Experiments with Food

Mom's Pecan Pie

2011-11-30T14:40:00.001-06:00

I don't really like nuts. I never have. My husband doesn't like them either which just kind of vindicated me. I've already adapted quite a few recipes to exclude them...banana nut bread becomes banana bread, cranberry nut muffins becomes cranberry muffin, etc. So why, you ask, would I even try making pecan pie? I don't know; it seemed like a good idea at the time.

My Mom has a really good recipe for pecan pie. Ironically she doesn't eat pecan pie either (although she does like nuts in general). Everyone she makes it for just raves over it though. I made it a while ago and I managed to mess it up. I misread her recipe. Well, that's not 100% accurate (and Tyler would be hugely offended if I wasn't accurate). This is actually what happened. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup butter but in parentheses it said 1 stick. I glossed over the 1/4 cup and just went with the 1 stick. After I had mixed everything up, I occurred to me that the average stick of butter is 1/2 cup and not 1/4 cup. I came up with 2 possible options for the discrepancy. Either my Mom put the wrong measurement down or she buys half sticks. While the pie was already in the oven, I called my Mom to see which it was (because I could do absolutely nothing about it then anyway). Unfortunately, it was the second option. So I stared at the pie and let it bake an extra 15 minutes and it turned out great! Really though, can you go wrong with too much butter in a dessert? So here is the adapted recipe.

Mom's Pecan Pie
with an accidental adaptation by Erin

4 beaten eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
1/2 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 1/2 cup pecans
pinch of salt

Mix eggs, sugar, syrup, flour, and salt. Add melted butter. Stir in pecans and pour into an unbaked pie crust. Bake at 350 degrees for approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes (start checking on it at 1 hour).

The final product: sweet, buttery and delicious. As this was my first taste of pecan pie, I don't have anything to compare it to but I thought it was ooey, gooey and wonderful. I took it to a potluck dinner and it got rave reviews from all the pecan pie connoisseurs there. And look how pretty it is! I'm a sucker for pretty and sweet so I'll probably make this frequently.

Elias' Birthday Cupcakes

2011-11-29T14:44:00.003-06:00

It's a month and a half later and I'm finally posting about Elias' birthday cupcakes. Some might say that I should just have forgotten about them but they were so good that I can't.

I'll be honest...I don't really like cake. It's usually dry and covered in overly sweet frosting. I'd much prefer something ooey and gooey. I wanted to keep with tradition for Elias' birthday though. How can you not have cake on your first birthday?!! So I went in search of something yummy to make for him. I hit a spot of inspiration when I saw apple cake. Elias loves apples!! Although the apple cake I've had before was also dry and a bit lack luster in flavor as well. I decided to combine a couple different recipes I found to see if I could solve the too dry/too mellow problem of apple cake.

Double Apple Cupcakes

3/4 cup sugar
6 Tbsp butter
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup applesauce, unsweetened (1 jar of baby food works perfect for this)
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp cloves
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 apple, finely diced

Preheat oven to 325 degrees and prepare a muffin tin with paper liners.
Beat the sugar and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat to combine. Add applesauce and combine well. Set aside.
In a separate bowl add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices and whisk together.
Add half of the flour mixture to the batter and then add half of the buttermilk (or soured milk: stir together 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/2 cup regular milk and let sit for 5 minutes). Combine completely and repeat.
Add apple chunks and scoop batter into liners until they are each 2/3 full. Bake them for 22-25 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Makes 12 cupcakes.

This most certainly goes best with a cinnamon buttercream frosting. Here's my own recipe for that as well.

Cinnamon Buttercream

2 sticks butter, salted, room temperature
4 cups powdered sugar
3 Tbsp heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon

Beat butter with mixer until fluffy
Add powdered sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until completely mixed.
Add cream and mix well. (Add a splash of milk if needed to reach desired consistency).
Mix in vanilla and cinnamon until completely combined.

Makes enough to frost 24 cupcakes.

The final product: Elias certainly liked it. Granted he's one and that was his first taste of cake. I really liked it as well (as did the rest of the guests). The cake had good apple flavor (from the diced apples) and wasn't dry at all (from the applesauce). The frosting was really divine as well. The combination was all around good and is certainly something I'll pull out each fall when apples are especially delicious. It's a super simple recipe but add a drizzle of caramel sauce or a cute caramel candy and this is ready for even the swankiest party or dessert shop display case. Try it!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie

2011-11-20T20:38:00.002-06:00

Chocolate chip cookies are classic. Everybody loves them. How can you go wrong putting all that yummy goodness in pie form? You can't, that's how.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie
From HowSweetEats

2 whole eggs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
1 cup chocolate chips
1 whole unbaked pie shell

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, beat eggs until foamy. Beat in flour, sugar, and brown sugar until well blended. Blend in melted butter. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into pie shell and bake for 60 minutes. Serve warm with ice cream.

You'll be pretty excited to know that I've finally found my pie crust recipe. I can credit its origins to Tyler's cousin, Denita (who can credit it to a chef friend). I'm pretty stoked because I've tried quite a few and was getting pretty frustrated. What makes this THE recipe is its forgiving nature. While I still add a bit of liquid compared with the original liquid (and I'm still tweeking a bit), it is still pretty dry. That might sound like a bad thing but in this situation it isn't. It may not be the easiest thing to roll out into a pretty sheet but it pinches back together so well that it doesn't really matter. It's pinchability (yeah, that's not a word) means no more holes and cracks that pull apart when you prebake a crust. Oh and the taste, it's far superior to all the others I've tried. Seriously good and flaky.

Pie Crust

2 cups flour
7 Tbsp shortening, cold
4 Tbsp butter, cold
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 baking powder
1/4 cup milk
10 drops vinegar

Put the flour in a large bowl and cut in the COLD shortening and butter with a pastry blender. It should look like coarse crumbs (a little smaller than pea-sized) when you're down.
Mix in the salt, sugar, and baking powder. Mix in milk and vinegar and form a ball. It should be dry and crumbly. If you absolutely can't get the ball to stay together, add a few more drops vinegar and milk, 1 tsp at a time, until you can just get it to stay together (it normally takes at least 1 or 2 tsp to get the desired consistency).
Roll it out on a well floured surface and transfer to a pie pan. Chill for 15-20 minutes before prebaking or filling (to allow butter and shortening to cool and to help it keep it's shape).

The final product: decadent. I couldn't get this to bake up as much as the original recipe showed (even though I baked it longer than the recipe touts) but it was still SO good. The center was ooey, gooey and oh so chocolaty. This would be wonderful with a scoop of ice cream for sure.

Butternut Squash, Apples and Pasta

2011-11-17T21:36:00.000-06:00

This is another Rachael Ray recipe. I actually pulled it from her 20 make-ahead meal plan and just adapted it a bit to fit my purposes. I looked at the ingredient list and thought, "I love all of those things, but will I love them together?" With all that fall flavor, I thought I should certainly find out.

Pasta with Apple and Squash
adapted from Rachael Ray

3 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded and chopped into 3/4-inch cubes (about 1/2 a large squash)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1 lb pasta (rigatoni, rotini, penne, etc)
8 oz bacon, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 shallots, minced
1 tart apple, sliced
1/2 cup grated parmesan

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Put the chopped squash on a large rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with oil. Add salt and pepper and toss to coat. Spread evenly in the pan and bake for until fork-tender, about 15 minutes.
While the squash is baking, cook pasta al dente. Drain, reserving 1 cup cooking water.
In the same pot, cook bacon until just crisp; transfer to paper towels. Add shallots and apple and cook for 5 minutes. Add pasta, squash, cooking water, bacon and parmesan; season with additional salt and pepper and toss.

Serves 4.
The final product: homey and comforting. I'm a big fan of cooked squash (zucchini is a favorite but butternut is a close second). I'm also a big fan of bacon...and of cooked apples of any sort. Honestly, I'm a big fan of this meal. All of the ingredients, while delicious in and of themselves (except parmesan...it's really not good by itself), are even more delicious paired together. It might sound a little scary (especially if you're Tyler) but it really is good (even Tyler agreed).

MTAL #9

2011-11-16T21:34:00.003-06:00

This is a Rachael Ray recipe that I've adapted to be an Asher-friendly meal. Her original recipe calls for beer to be the braising liquid (which you could still use if you buy wheat-free beer) but I swapped that out because, as I have mentioned before, I'm scared of the liquor section of the grocery store.

Braised Chicken Thighs with veggies
adapted from Rachael Ray

2 Tbsp flour (oat, barley, gluten-free all purpose, etc)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground allspice
8 bone-in chicken thighs (about 3 lbs)
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, half finely chopped and half thinly sliced
1 cup beef broth (Kitchen Basics brand is Asher-safe)
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch matchsticks
1/2 lb green beans, cut into 2-inch pieces

In a small bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and allspice. Coat the chicken in the flour mixture. In a large skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil over medium-high heat. Add the chicken skin side down and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook until browned on the other side, 3 to 5 minutes; transfer to a plate. Discard all but 1 Tbsp fat from the skillet. Add the chopped onion to the skillet and cook until softened, 3 minutes. Stir in the broth, scraping up any browned bits.
Return the chicken to the pan, lower the heat, cover and simmer until cooked through, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a platter; tent with foil. Boil the liquid in the liquid in the skillet for 2 minutes to reduce slightly. Whisk 2 Tbsp oil (or a combination of soy milk and oil whisked together if you have soy milk available).
Meanwhile, in a pot heat the remaining 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat. Add the sliced onion and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the carrots, cover and cook for 5 minutes. Add the green beans and 3 Tbsp water, cover and cook until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Serve the vegetables topped with chicken and sauce.

Serves 4.

The final product: homey and delicious. As Asher-friendly meals go, this is surprisingly close to the real thing, even with all the swap-outs. The sauce, while it originally called for lots of butter, is still quite good. The coating on the chicken is a tad mushier than it's wheat-flour counterparts but is still quite tasty and satisfying. The vegetables are what I really adored with this meal. They are simple but highly addictive. What Asher (and Tyler) didn't finish, I scooped right up and devoured myself. Enjoy!

Ladyfingers

2011-11-15T14:32:00.002-06:00

Ladyfingers sound fancy to me. I had heard of them a time or two before I started making Tyler's tiramisu but had never tried one. Even after using the store bought variety for tiramisu, I still had never eaten one by itself. I thought I should change that.

Ladyfingers
from Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child

1 Tb butter, softened
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, in a shaker or sieve
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 egg yolks
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour (plus more for dusting)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees
Prepare baking sheets: butter lightly, dust with flour and knock off excess flour.
Gradually beat the sugar into the egg yolks, add the vanilla and continue beating for several minutes until the mixture is thick, pale yellow and forms ribbons when the beaters are removed.
Beat the egg whites and salt together in a separate bowl until soft peaks are formed. Sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed.
Scoop 1/4 of the egg whites over the top of the egg yolk mixture. Sift 1/4 of the flour and delicately fold in until partially blended. Repeat 3 more times until all is combined and partially blended. Do not attempt to blend the mixture too thoroughly or you will deflate the batter.
Scoop batter into a pastry bag and squeeze out even lines onto the prepared baking sheets, making finger shapes 4 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide, spaced 1 inch apart. Sprinkle with 1/16-inch layer of powdered sugar.
Bake in preheated oven for about 20 minutes. They should be pale brown under the sugar layer and slightly crusty on the outside. They should be tender but dry on the inside. As soon as they are done, remove from baking sheets with a spatula and cool on wire racks.

Makes 24 to 30 cookies.The final product: light and airy. These look nothing like the foamy things I bought at the store. They are crispy on the outside but still tender on the inside with just a touch of sweetness. These are great dunked in coffee or tea and would be even better sandwiched together with jam or some sort of butter cream.
FYI: They are really great in tiramisu too as they hold their shape slightly better than the store bought variety. This recipe makes just about the perfect amount for one recipe of tiramisu. Break out the pastry bags and give it a try for yourself. It's worth the effort!

Peanut Butter Pie

2011-11-14T14:04:00.003-06:00

I love chocolate and peanut butter. I like pie. Therefore, I should like a peanut butter pie. So should you.

Vintage Peanut Butter Pie
from Tasty Kitchen

1 whole prebaked pie crust
8 oz cream cheese, softened
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup whipping cream
8 oz semi-sweet chocolate
4 Tbsp hot brewed coffee
2 Tbsp heavy cream

Prepare the prebaked pie crust.
Combine the cream cheese, sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla. Beat until smooth and fully incorporated. Whip the whipping cream and fold it into the peanut butter mixture. By adding 1/4 of the whipping cream to begin with, the ingredients will be easier to combine Take care not to deflate the whipping cream. Pour the filling into the cooled pie crust, smooth the top and chill in the fridge for about an hour.
Break up the semi-sweet chocolate and pour in the hot coffee. Let the coffee melt the chocolate before adding the heavy cream. Stir until smooth and pour evenly over the entire pie. Chill the pie for an additional 3 hours. Serve cold.

The peanut butter layer in the pie crust. I used a regular pie crust so that I could practice making pie crust. This would be just as good with a chocolate graham cracker or Oreo crust.
The chocolate layer. It's so pretty and smells delicious!
The final product: decadent and wonderful. As you can see from the picture, it doesn't cut into nice, pretty slices, but it tastes so good that it doesn't matter. I say that even after going to all the effort of making the pie crust too. This pie is really, really good. The peanut butter layer is smooth and delicious (although with peanut butter and cream cheese, how could it not be?) and the top layer adds just enough chocolate to finish it off.

Sloppy Joes, Slop, Sloppy Joes

2011-10-25T15:56:00.006-05:00

What kid doesn't love sloppy joes? I was hoping that Asher would be as enthusiastic about them too.

Sloppy Joes
adapted from The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

1 medium onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 medium green bell pepper, diced
1 1/2 lb ground beef
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
1 cup water
1 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
1/2 tsp salt
pepper

Cook onion, garlic, bell pepper, and ground beef in a large pan over medium-high heat using a wooden spoon to break up the meat. Cook about 5 minutes until meat is no longer pink.
Add the cider vinegar and stir a couple of times. Add the rest of the ingredients. Reduce heat to low and simmer, loosely covered, for about 30 minutes more, stirring occasionally. Serve over rice or allergen-free biscuits (for Asher) or on buns.

The final product: delicious! These are kid and adult friendly. The taste is familiar but also a bit more mature than your average sloppy joe. I might cut the mustard down just a little to please my mustard-hating husband but really it is fairly hidden in amongst the rest of the flavors. The sauce is tangy and complex and overall delicious. This is allergen-free but good enough to be anyone's favorite sloppy joe recipe.

Apple Pie

2011-10-22T15:52:00.004-05:00

Apple pie. It's an American classic. There are a million different recipes so how does one know where to begin? Look at the recipe with the word "Best" in the title. (That actually rarely works but I tried this time anyway.)

Best Apple Pie
from Tasty Kitchen

3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
6 cups Granny Smith apples, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp butter
2 pie crusts
1 tsp cinnamon sugar
milk for brushing

Mix flour, sugars, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Add apples and mix well.
Line you pie pan with one crust. Add all of the covered apples to the pie pan. Pour the remaining dry mix over the apples.
Cut up butter and place around the top of the apples.
Cut vent holes in the remaining pie crust. Place crust over pie and seal the edges. Brush entire crust with milk and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.
Bake at 375 degrees for 45-55 minutes until apples are soft.

With this much cinnamon-sugar and butter, the filling has to be good, right?
This was my very first double crust pie. I used Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust. It actually went fairly well. I forgot to cut the vent holes until after putting the crust on the pie, but it didn't seem too difficult to do that afterward. I had one rouge apple puncture my crust but that also didn't seem that bad.
The finished product: pretty and delicious. The filling is what sets this pie apart. It's soooo good. It might actually be the best (it's definitely the best I've ever had). Try it.

Lime!!

2011-10-07T14:12:00.002-05:00

I love lime. A lot. Especially since I was pregnant with Elias...I craved lime like crazy and it still makes me pretty happy. Enter Key lime pie.

Key Lime Pie
from Better Homes and Gardens

1 baked pie crust
3 eggs
1 14-oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lime juice or bottled Key lime juice
3 Tbsp water
few drops green food coloring (optional)
1 recipe whipped cream

Separate egg yolks from whites; set whites aside for meringue or another use.
For filling, in a medium bowl beat egg yolks with wire whisk or fork. Gradually whisk or stir in sweetened condensed milk; add lime juice, water and food coloring (if desired). Mix well (mixture will thicken).
Spoon thickened filling into pie shell. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour. Cover and chill pie for 3 to 4 hours. Meanwhile prepare whipped cream. Spread over chilled pie and serve.

The finished product: tangy and satisfying. I'm not a huge fan of meringue so I skipped that, but the result was still super delicious. Try it when you're looking for something tropical.

Strawberry Pie

2011-10-06T16:41:00.000-05:00

Strawberry pie. It's so good and another one of Tyler's favorites. I've tried to make it at least a couple of times before. It didn't go well. Alright, it went horribly. I remember an undercooked crust filled with (and somewhat floating in) a runny mess of sweet, red goo. Bleck! This time I tried a Cooks Illustrated recipe and it went much better. I love their recipes because they make it almost fool proof. There might be a few extra steps along the way but those steps always avert a culinary catastrophe. I also tried a different pie crust recipe this time around. So let's get going!!

Pie Crust
from Tasty Kitchen

1/4 cup water
1/2 cup shortening (or butter)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt

Add water and shortening to a small saucepan and heat just until shortening is melted. Set aside.
Put flour and salt into a 9-inch pie pan. With a fork, stir in the water/shortening mixture just until all the flour is moistened.
With your hands, form the dough into a fall and then pat into the bottom and up the sides of the pie plate. Finish the top edge and bake as desired.

I tried another pie crust recipe. I just wanted to check out my options. I also wanted to explore the world of butter pie crusts so I used the butter option instead of shortening. Since this is a prebaked crust, I tried a bunch of tricks to keep it from bubbling and generally turning into mess. All my tricks were found in the same edition of Cooks Illustrated as my filling. I put the shaped pie crust in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes to cool the butter and then stuck it in the freezer for about 10 minutes to set the pie crust's shape. I also tried the pie weights method (actually I used beans because I have a lot of dried beans). It involves lining your pie crust with some greased layers of foil, filling it with 2 cups of pie weights, and baking until 15 minutes before the end of your cook time. At that point you carefully remove you foil and weights and stick it back in to brown up to that pretty golden brown.
On the whole, the pie crust went well. I don't know if all the hoops I jumped through really helped but it made me feel better that I was trying. It also tasted really good. Butter in a crust is just awesome. I noticed that butter tastes better in a crust but shortening gives you that awesome flaky texture.
You might notice the strawberries included in the picture. They are strategically placed to cover up some minor holes. I remembered my last attempt to make strawberry pie where the filling escaped through some holes and partially filled the bottom of the pie pan. Sticky and gross! The strawberries actually did a good job filling the holes and preventing that issue. Yay!

Icebox Strawberry Pie
from Cook's Illustrated

Filling
2 lb frozen strawberries
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp unflavored gelatin
1 cup sugar
pinch salt
1 lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced thin
1 pie shell, baked and cooled

Topping
4 oz cream cheese, softened
3 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup heavy cream

Cook frozen berries in large saucepan over medium-low heat until berries begin to release juice, about 3 minutes. Increase heat to medium high heat and cook, stirring frequently, until thick and jamlike, about 25 minutes (mixture should measure 2 cups).
Combine lemon juice, water and gelatin in small bowl. Let stand until gelatin is softened and mixture has thickened, about 5 minutes. Stir gelatin mixture, sugar and salt into cooked berry mixture and return to simmer, about 2 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes.
Fold fresh berries into filling. Spread evenly in pie shell and refrigerate until set, about 4 hours.
With hand mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth, about 30 seconds. With mixer running, add cream and whip until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes. Serve pie with whipped cream topping.

Notes about the process: cooking the strawberries is messy. I had splatters of strawberry goo all over my kitchen. I'm not sure what to do to prevent this next time around aside from very diligent stirring but even then I'm not sure it's avoidable. Be prepared for some post pie cleanup.
The fresh strawberries being mixed with the cooked berries. So yummy smelling. I'm certain I could have been happy eating this straight.
The finished product: so good!! The filling set up really well but wasn't too hard either. It was sweet and smooth and delicious. What really made the whole thing was the topping that went with it. The cream cheese whipped cream was incredible! Yay for conquering the beast!

Summer of the Pies

2011-09-28T15:06:00.004-05:00

This summer I decided it was time to conquer my fear of pie crust. It has been my nemesis for quite some time. I'm not sure why but every time I've tried to make pie crust, it's resulted in either tears or expletives (or some combination of equally frustration-reliving actions). There have been multiple pie crusts that have just ended up in a ball in the trash.
We were giving Addilyn a lecture about the importance of practicing new skills (riding a bike) to learn how to do something better and it clicked. The only way I was ever going to conquer the pie was to practice...a lot. Since then, I have made 10 pies (counting the one I made today). Here is the first in my series.
The first pie crust recipe I tried was Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust. It's got perfect in the name so that's got to be good, right?

Sylvia's Perfect Pie Crust
tastykitchen.com

1 1/2 cup Crisco
3 cups all purpose flour
1 whole egg
5 Tbsp cold water
1 Tbsp white vinegar
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl, with a pastry cutter, gradually work the Crisco into the flour for about 3 to 4 minutes until it resembles a coarse meal. In a small bowl, beat an egg with a fork and then pour it into the flour/shortening mixture. Add 5 Tbsp of cold water, 1 Tbsp of white vinegar, and 1 tsp of salt. Stir together gently until all of the ingredients are incorporated.
Separate the dough into thirds. Form 3 even sized balls of dough and place each dough into a large freezer bag. Using a rolling pin, slightly flatten each ball of dough (about 1/2 inch thick) to make rolling easier later. Seal the bags and place them in the freezer until you need them. (If you are using them immediately, freeze for 15 to 20 minutes to chill.)
When you are ready to use the dough to make a crust, remove from the freezer and allow to thaw for 15 minutes. On a floured surface roll the dough, starting at the center and working you way out. If the dough is sticking to the countertop use a metal spatula and carefully scrape it up and flip it over and continue rolling until it's about 1/2 inch larger in diameter than your pie pan.
With a spatula, lift the dough carefully form the surface of the counter into the pie pan. Gently press the dough against the corner of the pan. Go around the pie pan pinching and tucking the dough to make a clean edge.

Makes 3 crusts.

The filling I chose for the first pie was inspired from a pie Tyler adored when we lived in Manhattan. He's been asking me to make it since we left but I could never find a recipe. This isn't exactly it but it works just as well.

Easy Peach Cream Pie
tastykitchen.com

1 1/2 lb fresh peaches, peeled and sliced (about 4 peaches)
1 unbaked pie shell
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup all purpose flour
dash salt
1 cup heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

Place peaches in pie shell
Beat eggs slightly in a bowl; blend in sugar, flour and salt.
Stir in cream and vanilla; blend well. Pour over peaches.
Bake at 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until center shakes slightly when moved. Serve warm or for a firmer pie, chill before serving. Refrigerate any leftovers. (It also freezes well.)

As you can tell, my first attempt wasn't gorgeous. I didn't have the cute fluted-edge I would have liked but there wasn't any holes and that was the important part. It baked up really flaky which was nice. It's a really good texture and the extra frozen pie crusts are really nice to have around. As for the filling, it was really, really good. This filling was actually used for pie #1 and #4. It cuts nicer when it's cold but it tastes heavenly when warm. So good.
Two down, eight to go.

Chocolate Mousse

2011-09-16T20:16:00.003-05:00

This is my first recipe from the Julia Child's cookbook that Tyler got me for my birthday. Yay!

Chocolate Mousse
adapted from Mastering the Art of French Cooking

4 egg yolks
3/4 cup sugar (extra fine if available)
1 tsp vanilla
6 oz semisweet baking chocolate
4 Tb strong coffee
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter
4 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 Tb granulated sugar

Beat egg yolks and sugar together until mixture is thick, pale yellow, and falls back upon itself forming a slowly dissolving ribbon. Beat in vanilla. Place the mixing bowl over a pan of not-quite-simmer water and continue beating for 3 to 4 minutes until mixture is foamy and too hot for your finger. Then beat over cold water for 3 to 4 minutes until the mixture is cool.
Melt chocolate with coffee over hot water. Remove from heat and beat in butter a bit at a time, to make a smooth cream. Beat the chocolate into the egg yolks and sugar.
Beat egg whites and salt until soft peak s are formed; sprinkle on the sugar and beat until stiff peaks are formed. Stir one fourth of the egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in the rest.
Pour into serving dish or individual dessert cups. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

The final product: chocolaty and delicious. This so good. It's creamy with just a hint of graininess (which if you don't like, could be fixed by using the extra fine or instant sugar); Tyler and I both love our chocolate dark and grainy so this is perfect. The chocolate is rich and intense. If you are susceptible to caffeine though, use decaf coffee or espresso. And definitely serve this with a healthy scoop of whipped cream. So good!!

Meals that I Like #2

2011-09-13T15:40:00.005-05:00

While this is an Asher-friendly meal (that he likes), this is a meal that I daydream about. Therefore, it gets put in with my meals.

Chicken Marsala
from Cybele Pascal's The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

1/3 cup oat flour
salt and pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 lb thin chicken breast cutlets
1/4 cup diced nitrite-free prosciutto(I just use bacon because I have bacon...lots of bacon)
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1 cup sweet Marsala

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.
Put oat flour on plate and season with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet until really hot. Meanwhile, dredge chicken in flour, shaking off any extra. Put in pan once really hot and cook until golden, a couple of minutes per side. Don't overcrowd the pan; you will probably have to cook in two batches. Transfer to a baking dish and keep warm in oven.
Add mushrooms and prosciutto (bacon) to pan. Reduce heat to medium and cook until mushrooms are softened and meat has crisped up a bit. Add Marsala to pan and deglaze by using a spatula to scrape up any bits that have stuck to the side, stirring to reconstitute them. Reduce liquid at a steady simmer, stirring frequently about 7 minutes until sauce has thickened. Add chicken back to pan and turn in sauce.

Serves 2-4.This is another picture from back in May but, like the cacciatore, it has become a regular in this house.
The final product: incredible! The chicken is good and relatively simple. It's the mushrooms and bacon that I adore beyond reason. They're sweet, rich and highly addictive. It can be served so many ways too. With potatoes, like I've shown, is good or you can use noodles or rice to sop up the extra sauce and be extra happy.

MTAL #8

2011-09-11T14:42:00.004-05:00

It's time. My summer hiatus is over and now it is time to start posting all the things I tried this summer. There's actually quite a bit of ground to cover, including my quest to conquer the pie. We better get started.

Chicken Cacciatore
from Cybele Pascal's Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

3 1/2-4 1/2 lbs chicken pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 tsp poultry seasoning (which I never have so I use thyme instead; Pascal recommends equal parts thyme and sage if you have those)
1/2 cup white wine
4 carrots, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 onion, cut into about 10 wedges
12 mushrooms, cut in half (I use a whole cup)
8 black olives (which I omit)
2 cups red sauce (bought or homemade)
2 cups canned tomatoes
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Wash and pat dry chicken pieces. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil over medium-high heat in oven safe casserole (such equipment would be great but since I don't have that, I use my largest skillet and then the largest baking pan I have). Brown chicken pieces skin side down, about 4 to 5 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/2 the poultry seasoning, reserving the rest for later. Flip chicken and cook the other side until slightly browned. Sprinkle with rest of seasoning. Remove from pan. You may have to cook the chicken in several batches, adding more oil as necessary.
Drain off all but 1 Tbsp oil and pour in the wine. Using a wooden spoon, scrape up browned bits that have stuck to the bottom. Put carrots, onions, and mushrooms (and olives if using) in the pan and stir slightly. If using a separate baking dish, transfer vegetables and sauce to dish. Cover with chicken pieces. Combine the red sauce with canned tomatoes. Spoon over the chicken. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and cover pan or dish.
Cook cover for about 1 1/2 hours. Serve over rice (for Asher) or over hot noodles (such as linguine).

Serves 4-6.

This is actually a picture from clear back in May but as this recipe has become a staple in our household, it remains relevant.
The finished product: delicious! This is actually my second recipe for cacciatore but it's also my favorite. The sauce is good but the vegetables are what really sell it for me. I'm kind of a sucker for cooked carrots. This is great comfort food and yet it's so colorful and pretty that it's great for entertaining too. As I mentioned, it has definitely made its way onto our list of staple family meals.

Extra Chocolate, Please!

2011-05-20T13:43:00.003-05:00

Who can go wrong with three kinds of chocolate in a crisp, dunkable form? No one, that's who.

Triple Chocolate Biscotti
from The Ultimate Cookie Book by Better Homes and Gardens

1/2 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
2 eggs
1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white baking pieces
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate pieces

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a large cookie sheet; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, cocoa, and baking powder. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour, the white baking pieces, and semisweet chocolate pieces.
Divide dough in half. Shape each half of dough into a 9-inch-long loaf. Place loaves on the prepared cookie sheet; flatten each loaf until about 2 inches wide.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool completely on cookie sheet on a wire rack. Reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.
Transfer loaves to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut loaves diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Turn slices over and bake for 7 to 9 minutes more. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.

Makes 25-30 cookies (although the original recipe touts 36).Sadly enough, this is the only picture I have of this recipe. I could make all sorts of excuses about how I was so busy while making these...blah, blah, blah. The funny thing is I had two chances to take pictures because after making Tyler one batch, I made him another not two days later. On a positive note, I made two batches of these because they were that good and that well received by all who tried them. Just to warn you: they can be a bit difficult to slice. I lost quite a bit of cookie in the slicing process. I think I may have only had 1 or 2 completely perfect slices from each batch. But you can use the extra crumbles as an incredible, chocolaty, crunchy ice cream topper, so I think that redeems them. Basically, as long as you aren't trying to sell these, they'll be super yummy and well worth the effort.

MTAL #7

2011-05-17T10:17:00.004-05:00

We found another winner! It came more from desperation at having nothing to eat than from real inspiration. I was putting off my monthly shopping trip one more day and started scrounging in the pantry for just one more meal.

Fried Polenta

Make some polenta according to package directions. Pour into a greased loaf pan or narrow container. Let cool completely in refrigerator.
Remove polenta from container and slice into 1/2-inch slices. Fry up some bacon in a skillet. Fry polenta slices in the bacon grease (supplemented with canola oil as needed) until crispy and golden brown.
Serve with maple syrup, jelly, or honey (or whatever else might float your boat).

The final product: really good. It reminded me of something my grandmother used to make me when I was growing up: fried mush. I have since found out that it is essentially the same thing (fried mush uses ground corn meal with a bit of sugar added and cooked in much the same fashion). I thought her's was different because it was white but I have since seen white corn meal at Target so that explains that. Asher adored this even without the syrup and the rest of us really liked it too. It's simple and delicious and a very good Asher-friendly substitute for pancakes.

Meals that I Like

2011-05-14T14:59:00.002-05:00

I am slowly finding plenty of meals that Asher likes. This is a meal that he tolerated but that I ADORED. Tyler wasn't so much on board (although when I suggested making it for company, he didn't object so he doesn't hate it) but I truly loved it.

Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken
originally from tasty kitchen

2.2 lbs chicken, cubed
1 onion, peeled & halved
2 garlic cloves, peeled
1 green bell pepper, seeded & quartered
1 can tomato paste
1 can coconut milk (400 mL)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp garam masala
2 Tbsp water
1 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch

Put chicken in crockpot.
Put everything else (except for water and cornstarch) in food processor and blend until smooth. Pour over chicken and cook on low for 6 hours.
One hour before serving, mix water and cornstarch and add to chicken curry. Mix well.
Serve over steaming white rice (Jasmine or Basmati are awesome with this!).

Serves 4-5.
The final product: seriously delicious! It is super easy and comfort food at it's finest. I will make this as often as Tyler lets me because it is awesome. Awesome, I tell you, awesome!!

MTAL #6

2011-04-29T15:33:00.006-05:00

This was my very first Asher-friendly meal and my very first attempt at making up a recipe (sort of). We call them Asher meatballs.

Asher Meatballs

1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 cup rice
1/4 cup onion, grated
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp basil
2 Tbsp rice milk
salt and pepper
olive oil
store bought or homemade tomato sauce (Prego fresh mushrooms is Asher friendly)

Combine all the ingredients except for the oil. Roll into 1 1/2-inch meatballs. Heat the olive oil over medium to medium-high heat. Brown the meatballs on all sides in the hot oil (I usually need 2 batches to get them all browned).
Transfer the meatballs to a slow cooker. Cover in tomato sauce and cook on low heat for 4-6 hours.
Just before serving, stir in another 1-2 cups of tomato sauce. Serve over hot rice (or noodles for the non-allergic crowd).

Serves 6-8.

This is the first meal I made that Asher truly loved. We all really like it too. It might sound weird to serve tomato sauce over rice but it's actually really good and much easier than cutting up noodles for little ones. Enjoy!

MTAL #5

2011-04-21T09:58:00.002-05:00

Swedish Meatballs
from The Whole Foods Allergy Cookbook

Meatballs
1/2 cup oat or corn flakes, ground to a meal in a food processor (I just used the Glutino bread crumbs instead)
1/2 cup rice or oat milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 cup minced onion
1 Tbsp canola oil
1 lb ground beef
3 tsp Ener-G Egg replacer mixed with 2 Tbsp rice milk

Sauce
2 Tbsp canola oil
2 Tbsp oat flour
2 cups beef broth
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp salt
pepper
1/4 cup rice milk

Combine ground corn flakes, rice milk, salt, pepper, and allspice and let swell about 10 minutes. Saute minced onion in canola oil until soft. Add ground beef, egg replacer, and sauteed onion to corn flake mixture and combine thoroughly. Refrigerate 1-2 hours.
When ready to cook, preheat over to 400 degrees. Form small meatballs, 1-1 1/2 inches in diameter (I used my cookie scoop). Place meatballs on a lightly greased baking sheet and cook about 20 minutes until brown. Meanwhile, to make sauce, heat canola oil over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook, stirring about 2 minutes. You want the flour to sizzle and brown up a bit so that the sauce will become brown. Add the beef broth, mix thoroughly and then add tomato paste and seasonings. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes to thicken, stirring frequently. Add rice milk. Taste and adjust salt and pepper to your liking. Serve meatballs with sauce on the side or place meatballs in sauce and warm thoroughly.

Serves 4.These were surprisingly good. They look a little funky, with the orange-red sauce but taste a lot like the regular swedish meatballs I've had. Asher liked them and everyone else did too.

Whoopie Pies

2011-04-20T09:28:00.006-05:00

Taking a break from the Asher-friendly fare, here are a couple of recipes for whoopie pies. For those unfamiliar with the whoopie pie concept, they are Southern sandwich cookies. They are usually huge and always delicious. Enjoy!

Classic Whoopie Pies
from Whoopie Pies (via Bakerella)

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
4 Tbsp vegetable shortening
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
In another bowl, beat butter, shortening and sugar with a mixer on low until just combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 3 minutes.
Add egg and vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes.
Add half of the flour mixture and half of the milk and beat on low until incorporated. Repeat with remaining flour and milk and beat until combined.
Using a tablespoon, drop batter on baking sheet two inches apart. Bake for 10 minutes each or until pies spring back when pressed gently.
Remove from oven and cool for about 5 minutes before transferring them to a rack to cool completely.

Salty Peanut Butter Filling

3/4 cup creamy peanut butter (or crunchy)
3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
1/2 tsp salt

Beat peanut butter and butter on low until creamy using a mixer.
Add sugar and salt and beat on low to incorporate. Increase speed to medium and beat for 4 minutes until filling is light and fluffy.
Spread filling on flat side of one cooled cake. Top with a second cake and press gently.

Makes 24 two-inch pies (if using 1 Tbsp of batter) or 15 four-inch pies (if using 2 Tbsp of batter).

The prepped batter. It smells delightfully chocolatey.
Cooling cookies.
The finished product: all reviews were good. Honestly, I didn't get to try them since I'm currently on the Asher diet but Tyler loved them. All others who tried them were positive as well. I was just happy to discover that I'm just as happy making cookies as I am eating them. I always thought that I was a stress-eater. In this case, I got all the enjoyment of making the cookies and none of the guilt of eating them. Perfect!

Moving on...a second whoopie pie recipe.

Lemon Whoopie Pies
from the Big Fat Cookie book (via Joy the Baker)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.
Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest together on the medium speed of an electric mixer for about 3 minutes. Stop the mixer to scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during the mixing. Add the egg, lemon juice, and vanilla, mixing until blended, about 1 minute. The batter may look curdled. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture just to incorporate it. Mix in the buttermilk (put 1/2 Tbsp lemon juice in a measuring cup and fill up to 1/2 cup level with regular milk; let set for 5 minutes and use as buttermilk). Mix in remaining flour mixture just until it is incorporated and the batter looks smooth again.
Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake the cookies until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the tops feel firm, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Lemon Cream Cheese Filling

6 Tbsp unsalted butter, room temperature
6 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
2 Tbsp lemon juice
2 3/4 cup powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat butter, cream cheese, vanilla, lemon zest, and lemon juice on low speed until thoroughly blended and smooth, about 1 minute. Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. If the filling is too soft to hold its shape, chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
Turn half the cookies bottom side up. Leaving 1/4-inch plain edge, use a thin metal spatula to spread each one with about 1/4 cup of filling. Gently press the flat bottoms of the remaining cookies onto the fillings.
Wrap each cooking in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Serve cold.

I don't have any process shots of this one so we'll skip to the final product. I honestly didn't get to try these either. Tyler's not a huge lemon fan so he didn't eat them (he stuck with the chocolate and peanut butter ones). They smelled incredible and looked so cute. I'll make them again sometime (maybe when I can actually try them).

MTAL #4

2011-04-19T09:32:00.003-05:00

This was one of the first recipes I discovered in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that I could make for Asher without having to modify (aside from the pasta).

Chicken Cacciatore
from Better Homes and Gardens

2 1/2 to 3 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 (14.5-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (6-oz) can tomato paste
3/4 cup dry white wine
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 tsp dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp dried oregano, crushed
1/8 tsp black pepper

Skin chicken. In a 12-inch skillet cook chicken in hot oil about 15 minutes or until lightly brown, turning to brown evenly. Remove chicken from skillet, reserving drippings in skillet; set chicken aside.
Add mushrooms, onion, and garlic to drippings in skillet. Cook and stir about 5 minutes or until vegetables are just tender. Return chicken to skillet.
Meanwhile, in a medium bowl combine undrained tomatoes, tomato paste, wine, sugar, salt, rosemary, thyme, oregano, and pepper. Pour over chicken in skillet. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 to 35 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink, turning once during cooking. If desired, serve over hot cooked pasta (or rice).

Serves 6.

The browned chicken thighs. I used the boneless, skinless kind because it was faster and easier to eat.
The vegetables. I'm not usually a huge mushroom fan but I like them in this recipe.
Chicken and vegetables. I just set the chicken right on top of the vegetables. That way the chicken doesn't over brown on one side or another. You have to remember to stir the vegetables when you flip the chicken though, or you'll end up with a more Cajun than Italian feel to this meal.
Smothered in tomato-iness. Like always, I'm too intimidated by the liquor section to actually by regular white wine. I use the cooking white wine found by the vinegars. It's supposed to be better with a good white wine so if you can, use the real stuff.
The final product: mmm...Italian. This a wonderfully normal meal for the allergen-free sector. The only difference is you serve it over rice instead of linguine or fettuccine. What's great is that you can split the meal and serve it over rice to only those who need to avoid wheat and egg and over pasta to everyone else. Asher loves to eat the chicken first and then the rice and sauce all mixed together after that.

MTAL #3

2011-04-18T10:54:00.001-05:00

The third in my series.

Spanish- Style Stuffed Peppers
from Rachael Ray

3 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 3/4 cups chicken stock
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
4 large red bell peppers
1 1/3 lb ground chicken
salt and black pepper
1 Tbsp sweet paprika
1 medium onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
2 jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
1/2 cup dry sherry
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Heat 1 Tbsp of olive oil in a saucepot with a lid over medium heat. Add the rice, stir to coat with the oil andd toast for 2 minutes. Add the stock and bay leaf and bring to a boil. cover the pot, reduce the heat to low, and cook the rice for 16 minutes. The rice will be a bit tough at the center but it will continue to cook when it's baked in the pepper.
Cut the top off each bell pepper and reserve as a lid. Trim the bottoms of the peppers so they stand upright, taking care no to make holes in the bottoms of the peppers to prevent leaks. Seed the peppers and set aside.
Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the remaining 2 Tbsp of olive oil. Add the meat and season with salt, pepper, and paprika. Cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes, breaking it up into small bits with a back of a wooden spoon as it cooks. Add the onions, garlic, and roasted peppers. Continue to cook until the onions start to get tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Add the sherry and deglaze the pan, stirring to get any brown bits off the bottom of the skillet. Add 1 1/2 cups tomato sauce, about 3/4 of the can, and reduce the heat to low. Stir until heated through, then add the cooked rice to the skillet. Discard the bay leaf. Stir to combine, then turn off the heat.
Thin the remaining tomato sauce with 1/2 cup water and pour it into an 8-inch square baking dish. Set the peppers upright in the baking dish. Fill each pepper set the caps in place. Bake the peppers, uncovered, for 25 to 30 minutes. Serve 1 pepper per person.

This was my first time roasting rice. I didn't have long-grained rice around so I just used the minute rice I had and adjusted the cook time. It seemed to work about as well.

The meat and vegetable mixture. The roasted bell peppers could easily be made at home but I went ahead and bought a jar. They are dreamy. Seriously, slap one of those on a sandwich and stick in the oven and you have my happy place.
The meat mixture with sauce. Yummy smelling sauce. At this point, I set aside some meat for Asher because I don't think he would appreciate the pepper.
Peppers fresh out of the oven. Aren't they pretty? This is the first time I've seen the top used and it's so pretty that I'll do it again. (And besides being pretty, the tops are great for dipping in the sauce and eating with your hands.
The final product: moan-worthy. Seriously, this is the first meal in a long time that I couldn't help making all sorts of yummy noises through. I absolutely loved it. Asher liked it too. It would be great with some melted cheese throughout (monterrey jack or the like) but not as Asher-friendly. Please try these...please. You won't regret it.

Food Experiment

2011-04-11T14:46:00.003-05:00

What do you do when you have burgers while not eating wheat, egg, milk, etc? You start experimenting. I could have gone the civilized route and just eaten the burger with a fork. I could have gone the healthy way and used lettuce leaves. I could have done a lot of different things but I decided on hashbrowns (mostly because I have an abundance of potatoes). My hashbrown burger.

While incredibly messy, it was actually really good. Someone could build on this concept and make a truly amazing (and unique) burger.

MTAL #2

2011-04-09T11:58:00.004-05:00

Chicken tenders, chicken fingers, chicken strips...whatever you call them, they're good. You can't get more kid-friendly either. They certainly were a staple of my diet when I was kid, especially when we went out to eat. They are normally made with flour, egg, and milk which doesn't make them very Asher-friendly. That means it's time to try an allergen-free version and let Asher be a kid.

Chicken Tenders
from Cybele Pascal
1 lb chicken tenders
1 1/2 cups rice milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 cup cornstarch
3 Tbsp rice milk
6 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup gluten-free bread crumbs
salt and pepper
3 cups canola oil

Combine tenders with 1 1/2 cups rice milkd and lemon juice and refrigerate for 2 hours.

Put cornstarch in a wide dish. Put 3 Tbsp rice milk in another wide dish. Add olive oil, 1 Tbsp at a time, whisking well. Put breadcrumbs in a third dish and mix in salt and pepper.

Roll each tender in cornstarch, then rice milk and finally bread crumbs. Set aside.

Heat oil until rippling over medium-high heat.

Cook tenders until deeply golden, about 3 minutes a side and 6-7 minutes total.

Here is my assembly line of chicken tenders. Ms. Pascal recommends using one hand for the dry ingredient dipping and the other for the wet. It seems to help make this process less of a mess that it could be. Coated tenders ready for the frying oil.

Frying the tenders (in my new saucepan; isn't it pretty?).

I served this with a oven fries (cut up russet potatoes toss with olive oil and seasoned salt and bakes for 40 minutes) and allergen-free ranch dressing. The dressing didn't go quite as I hoped: I put too much garlic and onion in it so it was INTENSE. I might try again another day and post the recipe if it goes better then.

The final product: awesome! They are crunchy and delicious. Asher absolutely loved them which makes me one giddy momma. They were even a hit with Tyler and Addilyn. I will make these often (I even made them as Asher's birthday meal).

A note on the gluten-free bread crumbs: Glutino brand is recommended but if those cannot be found, I think coarse-ground corn meal might make a good substitution.

Meals that Asher Likes

2011-04-07T08:42:00.004-05:00

This is the first in my series called Meals That Asher Likes. As you may have guessed, they are meals that are allergen-free that Asher actually likes (because they are unfortunately plenty that I try that he doesn't like). This distinction is mostly for the grandmas but might be interesting for everyone else (especially since some of them are just plain good anyway). Maple-Glazed Pork Chops
from Rachael Ray

4 boneless pork chops
salt and black pepper
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chicken stock (check label for dairy)
6 fresh thyme sprigs
1/4 cup maple syrup (use 100% pure maple syrup, as imitation has caramel color in it)
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high to high heat with olive oil. When the oil begins to ripple, add the pork chops and sear for 2 minutes on each side, then turn heat down to medium and cook for 5 to 6 minutes.

Transfer chops to a plate and cover loosely with foil to keep warm. Add chicken stock, thyme, maple syrup, 2 tsp of the lemon zest, and the lemon juice to the skillet. Bring up to a bubble and simmer until lightly thickened, a couple of minutes.

Return pork chops to the pan with the glaze and flip around to coat them well. Place chops on dinner plates and drizzle with any remaining glaze from the skillet.

Serves 4.

I don't have any process shots but here's the finished product. It's quite delicious. Maple and pork just go so well together. Honestly, Asher would prefer the pork chop plain but the glaze makes it extra yummy for everyone else too. A few points on this recipe:

I always use dried thyme because that's what I have around. I just eyeball it.

The glaze takes a lot longer than a couple of minutes to thicken up. It's more like 10-15 minutes to get it to the right consistency.

I serve this with mashed potatoes (mashed with chicken stock and green onions instead of milk and butter).

Enjoy!

Birthday Dinner

2011-03-25T15:16:00.004-05:00

For my birthday I got to make whatever I wanted. I chose to try a couple of Asian recipes.

Egg Drop Soup
From tasty kitchen

2 cups chicken broth
1 Tbsp corn starch
1 whole egg, beaten slightly
1 dash black pepper
1 dash soy sauce (or more to taste)

Bring the broth to a boil. In a small cup, combine the cornstarch with 3 Tbsp of the heated broth and whish to combine. Whisk cornstarch mixture into the broth and boil for a minute or two to thicken the broth. Turn off the heat. Pour in the egg in a thin stream while stiring slowly in one direction. Do not over stir or the egg will break into tiny bits instead of making ribbons. Allow to sit for a couple of minutes before ladling into soup bowls. Season with soy sauce and black pepper to taste. You can also add thinly sliced green onions for garnish.

Makes 2 servings.

Boiling broth.

The finished product: simple and good. This is super fast and quite yummy. It might become one of my go-to meals when I need something fast.

Lettuce Wraps

from tasty kitchen

2 Tbsp oil

1 whole onion, medium

2 whole garlic cloves, minced

1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped

1 lb ground turkey

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

4 tsp rice vinegar

4 tsp sesame oil

2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 head Iceberg lettuce, quartered at the core, core removed, leaved separated and torn into approximately 4-inch cups

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1/4 cup chopped peanuts

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, garlic and water chestnuts; saute until onions soften, 3 to 4 minutes. Add turkey; continue to cook, stirring frequently, until meat loses its raw color and most of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, mix soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, oil, pepper flakes, and sugar. Add to the turkey; continue to cook until mixture has thickened to the texture of thick sloppy joes.
When ready to serve, warm turkey mixture. Lay out lettuce cups on a serving tray. Fill each with 2 Tbsp of filling, then garnish with scallions and peanuts. Serve.

Makes 24 servings.

The turkey and vegetables sauteing. I forgot to cut up the water chestnuts before adding them to the mix. Oops! It wasn't a disaster but did result in some tedious work and lost time.

Sauce mixture.

Cooking down.

Cooked down. It's smells pretty good.

The finished product: solidly good. These aren't P.F. Chang's lettuce wraps so if that's what you're expecting, you'll be disappointed. These are still very good, though. They are tangy and slightly spicy. I'd recommend them.

Birthday Cake

2011-03-17T14:49:00.000-05:00

A couple of weeks ago was my birthday. I made my own cake...because I wanted to. I chose chocolate and peanut butter as my inspiration and a giant cupcake pan as my mold. Woohoo!!

Chocolate Cake
From Hershey's

2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour baking pan(s).
Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in water. (Batter will be thin.) Pour batter evenly into prepared pans.
Bake 30 to 35 minutes or wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Cake ingredients ready to be mixed. I chose to use the Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa because I thought a dark chocolate cake would be dreamy (it was a good choice; you should try it).

That's one runny cake batter! It should be moist though, right?

Here is my cake pan. I lost the little sheet that came with it which tells you how to adjust cake recipes to fit this pan (how much to make). I tried to go online to see if I could find such information and ended up just guessing.

I think I underfilled it a little but the final result was just fine.

Peanut Butter Frosting

From here

1 cup powdered sugar

1 cup creamy peanut butter

5 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp Kosher salt

1/3 cup heavy cream

Combine all ingredients except for cream. Beat with an electric mixer on medium low speed until creamy. Add cream and beat on high speed until smooth.

Peanut butter and sugar...this is looking good.

Creamy and dreamy frosting. This is super light and smooth. I could eat it with a spoon.

The two sides of the cupcake all set up.

I got to play with my cake decorating supplies. I haven't really broken them out before so I got ot experiment which was super fun.

The finished product: this was really good. The cake was extremely moist. The flavor of the cake was good but was really a background player to the frosting. This frosting was phenomenal. I'm not really a big frosting eater. It's normally too sweet and dry; a lot of times I will actually eat the cake and skip the frosting. This frosting had awesome texture (light and creamy) and incredible flavor (peanut buttery but not overpowering). It was rich but not so rich that it seemed too much. Seriously, this was the best frosting I've ever tasted in every way.

Chocolate Chip Wonderfulness

2011-03-08T08:30:00.002-06:00

Chocolate chip cookies...the classic...the standard...the staples of every American's diet (that might be more true than I really would like to look into right now). Chocolate chip cookies are so ubiquitous in our culture that there's really little left that can be done with them...except to make them magical! This recipe claims to produce the "perfect" chocolate chip cookies. Such a statement needed to be investigated.

"Perfect" Chocolate Chip Cookies
from Cooks Illustrated (June 2009)

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
14 Tbsp butter (unsalted)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts, toasted (optional)

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to to 375 degrees. Line 2 large (18x12-inch) baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour and baking soda together in a medium bowl; set aside.
Heat 10 Tbsp butter in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking, swirling pan constantly until butter is dark golden brown and has nutty aroma, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and, using heatproof spatula, transfer browned butter to large heatproof bowl. Stir remaining 4 Tbsp butter into hot butter until completely melted.
Add both sugars, salt, and vanilla to bowl with butter and whisk until fully incorporated. Add egg and yolk and whisk until mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining, about 30 seconds. Let mixture stand 3 minutes, then whisk for 30 seconds. Repeat process for resting and whisking 2 more times until mixture is thick, smooth, and shiny. Using rubber spatula or wooden spoon, stir in flour mixture until just combined, about 1 minute. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using), giving dough final stir to ensure no flour pockets remain.
Divide dough into 16 portions, each about 3 Tbsp. Arrange 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets, 8 dough balls per sheet.
Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft, 10 to 14 minutes, rotating baking sheet halfway through baking. Transfer baking sheet to wire rack; cool cookies completely before serving.

Makes 16 very large cookies.

Browning the butter. As you may have noticed, this recipe is very specific about the details (which to ensure "perfection" I guess you'd have to be). They were very clear about not using a non-stick skillet to brown the butter since you won't really be able judge the color of the butter very well with one. Unfortunately, all I have is a non-stick skillet so I was left with no other option. If you have the option, use a different skillet.

Browned butter. I don't know if you've ever browned butter. I think I've only done it once or twice before this. It's pretty wonderful. The smell is absolutely amazing!!

First whisking.

Last whisking. All that whisking and resting might seem a bit excessive but look at the difference in the dough between the first and the last whisking. Apparently this process helps with the sugar dissolve better into the moisture and produces a deeper flavor and chewier texture (so don't skip it!).

Finished dough. I didn't have quite enough of the chocolate chunks (apparently someone had been stealing them; stinker!) so I added some regular chocolate chips too. I thought the variety would be interesting (especially since they were different brands and would therefore have different chocolate flavors). Speaking of chocolate chips, Cooks Illustrated did a review of chocolate chips: Ghirardelli and Hershey's scored the best (Hershey's is definitely the bargain though because they are often the cheapest brand as well). Who scored the worst? Everyone's standard, Nestle. Who knew?!!

Big ole' dough balls. They are smooth...and huge! They tailored this recipe to this size cookie though, so changing the size will affect the texture.

Big ole' cookies. They smell dreamy and bake up to a lovely, golden brown.

Finished product...Mmmm. These cookies are really, really good. The texture is awesome: crispy on the edges yet chewy throughout. The flavor is phenomenal: buttery and rich with caramel undertones. Seriously, these cookies are outstanding. One might even call them perfect.

Lasagna (and noodles)

2011-03-02T13:15:00.006-06:00

Lasagna is one of those classic comfort foods that is perfect to pull out on a cold day. Since this winter seems to be stretching on forever, try it out and enjoy!

Homemade Pasta
from Better Homes and Gardens

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1/3 cup water
1 tsp cooking oil or olive oil

In a large bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Ina small bowl combine eggs, water, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; stir to combine.
Sprinkle a clean kneading surface with the remaining 1/3 cup flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Kneading until dough is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes total). Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. On lightly floured kneading surface, roll each dough portion into a 12-inch square (about 1/16-inch thick). Let stand, uncovered, about 20 minutes. If using a pasta machine, pass each portion through machine according to manufacturer's directions until dough is 1/16-inch thick. Let stand; cut as desired.

Makes 1 lb pasta.

Ready to mix the dough.
Ready to knead the dough.

Kneaded dough.

I used my pasta machine. Here are the four portions resting and waiting to be cut up.

I got a pastry cutter for Christmas and this was my first time using it. It made some pretty noodles.

Cooking the noodles.

Lasagna

from Better Homes and Gardens

12 oz bulk Italian sausage or ground beef

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 (14-oz) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 (8-oz) can tomato sauce

1 Tbsp dried Italian seasoning, crushed

1 tsp fennel seeds, crushed (optional)

1/4 tsp black pepper

6 dried lasagna noodles

1 beaten egg

1 (15-oz) container ricotta cheese (or 2 cups cream-style cottage cheese, drained)

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

6 oz shredded mozzarella cheese

For sauce, in a large saucepan cook sausage, onion, and garlic until meat is brown. Drain.
Stir in undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, fennel seeds, and pepper into meat mixture. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile cook noodles according to package directions (2 to 3 minutes if using homemade). Drain noodles; rinse with cold water. Drain well; set aside.
For filling, combine egg, ricotta, and the 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Set aside.
Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce over the bottom of a 2-quart baking dish. Layer half of the cooked noodles in the bottom of the dish, trimming or overlapping as necessary to fit. Spread with half of the filling. Top with half of the remaining sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Repeat layers. If desired, sprinkle additional Parmesan cheese over top.
Place baking dish on a baking sheet. Bake in a 375 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until heated through. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings.

Meat mixture.

Meat mixture with sauce.

The noodles stayed a little bent as they cooled. I would probably try to lay them flat if I can't immediately start layering them after they are drained.

The finished product: delicious. I love this recipe for lasagna. I'm sure there are more exotic and fancier lasagna recipes out there but this is certainly a good compromise between the familiar and the fancy. The ricotta is crucial to this recipe (don't switch it out for the cottage cheese). The sauce has a good amount of chunk to add interest and overall it has good flavor. Next time I think I'll roll the noodles out just a little thinner (I'll go to level 3 instead of 4) but that's the great thing about making them yourself: you can cater them to your preferences.

Pumpkin Bars

2011-02-25T17:25:00.004-06:00

Pumpkin is good. It's creamy and not-too-sweet. It makes you feel all warm inside. That's why it's so exciting when you see it start filling the shelves in the fall. And that's why I then fill my shelves with it at home. If you're like me, you have a few extra cans of pumpkin laying around (or put away properly if you're not like me). Here's a delicious way to use them up.

Pumpkin Bars
from Better Homes and Gardens

2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 eggs, beaten
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin
1 cup cooking oil
cream cheese frosting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, soda, salt, and cloves. Stir in eggs, pumpkin, and oil until combined. Spread batter in an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let stand in pan on a wire rack for 2 hours. Spread with Cream Cheese Frosting. Cut into bars.

Makes 48 bars.

Cream Cheese Frosting

4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 to 3 cups powdered sugar

In a medium bowl beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar to a frosting of spreading consistency.

I looked back now and saw that the recipe didn't call for me dirtying another bowl to mix together the wet ingredients separately. I'm just going to chalk it up to my newly found baker's instincts. I do such things out of habit now.

The prepared batter. I love the orangeness pumpkin brings to anything it's in. It's pretty and reminds us that life won't always be so white, dull and lifeless (can you tell I'm ready for winter to be over?).

The pumpkin cake cooling.

Frosting before the powder sugar was added. Mmm...it smells nice.

Finished product: classically good. This isn't an astounding new recipe. It's more of an old favorite. It's a classic but a classic is a classic for a reason...mainly because it's good. Each bar is moist and yet still light. The frosting adds just enough decadence without making it heavy or too rich. Enjoy!

Skillet Tamale Pie

2011-02-17T10:20:00.000-06:00

Skillet Tamale Pie
from Rachael Ray

1 Tbsp olive oil
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
2 bacon slices, chopped
3/4 lb ground beef
3/4 lb ground pork
1 medium onion, chopped
1 small red or green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
3 to 4 garlic cloves, chopped
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
pinch of ground cinnamon
salt and black pepper
1 (15-oz) can tomato sauce
2 cups quick-cooking polenta
1 cup shredded Cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese

Preheat the broiler to high and place the oven rack 1 rung beneath the highest level of your oven.
In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high to high heat. Combine the chicken stock and milk in a pot to bring to a boil over medium heat.
Add bacon to the hot olive oil and cook for 2 minutes or until crisp, then add the ground meats, raise the heat to high, and cook until they are browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the onions, bell pepper, jalapeno, and garlic and season with the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes to soften the vegetables, then stir in the tomato sauce and heat through, 1 minute more.
While the meat cooks, whisk the polenta into the simmering stock and milk. Stir for 5 minutes, or until the polenta is thick and masses together in the pot. Use a rubber spatula to spread the polenta over the meat mixture and top with the cheese. Place the skillet under the hot broiler to brown the cheese and set the polenta, about 1 minute. Serve directly from the skillet

Serves 4.Prior to this recipe, I had never tried polenta before. I knew the general idea of it but had never actually eaten it and certainly had never purchased it. I had no idea what to even look for in the store. I wandered around a lot. Just in case one of you might be in the same boat, this is what the polenta I found looks like. I found it in the specialty section of the Italian foods (by the parmesan cheese, etc).

The bacon and ground meats cooking. I ended up using more meat than the recipe called for. I had 1 lb packages of meat and I wasn't going to try to separate out 1/4 lb of each of the meats and save them for a later date. I could have, I guess, but I didn't.

Meats and vegetables. I skipped the jalapeno: one reason being that I'm often nice to my husband and daughter who aren't really fond of spice, and two because I didn't really want to mess with the jalapeno if it would just lead to complaints anyway.

The polenta cooking.

The polenta cooked. It's a little bit grainy and a whole lot creamy, which you would think are opposites but aren't.

The meat mixture. It smelled yummy. I put in maybe a bit more than a pinch of cinnamon (I'm not one hundred percent sure how much that is anyway). The cinnamon sounds like a weird addition to this meal but it's not. It adds an awesome depth of flavor so don't skip it.

The skillets I have all involve handles that would burn/melt in the oven. I heard that you could just wrap that type of handle in foil and put it in the oven (if it's not going to be in there to long). I was still a little bit nervous trying it but the wrapping technique worked just fine.

The finished product: ugly but delicious. This isn't the most beautiful meal ever created but it certainly is tasty. The meat mixture is addictive. The cinnamon is barely recognizable in scent but it combines wonderfully with the spices and peppers. The polenta is creamy, dreamy, wonderful. It mimics the corn tortilla flavor of a regular tamale but with a much more interesting texture. Tyler and Addilyn were okay with this meal (which was kind of surprising to me; Rachael Ray was kidding when she marked this as a "the Kids Will Eat It" meal) and I loved it!

More Asher-Friendly Food

2011-01-28T12:53:00.003-06:00

Another allergen-free recipe for my boy.

Spicy Chicken and Rice Bake
from Better Homes and Gardens

2 1/2 to 3 lbs meaty chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks)
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp cooking oil
1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup tomato juice
1 cup frozen whole kernel corn
2/3 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 tsp chili powder
1/8 to 1/4 tsp ground red pepper
Paprika

Skin chicken; set aside.
In a large saucepan cook onion, sweet pepper, and garlic in hot oil until vegetable are tender. Stir in black beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato juice, corn, uncooked rice, chili powder, red pepper, and 1/2 tsp salt. Bring to boiling. Transfer rice mixture to a 3-qt rectangular baking dish. Arrange chicken pieces on top of rice mixture. Sprinkle chicken with paprika.
Bake, covered, in a 375 degree oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink and rice is tender.

Serves 6.

Vegetables cooking.

The rice mixture. Aside from the rice being uncooked, this tastes really good. I would eat this as a soup. I did cut back on the red pepper a little to make it a bit more kid/Tyler-friendly.

Ready to be covered and put in the oven.I used some boneless, skinless chicken breasts. They were really thick and took longer than the 45 to 50 minutes to cook. It was more in the hour to 1 hour, 15 minute range.

The final product: delicious. There was just a little kick but it was still managable for the kids. Asher seemed to really like the beans and rice mixture (as did I). The chicken also came out really juicy and with a hint of spice as well. You could definitely use smaller chicken pieces to save some cooking time and stretch this meal a bit (there is a ton of rice!). On the whole, it's a satisfying pairing.

Chicken and Bacon...in a Soup!!

2011-01-24T08:58:00.005-06:00

I'm really into the bacon-based soups. Here's another bacon soup but this one has chicken too. You can never go wrong with chicken and bacon. Mmm!

Hunter's Chicken Stoup with Whole-Wheat Pasta
from Rachael Ray

1 lb whole-wheat short pasta (gemelli or penne)
6 Tbsp olive oil
4 (1/4-inch-thick) slices pancetta, chopped
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, cut into large bite-sized pieces
salt and pepper
6 portobello mushroom caps, cut into bite-sized dice
1 large onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and grated
1 fresh or dried bay leaf
1 tsp red pepper flakes
4 garlic cloves, grated or finely chopped
4 fresh rosemary sprigs, finely chopped
1 cup dry red wine
2 cups chicken stock
1 (28-oz) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes
2 Tbsp butter, cut into pieces
1 cup grated or shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt it liberally, add the pasta and cook al dente.
While the water heats and the pasta cooks, make the stoup. Heat a deep skillet over medium-high heat with 3 Tbsp olive oil. Add the pancetta and cook for a couple of minutes to crisp it up, then remove it to a plate. Add the chicken and season with salt and pepper. Brown the chicken for 10 minutes then transfer it to the plate with the pancetta. Add the remaining 3 Tbsp of oil and heat. When it's hot, add the mushrooms and soften them up for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the onions, carrot, bay leaf, red pepper flakes, garlic and rosemary, and season with salt and pepper. Cook until the mushrooms are dark and the onions are tender, another 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine and deglaze the pan, stirring up any bits from the bottom, then stir in the stock and tomatoes. Slide the chicken and pancetta back into the pan. Discard the bay leaf.
Just before the pasta is done, add 2 ladles of the starchy pasta water to the skillet with the chicken. Drain the pasta and return it to the hot pot. Add the butter, a couple of ladles of the stoup, and the cheese. Toss to combine.
Serve shallow bowls of pasta and top with ladles of the chicken and mushroom stoup to be mixed together.

I'm too cheap to buy pancetta on any regular basis so I substituted bacon. Bacon and olive oil smell heavenly. I also misread the recipe while gathering supplies and bought bone-in chicken thighs. Oops! It upped the preparation time since I had to debone the chicken before cutting it up but didn't effect the overall product. I also didn't have portobello mushrooms but I did have some button mushrooms left over from a previous recipe. Those seem to work well. All the veggies cooking. It smelled pretty good. (I subbed dried rosemary for the fresh and just eyeballed the amount.) The "stoup" (stew + soup). It was almost too much for my skillet! I looked everywhere for the can of crushed fire-roasted tomatoes. I was certain I had seen it somewhere before so I went to almost every store in my area. I didn't find it but I was able to substitute a couple of cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes. I was going to crush them myself but forgot. I also used the cooking wine that can be found next to the vinegars. I know that some cooks would yell at me for not using the real thing (apparently it's not the same quality) but I'm still too frightened/intimidated of a liquor store and wine in general to buy the real stuff. The final product was warm and hearty. I was able to make a couple more adjustments (brown-rice pasta and omitting the butter and cheese) to make it allergen-free for Asher. The pictured version is actually what Asher and I ate. I made the regular for Tyler and Addilyn and all agreed that it was pretty delicious. I was able to recognize the wine flavor but didn't find it overpowering. The pasta was also pretty good by itself warmed up as leftovers.

Italian Pork and Beans

2011-01-12T12:00:00.006-06:00

This is the first post since the Friday before my son was born. Yay for having my head above water for the first time in quite a while!

Here's a super yummy recipe that just so happens to be allergen-free. That means that Asher could eat it. Now if we can only get this almost-2-year-old to try it. Silly boy.

Rachael Ray's Italian Pork and Beans

3 Tbsp olive oil

1/3 pound pancetta, cut into 1/4-inch dice

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled and grated

2 celery ribs with leafy tops, finely chopped

2 to 3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 fresh or dried bay leaf

2 (15 oz) cans white bean, drained

salt and black pepper

1 cup chicken stock

2 cups tomato sauce

Heat the olive oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat. Add the pancetta and cook for 5 minutes or until crisp. Add the onions, carrot, celery, garlic, and bay leaf and cook for 5 minutes more. Add the white beans and season liberally with salt and pepper, then stir in the stock and tomato sauce and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the bay leaf and serve the pork and beans in shallow bowls with crusty bread for mopping.

I didn't have pancetta but I did have a lot of bacon. Mmm...bacon. That'll work.

The bacon and vegetables cooking. It smelled divine.

I have a whole lot of dry beans in my pantry but have yet to do anything with them. This was my first attempt. I soaked the beans.

It was shortly after I had added them to the vegetables that I realized that soaked dry bean are not the same as canned beans. Oops!

That wasn't too big of a problem though. I just simmered the entire mixture for an hour and a half. The resulting product was really, really good. I've had it for lunches for the last three days in a row and if I had more, I'm sure I would continue eating it for days. The flavors are strong but delightful. This is one comfort food that I most definitely recommend.

French Silk Pie

2010-10-15T11:12:00.007-05:00

Pie has always been a scary thing for me. Actually it wasn't the pie that was so scary, it was the pie crust that really intimidated me. I've tried a few times to make pie crust and had things go horribly awry. In an effort to address my fears and in hopes of powering through, I decided to make a couple of pies. This is the first of my most recent attempts.

All-Butter Pie Crust
from Tasty Kitchen

2 cups flour
11 Tbsp butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cups ice water

Measure flour and salt into a bowl. Cut the cold butter into small chunks and throw on top of the flour. Cut the butter into the flour until butter is in small crumbly pieces. Add ice water a tablespoon at a time while stirring the dough mixture with a fork until it comes together easily but isn't sticky. Bring it all together and pat into a ball. Wrap in plastic and put in the fridge.
When you are ready to roll out your pie crust, lightly flour your work surface. Handle the dough as little as possible; the less you touch it, the more tender and flaky it will be. Starting in the center, roll the dough out into a circle, about 1/8" thick. When you've reached your desired thickness, place the rolling pin in the middle and gently fold the crust over the rolling pin. Lift the dough onto your pie plate and unfold it.
If you need to pre-bake the crust, prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and bake at 450F for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Ingredients:

Butter ready to be cut into the flour.

The dough after the addition of the 1/4 of water. It was still really crumbly at this point and I added the entire 1/4 cup (which the recipe writer said that I probably wouldn't need all of).

In light of my previous pie crust failures, I decided to go against my instincts and trust the recipe. I got the dough to sort-of stick together long enough to get it wrapped in plastic and stuck in the fridge, hoping that it would become more of a dough consistency overnight.

My wishful thinking proved foolish. In the morning, I unwrapped the dough ball and it immediately crumbled. In my frustration, I added more water...which resulted in being too much water. Then I added some more flour. This is my final product of dough, all rolled out. It ended up being really thick but I had trouble getting it to roll out any more than this.

Aside from being pretty thick, the transfer to the pie pan went well and the dough looked good.

The final pie crust baked and ready to be filled. I'm going to go ahead and review the crust now. This wasn't great. It was super-hard, like difficult to even cut. The flavor was good though. It was so hard though, that it really detracted from the overall pie. That's sad because the filling is awesome.

French Silk Chocolate Pie

by Cook's Country

1 cup heavy whipping cream, chilled

3 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp water

8 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled

1 Tbsp vanilla

8 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces and softened

With electric mixer on medium-high speed, whip cream to stiff peaks, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to small bowl and refrigerate.
Combine eggs, sugar and water in a large heatproof bowl set over a medium saucepan filled with 1/2 inch barely simmering water. With electric mixer on medium speed, beat until egg mixture is thickened and registers 160F, 7-10 minutes. Remove bowl from heat and continue to beat egg mixture until fluffy and cooled to room temperature, about 8 minutes.
Add chocolate and vanilla to cool egg mixture and beat until incorporated. Beat in butter, a few pieces at a time, until well combined. Using spatula, fold in whipped cream until no streaks of white remain. Scrape filling into pie shell and refrigerate until set, at least 3 hours and up to 24 hours.

Filling ingredients:

Melted chocolate. So shiny.

Beating the eggs in the poor-man's double boiler.

The bowl I used was almost too small for this. The egg mixture grew quite a bit and I was pretty worried at one point that it would outgrow this bowl. It hadn't by the time I stopped. I was never quite able to get it up to the 160F point and I mixed for quite a bit longer than the 7-10 minutes touted in the recipe.

After standing there with the electric mixer at the stove for at least 15 minutes, I decided to switch to the standing mixer. It was a much needed break for my arm.

The filling after adding the chocolate, vanilla, butter and whipped cream. It's super creamy.

The final product: the filling is rich and creamy and very chocolatey. It really is quite good. It's much better than any other French Silk I've tried and that's mostly due to its intense chocolate taste and incredibly creamy texture. I don't know if it's the butter or the whipped cream (or the combination of the two) that makes this so creamy and dreamy, but whatever it is works wonderfully. I would recommend cutting this in at least 10 pieces (as opposed to 6-8) as it is fairly rich. Even though it's a bit more complex than others, I think this will be my go-to chocolate pie recipe (my husband really likes chocolate pies). I plan to use it often in the future...if I can make a decent pie crust, that is.

Tiramisu

2010-09-24T14:08:00.007-05:00

Birthday Tiramisu!! My husband adores tiramisu and has been asking me to make it for years. Since I've had trouble finding the requisite ingredients and/or time to take on such a seemingly daunting task, I kept putting it off. This year my husband directly asked for it for his birthday. He didn't ask for gifts; he asked for tiramisu. And since we live in Chicago, with all of its wide variety of cultural markets, I knew I could find the right ingredients so I had no excuse not to give it a shot.

This is the recipe I chose: thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/desserts/tiramisu-2/

I love Pioneer Woman and was super excited to try this as my very first of her recipes. I did some minor tweeks, like took out the alcohol and made it a two-layer rather than a three-layer dessert, partly out of necessity and partly because of personal preference. Here is the resulting recipe:

Tiramisu
adapted from Pioneer Woman(Tasty Kitchen)

5 whole egg yolks
1/4 cups Plus 4 Tbsp sugar, divided
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1 pound mascarpone cheese, softened
1-1/2 brewed espresso or VERY strong coffee
1 Tbsp vanilla
2-3 Tbsp Sugar in the Raw (or regular granulated sugar)
7 oz Ladyfingers (or Savoiardi)
cocoa powder, for dusting

In a saucepan, bring some water to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Find a mixing bowl that will fit over the top of the pan, but not sink all the way in. Put all 5 egg yolks in the mixing bowl. Add 1/4 cup sugar and whisk until pale yellow in color. Place the mixing bowl on the saucepan with the simmering water. Cook over the simmering water, scraping the sides and bottom occasionally for 5 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes, or until cool.
Place the mascarpone cheese in a bowl and stir until smooth. In a mixing bowl, combine whipping cream and remaining 4 Tbsp sugar. Whip until soft peaks form. To the bowl of whipped cream, add the softened cheese and the chilled egg yolk mixture. Fold mixture gently. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours.
Measure 1 1/2 cups espresso or VERY strong coffee. Add 2-3 Tbsp Sugar in the Raw and 1 Tbsp vanilla. Arrange the ladyfingers in a single layer in a 9x13 pan. Spoon 1/2 to 1 Tbsp of the coffee mixture over each ladyfinger. Cover with 1/2 of the cold cream mixture and spread into a thin layer. Sprinkle with a layer of cocoa powder (so no white can be seen). Repeat process one more time.
Cover and refrigerate for a a few hours before serving.

Makes 8-10 servings.

The ingredients.

Cooking the egg yolks.

The mascarpone cheese. I love the texture! It is kind of like ricotta cheese in texture and cream cheese in flavor. I actually didn't have to go very far to find this cheese; our regular supermarket, Dominick's, has a decent cheese selection which included mascarpone.

Whipping the cream. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to go back to Cool Whip again. The last few recipes I've made (which I will be posting here shortly) have included whipping your own whipped cream and it is SO much better. Seriously, 3 extra minutes are definitely worth it and you get to add whatever you'd like to it (sugar, vanilla, mint extract, cream cheese) to specialize it for the dessert. Magic!

Mixing the cream, cheese, and egg yolk mixture. In this form, it looks...funky.

But just a minute later and it looks like this (and tastes unimaginably good).

Now the Pioneer Woman's recipe calls for Marsala in the coffee mixture (as well as the egg mixture). I didn't want to do the whole alcohol thing (especially since Tyler's not a big fan of the alcohol flavor in tiramisu) so I just skipped it. I decided that just to make sure things weren't too strong or too bitter, I'd add a little sugar to the coffee to sweeten it up (as the Marsala would have inevitably done as well). We like the combination of Sugar in the Raw with coffee but regular sugar would work just as well. I added 3 Tbsp to my very strong, regular coffee but I also had a bit more than 1 1/2 cups of coffee. If you're starting with 1 1/2 cups of coffee you might want to reduce the amount of sugar just a little to avoid it turning out too sweet.

The layer of ladyfingers soaked in coffee. Pioneer Woman's recipe calls for 7 oz of ladyfingers. I bought two packages of ladyfingers (at Jewel Osco, which is another regular supermarket in our area; it has a nice deli/bakery section that makes tiramisu, thus I was able to find the ladyfingers for sale) but that only turned out to be 6 oz. The 1 oz did make a difference and prevented me from making this a three-layer dessert. I thought about switching to a square baking dish, but finally decided against it when I laid the cookies out in the pan and realized that I would have some left over (I don't like to waste!). I'm actually glad things turned out this way because I think it would have been very difficult to get enough cream on each layer in the three-layer version.

Ladyfingers covered in cream.

This little tool came in quite handy for this recipe. It made dusting with cocoa powder much easier (and cleaner) than any alternatives that I had. Dusted with cocoa powder. You want to make sure that the entire layer is covered and that you can see very little white through the cocoa.

A note on cocoa powder: I used the special dark cocoa powder and I think that made a positive difference in this recipe. It made things just slightly less sweet and definitely added depth to the overall flavor combination.

The final product: layers of delectableness (yes, I made that word up). This was very, very good. For me, the cream mixture made the entire dessert. It was better than the cream of any of the other tiramisus we've tried (and tiramisu is our favorite dessert to order at a restaurant). The consistency was ideal and the flavor addictive. The dessert as a whole was much less sweet than any else we've tried but not bitter. My only reservation is the ladyfingers I purchased; they were not as crispy as I expected (more spongey). Next time I might make the extra leap and make my own ladyfingers. My husband would disagree with that assessment, though, and has told me that if I made this recipe precisely the same way for the rest of our lives, he would be quite content (isn't he sweet?!).

Brownie Bliss

2010-09-14T15:01:00.003-05:00

Last week I finally made these brownies. I've been eyeing the recipe for quite a while but never found the time to actually try it out. Since we had a potluck to attend, I thought this might be a good opportunity to try it out and be able to sample the product without eating the entire pan.

Chewy Brownies
From Cook's Illustrated (with minor adaptations)

1/3 cup cocoa (the darker, the better)
1 1/2 tsp instant espresso (optional)
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp boiling water
2 oz unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
4 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 large eggs
2 large egg yolks
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp salt
6 oz bittersweet chocolate, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease pan or line with foil and grease foil (for easier cutting later).
Whisk cocoa, espresso powder and boiling water together in large bowl until smooth. Add unsweetened chocolate and whisk until chocolate is melted. Whisk in melted butter and oil. Add eggs, yolks, and vanilla and continue to whisk until smooth and homogeneous . Whisk in sugar until dissolved. Add flour and salt and mix with rubber spatula until combined. Fold in bittersweet pieces chocolate pieces.
Scrape batter into prepared pan and bake until toothpick inserted halfway between edge and center comes out with just a few moist crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool 1 1/2 hours.
If pan was lined foil, lift foil and brownies from pan and return to wire rack to cool completely. Cut into 2-inch squares and serve.

Makes 24 brownies.

The ingredients (minus the oil since I forgot to set it out and the espresso powder since I wanted these to be kid friendly).
This is a suggestion from Cook's Illustrated that worked great! To finely chop the chocolate, use a serrated knife. Instead of chopping, it's almost like you're finely grating it.

The cocoa, boiling water, and melted chocolate. Anything with this much chocolate has to turn out good, right? A note on cocoa: the original recipe called for dutch processed cocoa; I couldn't find that in our grocery store so I used the Hershey's Special Dark cocoa and it worked great.

Mixing in the flour.

I'm really bad at chopping chocolate. I either have way too big of chunks (because I'm too lazy to spend the time) or it crumbles into those super-fine shreds seen above. Since this recipe called for chocolate chunks (and I was feeling impatient), I decided to try a different tactic. We got out our Pampered Chef chopper and my magical kitchen elves pounded away. This still wasn't probably the best tactic and resulted in some pretty small chocolate chunks (but was way faster!). Next time around I may just buy chocolate chunks to save myself the time and effort. I'm a wuss like that.

I ran out of foil or I would have tried the foil method. It sounds like it would make getting pretty brownies so much easier. But who am I kidding? Nobody eats brownies because they're pretty.

The finished brownie. The original recipe calls for letting the brownie cool completely before cutting. Being that I'm impatient and chronically unprepared, I didn't have time to let these cool completely before cutting into them. As a result, the brownies were pretty sticky and did not cut up nicely. They still tasted fantastic though. This is by far the best homemade brownie recipe I've tried. The brownie had a lot of chocolate taste and a wonderful, chewy consistency (unlike the somewhat dry versions I've tried before). Pretty or not, this recipe gets a gold star from me!

Marshmallows

2010-08-11T11:00:00.003-05:00

Homemade Marshmallows. I didn't even know it was possible until I found a recipe on this site. I was intrigued so I looked around a bit for other recipes. Apparently they were all the rage a little over a year ago. Who knew? Obviously not me. They sounded like fun and a good opportunity to try out the new stand mixer (it can be done with a handheld but doesn't sound like fun).
I chose this recipe because I already follow this blog (and I get weird excitement from actually trying recipes from the blogs I follow) and it seemed simplest. I also found this recipe and will try it another time (it doesn't have eggs so my son would actually be able to eat them).

Homemade Marshmallows
from Smitten Kitchen

1 cup powdered sugar
3 1/2 envelopes (2 Tbsp plus 2 1/2 tsp) unflavored gelatin (less than 1 complete pkg)
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/4 tsp salt
2 large egg whites
1 Tbsp vanilla

Oil bottom and sides of a 9x13x2-inch metal baking pan and dust bottom and sides with some powdered sugar.
In the bowl of a standing electric mixer or in a large bowl sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup cold water, and let stand to soften.
In a 3-quart heavy saucepan cook granulated sugar, corn syrup, second 1/2 cup of cold water, and salt over low heat, stirring with a wooden spoon until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to moderate and boil mixture, without stirring, until a thermometer registers 240F, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and pour sugar mixture over gelatin mixture, stirring until gelatin is dissolved.
With a standing or hand-held mixer beat mixture on high speed until white, thick, and nearly tripled in volume, about 6 minutes if using standing mixer or 10 minutes if using a hand-held.
In a separate medium bowl with cleaned beaters beat egg whites until they just hold stiff peaks. Beat whites and vanilla into sugar mixture until just combined. Pour mixture into baking pan . Sift 1/4 cup powdered sugar evenly over top. Chill marshmallow, uncovered, until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 1 day.
Run a thin knife around edges of pan and invert pan onto a large cutting board. Lifting up one corner of inverted pan, with fingers loosen marshmallow and ease onto cutting board. With a large knife (or oiled pizza cutter) trim edges of marshmallow and cut marshmallow into roughly 1-inch cubes. Sift remaining powdered sugar back into your now-empty baking pan, and roll the marshmallows through it, on all 6 sides before shaking off the excess and packing them away.

Makes approximately 96 1-inch cubed marshmallows.

Ingredients (please excuse the photos; our camera is broken so all pictures are from the camera on my cell phone).

The oiled and sugared pan. I was trying an experiment with graham cracker crumbs on half the marshmallows. I was looking to make a smore in one step. I think I'll have to keep trying because while not horrible, it wasn't the effect I was looking for.

Beautiful marshmallowness. The beating seemed to take longer than 6 minutes but I don't know precisely how long it took. I'm really glad I wasn't having to stand there and hold the mixer that long. Such freedom!

Finished marshmallow goo. It's white and very pretty. Just don't touch because you'll never get free if you do (think strings of melted marshmallow everywhere).

Marshmallow sheet out of the fridge and ready to be cut. It's surprisingly springy.

Cut up marshmallows. After this comes my very favorite part of this recipe. After cutting the marshmallows, you roll them in powdered sugar. I found the best (and certainly most enjoyable) way to get the excess sugar off the marshmallow is to simply bounce the marshmallow off a clean corner of the baking pan. It's super fun and made me giggle like a fool.

And another super fun part of making marshmallows at home is trying fun things with them, like dunking them in chocolate or rolling them in graham cracker crumbs. Those were the only things I tried with this rendition but I'm sure you come up with all sorts of creative flavor combinations (like toffee pieces or sprinkles for a little crunch).

The final product: homemade marshmallows are way, way better than the store-bought variety. They're light and airy with a delightful amount of sweetness. Seriously, so good. Try them.

"New" Toy

2010-08-11T10:48:00.000-05:00

I went away to my parents for a few days and returned to find that husband had gotten me a "new" toy. The toy is technically older than I am but we'll ignore that fact and think of all the fun new things it lets me do. I haven't had a stand mixer before and this thing still works great! Hooray for the opening of brand new vistas (and for my husband's grandmother who allowed him to bring this home when he found it in her basement: thanks!!)!

Mmm...Cupcakes

2010-07-21T14:56:00.001-05:00

I have a confession to make. I'm a blog stalker. Sort of. I've been reading this blog for quite a while. I found it through a link on my sister-in-law's blog and fell in love. All the color and all the super-fun things she does with her kids...it's pretty addicting. We've been in the Wichita area for the entire summer so I kind of feel like I should run into her or someone from her family at any time. It would probably be pretty awkward since of course she wouldn't have a clue who I am but I kind of hope I do get to meet her sometime.
While in the Wichita area, I decided to take her suggestion and tried out Sugar Sisters. It's a super cute bakery that specializes in cupcakes but has just about anything else you can imagine as well (like some very interesting coffee-drink concoctions that involve brown sugar...yum). Even though, it was much too early in the morning to try something with this much sugar, I went for the chocolate peanut butter cupcake. It...was...dreamy. The cupcake was moist and delicious. But it was the frosting that really sold it for me. I have difficulty even describing how good it was...peanut buttery but not overwhelming, creamy, magical. If you live in the Wichita area, you have to go try this place out. If not, you can stare at the picture and dream.

Strawberry Jam

2010-07-01T15:02:00.001-05:00

Long ago, in college, one of my professors gave us the assignment to write a list of 100 things we would like to do before we die...a bucket list of sorts (although this is before the movie came out). I remember loving the assignment and coming up with all of those things. While I don't remember everything I wrote down...or even most...I do remember that learning to make jam was on the list. My grandma cans the best homemade jam and I always thought that would be a fun tradition to carry on. My favorite variety is her elderberry jam (my husband ADORES her peach) and since I have not a clue where to find elderberries we decided to use my mom's homegrown strawberries to start with. Let the adventure begin!
My mom washing and dehulling a whole lot of strawberries. This was definitely the most tedious part of the process and she did the lion's share. For that I say, "Thank you."

The strawberries, sugar, and pectin warming and preparing to boil. For this first batch we used the cooked strawberry jam recipe that came with the Sure-Jell. Boy it smelled good!

Unfortunately, it boiled over. The mixture grew so quickly once it started boiling that we weren't able to complete the full minute cooking time the recipe called for.

It also foamed up quite a bit but since we were trying to keep this allergen-free for my son, we didn't add the butter/margarine that is supposed to take care of that problem. We just tried to scoop the foam off and avoid what we couldn't skim.

We also were working without a canner so we tried my mom's canning technique. It involves filling the jar and putting the lid on very tight. Then you immediately flip the jar upside down and allow it to set for a few minutes. After those few minutes, you flip the jar right-side up and hope that you eventually hear the popping sound of it sealing. It can take a while for some of the jars, even a hour or more, as you wait for the contents to cool. Luckily nearly every jar sealed this way for us. Our back-up plan was to use paraffin wax to seal the jam.

The final product: the jam tasted good but our first batch didn't set up. For our second batch we tried the cooked strawberry jelly recipe instead (even though you aren't supposed to have whole fruit in jelly) which worked much better and set up quite nicely. Set or not set, it tastes great (and if we don't decide to recook the first batch will work really well as an ice cream topper)!

A Return to the New

2010-06-18T14:15:00.001-05:00

It's been quite some time since I lasted posted a recipe. I hadn't realized just how long until I went to start this post and the blogger dashboard told me that my last post was in February! Wow. I don't want to leave you with the idea that I haven't cooked in 4 months because I have. It's just that my pregnant body wasn't liking any kind of food for quite a while during that and then I just wasn't feeling up to trying something new. It sounded too hard. After a while it was easy to just continue going back to my old standards but really...how fun is that? It's time to break out of my mold (and once again remember to document my efforts).

Orange-Beef Stir Fry
from Better Homes and Gardens

12 oz beef top round steak
1 tsp finely shredded orange peel
1/2 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp instant beef bouillon granules
1 Tbsp cooking oil
4 green onions, bias-sliced into 1-inch pieces
1 clove garlic, minced
6 cups coarsely shredded fresh spinach
1 can (8 oz) sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 cups hot cooked rice

Trim fat from beef. Partially freeze beef. Thinly slice across the grain into bite-sized pieces. Set aside.
For sauce, in a small bowl stir together orange peel, orange juice, cornstarch, soy sauce, sugar, and bouillon granules. Set aside.
Preheat cooking oil in a wok or large skillet on medium-high heat. Stir-fry green onions and garlic in hot oil for 1 minute. Remove green onion mixture from wok.
Add beef to wok. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes or until cooked through. Push beef from center of wok.
Stir sauce and add to center of the wok. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Add spinach and water chestnuts. Stir all ingredients together to coat with sauce. Cover and cook for 1 minute more or until heated through. Serve immediately over hot cooked rice.

Serves 4.

The ingredients (minus the orange juice).

The beef. I know that I definitely used more than the 12 oz of beef that was called for in the recipe. I couldn't think of a good side to go with this (that I wouldn't have to purchase too many ingredients for) and I wanted to stretch it a bit. I think this was more in the 20 oz range but I don't remember exactly now. I also bought the top sirloin steak because it was what we found in the grocery store (and it wasn't overwhelmingly expensive).

A horrible picture of the sauce.

The final product: this was really pretty good. The sauce had a nice orange flavor but wasn't as overpowering as you find in most restaurant versions of orange chicken. The flavors complemented each other well and the water chestnuts added a good crunch to the overall texture. I still felt like it was missing something to make it go from "good" to "ooo, wow I need some more." I think I might mess with the vegetable combination to see if we could add some color and a bit more interest to this solid, albeit boring, meal.

Comfort Food Coma Anyone?

2010-02-09T19:29:00.000-06:00

This is my second attempt at homemade noodles. It went much better this time around. I thought I'd also share my chicken and noodle recipe with the world. It's one of my favorite comfort foods and is absolutely perfect on a super snowy day like today.

Noodles
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten egg yolks
1 beaten eggs
1/3 cup water
1 tsp cooking oil or olive oil

In a large bowl stir together 1 3/4 cups of the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In a small bowl stir together egg yolks, whole egg, water, and oil. Add egg mixture to flour mixture; mix well.
Sprinkle kneading surface with the remaining 1/4 cup clour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes total). Cover and let dough rest for 10 minutes.
Divide dough into 4 equal portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion of dough into a 12x9-inch rectangle (about 1/16 inch thick ). (If using a pasta machine, pass each portion of dough through machine according to manufacturer's directions until dough is 1/16 inch thick.) Let stand, uncovered, for 20 minutes. Lightly dust dough with flour. Loosely rool dough into a spiral; cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips. Shake strands to separate; cut into 2- to 3-inch lengths.
To servce immediately, cook for 1 1/2 to 2 mintues or until tender but still firm, allowing 1 to 2 minutes more for dried or frozen noodles. Drain.
To store cut noodles, spread them on a wire cooling rack. Let noodles dry about 1 hour or until completely dry. Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days. Or dry noodles for at least 1 hour and place then in a freezer bag or freezer container; freeze for up to 8 months.

Makes about 1 pound noodles.

Ingredients for noodles.

Adding wet ingredients to dry.

The dough was super dry but kneading helped that. I guess you would have to have it as dry as this or you'd have to add a whole lot of flour during the kneading process.

My kneaded dough ball after it had rested 10 minutes (although I don't know why it needed to rest; I was the one doing all the work). Eight to 10 minutes of kneading and my arms look tons better. No weight lifting needed if you do this everyday.

At this point I stopped to start prepping the "chicken and" part of the chicken and noodles.

Chicken and Noodles

3 chicken legs (thigh-drumstick piece) (about 2 pounds)

3 cups water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried thyme, crushed

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups chopped onions (3 medium)

2 cups sliced carrots (4 medium)

1 cup sliced celery (2 stalks)

3 cups wide noodles (6 ounces)

1 cup loose-pack frozen peas

2 cups milk

1/2 tsp salt

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Skin chicken. In a 4 1/2-quart Dutch oven combine chicken, water, bay leaves, thyme, the 1/2 tsp salt, and the pepper. Add onions, carrots, and celery. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 to 30 minutes or until chicken is tender and no longer pink. Discard the bay leaves. Remove chicken from Dutch oven; cool slightly. Remove meat from bones; discard bones. Chop chicken; set aside.
Bring broth mixture to boiling. Add noodles; cook for 5 minutes. Stir in frozen peas, 1 1/2 cups of the milk, and the 1/2 tsp salt.
In a screw-top jar combine the remainging 1/2 cup milk and the flour. Cover and shake until smooth; stir into noodle mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Stir in chopped chicken. Cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes more or until mixture is heated through.

Makes 6 servings.

Chicken and noodles ingredients (minus, of course, the noodles). All I really had time to do while waiting for the dough to rest was to get out these ingredients and cut my onion. Then it was back to focusing on the noodle dough.

I'm not sure how you're supposed to divide the dough into 4 equal parts but this seemed like the simplest way to me.

You most definitely can roll you dough out like it says to in the recipe but since I have a pasta machine I decided to use it exclusively this time. It worked really well and saved me some time.

I don't know if you can read them but on the knob on the left is a series of numbers. Those numbers tell you how thick the pasta sheet will be.

This is one of the first times through the machine. You start at the largest setting (7) and work your way down to the setting you'd like. I decided, quite arbitrarily, on 3 this time. I had to run the pasta through at least once (if not twice) at each of the settings in between to keep it smooth and even. Last time I learned that step was very important or you end up with lumpy/stretched dough.

My four portions of dough "resting."

While the dough rested, I got the chicken and other ingredients into the pot. Here it is right before I brought it up to a boil. After it was good and boiling, I turned down the heat, stuck a lid on it (I also started boiling some potatoes for mashed potatoes), and once again returned my attention to my noodle dough.

After figuring out how to attach the cutting head (which is embarrassingly simple for how long it took me), I started cutting the noodles. I simply used the fettucine setting because that's about how wide I like my noodles for this recipe. Cut, cut, cut.

After cutting the fettucine, I then cut them down to the length I wanted using kitchen scissors. Simple but effective.

This recipe makes double the noodles you'll need for the chicken and noodles recipe so I laid out the rest of the noodles to dry and freeze for the next time I make this.

Since these are fresh noodles instead of dry or frozen, I cut the cooking time down from 5 minutes to 2 before adding the milk. My husband does not like peas (and I don't like watching him pick them out), so I omit them in my version.

I bet you if I ever thought about keeping a screw-top jar, I could find one easily but I never think about needing one until I read it in step 3. I just use a fork to mix in the flour. I haven't had any issues with lumps or anything so we'll say that it's a fine substitution.

The final product: this is probably one of the best meals I've made. It's creamy and warm and absolutely delicious. I served mine over mashed potatoes but it's just as good plain. For all the extra work that goes into making my own noodles, they are well worth it. I can't remember a time where I've had better noodles; neither can my husband. Their flavor is incredible but it's the texture that really sets them apart. They are delicate and light which is a great compliment to the creaminess of the rest of this dish. I don't know if I can go back to the frozen or even Amish noodles I've used before in this dish.

Minty...Crunchy...Wonderful

2010-01-17T20:47:00.000-06:00

I like peppermint a lot...especially in the wintertime. A peppermint mocha around the holidays is one of my greatest indulgences. These cookies looked like a great way to enjoy peppermint with coffee at home.

Peppermint-Twist Biscotti
2/3 cup butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
1/2 tsp peppermint extract
4 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup coarsely chopped peppermint candy canes or peppermint candies
Red past food coloring
1 recipe Peppermint Icing
Chopped peppermint candy canes (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Line a cookie sheet with foil; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and peppermint extract until combined. Beat in as much flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour and the 1 cup chopped candy canes.
Divide dough in half. Tint one portion of the dough with red paste food coloring. Divide each half of dough into three portions. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a 14-inch-long rope. On prepared cookie sheet, place a rope of each color side by side. Twist pairs of ropes around each other several times. Flatten twists until 2 inches wide; place about 4 inches wide; place about 4 inches apart on the cookie sheet.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until light brown and tops are cracked. Cool completely on cookie sheet on a wire rack. Carefully peel foil away from twists.
Reduce oven temperature to 300F. Transfer twists to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut twists diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. Place slices, cut sides down, on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Turn slices over. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes more or until slices are dry. Transfer biscotti to a wire rack and let cool.
Drizzle cooled cookies with Peppermint Icing. If desired, sprinkle with additional chopped candy canes. Let stand until set.

Peppermint Icing:In a medium bowl stir together 2 cups powdered sugar and 1 Tbsp peppermint schnapps (or use 1 Tbsp milk and 1/4 tsp peppermint extract) until smooth. Add enough addtional milk (about 2 Tbsp) to an icing of drizzling consistency.

Makes 72 cookies.

The ingredients.

I didn't have red paste food coloring. I did have some regular liquid red food coloring so I decided to go ahead use that. I ended up getting a little overzealous so I had a very red section of dough.

The dough twist even looked great good before it was baked.

Baked twists.

The cut up twists made some very pretty designs. Before sticking them back in the oven, I tried the cookies and thought that it was going to be too heavy on the peppermint. I thought about nixing the peppermint icing and melting some white chocolate instead. After the second baking, though the peppermint mellowed and I decided to proceed as planned.

The final product: delicious. I couldn't get enough of these. They were awesome paired with ice cream and even better with coffee. If you like peppermint then I would definitely recommend making these very soon.

Christmas Cookies

2009-12-26T16:05:00.000-06:00

I was only able to make a couple different kinds of Christmas cookies this year; it's been a crazy few weeks. I love making cookies throughout the year but Christmas cookies are that much more fun.

The first kind I made was gingerbread men . This is a repeat of a recipe I made a couple years ago for Christmas. The thing I love best about them is that you can poke a hole in it, string it with ribbon and hang it on your tree. Gingerbread is super durable and will last for weeks as a sweet smelling, super cute ornament.

My gingerbread army.

The only other kind I was able to make this year was my white chocolate cherry shortbread cookies. I changed up the colors to make them a bit more festive. Yum.

What cookies did you make for your holiday this year?

Festive Pinwheel Cookies!

2009-12-10T21:05:00.000-06:00

A little while back I bought a bag of fresh cranberries. I was very excited to try to do something with them (other than decorate). This is one of my trials.

Cranberry-Orange Pinwheels
From BH&G's The Ultimate Cookie Book
1 cup cranberries
1 cup pecans
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
3 cups all-purpose flour

For filling, in a blender or food processor combine cranberries, pecans, and brown sugar. Cover and blend or process until cranberries and nuts are very finely chopped. Set aside.
In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and orange peel until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can. Stir in any remaining flour. Divide dough in half. Cover and chill dough 1 hour or until easy to handle.
Roll half of the dough between two pieces of waxed paper into a 10-inch square. Spread half of the filling over square, leaving a 1/2-inch border along the edges. Roll up dough. Moisten edges and pinch to seal. Wrap log in plastic wrap or waxed paper. Repeat with remaining dough and filling. Chill about 4 hours or until firm.
Preheat oven to 375F. Using a sharp knife, cut rolls into 1/4-inch slices. Place slices 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges are firm and bottoms are light brown. Let stand for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.

Makes about 60 cookies.

The ingredients.

The creamed sugar with eggs and orange peel. That's a lot of orange peel... and it smells good.

The chopped up cranberry mix. It's so red and pretty.

The rolled-out dough. From my previous failed attempts (or at least very difficult attempts) at rolling out cookie dough I've learned that having the dough cold enough is very important. I usually get impatient and try to rush into rolling before the dough is thoroughly chilled. That is a big mistake. It will only result in dough that sticks to everything you don't want it to. And if you have to roll up the dough like this for a pinwheel, you might as well forget it; the dough will fall apart and be completely unmanageable if it's too warm. Patience is the key.

I've mentioned my inability to divide things evenly many times before. This time I thought I'd measure things out so I'd get the two logs even. While it was a good thought, I still ended up with one of the logs having noticeably more filling. I'm not sure how it happened but I guess I'm gifted that way.

That is some very pretty filling!

Log. After getting it all rolled up, I wasn't real sure what to do with the ends that didn't have filling. I finally just decided to fold it in like a package.

Slices. If you look closely you'll notice that this sheet of cookies came from the log with less filling; the next shot shows a cookie from the other log. I guess that gives people options.

The final product: yummy, festive cookies. The dough is light and has a wonderful citrus flavor. The filling is sweet and a little nutty and completely delicious. The pairing make for a sweet and spunky holiday treat.

Chili

2009-12-06T19:55:00.001-06:00

Food allergies have been a blessing as well as a curse. Since I've had to make more than meal for everyone in our family, I've gotten the chance to try some recipes for myself that I've had to avoid for my family as a whole... like chili. Chili was kind of a staple of my diet growing up; my mom would always make it for the very first cold snap every year (and then frequently throughout the fall and winter). I've never gotten a chance to make for myself though because my husband doesn't like it. Crazy, right? He says it's something about the beans. Whatever. I've forgiven him... especially since he's so willing to try just about anything else. I feel really behind though. People are so particular about their chili and I've never even tried one recipe let alone found the perfect one. I guess everyone's got to start somewhere.

Chili
from Better Homes & Gardens
12 oz lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-oz can dark red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 8-oz can tomato sauce
2-3 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp dried basil, crushed

In a large saucepan cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender; drain fat. Stir in kidney beans, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, chili powder, basil, and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

Makes 4 servings (about 5 cups)

I forgot to take the ingredients picture so we'll just jump straight in. Here is the meat and vegetables cooking. I don't remember my mom putting peppers in her chili but they sound good. (I wasn't very attentive to my mom's cooking growing up though so I could be wrong.)

Adding the tomatoes, sauce, and spices.

Almost ready for simmering.

It only simmers for 20 minutes. That speed probably comes in handy sometimes but it seems like of quick to me.

The final product: good? The jury is still out on this one. The basil and garlic gives this chili a bit of an Italian flare and I haven't decided how I feel about that. I definitely liked the peppers and the overall chunkiness of it was good. And like most soups and stews the flavors meshed together to make this even better the next day. I'm wondering if you could achieve some of that effect by simmering this a bit longer. Overall, it definitely was a unique take on chili and I wouldn't say I didn't like it. It may just take another trial of it for me to straighten this out.

So what are your chili likes and dislikes? Do you have any recipes (or even just good key ingredients) that you'd be willing to share with this chili novice?

Coffee Companion

2009-12-02T10:47:00.000-06:00

My in-laws like coffee... a lot. So I thought I'd bring something to our Thanksgiving celebration that goes well with coffee. And since I love all things sweet and most things toffee this version seemed like a good candidate.

Chocolate-Toffee Biscotti
From The Ultimate Cookie Book by Better Homes and Gardens

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup almond toffee pieces
1/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces
6 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped
4 tsp shortening
Almond toffee pieces (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease a cookie sheet; set aside. In a large mixing bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and vanilla until combined. Beat in as much of the flour as you can with the mixer. Stir in any remaining flour. Stir in the 1/2 cup toffee pieces and the chocolate pieces.
Divide dough in half (dough will be sticky). Using floured hands, on a lightly floured surface, shape each half of dough into an 8-inch-long loaf. Place loaves about 5 inches apart on the prepared cookie sheet.
Bake about 25 minutes or until golden brown and firm to the touch in the center. Transfer to a wire rack and let stand for 1 hour.
Reduce oven temperature to 325F. Transfer loaves to a cutting board. Using a serrated knife, cut loaves diagonally into 1/2-inch slices. (Or cool completely; wrap and store overnight at room temperature before slicing.) Place slices, cut side down, on the cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes. Turn slices over. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes more or until dry. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.
In a small saucepan heat and stir the chocolate and shortening over low heat until smooth. Dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate mixture. Place on a sheet of waxed paper. If desired, sprinkle with additional almond toffee pieces. Let stand until chocolate is set.

Makes about 30 cookies.

The ingredients.

The completed dough.

The loaves of dough ready to go in the oven.

As you can tell I didn't get the dough split evenly so one loaf baked up larger than the other. I found this kind of annoying because I really strived for equality this time. Looking on the bright side though, this resulting in a wide variety of sizes in the cookies so people had lots of options to choose from. And who doesn't like options?

I let the loaves cool completely before I cut. I'd like to think it helped to keep the cookies from crumbling during the cutting process but I don't have a lot of evidence to support this theory. I know the one other time I've made biscotti I didn't wait and I had a lot of trouble keeping the slices together.

Aren't the slices so pretty?! Here they are all lined up to cool after the second baking.

Dipping anything in chocolate makes it better in my book. The biscotti is no exception. On a related note, playing with melted chocolate is very fun; the world would be a much better place if everyone worked with this liquid wonder more often!

Sprinkling with toffee pieces. I didn't really find a stellar technique for this. I dropped the toffee pieces on the chocolate right after dunking and since the chocolate was still pretty runny, the toffee would sometimes just slide right off. I guess I could have waited a few minutes and sprinkled the toffee on after the chocolate had set up a little but this seemed dangerous to me. What if I had waited too long and the chocolate was already set enough that the pieces just fell off? And then I'd end up wasting more toffee because I wouldn't be able to catch the run off pieces in a bowl. Any suggestions on the best way to sprinkle?

The final product: gold star! Crunchy and chewy and delicious. They are definitely dunkable but not so dry that they need to be. The chocolate and toffee combination is always great and the different incantations between the pieces in the dough and coating kept things interesting. The chocolate and toffee coating was very impressive and while not all that difficult, really made them look professional. This would be great for a coffee night or even a gift for a coffee-lover.

Allergies and Dessert

2009-11-28T19:57:00.002-06:00

My son is getting tested for food allergies. While I don't like the idea of him having allergies, I am thrilled with the thought that we might finally find the reason for all his itching and rashiness. Until we get the test results back, I've had to take him off all the most popular allergens: wheat, dairy, egg, nuts, and fish. It wouldn't be that difficult since he's currently only eating baby food and cereal but I'm still a nursing momma so I have to adjust my diet as well. Uh oh. Let's just say I don't diet well. If I'm trying to lose weight I have to add exercise because I stink at cutting back or taking things out of my diet. Just can't do it. Maybe I'm a bit of an emotional eater or maybe I just like my cereal and desserts too much but it's a characteristic I've come to terms with in myself.

In adjusting to this temporary character-building experience, I went in search of a dessert I could eat. They proved difficult since almost all desserts involve flour, butter or cream. Luckily about that time, Hannah from honey & jam posted just the thing: homemade apple sauce. Simple and yummy and delightfully free of wheat, dairy, nuts, and egg (and of course fish). Hooray!!

Spiced Slow Cooker Applesauce
by honey & jam
8 apples, peeled, cored, thinly sliced
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of nutmeg

Combine apples and water in crockpot and cook on Low setting for 4 to 6 hours. Stir in sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg; continue cooking for another 30 minutes.

The ingredients.

Peeled apples.

Crockpot full of wonderfully sweet apples.

Just to prove you don't need any special tools to peel and slice apples, I did it all with only these tools. Not really. I just don't have any of those super fun gadgets. If I was really cool like my mom, all I would have needed was one little knife. She's got all sorts of crazy awesome farm girl skills like that. Kudos to you, Mommy-O.

After about 5 hours, I added the sweet and spicy magic to the crockpot. I had a couple of other pictures of this step but they all included my husband's nose. This pot smelled awesome so it was hard to keep our noses away.

Spiced apples.

Seeing that it was still pretty chunky, I tried to mash the cooked apples up with a potato masher. While it was fun, it wasn't really all that effective. I didn't mind the bigger chunks of apple; if you fancy a finer fare (that's for you Tyler) you would probably want to cut your apples thinner than I did so they mash better.

The final product: awesome!! This was absolutely delicious and I'm not just saying that because it's the only really sweet thing I've eaten in a while. It's a big, warm bowl of comfort but I'm sure it would be just as good cold. I even took Hannah's suggestion and mixed it in with my oatmeal the next morning. Incredible. This is already on my list of favorite recipes and I know I'll be making this for years.

First Try at Muffins

2009-11-24T19:46:00.001-06:00

Cranberry Muffins
From Better Homes and Gardens

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup + 2Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil
1 cup coarsely chopped cranberries

Grease twelve muffin cups or the line with paper bake cups; set aside.
In a medium bowl combine flour, 1/3 cup of the sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in the center of flour mixture; set aside.
In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened. Combine cranberries and 2 Tbsp of the sugar; fold into batter.
Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. If desired sprinkle Streusel Topping over muffin batter in cups. Bake in a 400F oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove for muffin cups; serve warm.

Streusel Topping

Combine 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour, 3 Tbsp brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon. Cut in 2 Tbsp butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 2 Tbsp chopped nuts.

Makes 12 muffins.

The final product: this was my first time making muffins that didn't involve cutting open a package. It really wasn't that much more difficult or even time consuming. The most difficult part was probably keeping the cranberries on the cutting board while cutting them; they kept wanting to shoot off the side if I hit one square on. The resulting muffins tasted pretty good. They weren't too sweet and had just enough tartness from the cranberries to keep your interest. For muffins, they were pretty moist although I think I'd still enjoy them more with a big glass of milk or maybe a nice mug of tea. They are a great festive breakfast/brunch item so try them this week for a Thanksgiving treat!

Mac & Cheese Magic

2009-11-19T20:42:00.000-06:00

Florentine Mac and Cheese and Roast Chicken Sausage Meatballs
from Rachael Ray
1 lb cavatappi (hollow, corkscrew-shaped pasta)
1 1/2 lb ground chicken
2 to 3 fresh rosemary sprigs, stripped and finely chopped
2 tsp fennel seeds
3 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 egg
1/2 to 3/4 cup bread crumbs
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken stock
1 cup whole milk
1/8 tsp grated nutmeg
2 (10 oz) boxes of chopped frozen spinach, defrosted

Preheat the oven to 450F.
Place a large pot of water on to boil. When it comes to a boil, salt it, add the pasta, and cook al dente.
While the water is coming to a boil, in a large mixing bowl combine the chicken, salt and pepper, rosemary, fennel seeds, garlic, red pepper flakes, ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Parmigiano, the egg, and the bread crumbs. If the mixture is too wet, add another handful of bread crumbs. Form 8 large balls, 3 to 4 inches in diameter. Coat the balls in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and lightly grease a rimmed baked sheet with another tablespoon of the olive oil. Arrange the balls on the sheet and roast for 17 to 18 minutes, or until the juices run clear.
While the meatballs roast, melt the butter in a medium saucepot over medium heat. Whisk in the flour, cook for 1 minute, then whisk in the stock and milk. Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook for 5 to 6 minutes to thicken. Stir in the remaining cup of grated Parmigiano and reduce the heat to the lowest setting.
Add the spinach to the white sauce, separating the clumps as you go. Mix thoroughly.
Drain the pasta and place in a large bowl. Pour the spinach sauce over the pasta and toss to combine. Adjust the seasonings.
Serve the Florentine Mac and Cheese topped with 2 meatballs per serving.

If you know our family very well than you probably know about our love of macaroni and cheese. My husband pretty much tried to live off the stuff in college and has made quite the effort to kept it in our diet on a regular basis. What can I say? He's a man who likes simple things. Therefore I was pretty excited to find a healthier version.

The ingredients:

All the ingredients for the meatballs. I've never put ricotta cheese in meatballs before but it goes well. It makes the meatballs super sticky but the olive oil seems to help with that.

These meatballs are ginormous!!

Even after they are cooked, they are large, large, large. They kind of look like really puffy scones or biscuits.

I once again steamed fresh spinach instead of defrosting frozen (like I did with the Turkey Meatball Hoagies).

This is the same sauce base as the sauce for the Hoagies but it calls for a ton of spinach. I had to steam the spinach in two batches and the sauce looked like it should have enough after only half. If you like spinach though, this is the sauce for you.

I couldn't find cavatappi so I used gemelli instead. It worked well and even had the hollow corkscrew shape!

Lots of pasta and lots of sauce.

The final product: Mmm... mac and cheese. We enjoyed this quite a bit. It is creamy and wonderful with a subtle cheesy flare. My husband felt the sauce was little heavy on the spinach. While I liked it the way it was, I think you could probably cut a quarter to even half of the spinach out of the sauce and not miss in the final product. The chicken sausage are really quite extraordinary. I think what makes the meatballs special is the ricotta cheese; it makes them really moist and oh so yummy. The two meatballs per serving recommended in the recipe would definitely be a bit much (even with just one you still get a quarter pound of meat!) although I don't think I would cut down the size of the meatballs as the size adds a novelty to the meal. This will definitely be added to our "regulars".

More Pumpkin

2009-11-12T21:34:00.000-06:00

Pumpkin Bread
3 cups sugar
1 cup cooking oil
4 eggs
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
2/3 cup water
1 15-oz can pumpkin

Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up the sides of two 9x5x3-inch or three 8x4x2-inch loaf pans; set aside. In a very large mixing bowl beat sugar and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add eggs and beat well; set aside.
In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Alternately add flour mixture and water to sugar mixture, beating on low speed after each addition just until combined. Beat in pumpkin. Spoon batter into prepared pans.
Bake in a 350F oven for 55 to 65 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near centers comes out clean. Cool in pans on wire racks for 10 minutes. Remove from pans. Cool completely on wire racks. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Makes 2 loaves.

Mmmm... pumpkin bread. Okay, I don't actually remember eating pumpkin bread before but I love pumpkin and I love sweet breads so we can assume I'll like pumpkin bread. This is a recipe I found in my trusty Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. BH&G, you've been so good to me.

The ingredients:

The leaves fell off the trees right outside our kitchen window so instead of having 10-20 minutes of direct sunlight in my kitchen a day, I have hours. It's wonderful. This is my only explanation for the overabundance of pictures with this post... I was just loving the lighting.

The dry ingredients.

The oil, sugar and eggs. The sugar and oil looked so pretty in the sunlight.

Adding the dry ingredients to the sugar.

Mmmm... pumpkin.

Pumpkin swirl.

Finished batter.

I halved the recipe but I didn't really know what to do about the loaf pan. I'm thinking that my loaf pan (the only one I have) is a 8x4x2-inch pan. I didn't actually measure the pan (the pan just tells me it's a 1.5 lb) but judging by how full the pan ended up being, that's my best guess.

Luckily the too-small pan wasn't a disaster. I was a little worried when I checked on it at 55 minutes and the edges were done but the center was huge and very soggy. I kept checking on it every 5 minutes after that and pulled it out after 75 minutes.

The finished product: this bread is good. I mean really good. It's super moist and sweet and oh so wonderful. This recipe gets a gold star from me.

Fun With Noodles

2009-11-07T21:35:00.001-06:00

Homemade Pasta
from Better Homes and Gardens
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 beaten eggs
1/3 cup water
1 tsp cooking oil or olive oil

In a large bowl stir together 2 cups of the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In a small bowl combine the eggs, water and oil. Add egg mixture to the flour mixture; stir to combine.
Sprinkle a clean kneading surface with the remaining 1/3 cup flour. Turn dough out onto flour surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes total). Cover and let the dough rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 4 equal portions. On lightly floured kneading srugace, roll each dough portion into a 12-inch square (about 1/16 inch thick). Let stand uncovered, about 20 minutes. Cut as desired. If using a pasta machine, pass each portion through machine according to manufacturer's directions until dough is 1/16 thick. Let stand; cut as desired.
To serve immediately, cook noodles in boiling, salted water for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes.

Makes about 1 pound pasta.

I have a good recipe for Chicken & Noodles. It's really hearty and feeds a crowd easily. I may post that recipe at a later date but today I'm talking about the noodles. With each of our moves I had to try to find good quality noodles for this recipe. I even once used broken fettucine because I couldn't find the style of noodles I wanted. As this has been a source of frustration, I wondered if it would be easier to just make my own but thought that only people with the skill of say my grandmother could do it. Then I saw Joy the Baker do it recently and while she certainly is on a different level than I, it gave me the courage to try.

The ingredients.

The well.

The dough ready to be kneaded.

The kneaded dough. Would you believe that I had never kneaded anything before? It went well. I might even have the courage to try some regular bread now. Maybe.

Now here comes the tricky part. You wouldn't think that cutting would be the hardest part of this recipe but it most definitely was for me. As I knew that I had some backup frozen noodles that I could use in a pinch, I experimented to find the best technique.

One of the ideas presented in the cookbook was to loosely roll the sheet of pasta and then cut it and unroll it. I guess I didn't use enough dusting flour because I rolled, cut and then couldn't get the sheet to unroll.

So then I tried the basic cutting with a flat sheet with a knife approach.

But then I thought it would be easier and quicker if I switched to the pizza cutter.

Both method of cutting worked fine but then I was still left with the problem of how to get my much too sticky dough strips off the cutting board without stretching and destroying them.

As you can tell, I tried endlessly to peel the strips off the table too. It didn't go well.

I received a pasta machine for Christmas a couple of years ago and have never had the courage to try it out. Now seemed like the time. While it took a bit to get the hang of the process, it really does make things much easier. I'll be using it next time exclusively instead of rolling the dough out by hand.

Tyler thoroughly enjoyed trying out the machine on the portions of dough I destroyed. All of his playing really helped us figure out all the tricks. Thanks for your help sweetie!

The finished product: unfortunately I had to throw out much of the noodles because they either got stuck and therefore demolished or because the pasta machine was a little dusty for the first portion (that portion really cleaned things out though). There was only a little bit left after all of that but wow was it good. I will most definitely try this again because the noodles are incredible. There is no comparison between these noodles and the noodles you get at the store (even the Amish noodles) so I think they are so worth the extra effort. Next time I'll just make sure to use plenty of flour in the rolling out process.

Pumpkin Cookies

2009-10-27T09:39:00.000-05:00

Pumpkin Butterscotch Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup butterscotch chips

Position a rack in the middle of the oven . Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper.
Stir the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and lightened in color, about 1 minute. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix the oil, pumpkin, and vanilla until blended. Mix in the flour mixture to incorporate it. Mix in the chips.
Using an ice cream scoop with a 1/4-cup capacity, scoop mounds of the dough onto the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least 2 1/2-inches apart. You could also simply use a 1/4-cup measuring cup if you don’t have a scoop. Use a thin metal spatula to smooth and flatten the rounds.
Bake the cookies one sheet at a time until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry, about 16 minutes. Cool them on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then use a wide metal spatula to transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool cimpletely.
Dust the cooled cookies lightly with powdered sugar. The cookies can be stored in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 4 days.

It's that time of year. Pumpkin is everywhere and it's filling my pantry as well. In branching out from the traditional pumpkin pie, I thought I'd find something else to do with my canned pumpkin. This is the first of a couple recipes I'll try and I found it on Joy the Baker

The ingredients.

The dough. It comes together really easy. It includes oil instead of butter or shortening so it kind of reminds me of a cake batter instead of a cookie dough.

Joy said to use a 1/4 cup scoop to spoon these out but that seemed really big to me. I ended up just spooning out a good sized mound for each. This was the first sheet. On the second sheet I went even smaller and they still turned out great.

Here are the ginormous results of the first sheet. They bake up really well and end up being more like individual pumpkin butterscotch cakes. I'm not exactly sure why the butterscotch chips sunk but I kind of like the effect. If you could finagle a design, you could make these into jack o' lantern cookies. How fun!

The final product: these are light and cake-like. The pumpkin and spice are very festive and the butterscotch chips are a wonderful compliment. I'll definitely make these again. If I want to impress, I'll stick with the original, ginormous size. If I just want to indulge in some festive treats, I try the smaller size and be able to share with lots of friends. Yum.

Zucchini Pancakes

2009-10-25T12:15:00.000-05:00

Zucchini Pancakes
2 c. zucchini, grated
1/2 c. Bisquick
1/4 c. grated onions
1/4 Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
Salt and pepper
Mix all together. Fry like pancakes in butter, 5 minutes on each side.

I made these on a whim one night when we didn't want what I had scheduled for that night. In my head I was planning on trying this recipe from Joy the Baker but I didn't have 4 cups of zucchini. I set out to find another recipe quickly online and this is what I found. It's simple and used Bisquick which I needed to get rid of (double score!).

The ingredients.

The zucchini. As you can see, I had to stretch a bit to even get the 2 cups required for this recipe.

When I mentioned zucchini pancakes, I think Tyler was thinking sweet pancakes with some zucchini in it (maybe more like zucchini bread). These include onion and cheese so they definitely fall into the savory rather than sweet category.

We are more of a waffle bunch so I don't know if I've ever fried up pancakes before. New experiences = hooray!

Big pile of savory, green pancakes.

The final product: these are pretty good and could be very versatile. One could be very creative with toppings and completely change the feel of this meal. Suggestions I saw were sour cream or applesauce. Since we didn't have either of those options, we tried a couple of our own ideas. They were really good with just plain butter. We also liked honey but I think they would interesting with ketchup or salsa. This recipe was a good introduction to zucchini pancakes but I still intend to try Joy the Baker's recipe next time around.

More Pizza Fun

2009-10-22T10:31:00.000-05:00

Food in Chicago is very important. There are a couple of things people seem to be pretty passionate about: pizza and Italian steak. While we haven't had a chance to delve into the Italian steak realm, we did get to expand our pizza experience a bit this past weekend. We tried Gino's East.

This is the pizza we had at Giordano's (just for comparison):

And this is the pizza we had at Gino's East. They didn't have our standard Hawaiian pizza (Tropical Delight at Giordano's) so we had to branch out a bit. This is a cheeseburger pizza which included ground beef, cheddar cheese (in addition to the regular cheese topping) and bacon. The pizza was pretty good. The crust included cornmeal which makes for a crunchy texture and interesting flavor. Gino's prides themselves on their sauce and I can see why; the sauce is really good. Since the sauce is really the star of this pizza, they emphasize it more than the cheese on this pizza. While I really appreciate the incredible sauce and excellent crust, I think we prefer Giordano's pizza just for all the cheese (we really like our cheese).

Pad Thai

2009-10-18T20:13:00.000-05:00

Pad Thai
8 oz dried rick stick noodles
4 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
6 Tbsp white vinegar
6 Tbsp sugar
1 Tbsp ketchup
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
8 cloves garlic, pounded to a mash or crushed and chopped
2 eggs4 green onions/scallions, including green tops and white bottoms angle cut into 1.5 inch pieces
1.5 bean sprouts
1/3 cups of finely chopped peanuts

Soak the noodles in a large bowl of hot water until they are soft (about 30 minutes). Drain and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce, vinegar, sugar, ketchup until the sugar is dissolved.
Set a wok over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the oil. Rotate the wok so that the oil coats the sides. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir fry until golden (1-2 minutes). Stir in the sauce mixture and bring to a boil. Add the noodles and gently toss them in the sauce. Stir fry until the noodles absorb the sauce.
Break the eggs into the wok, breaking up the yolks a bit, the mix the eggs down under the noodle mixture. Cook without stirring for 15 seconds, then stir fry until ingredients are well balanced.
Add the green onions and stir fry for a couple minutes until cooked through but still crisp. Stir in the bean sprouts and peanuts until well mixed. Serve immediately.

Sweet Pork
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
6 cloves garlic, pounded to a mash or crushed and chopped
3/4 pound pork tenderloin, cut crosswise into thin medallions
2 Tbsp fish sauce
4 Tbsp golden brown sugar
1/2 tsp pepper

Set a wok over medium-high heat. When it is quite hot, add the oil. Rotate the wok so that the oil coats the sides. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir fry for a few seconds then add the pork. Stir fry until cooked through. Add the remaining ingredients and stir fry for 1.5 minutes.

I got these recipes from my husband's cousin (would that make her my cousin-in-law?), Denita. She sent it to me months ago and I finally got a chance to try it this week.

Aside from the move, my main obstacle to making this sooner was finding the rice noodles. I don't know why but I couldn't find them anywhere. I tried big markets and small but had no luck. Finally I ended going to an Asian market near Chinatown (you'd think with not one but two Korean senior centers within 5 blocks of our apartment we'd have one closer but no). The market was filled with all sorts of interesting products, lots of smells I'm not accustomed to and a vast array of rice noodles. Hooray!

I realize you should make the pad thai before making the meat but I didn't notice that you needed to soak the noodles for 30 minutes before stir frying so I switched them.

The sweet meat sauce ingredients. I decided to switch out chicken for the pork (because that's what I had already) and it seemed to work well.

The chicken and garlic stir frying.

The sauce cooking down.

Pad thai ingredients (minus the soaking noodles).

The first time around I burned the garlic. This just proves you should never cook while distracted. Can I get a redo?

Much better. Here is the sauce stir frying after a more successful garlic stir fry.

The noodles after they soaked up all the sauce.

The eggs cooked up nicely but made the noodles really sticky. I had a lot of difficulty stir frying the scallions because the noodles didn't want to separate at all. I'm not really sure what caused this so if anyone has any advice, I'd be thrilled.

The final product: this was really good. Tyler and Addilyn both ate this willingly and seemed to really enjoy it which is quite the feat. I will definitely make this again (and not just because I still have half a pack of rice noodles). Next time I need to either cook the pad thai first or figure out a better way to keep the meat warm but it was a little dry and chewy.

I'm sorry...but this will make up for everything

2009-10-01T20:59:00.000-05:00

I know it's been a while. I don't have a great excuse. I could blame our move but I think I've already used that one up. I'm out after that so I'll just say, "I'm sorry" and we'll move on.

It's starting to get cool. An actual fall!! After a year in Houston, I'm really excited about cooler weather just so I can break out all the fun, really hearty recipes I have that I ignored for a year. Soup is something that I always love in the fall and this recipe screams FALL.

Harvest Creamy Corn "Choup"

by Rachel Ray

2 Tbsp olive oil
4 bacon slices, chopped
1 onion, chopped
4 to 5 large ears corn, cut off the cob, or 1 (10-oz) box frozen corn
1 medium or 2 small zucchini, chopped
1 lb small potatoes, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped
1 bay leaf
5 to 6 fresh thyme sprigs
1 tsp paprika
salt and black pepper
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 qt chicken stock
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream

Heat the olive oil in medium soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the bacon to the hot oil and cook until crisp at the edges, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the onions, corn, zucchini, potatoes, and bell pepper as you get them chopped. Add the bay leaf, thyme sprigs, paprika, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for 7 to 8 minutes, until the veggies begin to soften. Sprinkle the flour around the pot, and stir and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the stock and bring up to a bubble. When it thickens up a bit, stir in the milk and cream and simmer for 5 minutes. Turn off the heat and discard bay leaf. Season the choup with salt, pepper and hot sauce to taste.

Serves 4.

The ingredients:

Veggies cooking in bacon grease has to be the best smell ever. Seriously, it's awesome.

The veggies are all soft. Here is where I stop and smell the pot. Inhale the deliciousity.

Simmering in the broth. This is right before adding the milk and cream.

The final product: I don't know how to express how wonderful this soup is. The name "choup" comes from a cross between chowder and soup. That's a good description because this is creamy like a chowder but not quite as thick. It's got a warm, smoky flavor from the bacon and the vegetables are delicious (not to mention really pretty all mixed up together). Enjoy a big bowl of this...soon.

Zucchini Bread

2009-09-12T15:58:00.001-05:00

Zucchini Bread

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 beaten egg
1 cup sugar
1 cup finely shredded, unpeeled zucchini
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans, toasted

Grease the bottom and 1/2 inch up sides of an 8x4x2-inch loaf pan; set aside. In a medium bowl combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, baking powder, and nutmeg. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside.
In another medium bowl combine egg, sugar, zucchini, and oil. Add zucchini mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir until just moistened (batter should be lumpy). Fold in nuts. Spoon batter into prepared pan.
Bake in 350º oven for 50 to 55 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove from pan. Cool completely on a wire rack. Wrap and store overnight before slicing.

Makes 1 loaf (16 servings).

I was at a friend's house in elementary school when her mom offered me zucchini bread. I remember thinking,"Y'all are crazy," and I politely declined. I come from more of a banana bread family. Now that I have married a banana-hater and I have a vegetable-hater for a daughter (and I've had time to grow into a much more adventureous eater), I was more than willing to give zucchini bread a chance. I found this recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.

The ingredients:

Dry ingredients all mixed together.

Grated zucchini.

All the wet ingredients mixed together. I adore the green color this concotion gave me. It's so pretty! I know that sounds weird to love the green that's going into your bread but you zucchini bread lovers out there understand.

Here are the wet and dry ingredients as they are ready to be mixed together.

The finished batter as it's poured into the bread pan and is ready to go into the oven. Unlike most recipes I saw, this recipe only makes one loaf which is great if you're preparing it for a small crowd.

The bread right after it came out of the oven. The recipe states that after it has cooled, you are supposed to wrap it up in plastic wrap and let it set overnight before cutting into it. I'm much too inpatient to wait for that so I ignored that directive.

The finished product: mmm...zucchini bread. When we had it the first night, it was pretty good. The sweetness was about perfect and the texture was okay. After I wrapped it and let the remaining bread set overnight, it was much better. I don't know why but it was so much moister the next day. I will definitely wrap and wait because it improves this bread 10-fold (and maybe I'll even listen to the recipe next time I try something new...maybe). The moistness of the bread combined with the sweetness and spice were really good. I still have some zucchini so I'm going to go make some more right now.

Moving

2009-09-11T09:44:00.000-05:00

We just moved. All that packing and unpacking has left me with very little time to try out new recipes. I have had a chance to bake, but only some old standard recipes. I have tried out the new oven and gas (GAS!!) stove on both my chocolate crackletop cookies and the turkey meatball hoagies. This set up is very different from my last so it definitely is going to take a while to figure out the idiosyncrasies. Bare with me as I experiment with not only new recipes but new equipment.

Andes Mint Cookies

2009-08-17T10:58:00.001-05:00

Andes Creme de Menthe Chunk Cookies

1/2 cup salted butter, softened
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 package Andes Creme de Menthe baking chips
2 2/3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

Blend butter, sugars, baking soda, baking powder, vanilla, and eggs until mixed. Stir in Andes Baking Chips and then flour. Chill one hour in refrigerator. Measure out approzimately 1 oz of dough. Form balls and slightly flatten. Raise oven rack one level above middle and bake on non-stick baking pans. Bake on 350º for 8-10 minutes. Cool on pans for 2 minutes before removing.

Makes 4 dozen cookies.

I found this recipe long ago and have used it many times. It's a favorite of many and I definitely recommend it. If you buy the Andes Creme de Menthe chips, it's the recipe on the back of the bag (which I'm most definitely not too good to use).

The ingredients:

All the ingredients (minus baking chips and flour) ready to be mixed up.

The mixed dough. It's really runny at this stage because of the 2 eggs.

Mmmm...baking chips. Who wouldn't love chocolate and mint?

This is right before adding the flour.

The finished dough before it went to the refridgerator to chill.

The chilled dough is significantly stiffer and much easier to handle.

Ready to go in the oven.

Out of the oven. I cooked these for right around 8 and a half minutes. When they come out of the oven, they are a lot puffier but they fall quickly in the cool air. By the time you go to transfer them at 2 minutes they look like this.

The final product: these are basic and yummy. I've made these enough for them to become an old standard for me and they are so good that they'll remain in my playbook for years to come. I have made this for crowds multiple times and they always go over very well. The creme de menthe is very refreshing and would be a great complement to coffee or cocoa.

First True Experiment

2009-08-09T15:50:00.001-05:00

We are getting ready to move. Some of the most creative dishes come out of looking at your refridgerator and freezer and trying to fiugre out what to do with what you've got left so you don't have to move it. That's where this dish came from. I was looking in my freezer and found a half package of frozen meatballs. I think I originally used them to make a meatball soup. I thought that I could make that recipe again but that seemed kind of heavy when it's nearly 100ºF. Instead I decided to pair these meatballs with the sweet & sour sauce recipe posted earlier and see what happened.

The ingredients:

Sweet & Sour Sauce

1 cup chicken broth
1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup rice vinegar
4 tsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Stir together ingredients in a small bowl; set aside. After cooking meat and vegetables, stir sauce; add to empty skillet. Cook and stir until bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more.

Here is the mixed-up sauce.

I decided to saute the frozen meatballs in a bit of oil. They browned fairly easily in 7 minutes or so.

To get them to heat all the way through, I covered them for a while.

I over browned them a bit on one side but it didn't really hurt the flavor. The meat was a little tougher in that area but not enough to really be detrimental.

After cooking the meat and frozen stirfry vegetables, I removed them to a dish so I could cook the sauce.

When the sauce starts bubbling, it takes just a couple of minutes to get it to a glaze consistency. I've learned with this sauce, you want to be patient and make sure you've allowed it to bubble long enough otherwise you end up with a really runny sauce that doesn't fully coat the meat and vegetables.

I added some pineapple to the vegetables and meat when I mixed them into the sauce. They added a nice sweetness to compliment the sauce.

The finished product: this was okay. The meatballs and sauce we really good together. I was actually surprised at how much I enjoyed the beef meatballs (which could just as easily have been in Swedish meatballs or even some Italian dish) covered in sweet & sour sauce. The vegetables were definitely the low point. The cheap frozen mix I found at Walmart was not that great. After having the sauce paired with fresh carrots and peppers in my sweet & sour pork recipe, I really think the fresh vegetables are crucial to making this a really nice dish. They may add some prep time to this recipe (at least doubling it), I think they would most assuredly be worth it.

Chocolate Crackletops

2009-08-09T08:42:00.000-05:00

Chocolate Crackletops

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup butter
4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate, chopped
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups M&Ms chocolate mini baking bits
Additional granulated sugar

Combine flour and baking powder; set aside. In 2-quart saucepan over medium heat combine 2 cups sugar, butter and chocolate, stirring until butter and chocolate are melted; remove from heat. Gradually stir in eggs and vanilla. Stir in flour mixture utnil well blended. Chill mixture 1 hour. Stir in M&Ms chocolate mini baking bits; chill mixture an additional 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350º. Line cookie sheets with foil. With sugar-dusted hands, roll dough into 1-inch balls; roll balls in additional sugar. Place about 2 inches apart onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake 10 to 12 minutes. Do not overbake. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in tightly covered container.

Makes about 5 dozen cookies.

This is a recipe I've made before but it goes over so well I had to share it. I found it in "The Cookie Bible." Some say it's like a brownie in cookie form. Whatever you call it, it's good.

The ingredients:

Chocolate, butter and sugar...things don't get much better than that.

The melted chocolate and sugar smelled great. I kind of wanted to try it plain (but I didn't).

After melting the chocolate and sugar, I added the eggs and vanilla.

The eggs and vanilla made the chocolate mixture much smoother and runnier.

Here is the chocolate mixture as I prepared to stir it into the dry ingredients.

Here is the finished dough right before I covered it and put it in the refrigerator to cool for an hour.

After it had cooled for an hour, I took the dough out and stirred in the baking M&Ms. Baking M&Ms are just like regular M&Ms only smaller (and cuter).

Here is the finished dough after it had cooled yet another hour. It was ready to roll into balls and bake.

After rolling the dough into balls, I rolled those balls in granulated sugar and placed them on the foiled-lined cookie sheets.

I baked the cookies for right about 10 minutes per batch. I let them cool on the cookie sheet for about 1 minute before transferring them to a wire rack to cool.

The finished product: these are super-rich and very delicious. When they are warm and fresh, they are moist and chocolatey. The next day they take on a brownie-like quality with a chewier consistency and a more intense chocolate flavor. These may be one of the only cookies I've ever made that taste better the next day than they do fresh. The M&Ms make them very kid friendly but the small size and interesting texture make them good adult fare as well.

White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

2009-08-05T12:57:00.000-05:00

White-Chocolate Cherry Shortbread

1/2 cup maraschino cherries, drained and finely chopped
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cold butter
12 oz white chocolate baking squares (with cocoa butter), finely chopped
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 drops red food coloring (optional)
Sugar
2 tsp shortening
White nonpareils and/or red edible glitter (optional)

Preheat oven to 325º. Spread cherries on paper towels to drain well.
In a large mixing bowl stir together flour and sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the butter until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in drained cherries and 4 oz (2/3 cup)of the chopped white chocolate. Stir in almond extract and, if desired, red food coloring. Form mixture into a ball and gently knead until smooth.
Shape dough into 3/4-inch balls. Place balls 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. Using the bottom of a drinking glass dipped in sugar, flatten balls to 1 1/2-inch rounds. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until centers are set. Let stand for 1 minute on cookie sheet. Transfer cookies to a wire rack and let cool.
In a small saucepan heat and stir remaining 8 oz white chocolate and the shortening over low heat until smooth. Dip half of each cookie into chocolate mixture, allowing excess to drip off. If desired, roll dipped edge in nonpareils and/or edible glitter. Place cookies on waxed paper. Let stand until set.

Makes 60 cookies.

The ingredients:

The cherries all chopped up and drying ... they're so pretty.

I still don't have a pastry blender so I had to cut in the butter by hand. It took a good 10 minutes or so to get it to the right consistency but I got it done. Perserverence. On that note, if anyone is looking for a Christmas or birthday gift idea ...

Mmm ... white chocolate.

Here is the dough with the cherries and chocolate ready to be mixed in. It says to add the food coloring now; I would wait a bit.

I added significantly more than the 2 drops of food coloring suggested in the recipe. I added the 2 drops before I even started kneading the dough and they pretty much disappeared. I kept adding more intermitently but really didn't see much of a change until most of the flour was worked into a dough (which takes quite a while). At that point, it took some kneading to get the color worked through evenly but it definitely showed up when added.

In hopes of getting evenly sized cookies, I rolled out all my ball o' cookies at once.

After the dough was portioned and balled, I simply put them on the cookie sheet and mashed them down with a sugared bottom of a juice glass. That was kind of enjoyable and fairly stress relieving. If you've got some pent up aggression or maybe just some old-fashioned angst, mash some pretty cookies with a glass. Afterward you'll be stress-free and you'll have cookies to boot.

Here is a baked cookie. It's not bad looking by itself but will be so much more fun after the next couple of steps.

Here is the rest of the white chocolate and the shortening before it's melted. It takes several minutes to melt (but would probably take less if you cut the chocolate up into finer pieces).

Dip. I would dip and then gently shake a little to get the excess to drip off. That seemed to work pretty well. I also tried dip and then wiping a bit of the excess off against the spoon handle; that technique takes a bit more finesse and doesn't really save you that much white chocolate so I switched back to my original plan by the end.

Roll. After dipping in the white chocolate, I rolled the edge in colored sugar. I didn't have as much of the red sugar as I wanted so I mixed it with a little regular sugar to make it more of a pinkish hue overall. The recipe also suggests some edible glitter or nonpareils but I couldn't find those on my regular grocery visit. Both versions are very pretty though, so if I plan ahead a little better before making these again I will try one of those.

Here are my cookies all lined up and cooling/drying. Make sure the chocolate is completely set before moving these off the waxed paper. I move one a little early and had a lot of difficulty getting it to ever set up well (it looked a little funky after that too).

The finished product: these are so pretty and yummy as well. I'm not a big fan of cherries in just about anything but the cherry flavor in this is subtle and pleasing. The white chocolate chunks and coating is smooth and delightful. These would be perfect for Valentine's Day or Christmas. You could even switch to green sugar for a classic "Christmasy" look.