Duck Soup

Chicken Pot Pie

2011-11-13T14:48:00.000-08:00

I love Chicken Pot Pie. It's really a shame I don't have it more often. There's a place near me that has Chicken Pies that I absolutely *love*, and bonus, they'll even have it hot and ready for you if you call in advance.

I have been on a mission since then to find the perfect pie that might be suitable to make at home. Someone here isn't a fan of potatoes in pie (I'll forgive him) but I wanted to find something that we both would enjoy and one that would make me not even think about the fact that it didn't contain my favorite starch.

A few months ago, I had an abundance of broccoli, so I decided to look up pies that had broccoli in it, and lo! I found the jackpot. Of course I modified it, using rotisserie chicken and a whole boatload of vegetables, even more than what was in it already, and came up with a winner. You know what I really think the key ingredient here was? Cheese. Weird. But it totally works.

I'll admit that the pictures I took in this post were from a few weeks ago (yup, I've
got an arsenal of pictures for recipes I haven't blogged about yet. There's more fun stuff coming! :) ) but thinking about it makes me wish I hadn't made chicken with rice tonight. It pales completely in comparison. Most everything I eat this week will. It is that good.

The beauty about this pie is the ability to put whatever you want in it. I kept the carrots and broccoli the same, but I added peas once. Another time, I put in cream of chicken and mushroom soup. I love sauteed onions and celery in here. It uses a double crust, which is really the only way to eat pie. Also, the recipe says to use two cooked chicken breasts. Thumb your nose at that one and use shredded rotisserie chicken. It could be the best decision you've ever made.

Chicken Pot Pie (recipe adapted from allrecipes.com)
1 box of ready made pie crusts (Pillsbury makes them, and so do most store brands. Make sure you get a package that contains at least two pie crusts)
1 carrot, chopped (I've used a handful of carrot shreds, or several chopped baby carrots, or some pre-chopped carrots. Whatever floats your boat)
1 head fresh broccoli, chopped
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked and chopped (or take a fresh rotisserie chicken and shred the breasts, removing the skin first)
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup or cream of chicken and mushroom soup, whichever you choose
2/3 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste

other vegetables to add (pick and choose or put them all in):
one chopped onion, sauteed
several celery stalks, chopped and sauteed
a handful of mushrooms, chopped
a cup of frozen peas (added frozen, they'll cook in the pie)

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Steam carrots and broccoli in a covered pot for 3 minutes. They will still be slightly firm, and that's okay. If you don't have a steam insert for a pot, ball up several pieces of tin foil and line the pot with it. Then put in some water and make sure it won't touch the vegetables when you put them in, so maybe enough to have about an inch of water.

In a large bowl, mix together carrots, broccoli, chicken, soup, milk, cheese, salt and pepper, and any of the vegetables you choose. Put mixture into an already pastry lined pie pan and cover it with the top crust. Crimp edges together to form a seal and cut steam vents in top.

Brush the top crust with an egg wash: one egg beaten with one tablespoon of water.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown.

Sweet Potato Tater Tots

2011-11-06T15:23:00.000-08:00

A few weeks back, I was perusing Facebook, as I often do, and I saw a notice for a new burger place on the South Shore opening up. The restaurant, called Wahlburgers, is owned by the Wahlberg brothers, Mark and Donnie, and their chef brother (I think his name is Paul...anyway). I looked at their menu online, and their burgers looked awesome, but the thing that caught my eye was sweet potato tater tots. I told Adam later that day that we needed to take a field trip down there to try a burger, and to have those tater tots (Five Guys has already been in our regular rotation, as there is a location about fifteen minutes away from us, and I thought, why not try something new?). Adam, in a stroke of genius (and because he knows I'll try almost anything), told me, "well, why don't you try to make your own?"

Genius. Of course. Why not, I have the grater and the deep fryer, and all I needed were the raw materials and the time.

As kids, we loved tater tots. I remember us calling them "trash cans", and it makes a little bit of sense-they kind of look like trash cans, right? It's weird for me to call them tater tots, or even just plain tots, as made famous by Napoleon Dynamite. So, tater tots is the actual recipe, but I don't think I'll be able to think of them without calling them trash cans.

But back to the sweet potato. As Guy Fieri might say, these things were money. (Apologies. I can't believe that actually came out of my mouth. But that's exactly what these things are). They weren't terribly difficult to do, but it did force me to exercise a little bit of patience. Waiting for the potatoes to cool after boiling was particularly difficult. I waited for twenty minutes and then dug in to grate and peel them, ignoring the fact that the hot steam was essentially burning my fingers.

I'd like to think that it was like a facial for my hands. Whatever that's referred to, anyway.

Once that was done, add in the other ingredients, mix together, form into logs, and drop into the deep fryer for four minutes. My taste tester ate four straight from the fryer. He's a pretty fair judge when it comes to my cooking, and when I had to swat his hand away, I knew I had a winner. Paired with a homemade cheeseburger on Portuguese bread and the Patriots/Giants game, it's a perfect evening.

My four-legged sous chef, on the other hand, looked on and sulked. I think he wanted one too. Next time, buddy.

Sweet Potato Tater Tots (adapted from Cook With Tom)
3-4 medium size sweet potatoes (enough to get 3 cups of shreds. I wound up with way too much shredded sweet potatoes, so I'd bump this down to 2. Of course, if you have too much, save it and use it for something else, like sweet potato latkes!)
1/4 c flour
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
1 Tsp alt
1 tsp pepper (not in original recipe, but necessary-it gave it the extra spice it needed!)
Canola oil

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the sweet potatoes and boil for 20 minutes (do not peel them beforehand!). Let it cool on a plate before peeling them, either with a knife or a peeler.

Shred the sweet potatoes to have three cups' worth. Wring them out in paper towels or a cheesecloth to remove the extra moisture.

Combine sweet potatoes with flour, cheese, pepper and salt. Mix well to combine. When in doubt, add just a little more cheese.

Using a 1 Tbs measuring spoon, portion out tater tots, and form into small tater logs.

Fry in a deep fryer or a deep pot filled halfway with oil, at 350 degrees, for 3-5 minutes, until brown (we found that four minutes was perfect, but it may depend on whether you're frying with a cover or not.).

These tater tots are perfect without any sauce, but feel free to use your favorite. If I have to pick one, it'd be honey mustard, but to each their own.

"Peanutella"

2011-10-30T14:56:00.000-07:00

If you don't know my favorite candy, you may not know me all that well.

...

...

still thinking?

I'm a gigantic sucker for the chocolate peanut butter combination, so your guess of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups is spot on.
(I'm actually eating one now.)

On Halloween, I've gone trick-or treating with my nieces and my sister since they've been old enough to go. One year, quite awhile ago, I told my nieces this little secret of my favorite candy. Ever since, every year, they'll help me in my quest for peanut butter-chocolate euphoria.

"Auntie!" They'll shout, from the lucky houses. "They had Peanut Butter Cups! I got one for you!"

At Halloween, my pockets are stuffed with peanut butter cups and a few wrappers, from those I ate while I walked. I clean up at Halloween.

Today seemed like a perfect day to make this spread: Woburn had it's official Halloween parade this afternoon, we had an unusual freak nor'easter that produced several inches of snow, and I'm procrastinating from doing paperwork at home. I'm also trying to avoid breaking into the bag of peanut butter cups I bought for trick-or-treaters tomorrow. See? Win-win.

This was one of the weirder recipes I've ever made. Put toasted peanuts in the food processor and grind until it looks like peanut butter. Weird. Add cocoa powder and powdered sugar and salt and oil and blend until it looks like a spread. Too easy. Spread it on a piece of toasted challah bread shipped to you from your favorite island bakery. So very right.

Chocolate-Peanut Spread (recipe from Smitten Kitchen)
2 c. shelled and skinned peanuts (the recipe calls for raw; all I could find were salted and roasted. Those are fine too)
1/2 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/4 tsp. salt (if you find unsalted peanuts, you may need more)
2-3 tablespoons peanut oil

Turn the oven to 400 degrees. Spread the peanuts evenly over a cookie sheet and roast for about 10 minutes, or 5 if they are already roasted.
Transfer the peanuts to a food processor (I'm fairly certain this wouldnt work with a blender, sadly, but if you try let me know how you make out) and grind them for about 5 minutes. It will first look really grainy, then it will have more of a peanut butter look. Leave it alone until it looks like peanut butter and then grind it for another minute or so, just to be sure.

Add the cocoa, sugar, salt and two tablespoons of the oil to the food processor and continue to blend together for about 1 minute.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Goulash

2011-06-22T17:18:00.000-07:00

I know that this recipe is not completely authentic. I am well aware that goulash is a Hungarian dish (right? Someone back me up on this) and I'm fairly certain that the real version does not contain Velveeta. In fact, I'm not sure that goulash contains cheese at all, but I digress. This is the name of the dish I know, and that's what sticks. It's like fat pie. Or oreo balls. You don't try to fix what isn't broken.

I grew up on goulash. My dad made it quite often on the weekends, and I'm not sure if it was because it was a) filling, b)fast, c) extremely tasty, or d) all of the above. At any rate, every time I eat it, I'm reminded of eating this on blue plastic plates, with a little bit of toasted french bread on the side. Sometimes a salad too, because, well, it made us all feel like we were eating somewhat healthy. This is something that very much reminds me of my childhood.

As adults, my dad will still make this dish for us on rare occasions. I wonder if it's because his wife won't let him have it on his own, but I'm glad he'll wait for me to come up there to make it. Awhile back I asked him how he did it. He replied, "I just brown meat, saute an onion, add some velveeta and sauce, a pound of pasta, and frozen peas."

(my father is the king of simplicity when it comes to food. Remember these?)

I made him write it down, since I didn't want to leave room for error the first time I tried it for myself, but it really is as easy as it sounds. It's pure comfort in a bowl. It's great in the wintertime, but I'll eat it any time of year. Like tonight, when it's pouring rain out.

These days, it's gotten several requests. We have switched it up a bit, substituting ground chicken or seasoned ground turkey, whole wheat pasta, and most recently we added red peppers and mushrooms. This is a fun dish to play with.

You really ought to try this. Especially if you're short on time. It's awesome. Everyone who's tried it has given this dish it's due. Go on. You won't be sorry.

Goulash (recipe courtesy of my dad)
1 lb. meat (I grew up on ground chuck. Nowadays, I'll try turkey or chicken-dare I say it tastes almost better than ground beef?)
1 onion, finely diced
1 lb. pasta (the recipe calls for angel hair-I've also made it with fettucini and it's just as good)
a small spoonful of minced garlic
1 jar of Ragu sauce (pick whatever variety you prefer most)
1 box of frozen peas
1/3 block of Velveeta cheese (we use almost a half block these days, because we like more cheese. I once totally forgot and used an entire block. Not only did it just make it totally uncooperative to mix together, it was really unappealing for leftovers. Use judgement, but if you prefer more cheese, stick with measurements closer to a half block.

Saute the onions in a pot for several minutes over medium to medium high heat. Add the meat and brown all over. Drain the liquid well, then return the pot to the stove.

In the meantime, cook a pound of pasta according to the directions on the box. Drain well, then add to the meat mixture.

Put the entire jar of sauce into the pot. Put the frozen peas in the mixture at this point as well. While the goulash is heating through (continue to mix well) add the Velveeta in small chunks so it melts easier and faster. Mix until fully incorporated together, then serve it in bowls. Or hell, just take a fork to the pot. You may save some dish washing that way.

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes

2011-06-18T09:08:00.000-07:00

I decided to make these pancakes this morning for a lazy Saturday breakfast (well, it was almost lunch when we finally ate them. Ah well.). Adam took one bite of these, declared them "so good you don't need syrup" and then suggested to me that I should post these on the blog.

Ask, and ye shall receive.

I've spoken before about lemon pancakes. How I kind of felt them to be a little too tart for my taste. I tried making meyer lemon pancakes and found them to be much better, much more subtle. And then there were the lemon blueberry pancakes. I'm still not sure why lemons and blueberries match so well together, but yet, there they were, a perfect pair. Another thing that was great about it was that the blueberries were directly in the batter, something I've admittedly never tried. I've always put the blueberries in as they bake on the griddle. Never again.

This recipe calls for evaporated milk, and like an idiot, when I went to the store I bought sweetened condensed milk instead. Figuring that this might make the pancakes overly sweet, I decided to ditch the condensed milk and use up some leftover buttermilk I had in the fridge. It worked like a charm. We decided that they seemed crepe-like...but maybe a touch thicker. Next time I try these, I'd like to mix it up and try different things: evaporated milk, sour cream, maybe even yogurt!

I thought that maple syrup might overpower these pancakes and that it might make them too sweet. I thought that I might need my raspberry syrup to continue with the fruit theme. I don't know, maple syrup and lemon seemed weird to me. But it worked. I loved it. Let's be honest anyway: Maple syrup (REAL maple syrup, not that fake Aunt Jemima stuff) is the best thing known to man. Of course it would make these pancakes even more awesome.

We ate all of the pancakes in one sitting. Clearly a win-situation for us, and a first when it comes to pancakes. Though I might need to go outside for a run after doing that. :)

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes (recipe adapted from The Pioneer Woman)
1-½ c. cake flour, plus one additional TBSP
¼ tsp. salt
1 T. baking powder
3 T. Sugar
1-½ cup Evaporated Milk (I didn't have it, so I substituted buttermilk instead)
1 lemon
1 large egg
1-½ tsp vanilla
2 T. melted butter
Zest From 1 lemon
1 heaping c. Blueberries

Heat heavy skillet or grill over medium low heat.
In a medium bowl, mix flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar together. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix evaporated milk, juice of 1 lemon, and lemon zest. Sit aside for five minutes, then add egg, vanilla, and melted butter. Mix to combine.
Pour wet mixture into dry ingredients. Stir gently to combine. Stir in blueberries. Make sure mixture isn’t overly thick. If it is, add more milk, buttermilk, or whatever liquid you might be using.
Melt butter in heated skillet. Flick some water over the top to see if it's ready (water should dance across if it is). When the skillet is ready, ladle batter in 1/3-1/4 c. amounts, and fry for about 3 minutes a side, or until golden brown, whichever comes first. Add butter to the top and douse in copious amounts of maple syrup.

Berry Buttermilk Sherbet

2011-06-05T16:51:00.000-07:00

It's now starting to be summer in New England, and summer for me equals ice cream.

There's a place about a mile down the road from us called Breakers. They serve Richardson's ice cream, and I will, without fail, order one of two things there: a black raspberry frozen yogurt with chocolate sprinkles or a chocolate peanut butter ice cream (for those who read this blog and know me very well, not to worry-my favorite ice cream ever, coffee oreo, isn't as good there as it is at JP Licks, so I don't get it.). Their sizes are gigantic-so gigantic that we typically order kiddie sizes, which in the real world are closer to mediums. It's a ton of ice cream for under $4. We love going there, especially in the summer.

A few years ago, I found a refurbished ice cream maker on Amazon for very little money. I was thrilled-I could make ice cream at home! I began making vanilla, chocolate, and yes, even coffee oreo. I made mint chip and an at-home version of Crantucket (vanilla with chocolate covered cranberries that my favorite ice cream place on Nantucket serves). I've done some sorbets and sherbets too-I made a mango sherbet for Adam's birthday this year and a mango-raspberry sorbet a few months ago. I found this recipe for a berry sherbet yesterday, and couldn't wait to try it.

The thing about this sherbet that makes it different for me is that it includes buttermilk-something that makes this dessert be a little more tangy and tart than I'm used to. It also has the option to strain the seeds or not-something I decided to do with it tonight. Though it made the sherbet more creamy, I don't know if I'll do that every time. It does take quite awhile to strain the mixture completely of seeds-I did it in roughly 25 minutes, so if you don't mind, keep it in-you'll get sherbet much faster.

This is a really good sherbet. I loved the tang, I especially loved the colors, and I loved that it was made with fresh berries. It made a really good weekend even better. If you have an ice cream maker, I'd suggest you get on this recipe right away-otherwise, come hang out with me before it disappears :)

Berry Buttermilk Sherbet (recipe obtained from Sass and Veracity)
6 oz. or 1 c. fresh raspberries
6 oz. or 1 c. fresh blackberries
6 oz. or 1 c. fresh blueberries
1/2 c. sugar (the original recipe calls for raw; I had no raw sugar so I used standard granulated sugar-I don't know that it made any difference but feel free to use whatever you'd like)
1-3/4 c. buttermilk
1 T. lime juice
1/2 tsp. cardamom (tip: cardamom is incredibly expensive-like $15 expensive. If you don't have it, substitute for 1/4 tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg, which is what I did)

Put all three types of berries into a blender and puree. If you decide to remove the seeds, take the berry mixture and force it through a fine mesh sieve to remove them, then add back to the blender. Add the sugar, buttermilk, lime juice, and cardamom (or cardamom substitute) to the blender and puree until smooth. Pour into the container of an electric ice cream maker and run until frozen, but soft enough to spread into a container to place in the freezer (approximately 25 minutes). Seal well in a freezer safe container and freeze for several hours before serving.

Baked Curried Sweet Potato Fries

2011-05-15T16:52:00.000-07:00

Oh, curry and sweet potato. One of the greatest matches I never knew about.

Sweet potato fries are becoming quite popular at restaurants. I love that...now. What's bizarre is that I didn't always love them. They're something I grew into. I held onto my beloved potato for so long until I realized that sweet potatoes were just as good.

Curry was the same way. For a very long time, I hated curry. I hated anything with spice. It made my mouth go on fire, my face would turn purple, and it was pretty uncomfortable for me.

That being said, I've come a long way. I don't know where I decided that curry was good, or for that matter that sweet potatoes were awesome, but I'm really happy I did.

The first time I came across this recipe I was sitting at home, perusing the internet for something easy to have for dinner. I had one sweet potato in the house and a few burgers left over from my Christmas box o' meat. I knew I was going to have a burger and some fries but wasn't sure how to go about it...and then I found a recipe for baked curried sweet potato fries. Seemed awfully simple to me, and I could easily throw this one together while the burger was defrosting and even while on the grill.

And how.

These sweet potato fries had enough spice, enough crunch (even for being baked!) and some really, really good flavor. They were simple, natch. Spice in bowl. Check. egg white in bowl, check. Potato sliced, check. Mixture spread around fries. Check. Bake until you can't stand it anymore. Almost stupidly easy. After I made these for myself I made them for Adam and me for dinner another night, and I had to swat his hand away because he kept snacking at the pan before the rest of the meal was ready. I think he liked them too. :)

I also liked these because although there was oil involved, these fries weren't fried. I can't say they were totally healthy, but I felt somewhat better about eating these fries than ones that came from a deep fryer. Somewhat.

Baked Curried Sweet Potato Fries (recipe obtained from Joy The Baker)

1 medium to large sweet potato, peeled
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 large egg white
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (or 1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper, which I've done a few times)
1/2 tsp salt, or to taste

Place a rack in the center of a preheated 400 degree oven.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
Take the peeled sweet potato and slice into sticks or wedges.
Toss the potato slices with olive oil on the baking sheet. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk egg white until foamy and frothy. Add curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and crushed red pepper flakes and mix until fully combined. Pour the egg white mixture over the potato sticks and toss to coat the potatoes. Using your (clean) hands is likely the best way to do this.
Place in the oven and bake to desired doneness and crispiness, roughly about 40 minutes.
Remove fries from the oven and serve.

Key Lime Mousse

2011-05-02T12:00:00.000-07:00

I have no words for this dessert. My mouth is too full of mousse right now to speak.

Key Lime Pie is one of my favorite desserts. I'm not sure where I decided it was full of awesome, but I'm sure as hell glad I did. It's so tart, yet really sweet, and I completely.love.it. There's also key lime meltaways I've made and loved, key lime cheesecake from Cheesecake Factory, and key lime ice cream made by Ben & Jerry's that Adam found for me last summer and surprised me with. Key lime and me, it's pretty much my secret favorite guilty pleasure.

A few weeks ago, I was asked to help with Passover Seder. Not ever having attended a Seder before, and really not knowing what I had to do to prepare the food, I was (understandably) a little intimidated-I wanted to make sure I was following the rules! As it turns out, Key Lime Mousse was pretty easily kosher-eggs, cream, key limes, sugar. Completely stupendous.

Mousse, in general, isn't terribly difficult. But it does have a lot of steps. Zest the fruit. Make the custard. Strain the custard. Cool the custard. Whip the cream. Fold together. Refrigerate. Y'see? Step after step after step.

It is so worth it, though. It's Key lime pie, without the crust (though I imagine some graham cracker crumbles over the top would add some nice crunch). It is unbelievable. If I had more key limes, I'd make it tonight.

Key Lime Mousse (recipe from Epicurious)

*I doubled this recipe to feed 13-the original says it will feed 4. While I'm not certain that all had a lot of the mousse, we did come home with some leftover. I highly recommend leftovers.)

1/2 tbsp grated Key lime zest
1/2 c. fresh Key lime juice
1/2 c. sugar
Pinch of salt
3 large eggs
3/4 stick unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 c. chilled heavy cream

Whisk together zest, juice, sugar, salt, and eggs in a medium-sized pot. Add butter and cook over medium-low heat, whisking frequently, until thick enough to hold the marks of whisk, about 5 minutes or so. Gently force the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl before the eggs scramble, then quick-chill in an ice bath, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.
Beat cream with an electric mixer until it holds stiff peaks, then fold into custard gently but thoroughly. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Philly-Style pretzels

2011-05-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Let's talk pretzels.

But first, I have a confession: I didn't want to post this recipe. I didn't want anyone to know where it came from, and for that matter, know how easy they actually are to make, but these were too much of a hit to not share. So, here it goes:

I got this recipe from Bobby Flay. From a Throwdown episode, no less.

This past December, I went to Philadelphia to celebrate Christmas with Adam's family. We had a lovely time, playing games, playing with the dogs (and having an unfortunate incident in which they found my Christmas candy, but that's another story for another time. Bottom line, they're none worse for the wear!) and keeping warm and dry from the blizzard going on outside. Before the snow hit though, I got my first taste of Philly pretzel.

It was the kind of pretzel that was chewy all throughout with a little bit of crunch (but only a little!). The Philly-style pretzel got rave reviews from friends (one even admitted that she would get a hot pretzel every morning before school when she lived there). I will go so far as to say that Philadelphia has the best pretzels I have ever eaten.

Fast forward to about a month later, when we were watching Throwdown one evening on the Food Network. We were trying to figure out what to serve for the upcoming superbowl party we were hosting, and it hit us like a ball in the face: we should make pretzels! I was a little wary: I hate making dough. Really, it's true. On the other hand, there was no way we'd get fresh pretzels from Philly that wouldn't taste stale by the time they arrived in Boston. So I thought of an idea that I wish I had thought of a long time ago.

I used my bread maker.

And made, quite possibly, the best pretzels this side of Philly.

It really wasn't that hard: combine the wet ingredients in the bottom of the pan, put the dry ingredients on top, make a well for the yeast, and start the machine. Voila! Dough!

I made these pretzels again this weekend for Adam's birthday dinner with friends. I made the dough, let it rise, formed the pretzels, and boiled and baked them. So. Good. I had Adam taste test one fresh from the oven, and then made him wait until people began arriving last night before he could have another. I had to do it myself. No lie, between the two of us we would have eaten the entire batch. And the next one I made. So to our friends, I say, that was a great exercise in self-restraint for the both of us.

I got to eat the last one today, and I'll be honest, I'm very sad they're gone. I guess that means I'll have to make more.

Soft Pretzels (recipe courtesy of Bobby Flay and the Food Network)

1 1/2 c. warm water
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1 package active dry yeast (I've used the jarred yeast too, and it just doesn't work as well. Learn from my mistakes, use the packaged yeast. If you must, though, 2 1/4 tsp of yeast from a jar equals one package)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 tsp. salt
4 3/4 c. all-purpose flour

Combine the water, sugar, yeast, and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook until combined. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Add the salt and flour and mix on low speed until combined. Increase the speed to medium and continue kneading until the dough is smooth and begins to pull away from the side of the bowl, about 3 to 4 minutes. If the dough appears too wet, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Remove the dough from the bowl, place on a flat surface and knead into a ball with your hands.

**If you choose to go the bread-maker route, try this method: Combine the wet ingredients (water, butter) in the bottom of the bread machine pan. Then add the flour, sugar, and salt on top. DO NOT MIX TOGETHER. Make a small well in the flour, then put the yeast in. Set your bread machine maker to the dough setting. Then follow the rest of the directions below.

Oil a bowl with vegetable oil (I used olive oil), add the dough and turn to coat with the oil. Cover with a clean towel or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot until the dough doubles in size, about 1 hour. If you need to, the dough can also rise in the fridge overnight.

When you are ready to make the dough, Bring 3 quarts of water (12 cups) to a boil in a pot over high heat and add 3/4 c. baking soda.

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a flat surface. Divide the dough into 8-16 equal pieces, depending on how big you'd like your pretzels. I did it in 16 pieces, and made pretzels that were about the size of my fist. Roll each piece into a long rope: make the rope into a "U" shape and then cross your hands over each other to pick up the ends, then fold down to the bottom of the "U". Boil the pretzels in the water solution for 30 seconds, splashing the tops with the warmed water using a spoon. Remove with a large flat slotted spatula or spoon. Place pretzels on a baking sheet, press together to make them bake into each other, brush the tops with the egg wash and season liberally with the salt. Place into a preheated 425 degree oven and bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown.

These are awesome all on their own, straight from the oven, or dipped in some cheese sauce or honey mustard. Yes, please, and thank you.

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars

2011-01-08T18:07:00.000-08:00

When I was in Dallas, there was a little place I loved to go to called Corner Bakery. It was perfect for breakfast or lunch, a little snack or some dessert. It was a place that never failed me. In the fall, they carried a mini bundt cake that had gingerbread and pumpkin-I think it was called a pumpkin spice bundt. Whatever it was, I have always thought about that particular cake, and tried to hunt down the recipe, but I never found it.

Several weeks ago, I was perusing recipe websites, as I am oft to do, and stumbled across this one from the Dallas Morning News (coincidence? I think not so much). THIS was the one I had been searching for. No, it wasn't Corner Bakery's recipe-but it was the closest one I had seen. Not only that, it looked superb. I kept it aside, thinking I might make it for holiday treats, but I never got to it until this weekend. Good thing, because had I made it for the holidays, it might have just never made it to anyone-I am pretty sure I would have eaten the pan by myself.

If it had been in a mini-bundt pan with some glaze over the top it would have been an exact replica. As it stands, a square with powdered sugar over the top will do just as well. These are things I can work on for next time.

I think the thing I liked most about this was how subtle these bars were. They weren't overly pumpkin-y, and not too gingerbread-y. They were very mild but still pretty sweet. I really thought it was great as a dessert-and hey, the recipe says that gingerbread is kind of good for you, so, bonus!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars (recipe obtained from The Dallas Morning News)

2 eggs
½ c. brown sugar
3/4 c. solid-pack pumpkin
2 Tbsp. molasses
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground ginger
1 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter a 9-inch square pan (I used an 8-inch-I think it worked even better. Next time I'm definitely trying mini bundts).

Beat the eggs with an electric mixer at high speed 2 minutes. Add the brown sugar 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Add the pumpkin, molasses and vanilla, and beat for several minutes using the mixer.

In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and ginger. Add to the pumpkin mixture and stir well.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake approximately 20 minutes. Let cool 10 minutes in the pan, then turn out onto a platter. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and cut into bars. Watch them disappear into your own belly.

Meyer Lemon Pancakes with Raspberry Syrup

2011-01-02T17:42:00.000-08:00

What better way to start the new year than with something that reminds me of summer? I think there's no better way; with snow on the ground (albeit also at 50 degrees in January) the only thing I want to think about is warmth, sunshine, and summer. These pancakes accomplish that.

The weird thing is that I've made lemon pancakes before. When I made them, they were so tart that I spent more time with my mouth puckered than I did with a mouth full of pancake. I wanted to really like them but the best I could say was that they were just "okay". I'm still not totally certain I'd make that recipe again, but I will say they were really bright. Not just in color, but in taste. I'm still not so sure that real lemon pancakes were my favorite, but they weren't bad.

Yesterday, I saw this recipe on the food network for Meyer lemon pancakes. Every time I'd seen a recipe for Meyer lemons I just substituted regular lemons, thinking that there wasn't much of a difference.

For the record? Don't do that. Meyer lemons make SUCH a difference. I never knew! (I'd never even seen one until yesterday, either). I read up on them and found out they were more similar to an orange-they even look a little bit like them. Much more orange than yellow, much more circular than...well, whatever shape a lemon is...and much more subtle than a regular lemon.

Last night I threw together the batter (I totally recommend that by the way, if you're making a lazy breakfast), made the syrup (which I've made before and will touch on later) and this morning, clad in my new feety pajamas I got for Christmas (thanks to my brother in law for those!) I used my new pancake batter dispenser (thanks Christie!) and made a whole mess of Meyer lemon pancakes, which were then doused in fresh raspberry syrup.

These were so good that A and I both went back for seconds. I thought about going back for thirds until I remembered that the rest could work for breakfast tomorrow.

These had a very mild lemon flavor, and they were incredibly light. Although the batter isn't something that's that quick to do (whipping egg whites, what?), it's not hard-just has extra steps! It's worth it, in my opinion-having whipped egg whites in a pancake batter really changes the texture of the pancake. I loved them.

This pancake recipe came with a strawberry coulis recipe to go on top. I decided to scrap it and use a tried and true raspberry syrup that I loved (and, ironically, went with the earlier version of lemon pancakes that I wasn't the biggest fan of.). It's a pretty simple recipe-put frozen raspberries in a pot with some sugar and lime juice concentrate, and let it boil and thicken, then strain out the raspberries to get a nice smooth syrup.

As A so aptly declared: 'tis good. Yes, yes it is.

Meyer lemon pancakes (recipe from Anne Burrell and foodnetwork.com)
2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 heaping tsp. baking powder
4 eggs, separated
1 heaping c. ricotta cheese
3/4 c. milk
2 Meyer lemons, zested and juiced

Mix together the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a large bowl. In another bowl, combine the egg yolks, ricotta, milk and lemon zest and juice, and mix well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix well.

In another bowl, beat the egg whites to stiff peaks using an electric mixer. Fold the egg whites into the rest of the batter. If you are making this for the next day, feel free to stop here and cover the bowl and refrigerate until the next morning. If not, continue forward.

Spray a griddle with nonstick spray or put a pat or two of butter down, and turn the heat to medium high. Test the readiness of the griddle by flicking a bit of water from your fingers; if it dances across the pan, it's hot enough. If it just sits there, wait! When the pan is ready, ladle the batter onto the griddle. Let it cook for about three minutes, or until bubbles pop through the batter. Once it bubbles, flip the pancake and cook for approximately three minutes or less on the other side. Drench pancakes in syrup and go to town. :)

Raspberry Syrup (recipe from Nantucket Recipes from the Fog Island Cafe, by Mark and Anne Dawson)

4 c. fresh or frozen raspberries
1/2 c. sugar
2 T. frozen lime juice concentrate

Combine all ingredients in a pot and cook over a low heat, stirring often. Let the sauce cook until the berries are soft and the sauce is thick. This could take up to 20 minutes, but has for me sometimes taken a half hour.

Take the pot off the heat and strain the sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Then refrigerate until you are ready to use it. This should get you roughly 1.5 cups of syrup.

Eggplant Soup

2010-10-21T17:40:00.001-07:00

As I write this, I'm curled up in my pjs, with a heating pad against my back, eating a bowl of soup. Don't be too jealous. Fall has arrived with a vengeance and my back is just aching, so I needed some comfort food and clothing.
I saw this soup recipe last week and was immediately excited. Eggplant's one of my favorite vegetables, and I love soup. I don't know why I didn't look for a soup like this one before.

As much as I was really wanting to make this soup, I was also very afraid of making it. Sometimes eggplant disappoints me. It has so much potential and I love it so, and sometimes it doesn't live up to the hype for me. I know, it's weird. I think it's just that I want it to be perfect every.single.time and sometimes it doesn't work. That scalloped eggplant I made a few months back? Just one example.

How glad I was that this time, my eggplant did not disappoint.

For starters, I mostly just waited for this soup to be done. No dicing of vegetables, just slice in half, roast, and then put together with some broth, cook some more in the pot, and blend the whole thing together. If I had the energt to do it, I might have tried to be productive while it was simmering and done some of the work I brought home with me today. Instead, I did some online Christmas shopping and watched Modern Family and The Middle on my DVR.

Okay, that's kind of productive. I cleaned out some of my DVR...

Anyway, I feel like I could have eaten the entire pot of this. There was all of the taste and virtually none of the work (I totally love those recipes). It was hot, filling, full of flavor and completely different from any kind of soup I'd had before (I totally love that combination). Best of all, it didn't even use up a lot of dishes (I've had a certain someone tell me that I definitely know how to use every pot, pan, and dish in the kitchen to make one dish. It's completely true and I won't lie-I will very often use everything I have and run the dishwasher several times over at the expense of one main course. A good main course, mind you, but still, only one!). I had two sheet pans, two knives, a pot, a ladle, and an immersion blender. By my standards, practically nothing. :)

Though I understand that a lot of people actually don't care for eggplant, I ask that you give this recipe a chance. If it still doesn't sit right with you, I'll give you a brownie from a batch I made on Tuesday night (although I'll admit-you can have one even if you do like it. I did!). The original recipe says to play with the spices, so I did, and I was not sorry. I added in pepper, thyme, and smoked paprika-a spice I think everyone should have in their spice cabinet. I got it based on comments I read from the very website where I found this soup recipe, and I swear I use smoked paprika with just about everything I eat nowadays. If that's not your thing, though, just look through what you have and add some of this or a pinch of that. Keep working on it and taste until you're happy with it!

Eggplant Soup (recipe obtained from The Smitten Kitchen)
3 medium tomatoes, halved (I went with four, because I had just a small one leftover, and you can't just not leave it out!)
1 large eggplant, halved lengthwise (I used 3 small to medium sized ones, as there were no large eggplants at the store)
1 yellow onion, halved
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 tbsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1 tsp. dried
4 c. chicken broth
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional-I used half and half, as that was what I happened to have on hand)
3/4 cup (about 3 1/2 ounces) crumbled goat cheese (all I had was feta, so I used that instead)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange tomatoes, eggplant, onion and garlic on baking sheets, and don't worry too much about overcrowding. Brush or drizzle vegetables with oil then roast them for 20 minutes. Remove the garlic cloves, set aside, and put the sheets back in the oven for another 25 minutes. Remove from oven and scoop eggplant from skin into a stockpot. Add the rest of the vegetables, the thyme and the chicken stock and bring to a boil, then bring down to a simmer. Cook until onion is very tender, roughly a half hour to 45 minutes later.

If you choose to puree the soup in the blender, try to let it cool down first-I've had the unfortunate experience of hot soup exploding in a cool blender. If you have a hand blender (otherwise known as an immersion blender), you can puree it in the pot while it's still hot (but be careful!). Either way, puree it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer. Season with salt and pepper. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with either goat cheese or feta cheese.

Cider Donuts

2010-10-12T16:51:00.000-07:00

Okay, kids. I promised.

Ah, cider donuts. Or, in this case, the ever so elusive cider donut.

Cider donuts remind me of college. About ten minutes down the road from us was this farmstand called Atkins. Oh, how we all loved Atkins. Sometimes our parents would send us care packages from there during finals. Sometimes we'd go there to wander. But always, always, we came out of there with an Atkins cider donut. This past fall, a friend of mine brought me a half dozen, which were promptly consumed (I actually don't think they made it past the next day, actually.). There's also Wilson Farm, a place I hold near and dear to my heart that also makes exceptional cider donuts, and sometimes on the weekend will actually set up a table and make fresh donuts to order-so for about a dollar or two you can eat a hot fresh donut. Heavenly.

For years I've wanted to make donuts. Seriously. Why I never tried before is beyond me-although I probably was worried about how much time it would take to make them. Up until about two years ago, I also didn't have a fryer. I know, I could have used a pot and a candy thermometer, but I never did. Ah well.

This weekend, I decided it was time to go forward and make the little buggers. I got myself some apple cider and set up the dough. I let it chill overnight and yesterday I got to work.

And that's when I realized why I had waited for so long. It is incredibly difficult to make an authentic looking donut. I tried with the first batch and the dough fried itself onto the bottom of my fry basket. The second go-around I just dropped them in the well and let them fry kind of like fritters. Cutting them was a whole other story-it was damn near impossible to get the dough to come out with my circle cutter, so much so that I just wound up dropping spoonfuls in. Some of them were slightly larger than I anticipated, making some donuts the size of my fist. An authentic looking donut these certainly weren't. I also made a mistake with one or two and pulled them out early and set them to dry on a paper-towel lined plate and found later that the inside was still raw, and oozed out. Sigh.

I did wind up with about eight donuts though, and am pleased to say that all hard work and oversized amounts aside, they were quite incredible. Much better hot and fresh, but still okay a day later (I just had one for dessert). With practice, I think these can get much better looking-but the taste is spot-on. Maybe not a Wilson's or an Atkins' cider donut, but pretty damn close.

Cider Donuts (recipe from The Phantom Gourmet)
4 c. flour
1 c. plus ½ c. sugar (separated)
2 tsp. plus 1 tsp ground cinnamon (separated)
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. apple cider
¼ c. milk
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ c. (4 TB) butter, melted
Canola oil for frying

In a medium sized mixing bowl mix all of the dry ingredients together, save for ½ c. sugar and 1 tsp. cinnamon. In another bowl whisk the eggs, then add all of the remaining wet ingredients. Combine the wet and dry ingredients together and mix well to create a thick dough. Line a baking dish with parchment paper, and evenly spread the dough into the dish. Cover the pan and refrigerate overnight. Mix the remaining ½ cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon, and set aside for rolling the donuts after they are cooked.

When ready to cook the donuts, heat an inch or two of oil in a medium sized saucepan or a deep fryer to about 360F. Cut donuts using a knife or a circular cutter, or even scoop it using an ice cream scoop, and carefully place in the oil. Fry for about 90 seconds to 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels, roll in cinnamon sugar, and eat up!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-10-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

It's fall. I love fall-related recipes. Bring on the pumpkins, apples, and cranberries!

This recipe has been a long time coming. A friend of mine from high school saw a picture of these a long while ago (last Christmas, I believe), and asked me for the recipe. I told her of course, it would be posted on the blog soon.

Does "soon" count if it's within a year? Then if so, I'm golden.

At any rate, this is one of my very favorite cookie recipes. It's really hard to screw up, for one. For two, it's great for fall, with all the pumpkin, and really makes me feel like curling up on the couch in front of the fireplace with a bunch of them and a hot cup of coffee. Thirdly, there's the perfect amount of chocolate all tied into a very neat little package. As it turns out, I felt the need to make them and bring them to work. I swear I never saw cookies disappear so quickly.

The weird thing about these are that they are so soft. Like Toll House Soft Baked soft (are those even carried anymore in stores or have they been discontinued?). They have a bread or cake-like consistency and the addition of chocolate chips sends them straight over the edge. I will go so far to say that I will always choose this over my beloved chocolate chip.

Okay, almost always. But the ease of this recipe combined with the sheer desire to inhale the entire batch in one sitting makes the pumpkin chocolate chip cookie incredibly difficult to resist. If you make them, set aside one or four for me, okay?

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe obtained from boston.com/food)

2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 c. canned pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 bag (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional-I never find I need them!)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt in a bowl and set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar together using an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy. Add the pumpkin, egg, and vanilla and beat just until blended. Then mix in the dry ingredients.

With a spoon or a spatula, stir in the chocolate chips or chunks and nuts, if using. Do not use the mixer to do this task (I promise. I almost broke my mixer once trying that stunt.)

Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Drop the batter by heaping tablespoons 1 inch apart on the baking sheets.

Bake the cookies for 13 to 15 minutes or until lightly browned. Let the cookies cool on the sheets for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Potato Frittata

2010-09-12T13:52:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe a few weeks ago, and have been itching for a good morning to try it for brunch. The problem lies in the fact that most mornings I'm not home to make brunch, let alone enjoy it. I leave for work every weekday morning before 7, on Saturdays I've been trying to get to the barn which means I need to leave the house no later than 10:30, and Sundays I'm working at the gym at 9. See what I mean? The only brunches I'll be having for awhile will be at places like The Restaurant or Ball Square Cafe. If I make it myself I'd be having brunch at 4 PM.

For some reason, I decided I had to have breakfast for dinner tonight. Again. I'm not ashamed to admit it. I knew immediately I had to make this particular dish(if for no other reason than I needed to use my potatoes and I needed to clear out some eggs from the fridge). I couldn't wait for this.

This meal is So.Perfect. It has all my favorite ingredients-eggs and potatoes and caramelized onions-and based on recommendations from the original recipe, I added 3 slices of crumbled, cooked bacon on top while it baked. It smells awesome in here. I'm pretty sure I heard the Comcast guy's stomach rumble while he fixed my cable connection-I almost felt bad.

(By the way, did you know that Comcast will come out for repairs on Sundays? It's amazing. No more need to take off a half day to wait for them to show! It has made my day that much better.)

This meal is simple, easy to throw together, and goes well with nearly everything. I'd say try a nice salad but quite honestly I was perfectly happy eating it on its own!

Potato Frittata (recipe from Joy the Baker)
5 Tablespoons canola oil, divided
1 small yellow onion, thinly sliced
4 large russet potatoes, peeled and sliced about 1/8 inch thick (a mandolin is great for this if you have one)
3 Tbsp. unsalted butter
Salt and Pepper
7 large eggs
2 Tbsp diced flat-leaf parsley
2 Tbsp. diced chives
2 Tbsp. heavy cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and put in 2 Tablespoons of the canola oil. Add the onions and cook until caramelized, roughly about 8 to 10 minutes. Make certain to not burn the onions and make sure the onions are all roughly a uniform brown color.

Toss the onions with the raw sliced potatoes in a roasting pan (I used a glass pyrex dish, in case you needed a reference!). Add 1 tablespoon of butter and the remaining 3 Tablespoons of oil and toss together in the pan. Season generously with salt and pepper. Cover the pan with foil and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until the potatoes are tender, and then set the potatoes aside to cool for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven heat to 350 degrees F.

Before the potatoes are done, whisk the eggs, herbs and cream together in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper.

Heat a 10-inch cast-iron skillet over medium high heat. Grease the skillet with the remaining 2 Tablespoons of melted butter. Add the cooked potatoes to the pan, and combine with the egg mixture. Cover the skillet with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 10 minutes more. (**I adapted this, because although I do have a cast-iron skillet, I also have a glass-top stove, which means many cast-iron skillets are a no-no. I adapted this by using a pyrex glass pie pan instead, and this worked just fine. Whatever you have will be fine as well-no need to go out and get a cast-iron skillet for this-although I will say that I think everyone should have cast-iron in the kitchen somewhere!)

Enjoy for Sunday dinner, Monday breakfast, or Tuesday lunch. Heck, enjoy it for all three!

Blueberry Boy Bait

2010-09-08T07:48:00.000-07:00

I am a huge sucker for fruit. Any type of fruit. I have been known before to buy fruit that's out of season at a ridiculously high markup because I need to have it in my cereal, I have to be baking with it, or I need it to complete my lunch. Sometimes, frozen fruit just won't cut it for me.

Okay, this probably makes me sound crazy. But you need to keep this in mind, with blueberries being pretty much out of season right now. You will still want to make this with fresh, not frozen, blueberries. You could make it with frozen berries, but I just don't think it'll taste the same. But that's just me. With that being said, it would probably be okay with any type of berry-it's a versatile cake. You may even be able to get away with substituting some sort of chocolate, if that's your thing. Hell, it's gearing up to be fall-I bet this would be great with cranberries.

I digress, because I made this recipe awhile ago. I neglected to post it at the time because I wasn't sitting down long enough at my computer to be able to post it-which is a good thing. Between the fact that I got a new job that so far is awesome and have been hanging out with excellent company and having fun adventures, it's good that I haven't been posting. This, I'm sure, leads you to your next question: why am I posting today, in the middle of the afternoon?

Well, it's simple, really. I'm feeling lousy, have been home sick from work the past few days, and just woke up from what seems like a two day nap (no, really, I've actually been sleeping on and off solidly since Monday night) and in an effort to keep from boredom and also try to get myself back on a regular sleep/wake schedule (and hate myself in the process, because I really am aching to go back to sleep right now), I've been looking through old pictures and found ones that were supposed to go with this blog post. Since my appetite is less than stellar at the moment I figured the least I could do was feast with the eyes rather than my stomach, although I do very vividly remember this being outstanding when I made it.

I was told at the time that I made this that the name of this dessert was unnecessary, for I already have the boy, deeming 'bait' unnecessary. Fair enough, but that's what the dish is called, so that's what this post is titled.

This recipe reminds me very much of that buttermilk cake I posted about a few months ago. Very lush cake, with so very much butter.

I'm telling you, Mom would be proud of the butter that went into this.

I wish I could show you pictures of what it looked like after it was cut into, but I can't, because the entire thing just...disappeared. Evaporated into thin air. Crumbs and all.
I guess it's the sign of a good dessert.

It is the kind of dessert that you have to be careful of. Because if you're not careful, the thing will just sneak up on you. No lies, friends. It is amazing. And amazingly addictive. I love this because it's almost as fun to make as it is to eat.

Blueberry Boy Bait (recipe obtained from www.smittenkitchen.com)
2 c. plus 1 tsp. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 sticks of softened unsalted butter
3/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 c. whole milk
1/2 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen (I prefer fresh wherever possible.)

Topping
1/2 c. blueberries, fresh or frozen (do not defrost)
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

Mix two cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. With an electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, roughly about two minutes or so. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated together. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated and then beat in half of milk, and continue in that fashion, ending with flour. Combine the blueberries with remaining one teaspoon flour. Gently fold 1/2 c. of blueberries in the batter. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Scatter the remaining blueberries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle over the cake. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then place on serving platter with the topping side up. If it even makes it out of the pan... :)

Scalloped Tomatoes

2010-08-18T19:49:00.000-07:00

I know what you're thinking. Scalloped doesn't go with tomatoes, it goes with potatoes.

(I also know all of you are all "what? two posts in a row?" Indeed, friends, it is true.)

In honor of a tomato festival that's happening at Wilson Farm this weekend, I thought it appropriate to post about a recipe I actually made a few weeks ago, but only decided to post tonight. I really shouldn't have waited, though I guess if I didn't wait, some of you might have asked me to share.

This dish, I couldn't share. This one was all mine.

I have never had a dish like this. It was simultaneously fantastic, light, and flavorful. I liked that there weren't too many steps to it, and that it was something that was interchangeable: I ate it with some chicken for dinner, then had it with a poached egg the next morning for breakfast.

Sometimes, I'll get sick of eating the same leftovers day after day until I get rid of them. This was one dish that I actually felt sad about scraping the bottom of the pan and polishing off. I loved, loved, loved this dish. I'm contemplating making an extra one and freezing it for later. I loved how the basil stood out and made an appearance, complimenting the tomatoes perfectly (basil and tomatoes just work together, anyway). Best of all, I loved how I could eat it for days and it would just get better with each meal.

Do not wait. Do not pass go until you have cooked this dish. You will absolutely not be sorry.

Scalloped Tomatoes with Croutons (recipe found on the Smitten Kitchen website)
3 tbsp. olive oil
2 c. bread from a French-like boule bread, in a 1/2-inch dice, crusts removed-if you have extra, that's okay!
2 1/2 lbs plum tomatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice
3 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tbsp.)
2 tbsp. sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1/2 c. thinly slivered basil leaves, lightly packed
1 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the bread cubes and stir so that they are evenly coated with oil. Cook cubes until toasty on all sides, roughly about 5 minutes.

Combine tomatoes, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper in a large bowl. When the bread cubes are toasted, add the tomato mixture and cook them together, stirring frequently, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Pour into a shallow pan and top with Parmesan cheese. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until the top is browned and the tomatoes are bubbly. Serve hot or warm.

Zucchini Bread

2010-08-18T18:46:00.000-07:00

Let's talk bread for a minute.

Sweet breads are one of my favorite things to make and eat. For one, they're pretty hard to mess up, and for two, they're incredibly easy. I had seen this recipe quite a few weeks ago, and bookmarked it to make on a rainy day (or at least a cooler one!). I waited. And waited. And waited. Of course it didn't cool down quite enough for me to feel comfortable turning on the oven. I figured I'd have to hold off on this recipe, that is, until a friend of mine sent me an email one day. The email had the subject "This looks good!" and in it was a recipe.

The same recipe I had bookmarked several weeks prior.

(said friend sends me recipes every now and then, since she knows I'll typically try them pretty quickly after reading it. In this particular case, I suppose great minds were thinking alike.)

This weekend, I decided I'd go ahead and make the bread. It cooled off outside just enough for me to justify turning on the oven to do something other than dinner, and I also had several zucchinis sitting in the refrigerator begging to be used. How could I not?

I've never tried to make zucchini bread before, but I remember my sister a few years ago made chocolate zucchini bread, and it was pretty tasty, so I was game to give this one a shot. It was incredibly moist and quite good, if I do say so myself. I've never put yogurt in a bread before, and never yogurt and applesauce in at the same time, but I do think it made a world of difference. I brought this bread to work the next day, and by the end of the day found only crumbs and my coworkers saying "was that bread from you? Will you make it again?" Success.

Next time, I might branch out and make it with cranberries. Or chocolate (because everything's better with chocolate). Or maybe even both. The possibilities are endless!

Zucchini Bread (recipe from the Whole Foods Market website)

1 1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour (I didn't have pastry flour, so I used regular whole wheat flour. I didn't notice any difference)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 egg
1/3 c. canola oil
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 tbsp. nonfat plain yogurt (I used greek yogurt)
3/4 c. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. grated zucchini
1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease an 8 inch loaf pan and set aside.

In one bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. In another bowl, whisk together egg, oil, applesauce, yogurt, sugar and vanilla. Add flour mixture and stir until well combined. Fold in zucchini and walnuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the bread is golden brown, about 50 to 60 minutes.

See what I mean? Easy peasy, and good too! :)

Blueberry Angel Muffins

2010-06-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

I got a new cookbook last week. It was like Christmas morning when the package from Amazon.com arrived.

I know, I get excited about cookbooks. I like to think I enjoy the little things.

The reason why I got excited about this cookbook was a recipe I saw in it that was showcased on Boston.com's food page last week, for Blueberry Angel Muffins. I read it, clicked the links to see the cookbook, and proceeded to get so hungry, and so excited over the prospect of making such tasty sweet treats that I ordered the book on the spot. I *never* do that (no, really. I often take the easy way and google the recipe instead). The pictures looked so good though, and the recipes looked even better, that I just couldn't resist.

Last week, during a particularly hot and humid day, I went to work.

It was an uncomfortable day to bake, but damn, if I wasn't determined.

And damn, was I not disappointed. These muffins were so different, but so awesome. They tasted like little angel food cakes. They were light and airy, not really the way a muffin usually is! I'll admit I've never made a meringue to go into muffins. It is more like a dessert than a breakfast. But not to worry-I ate them for both meals, so they're versatile. :)

My only concern was that I ran out of blueberries in the middle of this, so I had to add in a few raspberries, so they became a bit tart. Blueberry-raspberry is certainly a flavor of choice, but I was not intending for them to be that way, which is why the pictures don't necessarily add up to the recipe. Feel free to add whatever fruit you would like!

All told, this is the perfect summer dessert. Or breakfast. Or snack.

Blueberry Angel Muffins (recipe obtained from "The Perfect Finish: Special Desserts for Every Occasion" by Bill Yosses and Melissa Clark)

2/3 c. cake flour
1/2 c. confectioners’ sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 1/4 c. fresh blueberries
2 tsp. vanilla extract
8 egg whites, at room temperature
Pinch of cream of tartar
1/2 c. granulated sugar
Grated rind of 1 lemon
Extra sugar (for sprinkling)

Preheat the oven at 375 degrees. Line 18 cups in 2 muffin tins with paper cups.

In a separate bowl, mix the cake flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt.

In another bowl, toss the blueberries and vanilla.

Beat the egg whites and cream of tartar using an electric mixer on medium-low speed until frothy. Add 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar and continue to beat at medium speed until you get soft peaks to form. Beat in the remaining 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, and raise the speed to high. Beat until the mixture forms stiff peaks.

Sprinkle the flour mixture and lemon rind on the egg whites. With a rubber spatula, fold them in, working carefully to avoid deflating the whites. Fold in half of the blueberries. Then fold in the other half.

Divide the batter among the muffin cups so that each one is 2/3 full. Place a few more blueberries on top of each muffin (or fruit of choice-I used a raspberry on top for each muffin) and sprinkle each with a little more granulated sugar.

Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the muffins are lightly golden. Cool on a baking rack.

Cheese Whizzers

2010-06-27T20:53:00.000-07:00

This one was interesting.

So back around Easter time (I know, I'm backtracking myself), I got a call from my dad. At family holidays we are all always assigned a dish-whether appetizer, side, or dessert. This year I was assigned a side dish (green bean casserole) and an appetizer (guacamole-see, I told you-that guac comes out for *everything*). Well, that was what I was assigned until I got a phone call from dad, about Tuesday prior to the big holiday. He started off by saying, "do you remember about the cheese whizzers?"

um, no.

"Your mother used to make these things called cheese whizzers, and they're really great. It's bread and cheese whiz, wrapped in bacon. You don't remember them?"

um, no.

"Well, I've been thinking about those a lot lately. I used to love those. Maybe you can look through the recipes you have of hers and maybe make those for Sunday too? I mean, no big deal if you can't, but I really liked those..."

That's code for "Please, I've had a craving for these things, bring them on Sunday and you'll get the status of 'favorite child'" (apologies to my sister).

So, that weekend, I made cheese whizzers. It was most interesting. It really was as my dad had said: Bread, cheese whiz, all wrapped in bacon, and then broiled in the oven. It tasted like a grilled cheese in bacon. Very tasty, and I can understand both a) why my dad likes it so much-I mean, come on! The thing has cheese and bacon! What's not to like? and b)why he doesn't have it anymore-the thing is made with cheese whiz! and bacon! I can feel my arteries clogging on the thought alone. On the other hand, having it once in a while won't kill you. It's a good appetizer, and pretty simple to throw together. Have some for your next barbecue, or for your next family gathering. Then make sure your dad remembers it and asks you to make it again 20 years later.

Cheese Whizzers (origins of recipe unknown, credit for directions and ingredients go to my dad)

One loaf of soft white sandwich bread
One jar of cheese whiz
One pound of thick center cut bacon

Take a slice of soft sandwich bread and roll it with a rolling pin until flattened. You should then be able to slice it into three long strips (lengthwise).
Spread a thin layer of cheese whiz on each strip, then roll each strip up.
Take a slice of bacon, and cut it in half. Wrap a half strip around each sandwich roll, and secure with a toothpick.

Repeat until all the bread and bacon have been used. It's entirely possible you'll have a good amount of cheese whiz left.

Broil the cheese whizzers until bacon is golden and cooked. Check early and often so that it doesn't burn. I have no time frame for this, as each oven is different, but make sure you continue to check!

Guacamole

2010-05-20T06:01:00.001-07:00

Ah, Guacamole. The dip that signifies summer. I love guacamole, and for some reason this particular recipe is my favorite-my mouth is watering just thinking about it. I can't exactly recall what the reason was that I asked for it from my friend E so long ago, but I'm glad I did every time I remake the dish.

This recipe has proven to be a tried and true hit with family and friends alike. I brought this guacamole to a Christmas celebration one year after getting my annual Christmas avocado (among other things, my dad gets plantain chips and these gigantic avocados every year from a client of his, and hands them out to everyone in the family-I love that tradition) and am now requested to bring it to every.family.function. All the time. Then there was the time I made it over the fourth of July down in Dallas, got scoffed at by my friends there for bringing it, and by the middle of the party found the bowl nearly licked clean with comments about how the "Yankee" makes some good guac (all jokes, of course). This guacamole's even an award winner-when I worked at Tufts the teachers and staff had a "guac-off", so there were about 9 bowls of guacamole in the kitchen, and mine tied for first (I think it only tied because I was going against almost a pureed guacamole).

This is some good stuff.

I used to follow this with the recipe I wrote down-over the years I've ditched that method, and instead just glance at it before I begin, only to add more where I think I need it. It's one of the few recipes I'll do without a paper in front of me, and one of the few where I will continually experiment. Sometimes it's got too much lemon juice in it, so I'll add more salt. Too much garlic? Add a little more cilantro or lemon juice. Maybe one day I'll put in less onion than I'm normally used to, just because I don't feel like a lot of onion that day.

All I know is that it's really, really, really tasty and very fast. Start to finish I'd say it takes no more than ten minutes. I love this stuff-I'd eat it right out of the bowl with a spoon (wait, I would? Let's change that to I have.). And the best part is that it reminds me of sitting outside on a really hot summer day with friends, drinking beer or something else, just enjoying ourselves. Even if I am eating it with a full foot of snow on the ground outside.

Guacamole (origins unknown)

2 ripe avocados
juice from one lemon (maybe slightly less-depends on your taste)
1-2 cloves of garlic (I often use a spoonful of minced garlic)
1/4 c. cilantro, choped
1 tomato, chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
jalepeno pepper, finely chopped, ribs and seeds removed (optional-I never use it)

pit and scoop the avocado out of it's peel. combine the all of the ingredients in a bowl, and mash and combine until desired consistency (I like it on the chunkier side). Taste as you go, adding more of ingredients as you feel you want them (I often feel like I need more lemon juice and salt, but you might want more garlic. Whatever floats your boat).
I usually serve this with corn chips, not tortilla chips, but they're good with either. Or on top of a burger, or in a chicken sandwich. It is stupendous, if I do say so myself.

Lime-Mango Sorbet and Raspberry-Blackberry Buttermilk Cake

2010-05-17T07:44:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile. Sorry about that. That's what happens when I stop giving myself rules to post to this thing daily. But I resolve to get better, friends. I've really got no excuse-I've been cooking, and baking, and experimenting. But I haven't followed through on the writing up part.

This will be fixed, believe me. I have lots of good recipes to share.

This weekend was beautiful in the Northeast. I managed to celebrate birthdays for three of my favorite people and spend a good time outside-the weather was perfect. All. Weekend. Yesterday, it was so nice that I decided that summer was here (even if it's not) and do some summer grilling. I grilled up some sweet potato fries, some marinated swordfish, and steamed up some broccolini, and then for dessert I tried something new: Lime-Mango Sorbet and Raspberry-Blackberry Buttermilk cake.

Okay, the cake's not really a new thing. I made it before, last week, and it disappeared so fast I decided I wanted it again (and no, I actually didn't eat the cake. I managed to have a sliver before it just got snatched up by people around me. I guess that's a compliment!)

So I started in on the Lime-Mango Sorbet first. I'm not sure why I decided to make it-mango's not my favorite fruit for that sort of thing-but it was different. So I gave it a whirl. Literally.

*As a side note, why didn't anyone tell me how hard it is to actually get the fruit from a mango? I have to google how to cut one, and once I got it nearly took some of my own fingers off trying to chisle the mango meat from the peel. It took forever. There's a reason why Stop and Shop sells it already peeled and cut in the store. Next time I'll totally do that.

The recipe is not that difficult-peeling of mango aside. It involves making some sugar water, lime juice and rind, and mango, and then blending the whole thing together and cooling it down, and then when ready for the ice cream maker you add a bit of tequila. Because I hadn't already had enough alcohol this weekend.

The sorbet is tangy and smooth, all at the same time. And it's orange, which would please my youngest niece to no end. Although it's still almost not quite the right weather for it, I can completely see myself eating this on a 95 degree day! and the flavors work really well with the cake that went with it.

While the mango puree was cooling down, I went for the cake. The last time I made it I used only raspberries, but since I had both those and blackberries in my fridge, I combined them. I cannot stress enough how simple this cake is. It's so simple that I threw it together, realized I had added too much buttermilk the first time around, chucked the batter and made it again, all before my oven completely preheated. This is such an easy cake. The site I got it from calls it an "everyday cake". I like to call this occasion "I-ran-four-miles-and-I'm-starving" cake. Or a "It's-feeling-like-summer-and-I'm-celebrating-by-scorching-myself-in-the-sun" cake. Or a "I'm-hungover-from-a-fun-birthday-party-and-I-need-sugar" cake. It is addictive, tasty, and easy enough that you could make several different ones at the same time and not break a sweat.

When I inverted the cake pan to let the cake cool on the rack, some of the cake got stuck to the pan. Normally I'll throw it in the sink and wash it anyway. This was the kind of cake that found me reaching in a drawer for a spoon to eat the remnants that got stuck to the pan. Awesome.

The cake? Perfect any time of year. Sorbet? Great, but maybe wait until the days are just a bit warmer. But a perfect ending to a perfect weekend, nonetheless.

Lime-Mango Sorbet (from www.simplyrecipes.com)

* 1 c. sugar
* 1 c. water
* Zest from one lime
* 3 ripe mangos (about 2 1/2 pounds) (I wound up using 4)
* 1/2 c. lime juice
* Pinch salt
* 3 Tbsp tequila

Heat the sugar, water, and lime zest in a pot until the sugar has completely dissolved, roughly a few minutes. Set aside.

While the sugar water is heating and cooling, cut the flesh from the mangoes.

Place mango pieces, sugar water, lime juice, and salt into a blender. Blend/puree until completely smooth. Pour into a container with a lid and refrigerate until completely chilled.

When ready to put the chilled purée mixture into an ice cream maker, mix in the tequila. Process the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the directions. Transfer mixture to a plastic storage container and place in freezer until firm, at least a few hours.

Blackberry-Raspberry Buttermilk Cake (from www.smittenkitchen.com)

1 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
2/3 c. plus 1 1/2 tbsp sugar, divided
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. finely grated lemon zest
1 large egg
1/2 c. well-shaken buttermilk
1 c. fresh raspberries/blackberries (or you could use one or the other. Or a totally different fruit. Do whatever floats your boat!)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In a larger bowl, beat butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about two minutes, then beat in vanilla and lemon zest. Add egg and mix well.

At low speed, mix in flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour, and mixing until just combined. Spoon batter into greased, floured (I just greased the pan) cake pan. Spread fruit pieces evenly over the top of the batter and sprinkle with remaining 1 1/2 tbsp. sugar.

Bake until cake is golden, about 20 to 25 minutes (also stick a toothpick in to make sure it comes out clean). Let it sit in the pan 10 minutes, then turn onto a rack and cool. Keep a spoon or a fork ready to just dive in as soon as it is cool enough to not scorch the roof of your mouth while you eat it.

Flourless Chocolate Brownies

2010-03-31T12:30:00.000-07:00

These brownies are completely different from any brownie I've ever made before.

Besides the fact that there's no flour in them.

I first made these last fall, and am not sure why I haven't made them since. Stick everything in a blender (or a food processor, if it's not in the dishwasher already), blend, and put in a greased pan and bake for a half hour. They're very good, for what's in them.

You'll still have to wait until I tell you what's in them.

It's possible I didn't actually make them again because of the stress that ensued while I had them in my possession. Last September I got tickets to U2, one of my most favorite bands (3 times in the same week, but who's counting?). I was so excited to be able to go but I knew that I had better bring snacks, since the traffic to Foxboro was so crazy, especially on game and concert days. This particular day was no exception. I picked up a friend of mine, and we gave ourselves roughly an extra hour or so to get there, knowing the trip took about an hour in the first place. I had the brownies in the backseat.

Fast forward to nearly 3 hours later, when we were still on the road, we could see Foxboro to our left, and if you rolled down the windows and listened, you could barely hear The Edge's guitar. I was so stressed and upset I couldn't do anything, but I did have a brownie or two, and I'm fairly sure I provided some good entertainment for my friend as I slowly melted down in the driver's seat.

We finally made it to the show, and managed to see most of U2's set. This made me much happier, and the excitement definitely returned. That is, until we got back into the car to drive home. And waited in the parking lot for almost 2 hours.

Needless to say, that pan of brownies was nearly polished off by the two of us before we even hit the highway (overall, the return trip took somewhere in the vicinity of 4 hours, in case you were wondering).

I liked them then, and I still like them now, but they will forever be brandished in my mind as "the brownies I took on that horrific drive to Foxboro to see my favorite band play". Here's hoping that they aren't bad luck, and the next time I put them in my car I won't be stuck on the highway for 3 days.

So, still curious about the extra special ingredient? These brownies contain black beans. And you'd never know it unless someone told you. They taste like, well, like flourless brownies. Soft and chocolate-y, and overall, pretty damn good. I love simple recipes that taste good.

Flourless Brownies (recipe from www.wholefoods.com)
1 (15-ounce) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
3 large eggs
1/3 c. melted butter (but let it cool down a bit before adding it to the mixture-adding scalding hot butter to something with cold eggs will scramble it!)
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1/8 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 c. finely chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease an 8-inch baking pan with some spray butter. Put the black beans, eggs, melted butter, cocoa powder, salt, vanilla extract and sugar in the bowl of a food processor or in a blender and blend until smooth. Remove the blade (if using a food processor) and stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Transfer mixture to the pan and bake the brownies for 30 to 35 minutes, or until it is just set in the center. Cool before cutting.

Granola Bars

2010-03-30T09:57:00.000-07:00

Okay, I'm now out of granola. When you're out of granola you do the only thing you can.

You make granola bars.

I'm fairly certain that I have had a lot of granola and granola bars over this past month. Not that I'm complaining. It actually took awhile for me to grow into liking granola and granola bars, but I'm really glad I enjoy them now. I don't know why they weren't top on my list before (wait, maybe that's because chocolate is number one on my list-hell, it still is, really. I can't lie.) but they sit pretty high up these days.

About a year and a half back, I was into a different granola bar recipe. That one and the one I'm writing up now are pretty similar except for the boiling honey and the toasted grains. I think the other one had flour in it, which made it much more bar/cake like. This one: no flour. Makes things interesting.

And how. It's very sweet (with honey, a bunch of fruit, and some brown sugar, you'd think it sweet too!) but it's pretty much a home run (did someone say home run? Just 5 days until Opening Day!!). Not to mention it's really not difficult to do. I wish my food processor wasn't dirty-otherwise I might just have chopped the fruit in that to save time and sticky fingers. I managed though.

Granola Bars (recipe from The Barefoot Contessa, at www.foodnetwork.com)

* 2 c. old-fashioned oats
* 1 c. sliced almonds
* 1 c. shredded coconut (I used sweetened coconut though unsweetened could work just as well)
* 1/2 c, toasted wheat germ
* 3 tbsp. unsalted butter
* 2/3 c. honey
* 1/4 c. light brown sugar
* 1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
* 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
* 1/2 c. chopped pitted dates
* 1/2 c. chopped dried apricots
* 1/2 c. dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring and restirring every 5 minutes or so, until lightly browned. Put mixture in a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Bring the oven temperature down to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small pot and bring to a boil over medium heat. Let the mixture continue to cook for a minute or so and then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture. Add the dried fruit and incorporate everything together well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan. Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan. If you'd rather not use your fingers you can use the back of a spoon or a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top is a light golden color. Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares.

Sundried Tomato Pesto

2010-03-29T19:00:00.000-07:00

This pesto is what I think of when I want some sort of spread that isn't hummus or guacamole or something. Not so much mayo or mustard, but a different spread.

Sundried tomato pesto (well, this recipe, anyway) takes very little time to prepare, so much that it's to the point of laughable easy. Of course, this ease is made easier with the help of my trusty food processor-without one, I'm not sure it would be so simple-though I'm sure a blender could do the job quite nicely. This is not smooth-this particular pesto is pretty grainy and a little more chunky than your typical pesto. It's not runny at all.

It's perfect for using with crackers, and it works well as a sandwich spread. I'd even say it's good for putting over pasta, though I've never tried it. It's got a bit of tang to it, so be prepared-this is not a mellow pesto!

I made this originally on Thursday for my friend's birthday party, and decided that although I left the container half full at her house, I wanted to make some for myself so I'd have something different to snack on this week. I'm not sorry I had to make it again. Forgive the picture quality though-my camera I normally use to take these pictures ran out of battery power, so I used my other one. You get the idea, though.

This whole recipe, from start to finish, takes roughly 5-10 minutes-all you have to do is measure the ingredients in the bowl and start the processor. You have no reason to wait. No lie, this post took me longer to write than making this sundried tomato pesto did. Stop reading this and get up from the couch and go make it for yourself. You will thank me later.

Sundried Tomato Pesto (from www.recipezaar.com)
2 c. sundried tomatoes (if you get the ones packed in oil, make sure you drain first-I have used both-the ones that are in oil and ones that aren't. I don't notice too much of a difference.
1 c. grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c. packed basil (it doesn't need to be chopped)
1/4 c. packed parsley (again, unchopped)
1/4 c. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, whole
ground pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until blended. Cover well and refrigerate until ready to use.

Chicken with Tomatoes

2010-03-28T16:31:00.000-07:00

I needed something for dinner tonight. Weird, I know. You'd think with all the food I had made over the past week I'd have something I could work with.

Sure, I could work with some leftovers. But I needed something I hadn't seen before. I wanted something that was savory, that would taste familiar, that had things in it that I knew and I trusted.

I know I had done that with other dishes and failed miserably. I was putting a lot of weight on making this dinner work.

Chicken with Tomatoes was something I had seen in the Whole Foods website, in their recipes section. The picture looked so good and the recipe seemed really easy and really good tasting that I had to try it.

This time, I was not disappointed by a new dish. This was fantastic. This was filling. It was savory, it was tangy, it definitely came through as a go-to dish. I really could have licked the bowl clean (I actually could have, given that I'm the only one here. But I restrained myself). I loved this. It will go into my regular rotation, I'm pretty sure. I think it should go into yours too.

Chicken with Tomatoes (recipe from Whole Foods Market)

2 tablespoons canola oil
1/2 cup flour (I used spelt flour-trying to get rid of it! and didn't actually notice any difference! I hate to say it but I'm starting to get used to spelt!)
sprinkling of salt, to taste
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-size pieces (get the raw chicken tenders-you'll save time chopping them)
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
3 to 4 cloves garlic, crushed (I used a spoonful of minced garlic)
1 (15-oz) can crushed tomatoes, drained
1 c. low-sodium chicken broth
2 tbsp butter (or a bit of spray)
1 large portobello mushroom (about 1/2 pound), diced
Juice of 1 lemon
1/4 c. basil leaves, torn
3 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
Method

Heat oil in a large pot over medium high heat. Mix together flour, salt and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl then coat chicken with flour mixture. Make sure to shake off any extra flour. Transfer chicken to pot and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned (don't do something like I did and crowd the pan-it will take much longer to cook!); transfer to a large plate and return pot to the stove. Reduce heat to medium, add onion and garlic and cook until soft and opaque. Add tomatoes, broth and browned chicken back to the pot and simmer, covered, for 45 minutes.

While chicken mixture is cooking, melt butter (or spray butter spray) in a large pan over medium high heat, add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and set aside.

Add cooked mushrooms, basil and parsley to pot with chicken mixture a few minutes before the mixture is done cooking and continue simmering just until heated through. Serve.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-03-27T19:26:00.000-07:00

I stumbled on this recipe several months ago, back when I was trying to decide what to put in my Christmas baked good goody bags. I couldn't remember if I'd ever had them, and I certainly knew I'd never baked them before, so I decided to give them a shot.

How glad I was that I did. The cookies that came from this recipe were outstanding. They were crunchy, which is unlike a lot of chocolate chip cookie varieties I'd made, and they had a lot of chocolate in them, which is very much like a lot of chocolate chip cookie varieties I'd made. Plus, there was oatmeal in it, and whole wheat flour, so I could pretend that they were good for you.

Although the cookie didn't make the Christmas baked good cut, I did get compliments from friends that tried it then. One friend in particular asked me last week if I'd make them again for her. I love requests, as we all know, so this morning, bright and early, I put the dough together, baked it off, and had one fantastic cookie on my hands.

And then the cookies traveled to her house, where I conveniently left without them-because if I took them home, they would very likely have been eaten all at once. And three dozen cookies is a lot to eat at once!

...but if I had to, I would have done it. :)

"Mom’s oatmeal cookies" (recipe discovered from the Homesick Texan)

3/4 c. of butter, softened (I melted it, per usual)
3/4 c. of brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
3 c. oats (not quick cooking)
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 cups of chocolate chips (or, if you like chocolate as much as I do, one entire 12 oz. bag of semisweet)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Cream together the butter, sugar and egg (if you can use a hand mixer, please do and save yourself some time!). Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
Place small balls of dough on a greased or parchment-paper lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes. Let cool and enjoy.

Lemon Cake with Chocolate Frosting

2010-03-26T09:00:00.000-07:00

Settle in, friends. This is one long, picture heavy post (thanks to my guest photographer that documented while I was decorating this cake-it makes things so much easier to get things done and documented when someone else is holding the camera!)

Let's talk birthday cake. I do love me a good birthday cake. Not only do I love eating cake, I love making it as well. A good friend of mine (and former roommate)is celebrating the day of her birth next week, and we are all commemorating with a big party tonight at her place. A few weeks ago, I asked if I might be able to help with the food, and her boyfriend came back with a very specific request (actually, specific requests are helpful because then I don't second guess myself in the creativity department): A cat shaped cake, in her favorite flavor combination, lemon with chocolate frosting.

Let me say that again: A cat shaped cake, in her favorite flavor combination, lemon with chocolate frosting.

Well, okay.

I'll be totally honest-I like lemon cake, and I love chocolate frosting, but combined together? Not really my favorite. To each their own though. and a cat cake-well, I'd never made a cat cake before (once for my family's Easter celebration my dish assignment was the bunny cake, but for some reason it didn't go very well-and my sister makes the best bunny cake anyway). I love me a good challenge though, so I got to work.

Here's the way to get yourself a cute cat cake, in many fun steps.

1. Make Lemon Cake (see recipe at end). The original recipe told me it would yield one 10 inch cake, so I doubled the recipe. This turned out to be a huge downfall.

The bowl was too small, the measurements were too big, and my kitchenaid mixer totally freaked out. That machine is easily 35 years old, as a guess, and still runs quite well, but the grooves holding the bowl into place have become a little loose over the years. There was enough butter in there that wasn't soft enough that the bowl came loose and I wound up having to stand at the mixer with both hands firmly planted on the bowl so it wouldn't fly across the room.
After I got everything into the bowl, I realized I couldn't get everything incorporated with my little kitchenaid, so I had to ditch it and try my hand held mixer to get everything set. Until it became too much for that too, and then I had to use a regular wooden spoon. I could have gotten my workout that day from making this cake batter alone-there was no need for the gym with this task!

(I wish I still had pictures of this. I know I took them but I may have accidentally deleted them. So sad. If I find them I will repost them here)
2. If making this cake several days in advance, as I was, let cool and then wrap very well in plastic (I also used tin foil, which I'm sure is a big no-no, but I wanted to be sure).

3. Prepare cake for transport to my sister's house, where a chest freezer is in existence (because my own is filled with stuff already).

4. Bring treat for sister and family to bribe with bringing said cake to store in said chest freezer for a few days.

5. Make fudge frosting (see recipe below). This can be done a few days in advance (or for me, the morning before I frosted the cake. I doubled the frosting recipe, just in case. This had much better results than the cake doubling process from the day before. Except that I was short one unsweetened chocolate square. Later taste testing proved that the missing square made absolutely no difference. Cover frosting, and do not refrigerate (yes, really).

6. Get cake back from sister's house when ready to frost.

7. Invite a friend over. Drink lots of wine and get her to take pictures of you decorating the cake. (Decorating is much better and way more entertaining on a buzz!)

8. Said friend is able to give advice on things you should try and opinions of how cake is looking, but mostly will laugh as you work with frosting, marshmallow, cake, and licorice.

9. Cut second cake a little smaller than the first (this will be the head). If you do this right you will have a nice border left that you can split-to serve as the cat tail and cat ears.

10. Frost cake with a thin chocolate layer (I used canned frosting to do this, gasp!). This will help to hide holes between the piped frosting that should look like fur. Then pipe cake using a flower tip to simulate fur using the homemade frosting. Cut marshmallows in half and stack down the cake to simulate legs and cover with frosting.

11. Decorate face with a flattened, stretched marshmallow, black licorice, and pink fondant.

11. Make a cat collar in the birthday girl's favorite color using fondant, and proceed to write the Happy Birthday message there, preferably using a food pen (yup, those actually exist. Try any craft store).

12. Refrigerate cake for the next day. Pray it doesn't fall apart or something doesn't fall on it. When it does (and it did), fix in the morning with more piped fur frosting.

13. Bring to birthday party. Hope the birthday girl likes the cake (I will have to get back to you on this one).

14. Bring backup dessert as well for those of us who don't care much for the lemon/chocolate combination.

I did get to try some of the scraps of the lemon cake, and I have to admit that I liked the cake very much. It was really dense, but had a very distinct lemon flavor. It also holds up quite well, which helps, especially if you're carving it into a shape. The fudge frosting is one of my favorites-I got it from a coworker at Tufts, and it's from Rosie's Bakery. It's really easy and very rich. My friend who was over giving me moral support while I prepared this cake told me that she quite enjoyed the fudge frosting, and over time, grew to like the lemon/chocolate combo. I thought it was decent too, though I don't think it will ever be my first (or second, for that matter) choice for cake. Overall, I was very happy with the way this tasted and the way this turned out! If it's not your choice for flavor combo either, make 'em separate. They're both quite good, if I do say so myself.

Luxury Lemon Cake (recipe obtained from Boston.com)
(This recipe claims it makes one 10 inch cake, so I doubled it and found myself with 4 9 inch rounds. I'd say if you are making a layer cake with this recipe, keep it the single version. If you're making a cat cake like above, you might want to double just in case you make a mistake and you need backup cake)

Finely grated rind of 3 lemons
2 teaspoons lemon extract
3 1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 3/4 c. sugar
5 eggs
1 c. buttermilk

1. Set the oven at 325 degrees. Grease and flour your cake pan(s) and set aside to be ready.

2. In a small bowl, mix together the lemon rind and extract.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into another medium bowl.

4. In an electric mixer, beat the butter at medium speed for 3 minutes or until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar in three portions, beating for 1 minute after each one. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing for 30 seconds after each one. Make sure you scrape down the sides of the bowl to keep everything fully mixed together.

5. Blend in the lemon mixture. On low speed, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk in 3 separate additions, alternating the wet and dry ingredients, beginning and ending with flour.

6. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s) and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.

7. Bake the cake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake is clean (it took me about an hour for this to be done).

8. Let cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then take out and let cool fully on wire rack. Either frost once cooled or wrap well in plastic and freeze until ready to use (can be frozen for about a week).

Fudge Frosting (recipe from Rosie's Bakery)

* 6 OZ. Unsweetened chocolate (use the Baker's brand-they come in handy 1 oz. squares!)
* 1 c. plus 2 tbsp evaporated milk
* 1 1/2 c. sugar

1. Melt chocolate in a double boiler or in the microwave, checking every 30 seconds or so. Cool.
2. Blend the evaporated mild and sugar in a blender at medium speed for 30 seconds. You really need to use a blender for this, do not use a hand-held mixer or a spoon.
3. Add the chocolate to the sugar mixture in the blender and blend on high speed until the frosting thickens, Approximately 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. You will notice the mixer's sound will change when the frosting has thickened.
4. Spoon the frosting into a bowl and let it set at room temperature for 30 minutes. Cover the bowl and let the frosting to set for at least 1 more hour before frosting your cake. Do not refrigerate the frosting. Just make sure it is covered well.

Spring Salad

2010-03-25T15:09:00.000-07:00

I'm trying to like salad again. I swear.

With this dish, I think I'm getting there. I found this again in the Whole Foods website, and as the weather is fighting to be in spring mode in the Northeast, I had to try to make this.

I was pleasantly surprised by the way it turned out. It was really easy to throw together, it was much more tasty than I expected, and it reminded me of spring. Just really fresh tasting, and a little bit sweet as well.

I really liked how simple this salad looked to make, and I loved that it actually tasted like something I could have more than once!

It's a good reminder of spring, and the good weather that's supposed to accompany it.

I think if I eat more salads like this, I could get used to liking salads again. :)

Spring Salad (recipe from Whole Foods Market)
3 green onions, sliced
1/2 avocado
1/2 c. orange juice
Salt and ground black pepper to taste
3 ounces spring greens or mesclun mix (I used a 9 ounce bag of spinach-it was quite tasty)
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
1/2 pound raw asparagus, trimmed and sliced into strips with a vegetable peeler (I used about 9 stalks of asparagus)
Method

Puree green onions, avocado, juice, salt and pepper in a blender or food processor until smooth to make a dressing. In a large bowl, toss greens, strawberries and asparagus together. Mix dressing together with the salad and serve. Serves about 4.

Fat Pie

2010-03-24T20:00:00.000-07:00

I have interesting names for food. It's true. Yesterday it's "That Spinach Thing", today it's Fat Pie. I call 'em like I see 'em.

As far as I'm aware, Fat Pie got it's name from my maternal grandfather. I believe the actual title of the dessert is Chocolate Silk Pie, but everyone knows that's not as much fun to say. The story, as I understand it, was that a very long time ago, my mom made this pie for my grandparents, and my grandfather took one bite, said something like "wow! This is one Fat Pie!" and the name just stuck. Ever since I first had it, that's what I've called it, and that's what my friends and family have called it. It's one of the more well-known dishes amongst friends and family that I have.

All right, now that we've gotten that out of the way, gather 'round, everyone. It's story time. This pie has gained somewhat of a cult popularity status among friends. I loved having one for my birthday, and discovered that my friends in college loved when I got one. So my sophomore year in college, my mom made me a pie that came in a sheet pan instead of a round pie plate, so I could share. That year, my room had a little roof deck that we'd kind of illegally use for extra space when we had parties. In the winter, it also made for great freezer/fridge space when we wanted to keep something cold. When I got the pie, it didn't fit in the cube fridge my roommate had, so I covered it, put it in a box, covered the box with towels and rocks to keep it stable, and went about my day. The next morning while I was at breakfast, my next door neighbor came down to the dining room (back in the day, each dorm at MHC had it's own dining room...pretty cool) and told me "uh, Linda...you might want to check on your pie that's out the window. I think some squirrels found it."

Turns out EVERYONE loves fat pie.

I ran back upstairs to find the box partially open, and opened the tin foil to find a paw print in the corner. I was horrified. Some stupid squirrel was eating (or attempting to eat) my pie! I was determined to keep the pie though, so in a moment of college chaos, I got a knife, and to my roommate's horror, cut that piece out (wide, wide base, people! I wasn't that crazy). Then I re-cut the pie so that the untouched, untainted pieces were still okay. And then I had another piece despite what had just happened. That is how much I love this pie.

No one else touched the tin from that moment out, however. I think mom had to make a new pie so people wouldn't have to eat the "tainted" one. But look, it's 11 years later and I'm still alive. That story has been retold over and over and people are still hysterical that I found squirrels trying to eat that pie.

When I wanted to make this recipe myself, I had graduated from college (and lived in an apartment with a real full size fridge and freezer, no outdoor roof freezer, thankyouverymuch)and I can't remember what the occasion was. I couldn't find the recipe in my mom's recipe collection, and panicked at the thought that I wouldn't be able to recreate it. Many of her recipes (including this one) she had memorized and quite unfortunately disappeared when she passed away. Luckily, after a friend had tried the pie back in college, she asked me for the recipe, so at that time, I got Mom on the phone, she told it to me, and I passed it along (and back then, I of course didn't keep the recipe for me!). Thank goodness that friend still had the recipe over 3 years later when I went to make it! It sits in my arsenal of recipes, one of my most favorite ones, and I hesitate to give it out because it is a)one of my most favorites and b) because really, there's so much eggs and butter in this thing that I don't usually like to give up how much is in it! But all in moderation. It's a Special Occasion Pie. It reminds me of many good times and it's so good. I hope if you make this pie it makes good memories for you too.

It is an incredibly rich, incredibly good dessert. Another bonus is that it's a no-bake dessert and it has whipped cream to go on top (which I haven't put on yet because it hasn't been served-actually it's sitting in my sister's freezer until it will get eaten in a few days because I'm out of freezer space!). Plus, this is one of those desserts where you will TOTALLY want to lick the beaters clean once you finish mixing everything together. Don't think for one second I didn't do that-it totally brought me back to my childhood, where that was always my job :). I promise you will not regret having this dessert AT ALL-it is the kind of thing everyone should have at least once.

Fat Pie (or, if you want to be more sophisticated, Chocolate Silk Pie) (original recipe author unknown-but feel free to give my mom the credit)

(this recipe will yield 2 pies in a round pie plate, or one if you use a longer sheet pan. This time around I used the pie plates)

Crust:
-1 package of Oreo cookies, crushed fine (use a blender or a food processor-I have found that I can crush the entire package at once in a food processor, or a sleeve at a time if I use the blender)
-1 stick of butter, melted

Combine crushed Oreos and butter well and divide evenly into two round pie plates or in one big rectangular pan. Make sure you pack the mixture well-use a spoon or your fingers to press the crust into the pan and up the sides. Freeze or refrigerate until you are ready to fill the pie shells.

Filling:

Beat 2 sticks of softened butter and 1 1/2 c. sugar until fluffy (use an electric hand mixer if you have one, or a stand-up mixer-this will make the process much easier, I promise).
Add 2 tsp. vanilla, and then add 4 squares of unsweetened chocolate, melted (I use the Baker's brand-about 4 oz total. You can either melt it over a double boiler or use the microwave and check every 20-30 seconds until melted totally-and make sure you melt it completely. Nothing's worse than finding a chunk of unmelted, unsweetened chocolate!).
Add 6 eggs, one at a time. Beat each egg for 2 minutes at a medium high speed before adding the next egg.
Put filling into the pan(s) and refrigerate/freeze until ready to use. These may be made a few days ahead if needed.

Whipped Cream topping:
Beat 2 c. heavy cream with 1/2 c. confectioner's sugar to desired consistency. Add whipped cream to pie when ready to serve. :)

"That Spinach Thing"

2010-03-23T09:42:00.000-07:00

"That Spinach Thing" is so named because I kept forgetting what the technical term for it was (it's a Spanish dish, though the website where I found it called it Spinach and Chickpeas, which really doesn't leave much room for interpretation), and since it seemed really close to something else I had seen made a few months back by a college friend of mine called "chickpea thing" I figured I'd give it a shot. Plus, the website from which it came from is awesome, and I love getting ideas from it.

I think the fact that I sat on this post all day trying to figure out how I'd write it while having a banana walnut chocolate chunk cookie in my hand is very telling.

This meal (or side, depending on how you choose to serve it) is pretty simple, really. Spices, spinach, garbanzo beans, and fried bread (which I omitted because I just didn't feel like frying up bread, and all I had was some leftover Herb Bread from my favorite sandwich/bakery place ever in the freezer. In retrospect, I should have used it-I'm now very interested to see how it would have tasted.).

I liked this dish, but I didn't *love* this dish. Quite frankly, if I hadn't made it I'd probably know no better. I don't think this is a dish I'd crave; but I'll still eat it-it's not that bad for you, it's easy, and it's filling. I think my problem is that it has too many chickpeas. I thought maybe it just gave it a weird texture or something. Something's just missing from this. I really think it's the bread. The recipe said it was optional, which is why I didn't add it the first time. Next time, I'll definitely do it.

Try it and see if you can come up with something that works. I really think this dish has the potential to work-I just couldn't do it this time around. Separately, it's very good. Together, I just miss something. Maybe I should take out some of the chickpeas and add something else-maybe some chicken or something-but that will change the dish completely. Or, put in more spinach and maybe some extra garlic!

I will have to go back to the drawing board on this-but I won't give up on it! If you find a good combination, let me know-I'll be interested to see what happens with it!

Sidenote-I do wholeheartedly agree with the addition of the smoked paprika. It was a strangely different spice that I really liked and also really liked being able to sprinkle as much or as little as I wanted on it. There's a distinct possibility I'll be adding more to "Spinach Thing" tonight.

Spinach and Chickpeas (aka "That Spinach Thing", aka Espinacas con Garbanzos)(recipe obtained from www.smittenkitchen.com)
2 cans of chickpeas (15 oz), drained well
6 tbsp olive oil
1 lb. baby spinach
1 large slice of Country Bread (or whatever you might have on hand)
1/2 c. tomato sauce (I used eggplant marinara. I'm glad I had something different to contrast it, but feel free to use whatever tomato sauce you have, or none at all)
3 garlic cloves, sliced thin (I used a spoonful of minced)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 pinch of red pepper flakes
1 1/2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (try to find this if you can. It really does have a distinct difference from regular paprika)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Lemon juice, to taste

Place a large saucepan over medium heat and add 3 tbsp. of the olive oil. When it is hot, add the spinach and stir. Depending on the size of your pot you may only be able to add a little at a time (I had to put it in a half at a time) When spinach is tender, drain in a colander and set aside.

While the spinach cools, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Fry up the bread for about 5 minutes or so, then one tbsp of oil and the garlic, cumin and pepper. Cook for another minute or until the garlic is golden brown.

Transfer to a food processor along with the vinegar (a blender also works), and mash mixture to a paste. Put the chickpeas and the mashed mixture back into the pan and add the tomato sauce (if you choose-I'd suggest it, but it can be regular marinara or whatever you like). Stir until the chickpeas are heated all the way through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add the spinach and cook until it is fully heated. Serve with paprika sprinkled over the top.

Banana Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

2010-03-22T09:10:00.000-07:00

I think this was another recipe that I had stashed away for awhile, because when I tried it I didn't remember having it before-but I'll admit that I don't know why I waited so long to try it. This was the kind of cookie that I brought to the barn to bribe my riding instructor to have my lesson outside this past weekend (as it turned out she had already made the decision to go outside, but let the record show that I brought them anyway) and the kind of cookie that I had one of and then immediately reached for a second one. They are strangely, fantastically addictive.

(In fairness, a lot of baked goods can have that effect on me. I have a wicked sweet tooth.)

I wasn't sure why this recipe was so different than a traditional banana bread, which is what I'm assuming this cookie is modeled after. But it was a , and it had everything that a cookie needed that a bread kind of lacks. It's not crumbly, it doesn't fall apart, you don't have to slice it, and it packs quite a punch (of flavorful goodness, that is).

Sometimes it's nice to have a cookie that tastes kind of like a traditional chocolate chip but has enough different flavor to keep you on your toes.

I feel like this cookie is a good alternative to making an entire loaf of banana bread-it's really easy to throw together and they almost make you feel like you're eating breakfast when you have one. I suppose if you really wanted to make that stretch, go for it; I know we've all had cookies for breakfast at least once before. And if you say you haven't, I ask you: haven't you had a donut for breakfast? That's kind of like a cookie, isn't it? You can eat this for any meal; you can eat this in place of every meal (but you might get a sugar rush). It is the sort of cookie that you eat and *almost* think it's healthy.

For today, it is.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies (by Martha Stewart at www.marthastewart.com)
* 1 c. regular all-purpose flour
* 1/2 c. whole-wheat flour
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp baking soda
* 3/4 c. (1 1/2 sticks) softened (room temperature-or just melt it completely like I do) unsalted butter
* 1/2 c. sugar
* 1/2 c. packed light-brown sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1/2 c. mashed ripe banana (about 1 large-the riper the better)
* 1 c. old-fashioned rolled oats (I used quick-cook oats-because it's all I had-but it still worked very well)
* 8 oz. semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped into 1/4-inch chunks (the recipe calls for this. I say you can never have too much chocolate so I used a 12 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chunks)
* 1/2 c. chopped walnuts (Martha says to toast them. I say do whatever you'd like-I left mine untoasted)

1. Mix together flours, salt, and baking soda in a small bowl; set aside. Put butter and sugars into another bowl and mix well, using a hand mixer or a stand-up mixer, whichever you prefer (I have both and love to use my stand mixer whereever possible-but a hand mixer works just as well), until it is pale and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla; mix until just combined. Add in banana, and then flour mixture; mix again until just incorporated. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks, and walnuts (stir this in by hand-I've learned through experience that electric mixers and chocolate chips/walnuts/or anything else that doesn't dissolve don't mix well).
2. Drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper using either a spoon, a small ice cream scoop, or your hands-whichever implement you prefer. Bake cookies at 375 degrees until browned at the edges and just set, about 12 to 13 minutes (my oven actually took about 15 minutes to cook all the way through), rotating the pans once during baking time. Let cookies sit on the baking sheets on wire racks until cool enough to touch. Transfer cookies to wire racks; let cool completely.

Chicken with Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers

2010-03-21T15:10:00.001-07:00

Today I heard someone talk about how they were a little afraid to cook chicken. Call it a salmonella fear or something like that. I had something similar, but it was with beef (which I find odd, since I love my meat rare). Chicken, on the other hand, was something I never really got bothered by or afraid of cooking. 350 degrees in the oven for about a half hour or grill until you thought it might be done, then cut in the center. If it wasn't pink and juices ran out, it was done. But after hearing that today, I knew I had to make this dish tonight (plus, I for some reason really wanted some chicken, so perfect timing).

This was a really easy dish to throw together. The original calls for mozzarella cheese on top, but since I didn't have any, I just left it out altogether. I had read some comments on this recipe that said they missed the cheese. I didn't. I honestly think cheese might be weird with this dish. If you try this and use the cheese, please let me know if I'm completely crazy. I am typically of the nature of "when in doubt always add more cheese" but this time I liked it perfectly fine just the way it was. I think it might have been the balsamic.

The chicken came out really tender and really flavorful. I liked pan searing it and then cooking it on the stovetop. One word of note: Make sure you keep an eye on the pan-the recipe calls for only a half cup of broth, and I think I wound up with a full cup-it kept burning off so I had to add a bit more as I cooked. If you don't want to burn the chicken, I'd suggest you do the same.

Overall, it's a really good dish to put together when you want some extra veggies, when you don't have a lot of time, and when you want something that just tastes really good without being too complicated.

Chicken With Asparagus and Roasted Red Peppers (recipe from www.allrecipes.com)

* 1/2 c. low sodium chicken broth (as it kept burning off and I needed to not have the chicken burn I added more, a little at a time, and wound up using about a cup)
* 1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
* salt and pepper to taste
* 1/2 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2 inch pieces
* 1 (7 oz) jar roasted red peppers, drained and chopped (I love roasted red peppers, and I only had a 12 oz. jar so I just used all of that. It was fine for me but if you want, use less!)
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 c. chopped plum tomatoes
* 1 tsp balsamic vinegar, or to taste (I just put a glug or two around the pan)
* 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (optional-I left it out)

1. Heat the broth in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add salt and pepper to the chicken and place in the pan. Cook 15 minutes, flipping once halfway through to ensure even cooking, until chicken is almost done.
2. Place asparagus, red peppers and garlic in the pan. Continue cooking for about 10 minutes, or until chicken juices run clear, the inside is not pink, and asparagus is tender (you will probably want to flip the chicken again during this time) to make sure you cook evenly). Place tomatoes in skillet during last 2 minutes. Drizzle with vinegar. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese on top, if you'd like.

Raspberry-Blueberry Spelt Muffins

2010-03-20T12:00:00.000-07:00

I ask you: what is it you do with your leftover spelt flour and blueberries from the blueberry pancakes you made yesterday?

Of course. You make muffins.

I found this recipe for Blueberry Spelt Muffins from a blog by Whole Foods Market. Seeing as how I have a whole bag of this stuff, it seemed like a good opportunity to use the flour for something else. Oh, and then I'd have something to write about today. Good, let's kill two birds (turkeys?) with one stone.

There is a muffin place not too far from me that makes the best muffins I have ever had. Yes, including the ones I make myself. I love this muffin place, and their muffins are gigantic. Like, big-as-your-head gigantic. Their pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting are, of course, my favorite, but I love their blueberry raspberry ones too. I had made my own version of them a few years back, complete with a crumble topping, and loved them. When I saw this recipe for Blueberry Spelt Muffins, I decided to take a cue from these other muffins and make them with raspberries as well.

Let's just say that I didn't read things as closely as I should have. Because again, my butter's frozen solid and I didn't have a chance to defrost like I wanted to, I used oil instead. Imagine my horror when I realized I had read the recipe wrong and had not put in 4 tablespoons, as instructed, but rather 4 ounces, or a half cup of oil. Whoops.

It made for a very moist muffin.

But over-softness aside, I really liked them. It had lemon juice and rind in it which added more tartness that was really good. It's true that the spelt really does make things taste just a little different, because I could taste the spelt in last night's pancakes. That doesn't mean that they're bad, not by any stretch. But you can tell a difference between that and something made with regular flour.

The muffins were really tasty though, and I was very happy. Even if I did accidentally add too much oil. Keep in mind that if you make these, use 4 TABLESPOONS. or a half stick of butter. Not a half cup. (I'm an idiot sometimes. It happens. It could be worse-they could have turned out like rocks!).

Raspberry-Blueberry Spelt Muffins (original recipe: Blueberry Spelt Muffins, by the good people over at Whole Foods Market)-my changes and additions are in parentheses...

* 4 tbsp (1/2 stick) softened butter or canola oil
* 2/3 c. sugar
* 1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
* 2 eggs
* 1/2 c. orange juice (I used lemon juice instead)
* 2 tsp vanilla extract
* 2 c spelt flour
* 2 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp grated orange zest (again, used grated lemon zest instead)
* 1/4 tsp salt
* 2 cups fresh blueberries (I used one cup blueberries and one cup raspberries, and wound up having just a bit extra in each package, so just added a little bit more)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a muffin pan with paper muffin liners (you will likely need two pans-I wound up needing to go to a mini loaf pan because I didn't have extra muffin tins). In a large bowl, stir together butter or oil and sugar until creamy-use a hand mixer if you have one, you'll save yourself a lot of time. Stir in applesauce, eggs, citrus juice (whichever you use) and vanilla.

In a second large bowl, mix together flour, baking powder, zest and salt. Stir flour mixture into wet mixture until just combined. Gently stir in fruit. Spoon batter into muffin cups and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Enjoy!

Buttermilk Spelt Blueberry Pancakes

2010-03-19T17:40:00.000-07:00

I will admit it. I came very very close to not posting tonight. I have been totally exhausted all day (all because a stupid wild turkey decided to land in a tree near my window and gobble very early in the morning until I woke up) and when I came home after the grocery store tonight I was very tempted to order out.

But then I would have disappointed the 4 people who read this blog. And I had told myself I'd post every day this month (and I didn't think then about how long March really is). So I decided to follow through and make dinner tonight. It wasn't a hard decision to decide what to have; I had been looking forward to pancakes for dinner all week.

These pancakes were a little different, however. I grew up in a household where butter was aplenty and flour and sugar were everywhere. I didn't even know what spelt flour was, much less that it existed. I've heard spelt flour being tossed around a bit more these days-people at the gym I go to have been talking about spelt flour in cookies they've had, in waffles they've bought, in bread they've toasted. I had resisted for SO. LONG. in using spelt flour myself. It's not that I had anything against it. I just didn't know if I really wanted to get into the trend because I was happy with my all-purpose flour, and even my whole wheat all-purpose flour. But I thought of it again the other day, and figured I'd give it a shot. I had nothing to lose.

A friend of mine gave me this buttermilk pancake recipe. It is my all time favorite pancake recipe, and it's so easy. The pancakes come out fluffy and completely, utterly awesome. Every single time (unless you do something stupid and multitask and burn the bottom like I've done before) I swapped out the all-purpose flour for spelt, threw some blueberries in, and waited at the griddle for the pancakes to work their magic.

I'm horrible at waiting. Anyone will tell you that. But I had to try.

But the end product was great, once I got over myself and my impatience. These pancakes were different, but they were very good. It's hard to tell what the difference is with spelt, but I'd say if anything, the pancakes weren't *quite* as fluffy as they normally are. But I really liked this pancake, and I'm pretty excited that I have leftovers-they will make my breakfasts for the next few mornings quite easy.

Buttermilk Spelt Blueberry Pancakes (origins of original recipe unknown; recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes from Katherine Axt)

1 cup of spelt flour (original calls for all-purpose, if you want to go that route)
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. sugar
1 egg
1 c. buttermilk
1.5 tsp. canola oil

Combine all ingredients in one bowl. Mix until fully incorporated. Do not mix enough so that too much air gets into the batter.
Prepare the griddle: spray with cooking spray so that batter does not stick and turn the heat to medium to medium high. The griddle will be ready when you flick some water onto the pan-if it dances across, get to work.
Ladle batter and add toppings of choice if desired (I love blueberries; I also love chocolate chips and the combination of chocolate chips and chopped pecans-get creative!). Cook at medium heat.
Flip pancakes after about 3 minutes or when you see bubbles form in the pancake. Cook the other side for about 3 minutes more.
Make sure you eat these with real maple syrup. The fake stuff just doesn't do.

This recipe will make you about 8 pancakes. I generally double this recipe if I'm making them for more than 2 people.

Gypsy Soup

2010-03-18T04:00:00.000-07:00

This was a soup suggested to me the other day. Actually, the request went a bit like this: "You know, you should try this soup I really like. Actually, make it and then write about it in that blog". This was not the first time this soup had been suggested to me, and not the first person to suggest it. How could I not try it with so much endorsement?

I'm always up for requests. Plus, I looked at the recipe and decided I'd probably be quite happy with it, so I bookmarked it, got all the stuff for it, and got to work.

This is the kind of soup I'd consider to have "everything but the kitchen sink" in it. Quite honestly it's very different-for example, I'd never had cinnamon in a soup before. I don't know what tamari is (in fact, I still don't. I couldn't find it in the store and so I decided not to put it in,and I guess I don't know any different or better). But it does have a lot of vegetables and chicken, which I added on a recommendation-the original recipe is vegetarian.

I went to the store to get the vegetables for the soup and then realized I didn't have enough counter space or refrigerator space to put them, so they sat on my kitchen table. Good thing I like vegetables, or those bags might really have irritated me (well, I guess they did, just a little bit. But it was worth it).

You could really add or take away anything you want with this soup. I added some spinach, which the original didn't call for. But the seasonings are really different and that's what you might not want to skip, especially if you're looking for something that's not just plain ol' vegetable soup. I liked the variations you could do, I liked the soup itself. I was quite pleased overall (though I might have wanted to make it last week when it was still cold-when it's in the 60s and 70s you kind of don't want to eat soup anymore-but I will sacrifice!) It's pretty hard to screw up.

And it has sweet potato in it, which we all know by now is one of my favorite vegetables.

Gypsy Soup (with chicken) (from The Moosewood Cookbook, by Mollie Katzen)

3-4 Tbsp olive oil
2 c. chopped onion (I used a whole onion)
2 cloves crushed garlic
2 c. peeled chopped sweet potato (I used 2 sweet potatoes)
1/2 c. chopped celery (I used 3 stalks)
1 c. chopped tomatoes (the recipe called for fresh. I used one can of diced tomatoes and it was totally fine, though I bet if you make this when tomatoes are in season it would be even better)
3/4 c. chopped sweet pepper (I used one whole red pepper)
1.5 c. cooked chickpeas (or one can, drained, which is what I used)
3 c. chicken/vegetable stock or water (I used chicken stock, and I actually wound up using 4 c. because I wanted more broth)
2 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. tumeric
1 tsp. basil
1 tsp. salt
dash of cinnamon
dash of cayenne
bay leaf (I forgot about it and didn't use it. It didn't change anything for me)
1 Tbsp. tamari (which I couldn't find and didn't use)
1 roasted chicken, shredded (optional)

In a stockpot saute onions, garlic, celery and sweet potatoes in olive oil for five minutes over medium to medium high heat. Add spices and seasonings (except the tamari) and the chicken stock/water. Bring to a simmer and keep it covered for about 15 minutes. Then, add the rest of the vegetables and the chickpeas and the chicken (if you are using it). Feel free to add any other vegetables not seen here (for example, I used a bag of baby spinach). Cook for another 10 minutes or until vegetables are at a desired tenderness.

Colcannon (Happy St. Patrick's Day!)

2010-03-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

If you're an avid food blog reader like I am, you know a lot of blogs are profiling popular St. Patrick's Day recipes today. Irish Stew, Corned Beef and Cabbage, Irish Soda Bread. Not me, kids. I choose to buck the trend, and I made Colcannon.

Colcannon was such a foreign Irish dish for me that I wound up having to Google it to find out what it meant and what the origins were. That's where I found out that it's actually more of a dish made around Halloween time, because that's when kale (which seems to be the original green used) was in season. Who knew. Oh well, enough of the history lesson.

I got home somewhat early last night and proceeded to get to work (I knew I wouldn't have enough time tonight to make it if I waited). Oh, how I worked. The recipe called to steam the potatoes, instead of boiling them. That should have been my first red flag. Does anyone know how hard it is to mash steamed potatoes? I really thought I'd lose an arm. I mashed. and mashed and mashed and mashed and mashed. It took forever. It took so long and went nowhere so fast that I decided to just add the melted butter and hot milk because I was so irritated and I just wanted this to finally mash up. Thank goodness that tactic finally worked, but not for awhile. I finished the potato mashing and got to work on the rest of it: boiling and dicing the cabbage and sauteeing the ham. The original recipe calls for a pound of ham, boiled, but I took a shortcut and bought a pound of deli sliced ham, diced it and pan fried it. I don't know I'll really know the difference. I'd say if you are vegetarian, leave it out. If you want to try bacon, do that instead. And if you're really bold feel free to use the original recipe's suggestion of a whole pound of ham, boil it, and dice it up.

The cabbage and the ham weren't so hard. It was getting it to be done that was the problem. I didn't use a big enough pot for boiling the cabbage so water popped all over my stove, and then it was too hot to touch for about 25 minutes. The ham just wouldn't get hot enough to brown. It was starting to get to be too much. Finally, I shocked the cabbage under cold water so I could touch it, cut and diced it up, and threw it in the bowl. Then I put the ham in and combined everything together. Overall, it wasn't a complicated meal, ingredient wise. I should have known-Irish food is typically known for being on the milder side, with not as many spices and stuff.

After all that work, I was so sure I'd hate this dish. I had this post all planned out, telling you how much I hated it, how bland it was, that the cabbage was all wrong.

I didn't hate it. I actually liked it much more than I thought I would. The little bits that I had (because I had to have at least a little bit!) were more flavorful than I expected. I'll blame that on the salty ham and the extra pepper I put in it. The cabbage though, the cabbage added some weird element that I couldn't put my finger on, but it definitely helped the dish come together. I liked all of the textures that went along with this and I'm glad I found this particular Irish recipe to try something different.

Next year, though-next year, I'm bribing someone else to make it for me.

Colcannon (from www.foodnetwork.com)
* 3 lbs russet potatoes (this wound up being about 4 potatoes for me)
* 2 sticks butter (I only used 1)
* 1 1/4 c hot milk
* Freshly ground black pepper
* 1 head cabbage, cored and finely shredded (I shredded this after it had been boiled-I put it in the pot in pieces and cored it before I cooked it, though)
* 1 (1 lb.) piece ham or bacon, cooked the day before (I instead used deli ham, about 1 lb.)
* 4 scallions, finely chopped (I ran out of scallions, so I skipped this)
* Chopped parsley leaves, for garnish (skipped this too-didn't feel the need-but it does make the dish pretty!)

Steam the potatoes whole for 30 minutes. Slice in half and peel them using a knife and fork. (Next time, I'd suggest boiling them like you do regular mashed potatoes). Chop with a knife before mashing-I swear you'll be glad you did that. Mash thoroughly until mixture is smooth. Add 1 stick of butter-if it's frozen, melt it. Otherwise, if at room temperature, add in pieces. Add hot milk in stages, stirring constantly. Season with black pepper.

Boil the cabbage in unsalted water until it's darker, about ten minutes or so. You can add 2 tablespoons butter to make it tender (as the recipe directs) but I skipped that step too. Drain completely, then dice into small pieces.

(Put the ham in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to the boil and simmer for 45 minutes until tender. Drain. Remove any fat and chop into small pieces.) -This is from the original recipe. If you opt to use my short cut, dice up one point of deli ham and put it in a skillet to pan fry until just browned.

Add cabbage, scallions (if using), and ham to mashed potatoes, stirring them in completely.

Sprinkle parsley on top (if you're using) and put another pat of butter in the center of each portion (again, optional). Serve.

Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Hash

2010-03-16T05:00:00.000-07:00

I think there's nothing better with a poached egg than some good hash. As a kid, I loved corned beef hash. Come to think of it, I still do. But I've learned that there's much more than corned beef hash to be had. There was that sweet potato hash that I loved (with a spicy hollandaise that was equally awesome) and then there was the chicken hash that I made once using Fog Island's recipe. They say that that particular recipe has gotten national attention (it's true-I googled it and found it was once profiled in Gourmet magazine years ago) and I'm sure that they make it a little crispier than I did, but I liked it anyway.

The first time I tried this I made it the way the original recipe called for, with the red bliss potatoes. It was really good, and had enough different tastes to keep me interested in finishing it. After I had that sweet potato hash, though, I got conflicted. I loved both, but each recipe kept pulling me. I couldn't have two different hashes at the same time (no. Wait a minute, I could, but I might risk some sort of salmonella or something while I would try to finish both, and I'll undoubtedly burn myself out of eating hash for quite awhile. So I decided to pass on the double batch). I thought about making the sweet potato hash this morning (after I finally pilfered the right recipe I had been searching for) but something held me back.

Oh, now I remember what it was. I had run out of bacon, which is what that recipe called for. Silly me. That's what would have made this recipe really stick out. If I had just made it without it, it would be sweet potato home fries with sauteed onions. Equally delicious, but completely different thing.

So I took the best of both worlds with these hashes, and I combined them together. And proceeded to make the most kick-ass hash I've had in quite some time. I took the base of the Fog-Style Chicken hash, added sweet potato and chipotle peppers in adobo sauce (but just a little! Too much of that stuff will make you feel like you swallowed fire, and I had an entire can). It was perfect. It took the chicken hash way, way up several notches. It was smoky, it had the protein I was looking for, it had a bunch of vegetables, it was so, so, so good.

Just as an aside-is it weird to have both the chicken and the egg in the same dish? Personally I'd say no, but you really can have a "what came first" debate with this kind of meal.

It's a good thing I live by myself sometimes-I don't know that I'd be able to share. :)

Smoky Sweet Potato Chicken Hash (original recipe, "Fog-Style Chicken Hash" from Nantucket Recipes from the Fog Island Cafe, by Mark and Anne Dawson-my changes are in parentheses)
* 4 c. chicken broth or water (water works just fine, and it's what I've always used)
* 1 1/2 lbs. poached chicken-about 2 or 3 chicken breasts-about a package full-just check the weight on the label (see this post on how to poach chicken)
* 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes (I used 2 sweet potatoes instead)
* 1 large chopped onion
* 1/2 c. diced green pepper
* 1/2 c. diced red pepper
* 3 garlic cloves, minced
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (yes, this time I used actual butter)
* 1 tsp paprika
* 1/2 tsp chili powder
* 1/2 tsp black pepper
* 1/2 tsp white pepper (I omitted the white pepper and instead used a full teaspoon of black pepper)
* 1/2 tsp dried thyme, crumbled
* 1/2 tsp salt
* 1/2 c. chopped scallion
* 1/2 c. packed chopped parsley leaves, (I skipped this ingredient)
* 1 c. half-and-half
* 1.5 tbsp. chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, diced and mashed (new addition-skip completely if you're not into smoky, spicy tastes with your breakfast)

Poach chicken and let cool, then cut into small chunks. Set aside.

While chicken is poaching, slice potatoes into small cubes (if you are using the original recipe, leave the skins on the red bliss; if using sweet potato, peel the potatoes first before cutting them). Boil potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes, and drain.

In a large skillet cook onion, both peppers, and garlic in butter over medium high heat, stirring frequently, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add spices and salt and continue to cook for about 1 minute. Add chicken, potatoes, scallion, parsley (if you use it), and half-and-half and chipotles in adobo (if you are using them) and cook over medium high heat, stirring every so often, until liquid is reduced and hash is thick. (Note. The hash didn't really become all that thick for me but I cooked it until it was reduced fully. Made no difference on the taste.)

Top hash with poached eggs. Perfect for the morning after a big 4 day flooding rain.

Scalloped Eggplant

2010-03-15T07:00:00.000-07:00

I felt like I was on an episode of "The Next Iron Chef" this morning. Or "Chopped", or one of those cooking competitions where you have an hour or something to create a dish.

This morning, with most of my area totally under water and my need to be out of the house by 7:30 (which turned out to be closer to 8), was a really bad choice to be feeling like that. I've recently been waking up at a unnecessarily early time, mainly because my body's in some weird sleep pattern right now. Last night I was up at 1 AM for almost an hour (I swore it was time to get up and nearly took a shower when I got a closer look at the clock and made myself go back to bed) and then this morning I woke up at 5 AM, just because my body decided it was time to get up. So I did what any normal person would do at that hour. I cooked.

...wait, you say no normal people do that at that hour? Hm. Food for thought (ha! pun intended. Forgive me, I'm a little tired).

Anyway, I proceeded to make this Scalloped Eggplant so I could have it with my dinner tonight (but I did try it this morning. Hot cereal and a bite of scalloped eggplant. Breakfast of champions), and was trying to get so much stuff chopped, put together, and trying to multitask with my breakfast, lunch, getting myself ready to get out of the house and putting my gym bag together, plus cleaning up my mess that I nearly stopped this meal right in the middle of preparing for it. But that's not my style to just stop. That's way too much food to waste.

That being said, this isn't a hard meal to put together. It's a lot of chopping (I sense a theme with that in most of my dishes lately), and a lot of sauteeing, and then, unfortunately for me, a bit of waiting in the oven, when I was a little impatient and trying to get out of the house. On a regular night, not so bad. This morning with negative time to spare, big problem.

Oh wait, hold on. This post is about scalloped eggplant, not my ability to get out of the house on time and avoid the flooded roads. Sorry.

I wasn't sure how this dish would hold up on taste factor. On the surface it seems almost a little bland. It's seasoned really only with salt and pepper, and not even a lot at that. I sauteed the veggies in a bit of butter spray so that it wouldn't stick, and found that the tomato juices created a bit of a marinade or something. The recipe says that this dish has a sweet mellow taste. I'd say that's about right. It's pretty decent, not bad as a side dish, and yes, has a very mellow taste to it. It doesn't jump out, so if you're planning on making this for dinner plan on having something maybe a little bolder with it, like a garlic chicken or something (or don't, if mellow's your thing).I liked it (or rather, the spoonful I had while it was piping hot directly out of the dish), but think it might need a little something extra to enhance it even more. Maybe a bit of oregano or basil or something.

Scalloped Eggplant (recipe by Chef Scott Doughty; recipe obtained from www.phantomgourmet.com)

Ingredients

3 lbs eggplants, peeled and diced (about 2 large eggplant)
1/4 c butter (I skipped this and used the spray, as I thought this was supposed to only keep the sauteeing veggies from sticking to the pan, but as the veggies are supposed to simmer in this I wish I might have used it or something similar, like olive oil or something)
1/4 c. finely diced green pepper
1/4 c. finely diced onion
2 lbs diced tomatoes (probably between 3-4 tomatoes, depending on the size. I used 1 large tomato and 4 smallish ones)
1 1/5 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
3 c. fresh bread crumbs (I used whole wheat)
2 Tbsp butter

Saute the green pepper and onion in 1/4 cup of butter (or spray) for about 10 minutes, or until the mixture is soft and just browned.
Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper and eggplant and bring mixture to a simmer (your pan will be very full, so be careful when trying to get everything evenly heated. I'd say don't overcrowd the pan, but I did...and it still turned out okay) Cook for about 10 more minutes, or until eggplant starts to look a little bit browned.
Put the eggplant mixture into a baking dish.
Melt 2 tbs of butter and combine with the breadcrumbs, and spread over the top of the eggplant (this is a lot of breadcrumbs. Maybe decrease this by a cup if you'd like).
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 40 minutes.

S'mores Icebox Candy Bars

2010-03-14T16:50:00.000-07:00

It's time for another baked good. It's St. Patrick's Day weekend, it's not my fault. Beer and sugar just go so well together.

I recently found another fun blog, written by someone named Joy the Baker. In that blog there's tons of fun baked goods and the one recipe I decided to follow through with-the S'mores Icebox Candy Bars. Who doesn't love a good s'more? Better yet, who doesn't love a good s'more and lose all the work that goes along with it? I've been so tempted to make my own, direct from scratch (and yes, I have found recipes for all of that, from the marshmallows down to the graham crackers, thankyouverymuch, and may make those at a later date. We shall see.) but I found this recipe and thought how easy these would be and how tasty as well. These were made in about 15 minutes, and were almost immediately inhaled at the St. Patrick's Day festivities a friend of mine held in South Boston. They were a welcome change to the monsoon that was going on outside (and that two friends of mine and I ran that 5K in early this morning. I finished it, and managed to run the whole way. But that rain. Oh, that rain was miserable. I thought of those bars, sitting in the backseat of my car as I ran).

This particular "baked good" is not actually baked. It takes a whole lot of shortcuts. Although I do love me a home baked good made totally from scratch, I have a special place in my heart for the shortcuts. Really, when you spend that little time on a dessert and get so much enjoyment from eating it, wouldn't you make it all the time too?

Someone said today that eating this reminded them of summer. I totally agree. Especially when it has been raining very steadily since Friday afternoon. If this weather continues I might have to make another batch of this-I'll need to hope summer comes very quickly.

S'mores Icebox Candy Bars (from www.joythebaker.com)

3 sticks plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 c light corn syrup

pinch of salt

1 14-ounce box graham crackers, crumbled into large chunks

2 big handfuls of mini marshmallows, plus a handful more for sprinkling on top

Line a 9×13-inch pyrex dish with parchment paper, set aside.

In a large bowl, put in the graham cracker chunks. Add the mini marshmallows and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt the butter, cocoa, corn syrup salt. Stir and heat until smooth and totally melted. Let chocolate mixture cool for about 5 minutes.

Pour chocolate mixture over graham crackers and marshmallows. Stir completely and pour into casserole dish, and add a few more marshmallows on top (but do not completely cover the top with marshmallows. Make sure the mixture is level with the pan, so do whatever you feel is necessary-use a spatula, your hands, whatever (but if you use your hands, make sure you have something in between-wax or parchment paper-so you can try to keep your hands clean. Let cool and set somewhat on the counter for 30 minutes, then let set completely in the fridge overnight. Cut into bars and watch them totally disappear.

Pasta a la CDG

2010-03-13T18:33:00.000-08:00

I first had this pasta in Dallas. My friend C's mom had this fantastic pasta recipe, and I'm told it became the birthday dinner of choice for quite a few people. When I go there I often make dinner one night for my friends C and B, and whoever else happens to be there. We sit, drink beers and wine, and hang out eating something tasty. It makes for a fun evening for sure. When I ate this pasta for the first time, it was actually on a request. I couldn't decide what to make for dinner, and my friend B told me, "you should make C's mom's pasta; I love that dish.". Not one to turn down a challenge, I told C to get the recipe from her mom and I would make the dish for dinner.

Man, I should never doubt my friends. This *was* a fantastic recipe. Simple, great tasting, and it just made me feel like summer (I think it was the basil). I hadn't made it in quite awhile, though. It seemed a little depressing to take that dish out of Texas and eat it up here in the northeast. (*Sidenote: I swear, Dallas peeps, I'm coming back. Soon. Very very soon.)

Tomorrow, I'm running in my first 5K. Ever. The idea both excites and petrifies me. I'm running with two of my friends, and all three of us are notching our first 5K. The slight problem with running this is actually not so much the running (I've been trying to increase my distance for awhile, and did make it 4 and a half miles last weekend, and I know my friends have run that distance or more as well) but the fact that Boston and surrounding areas are currently in a nor'easter at the moment, not to let up until tomorrow afternoon. Awesome. So not only will I be running my first 5K race ever, but I'll do it in pouring rain and whipping wind. YES. To try to alleviate my anxieties about doing this, I decided tonight was a good time to bring out C's mom's pasta recipe, since, y'know, I heard something about carb-loading the night before a race and all. I made it with a bit of chicken, had a friend over, and we hung out, relaxed, and watched a movie. Exactly what I needed tonight.

The pasta's easy. The thing that takes the longest is cutting a pound of the cherry tomatoes in half. I'm not sure why it took me well over a year and a half to make this again. Eating it reminds me that summer's coming soon (it's the basil, I swear!) and it reminds me of and makes me homesick for my favorite city besides the one I'm currently in. It just makes me feel good.

Thanks, C (and C's mom). This is one recipe I love, and I can't wait to make it again when I'm back down in Big D. Or, better yet, maybe I'll be able to have the original version from C's mom!

Pasta a la CDG (original origins of recipe are unknown-recipe received from Jane Gard)

1 lb. cherry tomatoes, cut in half
4 cloves of garlic, whole
1/4 c. olive oil
1 tsp. sea salt (make sure it is sea salt and not regular table salt-the sea salt works much better)
pinch of crushed red pepper
1/2 lb. bocconcini mozzarella balls
1 lb. pasta (I used whole wheat spirals)

Combine the tomatoes, garlic cloves, olive oil, sea salt and crushed red pepper in a bowl. Marinate the mixture for roughly 1/2 hour at room temperature, stirring occasionally.
Prepare the pasta per package directions. Drain.
After sauce has finished marinating, remove the garlic and throw away. Put in 10 basil leaves (I ripped them into smaller pieces to make for easier eating) and then combine the pasta and the sauce together.
Cut up the mozzarella and add to the pasta mixture and stir together gently. Serve.

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-03-12T09:00:00.000-08:00

I had to do it. I just had to.

Has anyone ever tried that bacon chocolate bar that's being sold? I admit that I did. It was...different. At the time, I wasn't really sure how I felt about it. It was a chocolate bar, but it tasted like bacon. It was one of the oddest things I had ever tried. I couldn't actually finish it, which is somewhat unlike me-there was just almost too much bacon taste in the bar.

I search for different recipes, as I am oft to do when I am looking for inspiration. Some time ago I found this recipe for Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies, and I just decided I had to try the bacon-chocolate route again. It was such a weird recipe that had so much potential. I mean, I've never put meat in a cookie before. I love bacon, I love cookies. I love maple syrup. I needed to try this recipe.

This morning, while I was making my breakfast, I decided to put these cookies together. I made the bacon, crumbled it, put it in the cookie batter (which, up until that point was pretty basic with the exception of adding maple syrup, which I had never done in a chocolate chip cookie either) and found the dough to be a little bit tough to handle, so instead of mixing it with a spoon (which I did) or with a hand mixer (which I tried after that), I just gave up and used my hands to get the dough to stick together. It finally worked after awhile, and I scooped the cookies with my hands instead of a spoon because, hell, my hands were already a mess anyway.

I changed things just slightly-the original recipe called for white and bittersweet chocolate chips and I decided to use one bag of semisweet chunks because that's a)what I had and b)I don't care much for white chocolate chips. This made for one very chocolate-y looking cookie.

It was the oddest scent in my house this morning-the smell of bacon and cookie coming from the same oven. I was so thrown off I couldn't figure out what to do with it, so I just waited for them to come out of the oven, but for some reason couldn't justify eating it with breakfast, so I had it with my lunch instead.

Sidenote: I was under the impression that these cookies would flatten out much more than they did. I had read that the bacon fat that's left from the bacon would do that. I was quite surprised when I pulled them out of the oven and they were still pretty chunky cookies.

Again, much like the bacon chocolate bar, this is one completely weird cookie. I get a lot of chocolate and then an ever so subtle hint of salty bacon. So. Odd. That's the best way I can describe it. Not awesome, not bad, but so very bizarre. Though it's possible I may have a second one to try and contrast and compare. Feel free to try this recipe for yourself to weigh in, or come try one of mine. I promise you you'll likely eat the whole cookie (since the chocolate really stands out, and I think the maple syrup helps to even out the sweet-to-salty ratio too) but you may be as perplexed as I am!

Maple Bacon Chocolate Chip Cookies (recipe by Tod Dimmick, obtained from The Phantom Gourmet)

1/2 stick (1/4 c.) butter, melted
1 c. packed brown sugar
1/4 c. maple syrup (again, use the real kind!)
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 c. + 2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
5 strips bacon, cooked until crisp, drained, and chopped into very small bits (I microwaved mine for about 3 minutes, then kept going at 1 minute increments until it was crispy enough. Depending on what kind you use you may either need to cook it longer or shorter-I used a center cut)
1/2 c. white chocolate chips
1/3 c. bittersweet chocolate chips
(I omitted this part and just added 1 bag-12 oz.- of semisweet chocolate chunks. Do whatever you feel is right for you)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a mixing bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and syrup very well. Then beat in the egg and vanilla.

In a separate bowl, sift the flour, baking powder and salt, and then stir this in to the butter/egg mixture until just blended. Stir in the bacon and chocolate chips.

Scoop up batter by the spoonful or with your hands (maybe about almost twice the size of a walnut) and place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for about 15 minutes on the middle rack of the oven, or until just crisp on the edges but still soft in the middle (I had to bake mine about 20 minutes total. Just check to make sure they're golden on top and not burned on the bottom!). Remove from the oven to cool for a few minutes, then let cool fully on a baking rack.
This made me almost 2 full dozen small cookies. Enjoy!

Eggplant Marinara

2010-03-11T05:00:00.000-08:00

Years ago, I had made something I was quite certain was called easy eggplant parmesan. I remembered it as a sauce with eggplant in it, served over pasta, with cheese. For the life of me I couldn't find it though. I either never printed it out and followed the recipe from my computer screen or I printed it and threw it away by accident. Either way, I had only had it once but I couldn't stop thinking about it.

Fast forward to a few days ago, when I was looking something up on my old hard drive (long story short, my old computer decided to stop working but the hard drive was still usable, but being too lazy to actually copy all of my files to my new computer, I only put a few over and kept the drive aside to plug in as I needed it). I noticed on this drive I had a file folder I had titled "recipes" and curious, I opened it.

And there it was: eggplant marinara.

Of course. Eggplant marinara, not easy eggplant parm (though I suppose the two are somewhat synonymous). I looked at the recipe, and indeed, it was the one I hadn't been able to locate all those years. It was almost like I had hit the lottery. I figured I could make it, freeze it, and use it as needed. In the meantime, I'd print the recipe out (again) and file it like I normally do. Jackpot.

Eggplant is most decidedly my favorite vegetable. I love it best fried (What's not good fried, I ask you? Nothing.) but it's really tasty-and I know I might be in the minority because I know people for whom eggplant is not their favorite. But if it's not, just try this one: it's mild and innocent enough that I think you miss some of the texture (which turns some people off)-although there is texture- and get more of the taste.

This recipe is easy and doesn't take that many steps, and marinara freezes well, which makes this even better. That is, of course, if you don't plan on eating it straight from the container with a spoon (or over your choice of pasta) :) Start to finish (not including the roasting time for the eggplant) this dish took me roughly twenty minutes, which only adds to the appeal.

Eggplant Marinara (recipe courtesy of Rachael Ray)

* 1 large eggplant
* Salt and freshly ground black pepper
* 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 onion, chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, chopped (I used a spoonful of minced garlic)
* 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
* 6 leaves of torn or chopped basil
* 1 c. grated Parmigiano Reggiano

To roast the eggplant: Preheat oven to 400°F. Cut eggplants in half and spread a little bit of olive oil with a pastry brush and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. Place eggplants on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 45 minutes or so, until they're a nice golden color. Remove from the oven and let cool.

While eggplant is cooking or while it is cooling, heat a pan over medium-high heat. Spray a little bit of butter spray in the pan and add the onions and garlic and cook until soft.

While the onions and garlic are cooking, scoop the eggplant out from the skin and mash with a fork in a bowl. Add the mashed eggplant to the pan with the onions and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Add the crushed tomatoes and the torn basil and the cheese.

Freeze for future use, serve over pasta, or just grab yourself a spoon.

Southwestern Pumpkin Burgers

2010-03-10T02:30:00.000-08:00

I'm normally used to pumpkin muffins, pumpkin pancakes, and pumpkin bread-all sweet treats. Eating pumpkin in a savory dish is still on the new side for me, but this recipe called out to me. The first time I ever tried them, I pan grilled them, and they turned out well, but there was a problem getting them to stay together. The second time (last night) I decided to try the George Foreman grill I had, since I had read in some comments that it worked much better. Of course these people were right, since the burgers got a nice crust from the grill, and they did stay together (for the most part) quite well.

The weird thing about these burgers is that the binder is really all pumpkin. There is no egg in it, there's no meat, and it's got a ton of sauteed vegetables in it as well as some great spices, including chili powder. This is the kind of burger I wouldn't mind having if there was no meat alternative. In fact, I wouldn't mind having this burger even with a meat alternative. It was really different, but really good. The recipe calls for it to be put in a whole wheat wrap, but I prefer them all on their own with a bit of salsa on top. It was outstanding. It's a great mixup from the standard veggie burger or black bean burger.

These really don't take a whole lot of time to prepare and I'm sure you could add different things in to your heart's content. Have fun with it!

Southwestern Pumpkin Burgers (recipe from www.eatingwell.com)

* 6 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, divided (Or you could do what I did, which was to use a bit of butter spray for the veggies and then a little bit more for the George Foreman grill)
* 1 medium onion, chopped
* 1/2 c finely chopped red or green bell pepper
* 1/2 c fresh or frozen corn
* 2 cloves minced garlic
* 2 tsp chili powder
* 1 tsp ground cumin
* 1/2 c canned unseasoned pumpkin puree
* 1/2 c shredded Monterey Jack or Cheddar cheese (I opted for the Jack this time, but have used Cheddar before)
* 1/2 c toasted wheat germ
* 1/2 c fine dry breadcrumbs (I used whole wheat breadcrumbs)
* 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
* 1/2 tsp salt
* Black pepper, to taste
* 6 8-inch flour tortillas, (soft-taco size) (optional-I didn't use one)
* 2 cups shredded lettuce (optional-I eat them plain)

1. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat (Or spray the pan with butter spray). Add onion and cook until soft, making sure to stir often. Add in bell pepper, corn, garlic, chili powder and cumin and cook more, stirring for about 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl; let cool to room temperature, about 10 minutes.
3. Add pumpkin, cheese, wheat germ, breadcrumbs, parsley, salt and pepper to the onion mixture; mix well. With dampened hands, form the vegetable mixture into six 1/2-inch-thick patties (I made it to ten patties-I'd say you can make them any size you want).
4. Preheat oven to 325°F. Stack tortillas and wrap in aluminum foil. Place in the oven for about 15 minutes to heat through. (Alternatively, stack tortillas between two damp paper towels; microwave on high for 30 to 60 seconds, or until heated through.) (Only use this step if you are using tortillas with your burgers!)
5. Using 2 teaspoons oil per batch (omit if you are using the spray), cook 2 to 4 patties at a time in a large pan over medium heat until browned and heated through, about 4 minutes per side (or just use the George Foreman and go by the little light on top). Adjust heat as necessary for even browning. Wrap the patties in tortillas and serve immediately, garnished with lettuce and tomato salsa, if you want it.

Corn Bread

2010-03-09T00:00:00.000-08:00

The title of this recipe is actually corn muffins-but I made it in a square pan to accommodate the southern meal I had made this weekend (to accompany this, and the collard greens and the catfish). I was in the mood for some serious southern cooking. Interesting.

Anyway, this was another recipe I picked up from Wilson's at the end of last summer, and it sat and sat in my recipe binder. It turns out that I completely forgot about it. When I was planning dinner for myself and a good friend of mine, I thought about that recipe again.

Corn bread, for me, can be hit or miss. I love corn bread, but a lot of the time it turns out very dry. There have been a few times I've gone out to eat and found myself with cornbread that totally crumbled and fell apart, and required a glass of water to go with it. It's not bad, I just like my cornbread more moist and muffin like. This particular recipe caught my eye because it had actual corn in it.

I know what you're asking yourself right now. Why make it from scratch when Jiffy makes a great mix (they do. I'll totally vouch for that.)? Well, I just wanted to see if it would work better from scratch. I wanted a challenge. After all, isn't that what this blog is helping me to do? I love the jiffy mixes-but I'm glad to have another option too.

I threw this together, put it in the oven, and wound up having to bake it for 30 minutes instead of the suggested 20. Maybe because it was in a pan rather than in muffin tins? I'm not sure. But if you make it in a square pan like I did, bake it for 20 minutes, then check it. If the knife's clean, more power to you. If not, just put it back for 10 more and keep checking for doneness.

So sweet. So soft. No need for a drink with it (though to be fair, a nice glass of wine was not turned away!). The corn added a nice touch too-a little bit of a different texture, but not overpowering.

This may become my (and hopefully yours too) new go-to recipe for corn bread.

Corn Bread (or Corn Muffins, depending on what you bake this in) (recipe from Wilson Farms, Lexington, MA)

1 - 1 1/2 c. corn kernels (the recipe calls for fresh-about 3-4 ears. I used canned corn and drained it well, which worked just fine)
1 c. yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/3 c. softened butter or margarine (I melted it completely because the only butter I had was frozen solid. Not an issue to melt it totally)
2 eggs
1 c. milk

-Mix together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.
-Cut in the butter using a pastry blender until the mixture is just combined (or, if you did what I did, mix the melted butter into the dry mixture until it is about a crumbly consistency.
-Stir the eggs and milk into the flour mixture. Add the corn kernels.
-Pour into a well greased muffin tin or a square 8x8 baking pan.
-Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes (if you bake it in the square pan it might take you 30 minutes total).

Best served with some nice catfish, collard greens, and black eyed peas. :)

Sweet Potato Chicken Barley Soup

2010-03-08T06:00:00.000-08:00

I love sweet potato. I love it by itself, baked and with some butter. I love it in hash (so help me, I'd kill to emulate the sweet potato hash I had a few months ago. The best accompaniment to poached eggs). It's great as a potato pancake. And this place makes the best sweet potato fries I have ever had. When I saw this recipe, a sweet potato soup, I knew I had to have it.

I love how soup is so easy to throw together. Omit things you don't want, add extra of others, it's so versatile. The original recipe called for 16 servings (that's a lot of soup!) so I cut it a bit. It really didn't take very long to do!

There's a little bit of sweet in the soup (likely from the potato!) but it doesn't taste quite as salty as other soups I've made-I'd consider that a good thing. It's a completely different soup than I've tried before.

What really did it for me though was the dill. I was really surprised at how the dill just made the soup complete, and way better and much more flavorful than without it. Sometimes if a recipe calls for dill to be sprinkled over the top, or parsley or whatever, I might not put it in there, because really, it's a garnish and I didn't think it added all that much (you might feel differently-totally your prerogative). I'm really glad I did this though-it made it so much better.

It's really simple and it's really tasty. All I'd suggest is that you have a great knife to cut the veggies-you'll be happy about that.

Sweet Potato Chicken Barley Soup (recipe by Marjorie Druker, New England Soup Factory, found on The Phantom Gourmet website)

**Note** I have put the original measurements for this recipe, in case you are making this for a crowd-it is supposed to serve 16. I have added my changes in parentheses.

2 tsp olive oil (I used a butter spray because *someone* gave me that idea. I noticed no real difference other than sauteeing the veggies took a little longer)
1 large spanish onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
½ cup celery, diced
3 cups carrots, sliced (I used 3 carrots. Not a huge deal)
2 parsnips, grated (I only used 1)
4 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced (I used 2)
1¼ cups pearl barley (Just over a half cup)
2½ -3 quarts chicken stock (I used 8 cups. This is where I feel like I should have added more, but honestly, my pot was too full. Now, I kind of have a really thick stew. Not that I'm complaining-it's merely a thought to you to use more stock. The barley will suck the liquid, trust me).
3 cups chicken, poached and diced (I used about a pound and a half of boneless chicken breast-see below for instructions on how to poach chicken)
¼ cup freshly chopped dill
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a large pot heat the olive oil (or butter spray), add garlic, onions, celery and carrot and saute 8 minutes. Add the parsnips, barley, chicken and chicken stock. Bring to a boil and simmer on medium-high heat for 30 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes and cook an additional 30 minutes. Add dill and season.

How to poach the chicken: Fill a pan with about 4 cups of water and let come to a boil. Add the chicken in a single layer and cook for about 7 minutes, turning once about halfway through. Let the chicken cool in the water filled pan for roughly 20 minutes and then transfer to a cutting board. It will look white and cooked on the outside and raw on the inside.

Don't worry, it's supposed to look like that. It will finish cooking while in the soup.

Black Eyed Peas

2010-03-07T06:21:00.000-08:00

I've gotten to the point where when I see the words 'black eyed peas' I think not of the food, but instead of the music group. As it stands, the last time I ate black eyed peas was about seven years ago (what???) when a friend made it with catfish and cornbread. I got an email last week from one of my favorite places, Dave's Fresh Pasta, that was advertising fresh catfish and I started craving it, along with everything that went with it-black eyed peas, collard greens, cornbread, the whole bit. I bought some on Friday to make for dinner today with a friend of mine.

The catfish got me thinking back to that meal that my friend made, and I just wanted to create it again. Problem was, I'd never made any of that stuff before. So I did what any sane person would do. I looked up the recipes for collard greens and black eyed peas on the internet. I found a crockpot recipe for the black eyed peas that I just had this gut feeling about, and it just sounded great.

This morning I got to chopping and cutting (I make it sound like I broke a sweat in the kitchen. Not so, really. A few tears from the onion, yes, but that was about it. About ten minutes worth of work, tops). I threw everything in the crockpot and turned it on, and I left for the gym.

(Does anyone remember that infomercial that was on a few years ago, by the way, that advertised a machine that you could "set it and forget it!"? That phrase kept jumping in my head the entire time I was putting this in the crock pot. Now it's bothering me to find out where it came from. I suppose I should google it.)

This afternoon, I returned home to find a very good smelling dish in my kitchen that I essentially did nothing for. It looked great, and I was quite excited for what was in store.

And it was awesome. :) It was everything I expected it to be, and the peas were nice and tender. I was so pleased.

Slow Cooker Spicy Black Eyed Peas (recipe obtained from www.allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

* 6 cups water
* 1 cube chicken bouillon
* 1 pound dried black-eyed peas, sorted and rinsed
* 1 onion, diced
* 2 cloves garlic, diced
* 1 red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and diced
* 1 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
* 8 ounces diced ham
* 4 slices bacon, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
* salt, to taste
* 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

Directions

1. Pour the water into a slow cooker, add the bouillon cube, and stir to dissolve. Combine the black-eyed peas, onion, garlic, bell pepper, jalapeno pepper, ham, bacon, cayenne pepper, cumin, salt, and pepper; stir to blend. Cover the slow cooker and cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours until the beans are tender.

One of the easiest things I ever did.

Morning Crunch Granola

2010-03-06T08:00:00.000-08:00

I wish I had a good story about this granola.

Quite honestly, I had run out of my last batch of pumpkin granola and needed to make more. Good timing for the blog. This recipe is one I've used many times but haven't made in awhile thanks to the fact that I couldn't find unsweetened granola in my local supermarket anymore.

Yesterday, I smacked my head in a moment of clarity: I should have tried Whole Foods or Trader Joe's. And lo and behold, there it sat, several nice big bags of unsweetened coconut in the baking aisle in Whole Foods. I feel like an idiot sometimes.

This recipe would, I'm sure, be just fine with the standard shredded sweetened coconut-but this is already very sweet-so I was a little worried that I'd send myself into a sugar high and never did it. I kind of like the unsweetened coconut, anyway. If you decide to do it, let me know how it turns out.

I lovelovelove this recipe. I love the way it makes my house smell, I love the way it tastes, I love the colors. It's so good. It's really easy (well, let's be honest-most granolas are). It gives me something to look forward to in the mornings. It is a great breakfast over yogurt or a mid morning snack.

Thank Fog Island again for this one. They haven't proven me wrong in a recipe yet.

Morning Crunch Granola (from Nantucket Recipes From the Fog Island Cafe, by Mark and Anne Dawson)

Ingredients
1 pound rolled oats (Don't get the instant kind)
4 oz. sliced almonds (roughly a half cup)
4 oz. chopped walnuts
1 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
zested rind from one orange
3 oz. honey
3 oz. maple syrup (REAL maple syrup!)
1 cup apple juice
4 oz raisins
other dried fruits (optional-I use dried cranberries)

1. Mix the oats, nuts, coconut, cinnamon, and orange zest in a bowl.
2. Stir in honey, maple syrup, and apple juice and combine fully.
3. Put parchment paper on a sheet pan and spread granola mix in an even layer.
4. Put granola in a preheated 325 degree oven for 10 minutes.
5. Redistribute/stir granola (pull it out of the oven first!) and then put it back for another 10 minutes. Repeat this process until the granola is browned and a bit crispy. Let cool.
6. Add raisins and any other dried fruit you desire. Store in an airtight container.

Enjoy this granola with yogurt, milk, or just by itself!

Friday Chicken

2010-03-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

Many weeks on Friday nights I order takeout, usually from the local thai place down the street. It's the one night I feel like I can "justify" it, as I have pad see ew with chicken and drink wine and watch trashy television.

Tonight I decided to do something different. I'm trying to cook more at home (can you tell?) so I wanted to try something new, perhaps something that could replace my usual Friday night indulgence. So it seemed appropriate to have this meal tonight. After all, I realized I had virtually no meat at all this week (how that happened I have no idea, but that's SO not happening again!) and the title of the dish, indeed "Friday Chicken", intrigued me. Plus, I can't ignore a recipe that sings such praises as the author claiming it too good not to share.

I marinated the chicken this morning and let it sit in the marinade, the spices, and the onions all day. Tonight, I threw it in the oven and as it cooked I did other things around the house. It smelled so good I almost pulled it out early to take a bite (don't worry, my fear of salmonella stopped me!). When it came out of the oven
it almost looked blackened, but not burnt. I was very excited to dig in.

Until my mouth absolutely caught fire.

This chicken was SO HOT. Not temperature wise, either. I had put pepper on both sides, and topped it with cayenne pepper, as the recipe suggested. Unfortunately, it made it unbelievably difficult to taste the chicken that was there, so next time I would halve the pepper asked for (and I'd recommend you do that too). When (if) I eat it for leftovers I plan to scrape most of the pepper off. I tried to cool my mouth down with the rice I had with it, the wine sitting next to me, and the thin mints I have hiding in the freezer, and I still taste a bunch of pepper in my mouth.

It is good chicken, I will admit, but leave the pepper alone.

I think next week I'll probably head back to my regular thai standby...

Friday Chicken (from Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven, by Emily Farris)

Ingredients:

3 large chicken breasts
1/2 c. vegetable broth
1/2 c. balsamic vinegarette
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
1/4 c. soy sauce
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp pepper
2 cloves sliced fresh garlic
1/2 c. chopped green onions

Place the chicken baking dish and rub chicken with the salt and pepper.
Pour vinegarette, broth, olive oil and soy sauce over chicken breasts (I put them in separately, but if you want to mix together beforehand, feel free). Mix the chicken in the marinade.
Put cayenne pepper, garlic, and green onions on top of chicken
Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours
Bake uncovered at 400 for about 1 hour and 15 minutes or until done
For best results baste at least once while baking (which I forgot to do. This may alter the spiciness of the dish somewhat, perhaps).

Make sure you drink a tall glass of water before, during, and after this dish.

Banana Walnut Bread

2010-03-04T09:52:00.000-08:00

I must have baked goods on the brain. Well, that or I had bananas that were on the verge of going bad, so instead of throwing them out I made banana bread instead.

Wilson Farms, a local farmstand in Lexington, is a place I've gone since I was little. It's gigantic now by contrast to what it was back in the 80s. I remember it being this tiny little market with lots of fruit and veggies, and fresh bread, that sort of thing. I think there was a little bit of fresh poultry too, I'm not sure. Nowadays there's so much more to it, but I still am a huge fan of the place.

I'm getting off track. Anyway...

We totally loved Wilson's. Mom used to go there a lot, and she'd get a bunch of recipes on their little white papers with the logo at the top, that you could pick up for free at the registers. They still do that today, and when I go, I'll take a look at the back wall to see if anything new is there. Most times, I'll find one or two that catch my eye.

Back to this banana bread. I've found many different recipes but Wilson's version has always proved me tried and true. I've made variations on it at times-different flours, chocolate chips, but it always turns out just about perfect. Keep the nuts or omit them (personally I'd rather have them), it's up to you. I love how this bread is so versatile and yet so awesome, too.

This time I substituted whole wheat flour. 'Cause, you know, I was trying to make it better for you. Not sure if that actually worked, but the bread was still amazing. My mouth is watering. I feel like I need to go and have a slice right now.

Banana Bread (recipe from Wilson Farms, Lexington, MA)

2/3 c. sugar
1/3 butter or margarine, softened (I prefer butter!)
2 eggs
1 1/4 c. mashed, ripe banana (about 3-4 bananas)
2 Tbsp. milk
2 c. flour (I used whole wheat this time around)
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/2 c. chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream together the sugar and butter. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the banana and the milk.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet mixture.
Stir in any extras that you want. Wilson's calls for 1/2 c. chopped walnuts. I've used that, or chocolate chips, or sometimes both. This time I just used walnuts. Be creative and use whatever you want, or, if you prefer au natural, don't put anything extra in!

Health Nut Muffins

2010-03-03T00:00:00.000-08:00

Do not let the title of this post fool you. These muffins are not really a health nut's dream (more like the baked good aficionado's dream) but I'd like to think that these are a bit better for you than your average muffin. They're also full of incredible flavor and have all sorts of things in it. It's like a farmstand in a muffin form. Seriously. I've never had so many different tastes that all went so well in one little package.

I'd like to think that this is possibly my all-time favorite muffin recipe. I have plenty in my arsenal-corn, blueberry-raspberry, cranberry, pumpkin, and the banana chocolate chip ones I posted earlier) but this one seriously takes the cake (no pun intended). It's fairly simple to prepare (though there are a ton of things to put into it) and it just makes the house smell so good.

I got this recipe out of a cookbook from one of my favorite little breakfast places on one of my favorite islands-Nantucket, just off the coast of Cape Cod. The restaurant in question (Fog Island Cafe) has been around for quite awhile, and every year I order a pound of their coffee grounds (or beans, honestly, some years it depends on what they send to me) for my sister for her birthday and for Christmas. One year when I was on Nantucket for vacation with my sister and my nieces (we have a girls' week and go every single year), we went down to pick up a pound in person, and while we were there I saw the cookbook on display. Of course I had to buy that too. That cookbook has actually been quite the investment-I've made a ton of stuff from it. What's very interesting is that I'll make a bunch of stuff from the cookbook, and I always get their coffee-but I don't eat there too often when I'm down there (we make it a point to go out to one breakfast place each year-The Downyflake, with their awesome donuts, always seems to trump the Fog. We do always make it in to get coffee and perhaps a tasty treat there though. If you're ever down there, I suggest you go to both :) )

Anyway, back to these muffins. They're so very moist and so full of flavor (did I actually just say that? I feel so cliched). There is not one bad thing I can say about these muffins. Except, of course, when they're gone and I have to make them again.

You need to make these muffins. Better yet, go to Nantucket and grab one. Take in the sights, go to the beach, and let me know you're coming and we'll have a beer or a glass of wine ready for you (just make sure you go in the summer!). If you're local to me, come on over and have one too-I have plenty!

Health Nut Muffins (from Nantucket Recipes from The Fog Island Cafe, by Mark and Anne Dawson)

2 3/4 c. all purpose flour (I used whole wheat)
1 c. light brown sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
3/4 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. shredded coconut
1 c. grated carrots
1 c. grated zucchini
3/4 c. applesauce (The Fog has a recipe in this book to make your own. I used store bought, unsweetened applesauce and it was just fine)
1 c. crushed pineapple, drained
1/2 c. dried cranberries
1/2 c. chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl, combine and mix together the following: flour, brown sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and salt
3. Add eggs and oil to dry ingredients and stir until just blended. Stir in coconut, carrots, zucchini, applesauce, pineapple, cranberries and walnuts until mixed together. Be careful not to overmix.
4. Line muffin tins with paper liners or grease the tins. Fill each muffin tin to the top with the batter.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes until golden. Check muffins with a toothpick inserted in the center to ensure that it was baked all the way through.
6. Cool muffins in pans for about 10-15 minutes, then put onto cooling rack. Try not to eat all of them in one sitting.

Southwestern Avocado and Black Bean Salad

2010-03-02T09:38:00.000-08:00

Nowadays, I have a very hard time eating salads for lunch. I attribute this to a few years ago, when I was doing a modified low carb diet, and for nearly two years straight, ate the same salad. Every. Single. Day. It had baby spinach, English Cucumber, and often times there was avocado, some sort of protein (like turkey or boiled eggs) and mushrooms or onion, maybe sometimes both. I ate the salad without dressing.

God, I hated salad by the time I dumped that particular diet.

I've tried a few times to have salads for lunch since, and nothing tastes quite the same. I think I burned myself out on salad (though not on any cooked vegetables, thank goodness).

This weekend, perusing the web, I found a recipe for a southwestern salad, and it had most of my favorite things in it-avocado, corn, tomatoes, black beans. It's still a salad though, so I admit I was wary. I decided to try it though and give salad the ol' college try again.

This salad was okay. Not out of the park awesome, but it was okay. I'm eating it again this afternoon, the second day in a row. I don't crave it, but it's easy. I suppose that helps. I'm a little disappointed that salad doesn't elicit the same sort of response from me, but burnout is understandable. Still, it's not a bad salad-especially if you like all this stuff. I'd think it would do much better as a side with grilled chicken or something for dinner instead of as a main dish for a lunch, but take that as you will. I didn't mind it, but I certainly don't think about it like I think about other dishes!

With that resounding recommendation, it just makes you want to run to your kitchen and try it, doesn't it? :) Don't take my word for it, it's totally a preference thing. I'm sick of salad. But if I weren't, this one is pretty acceptable.

Southwestern Avocado and Black Bean Salad (from foodnetwork.com)

* 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro leaves (I used freeze-dried. Not bad!)
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons lime juice
* 2 or 3 dashes hot sauce
* 4 cups chopped romaine lettuce
* 2 avocados, peeled and diced
* 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed and drained
* 2 (15-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained (*NOTE: I used one can of beans. It seemed plenty to me)
* 1 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
* About 3/4 cup (3-ounces) grated pepper jack cheese
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk together the cilantro, oil, lime juice and hot sauce.

In a large serving bowl, add the lettuce, avocado, corn, beans, tomatoes, and cheese. Add the dressing and toss well. Season with salt and pepper, to taste, and serve.

Bean and Swiss Chard Stew

2010-03-01T05:54:00.000-08:00

This weekend, I had grand plans to cook up a storm. I'd make a bunch of food, store it in the fridge and in the freezer, and in general just prepare myself for the week. I had intended to totally fill my fridge and freezer with all sorts of chicken dishes, stews, etc. (Although I still don't know who it is I'm cooking for. With a party of one, it makes it very difficult to be able to eat every last thing I make).

I digress. I do like to cook, I just also tend to sometimes overwhelm myself with many dishes in the process. All in the name of the blog, right?

Every Wednesday I take a look at Boston.com's food section. Sometimes there's good stuff, sometimes there's challenges, and sometimes something catches my eye that I have to try RIGHT NOW. As was the case with the White Bean and Swiss Chard Stew I caught last week. It seemed perfect-tons of veggies, which I love, and a stew seemed like the perfect pairing with what was otherwise a fairly lousy weekend (hell, all week, really), weather wise (and really, for me, it was all around crappy no matter how it was sliced). So I got to work.

This stew surprised me. I was expecting it to be good, sure, but there was some spicy bite to it that I didn't expect. I'm thinking it came from the chard. It was very tasty. It was extremely filling. It was pure comfort food in a bowl (isn't all food in a bowl comfort food?). I was really excited about this and happy that it didn't disappoint. It was really colorful too right at the point it was done. A few hours later, that color kind of dissipated-the chard went from a really bright green and purple to a more duller version of the two colors, but that doesn't affect how it tastes at all. I put some wild and brown rice into the bowl to eat with it, and that was awesome (but I've eaten it by itself too and it's equally tasty). You really can't go wrong with this dish. If you're anything like me, you will read this recipe and then you'll grab your keys and head for the grocery store or farmstand.

Bean and Swiss Chard Stew (recipe from Boston.com/food)

1/4 cup olive oil
2 medium red onions, coarsely chopped
5 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped
Salt and black pepper, to taste
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 can (14 to 15 ounces) whole plum tomatoes, crushed in a bowl
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
3 cans (15 ounces each) white beans, drained and rinsed
2 bunches (about 2 pounds total) Swiss chard, stems removed, leaves coarsely chopped (I used a bagged, already-chopped version, which worked just as well)
4 cups vegetable stock

1. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the onions, carrots, celery, salt, and black pepper. Stir occasionally, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and all of the parsley. Continue cooking for about 15 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally.

2. Add the tomatoes, red pepper, and oregano. Turn the heat to low and cook for 15 minutes more.

3. Add 2 cans of beans, the Swiss chard, and stock. Bring to a simmer and cook, stirring often, for 20 minutes.

4. In a food processor or a blender, puree the remaining can of beans. Stir the puree into the stew and simmer. Taste for seasoning and add more salt and red pepper, if you like.

5. Enjoy!

Blog-a-day

2010-02-23T07:42:00.000-08:00

Okay, so it won't be starting today. I get it. But I'm putting this out there in an attempt to get better about blogging and about cooking more food. Not necessarily more in quantity, but more in variety-so I don't wind up on Friday with nothing in the house and a need to go and get myself a take-out meal (I love take-out meals. I do. But my wallet's not such a fan!) Often when I cook over the weekends I'm making multiple things anyway-I might as well share it with everyone, right?

So last night I decided that I'll try to post something at least every day for the entire 31 days of March. This gives me enough time this week to get myself a game plan for next week and get things started (i.e. head off to the store). And who knows, I might have a couple of things up my sleeve that I'll be making this week and writing about it. We shall see. I'll also share some fun stories and things I've found by a result of going through my hundreds and hundreds of recipes.

I am determined to make this thing stick. It's fun when I do manage to sit down and write-I'd like to make it a better habit!

"Seduction"

2010-02-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

Before I get to the main purpose of this post, I'll start by saying that as my birthday was earlier this month, I knew I was going to have cake (and good thing too, as I had been craving cake for quite awhile). My friends threw me an awesome party, and one of the best things was that my friend K made me my birthday cake. Now, don't get me wrong. I love a good bakery cake. I even love the cake mix cakes. But I was secretly hoping that someone might bake me a good old fashioned cake. And damn, was I not disappointed.

Chocolate cake with a mocha buttercream. I was in heaven. It was awesome. And I even got to take the rest home, where I proceeded to finish the rest of it the next day (uh oh, secret's out!). But it was awesome. and one of the best things about it was that someone made it for me. Writing about it is making me want it again.

But because my birthday falls right before Valentine's Day, I usually get inundated with all things pink, hearts, etc. Normally, most years, Valentine's Day is just another day, in this case, Sunday. I had seen a recipe that I had been really itching to try though, and just never got to it. For Christmas I had given my sister a cookbook called "Casserole Crazy", and liked what I saw in it so much that I wound up buying myself a copy too (I have a bunch of new breakfast casseroles I want to try, but that will have to wait until I a}have a brunch gathering or b}give myself enough of an opportunity to have a breakfast casserole all week for breakfast). Not long after I got the cookbook, I was flipping through it, and found a section devoted entirely to mac and cheese (YES!). One of the recipes was entitled "Seduction", and I knew I had to try it. Five different kinds of cheese. Corn. Tomatoes. Sounded heavenly.

Valentine's Day seemed to be a perfect opportunity for such a dish (even if really I was just giving myself an excuse to make a really rich meal). So I went to the store Sunday afternoon, got all of the ingredients, and went to work. Damn if that cheese sauce didn't give me a workout. It wasn't really creamy like most cheese sauces I've done before. This wasn't soupy. At all. Instead it stuck to the pasta like, well, like sticking to your ribs. It was quite difficult to put together and not fall out of the pan. But I perservered, and wound up making a dish that was quite good and that I was quite a fan of. Maybe not quite as much as my current mac and cheese favorite, mac and cheese lorraine, but still, a definite sell. I added spinach to it as well, which gave it even more color. Because I'm a huge fan of bacon, I also think that this would go quite well in this dish but decided not to try it this time. That'll be something for the next go-round.

One word of note: although this is very good fresh, it is not quite as good leftover-the casserole gets very tough to scoop out of the dish (I actually bent a spoon trying to get some for myself over the next few days) and it is very heavy. But this is definitely the kind of mac and cheese you can make your own. Add some cheeses, take others out, add a different vegetable or some bacon or pancetta. Have fun with it.

Seduction (mac and corn 2.0) (from Casserole Crazy: Hot Stuff for Your Oven, by Emily Farris)

INGREDIENTS

o 1 large white onion
o 2 cloves garlic (I used a spoonful of minced garlic)
o 1 pound Cavatelli (I went with whole wheat spirals-I figured I'd try to be a little health-conscious)
o 1/2 pound sharp cheddar, cubed or shredded
o 1/2 pound white cheddar, cubed or shredded
o 1/2 pound Gruyere, cubed or shredded
o 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella, cubed
o 1/2 cup grated Parmesan
o 1 bag (10 oz) frozen sweet corn
o 2 plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
o 1/4 cup olive oil
o 1/2 cup milk
o salt, pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350º.

2. boil the pasta until al dente, drain and set aside.

3. In a large pot, over medium heat sauté the garlic and onion in 2-3 tbsp of olive oil. When the onions begin to brown, reduce the heat to low, add milk, and stir. Add both cheddars and Gruyere while continuing to stir. When the cheeses begin to melt, and it will take a while for this to work out well-feel free to add more milk to thin it out if you need to-add the pasta while continuing to stir. Once everything is well coated, add half of the Parmesan (1/4 cup) and stir. (Special Note: I forgot the parmesan, but there was so much other stuff in there I never even noticed). Add corn while continuing to stir (it should go in frozen). Salt and pepper to taste. Add mozzarella and stir. At this point, feel free to add whatever else you want (I added a box of defrosted chopped spinach this time, and next time will add some bacon or something like it).

4. When thoroughly mixed, transfer to a 2 3/4 qt buttered or greased casserole dish and bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes or until bubbly.

5. Remove from oven and cover with sliced tomatoes and the rest of the Parmesan cheese. (Again, I never added it and it made no difference whatsoever).

6. Bake for about 15 more minutes.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Curry

2010-02-07T10:59:00.000-08:00

As a kid, there were several things I wouldn't eat (I know! It's true!). One was anything cherry flavored (I still hate it). Another is milk (I blame my parents for that). And one of the big things was anything spicy. I couldn't stomach it-it just wasn't for me. I remember a long time ago, back when I worked for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, our department used to order in Thai for lunch for any special occasion. The first time we did, I decided I'd try most of the stuff (yes, up to that point, I'd never tried Thai. Now, I can't imagine not eating it almost every week. I digress.) on the table-there were lots of veggie dishes, chicken dishes, and pad thai. What was not to like?

Until I took my first bite, and my mouth went on fire. My face turned such a shade of crimson and my eyes actually watered enough that some of the nurses kept asking me if I was okay, if I was choking, the whole bit. No, no. Just took a big bite of a very spicy veggie dish. For some reason I kept going back to it though. Nowadays, I am not much for very hot dishes, but I'll eat spicy things now. I'm a fan of chili powder, cayenne pepper, and yes, curry spice in my food. It's awesome-I feel like I've opened up to a whole new world of taste.

When I returned home from my fantastic family vacation to Disney this week, I found myself hungry to make something different. I have a recipe I'd been wanting to try from a college friend, aptly named "chickpea thing", but this one, that I'd found in the Boston Globe food section this week, stood out so much I had to make it first. It sounded so good-zucchini, tomatoes, chili powder, what was not to like?

The first thing that should have tipped me off is that although it was called a curry, there was actually no curry powder in the dish. It's made with crushed cashews and sesame seeds, chili powder, and tomato paste. It also has a ton of sauteed onion, zucchini, and tomatoes in it. I added some sprinkling of curry at the end to see if it made a difference.

It did not.

I was a little disappointed by this dish. I'll still eat it, it'll be good for lunch and stuff, but it wasn't terribly flavorful. And no way was it anything curried. I guess it was okay, but if you choose to make this, I'd advise adding a lot of pepper. Or more salt. Or even curry powder or cayenne. Something to give this the kick it needs. The dish sounds so awesome. I wish it lived up to the hype.

Zucchini Curry (adapted from www.Boston.com/food)
2 tablespoons cashews
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 medium tomatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 large zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces
Salt, to taste
1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a food processor, grind the cashews and sesame seeds until they are fine; set aside.

2. In a large flameproof casserole over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the onion, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute.

3. Add the tomatoes, zucchini, and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes.

4. Stir in the chili powder, tomato paste, and cashew mixture. Cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the water and cover the pan. Lower the heat and cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes or until the zucchini is tender. Sprinkle with cilantro.

C is for cookie...

2010-02-06T15:00:00.000-08:00

Very lately I have been eating almost anything I can get my hands on. I'm not sure why I seem to have a bottomless pit of a stomach these days, but it's true. A few weeks ago I was talking with a friend of mine, and she proceeded to tell me about a banana chocolate chip muffin that she had seen being made on TV. She told me the recipe didn't look like it was too bad for you (though admittedly, it's not something I'd call completely healthy, either). I said I'd love the recipe if she could find it, and as she emailed it to me, told me she'd also found a recipe for oatmeal raisin cookies that she thought I'd like. She said she saw rum in the recipe and thought of me.

(brief note: since the great birthday episode of 2009, I have not had rum in my house and will not go near the stuff. It basically makes my stomach turn to smell it. Nonetheless, I would be baking with it, not drinking it, so I figured it might be okay. But generally when someone speaks of rum and me in the same sentence, it's some reference to that episode, and provides entertainment to them, and a bit of horror for me :)).

What the hell, I thought, I'll make them both. I was about to head out with my family on vacation to Florida, and it would be a good snack to have. I also knew I was getting together with friends before I left to watch some Dexter, and thought I'd bring some tasty snacks there.

These cookies and muffins were incredibly easy to make, and I definitely liked them a lot. They're not my standard chocolate chip, but there are chocolate chips in the muffins, so that helps. The cookies were soft and chewy, and big ones to boot! The muffins were soft and had a big banana taste despite only one banana in the batter. Either way, I was pleasantly surprised by both of these baked goods.

Both of these tasty treats are classified as being in the "better for you" category but you'd never be able to tell the difference. Those muffins might just need to be made again for breakfast this week. :)

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies (from www.mylifetime.com)

Makes about 40 (2 1/2-inch) cookies **my cookies were so large I only got about a dozen and a half**

2 tablespoons whiskey or rum
2/3 cup raisins
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup natural unsweetened applesauce
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg white
1/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour (**I used whole wheat flour. Still tasted awesome**)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups oats (not instant)

1. Set the oven rack in the middle position. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.

2. Sprinkle the whiskey or rum over the raisins in a bowl and let stand while you assemble the batter.

3. Using a handheld or standing mixer, beat the butter, applesauce, brown sugar, granulated sugar and salt on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Beat in the egg and egg white, milk and vanilla.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and cinnamon, add to the batter, and beat just until the flour is absorbed. Gently fold in the oats with a rubber scraper.

5. Use 2 spoons to scoop out the batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto the prepared baking sheets, 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake until the cookies are set but still soft in the centers and beginning to brown on the edges, 17 to 20 minutes.

6. Let cool on a wire rack.

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (from www.mylifetime.com)

Serves 12

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole-wheat flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups reduced-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Line a 12-muffin tray with paper liners. Set aside.

2. In a standing mixer, combine the all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, rolled oats, ground cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, salt and mashed banana, and blend on low speed for 2 minutes. Add the walnuts, brown sugar, vegetable oil, eggs and reduced-fat buttermilk, and blend for 2 minutes on medium speed. Add the vanilla extract and mix until well combined.

3. Using an ice cream scoop, portion the batter evenly into the muffin tin, and top each muffin with 3 to 4 chocolate chips. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Once muffins are baked through, remove them from the oven and let cool. Serve.

Mom's Spinach Stuffed Squash

2010-01-17T18:08:00.000-08:00

I must have spinach on the brain. I do love spinach but I realized I've had it a lot this weekend. I ate it in salads and I ate it in my breakfast this morning. I had it tonight in my mom's stuffed squash.

I found this recipe a long time ago and stashed it, so sure I would make it quickly. But I never did. I always flipped through to it, stopping for a brief second, before moving on to something else. I'm not sure why it took me so long, but I'll guarantee that I will make it again-very very soon.

Like everything else I made this weekend, it was easy! It was creamy, it was flavorful, and it was everything I needed in a side dish. Pair that with some fresh haddock I got on sale at the supermarket yesterday and a barley risotto I made this morning, and there's one stupendous meal. Hell, I could have made this squash dish all by itself and I would have been happy. I have a feeling I'll make this meal again and again, and in the meantime I'll have plenty of time to enjoy the leftovers.

Mom's Spinach Stuffed Squash

4 summer squash
melted butter
salt and pepper
grated parmesan

Spinach stuffing:
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. butter
2 10 oz. packages of frozen spinach, cooked and drained
1 t. salt
1 c. sour cream
2 t. red wine vinegar
bread crumbs

(**note: the squash I had were little, being that they're not really in season right now. As such, I modified the amounts: instead of 2 packages of spinach, I used just one, and I also halved the sour cream and the vinegar. As for the butter, I instead used olive oil to saute the onions and butter to top the squash. The rest stayed the same-especially since I love sauteed onions.)

Cook whole squash in boiling salted water for 10 minutes or until tender. Very carefully cut into halves and scoop out seeds (though it doesn't say it in the recipe, I used the seeds in the stuffing). Sprinkle each shell with butter, salt, pepper, and cheese (a step I forgot. It tasted just as good without it). Saute onion in butter (or olive oil). Add spinach, salt, sour cream, and vinegar to pan. Stuff each squash. Sprinkle each with parmesan cheese and bread crumbs (I used whole wheat); dot with butter (honestly, I probably used less than a tablespoon's worth-the squash were tiny!). Bake at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes or until hot enough to serve. Serves 8.

Or, if you're like me, it'll serve one, several times over and over.

Breakfast!

2010-01-17T17:34:00.000-08:00

Let's talk Breakfast. Breakfast with a capital B. Breakfast is my all time favorite. I love going out to breakfast, I love making breakfast, I love sharing breakfast with friends and/or family. I would love nothing more than to have breakfast all.the.time.

Today, I had some friends over, and enticed them to join me after a good morning after the gym with the idea of waffles (they were also coming to do me a gigantic favor, which I'm very thankful for). Yesterday, while I was cleaning up the downstairs, I decided that I'd make some breakfast in preparation for today. That's the other thing I love about breakfast-the make-ahead factor. The idea that you can make a meal the day before, and then the day of you simply heat up or griddle. Perfection.

I knew I wanted some sort of waffle concoction, having gotten a brand-new waffle maker for Christmas. I'd also seen a recipe for a crustless quiche, and decided to make that too. My friends who came over are trying to eat somewhat better (and I am too, I can't lie) so I decided that although breakfast isn't necessarily a health food that this wasn't too bad to try.

I decided to make whole grain waffles from a recipe I found on the food network (and as an FYI, read the comments and based on suggestions took out the peanut oil and altered the butter intake to have 2 Tbsp. butter and 6 Tbsp. applesauce-and also changed the flour to whole wheat instead of regular) and proceeded to make such good waffles that I'm not sure I can call them healthy without thinking that they're not. At any rate, checking out this recipe is totally for you if you'd like to try a waffle recipe that's not bad for you and tastes good all on its own. An even bigger plus: I ate them without my standard real maple syrup and instead used a different one, a homemade raspberry syrup I made with frozen raspberries, frozen lime juice concentrate, and a bit of sugar. I loved these waffles with this syrup. I came quite close to actually licking the plate.

On to the eggs. I've been wanting to try this crustless quiche since a few weeks ago when I stumbled on the recipe (also on foodnetwork.com). I went ahead last night with it, and was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was. I was even more surprised to find how tasty it was today. It almost tasted like a souffle, but without all the work. It was a spinach quiche, and was made with ricotta and gouda, two eggs and two egg whites, and a few other good things. It was light, fluffy, and most of all, so tasty I went back for more. I paired this off with some sweet potato latkes I made this morning, and instead of pan frying them, I instead made them by baking them in the oven. So superb.

I am even more excited by the prospect of having leftovers, and so I can even enjoy parts of this particular breakfast all week!

Curried Squash and Chicken soup

2010-01-16T17:08:00.000-08:00

I know, I know...for all of you (okay, does anyone actually read this? Identify yourselves! At least send me an email so I can make sure to write more frequently :) )who have been chomping at the bit about my breakfast post (because I'm certain you have been sitting on the edge of your seat, waiting to hear anything about how my scones came out)...patience, dear friends. That post is coming (likely tomorrow).

Today, I want to talk about soup.

I love soup. I love all kinds of soup. It's fair that I'll often double a batch, just so I can have extra to have for the week. My mom's chicken soup (mentioned in an earlier post) is by far my favorite-a creamy base with a ton of chicken, rice, and baby carrots. So simple, yet out of this world. I was certain that there was never a soup that could compare.

And then I found this soup. Oh, this soup. Full of chicken, winter squash, and spinach. Three of my favorite things. When I stumbled upon the recipe a few months ago, I printed it out, sure I'd try it quickly. And I did. And then I made it again. And tonight, I made it yet again.

The thing about this soup is that not only is it tasty and so different, but it is so easy. The kind of easy that I was able to make it while my landlord was underfoot tonight, trying to chisel a coffee cup lid off of the bottom of the dishwasher coils, and we were never in the way of each other (the dishwasher is saved, by the way. After a knife, a screwdriver, and a pair of pliers. I digress.). And a bigger bonus, I was nearly finished by the time he left (and he was here for twenty minutes).

This is so very good. I can't say that enough. It's even relatively healthy, which is more than I can say for my mom's chicken soup (the base for her soup begins with butter and gravy thickener. Need I say more?). I was pleasantly surprised by the little extras-the coconut milk and the thai red curry paste, especially. It gives the soup a sweet kick of flavor. You can make this in the time it will take you to read this post. Just make sure you make enough to last you a few days-I have doubled this recipe to make it last!

Make it today. Make it tomorrow while you're making breakfast so you have it for dinner (you'll have time). Then sit down with a nice bowl and a glass of wine and relax.

Curried Squash and Chicken Soup (from eatingwell.com)

2 servings, 1 3/4 cups each

**Note: This is the actual recipe. I double all the amounts in order to have more soup, which is also what I advise you to do**

Active Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

* 1 10-ounce package frozen pureed winter squash
* 1/2 cup lite coconut milk
* 1/2 cup water
* 8 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breast, thinly sliced
* 1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
* 2 teaspoons lime juice
* 2 teaspoons brown sugar
* 1/2-1 teaspoon Thai red curry paste
* 1/4 teaspoon salt

Preparation

1. Heat squash, coconut milk and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the squash defrosts, about 10 minutes. Add chicken, reduce heat to medium and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in spinach, lime juice, sugar, curry paste to taste and salt and continue cooking until the chicken is cooked through, about 3 minutes longer.

Stuffed squash and Breakfast

2010-01-06T08:26:00.000-08:00

It is absolutely no secret that I love breakfast. Lovelovelove breakfast. So much so that my collection of recipes is overflowing with breakfast stuffs. Egg bakes, pancakes, sweet breads, different potato recipes, chicken hash, and I could go on and on. This weekend is going to be the weekend of GSD (or, Getting Shit Done) and I am planning to be able to relax by Sunday afternoon with a nice hot cup of coffee and a late brunch. Therefore, this weekend I'm planning to try a crustless quiche and a baked sweet potato latke (which, admittedly, I tried once before last month, and loved it so much I wanted to do it again), and if I have time, I'll try a lemon cranberry scone recipe I've been eyeing or maybe make a different kind of sweet bread. This will be done on Sunday.

Saturday, I'll be trying a recipe I have been wanting to do for awhile (and bonus! It's one in my mom's handwriting-but the negative is that her handwriting was like chicken scratch sometimes, so this could get interesting), which is stuffed squash. It's got all my favorite stuff in it (spinach, squash, and onion, plus other stuff I can't recall right now) and it just sounds so tasty, and relatively okay for you. I'll likely pair it with some baked chicken that I love, marinated with some light herbed dressing and baked with bamboo shoots and mushrooms.

Let's hope I can get everything organized in the meantime-and by that I mean do all the laundry, the dishes, and take the Christmas decorations down (and start figuring out stuff for the big family trip to Florida at the end of the month)!

If anyone's interested in any of that, feel free to let me know. Hopefully by Sunday night I'll have a new post and pictures to update!

Shrimp jambalaya and New Year's...

2010-01-05T06:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, I didn't make that jambalaya on New Year's Day. I hadn't made it to the store and I'd had such a week that I didn't even make it there until Saturday afternoon. Thursday night I could have gone but I was rushing so much that I didn't even make it to the New Year's party I was invited to until it was an hour past the start time (and picked my friends up late too, natch). The good thing about parties though is that no one really cares when you show up-just that you made it. It was a fun party though, and I'm told we got home around 3 AM-the last few hours are a little blurry (as New Year's parties ought to be). Special thanks to M & K for throwing a great bash.

Unfortunately, the key to a great bash is how you feel the next morning. I slept until noon (which never happens) and I stayed in my pajamas all day at my friends' house until we decided we needed more to eat than pumpkin chocolate chip pancakes and scrambled eggs, so we decided collectively to go and get burgers-although I was excited to try jambalaya on Friday I was in no mood to go to the store and then sit for 8 hours while it cooked in the crockpot. Burgers and beer was a much more desirable option. :)

So on Saturday, after the gym I rushed off to the store. I bought stuff for jambalaya and for the week (since I had slim pickings in the fridge). I got home, threw it together in the crockpot, and ran to my sister's to babysit. This was helpful because I had dinner there and when I got home I had everything almost ready to go. Hot diggity.

I had it for lunch yesterday (because Sunday was out for dinner and the Amazing Race to 2010 with friends) and it was good, but it didn't blow me away. I'd have it again (I have to, what with an entire pot of it in the fridge to go through) but I don't know I'd crave it that much. Not like something like chicken pot pie or something chocolate. But it was tasty. It had some good spice to it, and it was meaty, though it had the consistency of soup-I'm not sure that's what was supposed to happen. Maybe I'll try a different one next time. But if you're looking for something quick, easy, and, for the most part, pretty tasty, give this one a shot.

Crockpot Shrimp Jambalaya (obtained from www.cdkitchen.com)
Ingredients:
1 pound boneless chicken breasts -- cubed
1 pound smoked sausage -- sliced (I used turkey sausage-pretty decent)
1 pound cooked shrimp
28 ounces crushed tomatoes
1 medium onion -- chopped
1 green pepper -- chopped (I used a green and a red pepper because I wanted to use both)
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons parsley
2 teaspoons cajun seasoning (I didn't have cajun seasoning so I used a combo of red pepper flakes, spicy salt, and extra cayenne)
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
2 cups rice -- cooked (I used brown rice)

Directions:

Place all ingredients except shrimp and rice in crockpot. Cover; cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Stir in rice and shrimp; cover; cook on high for 15 minutes.

Up next...what to make this weekend!

Weekend meal #1!

2009-12-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, as soon as I posted the whole "come on over to my house and try a new dish" thing I had to go and find something. I've been wanting to cook something in the crockpot for awhile, and given that Friday is New Year's Day and I'm probably going to be hungover, I won't want to actually do a lot of preparing, but I will need to have dinner.

Thus, I am making (trying) Shrimp Jambalaya Friday night. To be accompanied by wine from my new wine fridge, possibly a movie or bad reruns of some sort, and a fire. If you'd like to come join, leave a comment. The recipe will be posted, complete with pictures, upon completion. And hell, if you decide you want to try jambalaya but you're going to be hanging out in your PJs all day Friday (and really, why wouldn't you?) feel free to come by and try it over the weekend. Just give me ample warning to when you show up so I make sure I'm acceptable. :)

Pumpkin cranberry bread

2009-12-29T08:12:00.000-08:00

I made this for a few people during the holidays. I admit that I haven't made it nearly as much this year as in past, but I love the combination of pumpkin and cranberry. This particular bread was a hit with some friends who got the loaf as they boarded a plane to see family in South Carolina (or so I'm told) so I thought I'd post this one. I must admit that it smelled so good that I'm planning to make another batch this weekend thanks to the abundance of cranberries I bought and froze earlier this fall. It took me a little longer to bake because I put too much in the pan-but I'm pretty sure it tasted great anyway, and if anyone wants any of this when I make it again, it makes two full loaves (or four mini ones)so speak up!

I admit that I didn't take pictures of this creation when I made it but I will when I do it again!

Pumpkin Cranberry Loaf (obtained from Boston.com/food)
Butter (for the pans)
Flour (for the pans)
1 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
2 cups mashed fresh pumpkin or 1 can (16 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 cup water
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries

1. Set the oven at 350 degrees. Butter two 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper cut to fit them. Butter the paper and dust the pans with flour, tapping out the excess. **I just buttered the pans, which works just fine as well. Whatever makes you happiest.

2. In an electric mixer, beat the vegetable oil and sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, one by one.

3. Blend in the pumpkin and water until incorporated.

4. With the mixer set on its lowest speed, add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. When the batter is smooth, remove the bowl from the mixer stand.

5. With a large spoon, stir in the walnuts and cranberries. Divide the batter evenly between the pans.

6. Bake the cakes for 1 hour, or until the centers spring back when pressed lightly with a fingertip. Adapted from Kathleen King.

Let's try this again!

2009-12-29T07:58:00.000-08:00

Okay, so to be fair, I haven't been posting as faithfully as I'd like. Blame it on the holidays.

No, really. There were cakes, and cookies, and candy, and pie, and pretty much everything in between.

I made pumpkin chocolate chip cookies (one of my signatures):

I made oreo balls (mint, regular, and peanut butter). I made homemade oreos. I made fudge (2 kinds). I made cranberry bread, pumpkin cranberry bread, gingerbread. I made cheesecake. I made ice cream, and I managed to host two parties in which every appetizer and meal item was made from scratch. More pics on that later.

So you'll have to understand when I say I'm tired. But never fear. Part of my New Year's resolution is to get better on this thing. I want to share recipes I love. I want to share the good ones and (maybe) the not so good ones. There will be quirky recipes, comfort food recipes, maybe even a few healthy ones thrown in for good measure. I have so many recipes of my mom's to go through and so many recipes of my own that I want to try!

I think in the New Year I'll try something on Fridays (or somewhere in the weekend) where I make a meal and just open my doors. I'll post what the recipe will be somewhere in the beginning of the week, and if you decide you'd like to come try it, you send me a comment or whatever, telling me you'll be coming so I know to clean the kitchen beforehand. No pressure, I'll be cooking anyway and if I have leftovers they'll either be used for lunches or frozen. This way it's a good opportunity to catch up with people and try something new. And it gives me a chance to do things I love. I saw someone else do this awhile back and thought it was a neat idea. Some nights perhaps I'll do breakfast for dinner. Maybe others I'll do a meal in the crockpot. And still others? Maybe a nice casserole dish or a stir fry or a soup. Either way, good times abound.

Friday night antics: Eggplant Parmesan and Snickerdoodles

2009-10-23T19:14:00.000-07:00

I find it funny, that in a blog about food recipes that my mom had, the first two I choose to post are not hers. Oh, she's made eggplant parm (I swear, I still salivate when I think of her fried eggplant and the last time she made it for me was probably 18 years ago) and I'm sure she's made snickerdoodles, but to be fair I look at food journals, foodnetwork.com, and the like, and get emails about recipes of the day pretty much daily. So I saw these two recipes (on eatingwell.com and smittenkitchen.com, respectively) quite awhile ago and thought, hell, I'll give that a shot.

Then of course life stepped in and gave me a concussion during my riding lesson and then things got crazy. I spend a highly questionable amount of time in the gym. My apartment looks like a bomb went off inside it. So cooking and baking anything other than the basics was out of the picture. Until Friday. I decided Friday would be a perfect day to make that eggplant parm I'd been craving but never had time for, and I offered to make birthday cookies for someone at the gym (yes. I bake for people at the gym. Don't hate me. We work out like it's going out of style anyway.) So I made them together.

OH.
MY.
GOD.

This was the most incredible dish and dessert I had made in a very long time. I'm pretty sure that the sauce did it for me with the eggplant-I could certainly have made my own, but I bought it at Dave's Fresh Pasta in Somerville. I dipped the eggplant in egg whites and bread crumbs and then baked them instead of frying. And then I put it all together with some fresh mozzarella and parmesan. What the hell? This was so easy. I should have done this ages ago. I suppose I needed some instant gratification meals for awhile. No more.

Eggplant Parmesan
from www.eatingwell.com

Ingredients
2 eggplants, (about 2 pounds total)
3 egg whites
3 tablespoons water
1 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, (1 ounce), divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup slivered fresh basil leaves
2 1/2 cups tomato sauce

Preparation
1.Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat two baking sheets and an 8-by-11 1/2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.**Please do this. I didn't and lost a few slices because they stuck to the dish.
2.Cut eggplants crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Whisk egg whites and water in a shallow dish until frothy. Combine breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, salt and pepper in another shallow dish (I forgot to put in the parmesan and the salt and pepper. It was great anyway. But I'll do it next time). Dip the eggplant slices into the egg-white mixture, then coat with the breadcrumb mixture. (Discard any leftover breadcrumbs and egg white.) Arrange the eggplant slices in a single layer on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for 15 minutes, turn the eggplant slices over, and bake until crisp and golden, about 15 minutes longer.
3.Stir basil into tomato sauce. Spread about 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Arrange half of the eggplant slices over the sauce, overlapping slightly. Spoon 1 cup of the remaining sauce over the eggplant and sprinkle with half of the mozzarella cheese. Add a layer of the remaining eggplant slices and top with the remaining sauce, mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake, uncovered, until the sauce bubbles and the top is golden, 15 to 20 minutes.

Okay. So that was done. On to the snickerdoodles. I admit, I'd never tried snickerdoodles before. I loved these cookies. That's all that needs to be said. They were incredible. I saw them on www.smittenkitchen.com and was totally inspired. It helped that that was the birthday cookie requested at the gym on Saturday. They were so much better straight from the oven, but perfectly acceptable the next day as well. They were perfectly round and just the quintessential cookie next to the chocolate chip ones I made and love (more on that in a future post).

I dare anyone to tell me that these don't look like donut holes. They look so good but you'll never get me to eat raw dough (I just don't like it, I don't have something against salmonella or whatever)

So. Good. Make these today. and thank me (and smittenkitchen) later.

Snickerdoodles (courtesy of www.smittenkitchen.com)

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
16 tablespoons (2 stick or 8 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cups sugar, plus more if needed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, plus more if needed
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 400°, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets with silicone baking mats or parchment paper; set aside.

Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine. Chill dough for about an hour.

Once dough has chilled, in a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small ice-cream scoop* to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after five minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about five minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack.

*I totally rolled these with my hands. I didn't have a small enough scoop. I made them roughly walnut sized.

First post

2009-09-10T09:12:00.000-07:00

I figured I'd start something new (or maybe not so new, as the case may be).

Food blogs are certainly nothing new. Neither is writing about food, in terms of writing books, reviews, etc. But I cook and bake all the time, and my friends seem incredulous sometimes that I take so much time to create things, or that I cook and bake (most of the time) from scratch. I get it: we're at a point in our lives where we don't necessarily have time to do such things. But I grew up around food. I grew up appreciating the fantastic taste of a homemade piece of chocolate silk pie, or a good chicken marsala, or even a tasty piece of fried eggplant. I will eat just about anything, and I'll try most stuff at least once. That being said, I feel like getting creative in the kitchen is a must for me. At the very least, I have to get in the kitchen!

My mom was a caterer. She ran her own business when I was a kid-she called it Duck Soup, hence the name of this blog. The only background I have on that name was that her nickname was Duck, long before I was around, hence Duck Soup. But I don't actually know the origins of that name. Hm. I came across old invoices with the company name stamped on it once, though-it made me laugh. She had recipes, recipe books...more recipes and more kitchen equipment than I'd ever seen in a home kitchen (and to this day I've never been in a home kitchen that had two stovetops and two ovens, as well as two full size refrigerators and one full size freezer in it, plus a bunch of kitchen equipment. Some days I'd kill to have two stoves.) When I was a kid I got to be the "taste tester" and tried almost everything she made. Her lemon squares were one of my favorite desserts. I salivated when she made her chicken soup. And no lie, her chocolate silk pie (fat pie) is one of the best things I have ever had. We played with live lobsters in the kitchen, there was often flour all over the counters, and there was always plenty of food around.

When she passed away nearly ten years ago, my siblings divided her belongings equally. My sister got the furniture, my brother got her car and some other things. I got her kitchen. Including my most favorite appliance, her Kitchenaid stand-up mixer that's likely as old as I am. So after I graduated and moved into my own place, I started cooking. I made fat pie. I made chicken soup. I made lemon chicken. I made twice-baked potatoes and fried eggplant. I loved it all.

Just a few months ago, I was going through a drawer in the kitchen and found a box that had her handwritten recipes in it. I thought to myself how neat it would be to try at least one of those a week and see how it went. So here I am, blogging about it. I'll try new stuff, blog about it, and see where it goes. Some of them might be hers, some might be ones I've found while hunting about. But I'm hoping I'll expand my repertoire that way and also be able to share some of her gifts with you all.

Break out the forks, kids. It'll be a fun ride.