (Oh, how I love Indian food. And curry powders come in many varieties, so happy searching for your favorite! Mine is called Maharajah).
*Buy candied ginger in bulk, at whatever store sells spices in plastic bags, rather than jars. It is appalling how much you will pay if you try to buy this at the last minute, at the local grocery store, in the spice section. One does learn the hard way!
***
This blog is fabulous for quick, fresh meals, and every single recipe works, like magic! (Note from Barefoot Savannah: Why, thank you!) I wanted to add one of my "go-to" meals because on the days I get home close to 6 o'clock, this is my lifesaver, and only requires having a fridge and/or freezer full of odds and ends!
Best Stir-Fry Ever:
2 cups basmati rice (rice comes in lots of varieties, but this is my favorite, and does double duty, as you'll see in a bit!)
1/2 cup Coco Lopez coconut milk (this is optional; if you are having a spicy stir-fry, sweet rice can be an excellent counter. If you do use it, just substitute 1/2 cup coconut milk for 1/2 cup of the water you need for your rice)
1 package chicken breasts, chopped into slices
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 cup edamame beans, shelled and defrosted if taken from freezer
1 pepper, your color choice, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
Any other veggie you find in your fridge!
1/2 to 1 cup Hoisin sauce (I've found it! The secret to making your stir fry taste like take-out! Hoisin!)
Olive oil
Cashews
A generous handful candied ginger*, 10-20 pieces, chopped
This whole process should take you about 20 minutes: Start your rice, with all water or the water/coconut juice combo as above. With a little olive oil, start browning your chicken. As the chicken cooks, add hoisin sauce, in an amount per your tastes, with a little water to thin it out. Now, add in your vegetables in order of how crunchy you like them (veggies you like more well done go in first, veggies you like to remain crunch go in last). Continue cooking chicken/veggies until almost done, and then add candied ginger. Once chicken/veggies are completed, add cashews (optional), and serve over rice. Done! Enjoy!
Wait, how does that basmati rice do double duty? Since you made 2 cups of it, you have leftover rice...and tomorrow, you can add curry powder and peas, for a great Indian side dish! (Oh, how I love Indian food. And curry powders come in many varieties, so happy searching for your favorite! Mine is called Maharajah).
*Buy candied ginger in bulk, at whatever store sells spices in plastic bags, rather than jars. It is appalling how much you will pay if you try to buy this at the last minute, at the local grocery store, in the spice section. One does learn the hard way!
Monday, November 9, 2009
Pizza Pizza
Let me begin by saying I am a classic late adopter. I don't have an ipod. I can barely figure out Facebook. I've only sent 3 text messages in my life. My cell phone does not take pictures. So when I find something out there in the world that actually makes my life easier, my first instinct is to jump for joy. And my second is to immediately look around to see if everyone else in the world has already been using it for the past 10 years.
My latest discovery: fresh pizza dough from the grocery store (at our Publix, it's sold in the bakery section). We love pizza. Love it. (Though really, who doesn't?). Every where we have lived we've had a favorite pizza joint and it's always been our traditional Friday night food. I must admit, though, in the 2 years we've been in Savannah we've not found just the right pizza place that has the perfect blend of excellent pizza, convenient location, and good service. So for the past few months I've been making it at home, which is ridiculously fun to do with kids. (Note: I buy 3 or 4 rolls of it at a time and freeze them until needed).
It's harder than you would think to really perfect the pizza technique, which is why I haven't blogged about it until now. At this point, I've got it down to a system. Today's post is less of a recipe and more about pointers that I, ahem, learned the hard way.
1) A pizza stone really does make a difference. I got one at World Market for $12, and pizza on that has a much crisper crust than pizza done on a regular baking sheet. It's worth the money (and, if you're in Savannah, the hassle of going over there and fighting your way through the parking lot from hell).
2) The instructions on the pizza dough say to let it rise on the counter for 30 minutes before rolling out. I've found 1 - 1.5 hours is much better, the dough is much, much easier to handle and roll out if you give it a bit longer. (And before long you'll roll it just a little bit and then start throwing it in the air, much to the amazement of your children. Let me tell you - nothing says Mommy Is A Rock Star like a competent pizza toss).
3) Sprinkle your pizza stone liberally with cornmeal. Not flour. Not just a little cornmeal. Lots and lots of it. This is the only thing that will keep it from sticking.
4) For homemade pizza sauce I do 6oz tomato paste, 4oz water, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Play with the seasonings until it's just right for you. My kids LOVE painting the sauce onto the pizza dough.
5) Top with mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings. (Also a great kid activity)
6) Bake at 425 until the cheese is melted and the crust has cooked (this is about 20 minutes, give or take a few).
Enjoy!
My latest discovery: fresh pizza dough from the grocery store (at our Publix, it's sold in the bakery section). We love pizza. Love it. (Though really, who doesn't?). Every where we have lived we've had a favorite pizza joint and it's always been our traditional Friday night food. I must admit, though, in the 2 years we've been in Savannah we've not found just the right pizza place that has the perfect blend of excellent pizza, convenient location, and good service. So for the past few months I've been making it at home, which is ridiculously fun to do with kids. (Note: I buy 3 or 4 rolls of it at a time and freeze them until needed).
It's harder than you would think to really perfect the pizza technique, which is why I haven't blogged about it until now. At this point, I've got it down to a system. Today's post is less of a recipe and more about pointers that I, ahem, learned the hard way.
1) A pizza stone really does make a difference. I got one at World Market for $12, and pizza on that has a much crisper crust than pizza done on a regular baking sheet. It's worth the money (and, if you're in Savannah, the hassle of going over there and fighting your way through the parking lot from hell).
2) The instructions on the pizza dough say to let it rise on the counter for 30 minutes before rolling out. I've found 1 - 1.5 hours is much better, the dough is much, much easier to handle and roll out if you give it a bit longer. (And before long you'll roll it just a little bit and then start throwing it in the air, much to the amazement of your children. Let me tell you - nothing says Mommy Is A Rock Star like a competent pizza toss).
3) Sprinkle your pizza stone liberally with cornmeal. Not flour. Not just a little cornmeal. Lots and lots of it. This is the only thing that will keep it from sticking.
4) For homemade pizza sauce I do 6oz tomato paste, 4oz water, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning. Play with the seasonings until it's just right for you. My kids LOVE painting the sauce onto the pizza dough.
5) Top with mozzarella cheese and your favorite toppings. (Also a great kid activity)
6) Bake at 425 until the cheese is melted and the crust has cooked (this is about 20 minutes, give or take a few).
Enjoy!
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Happy Birthday Boys!
There's no rest for the weary around here! Most people have a moment to catch their breath between Halloween festivities and gearing up for the Thanksgiving/Christmas rush, but not us. We have one little boy's birthday the first weekend of November and the other little boy's birthday the second week of November, so we've been in serious celebration mode for a while now. It's a bit crazy, but it's fun.
We had a big family dinner this weekend celebrating both birthdays (2 and 5, and could they get any cuter?? NO!). The 5 year old and I made the birthday cake together Saturday morning. His choice this year: pumpkin cake. Mmmmm. (His little brother, when asked his cake preference, answered "Cake." What kind of cake? "Cake." Ok. He's easy to please). This was the first time we tried this recipe, which I tore out of the Everyday Food magazine a couple years ago, and it is the perfect fall birthday cake.
Pumpkin Spice Cake
2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (Note: my friend Lisa, who is an amazing cook, swears by King Arthur flour for all baking. It's now on my grocery list.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
Your favorite frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Sift together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixer, beat together sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin puree. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Divide batter between your prepared cake pans. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pans, then cool on wire racks. Frost them with your frosting of choice, and enjoy!
We served with dulce de leche ice cream...YUM.
Happy Birthday boys - Mommy loves you.
We had a big family dinner this weekend celebrating both birthdays (2 and 5, and could they get any cuter?? NO!). The 5 year old and I made the birthday cake together Saturday morning. His choice this year: pumpkin cake. Mmmmm. (His little brother, when asked his cake preference, answered "Cake." What kind of cake? "Cake." Ok. He's easy to please). This was the first time we tried this recipe, which I tore out of the Everyday Food magazine a couple years ago, and it is the perfect fall birthday cake.
Pumpkin Spice Cake
2 sticks of unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (Note: my friend Lisa, who is an amazing cook, swears by King Arthur flour for all baking. It's now on my grocery list.)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon allspice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
Your favorite frosting
Preheat oven to 350 degrees; grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Sift together flour, spices, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a mixer, beat together sugar and butter until light and creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in pumpkin puree. With mixer on low speed, gradually add flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Divide batter between your prepared cake pans. Bake 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes in pans, then cool on wire racks. Frost them with your frosting of choice, and enjoy!
We served with dulce de leche ice cream...YUM.
Happy Birthday boys - Mommy loves you.
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Ew. For the bunny, not for you. Oh. Whew.
(You will understand the title of this post if you also could recite Sandra Boyton books in your sleep).
We do not eat enough vegetables around here. This is due to two factors. First, although I love to eat salad, I find it so ridiculously tedious to make. You have to do all that the washing, or, if you get the bagged salad, picking through and tossing the nasty bits. Then there's the scraping. And the chopping. And the tossing. And the extra salad bowls to wash. And after all that work, it's not even the main dish, or something you can freeze so you have it on hand later! Grrr - irritating to me. So we do not have a salad with dinner as often as we would like. Actually, this is one of the things DH loves about eating at my parents' house - not only do they always serve salad, but my mom puts things like onion and hearts of palm in her salad, which never make an appearance in any salad of mine.
Which leads us to the other problem with vegetables in our house. DH and I don't like the same ones. Yes, there are the basics that we generally agree on: lettuce, tomatoes, corn, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, and lima beans (with the caveat that they must be perfectly done and salted just right or I will not eat them, whereas DH will eat them cold right out of a can which just about makes me want to vomit). But these start to get a little boring after a while, and we diverge dramatically when it comes to other sections of the veggie aisle. DH will eat a green pepper like it's an apple, whereas I can't even eat one to be polite. I love broccoli, and he will grudgingly take a small bite if it's raw and covered in ranch dressing. He likes squash, I think it tastes like feet.
One of my all time favorites is brussels sprouts. I love them. To me they taste like the essence of how a vegetable should taste: earthy, slightly bitter but not terribly so, hearty enough to stand up to the meat on your plate but not so overwhelming that they take over your whole palate. They just taste green and fresh to me, and I would eat them once a week. Except for the little problem of a husband who not only will not eat them, but hates the smell of them and complains about having to be in the same room as them.
So last night, when DH was working, I made a huge batch of roasted brussels sprouts. I was so, so pleased with myself as I sat there munching on them like they were Halloween candy, until it dawned on me that this is what life has come to: finding happiness in a crunchy, salty brussels sprout.
I really need to get out more.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
1 package of brussels sprouts (approximately 20-25) (I say one package because our grocery stores don't sell them loose - only in those net-like bags. Have not tried frozen brussels sprouts for this)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 400. Wash brussels sprouts and trim bottoms. Cut each one in half. Toss with olive oil and salt, spread on half sheet pan. Roast for 35-40 minutes until brown and crisp. Serve right away.
We do not eat enough vegetables around here. This is due to two factors. First, although I love to eat salad, I find it so ridiculously tedious to make. You have to do all that the washing, or, if you get the bagged salad, picking through and tossing the nasty bits. Then there's the scraping. And the chopping. And the tossing. And the extra salad bowls to wash. And after all that work, it's not even the main dish, or something you can freeze so you have it on hand later! Grrr - irritating to me. So we do not have a salad with dinner as often as we would like. Actually, this is one of the things DH loves about eating at my parents' house - not only do they always serve salad, but my mom puts things like onion and hearts of palm in her salad, which never make an appearance in any salad of mine.
Which leads us to the other problem with vegetables in our house. DH and I don't like the same ones. Yes, there are the basics that we generally agree on: lettuce, tomatoes, corn, peas, green beans, sweet potatoes, and lima beans (with the caveat that they must be perfectly done and salted just right or I will not eat them, whereas DH will eat them cold right out of a can which just about makes me want to vomit). But these start to get a little boring after a while, and we diverge dramatically when it comes to other sections of the veggie aisle. DH will eat a green pepper like it's an apple, whereas I can't even eat one to be polite. I love broccoli, and he will grudgingly take a small bite if it's raw and covered in ranch dressing. He likes squash, I think it tastes like feet.
One of my all time favorites is brussels sprouts. I love them. To me they taste like the essence of how a vegetable should taste: earthy, slightly bitter but not terribly so, hearty enough to stand up to the meat on your plate but not so overwhelming that they take over your whole palate. They just taste green and fresh to me, and I would eat them once a week. Except for the little problem of a husband who not only will not eat them, but hates the smell of them and complains about having to be in the same room as them.
So last night, when DH was working, I made a huge batch of roasted brussels sprouts. I was so, so pleased with myself as I sat there munching on them like they were Halloween candy, until it dawned on me that this is what life has come to: finding happiness in a crunchy, salty brussels sprout.
I really need to get out more.
Roasted Brussels Sprouts
1 package of brussels sprouts (approximately 20-25) (I say one package because our grocery stores don't sell them loose - only in those net-like bags. Have not tried frozen brussels sprouts for this)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon olive oil
Preheat oven to 400. Wash brussels sprouts and trim bottoms. Cut each one in half. Toss with olive oil and salt, spread on half sheet pan. Roast for 35-40 minutes until brown and crisp. Serve right away.
Monday, November 2, 2009
For Better and For Worse
One of the most amazing things to me about having kids is how much better, and how much worse, certain events are with them. I'm talking about things that otherwise barely registered with me in my pre-kid adult life. Two classic examples: Halloween (for better) and Fall Back (for worse).
As an adult, I never really cared one way or the other about Halloween. It was cute to see the kids around the neighborhood, and I sometimes remembered to buy a pumpkin for the front porch. Very occasionally we would go to a costume party and sort of half heartedly dress up in something at the last minute. But for the most part it just didn't really matter all that much. Now that we have kids, though, the whole month is a celebration. Picking out pumpkins, carving with friends, settling on a costume after much agonizing over it, getting boo'd and driving around like maniacs trying to find someone to boo, school parades, trick or treating - it's all so, so much better through the eyes of children, and I love it.
***
Time changes, on the other hand - let me just say I am seriously contemplating a move to that little section of Indiana that doesn't mess with this stupidity. So much worse when you have kids. You have to adjust not just yourself, but your entire household, which is comprised mainly of people who cannot tell time and surely in their short little lives have never managed to just suck it up and push through. In fact, I actually think the fall back change is harder because it's not an extra hour of sleep, it's really just an extra hour of parenting schedule-screwed, cranky and sugar-crashing little children. Thank goodness for Mondays and the retreat of my much quieter office...
***
This Saturday, in what may have been the first of a new annual tradition, we had a bunch of friends over so that we could protein load the kids before embarking on the trick or treating activities. We had macaroni and cheese, ham and cream cheese roll ups, and fruit for the kiddos. For the adults I made a huge batch of lentil and sausage soup and served it with homemade bread. My soup recipe is almost embarrassingly easy, and because it's one of those soups that tastes better the next day I made it Friday afternoon, and then just warmed it up on Saturday. This is adapted from Ina Garten's recipe in her Paris cookbook. Her original version with my notes is below.
Lentil and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 pound French green lentils (Note: My grocery store doesn't carry green lentils, so I just use regular brown ones. Still delicious. Also, because I like to make a huge batch of this soup in order to have enough leftover to freeze, I do 1.5 pounds of lentils.)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
4 cups diced yellow onions (3 large) (I don't do the leeks - below - because I just find leeks way too high maintenance since they can be so sandy. Instead I do 4 large onions. And I try to do the sweet onions (Vidalia if you can find them) rather than just the normal yellow onions)
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (2 leeks)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves (I never have any fresh thyme left from the herb garden by the time it's cool enough to be thinking about making soup, so I just do 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium diced celery (8 stalks)
3 cups medium diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots) (I love carrots in soup, so I actually double this and use 8-10 carrots)
3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock, recipe follows, or canned broth (I keep an extra quart of stock on hand, in case the soup gets too thick since I increase some of ingredients. For reasons I do not understand, I've never had to add more, but you don't want to risk it)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 pound kielbasa, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick (Let's all be honest here - the sausage is the best part! I put in 2 pounds so that no one's bowl lacks for plenty of it.)
2 tablespoons dry red wine or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. (It just occurred to me - perhaps the reason that I never need the extra stock is because I always, always get distracted with another project and soak my lentils much longer than 15 minutes. I've probably gone and halfway cooked them so they don't use up as much of the stock.) Drain. In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Add the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the kielbasa is hot. Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.
I just put leave this simmering on the stove with bowls and spoons for people to help themselves. Entertaining this way truly could not be any easier.
Happy eating!
As an adult, I never really cared one way or the other about Halloween. It was cute to see the kids around the neighborhood, and I sometimes remembered to buy a pumpkin for the front porch. Very occasionally we would go to a costume party and sort of half heartedly dress up in something at the last minute. But for the most part it just didn't really matter all that much. Now that we have kids, though, the whole month is a celebration. Picking out pumpkins, carving with friends, settling on a costume after much agonizing over it, getting boo'd and driving around like maniacs trying to find someone to boo, school parades, trick or treating - it's all so, so much better through the eyes of children, and I love it.
***
Time changes, on the other hand - let me just say I am seriously contemplating a move to that little section of Indiana that doesn't mess with this stupidity. So much worse when you have kids. You have to adjust not just yourself, but your entire household, which is comprised mainly of people who cannot tell time and surely in their short little lives have never managed to just suck it up and push through. In fact, I actually think the fall back change is harder because it's not an extra hour of sleep, it's really just an extra hour of parenting schedule-screwed, cranky and sugar-crashing little children. Thank goodness for Mondays and the retreat of my much quieter office...
***
This Saturday, in what may have been the first of a new annual tradition, we had a bunch of friends over so that we could protein load the kids before embarking on the trick or treating activities. We had macaroni and cheese, ham and cream cheese roll ups, and fruit for the kiddos. For the adults I made a huge batch of lentil and sausage soup and served it with homemade bread. My soup recipe is almost embarrassingly easy, and because it's one of those soups that tastes better the next day I made it Friday afternoon, and then just warmed it up on Saturday. This is adapted from Ina Garten's recipe in her Paris cookbook. Her original version with my notes is below.
Lentil and Sausage Soup
Ingredients
1 pound French green lentils (Note: My grocery store doesn't carry green lentils, so I just use regular brown ones. Still delicious. Also, because I like to make a huge batch of this soup in order to have enough leftover to freeze, I do 1.5 pounds of lentils.)
1/4 cup olive oil, plus extra for serving
4 cups diced yellow onions (3 large) (I don't do the leeks - below - because I just find leeks way too high maintenance since they can be so sandy. Instead I do 4 large onions. And I try to do the sweet onions (Vidalia if you can find them) rather than just the normal yellow onions)
4 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts only (2 leeks)
1 tablespoon minced garlic (2 large cloves)
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves (I never have any fresh thyme left from the herb garden by the time it's cool enough to be thinking about making soup, so I just do 1/2 tablespoon dried thyme)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 cups medium diced celery (8 stalks)
3 cups medium diced carrots (4 to 6 carrots) (I love carrots in soup, so I actually double this and use 8-10 carrots)
3 quarts Homemade Chicken Stock, recipe follows, or canned broth (I keep an extra quart of stock on hand, in case the soup gets too thick since I increase some of ingredients. For reasons I do not understand, I've never had to add more, but you don't want to risk it)
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 pound kielbasa, cut in 1/2 lengthwise and sliced 1/3-inch thick (Let's all be honest here - the sausage is the best part! I put in 2 pounds so that no one's bowl lacks for plenty of it.)
2 tablespoons dry red wine or red wine vinegar
Freshly grated Parmesan, for serving
Directions
In a large bowl, cover the lentils with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. (It just occurred to me - perhaps the reason that I never need the extra stock is because I always, always get distracted with another project and soak my lentils much longer than 15 minutes. I've probably gone and halfway cooked them so they don't use up as much of the stock.) Drain. In a large stockpot over medium heat, heat the olive oil and saute the onions, leeks, garlic, salt, pepper, thyme, and cumin for 20 minutes, or until the vegetables are translucent and tender. Add the celery and carrots and saute for another 10 minutes. Add the chicken stock, tomato paste, and drained lentils, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer uncovered for 1 hour, or until the lentils are cooked through and tender. Check the seasonings. Add the kielbasa and red wine and simmer until the kielbasa is hot. Serve drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with grated Parmesan.
I just put leave this simmering on the stove with bowls and spoons for people to help themselves. Entertaining this way truly could not be any easier.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Go-To Dinner, Part III?
Oh so tired tonight. I've already finished cleaning out the school bags and lunch boxes, I've duly entered all the upcoming events in the family calender, and I've put artwork on the bulletin board and laundry in the washing machine. I still have to ransack the house for a white pillowcase that can be used for an art project at school (seriously, we couldn't get more than 2 days notice for that one?), do some ironing, and make tomorrow's grocery list. This is why I should drink sweet tea at dinner, not wine...
Where was I going with all of this?
Not sure (did I mention I'm a bit tired?). But I did have a recipe I wanted to share. I got this from a friend of a friend years ago (Lissa - are you reading??), and have not made it in ages. I was actually on the phone with my husband this afternoon, telling him he was going to have to stop for something on the way home, when I came across some flounder in the freezer and remembered this recipe. It's ridiculously easy, and since flounder is so nice and thin it thaws quickly - no need to plan ahead for this one. I literally pulled it out of the freezer at 5:15 pm, and we were sitting down to dinner at 6.
Baked Flounder
6 flounder fillets, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup milk
Seasoned bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. Place tinfoil on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Dip flounder in milk, then coat in bread crumbs. Put on cookie sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt and less liberally with pepper (you don't want the fish to bite you back). Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes, then broil for just a couple minutes more to give it a nice brown finish.
I serve this with rice and peas, and my kids LOVE it. Happy eating!
Where was I going with all of this?
Not sure (did I mention I'm a bit tired?). But I did have a recipe I wanted to share. I got this from a friend of a friend years ago (Lissa - are you reading??), and have not made it in ages. I was actually on the phone with my husband this afternoon, telling him he was going to have to stop for something on the way home, when I came across some flounder in the freezer and remembered this recipe. It's ridiculously easy, and since flounder is so nice and thin it thaws quickly - no need to plan ahead for this one. I literally pulled it out of the freezer at 5:15 pm, and we were sitting down to dinner at 6.
Baked Flounder
6 flounder fillets, rinsed and patted dry
1 cup milk
Seasoned bread crumbs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Preheat oven to 350. Place tinfoil on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray. Dip flounder in milk, then coat in bread crumbs. Put on cookie sheet, sprinkle liberally with salt and less liberally with pepper (you don't want the fish to bite you back). Drizzle with butter. Bake at 350 for about 7 minutes, then broil for just a couple minutes more to give it a nice brown finish.
I serve this with rice and peas, and my kids LOVE it. Happy eating!
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
We Go Together
Seriously: is there any better combination than tomato soup and grilled cheese? (Okay, yes, perhaps milk and cookies, but I meant for dinner). Especially on a rainy and dreary day, nothing hits the spot more.
I have been making this recipe for years, and can't remember where it originally came from. It's ridiculously easy, freezes perfectly, and it's so healthy and satisfying. This recipe makes about 8 large servings.
Classic Tomato Soup
4 tablespoons butter (Actually, I think this is too much. I'll decrease it to 2 or 3 tablespoons next time I make it. I think I have that thought every time I make it and then forget to make the note in my recipe file, but I've done it this time.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like Muir Glen brand)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
32 ounces chicken stock (Since this isn't a brothy soup like chicken noodle soup, I don't use my homemade stock for this - I just go with the box of Kitchen Basics.)
2 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (This time I bought imported Italian tomatoes - the Cento brand - just because I happened to see them at the grocery store. They were absolutely delicious, but I didn't notice until I was opening the cans that they were 35 ounces each, not 28 ounces. I used both full cans anyway and the soup turned out great. I did have to add a pinch more salt and pepper.)
In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add onion and salt and pepper, cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Use your immersion blender to puree the soup, making it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer. I actually like mine pretty smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, seriously, go get one. They're $50 for a great Kitchen Aid one at Target and you'll use it all winter long making these super yummy soups. Be careful not to splash yourself though! It's hot!! Taste for seasonings - need more salt and pepper? Add it in. Serve hot. (Note - when I give this to my little boy, I actually mix it with some milk, roughly 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup of soup. It cuts the acidity, making it a more mellow taste, and cools it off for him. He loves it).
I serve with the aforementioned grilled cheese, and tonight I took it a step further. I made croutons out of my leftover homemade bread (cut up remaining bread into chunks, toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, and broil for less time than you think. No kidding - check it every 30 seconds or so). I put the soup in big soup bowls, put a big handful of the croutons on top, and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. OH SO GOOD.
Happy eating!
I have been making this recipe for years, and can't remember where it originally came from. It's ridiculously easy, freezes perfectly, and it's so healthy and satisfying. This recipe makes about 8 large servings.
Classic Tomato Soup
4 tablespoons butter (Actually, I think this is too much. I'll decrease it to 2 or 3 tablespoons next time I make it. I think I have that thought every time I make it and then forget to make the note in my recipe file, but I've done it this time.)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons tomato paste (I like Muir Glen brand)
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
32 ounces chicken stock (Since this isn't a brothy soup like chicken noodle soup, I don't use my homemade stock for this - I just go with the box of Kitchen Basics.)
2 28oz can whole peeled tomatoes in juice (This time I bought imported Italian tomatoes - the Cento brand - just because I happened to see them at the grocery store. They were absolutely delicious, but I didn't notice until I was opening the cans that they were 35 ounces each, not 28 ounces. I used both full cans anyway and the soup turned out great. I did have to add a pinch more salt and pepper.)
In a large dutch oven, melt the butter and add the olive oil. Add onion and salt and pepper, cook for 5-7 minutes. Stir in flour and tomato paste and cook for another minute. Add thyme, broth, and tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer covered for 30 minutes. Use your immersion blender to puree the soup, making it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer. I actually like mine pretty smooth. If you don't have an immersion blender, seriously, go get one. They're $50 for a great Kitchen Aid one at Target and you'll use it all winter long making these super yummy soups. Be careful not to splash yourself though! It's hot!! Taste for seasonings - need more salt and pepper? Add it in. Serve hot. (Note - when I give this to my little boy, I actually mix it with some milk, roughly 1/4 cup milk and 1/2 cup of soup. It cuts the acidity, making it a more mellow taste, and cools it off for him. He loves it).
I serve with the aforementioned grilled cheese, and tonight I took it a step further. I made croutons out of my leftover homemade bread (cut up remaining bread into chunks, toss with about a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of kosher salt, and broil for less time than you think. No kidding - check it every 30 seconds or so). I put the soup in big soup bowls, put a big handful of the croutons on top, and sprinkled with freshly grated Parmesan cheese. OH SO GOOD.
Happy eating!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
You Really Don't Knead It
Do you ever buy things you don't need, just because they're on sale? This used to be a terrible habit of mine with clothes - I'd have a closet full of things that were such a good buy that I couldn't pass them up, but then none of them could actually be wrestled into a coordinated outfit. For better or for worse, having children has cured me of this, since I no longer have time to wander into stores just to see what's on sale. But I seem to have transferred the bad habit to my grocery shopping. Last week our grocery store had bone-in chuck roast on sale, and for some insane reason, I thought that seemed like a great thing to buy. Only $1.99/lb! So let's get a 5.5 lb one!
Dumb.
First of all, the damn thing was so big it wouldn't fit in my dutch oven. Instead, I had to use my roasting pan. And my attempt to brown it first was a disaster. I heated the roasting pan on the stove top and got the bottom half nice and brown...and then it was too heavy to pick up with tongs, so I couldn't flip it. Then trying to cook it in the oven and use tin foil as a lid...ugh. Let's just say it wasn't one of my better dinner results. When I pulled it out and took the tin foil off, my husband took one look at it and said, "It looks like roadkill." Thanks, dear. Unfortunately, he was right.
So, note to self. Just because it's on sale doesn't make it a good buy.
***
On the bright side, I finally got motivated to try baking bread at home. And it was, in word, Fabulous. You may have seen the recipes floating around from the New York Times several years ago about a bread-making technique that doesn't require any kneading. I've been wanting to try it forever, and just never got around to it. Thanks to a post on a Wall Street Journal website about how easy it really is, I finally got motivated and tried it this weekend. Here's the original New York Times article, which has an accompanying recipe. I used the recipe that was posted on the WSJ website, which follows with my notes (it's slightly different from the NYT recipe, but not much different). In baking, I think there are few recipes that are truly fool proof, because it requires so much precision. But based on my own oversights and omissions while making this bread, and the fantastic results we still got, this one truly is foolproof.
Juggle Bread (so-named by the WSJ author because making this bread fits so nicely into her daily juggle)
2.5 cups white bread flour
0.5 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. Kosher salt
1/4 t. instant yeast (Um, confession here. I don't know the difference between instant yeast and regular yeast. Which means when I read the recipe I didn't pick up the fact that it called for "instant" and I just jotted down "yeast" on my grocery list. I got regular yeast and didn't realize my mistake until I got home. Oops. But it still turned out fine.)
1 and 1/3 cup cold water (I actually used hot tap water, because I was worried that my regular yeast wouldn't activate with cold water.)
Mix dry ingredients with a fork.
Add water and stir vigorously until all flour is incorporated; alternatively, knead with hands for about 30 seconds.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter for 18 - 24 hours. (I did roughly 24 hours.)
Cut a square of parchment paper and lay it on the counter top. Cover the top of the dough with bread flour and, using one hand, pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it into a smooth ball. Place the ball, seam-side-down, onto the parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise 1.5 to 2 hours, no more. (Oops again. Missed that "no more" part when I read the recipe and I think I let mine rise about 3 hours because I got distracted with other things.)
Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven at 450 degrees for 1/2 hour. (My Le Creuset Dutch oven may seriously be the best thing I've ever gotten for my kitchen. I cook with it all the time. If you don't have one, put it on your Christmas list today. Or just go get one - as my grandmother would say, You Deserve.) (And by the way, oops AGAIN. I totally skipped this step. Seriously, I am not usually this flaky when cooking, but it was a really, really busy weekend. After rereading the NYT article, I realize that had I not skipped this step my bread would have had an even chewier crust, so I'll be sure to do it next time.)
Lift parchment paper by ends and place in hot Dutch oven. (At this point I brushed some olive oil on the top of my dough and give it a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt.)
Cover. Bake for 1/2 hour. Remove lid. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until a golden crust is formed. Immediately remove bread from pan, discard parchment, and allow to cool on a rack.
Enjoy!
Despite my inability to follow such simple instructions, this bread was absolutely wonderful. Totally made up for the roadkill pot roast. Happy eating!
Dumb.
First of all, the damn thing was so big it wouldn't fit in my dutch oven. Instead, I had to use my roasting pan. And my attempt to brown it first was a disaster. I heated the roasting pan on the stove top and got the bottom half nice and brown...and then it was too heavy to pick up with tongs, so I couldn't flip it. Then trying to cook it in the oven and use tin foil as a lid...ugh. Let's just say it wasn't one of my better dinner results. When I pulled it out and took the tin foil off, my husband took one look at it and said, "It looks like roadkill." Thanks, dear. Unfortunately, he was right.
So, note to self. Just because it's on sale doesn't make it a good buy.
***
On the bright side, I finally got motivated to try baking bread at home. And it was, in word, Fabulous. You may have seen the recipes floating around from the New York Times several years ago about a bread-making technique that doesn't require any kneading. I've been wanting to try it forever, and just never got around to it. Thanks to a post on a Wall Street Journal website about how easy it really is, I finally got motivated and tried it this weekend. Here's the original New York Times article, which has an accompanying recipe. I used the recipe that was posted on the WSJ website, which follows with my notes (it's slightly different from the NYT recipe, but not much different). In baking, I think there are few recipes that are truly fool proof, because it requires so much precision. But based on my own oversights and omissions while making this bread, and the fantastic results we still got, this one truly is foolproof.
Juggle Bread (so-named by the WSJ author because making this bread fits so nicely into her daily juggle)
2.5 cups white bread flour
0.5 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. Kosher salt
1/4 t. instant yeast (Um, confession here. I don't know the difference between instant yeast and regular yeast. Which means when I read the recipe I didn't pick up the fact that it called for "instant" and I just jotted down "yeast" on my grocery list. I got regular yeast and didn't realize my mistake until I got home. Oops. But it still turned out fine.)
1 and 1/3 cup cold water (I actually used hot tap water, because I was worried that my regular yeast wouldn't activate with cold water.)
Mix dry ingredients with a fork.
Add water and stir vigorously until all flour is incorporated; alternatively, knead with hands for about 30 seconds.
Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and leave on the kitchen counter for 18 - 24 hours. (I did roughly 24 hours.)
Cut a square of parchment paper and lay it on the counter top. Cover the top of the dough with bread flour and, using one hand, pull the dough away from the sides of the bowl, gathering it into a smooth ball. Place the ball, seam-side-down, onto the parchment paper. Cover loosely with plastic wrap. Allow to rise 1.5 to 2 hours, no more. (Oops again. Missed that "no more" part when I read the recipe and I think I let mine rise about 3 hours because I got distracted with other things.)
Meanwhile, heat a Dutch oven at 450 degrees for 1/2 hour. (My Le Creuset Dutch oven may seriously be the best thing I've ever gotten for my kitchen. I cook with it all the time. If you don't have one, put it on your Christmas list today. Or just go get one - as my grandmother would say, You Deserve.) (And by the way, oops AGAIN. I totally skipped this step. Seriously, I am not usually this flaky when cooking, but it was a really, really busy weekend. After rereading the NYT article, I realize that had I not skipped this step my bread would have had an even chewier crust, so I'll be sure to do it next time.)
Lift parchment paper by ends and place in hot Dutch oven. (At this point I brushed some olive oil on the top of my dough and give it a liberal sprinkling of kosher salt.)
Cover. Bake for 1/2 hour. Remove lid. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more, until a golden crust is formed. Immediately remove bread from pan, discard parchment, and allow to cool on a rack.
Enjoy!
Despite my inability to follow such simple instructions, this bread was absolutely wonderful. Totally made up for the roadkill pot roast. Happy eating!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
For You, Pumpkin
Last weekend completely got away from me. Between my husband working all weekend and a sick dog, I was officially in survival mode. (Actually, I'm not sure we've ever left survival mode since entering it with the birth of our first son, but some days/weekends/weeks/months are easier than others. Last weekend was not one of them.)
But this weekend is looking up. We have soccer games, pumpkin carving parties, food festivals downtown, a birthday party, a BABYSITTER, and other general merriment. Squeezed in to all that fun will, without a doubt, be some time for making pumpkin bread.
Even if I had managed to make this last weekend I would have been late. This recipe makes 2 loaves, so my usual tradition is to make the full recipe every Sunday in October. We eat one loaf during the week, and I freeze the other ("during the week," is, of course, a euphemism for "on Sunday afternoon and finish it off by Monday morning"). By the time November rolls around I have enough in the freezer to pull out one each week and hold us for another month. It's a true family favorite. In fact, it's such a family favorite that last Thanksgiving, when my husband's family came to stay with us, we literally went through a loaf of this each day. (One of my favorite memories from last year: my brother-in-law agonizing over whether to take the last slice, and the great look of relief on his face when I told him there were 3 more loaves in the freezer). It's great all by itself, but the boys and I also like it with cream cheese for breakfast.
Pumpkin Bread
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of no-sugar added applesauce
4 eggs
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
3 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and applesauce in a large bowl. Add eggs and pumpkin and whisk well. In a separate bowl, stir together hot water and baking soda until baking soda is dissolved. (Note: I have no idea why, and yet I follow this instruction faithfully year after year simply because my recipe tells me to. Where is Alton Brown when I need him?) Add to the pumpkin mixture. Add flour and spices and mix well. Pour into two greased and floured 5x9 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. Cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack. Particularly good when still warm with a cold glass of milk.
Happy eating!
But this weekend is looking up. We have soccer games, pumpkin carving parties, food festivals downtown, a birthday party, a BABYSITTER, and other general merriment. Squeezed in to all that fun will, without a doubt, be some time for making pumpkin bread.
Even if I had managed to make this last weekend I would have been late. This recipe makes 2 loaves, so my usual tradition is to make the full recipe every Sunday in October. We eat one loaf during the week, and I freeze the other ("during the week," is, of course, a euphemism for "on Sunday afternoon and finish it off by Monday morning"). By the time November rolls around I have enough in the freezer to pull out one each week and hold us for another month. It's a true family favorite. In fact, it's such a family favorite that last Thanksgiving, when my husband's family came to stay with us, we literally went through a loaf of this each day. (One of my favorite memories from last year: my brother-in-law agonizing over whether to take the last slice, and the great look of relief on his face when I told him there were 3 more loaves in the freezer). It's great all by itself, but the boys and I also like it with cream cheese for breakfast.
Pumpkin Bread
3 cups of sugar
1 cup of no-sugar added applesauce
4 eggs
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin
3 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine sugar and applesauce in a large bowl. Add eggs and pumpkin and whisk well. In a separate bowl, stir together hot water and baking soda until baking soda is dissolved. (Note: I have no idea why, and yet I follow this instruction faithfully year after year simply because my recipe tells me to. Where is Alton Brown when I need him?) Add to the pumpkin mixture. Add flour and spices and mix well. Pour into two greased and floured 5x9 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour or until done. Cool in the loaf pans for 10 minutes and then cool completely on a wire rack. Particularly good when still warm with a cold glass of milk.
Happy eating!
Monday, October 19, 2009
Recipe Redone
If you have been following me from the start (or maybe if you found me later but went back and read all my posts), you may remember that my tried and true go-to meal is my mother-in-law's pork chops and rice recipe. I wrote about it for my very first blog post, here. We love this recipe, and I always, always have the ingredients on hand (pork chops in the freezer; tomatoes, rice, and onion in the pantry; spices in the cupboard). Except, apparently, when I don't.
Last week was just insane. We had been traveling and work was unusually busy for me. Either one of those things are enough to throw off our daily juggle, but the two combined was just about enough to send me over the edge. And this is why I have a go-to meal in the first place - so that when I hardly have a minute to think, at least I don't have to think about dinner.
But of course, somehow I had no pork chops in the freezer. Grrr! That never happens to me. I am usually downright religious about restocking them when I use them, so I was literally throwing things around the freezer drawers and muttering to myself when I came across a bunch of frozen chicken thighs. Ding ding ding! Idea! Could I substitute the pork chops for chicken thighs?
Yes, I can!
It came out perfectly. I didn't change a thing other than that one substitution, and it was so good that I'm not sure which way I like it more. Here's the recipe, copied from my first blog post and updated to include the chicken instead of the pork.
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (note: if you have these in your freezer and they are wrapped in the butcher paper from your market, do not assume that all things in your freezer wrapped in butcher paper are chicken thighs. I suggest you actually label them. Otherwise, you might accidentally defrost shrimp shells that you were saving to make seafood stock. Oops)
1 large sweet onion (suggest vidalia if you can get them), diced
1 cup long grain rice (don't go all healthy on us and try to substitute brown rice; won't work)
28 0z can Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes
28 0z can Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2/3 cup water
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Brown both sides quickly over high heat, set in the bottom of large casserole dish. Sprinkle onion over chicken. (Is your family weird about texture like mine sometimes is? If so, leave out the onion and it will still be yummy.) Measure rice into measuring cup, add salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir to mix the spices together with the rice, and pour over chicken. Pour both cans of tomatoes over chicken and rice. Pour in water. Cook uncovered at 350 for 1 hour, 45 minutes. Dinner is ready when all the liquid is absorbed, rice is cooked and tomatoes have reduced down.
Happy eating!
Last week was just insane. We had been traveling and work was unusually busy for me. Either one of those things are enough to throw off our daily juggle, but the two combined was just about enough to send me over the edge. And this is why I have a go-to meal in the first place - so that when I hardly have a minute to think, at least I don't have to think about dinner.
But of course, somehow I had no pork chops in the freezer. Grrr! That never happens to me. I am usually downright religious about restocking them when I use them, so I was literally throwing things around the freezer drawers and muttering to myself when I came across a bunch of frozen chicken thighs. Ding ding ding! Idea! Could I substitute the pork chops for chicken thighs?
Yes, I can!
It came out perfectly. I didn't change a thing other than that one substitution, and it was so good that I'm not sure which way I like it more. Here's the recipe, copied from my first blog post and updated to include the chicken instead of the pork.
10 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (note: if you have these in your freezer and they are wrapped in the butcher paper from your market, do not assume that all things in your freezer wrapped in butcher paper are chicken thighs. I suggest you actually label them. Otherwise, you might accidentally defrost shrimp shells that you were saving to make seafood stock. Oops)
1 large sweet onion (suggest vidalia if you can get them), diced
1 cup long grain rice (don't go all healthy on us and try to substitute brown rice; won't work)
28 0z can Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes
28 0z can Muir Glen organic crushed tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
2/3 cup water
Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Brown both sides quickly over high heat, set in the bottom of large casserole dish. Sprinkle onion over chicken. (Is your family weird about texture like mine sometimes is? If so, leave out the onion and it will still be yummy.) Measure rice into measuring cup, add salt, chili powder, and garlic powder. Stir to mix the spices together with the rice, and pour over chicken. Pour both cans of tomatoes over chicken and rice. Pour in water. Cook uncovered at 350 for 1 hour, 45 minutes. Dinner is ready when all the liquid is absorbed, rice is cooked and tomatoes have reduced down.
Happy eating!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Chill Chasers
What a glorious fall weekend in Savannah - crisp and cool during the day, chilly at night. Love it. After I saw the weather forecast I had grand plans of taking advantage of nap times this weekend to make chicken stock and pumpkin bread. Instead, I spent it scrubbing floors due to a sick dog and rewashing and refolding three, yes, three, baskets of clothes that were already clean until they were christened by a vengeful cat (apparently, shutting him in the laundry room with the aforementioned dog did not please His Highness). Awesome. Can't think of anything I'd rather do on a sunny, 65 degree day.
Despite all that fun, I did manage to make a huge pot of butternut squash soup. And all I have to say is: Yay for me. We spent late afternoon/early evening today out on the soccer fields and playground, and didn't come home until it was downright chilly outside (ok, around here that means it was high 50's, but we were all seriously shivering). Walking into the house to the smell of soup on the stove that just had to be reheated for a minute and served with quick grilled cheese sandwiches...such a treat.
I love, love, love this recipe. It's quintessential fall to me, with the squash and apples, and for those of you who are planning ahead for the holidays, it's perfect for Thanksgiving. I've already popped half the batch into the freezer to serve at lunchtime on Thanksgiving day, since we always do the Big Meal in the evening. (Atlanta Mom likes to make a batch to have with turkey sandwich leftovers the next day.) But be forewarned: it's time consuming to make and my kids, who are generally great eaters, don't like it - probably because it's a bit on the spicy side. That said, it really is worth trying.
Ina Garten's Butternut Squash Soup:
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples) (Note: I can never find big McIntosh apples, so I find I need about 7 of the little ones)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice
Directions
Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.
Peel the squash (note: for some reason, butternut squash leaves some kind of weird residue on my hands that I can't easily wash off. I have taken to wearing latex gloves when I peel the squash. I know - that sounds like the kind of instruction that would promptly make me abandon the recipe altogether, but don't let it scare you off! If you don't have a little box of latex gloves around the house, you should. You'll be surprised at just how handy they are. Why, I went through about 10 of them just this weekend because the dog...never mind), cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.
Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. (I don't know Ina has against an immersion blender, because all her recipes call for this method when there's a soup to smoothed out. Just use your immersion blender here and you don't have to get your food processor dirty. If you don't have an immersion blender, put it on your Christmas list! Best kitchen tool ever. Seriously.)
Pour the soup back into the pot (or, if you have very cleverly used your immersion blender, just leave it there where it belongs).
Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.
Happy eating!
Despite all that fun, I did manage to make a huge pot of butternut squash soup. And all I have to say is: Yay for me. We spent late afternoon/early evening today out on the soccer fields and playground, and didn't come home until it was downright chilly outside (ok, around here that means it was high 50's, but we were all seriously shivering). Walking into the house to the smell of soup on the stove that just had to be reheated for a minute and served with quick grilled cheese sandwiches...such a treat.
I love, love, love this recipe. It's quintessential fall to me, with the squash and apples, and for those of you who are planning ahead for the holidays, it's perfect for Thanksgiving. I've already popped half the batch into the freezer to serve at lunchtime on Thanksgiving day, since we always do the Big Meal in the evening. (Atlanta Mom likes to make a batch to have with turkey sandwich leftovers the next day.) But be forewarned: it's time consuming to make and my kids, who are generally great eaters, don't like it - probably because it's a bit on the spicy side. That said, it really is worth trying.
Ina Garten's Butternut Squash Soup:
Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 cups chopped yellow onions (3 large)
2 tablespoons mild curry powder
5 pounds butternut squash (2 large)
1 1/2 pounds sweet apples, such as McIntosh (4 apples) (Note: I can never find big McIntosh apples, so I find I need about 7 of the little ones)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 cups water
2 cups good apple cider or juice
Directions
Warm the butter, olive oil, onions, and curry powder in a large stockpot uncovered over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until the onions are tender. Stir occasionally, scraping the bottom of the pot.
Peel the squash (note: for some reason, butternut squash leaves some kind of weird residue on my hands that I can't easily wash off. I have taken to wearing latex gloves when I peel the squash. I know - that sounds like the kind of instruction that would promptly make me abandon the recipe altogether, but don't let it scare you off! If you don't have a little box of latex gloves around the house, you should. You'll be surprised at just how handy they are. Why, I went through about 10 of them just this weekend because the dog...never mind), cut in half, and remove the seeds. Cut the squash into chunks. Peel, quarter, and core the apples. Cut into chunks.
Add the squash, apples, salt, pepper, and 2 cups of water to the pot. Bring to a boil, cover, and cook over low heat for 30 to 40 minutes, until the squash and apples are very soft. Process the soup through a food mill fitted with a large blade, or puree it coarsely in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade. (I don't know Ina has against an immersion blender, because all her recipes call for this method when there's a soup to smoothed out. Just use your immersion blender here and you don't have to get your food processor dirty. If you don't have an immersion blender, put it on your Christmas list! Best kitchen tool ever. Seriously.)
Pour the soup back into the pot (or, if you have very cleverly used your immersion blender, just leave it there where it belongs).
Add the apple cider or juice and enough water to make the soup the consistency you like; it should be slightly sweet and quite thick. Check the salt and pepper and serve hot.
Happy eating!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Oops!
The temperature for roasting chicken from Wednesday's post (For Kids or Adults?) should be 350, not 425!
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Easy, Easy, Yum
First: What exactly is candy corn? Mine says it is "Made With Real Honey!", but all I can figure is that it's some kind of chewable wax. And yet I can't stay away from it - some idiot put it in a big bowl at the bottom of the stairs, which I must pass 30 times each day, and I can't stop myself from grabbing a few pieces every time I go buy. Arg!
Next: a guest blog from Attorney Mom. It's a good thing I have friends, or I would have no blog these days since life is so crazy...notes in bold are my editorial commentary.
***
Here is what I call a one-pot wonder of a meal: it's easy, delicious, and the clean-up is so fast we make it out the door in time for an after-dinner walk!
Dinner for 2.5 (2 adults, plus toddler):
One fresh Italian sausage, about 1/2 pound (now, what makes this super delish is that the sausage is from our local Fresh Market, and it's spicy, organic and stuffed full of good flavors, including fennel. It's totally worth the trip) (If you live in a real city, you may have a Fresh Market just down the road that you can pop into frequently. Sadly, where we live, it's so far away that yes, we actually have to consider whether it's "worth the trip.")
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 red or orange pepper, sliced
1 jar tomato sauce (I prefer Paul Newman's brand, any flavor)
Penne, or any pasta shape that your toddler will try
Chicken stock, about 3/4 cup (I like the Kitchen Basics brand)
Start pasta water boiling. Slice sausage, and start sauteeing in chicken stock, about 5 minutes, adding additional stock as necessary. Cover briefly. I like my veggies crunchy, so when the sausage looks about done, I thrown in the broccoli, mushrooms, and pepper, and saute another few minutes. Once sausage and veggies look done, I add tomato sauce to heat. Pasta should be done by now, so drain (do not rinse), and add to the tomato sauce mixture. Voila! A glass of wine and some fruit completes dinner for us (and, happily, if darling toddler tries everything on her plate, we get dessert too!).
Enjoy!
Next: a guest blog from Attorney Mom. It's a good thing I have friends, or I would have no blog these days since life is so crazy...notes in bold are my editorial commentary.
***
Here is what I call a one-pot wonder of a meal: it's easy, delicious, and the clean-up is so fast we make it out the door in time for an after-dinner walk!
Dinner for 2.5 (2 adults, plus toddler):
One fresh Italian sausage, about 1/2 pound (now, what makes this super delish is that the sausage is from our local Fresh Market, and it's spicy, organic and stuffed full of good flavors, including fennel. It's totally worth the trip) (If you live in a real city, you may have a Fresh Market just down the road that you can pop into frequently. Sadly, where we live, it's so far away that yes, we actually have to consider whether it's "worth the trip.")
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 head broccoli, chopped
1 red or orange pepper, sliced
1 jar tomato sauce (I prefer Paul Newman's brand, any flavor)
Penne, or any pasta shape that your toddler will try
Chicken stock, about 3/4 cup (I like the Kitchen Basics brand)
Start pasta water boiling. Slice sausage, and start sauteeing in chicken stock, about 5 minutes, adding additional stock as necessary. Cover briefly. I like my veggies crunchy, so when the sausage looks about done, I thrown in the broccoli, mushrooms, and pepper, and saute another few minutes. Once sausage and veggies look done, I add tomato sauce to heat. Pasta should be done by now, so drain (do not rinse), and add to the tomato sauce mixture. Voila! A glass of wine and some fruit completes dinner for us (and, happily, if darling toddler tries everything on her plate, we get dessert too!).
Enjoy!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
For Kids or Adults?
A guest blog from Atlanta Mom today. I'll confess I haven't tried this recipe yet because SHE JUST SENT IT DESPITE ME ASKING FOR IT FOR WEEKS AND WEEKS (ahem), but it's definitely going on next week's menu plans. Mmmm
***
Today is my high school BFF’s birthday. We have known each other since we were four, and though we don’t get to see each other very often, we don’t skip a beat when we are together, and it’s so fun to watch our children becoming friends. It seems appropriate to post a recipe that she passed on to me today, one that is very often requested by her 3rd grade daughter. I was hoping to have similar results in my family, but it was my husband who loved it the most! Regardless of who likes this dish, it is very kid-friendly and quick to prepare.
Poppy-Seed Chicken
1 package of fried rice flavor Rice-a-Roni
3 to 4 cups shredded cooked chicken (she uses a rotisserie but you can also use Ina Garten’s roasted chicken breasts*)
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 can Healthy Requests cream of chicken soup
36 buttery crackers (Club crackers work best, and I used the reduced fat kind)
½ stick butter, melted
1 T. poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 375. Cook rice according to directions. Spoon rice into bottom of 11 x 7 baking dish (2 qt). Combine chicken, sour cream, and soup in a medium bowl, then spoon evenly over rice. In the same bowl, combine crushed crackers, butter, and poppy seeds. Bake 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and browned.
*Bonus recipe for Ina’s roasted chicken breasts: Using bone-in chicken breasts with skin on, brush with EVOO and sprinkle with generous amounts of kosher salt and pepper. Roast on a cookie sheet/half-sheet pan in 350 deg. oven for 35-40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, pull chicken from bone, and either shred it by hand or chop it. Super moist and delicious—perfect for casseroles! I usually roast 3 at a time.
***
Today is my high school BFF’s birthday. We have known each other since we were four, and though we don’t get to see each other very often, we don’t skip a beat when we are together, and it’s so fun to watch our children becoming friends. It seems appropriate to post a recipe that she passed on to me today, one that is very often requested by her 3rd grade daughter. I was hoping to have similar results in my family, but it was my husband who loved it the most! Regardless of who likes this dish, it is very kid-friendly and quick to prepare.
Poppy-Seed Chicken
1 package of fried rice flavor Rice-a-Roni
3 to 4 cups shredded cooked chicken (she uses a rotisserie but you can also use Ina Garten’s roasted chicken breasts*)
1 cup low-fat sour cream
1 can Healthy Requests cream of chicken soup
36 buttery crackers (Club crackers work best, and I used the reduced fat kind)
½ stick butter, melted
1 T. poppy seeds
Preheat oven to 375. Cook rice according to directions. Spoon rice into bottom of 11 x 7 baking dish (2 qt). Combine chicken, sour cream, and soup in a medium bowl, then spoon evenly over rice. In the same bowl, combine crushed crackers, butter, and poppy seeds. Bake 25-30 minutes, until bubbling and browned.
*Bonus recipe for Ina’s roasted chicken breasts: Using bone-in chicken breasts with skin on, brush with EVOO and sprinkle with generous amounts of kosher salt and pepper. Roast on a cookie sheet/half-sheet pan in 350 deg. oven for 35-40 minutes. When cool enough to handle, pull chicken from bone, and either shred it by hand or chop it. Super moist and delicious—perfect for casseroles! I usually roast 3 at a time.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Sock it to Me
Whew!
We are home from an absolutely fabulous long weekend trip with our almost-five-year-old for his fall break. It is just amazing how airplanes, taxi rides, subways, and sleeping in a hotel can be so thrilling for a little boy. I swear he could have skipped the museums and just used public transportation all weekend and he would have been delighted. What fun to see these things through the eyes of a little one...
I am always truly astounded, though, at how hard it is to eat healthy when traveling. Hats off to folks who travel for work frequently and manage to do it...
Since we just got back, I've not cooked a meal, gone to the grocery store, or done any meal planning in several days. But I do have one dinner idea to share:
You may remember last month I was making Ina Garten's spaghetti and meatballs (heaven in a dutch oven) and doubled the sauce recipe & popped the extra in the freezer. Hello!! Genius!! Wednesday afternoons are soccer practice for us, and I like to do a baked pasta dish that night, because I can put it in the oven before we go, and then walk in the house and supper is ready for us. Last Wednesday I took spinach and mozzarella ravioli (from Costco, in the frozen section - if you have a Costco in your town and are not getting this ravioli on a regular basis, honey, you are missing out!), dumped it into one of my pyrex baking dishes, topped it with the homemade marina sauce, sprinkled with a generous handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese, covered with a lid, and baked at 350 for 50 minutes (remember, "delay start" on your oven is truly your BFF).
Oh. My. Goodness. So delicious. The sauce, since it was made with the brown bits of the meatballs, had a wonderful meaty taste to it and was perfect with the spinach in the ravioli. And bonus points: with the tomatoes in the sauce and the spinach in the ravioli, no separate vegetable needed to be prepared. A true one pot meal and will be making the regular rotation.
Happy eating!
We are home from an absolutely fabulous long weekend trip with our almost-five-year-old for his fall break. It is just amazing how airplanes, taxi rides, subways, and sleeping in a hotel can be so thrilling for a little boy. I swear he could have skipped the museums and just used public transportation all weekend and he would have been delighted. What fun to see these things through the eyes of a little one...
I am always truly astounded, though, at how hard it is to eat healthy when traveling. Hats off to folks who travel for work frequently and manage to do it...
Since we just got back, I've not cooked a meal, gone to the grocery store, or done any meal planning in several days. But I do have one dinner idea to share:
You may remember last month I was making Ina Garten's spaghetti and meatballs (heaven in a dutch oven) and doubled the sauce recipe & popped the extra in the freezer. Hello!! Genius!! Wednesday afternoons are soccer practice for us, and I like to do a baked pasta dish that night, because I can put it in the oven before we go, and then walk in the house and supper is ready for us. Last Wednesday I took spinach and mozzarella ravioli (from Costco, in the frozen section - if you have a Costco in your town and are not getting this ravioli on a regular basis, honey, you are missing out!), dumped it into one of my pyrex baking dishes, topped it with the homemade marina sauce, sprinkled with a generous handful of freshly grated parmesan cheese, covered with a lid, and baked at 350 for 50 minutes (remember, "delay start" on your oven is truly your BFF).
Oh. My. Goodness. So delicious. The sauce, since it was made with the brown bits of the meatballs, had a wonderful meaty taste to it and was perfect with the spinach in the ravioli. And bonus points: with the tomatoes in the sauce and the spinach in the ravioli, no separate vegetable needed to be prepared. A true one pot meal and will be making the regular rotation.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Chock Full of Chips
A quick follow-up today:
I posted a recipe a few weeks ago for the best ever buttermilk pancakes. These are fabulous all on their own. But if you're looking for a special dinner for two little boys who were very, very brave when getting their flu shots, make these with a big handful of mini-chocolate chips. Just stir the chocolate chips right into the batter, and cook on the griddle as you normally would. All will soon be right with the world.
I posted a recipe a few weeks ago for the best ever buttermilk pancakes. These are fabulous all on their own. But if you're looking for a special dinner for two little boys who were very, very brave when getting their flu shots, make these with a big handful of mini-chocolate chips. Just stir the chocolate chips right into the batter, and cook on the griddle as you normally would. All will soon be right with the world.
Monday, October 5, 2009
To Be, Or Not To Be (Fall)
Savannah weather just cannot make up its mind. This weekend was a beautiful fall weekend, cool overnight but warm and sunny during the day. Gorgeous. But now they're saying we'll see 90 degrees again by the end of this week - Arg! So much for pot roasts; we'll be breaking out the popsicles and pasta salads.
I did take advantage of the cooler weather this weekend to make one of our all time favorites for dinner Sunday night - roasted chicken and wild rice soup. I've been making this recipe for years and years and everyone loves it, including my 4 year old who has been known to literally lick the bowl. (Hmmm...that may be more of a statement on his table manners than the fabulousness of this soup, but I'll take what I can get). This recipe makes about 8 generous servings, and freezes beautifully.
Roasted Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
1 6oz box of long grain & wild rice (I like Uncle Ben's)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4-6 carrots, peeled and diced
4-6 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 80z package of mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 cups of chicken broth
1 12oz can fat-free evaporated milk
Shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken - use all the chicken you can get off the poor sucker
Prepare rice according to package directions, set aside. Heat oil in large dutch oven. Saute onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and mushrooms over medium heat until they are tender, about 15 minutes. Add flour, salt, and pepper, stir well. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring the whole time. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add Worcestershire sauce and evaporated milk, stir well, cover, and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add chicken, cover, and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Add rice, and continue to simmer covered for another 10 minutes. Soooo good.
Happy eating!
I did take advantage of the cooler weather this weekend to make one of our all time favorites for dinner Sunday night - roasted chicken and wild rice soup. I've been making this recipe for years and years and everyone loves it, including my 4 year old who has been known to literally lick the bowl. (Hmmm...that may be more of a statement on his table manners than the fabulousness of this soup, but I'll take what I can get). This recipe makes about 8 generous servings, and freezes beautifully.
Roasted Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
1 6oz box of long grain & wild rice (I like Uncle Ben's)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, diced
4-6 carrots, peeled and diced
4-6 celery stalks, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 80z package of mushrooms, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
4 cups of chicken broth
1 12oz can fat-free evaporated milk
Shredded meat from a rotisserie chicken - use all the chicken you can get off the poor sucker
Prepare rice according to package directions, set aside. Heat oil in large dutch oven. Saute onion, carrots, celery, garlic, and mushrooms over medium heat until they are tender, about 15 minutes. Add flour, salt, and pepper, stir well. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring the whole time. Add chicken broth, bring to a boil, and then reduce heat to a simmer. Add Worcestershire sauce and evaporated milk, stir well, cover, and let simmer for about 20 minutes. Add chicken, cover, and let simmer for another 20 minutes. Add rice, and continue to simmer covered for another 10 minutes. Soooo good.
Happy eating!
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
So Nice, We Ate it Twice
As my family knows, I have a general prohibition on leftovers for dinner. I don't mind eating leftovers for lunch, but there's just something about the same dinner two nights in a row that I find hard to swallow. (HA! Pun totally intended!). That said, I have discovered the most perfect meal ever to make on a Sunday afternoon. It takes hardly any prep-time, it cooks itself while you're out doing whatever it is you do in the late Sunday afternoons, it's made all in one roasting pan so very little to clean up, and it gives you such delicious and plentiful leftovers that even I am willing to serve it again on Monday. Not to mention the huge added benefit of no cooking on Monday, which is such a relief on that crazy busy day.
The wonder-child of Sunday meals? Drum roll please...
Roasted chicken and vegetables.
Oh dear, were you expecting something sexier? Yes, perhaps I built it up too much. But really, isn't it true that the very best recipes are classics for a reason? And here's what makes it so fabulous - you roast the veggies right there in the pan with the chicken.
Now, this may be old news to you, because I've seen recipes for this floating around for ages. But I never tried it because I was concerned the veggies would end up too greasy. Let me tell you - they do not. They come out just right - flavored with the chicken drippings, but still crisp and earthy. Oh so good. And the key is to roast 2 chickens at once, which gives you plenty of leftovers.
(By the way, have you noticed I haven't been posting as much? You have? Oh, that's sweet. Sorry. Work has been insanely busy and I've been having to work every night after kiddos go to bed instead of playing on my blog.)
Roasted Chicken with Vegetables
2 whole chickens, between 3 and 4 pounds each, rinsed and patted dry
1 sweet yellow onion
1 head of garlic
1 lemon
Salt
Pepper
2 tablespoons butter, melted
Fresh herbs if you still have them, or your favorite spice rub if you do not (my herbs, after a summer of love, finally gave up on me this past week and wilted beyond my ability to resuscitate them. I'm going to blame it on the cold weather and not the complete and total neglect they've been subjected to since work got so crazy)
3 sweet potatoes, cut into large chunks
6 medium red potatoes, cut into thirds
6-8 carrots, peeled and cut into thirds
Olive oil
Preheat oven to 425. In the roasting pan: toss sweet potatoes, red potatoes, and carrots with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of salt, and a teaspoon of pepper. Arrange on bottom of roasting pan. If you have not filled up your roasting pan, add more veggies - remember the point is to have lots of leftovers. Place roasting rack over veggies.
Prep the chicken: stuff each one with half an onion, half a lemon, and half of the head of garlic (if you have fresh herbs like rosemary or thyme throw some in as well). Tie the legs together, tuck the wings behind, and place on roasting rack. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and your spice rub (if not using fresh herbs). Roast at 425 for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, cover with foil, and let rest for 10 minutes. Carve one chicken and serve with half the veggies. Save the other chicken and the remaining veggies for the next night.
Happy eating!
Saturday, September 26, 2009
Life's Great Questions
Sometimes, on a rainy weekend afternoon, I sit and ponder Life's Great Questions. For me, these include such important matters as:
Why won't my toddler nap?
Where did the Tar Heels' offense go?
Will I ever master the art of washing, drying, folding and putting away clothes all in the same day?
And most importantly:
What's for dinner?
Answers to the first three seem to elude me. But here's an excellent answer to the last: Ina Garten's pot roast. This is the perfect meal to make on a Sunday afternoon so that it can feed you Monday evening as well. Recipe follows, with my notes included.
Ingredients
1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Good olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks) (Note: Leeks are so high maintenance with all that bothersome sand embedded in them. I substitute an extra onion)
5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy (Confession: I only use 1.5 cups of wine, because I want enough left to drink!)
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 branches fresh thyme
2 branches fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.
Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. (This is where Ina and I part ways. I actually use my immersion blender to blend for just a minute. So much easier than putting part of the sauce in the blender!) Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings.
On Sunday night, serve the roast sliced with sauce spooned over it, with a side of crusty bread and a salad. After dinner that night, take a few minutes to cut the remainder of the roast into bite sized pieces, save the remaining sauce in a separate container, and make a pot of brown rice. Throw it all in the fridge. Then on Monday, warm up the roast and sauce on the stove, heat up the rice in the microwave, and serve the roast and sauce over the rice. Dinner ready in less than 10 minutes!
Happy eating!
Why won't my toddler nap?
Where did the Tar Heels' offense go?
Will I ever master the art of washing, drying, folding and putting away clothes all in the same day?
And most importantly:
What's for dinner?
Answers to the first three seem to elude me. But here's an excellent answer to the last: Ina Garten's pot roast. This is the perfect meal to make on a Sunday afternoon so that it can feed you Monday evening as well. Recipe follows, with my notes included.
Ingredients
1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Good olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks) (Note: Leeks are so high maintenance with all that bothersome sand embedded in them. I substitute an extra onion)
5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy (Confession: I only use 1.5 cups of wine, because I want enough left to drink!)
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 branches fresh thyme
2 branches fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.
Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.
Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. (This is where Ina and I part ways. I actually use my immersion blender to blend for just a minute. So much easier than putting part of the sauce in the blender!) Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings.
On Sunday night, serve the roast sliced with sauce spooned over it, with a side of crusty bread and a salad. After dinner that night, take a few minutes to cut the remainder of the roast into bite sized pieces, save the remaining sauce in a separate container, and make a pot of brown rice. Throw it all in the fridge. Then on Monday, warm up the roast and sauce on the stove, heat up the rice in the microwave, and serve the roast and sauce over the rice. Dinner ready in less than 10 minutes!
Happy eating!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
The Distillery
Do you ever have a complete and total lack of creativity? I obviously do, because I couldn't think of anything clever for today's blog title. But I know someone who doesn't: my friend Leigh, one of my college roommates, and one of the most creative, loving, and life-embracing people I know. She's the real creator of this blog (and I mean that literally - she actually set it up for me) and truly an inspiration. She's also celebrating a birthday, so this shoutout is for her - Happy Birthday Leigh!
***
Now, for today's restaurant review, a joint effort by Attorney Mom and me:
(Me): Talk about a tall order. Attorney Mom and I, along with our husbands, had tickets to see Seinfeld perform the other night, and we were looking for a place to have a quick bite to eat before the show. Savannah, while lovely in oh-so-many other ways, is not exactly known for its speed (there's a reason the whole "slow cook" food movement is so popular here; unfortunately Savannah's interpretation extends to "slow service"), thus we were a bit concerned about whether we could find a real restaurant that could deliver. But we did. The Distillery was exactly the right place - great casual atmosphere, good pub-style food, and excellent service, despite the fact that every living soul in Savannah apparently had the same idea we did.
(Attorney Mom): The name of the restaurant is The Distillery, but it's a bit of a misnomer, as its raison d'etre is to be a hand-crafted beer parlor (beer is brewed, not distilled...right?) Further proof that its soul is beer? I had a pour of the house chardonnay, and it was, to be gentle, not lovingly selected by a kind nose. The husbands had beer, and if that's your thing, get thee there pronto, as the beer went down well and the selection is fabulous.
And the food? I had a burger that was really delicious- the beef was very satisfying, as were the side fries that accompanied it. To me, there is nothing better than a crisp fry, and the overall crisp to soggy ratio was about 80/20, which is quite excellent, in the big scheme of eating fries all over town. My DH had the club sandwich, and as he similarly has sampled club sandwiches all over town, he deemed this one to be Most Impressive. The meat was handcut at the restaurant, and thus the sandwich went from tired cold cuts to a much more exciting bite.
(Me): I agree with Attorney Mom about the wine (though mine was a pinot grigio). On the upside, it was served nicely chilled. Nothing worse than warm, weak wine (shudder). I had the fish and chips, which was perfect. Tasty pieces of cod lightly battered and fried, and seasoned just right. Served the with aforementioned fries with a nice, light tartar sauce for dipping. Our server was friendly and efficient, quite a feat considering the packed crowds. My DH also had the burger and pronounced it "very good."
Overall, we give it 4 stars. (Out of how many? I don't know. We didn't actually set a system) Just the right place for a casual, quick downtown dinner.
Happy eating!
***
Now, for today's restaurant review, a joint effort by Attorney Mom and me:
(Me): Talk about a tall order. Attorney Mom and I, along with our husbands, had tickets to see Seinfeld perform the other night, and we were looking for a place to have a quick bite to eat before the show. Savannah, while lovely in oh-so-many other ways, is not exactly known for its speed (there's a reason the whole "slow cook" food movement is so popular here; unfortunately Savannah's interpretation extends to "slow service"), thus we were a bit concerned about whether we could find a real restaurant that could deliver. But we did. The Distillery was exactly the right place - great casual atmosphere, good pub-style food, and excellent service, despite the fact that every living soul in Savannah apparently had the same idea we did.
(Attorney Mom): The name of the restaurant is The Distillery, but it's a bit of a misnomer, as its raison d'etre is to be a hand-crafted beer parlor (beer is brewed, not distilled...right?) Further proof that its soul is beer? I had a pour of the house chardonnay, and it was, to be gentle, not lovingly selected by a kind nose. The husbands had beer, and if that's your thing, get thee there pronto, as the beer went down well and the selection is fabulous.
And the food? I had a burger that was really delicious- the beef was very satisfying, as were the side fries that accompanied it. To me, there is nothing better than a crisp fry, and the overall crisp to soggy ratio was about 80/20, which is quite excellent, in the big scheme of eating fries all over town. My DH had the club sandwich, and as he similarly has sampled club sandwiches all over town, he deemed this one to be Most Impressive. The meat was handcut at the restaurant, and thus the sandwich went from tired cold cuts to a much more exciting bite.
(Me): I agree with Attorney Mom about the wine (though mine was a pinot grigio). On the upside, it was served nicely chilled. Nothing worse than warm, weak wine (shudder). I had the fish and chips, which was perfect. Tasty pieces of cod lightly battered and fried, and seasoned just right. Served the with aforementioned fries with a nice, light tartar sauce for dipping. Our server was friendly and efficient, quite a feat considering the packed crowds. My DH also had the burger and pronounced it "very good."
Overall, we give it 4 stars. (Out of how many? I don't know. We didn't actually set a system) Just the right place for a casual, quick downtown dinner.
Happy eating!
Sunday, September 20, 2009
A Menu for You
First, a request: I am in search of a really good banana bread recipe. I have one that is perfectly fine, and we all eat way too much of it, but it's not a wow-this-is-the-best-ever recipe. If you have one, please post it! Note: those recipes that include coconut, walnuts, or raisins need not apply. We go through bananas like crazy around here, but at least once each week I don't time the supply quite right, and I have 2 or 3 overripe ones that could be put to better use.
No recipes to share tonight (Because I am sitting on the couch. Which is here. And my recipe book is on the shelf. Which is there. And do you think I have the energy, after a weekend of parenting two crazy boys, to move from here to there and back to here? No.) Instead, I'm posting this week's menus, recipes to follow later in the week!
Monday: Pot roast. Yes, it's still too damn hot outside for this recipe. But I have all the ingredients, it gets me two nights worth of meals, it tends to itself while we are running around like the overscheduled maniacs we are, and we all love it.
Tuesday: Pan fried flounder, peas, rice.
Wednesday: DH working, leftover pot roast for the rest of us.
Thursday: Baked tortellini. And some sort of vegetable. If inspiration hits by then.
Friday: Homemade pizza.
Happy eating!
No recipes to share tonight (Because I am sitting on the couch. Which is here. And my recipe book is on the shelf. Which is there. And do you think I have the energy, after a weekend of parenting two crazy boys, to move from here to there and back to here? No.) Instead, I'm posting this week's menus, recipes to follow later in the week!
Monday: Pot roast. Yes, it's still too damn hot outside for this recipe. But I have all the ingredients, it gets me two nights worth of meals, it tends to itself while we are running around like the overscheduled maniacs we are, and we all love it.
Tuesday: Pan fried flounder, peas, rice.
Wednesday: DH working, leftover pot roast for the rest of us.
Thursday: Baked tortellini. And some sort of vegetable. If inspiration hits by then.
Friday: Homemade pizza.
Happy eating!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Celebrate Good Times
Guest blog from Atlanta Mom today, with a restaurant review from her fair city! All I have to say is she'd better take me here next time I visit. Have a great weekend!
***
My husband and I have a lot to celebrate every fall. His birthday is in mid-August and our anniversary is September 2, followed by my birthday a week later. Every year I say that we should reverse our birthdays because by the time we get around to mine, we are often tired of babysitters and over-priced restaurants. This year his birthday was muddied more than usual by the back to school rush; he was traveling in Europe on our anniversary; and we had a school commitment the night of my birthday. So…we finally went out to celebrate all 3 events last Saturday night. And my sister babysat for free, which was an extra bonus (because it is so depressing to splurge on a nice dinner only to come home and hand someone at least $50 more). Anyway, I thought it would be appropriate to review this Atlanta restaurant because it was FABULOUS!
We went to Joël Brasserie (pronounced like Joelle, not like Billy Joel) in the Borghese development on Northside Drive. It used to be a super-fancy restaurant, but they recently closed for renovations, reopening as an upscale bistro. Neither of us had ever been, and what a treat it was!
My husband was not particularly adventurous (or apparently hungry), and he ordered, per his mom’s suggestion as she had recently been for lunch, the lobster cobb salad. Lobster upsets my stomach, so I didn’t taste it, but he said it was yummy. I, however, started with the heirloom tomatoes served with greens, cider dressing, and a sprinkle of fleur de sel—absolutely delicious. Is there anything better than good tomatoes? I don’t think so. For dinner, I ordered, by recommendation of our very capable server, the scallops (the sea bass was also tempting). They were beautifully seared, served over perfectly cooked zucchini risotto (I wouldn’t have known the zucchini was there if it weren’t listed in the menu description), and topped with a rich, very flavorful, chicken broth. The delicious aroma from the dish was just a prelude to how amazing it was. I’m not sure I could go there again and order something else—it was that good. With it, I had a generous glass of an Italian pinot grigio.
We ordered the dessert special to follow our entrees—a blackberry and apple crumble topped with lemon ice cream—a delightfully light way to end a fantastic meal. We topped off the night with a quick run to the bookstore before returning home to relieve our most affordable babysitter. We were very pleased with our yearly 3-fold celebration!
***
My husband and I have a lot to celebrate every fall. His birthday is in mid-August and our anniversary is September 2, followed by my birthday a week later. Every year I say that we should reverse our birthdays because by the time we get around to mine, we are often tired of babysitters and over-priced restaurants. This year his birthday was muddied more than usual by the back to school rush; he was traveling in Europe on our anniversary; and we had a school commitment the night of my birthday. So…we finally went out to celebrate all 3 events last Saturday night. And my sister babysat for free, which was an extra bonus (because it is so depressing to splurge on a nice dinner only to come home and hand someone at least $50 more). Anyway, I thought it would be appropriate to review this Atlanta restaurant because it was FABULOUS!
We went to Joël Brasserie (pronounced like Joelle, not like Billy Joel) in the Borghese development on Northside Drive. It used to be a super-fancy restaurant, but they recently closed for renovations, reopening as an upscale bistro. Neither of us had ever been, and what a treat it was!
My husband was not particularly adventurous (or apparently hungry), and he ordered, per his mom’s suggestion as she had recently been for lunch, the lobster cobb salad. Lobster upsets my stomach, so I didn’t taste it, but he said it was yummy. I, however, started with the heirloom tomatoes served with greens, cider dressing, and a sprinkle of fleur de sel—absolutely delicious. Is there anything better than good tomatoes? I don’t think so. For dinner, I ordered, by recommendation of our very capable server, the scallops (the sea bass was also tempting). They were beautifully seared, served over perfectly cooked zucchini risotto (I wouldn’t have known the zucchini was there if it weren’t listed in the menu description), and topped with a rich, very flavorful, chicken broth. The delicious aroma from the dish was just a prelude to how amazing it was. I’m not sure I could go there again and order something else—it was that good. With it, I had a generous glass of an Italian pinot grigio.
We ordered the dessert special to follow our entrees—a blackberry and apple crumble topped with lemon ice cream—a delightfully light way to end a fantastic meal. We topped off the night with a quick run to the bookstore before returning home to relieve our most affordable babysitter. We were very pleased with our yearly 3-fold celebration!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)