My 1st word was chocolate

Blueberry Pancakes

2012-01-20T08:02:00.005-05:00

Way back in the July/August 2003 issue Cook's Illustrated managed to perfect the blueberry pancake. You won't need to try any other recipe, I promise. My variation on the recipe accommodates my husband's lactose intolerance. Substitute vegetable oil for the butter, and use lactose free milk instead of regular milk.

Ingredients
1 tablespoon juice from 1 lemon
2 cups milk
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1-2 teaspoons vegetable oil
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries, preferable wild, rinsed and dried (if using frozen, it will prevent "bleeding")

Directions
1. Whisk lemon juice and milk in medium bowl or large measuring cup; set aside to thicken while preparing other ingredients. Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl to combine.
2. Whisk egg and melted butter into milk until combined. Make well in center of dry ingredients in bowl; pour in milk mixture and whisk very gently until just combined (a few lumps should remain). Do not overmix.
3. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat; add 1 teaspoon oil and brush to coat skillet bottom evenly. Pour desired amount of batter onto skillet. Cook pancakes until large bubbles begin to appear, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes. Flip pancakes until golden brown on second side, 1-1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Repeat with remaining batter and serve immediately, or keep in a 200 degree oven until ready to serve.

Roasted Cauliflower with Dates and Pine Nuts

2012-01-11T12:49:00.002-05:00

This cauliflower recipe is so very delicious, everyone should give it a try. The salty-sweet combo will make it the highlight of any meal you put together.

Roasted Cauliflower with Dates and Pine Nuts

Adapted from Food Network

Ingredients
1 large head cauliflower, cut into florets (about 8 cups)
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste
6 tablespoons olive oil
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup pitted Medjool dates, coarsely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Evenly spread the cauliflower on a baking sheet. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the oven and roast, tossing once with a spatula, until golden brown at the edges, about 20-25 minutes.

Put 4 tablespoons of olive oil in a small skillet over medium-low heat. Once warm, add the pine nuts and cook, stirring frequently, until they're lightly golden brown, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and dates and continue cooking until they're softened, 2 to 3 minutes more; season with salt.

Transfer the hot cauliflower to a serving bowl, drizzle the pine nut mixture over the top and toss to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary and serve warm or at room temperature.

Lemony Blueberry Pie

2012-01-09T11:47:00.001-05:00

How's a girl supposed to say no to her husband when he asks so nicely for pie? I had all of the ingredients on hand so I whipped up this super lemony blueberry pie for an after dinner surprise.

Ingredients
2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt, plus a pinch for filling
1/2 cup of cold water

4 cups blueberries (fresh or frozen, if frozen allow to thaw)
1 lemon, juiced and zested
3/4 cup of granulated sugar, plus a few teaspoons for topping
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon cinnamon

a few teaspoons of whole milk

Directions
To make the pie dough. In a large bowl, add the flour and salt and mix well. Add shortening and cut it into the flour mixture with a knife or your fingers, until it's the size of peas. Add a little bit of the water at a time until the dough forms into a ball. Don't overwork it! Place dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least one hour. Makes 2 pie crusts.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, add half the blueberries and mash them slightly. Add the rest of the blueberries and the next 4 ingredients, mix well.

Halve dough into two rounds. Roll out first round and place in pie pan. Add filling. Roll out second pie crust and place on top of filling. Crimp edges and remove excess dough. Brush the top with whole milk and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Cut at least 3 vents in crust.

Bake 40-50 minutes. Cool to room temperature for filling to set. Serve plain or with ice cream, whipped cream or greek yogurt.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

2012-01-03T16:56:00.000-05:00

An easy and impressive dessert that I made for Boxing Day dinner. To create the design on top, dust with cocoa powder first, then place a stencil (I cut this one out like a snowflake), and dust with icing sugar.

Cake recipe from Epicurious.com

Ingredients
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
1 stick unsalted butter
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder plus additional for sprinkling
icing sugar for additional decoration (if desired)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 F and butter an 8-inch round baking pan. Line bottom with round of wax paper and butter the paper. Chop chocolate into small pieces. In a double boiler, melt chocolate with butter, stirring, until smooth. Remove top of double boiler or bowl from heat and whisk sugar into chocolate mixture. Add eggs and whisk well. Sift 1/2 cup cocoa powder over chocolate mixture and whisk until just combined. Pour batter into pan and bake in middle of oven 25 minutes, or until top has formed a thin crust. Cool cake in pan on a rack 5 minutes and invert onto a serving plate.

Spinach and Pumpkin Meatballs

2011-12-05T14:06:00.001-05:00

It didn't seem right to make ground turkey or chicken for dinner the day before Thanksgiving. What's a girl to do? I had some leftover pumpkin puree, some ground beef and a little thawed spinach. Meatballs were my answer. They were so moist, not too pumpkin-y, relatively healthy, and my almost 2-year old gobbled them up. I'd say that's a big WINNER!

Spinach and Pumpkin Meatballs

Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1/2 can 100% pure pumpkin puree
1 cup packed thawed, previously frozen spinach
1 egg
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon fresh ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flake

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all ingredients in bowl until just combined. With an ice cream scoop (or your hands), form into meatballs. Place on cookie sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through (adjust your cooking time if you make especially large meatballs). Broil for 5 minutes until the meatballs develop some color. I served these without a sauce, but they would be good with a simple marinara and pasta.

Super Banana Muffins

2011-10-24T08:35:00.004-04:00

We buy and eat a ton of bananas at our house. Occasionally we get some that start to go super ripe before we get around to eating them. That's okay because it gives me the perfect excuse to make banana bread or better yet banana muffins.

The 6 bananas that this recipe calls for makes for a very moist and delicious muffin without using much extra sugar.

Super Banana Muffins
adapted from Cooks Illustrated, August 2010 issue

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 large (about 2 1/4 pounds) very ripe bananas, peeled
1/2 cup canola oil
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Place liners in muffin pan.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

Place five (5) bananas in a microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in the plastic wrap with a paring knife. Microwave on high until the bananas are soft and have released liquid, approximately 5 minutes. Transfer the bananas to a fine-mesh strainer placed over a medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. You should have 1/2 to 3/4 cup liquid after straining.

Transfer liquid to medium saucepan over medium heat until it’s reduced to approximately 1/4 cup. This should take about 10 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in the drained bananas; mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in the oil, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Using an ice cream scoop, or spoon, portion the batter into the liner-filled muffin pan. Fill approximately 3/4 full.

Slice the remaining banana diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Place one banana slice atop each muffin. Sprinkle a little granulated sugar evenly over each muffin.

Bake 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool muffins in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 12 standard-sized muffins (or 24 mini muffins, adjust baking time accordingly)

Restaurant Review: The Admiral

2011-10-13T07:59:00.001-04:00

I finally made it to The Admiral for dinner. This restaurant/bar, in West Asheville, has something of a cult following. You almost can't read about the Asheville food scene on Chowhound, Yelp, TripAdvisor, Mtn Express, and elsewhere without stumbling on to somebody who's raving about this place. In my estimation it's living up to it's hype. They serve creative and interesting food that's well prepared in a dive-ish setting. Service was good, professional and prompt even on a hopping night. The wine selection is strange. Eclectic, I would call it. There are some good wines on the list at reasonable prices.

Here's what our table of 4 had (the first 4 items were small plates, the last 1 was an entree-size):

PEI Mussles with san marzano tomatoes, poblano, bacon, basil, grilled lime and toast

Colombia River Sturgeon with Smoked Pork Belly, Roasted Butternut Squash Bisque, Chive, Pistachio and Chai Cream

Hickory Nut Gap Beef Tenderloin Tartare with cornichon, Quail Egg, Cahills Porter, Sriracha Aioli and toast

Tempura Alaskan King Crab with cucumber, Daikon, Carrot, green Mango mixed herbs and jalapeno

NC Triggerfish with Bacon Braised cabbage, veal cheek, sweet potato and hazelnut

and for dessert:

Mexican Churro with spiced chocolate and whipped cream
Honeycrisp Apple Tart with puff pastry, marcona almond butter and rum raisin ice cream

the standouts are bold-ed for your viewing pleasure.

Blueberry Muffins with Lemon Glaze

2011-10-03T09:45:00.001-04:00

Fresh Market and EarthFare are now carrying an organic lactose-free sour cream. It seemed like a wonderful excuse to make super moist muffins over the weekend that my husband, son and I could enjoy.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated, Best Recipes:

Ingredients

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ( 10 ounces)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar ( 7 ounces), plus 1/2 cup
4 tablespoons vegetable oil1 1/4 cups sour cream ( 10 ounces)1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries, preferably wild
1 lemon, zested and juiced

Directions

Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray standard muffin tin with nonstick vegetable cooking spray.

Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl until combined. Whisk egg in second medium bowl until well-combined and light-colored, about 20 seconds. Add sugar and whisk vigorously until thick and homogenous, about 30 seconds; add vegetable oil in 2 or 3 steps, whisking to combine after each addition. Add sour cream in 2 steps, whisking just to combine.

Add frozen berries to dry ingredients and gently toss to combine. Add sour cream mixture and fold with rubber spatula until batter comes together and berries are evenly distributed, 25 to 30 seconds (small spots of flour may remain and batter will be thick). Do not overmix.

Use ice cream scoop or large spoon to drop batter into greased muffin tin. Bake until light golden brown and toothpick or skewer inserted into center of muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes, rotating pan from front to back halfway through baking time.

While muffins bake, combine the lemon juice with 1/4 cup of sugar in microwave safe bowl. Microwave on high for about 45 second, or until sugar is dissolved. In another bowl, combine lemon zest and 1/4 cup of sugar. Set aside.

Invert muffins onto wire rack, stand muffins upright, and cool 5 minutes. Brush tops of muffins with lemon glaze, then dip in lemon zest sugar. Serve warm, or room temperature.

Challah

2011-09-28T11:11:00.002-04:00

I can't seem to get enough recipes from the blog smitten kitchen these days. She had a challah recipe from her archives that looked delicious so I decided to give it a try this past weekend.

I found the recipe here: http://smittenkitchen.com/2008/09/best-challah-egg-bread/

Best Challah (Egg Bread)
Adapted from Joan Nathan

The secrets to good challah are simple: Use two coats of egg wash to get that laquer-like crust and don’t overbake it. Joan Nathan, who this recipe is adapted from, adds that three risings always makes for the tastiest loaves, even better if one of them is slowed down in the fridge.

Time: about 1 hour, plus 2 1/2 hours’ rising
Yield: 2 loaves

1 1/2 packages active dry yeast (1 1/2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive or vegetable oil, plus more for greasing the bowl
5 large eggs
1 tablespoon salt
8 to 8 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup raisins per challah, if using, plumped in hot water and drained
Poppy or sesame seeds for sprinkling.

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tablespoon sugar in 1 3/4 cups lukewarm water.

2. Whisk oil into yeast, then beat in 4 eggs, one at a time, with remaining sugar and salt. Gradually add flour. When dough holds together, it is ready for kneading.

3. Turn dough onto a floured surface and knead until smooth. Clean out bowl and grease it, then return dough to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, until almost doubled in size. Dough may also rise in an oven that has been warmed to 150 degrees then turned off. Punch down dough, cover and let rise again in a warm place for another half-hour.

4. At this point, you can knead the raisins into the challah, if you’re using them, before forming the loaves. To make a 6-braid challah, either straight or circular, take half the dough and form it into 6 balls. With your hands, roll each ball into a strand about 12 inches long and 1 1/2 inches wide. Place the 6 in a row, parallel to one another. Pinch the tops of the strands together. Move the outside right strand over 2 strands. Then take the second strand from the left and move it to the far right. Take the outside left strand and move it over 2. Move second strand from the right over to the far left. Start over with the outside right strand. Continue this until all strands are braided. For a straight loaf, tuck ends underneath. For a circular loaf, twist into a circle, pinching ends together. Make a second loaf the same way. Place braided loaves on a greased cookie sheet with at least 2 inches in between.

5. Beat remaining egg and brush it on loaves. Either freeze breads or let rise another hour.

6. If baking immediately, preheat oven to 375 degrees and brush loaves again. Sprinkle bread with seeds, if using. If freezing, remove from freezer 5 hours before baking.

7. Bake in middle of oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until golden. (If you have an instant read thermometer, you can take it out when it hits an internal temperature of 190 degrees.) Cool loaves on a rack.

Note: Any of the three risings can be done in the fridge for a few hours, for more deeply-developed flavor. When you’re ready to work with it again, bring it back to room temperature before moving onto the next step.

The challah turned out beautifully. Next time I make it, and there will be a next time, I'm going to split it into 4 loaves. It made 2 huge loaves of bread. Also, the 6 piece braid is a bit tricky to master. My mom tells me that a 4 piece braid is easier.

Roasted Veggie Panzanella

2011-09-19T10:21:00.001-04:00

I got my mom's CSA box this past week and had an abundance of beautiful vegetables to work with. I paired this panzanella with grilled chicken breasts and sauteed arugula. A delicious and healthy meal for the whole family!

Ingredients
2 cups whole cherry tomatoes (romas would be fine too)
4 japanese eggplant (cubed)
4 red bell peppers (cubed)
2 small onions (quartered)
6 cloves of garlic (unpeeled)
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
smoked paprika
3-4 cups cubed bread (chewy ciabatta, pane toscana, or baguette)
1 lemon zested and juiced
handful of basil
handful of parsley, chopped

Recipe
Preheat oven to 400. Toss vegetables with olive oil, vinegar, salt, pepper and a teaspoon or two of paprika. Roast on a baking sheet for 35-50 minutes, stir once or twice, until vegetables are softened and beginning to caramelize. Meanwhile place cubed bread on another baking sheet and toast for 10 minutes or so to dry it out a bit.

Once you pull the vegetables from the oven, douse again with a couple of tablespoons of balsamic vinegar.

In a big bowl, squeeze the roasted garlic out of their skins and mash into a paste. Add the bread, vegetables and accumulated juices, lemon zest and juice, and toss. At this point, I like to let the panzanella sit at room temperature, covered for about an hour. Once you're ready to serve, add the torn basil leaves and chopped parsley. You can also add a little more olive oil, salt and pepper and vinegar to taste.

Roasted Garlic and Tomato Pasta

2011-09-16T13:22:00.000-04:00

Okay, so a bit simple, but certainly worth posting about since it's so very delicious. I used whole wheat linguine, so it was healthy to boot. I served the pasta with pan seared pork chops.

Ingredients
3 cups cherry tomatoes
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2 Tbs. capers and juice
Juice of 1 lemon
olive oil
salt
pinch of sugar
pepper

Recipe
Preheat oven to 325. Add washed cherry tomatoes and garlic cloves to sheet pan and drizzle with olive, salt, sugar and pepper. Roast for 45-60 minutes until the garlic is softened and the cherry tomatoes are caramelized (the sugar helps speed this process). If you're short on time, feel free to kick up the heat, just be sure not to burn the garlic.

Cook 1 pound of pasta to al dente, reserving 1/2 cup of pasta water. In the hot pasta pot, combine the drained pasta, roasted tomatoes, garlic, accumulated juices, capers, lemon juice and toss. If the pasta is dry, add a bit of the pasta water. Adjust seasonings with additional olive oil, salt and pepper if needed.

Serve hot or warm.

Grilled Tamarind Chicken

2011-09-14T09:10:00.002-04:00

I found this recipe in the July issue of Fine Cooking. I loved the idea of using the Tamarind soda as a base for the marinade. I tweaked the recipe slightly, using chipotle chili powder for more heat, and instead of slicing the chicken for tacos, I served it whole. It's a great marinade that will be fun to experiment with in the months to come.

Grilled Tamarind Chicken

8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 2 lb.)
1 12.5-oz. bottle tamarind soda (such as Jarritos brand)
1/2 cup soy sauce
3 medium cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbs. ground coriander
2 tsp. pure chile powder, such as ancho
Sea salt

Put the chicken in a large bowl and cover with the tamarind soda. Add the soy sauce and garlic and mix well. Refrigerate overnight.

Prepare a high charcoal or gas grill fire for indirect grilling (I just used a grill pan).

Remove the chicken from the marinade and pat it dry. In a small bowl, combine the coriander, chile powder, and a pinch of salt. Dust the thighs on both sides with the spice rub. Cook on the hot part of the grill until grill marks form on the bottom, 3 to 5 minutes. Turn and mark the other side, about 2 minutes more. Move the chicken to the cooler side of the grill and grill until cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. Let the chicken rest on a cutting board for 5 minutes and serve.

Dutch Baby

2011-08-31T10:02:00.001-04:00

Dutch baby was always a special weekend breakfast treat while growing up. My parents always used an old cuisinart recipe, but I found this new recipe with lots of lemon zest that I just love. Give it a try and see if your family enjoys it! If you'd like, skip the powdered sugar and lemon juice and serve with maple syrup or a fruit topping. It's also delicious when you add crumbled bacon or sausage to the batter right before you put it in the oven.

Recipe adapted from: Cook's Country

INGREDIENTS
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 teaspoons grated zest and 2 tablespoons juice from 1 lemon
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

INSTRUCTIONS

1. OIL SKILLET with 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 450 degrees. Brush surface and sides of large skillet with oil. Place skillet on oven rack and heat until oil is shimmering, about 10 minutes.

2. MIX BATTER Meanwhile, combine flour, cornstarch, lemon zest, and salt in large bowl. Whisk eggs in another bowl until frothy and light, about 1 minute. Whisk remaining 1 Tablespoon of vegetable oil, milk, and vanilla into eggs until incorporated. Whisk one-third of milk mixture into flour mixture until no lumps remain, then slowly whisk in remaining milk mixture until smooth.

3. BAKE AND SERVE Carefully pour batter into heated skillet and bake until edges of Dutch Baby are deep golden brown and crisp, about 20 minutes. Transfer skillet to wire rack and sprinkle Dutch Baby with lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar. Cut into wedges. Serve.

Restaurant Review: White Duck Taco

2011-08-16T09:52:00.000-04:00

The food boards have been buzzing about this new Asheville restaurant located in the River Arts District. My mother-in-law had also been back multiple times, so my husband and I knew we had to try it.

Between me, my husband and my son, we had the Bangkok shrimp taco, two honey roasted duck with mole tacos, the banh mi, green chili and lime black beans, and watermelon with mint. The duck taco came with lettuce, crispy fried onions and a green onion crema. And, the banh mi was shredded chicken with the usual veggie toppings. I only had one bite, so I'd need to go back to try that one more fully.

Those were good, but the standout was the Bangkok shrimp. The shrimp taco featured crispy fried shrimp tossed in a sweet-spicy glaze, homemade pickled cucumber and carrots and a spicy mayo. It was the perfect combination of crunchy, salty, sweet and spicy!

Easy Summer Appetizers

2011-08-12T11:01:00.000-04:00

Both of these are fresh and easy appetizers for the middle of the summer. At a recent wine club, friends of ours brought this as their dish. The melon appetizer (a cross between a honeydew and a melon I can't recall) was simply topped with a bit of creamy local goat cheese. On the right, ripe figs are topped with a swath of blue cheese and wrapped in some salty prosciutto. We did decide that the figs, although nice, could use a bit more flavor. I'd suggest oven roasting them or even grilling them to concentrate the flavor.

With a glass of wine, these would make a fine offering at any gathering.

Hash and Eggs

2011-08-11T12:05:00.000-04:00

To me hash is a wonderful way to rid my fridge of leftovers. This particular version used some odds and ends of grilled veggies and meat to transform it into a whole new meal. Topped with a runny fried egg and you've got a satisfying weeknight meal. For hash from scratch, try this artichoke, onion and potato version from Food Network's Guy Fieri, http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/guy-fieri/artichoke-onion-and-potato-hash-recipe/index.html.

A Taste of Ireland

2011-07-06T17:22:00.000-04:00

Several family members are enjoying a trip to Ireland right now. They've been kind enough to send some food photos for me to ogle. I know you'll enjoy them too!

Beautiful eggs Benedict.

Prawn sandwich on soda bread in a pub in Bushmills.

Baked cod with sun-dried tomatoes and Parmesan.

Oysters from Dundrum Bay.

A Slice of Pie... Pizza Pie that is

2011-07-05T18:10:00.000-04:00

It's not often that we have pizza at our house. But, we have a wood-fired oven in our backyard that was crying out for use and several hungry family members. We ended up making 4 pizzas, some cheese free (for my husband) and others with cheese. Other toppings were sautéed eggplant, balsamic zucchini and squash, sausage, roasted garlic, and peppers. All of this featured on homemade pizza dough. I used Tyler Florence's recipe which turned out nicely. Unfortunately the second batch of the dough killed the motor of my KitchenAid stand mixer. So, be cautious of this rather large recipe of dough!

Ingredients

2 packages active dry yeast

2 teaspoons sugar

2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F.)

2 tablespoons kosher salt

6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bowl

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer, combine the salt and flour to the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead the dough for 6-8 more minutes. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until it doubles in size, about 1 hour. The dough can be cut into 2 or 3 pieces depending on desired size of the pizza. Let rest for 15 to 30 minutes before rolling out into pizza dough.

Undercover Critic

2011-06-30T09:16:00.000-04:00

Okay, my little guy isn't really a critic...yet. I needed a photo to illustrate my point though.

My lovely husband and I went out to dinner last night for our three-year anniversary. We decided to try one of the newer restaurants in Asheville, Boca on Lexington. In the advent of Chowhound and Yelp, you'd think that more servers (or owners in coaching their servers) would understand the importance of being great with every table of customers.

Everything started out fine. We were seated promptly, brought water, had time to peruse the menu and drink list. We ordered cocktails, an appetizer to split and entrees. The problem started when we had two different servers helping us. We managed to get our cocktails, but the appetizer never got ordered with the kitchen.

By the time we received our entrees, neither one of our servers had come by to let us order wine with our meal. Eventually we snuck in a quick order for a couple of glasses and got them almost in time to drink them with our dinner.

The food... mine was pretty delicious. Chiles en Nogada (Beef, lamb and pork stuffed roasted poblano peppers, topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate molasses). Spicy, flavorful and filling. I'd recommend it. But, my husband got the Black Oaxacan Mole Enchiladas (Organic chicken, orange jicama salad and fresh corn tortillas). His was in desperate need of salt. We actually had to ask for salt for him to eat it.

About the time we were finishing up our entrees, one of the servers who helped us was seating a couple nearby. She promptly told them the specials. Specials! We hadn't heard about those?!?

Like most times we go out to eat we realize that we usually can make better food for a fraction of the price at home. Even so, we'd probably go out more often to eat pretty good food if this town had better waitstaff... Owners and servers take heed, anyone can be a restaurant critic these days. Every single table deserves your best efforts!

Chicken Cacciatore

2011-06-29T12:46:00.000-04:00

I loosely followed this Bobby Flay recipe from FoodNetwork.com. This is a nice hearty sauce, chocked full of vegetables, to go over pasta. I missed the heat though. Instead of adding a diced serano or jalapeno, I just put a few knife pokes in a jalapeno for what I thought would be a more subtle heat. It turned out there was no heat at all. I used boneless, skinless chicken thighs too.

Ingredients:

• 2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (3-pound) chicken cut into eighths
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 pound cremini mushrooms, quartered
• 1 large red onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 1 large yellow bell pepper, thinly julienned
• 1 serrano or jalapeno chile, finely diced
• 3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
• 1/2 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup low-sodium canned chicken broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes and their juices
• 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 tablespoons aged balsamic vinegar or capers
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves
• 1 pound spaghetti (size 8 or 9) cooked al dente
• Basil sprigs
• Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Directions:

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Season the chicken pieces on both sides with salt and pepper and place in the pan, skin side down and cook until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn the breasts over and cook until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the chicken to a large plate.
Add the remaining oil to the pan and heat until almost smoking. Add the mushrooms and cook until golden brown, season with salt and pepper and remove to a plate.

Add the onion and bell pepper to the pan and cook until soft, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the serrano, garlic and chili flakes to the pan and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the wine and cook until almost completely reduced. Add the chicken stock, tomatoes, and rosemary and bring to a simmer. Return the chicken and mushrooms to the pan, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan and cook until the chicken is tender, about 30 minutes. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a large shallow bowl and tent loosely with foil.

Engagement Party

2011-06-27T09:00:00.003-04:00

A shot of the elegant food table above and grilled summer vegetables below.

I had the pleasure of helping cook for an engagement party over the weekend. The menu was light and summery with a Mexican flare: grilled chicken and flank steak with jalapeno honey lime and chipotle garlic marinades, stacked black bean and roasted red pepper enchiladas, grilled summer vegetables, corn on the cob, watermelon salad with feta and blueberries and for dessert two kinds of brownies, mexican chocolate and double chocolate walnut. The real showstopper was the signature drink, a sangria. My friend P, the mom of the groom-to-be found the recipe. It was some of the most delicious sangria I've ever had. P used Tanqueray Gin.

Ingredients:

1 Bottle of red wine (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Rioja, Zinfandel, Shiraz)
1 Lemon cut into wedges
1 Orange cut into wedges
1 Lime cut into wedges
2 Tbsp sugar
Splash of orange juice or lemonade
2 Shots of gin or triple sec (optional)
1 Cup of raspberries or strawberries (may use thawed or frozen)
1 Small can of diced pineapples (with juice)
4 Cups ginger ale

Preparation:

Pour wine into a large pitcher and squeeze the juice wedges from the lemon, orange and lime into the wine. Toss in the fruit wedges (leaving out seeds if possible) and pineapple then add sugar, orange juice and gin. Chill overnight. Add ginger ale, berries and ice just before serving.

"Thai Style" Udon

2011-06-17T08:27:00.001-04:00

I've blogged about Udon before (http://my1stwordwaschocolate.blogspot.com/2010/07/udon-with-turkey-edamame-and-zucchini.html), but I changed it up a bit by adding a more "Thai Style" sauce.

In my wok, I sauteed carrots and mushrooms in vegetable oil, then added ground turkey. Fully cook the turkey, then add frozen shelled edamame the cooked udon and the sauce recipe below. Cook on high heat for 2-3 more minutes and you're done.

Thai Style Sauce
2 Tbs. soy sauce
Zest and juice of one lime
1 1/2 Tbs. light brown sugar
2 Tbs. fish sauce
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger grated
1 tsp. garlic chili sauce or Sriracha

Stir all ingredients together. This sauce is also delicious in a stir fry over rice, rice noodles, or as a marinade for beef for a Thai style beef salad. It's also easily doubled or tripled for feeding a larger crowd.

Lemony Potato Salad

2011-06-13T12:27:00.001-04:00

A summertime staple with a lemony kick!

Ingredients

3 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 1 & 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup Duke's mayonnaise
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
Zest and juice of one lemon
1 Tablespoon sugar
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped green onion
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander. In a large bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, rice wine vinegar, lemon zest and juice, sugar, parsley, 1 teaspoon of salt, and 1 teaspoon of pepper. While the potatoes are still warm, add them to the dressing. Add the celery and green onion, salt and pepper to taste. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Cold Soba with Eggplant & Grilled Chicken

2011-06-07T08:54:00.000-04:00

Gorgeous, healthy and delicious, cold soba makes for a wonderful summertime dinner. My husband made last night's meal. He topped the noodles with marinated, grilled chicken breast, charred green onions and sauteed japanese eggplant.

And, yes, my sophisticated little eater enjoyed it too!

For more on soba, I found this great posting, http://www.justhungry.com/basics-cold-soba-noodles-dipping-sauce

Strawberry Frozen Yogurt Popsicles

2011-05-24T11:02:00.000-04:00

I really like being able to control the amount of sweetener in my little guy's frozen treats. Here's a simple recipe for strawberry frozen yogurt popsicles. Even if you don't have popsicle molds, you could use dixie cups and popsicle sticks or freeze the ingredients in the yogurt container and eat it like ice cream!
Ingredients:
32 oz plain whole milk yogurt
12 oz frozen strawberries (buy fresh on sale and they freeze beautifully)
2 Tbs. honey
zest and juice of 1 lemon

Recipe:
In a food processor, combine the yogurt, berries, honey, lemon juice and lemon zest until smooth. Pour into the popsicle molds. Let yogurt mixture freeze overnight.

Burger Buns

2011-05-09T11:20:00.001-04:00

Okay, so you might say that making your own hamburger buns is a little time consuming. But, I would tell you that they taste SO MUCH BETTER than the cardboard, flavorless buns you will buy at the grocery store.

My little guy liked them too!

I found them on this blog (http://www.cinnamonspiceandeverythingnice.com/2011/02/homemade-sandwich-rolls.html). Here's how to make them:

Homemade Sandwich Rolls

(adapted from King Arthur Flour recipe)

1 package active dry yeast (7 grams)

1 cup lukewarm water (110-115 F.)

1/4 cup sugar + 1 tablespoon

2 tablespoons butter

1 egg

3 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (up to half can be white whole wheat)

1 & 1/4 teaspoons salt

for topping:

1 egg

sesame or poppy seeds

1. In a small bowl dissolve yeast in the warm water, stir in sugar and allow to sit until bubbly, 5-10 minutes.

2. Mix all of the dough ingredients together including the yeast mixture. Knead either by hand (on a floured surface, adding flour as needed), mixer, or bread machine until you get a soft, smooth dough.

3. Put the dough in an large, oiled bowl, cover and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

4. Gently deflate the dough. On a floured board or counter top divide dough into 8 equal pieces, shape each piece into a circle about 1" thick and flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour or until very puffy.

5. Preheat oven to 375°F. Beat egg with 1 tablespoon water, brush over tops and sprinkle with seeds.

6. Bake for 12 to 16 minutes until lightly golden. Cool on wire racks.

Sage and Orange Beef

2011-05-06T08:32:00.000-04:00

I can't take credit for this one, my husband made it last night. Here's what he told me he did.

Seared off a smallish bottom round beef roast, then sauteed an onion, some garlic to free up the goodness left on the pan. He added one sliced orange, a handful of sage leaves and half a beer and added the beef back to the pot. He covered the pot and threw it in a low oven for around 4 hours.

The beef was super tender and lightly scented with the sage a beef. He served it with mustard potatoes and brussel sprouts.

Roasted Chicken, Bacon, Arugula Pita

2011-04-29T16:16:00.000-04:00

Herb roasted chicken thighs, thick cut bacon, fresh and local arugula on a homemade pita, sound good? I thought so!

Spiced Mini Muffins

2011-04-19T10:39:00.000-04:00

I saw this muffin recipe on www.photograzing.com a while back and decided to make them this past weekend. They're a little sweet for my tastes, but with the addition of blueberries, or other tart fruit, they could be a keeper.

Recipe: Spiced Mini Muffins

(Yields approx 24 mini muffins)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp baking power

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup sugar

1 large egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease mini muffin tin with cooking spray.

2. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.

3. In a medium bowl combine sugar, eggs, vegetable oil, milk and vanilla extract.

4. Mix wet ingredients with the dry ingredients until just combined

5. Fill each mini muffin cup about 3/4 full.

6. Bake for 10-15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin comes out mostly clean. Once muffins have cooled you can top with a cinnamon sugar mixture (optional).

Heart of Darkness Peanut Butter Cookies

2011-04-11T09:14:00.001-04:00

You like the name? I had been trying to come up with an outrageous name for these decadent cookies and was coming up short. So, I asked my husband and the first thing that popped out of his mouth was Heart of Darkness. I loved it, so fitting for these rich, uber moist cookies that you shouldn't keep lying around the house too often.

They're easy to make too. Here's how you do it:

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
¼ cup of granulated sugar
½ cup of brown sugar (packed)
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of fine sea salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder

¼ cup cocoa powder
¼ cup dark chocolate chips
¼ cup chopped toasted pecans

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. In a small bowl mix the flour, cocoa powder, sea salt and baking powder and set aside. In a medium bowl combine the peanut butter and sugars until smooth, then add the egg until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine thoroughly. Fold in the chocolate chips and pecans.

Roll golf ball-sized balls of the cookie dough and place them on the cookie sheet, that's been covered with parchment paper. Bake for 11-13 minutes, or until just set. Let cool on baking sheet for 5-10 minutes then transfer to cooling rack.

Ultimate Banana Bread

2011-04-08T10:34:00.000-04:00

Definitely a recipe to try if you like banana bread. At my house we like anything to do with bananas, so this recipe was a winner. Unlike most recipes which call for 2, 3 or 4 bananas, this recipe calls for 6!

I substituted canola oil for the butter it called for so that my husband could enjoy it too.

Ultimate Banana Bread
Recipe from Cooks Illustrated Magazine, August 2010 issue

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 large (about 2 1/4 pounds) very ripe bananas, peeled
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
2 large eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Adjust oven rack to middle position. Spray one 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Whisk flour, baking soda and salt together in a large bowl.

Transfer liquid to medium saucepan over medium heat until it’s reduced to approximately 1/4 cup. This should take about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat and stir in the drained bananas; mash with a potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in the melted butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Pour the banana mixture into the flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in the walnuts or pecans, if using. Pour the batter into the prepared bread pan.

Slice the remaining banana diagonally into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Shingle the banana sliced on top of both sides of the loaf, leaving 1 1/2-inch-wide space down the center to ensure even rising. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sugar evenly over the top of the loaf.

Bake 55 to 75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool bread in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove the loaf from the pan and continue to cool on the wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yield: 1 loaf

7 year old Prodigy?

2011-04-07T12:38:00.000-04:00

Okay, maybe not a prodigy, but I loved to cook as soon as I was able to.

This past weekend, I was "encouraged" to go through boxes of my stuff still at my Mom's and stepdad's attic and found an original clipping from the Hendersonville Times News when I was just 7. In the picture, I'm flipping a grilled cheese sandwich.

If you're not already cooking with your kids, I think you should start now. I certainly can't wait to share cooking with my little guy!

Chili, versatile chili...

2011-04-05T12:40:00.003-04:00

Like most people I know, we've been trying to stretch our money farther. I made a huge batch of chili the other weekend and had to switch it up several times throughout the week to make it new and exciting. I made a side of black beans too to add in for a few of the meals. One of my favorite variations was using the chili as enchilada sauce. I don't have a recipe to share, chili to me is all about tasting and adding, simmering and stirring. I couldn't even tell you what all's in there....

Roasted Garlic Mashed Sweet Potatoes

2011-03-08T10:19:00.000-05:00

Serves 4

Ingredients
4-5 medium sized sweet potatoes
4-5 garlic cloves
olive oil
salt
pepper
honey

Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Scrub the potatoes, prick them several times with a knife or fork, and bake them for 1 hour or until very soft when pierced with a knife. At the halfway mark for the potatoes, add the garlic (still in it's peel), a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper to a well-sealed foil packet in the oven. Roast garlic for about 25-30 minutes or until tender. Remove potatoes and garlic from the oven and scoop out the sweet potato insides as soon as they are cool enough to handle. Place the sweet potato meat into a bowl and add the roasted garlic (minus the peel), a bit of honey, olive oil, salt and pepper to taste. This also works nicely with a combo of butternut squash and sweet potato.

Airy Whole Wheat Bread

2011-03-04T10:30:00.001-05:00

Biga

2 cups (11 ounces) bread flour
1 cup (8 ounces) warm water (100-110 degrees)
1/2 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast

Soaker

3 cups (16 1/2 ounces) whole-wheat flour plus extra kneading
1/2 cup wheat germ
2 cups (16 ounces ) whole milk

Dough

1/4 cup honey
4 tsps. table salt
2 tablespoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Yield: 2 9x5 inch loaves.

1. Mix together the ingredients for the biga, cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temp for 8-24 hours. Mix together the soaker ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 8-24 hours.

2. 8-24 hours later in a stand mixer, combine soaker (torn into one inch pieces), biga and bread ingredients in stand mixer with dough hook. Mix on low for 1-2 minutes until mixture is combined, then knead on medium for 8-10 minutes until dough is elastic and smooth.

3. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Cover in an oiled bowl for 45 minutes at room temperature.

4. Fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 turns.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 45 more minutes.

5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, one oven rack should be at lowest level, and one in the middle of your oven. Cut the dough in half. On a floured work surface, gently press the first piece of dough into an 8-inch square that measures 1 inch thick. Starting with the side farthest away from you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 60-90 minutes.

6. Uncover with plastic wrap and with a serrated knife or razor blade make a 1/4 inch slit running the length of the loaf. This will ensure no tears form during baking. Place 2 cups of boiling water in an oven-safe pot or pan in the bottom rack of your oven. Drop the oven temperature to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes until internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. Loaves should be very dark brown.

Almond Joy Cake-Dairy and Gluten Free

2011-02-28T14:53:00.000-05:00

I ran across an interesting recipe last week and wanted to give it a try. It was called a Moroccan Coconut cake, and since it didn't have any dairy, my husband could enjoy it.

I've made some tweaks from the original. It was from a british blogger, so pull out your trusty scale!

Start by mixing 250g of dried coconut with 250ml orange juice together, letting the orange juice soak into the coconut for a good quarter of an hour. The coconut should have started to soften slightly. (I think whirring the coconut in the food processor would help suspend it easier in the egg foam. It would also make it easier to cut in the end).

Separate six eggs and add the yolks to the coconut, along with 300g of golden caster sugar and four tablespoons of sunflower oil. (Since I was using sweetened coconut, I cut this down to 1/4 cup of plain old white sugar. And, I used canola oil).

Beat the egg whites into stiff peaks, then gently fold them into the coconut mixture.

Pour the mixture into a well greased, non-stick cake tin and bake for forty-five minutes at 350F. (Please, for your sanity, add a parchment round to the bottom of the pan).

Let the cake cool a little and then turn it out, upside down, onto a plate.

A base of creamy egg will have formed on the bottom of the tin as the mixture has sunk and separated, and this base will end up on top of the turned-out cake.

My husband tried it and said, if you add almonds and a chocolate drizzle, this will taste just like an almond joy. So, of course that's what I did. Hope you enjoy it!

Recipes on "my list" to try

2011-02-18T13:48:00.000-05:00

Here's another pic of the Meyer lemon budino, the recipe can be found here. I keep a running folder of recipes that I'm planning to try. I did a quick survey and almost all of them are sweets. Check them out and let me know if there's one that you're interested in me testing on the blog.

Maple Pecan Sweet Potatoes
Lemony Almond Macaroons
Date Bars
Corn Pudding
Curried Crab Soup
Olive Oil Cake
Orange Chicken
Bacon Infused Vodka
Pumpkin Seed Brittle
Onion Marmalade

Meyer Lemon Budino

2011-02-14T12:42:00.000-05:00

Okay, for all you local folks, Meyer lemons are 10 for $2 at the EarthFare in W. Asheville. Get 'em while you can! I took one to my mom yesterday and she had just the recipe for me (and my hubby). I hate to say it out loud, but I didn't even miss the chocolate...

Here's how you make it:
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup fresh Meyer lemon juice
2 tablespoons fresh regular lemon juice
2 tablespoons finely grated Meyer lemon peel
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter six 3/4 cup custard cups or ramekins. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, egg yolks, flour, lemon juice, and lemon peel in large bowl; whisk until well blended. Whisk in milk.

Using electric mixer, beat egg whites and salt in medium bowl until frothy. Gradually add remaining 2 tablespoons sugar and beat until soft peaks form. Fold beaten egg whites into lemon mixture in 2 additions. Divide mixture among prepared custard cups. Place custard cups in roasting pan. Pour enough hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of custard cups. Bake puddings until tops are golden and spring back when lightly touched, about 30 minutes. Remove cups from water. Serve warm or cold with whipped cream, if desired.

Recipe is attributed to Craig Stoll, Chef & Co-owner of Delfina, San Francisco.

The CRUNCHIEST Oven Potatoes

2011-01-28T08:42:00.000-05:00

Posting this one for my dad. He keeps calling me for the recipe *sigh*. You know it's delicious when you keep getting calls about the recipe. It's yet another Cook's Illustrated dish. They suggest using Yukon Gold potatoes. I've had to use others in a pinch but those really are the best. Not too starchy and not too waxy.

With a baking sheet on the bottom rack, preheat your oven to 500 degrees. In the meantime, slice your potatoes (as many as will fit on your baking sheet) into one inch slices crosswise. Place potatoes in a pot and cover with water plus about an inch. Bring to a boil and simmer the potatoes for 5 minutes, or until a knife will just pierce the potato. They should just be par-boiled, not cooked through.

In a big bowl pour ~2 Tablespoons of olive oil and 1-2 teaspoons of kosher salt. Add the hot, drained potatoes and coat with the oil and salt. Cook's suggests using a rubber spatula for this, it really does the job. The surface of the potato needs to get roughed up from this process. This starchy/oily crust is what gets very crunchy in the oven. The more crust, the more crunch.

Place the potatoes on the smoking hot baking sheet in one layer. Bake for 15-20 minutes then flip. Bake for another 10-15 minutes.

Serve hot, or room temperature. I've done these for appetizers as well as a side dish. Substitute for oven fries with burgers, hot dogs, etc. Great with spicy ketchup or garlic, rosemary aioli!

Everyday Granola

2011-01-19T11:52:00.003-05:00

Such a great way to start your morning! Molly Wizenberg's basic granola is a terrific jumping off point, then you can start adding you own twist. I like to add almonds and wheat germ.

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
3 tablespoons (packed) brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup assorted dried fruit

Preparation
Preheat oven to 300°F. Line rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Mix first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Stir honey and oil in saucepan over medium-low heat until smooth. Pour honey mixture over oat mixture; toss. Spread on prepared sheet. Bake until golden, stirring every 10 minutes, about 40 minutes. Place sheet on rack. Stir granola; cool. Mix in fruit. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 week ahead. Store airtight.

Granny's Marinated Shrimp

2011-01-06T11:08:00.001-05:00

Yeah, I know, not a great picture (except for my little guy), but this is the best I've got. If you like shrimp you have to give this recipe a try. Briny, juicy shrimp with a kick of tabasco. Make it for your next party and I promise it will be gone QUICK!

Granny's Marinated Shrimp

2 1/2 lbs peeled and deveined shrimp

1/2 c celery tops

1/4 c mixed pickling spices

3 1/2 t salt

1 pt sliced onions (thin)

7 or 8 bay leaves

1 1/4 c vegetable oil

3/4 c white vinegar

2 1/2 T capers & juice

2 1/2 t celery seed

1 1/2 t salt

dash Tabasco sauce (or more)

Cover shrimp w/ boiling water. Add celery tops, pickling spices & salt. Bring to a boil. Cook until they are all pink - about 2 to 3 minutes. Drain, cool w/ cold water, and peel.

Alternate shrimp & sliced onions in shallow dish. Add bay leaves. Combine vegetable oil, vinegar, capers & juice, celery seed, salt & Tabasco. Mix well. Pour over shrimp & onions. Cover & store in refrigerator at least 24 hours for best flavor. Serve with Triscuits.

Christmas Eats

2011-01-04T16:28:00.001-05:00

For our starter... a butternut squash soup with pork belly garnish. Yum!

Traditional roast beef, with mashed potatoes, roasted brussel sprouts (not pictured gravy and rolls).

And finally, what finishes a delicious Christmas dinner? Trifle of course. It's a raspberry vanilla trifle. Here's the recipe for raspberry cake:

Raspberry Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt (1 ½ teaspoons if using kosher salt)

3 large eggs

1 cups vegetable oil

2 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 10 oz. package of frozen raspberries

1 lemon-juiced and zested

Preheat oven to 325*F. Grease two 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pans; set aside.
In medium bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
In mixing bowl beat the eggs, oil, sugar and vanilla together, mixing well. Stir in flour mixture until just mixed. Fold in frozen raspberries and lemon zest and spoon into prepared loaf pans.
Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tested done when wooden pick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in the pans before removing to cool on wire racks. Wrap tightly to store.

Makes 2 loaves.

American Sandwich Bread

2010-12-08T10:20:00.000-05:00

Another gorgeous bread recipe from Cook's Illustrated. This is their American Sandwich Bread made a little sweet from honey. It makes terrific sandwiches (as the name implies) and incredible toast for breakfast. I substituted olive oil for the butter with no ill effect. Doubling the recipe worked fine too.

Time: About 2 hours (lots of inactive time)

Yield: One 9-inch loaf

Ingredients

3 1/2 to 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the work surface
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup warm whole milk (about 110 degrees)
1/3 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons honey
1 envelope (about 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast (also called rapid rise)

Preparation

Adjust an oven rack to the lowest position and heat the oven to 200 degrees. Once the oven temperature reaches 200 degrees, maintain the heat for 10 minutes, then turn off the oven.

Mix 3 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the dough hook. Mix the milk, water, butter, honey, and yeast in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Turn the machine to low and slowly add the liquid. When the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough is smooth and satiny, stopping the machine two or three times to scrape dough from the hook, if necessary, about ten minutes. (After five minutes of kneading, if the dough is still sticking to the sides of the bowl, add the remaining flour, 1 tablespoon at a time and up to 1/4 cup total, until the dough is no longer sticky.) Turn the dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead to form a smooth, round ball, about 15 seconds.

Place the dough in a very lightly oiled large bowl, rubbing the dough around the bowl to coat lightly. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place in the warmed oven until the dough doubles in size, 40 to 50 minutes.

Gently press the dough into an 8-inch square that measures 1 inch thick. Starting with the side farthest away from you, roll the dough firmly into a cylinder, pressing with your fingers to make sure the dough sticks to itself. Turn the dough seam-side up and pinch it closed. Place the dough seam-side down in a greased 9 by 5-inch loaf pan and press it gently so it touches all four sides of the pan. Cover with plastic wrap; set aside in a warm spot until the dough almost doubles in size, 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Boil 2 cups of water and pour into a baking pan, and place it on the bottom rack. If possible, put the loaf on a rack above the baking pan of water (my oven is much too small to have a loaf of bread on anything but the bottom rack) otherwise put the two pans side by side. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted at an angle from the short end just above the pan rim into the center of the loaf reads 195 degrees, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the bread from the pan, transfer to a wire rack, and cool to room temperature.

Creamed Spinach Filo Cups

2010-11-30T13:43:00.000-05:00

I thought these would make a nice appetizer for our Thanksgiving meal. I made my version of creamed spinach with liberal amounts of red pepper flake then filled muffin tins lined with filo sheets and baked for 15-20 minutes. They turned out delicious!

Not the recipe I used, but similar:

Ingredients

3 lb baby spinach
1 1/4 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1 small onion, finely chopped
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Preparation

Cook spinach in 2 batches in 1 inch of boiling salted water in an 8-quart pot, stirring constantly, until wilted, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold running water until cool. Squeeze small handfuls of spinach to remove as much moisture as possible, then coarsely chop.

Heat milk and cream in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until warm. Meanwhile, cook onion in butter in a 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 4 minutes. Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, 3 minutes. Add warm milk mixture in a fast stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking, until thickened, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in nutmeg, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until heated through.

Courtesy of Epicurious

Paula Dean's Chocolate Chip Ooey Gooey Cake

2010-11-19T15:17:00.000-05:00

It's been a while, but I've been thinking about this ooey gooey cake that my mom made. Here's the recipe. Make it at your own risk...

Ooey Gooey Cake
Cake
1 (18.25-ounce) box yellow cake mix
1 egg
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Filling :
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 (16-ounce) box confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioners' sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well.

Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Sprinkle 1 cup chocolate chips and 1 cup chopped nuts on top of filling. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't be afraid to make a judgment call on the cooking time, because oven temperatures can vary. You want the center to be a little gooey.

Kamut & Chickpea Salad

2010-11-12T10:13:00.000-05:00

A really filling and delicious salad that would pair nicely with all sorts of proteins. It's also perfect for a picnic since it doesn't need to be refrigerated. The original recipe can be found at this link.

Kamut & Chickpea Salad
1 to 1 1/2 cups cooked Kamut berries
2 cups cooked chickpeas
2 roasted red peppers drained
1/2 small onion, minced
1/4 cup minced parsley
Dressing Recipe (see recipe below)
In a small bowl, prepare the Dressing.
Mix all the salad ingredients together with dressing, to taste, in a bowl. Best if marinated for about an hour before serving. It gets better the longer it sits!

Dressing Recipe
5 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 or 3 minced cloves of minced garlic
Salt and pepper
Fresh Herbs, (your choice)
Blend together the lemon juice, olive oil, Dijon-style mustard, garlic, salt, pepper, and fresh herb.

Oatmeal Bread

2010-10-28T12:28:00.000-04:00

Alton Brown featured this on a recent episode of Good Eats. Since I'm on a bread-baking kick I thought I'd give it a try. I didn't have agave nectar so I substituted maple syrup. I'm sure honey would also work well. Next time I make this recipe I plan to double it. I think it needs a bit more salt, so I'm going to bump it up to 1 & 1/2 teaspoons of kosher salt. I'll let you know how it turns out. Overall though, it makes delicious sandwich bread!

Here's the recipe:

Ingredients

1 package active dry yeast
11 ounces bread flour, plus extra for kneading
1/4 cup toasted uncooked old fashioned rolled oats, plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 ounces leftover, cooked old fashioned rolled oats, at room temperature
1/4 cup warm water
2 tablespoons agave syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for bowl and pan
1 large egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Directions

Combine the yeast, bread flour, 1/4 cup toasted, uncooked oats, and the salt in a small mixing bowl and set aside.

Combine the leftover cooked oatmeal, warm water, agave syrup, and 1 tablespoon of oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the dry mixture to the cooked oatmeal mixture in 3 installments and mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon after each addition.

Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead by hand for 10 minutes, incorporating more flour, if needed. Dough will be sticky. Put the dough in a lightly oiled bowl or container. Cover with plastic wrap and set in a warm place to rise until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Punch down the dough, shape it into a loaf, and put it into a lightly oiled 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the egg yolk and water in a small bowl. Lightly brush the top of the loaf with egg wash and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon toasted, uncooked oats. Bake until the bread reaches an internal temperature registers 210 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 55 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the loaf from the pan to a cooling rack for 30 minutes before slicing and serving.

Chicken Enchiladas

2010-10-27T12:03:00.000-04:00

We harvested our last big batch of tomatoes a few weeks ago and I figured enchilada sauce would be a good use for them. I sweated a few onions, added garlic, jalapenos, herbs and spices and then blended it all together for a smooth enchilada sauce.

The finished product, garnished with a bit of cilantro. Enchiladas are a great use for leftover veggies. Just mix the filling together, roll in tortillas and douse in your sauce. Pop it all in the oven until warmed throughout.

The filling consisted of a couple sauteed onions, thawed, frozen spinach, red peppers, cayenne peppers and rotisserie chicken from the grocery store. You could easily add some shredded cheese to the mix. Make sure to taste the mixture for seasoning before you fill the tortillas!

Egg-in-the-Hole-in-the-Toast

2010-10-25T14:25:00.000-04:00

Also known as Egg in the Basket, Egg in the Hole, etc. It's a delicious breakfast, lunch or dinner. Here's a link to a recipe. If I'm making it for my husband I substitute olive oil for the butter. You can also fry the eggs hard and use two of the Egg-in-the-Hole-in-the-Toasts as the bread for a delicious sandwich.

Meatfest 2010

2010-10-21T14:14:00.000-04:00

Meatfest 2010 was a big success. Almost 50 lbs of meat (pork, turkey and chicken) was smoked. The photo above is a sampling of meats and sides.

The smoking rig. On the right is a fire pit with a hearth on one side and fire on the other. In order to keep the smoke in, old metal roofing and towels were used. On the left is our new wood-fired oven with a makeshift smoker box on top. The box sits on the chimney opening of the wood-fired oven and allows smoke to travel from one side to the other smoking whatever is inside.

Pork butts (3) and bone in turkey breasts. The butts smoked for 13 hours, the breasts for around 8.

Pitas from a Wood-Fired Oven

2010-10-08T09:40:00.001-04:00

I never knew how much better homemade pitas were than store bought. They're pretty easy and when you cook them in a wood-fired oven, they get a smoky char that's outrageously delicious. I know everyone doesn't have a wood-fired oven in their backyard like we do (thanks dad)! But, they'll be delicious cooked in the oven too...

This recipe is from seriouseats.com

Pita Bread
Makes 8 breads 1 cup warm water (not hot or boiling)
2 teaspoons active dry or instant yeast
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
1-2 teaspoons olive oil (optional)

Mix the water and yeast together and let sit for about five minutes until the yeast is dissolved. Add 2 1/2 cups of the flour (saving the last half cup for kneading), salt, and olive oil. Stir until a shaggy dough is formed.

Sprinkle a little of the extra flour onto your clean work surface and turn out the dough. Knead the dough for about 10 minutes total, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add more flour as needed to keep the dough from sticking to your hands or the work surface, but try to be sparing. It's better to use too little flour than too much. If you get tired, stop and let the dough rest for a few minutes before finishing kneading.

Clean the bowl you used to mix the dough and film it with a little olive oil. Set the dough in the bowl and turn it until it's coated with oil. Cover with a clean dishcloth or plastic wrap and let the dough rise until it's doubled in bulk, 1 - 2 hours.

Pre-heat the oven to 450°. If you have a baking stone, put it in the oven to heat. If you don't have a baking stone, place a large baking sheet on the middle rack to heat.

Gently deflate the dough and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces and gently flatten each piece with your hand. Sprinkle the pieces with a little more flour and then cover them with a kitchen towel or plastic wrap wrap until you're ready to bake them.

Using a floured rolling pin, roll one of the pieces into a circle 8-9 inches wide and about a quarter inch thick. Make sure the dough isn't sticking to your counter and sprinkle both the dough and the counter with a little flour if it is. Roll out as many pitas as will fit in your oven at once.

Place the rolled-out pitas directly on the baking stone or baking sheets and bake for about 3 minutes. We find it most effective to lay the pita flat on the palm of our hand and then flip it over onto the baking stone. The pita will start to puff up and is done when it has fully ballooned.

If your first pitas don't balloon, don't worry! Pitas are a bit like crepes in that the first few don't always work. Un-ballooned pitas are still delicious and can be folded in half to create a pouch for fillings.

Pita is a great make-ahead bread. You can prepare the dough through the first rise, punch it down, and then keep it refrigerated for up to a week. The flavor will actually improve! You can bake the whole batch at once or cut off just what you need to make one or two flatbreads at a time. When you're ready to bake, cut the dough into portions, flatten them slightly, and let them come up to room temperature before baking.

You can also easily make a double batch of dough if you need more pitas. All the ingredients can simply be doubled, but increase the yeast and the salt to just one tablespoon each.

Perfect Focaccia

2010-09-22T08:40:00.000-04:00

Another terrific Cook's recipe. It takes a bit of patience, but the end reward is terrific. The recipe below is for focaccia with caramelized onions, pancetta and oregano. I did the original recipe with just some chopped rosemary, but this recipe is next on my list.

Makes two 9-inch round loaves. Published September 1, 2010. From Cook's Illustrated.

To substitute table salt for the kosher salt, halve the amounts called for in the recipe. If you don’t have a baking stone, bake the bread on an overturned, preheated rimmed baking sheet set on the upper middle oven rack. The focaccia is best eaten immediately, but can be kept for up to 2 days well-wrapped at room temperature. The bread will keep frozen for up to a week wrapped in foil and placed in a large zipper-lock bag.

Biga
1/2	cup (2 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3	cup (2 2/3 ounces) warm water (100-110 degrees F)
1/4	teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
Dough
2 1/2	cups (12 1/2 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour , plus extra for shaping
1 1/4	cups (10 ounces) warm water (100-110 degrees F)
1	teaspoon instant or rapid-rise yeast
	Kosher salt
4	ounces pancetta , chopped fine
1	medium red onion , chopped medium
2	tablespoons water
2	teaspoons chopped fresh oregano leaves
4	tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Instructions

FOR THE BIGA: Combine flour, water, and yeast in large bowl and stir with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature (about 70 degrees) overnight (at least 8 hours and up to 24 hours.) Use immediately or store in refrigerator for up to 3 days (allow to stand at room temperature 30 minutes before proceeding with recipe.)
FOR THE DOUGH: Stir flour, water, and yeast into biga with wooden spoon until uniform mass forms and no dry flour remains, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 15 minutes.
Sprinkle 2 teaspoons salt over dough; stir into dough until thoroughly incorporated, about 1 minute. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature for 30 minutes. Spray rubber spatula or bowl scraper with nonstick cooking spray; fold partially risen dough over itself by gently lifting and folding edge of dough toward middle. Turn bowl 90 degrees; fold again. Turn bowl and fold dough 6 more times (total of 8 turns.) Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 minutes. Repeat stretching, folding, and rising 2 more times, for total of 1 hour.
Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position, place baking stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Cook pancetta in 12-inch skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until most of fat has rendered, about 10 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer pancetta to paper towel¬-lined plate. Return skillet to medium heat, add onion and water; cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft and beginning to brown, about 12 minutes. Remove pan from heat and set aside.
Transfer dough to lightly floured counter, being careful not to deflate completely. Lightly dust top of dough with flour and divide in half. Gently shape each piece of dough into 5-inch round by gently tucking edges underneath themselves. Coat two 9-inch round cake pans with 2 tablespoons olive oil each. Sprinkle each pan with ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Place round of dough in pan, top side down, slide dough around pan to coat bottom and sides, then flip over. Repeat with second piece of dough. Cover pans with plastic wrap and let rest 5 minutes.
Using fingertips, press dough out toward edges of pan, taking care not to tear it. (If dough resists stretching, let it relax for 5 to 10 minutes before trying to stretch again.) Using dinner fork, poke entire surface of dough 25-30 times. If any large bubbles remain on surface or sides of dough, pop with fork to deflate. Sprinkle pancetta, onions, and oregano evenly over top of dough. Let dough rest in pan until slightly bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes.
Place pans on baking stone and lower oven temperature to 450 degrees. Bake until tops are golden brown, 25 to 28 minutes, switching position of pans halfway through baking. Transfer pans to wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove loaves from pan, return to wire rack, and brush tops with any oil remaining in pan. Let cool 30 minutes before serving.

Chicken Mole Tacos

2010-09-21T12:57:00.000-04:00

Yes, it's not a traditional use for tacos, but this mole that my husband made was a terrific use for leftovers. I added the warmed mole sauce to shredded rotisserie chicken, made a quick salsa and topped each one with toasted pepitas. It made for an easy and quick Saturday night meal!

Red Pepper Salsa
Toss together diced tomatoes, diced red pepper, diced onion or green onion, the juice of one lime, a dash of chipotle powder or hot sauce if you prefer, chopped cilantro and salt to taste.

Meatloaf Sandwich

2010-09-14T12:40:00.001-04:00

Homemade meatloaf on homemade ciabatta bread...

I never measure ingredients when I'm making meatloaf, but usually use:
ground beef and/or pork, turkey
sauteed onions and garlic
bread crumbs soaked in milk
herbs and spices
ketchup and worcestershire sauce

The ciabatta was a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I've already posted.

Ciabatta

2010-08-17T13:52:00.000-04:00

Decided to try another Cook's Illustrated recipe. This was from there show America's Test Kitchen on PBS. It takes a bit of time for risings, etc. but the end result is well worth it!

Bega (bread starter)
5 oz. AP flour
1/8 teaspoon rapid rise or instant yeast
1/2 c. room temp water

stir mixture together in small bowl and cover with plastic wrap, set aside for 8-24 hours

Ciabatta
2 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon yeast (same as above)
1 and 1/2 teaspoon table salt
6 oz. water
2 oz. milk

In the mixing bowl of your stand mixer add bega, and ingredient list from above. On low speed w/ paddle attachment, mix for 1 minute. Scrape down sides of bowl, then mix on medium speed until mixture starts to pull away from sides of the bowl, approximately 4 minutes. Switch to dough hook attachment and mix on medium speed for 10 minutes. Transfer mixture to a oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rest for approximately 1 hour, or until it doubles in size.

With an oiled spatula, gently fold the sides of dough onto one another 8 times, let rest for 30 minutes. Repeat, and let rest another 30 minutes.

Cut out two 12 by 6 inch rectangles of parchment paper. Cut dough into 2 equal parts. Using a well-floured surface gently work the first piece of dough into a rectangle that fills the parchment paper. Repeat with second dough. Transfer to paper. Flour surface of dough and cover lightly with plastic. Let rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven and pizza stone to 450 degrees. Gently fold both "loaves" one side into the middle then the other side into the middle, like a business letter. Cover and leave for another 30 minutes.

Spray loaves with a bit of water and place loaves on preheated pizza stone. Spray again twice during the first 5 minutes of cooking. Cook time is typically between 22-27 minutes. Internal temp should reach 210.

Retyping these instructions made me realize how precise Cook's recipes are, but they really are worth trying. This bread turned out terrifically.

Braised Chicken

2010-08-12T08:56:00.000-04:00

I can't take credit for this dinner. My husband pureed roasted red peppers, canned tomatoes, garlic, paprika, paprika paste and tomato paste and braised the chicken thighs at 350 for an hour & 15 minutes. They were deliciously savory and tender. He served them with sauteed fresh corn and oregano, and mashed sweet potatoes.

Homemade Carnitas

2010-08-06T09:04:00.004-04:00

Yum, yum and yum. I read about this somewhat waist-friendly carnitas recipe on seriouseats.com. I made them the night before so they were ready in a flash, just broil to crisp them up. Serve them up on tacos, or like I did with rice and black beans and a little mango-cilantro salsa (the salsa didn't make it into the picture).

Here's the recipe, slightly modified by me:

Ingredients

1 medium onion
3 pounds boneless pork butt (shoulder), rind removed, cut into 2-inch cubes
Kosher salt
1 orange
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1 cinnamon stick, broken into three or four pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Procedures

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 275 degrees. Split onion into quarters. Set aside. Season pork chunks with 1 tablespoon of kosher salt (cut in half if using table salt) and place in a 9 by 13 glass casserole dish. The pork should fill the dish with no spaces. Split orange into quarters and squeeze juice over pork. Nestle squeezed orange pieces into casserole. Add onion quarters, 4 cloves garlic, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick to casserole. Nestle everything into an even layer. Pour vegetable oil over surface. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook until pork is fork tender, about 3 1/2 hours.

2. Using tongs, remove orange peel, onion, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves from pork. Strain the liquid from the pork. Once defatted, you can use the liquid as a base for a sauce. Transfer pork back to casserole. Shred pork into large chunks with fingers or two forks. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

3. Broil until brown and crisp on surface, about 6 minutes. Stir to expose new bits to heat, and broil again for 6 more minutes or until crisp.

Lamb Kebabs

2010-08-02T15:14:00.000-04:00

We had really nice ground lamb from a local farm, so I decided to make lamb kebabs. I seasoned the meat with finely diced onion, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, thyme and sage and formed them into long thin "patties". I cooked them under the broiler until they were crisped and golden on the outside and cooked throughout. I served the kebabs with a variation on tzatziki with zucchini instead of cucumber, and mayo instead of greek yogurt (since my husband is lactose intolerant). It turned out nicely & complimented the meat well. I also made a little tomato salad and pan roasted potatoes with onion.

Fresh Corn Soup with Chipotle

2010-07-29T10:19:00.000-04:00

Saw this recipe in Bon Appetit's email newsletter. They said to serve it cold, but I decided it would be just as delicious hot so I skipped the chilling step. I also couldn't find chipotle in adobo at the "fancy" grocery store last night so I just used my chipotle Cholula instead. Absolutely delicious meal and on the table in about 15 minutes. Can't beat that!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 cup chopped sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Maui)
3 cups fresh corn kernels (cut from about 3 ears of corn)
2 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, divided
1 cup (or more) water

1 teaspoon adobo sauce from canned chipotle chiles
Fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in heavy large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until soft, about 4 minutes. Add corn kernels, broth, and 1 tablespoon lime juice; bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until corn is just tender, about 3 minutes. Working in batches, puree soup in blender until almost smooth. Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon lime juice and 1 cup water (or more as needed to thin soup to desired consistency). Season corn soup to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer soup to large bowl; cover and refrigerate until chilled, about 2 hours or overnight.
Meanwhile, whisk remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil and adobo sauce in small bowl to blend. Divide chilled corn soup among 4 bowls. Drizzle soup with adobo oil, then garnish with cilantro and serve.

Turkey Frikadellen

2010-07-28T10:25:00.000-04:00

My husband made these delicious turkey frikadellen the other night. I was taking care of our son, so I didn't follow his every move, but he based his recipe on the one below. He substituted ground turkey for the half pork, half beef that they suggest in the recipe.

Ingredients:

1 c. chopped onion (about 1/2 of a large onion)
1 tsp. oil
1 day-old roll (about 2 oz.), softened in hot milk or water and squeezed dry.
1 lb. ground meat (half and half; pork and beef)
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper
3 T. chopped, fresh parsley or 1 T. dried parsley
1 T. chopped, fresh marjoram or 1 tsp. dried marjoram
1 T. butter
1 T. olive oil

Preparation:

Place chopped onion in a small bowl, drizzle with 1 teaspoon oil, cover with plastic wrap and microwave on high 2-3 minutes, or until translucent. Cool slightly.

Break softened roll into little pieces in a bowl, add meat and the rest of the ingredients and the cooked onion and mix well.

Heat butter and olive oil together in a frying pan. Form 4 patties and fry over medium high heat until browned on both sides. Place the patties on a baking sheet and place in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes, or until done.

My husband served the frikadellen alongside some rice with lemons and a salad.

NC Shrimp Dinner

2010-07-26T11:17:00.000-04:00

We always used to joke growing up that my mom used more pounds of garlic in a year than potatoes... That's definitely not true at my house, but I LOVE garlic just as much as my mom does. I used some garlic and lemon juice for some simply sauteed NC shrimp. Perfect for an easy weeknight meal. Add a salad with homegrown tomatoes and some focaccia from our friends bakery, Creme and we were all set.

Holding my breath for the tomotoes

2010-07-15T12:42:00.000-04:00

We usually are swimming in tomatoes by the end of the summer. I do start to get sick of them eventually, but right now I can't wait for them to come pouring in. I have so many favorite recipes and of course, they're delicious with just a little salt!

Here of some of my favorite past blog posts using tomatoes:

Basil & Tomato Chicken Salad
Creamy Tomato Soup
Gazpacho
Panzanella with Bacon

Crusted Pork Loin

2010-07-12T11:38:00.000-04:00

Made a nice little coriander crusted pork loin for dinner last night. Crushed some coriander seeds in my big mortar then mixed in fresh bread crumbs and pan seared them.

My husband suggested the sauce which was caramelized onions with applesauce and a hint of barbecue sauce. It turned out delicious. Had it with a salad and crusty bread.

Udon with turkey, edamame and zucchini

2010-07-06T09:20:00.000-04:00

Our local Asian food market has "fresh" frozen udon noodles for sale. I sauteed ground turkey, shallots, garlic, ginger, hot peppers, zucchini, and blanched edamame to add to the noodles. I made a quick sauce out of fish sauce, tamari and honey to dress the dish. It turned out beautifully. The noodles are ready in a flash (2 minutes) and they have a great tooth to them. The perfect pairing for the lean turkey and green veges.

Chicken with 40 Cloves Redux

2010-06-28T13:35:00.000-04:00

I end up making this recipe once or twice a year, and have posted about it before, but I added a new ingredient that was worth sharing. Lemon juice and zest added a welcome acidity to this super moist chicken dish. My husband, after trying the chicken last night, said that from now on I couldn't make this recipe without it. Here's the link to Alton Brown's recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/40-cloves-and-a-chicken-recipe/index.html. To the garlic, thyme and olive oil add the zest of one lemon, I just used a peeler and added big strips and the juice of the same lemon. The other change I made was to reduce the amount of olive oil. I juiced the lemon into my liquid measuring cup and then added the olive oil to make the 1/2 cup that the recipe called for. I also browned the chicken in just 1 Tbs versus the 2 that it called for.

I served the meal with sauteed snow peas and orange bell pepper and some crusty bread. I hope some of get to try this delicious recipe!

Sweet Potato, Mushroom & Bacon Frittata

2010-06-23T11:00:00.000-04:00

We've been trying to cook one night a week using eggs as our main protein. Eggs are such delicious and inexpensive protein. This was just your basic frittata with sweet potatoes, mushrooms, bacon, herbs and caramelized onions.

Moist Chocolate & Walnut Brownies

2010-06-22T09:41:00.000-04:00

These are super simple and delicious brownies. I served them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and raspberries fresh from our backyard.

Moist Chocolate & Walnut Brownies

2 cups sugar
1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup baking cocoa
1 teaspoon salt
5 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup of walnuts
1/2 cup of bittersweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, mix the first seven ingredients. Fold in the chocolate chips and walnuts. Pour into a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. I suggest lining the pan with foil then greasing the foil for easy removal from the pan.
Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack.

Crispy Potato Cakes

2010-06-16T16:17:00.000-04:00

This recipe was on the Food Network the other day and I decided to try it out. It's essentially a big, slice-able potato pancake, but it makes for a nice presentation. It worked equally well for dinner with steaks on the grill sprinkled with thyme as it did for breakfast with eggs and bacon. It's a synch to make too.

Adapted from Melissa D'Arabian's recipe

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
3-4 large russet potatoes, peeled and grated
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley leaves

Directions

In a nonstick 12-inch saute pan, heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium heat. Press grated potato into pan. Season with salt and pepper. Let cook undisturbed until crisp on bottom, 8 to 10 minutes. Gently flip onto a plate and then slide other side into pan to cook (add 2nd tablespoon of olive oil while potato cake is still on the plate. Salt and pepper second side. Cook another 5 to 10 minutes, until potato cake is cooked through and nicely browned. Cut into wedges, sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Whole Herbed Grilled Chicken

2010-06-14T10:59:00.001-04:00

This an easy meal that impresses almost any guest.

1 roasting/fryer chicken 3-5 lbs
6 cloves of garlic
big handful of herbs (I used rosemary, oregano, basil and parsley)
1 Tbs kosher salt
1/2 Tbs cracked black pepper
4 Tbs olive oil

In a food processor/mini prep add last five ingredients. Puree to combine. Rinse chicken in cold water and pat dry. With kitchen shears remove the spine from the chicken (save for stock). Make a small cut into the keel bone then splay the bird out flat. With clean finger loosen the chicken skin from the flesh, then add the garlic herb paste under the skin. There should be additional paste leftover, massage it onto the outside of the bird being careful not to dislodge the paste under the skin. Allow the bird to marinate for 1/2 hour or up to 6. 30 minutes before you are ready to cook start your charcoals (or preheat your gas grill). Once ready, cook chicken on indirect heat (coals on either side of center, or your left and right burner on medium while your middle burner is off), by putting the flesh side down. Cook for 30 minutes, then flip to skin side for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 15-20 minutes before cutting and serving.

I served the chicken with sauteed zucchini and a green salad.

Quick Chicken Stir Fry

2010-06-08T11:56:00.001-04:00

This is an adaptation of Nigel Slater's recipe for your basic stir-fry. I adapted it adding chicken thighs, orange bell pepper and sugar snaps. I finished it off with some toasted sesame seeds and served it over rice.

Quick Chicken Stir-fry

(serves 2)

2 boneless skinless chicken thighs cut into bite-size pieces
225g mushrooms, cut into bite-size pieces
225g bell pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
handful of sugar snaps

3 tbsp groundnut oil

4 spring onions, chopped

2 large cloves of garlic, sliced

225g broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces

2 tbsp light soy sauce

2 tbsp rice wine or dry sherry

Heat the oil in a wok. Add the spring onions and cook till they wilt and turn dark green, a minute or so. Add the garlic and cook until golden brown. I added about an inch of grated fresh ginger too. After 30 seconds or so add in the chicken thighs until just cooked through, about 4-5 minutes depending on the thickness that you cut them.

Stir in the broccoli and bell pepper and fry for 2 minutes, stirring continuously, till it turns vivid green. Add the mushrooms and sugar snaps and a bit more oil, if needed. Fry for 2 minutes, then add the soy sauce and rice wine or sherry. Fry for a minute or two till the vegetables are just tender. Serve over rice and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

Easy Corned Beef

2010-06-03T09:12:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting. I was busy becoming a mom. The end of March, my husband and I welcomed a beautiful baby boy to our family! We're still cooking up a storm at our household, but they tend to be easier recipes...

This was a meal we had back in April (actually prepared by my mom). It's a delicious and easy way to prepare corned beef so I thought I'd share. Served with the corned beef were asparagus in a lemon vinaigrette and roasted vegetables.

Easy Corned Beef

Follow the package instructions on preparing corned beef from a store-bought brisket. They're especially easy to prepare in your slow cooker. Once cooked, preheat oven to 375, and mix equal parts yellow mustard with brown sugar. Smear glaze over top of corned beef and place in oven until glaze is starting to bubble (and corned beef is sufficiently warm). Slice and serve.

Recipes I'm dying to try but haven't yet

2010-02-17T14:38:00.000-05:00

I end up saving recipes in an email folder that I plan to try at one time or another. The file keeps growing, and I have tried some of them, but here are a few that I need to try soon. Just as a reminder, my husband is lactose intolerant, so I'm always collecting things that he can eat!

This is a recent one pulled from seriouseats.com

Three-Ingredient Banana, Honey, and Peanut Butter Ice Cream

- serves 1 -
Adapted from The Kitchn.

Ingredients

1 large, slightly over-ripe banana
1 teaspoon peanut butter
1 teaspoon honey

Procedure

Peel banana. Slice it into about ten chunks. Freeze the chunks. Once frozen, put them in a food processor with peanut butter and honey. Puree until creamy, like soft serve ice cream, stopping the processor to scrape the sides when necessary.

Not sure where this one originated, but it looks delicious:

Olive Oil Brownies

4 ounces (115g) finest quality bittersweet chocolate (at least 70% cocoa), chopped
1/3 cup (80ml) fruity extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup (70g) all-purpose/plain flour (Faith prefers using a soft flour like Italian type 00 or White Lily; if you go this route add an extra tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (150g) superfine/caster sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (70g) lightly toasted hazelnuts, chopped (Faith uses walnuts)
whipped cream, for serving (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350F/175C. Line an 8-inch (20cm) square baking pan with a lightly oiled and floured piece of parchment paper that overhangs the pan on two sides (this aids in removal later).
Melt the chocolate over low heat on the stovetop or in the microwave and whisk in the oil. Let cool.
Mix the flour and salt together in a small bowl. In a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar until pale, thickened and billowy, about five minutes. Fold in the vanilla and the cooled chocolate mixture, then fold in the flour and optional nuts, stirring just until everything is combined. Pour into the prepared pan and distribute evenly.
Bake for 22-26 minutes (note from the Traveler's Lunchbox: I would recommend checking earlier to avoid over-baking - mine were just on the verge after 22 minutes). The top will be dry and crackly, though a toothpick inserted in the center should emerge still a little wet. Cool completely, then cut into squares. Serve with whipped cream, if desired.

I seem to be on a sweets kick, so here's one more for us to try:

Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Ingredients

Makes 24

1/3 cup honey
1/4 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup crisp rice cereal
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
1/4 cup dried fruit

Directions

In a small saucepan over medium, heat honey, peanut butter, and butter. Stir until loosened and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cereal, oats, and dried fruit.
Drop mixture by the tablespoon into mini paper cupcake or candy liners. Place on a rimmed baking sheet, and refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes. To store, refrigerate in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Valentine's Dinner

2010-02-15T09:36:00.000-05:00

You really couldn't pay me to go out to dinner on Valentine's day. My husband and I can go get something fantastic from the grocery store and whip up an amazing meal for 1/10th of the cost to go out.

We both had a hankering for lamb this Valentine's Day and Earth Fare had some very pretty free-range, organic lamb chops. I kept the flavorings very traditional by marinating them with olive oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper. I seared them on a grill pan until medium rare and then let them rest. For accompaniments I did one of my favorite go-to Cooks Illustrated recipe of roasted broccoli and grilled off some bread for a little starch.

The broccoli recipe works just as well for green beans and many other veges. Don't be afraid to let them get dark, they aren't burnt, they're caramelized! Here's the recipe (simplified and modified by me):

Preheat a half sheet pan to 500 degrees. While pan is heating prepare veges (I used 2 heads of medium sized broccoli, florets and peeled stalk, and half of a container of button mushrooms) and set aside. In large mixing bowl add 2-3 cloves chopped garlic, 3 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 4-5 Tablespoons olive oil. Toss veges in the vinaigrette. Once pan is heated, put the veges on the pan and roast for 15-20 minutes moving the veges once with a spatula. I tend to drop the heat to 450 after 10 minutes. You will get some smoke coming from your oven, so I don't recommend it when you have guests over, but it's absolutely delicious anyway. You could always do the recipe ahead of time and reheat, or use the veges for a pasta salad.

Weekend in Charleston

2010-02-01T10:04:00.001-05:00

My Mom took my sister and I to Charleston, SC for the weekend for a little get-away. We had wonderful food while we were there. Here are the highlights (click on the photos to enlarge them):

We started our restaurant tour with Fish on King Street Friday night. The photo is of there house bread, it's essentially a doughnut with soy-chili dipping sauce. Very tasty.

My mom, sister and I went the multi-appetizer route. This was my starter of dim sum (from left to right: shrimp spring roll, fried tofu, duck confit steamed bun, and crab wanton).

Mom's crab cakes. They were a real stand-out, perfectly cooked and nicely seasoned.

This soup, the Curried Crab Soup, (my sister's choice) was the best thing we had at Fish. It was spicy, complex and very delicious!

Sorry for the poor photograph. I shut off my flash for all of the photos so as not to disturb my fellow diners... This was my second appetizer the cheese plate. It was served with crusty bread & a fruit compote. From left to right the cheeses were a port salut fondue, a goat cheese spring roll, and a hard cheese that reminded me of an aged gouda (but I can't recall the name).

Mom's second choice, the fried calamari with sweet chili sauce. They were nice & crunchy and well-seasoned.

My sister's second choice, the duck confit croque madam. It was decadent and delicious, but really needed the citrus salad that came with it!

For dessert, the ginger lime cheesecake creme caramel (yes, really)! Delicious, although the cookie crust was a little tough.
Mom's dessert: king cake, an almond puff pastry dessert. Our server told us if we got the whole almond we "won". We did find the almond and received glasses of champagne and the dessert on the house.

My sister's dessert: warm banana cake with peanut butter & honey yogurt sorbet. Yummy, but the yogurt sorbet was a little too tangy.

For our Saturday meals we had brunch at Hominy Grill. It's always a delicious choice. We had the regular breakfast fare (and some off the beaten path) eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, grits, she-crab soup, & a fried green tomato sandwich.

For Saturday dinner we ate at Peninsula Grill. It was a lovely meal with lots of great seafood and impeccable service. The standouts were the lobster and corn chowder, the seafood special which was a pan-seared sheepshead fish, and all of the desserts (coconut cake, chocolate extravaganza and the ginger creme brulee).

For Sunday brunch we ate at the Boathouse at Breach Inlet on Isle of Palms. The boathouse eggs benedict substitutes crab cakes for canadian bacon. Yum!

Thanksgiving Turkey in January

2010-01-29T08:19:00.000-05:00

We ate Thanksgiving at my Mom's house this past year, but we still had our free turkey in the freezer from our grocery store. I figured January was long enough to wait to eat it...

I used Alton Brown's recipe and highly recommend it. It is definitely worth having a probe thermometer, ours went on the fritz and it resulted in slightly dried out breast meat. Thankfully, the flavor was still nice from the brining and aromatics.

Ingredients

1 (14 to 16 pound) frozen young turkey

For the brine:

1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
1 1/2 teaspoons allspice berries
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped candied ginger
1 gallon heavily iced water

For the aromatics:

1 red apple, sliced
1/2 onion, sliced
1 cinnamon stick
1 cup water
4 sprigs rosemary
6 leaves sage
Canola oil

Directions

2 to 3 days before roasting:

Begin thawing the turkey in the refrigerator or in a cooler kept at 38 degrees F.

Combine the vegetable stock, salt, brown sugar, peppercorns, allspice berries, and candied ginger in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Stir occasionally to dissolve solids and bring to a boil. Then remove the brine from the heat, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate.

Early on the day or the night before you'd like to eat:

Combine the brine, water and ice in the 5-gallon bucket. Place the thawed turkey (with innards removed) breast side down in brine. If necessary, weigh down the bird to ensure it is fully immersed, cover, and refrigerate or set in cool area for 8 to 16 hours, turning the bird once half way through brining.

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Remove the bird from brine and rinse inside and out with cold water. Discard the brine.

Place the bird on roasting rack inside a half sheet pan and pat dry with paper towels.

Combine the apple, onion, cinnamon stick, and 1 cup of water in a microwave safe dish and microwave on high for 5 minutes. Add steeped aromatics to the turkey's cavity along with the rosemary and sage. Tuck the wings underneath the bird and coat the skin liberally with canola oil.

Roast the turkey on lowest level of the oven at 500 degrees F for 30 minutes. Insert a probe thermometer into thickest part of the breast and reduce the oven temperature to 350 degrees F. Set the thermometer alarm (if available) to 161 degrees F. A 14 to 16 pound bird should require a total of 2 to 2 1/2 hours of roasting. Let the turkey rest, loosely covered with foil or a large mixing bowl for 15 minutes before carving.

Salted Peanut Butter Cookies

2010-01-25T14:10:00.000-05:00

I posted the recipe for these cookies last May, but I've made some alterations to the recipe plus I've played around with the add-ins. Thought these could use a re-visit since they are so delicious!

Ingredients:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
1/4 cup of granulated sugar
1/2 cup of brown sugar (packed)
1 egg
2 Tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of fine sea salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder

Add ins:
chopped dark chocolate or chocolate chips
cup of walnuts
dried cherries
dried apricots
toasted coconut
toasted almonds

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl mix the flour, salt and baking powder and set aside. In a medium bowl combine the peanut butter and sugars until smooth, then add the egg until combined (whisk the egg before you add it). Add the dry ingredients to the wet and combine thoroughly. At this point you can mix in the add-ins. My favorite combinations are 1/2 cup of chopped dark chocolate and 1/2 cup of walnuts. I just tried 1/2 cup of toasted coconut, 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of toasted & sliced almonds. And, over the holidays I tried 1/2 cup of dried cherries & 1/2 cup of chopped dried apricots, the cookies tasted like a peanut butter & jelly sandwich!

Roll golf ball-sized balls of the cookie dough and place them on the cookie sheet, that's been covered with parchment paper. Bake for 13 or so minutes until just set. Let cool for as long as you can stand it, then eat.

New Year's Eve Meal

2010-01-15T09:40:00.000-05:00

My husband and I went to the store to pick out something nice for our New Year's Eve meal, and thought we would get fish or lamb, etc. but, nothing looked great. We ended up getting bone-in pork chops (locally & organically raised). We brined the pork chops in orange juice, salt, sugar, and a spice blend for a couple of hours, then pan seared them (check out my grill marks)!! Topped with a mango clementine salsa, they were super delicious. For sides we had lovely rolls from Creme Patisserie on Merrimon and shaved brussel sprouts with bacon.

The brussel sprouts are a breeze. Render some bacon pieces in a large skillet, remove the bacon when crispy & reserve the bacon fat. In a tablespoon or two of the bacon fat, saute some thinly sliced onion or shallot then add the shredded brussel sprouts (using your food processors slicing attachment). Cook down the brussel sprouts until just tender adding salt and pepper to taste & some vinegar for acidity. In the past I've tried both balsamic and white wine vinegar and they were both nice. For this food pairing I actually added a splash of orange juice to tie it into the pork dish. The recipe is adapted from Jacques Pepin's food show on PBS.

Christmas Dinner

2010-01-04T15:19:00.000-05:00

Christmas dinner in my family means roast beef and yorkshire pudding. Here's a picture of the plate (at my mom's house). Starting at the roast beef and moving clockwise, brussel sprouts with bacon, crispy potatoes, salad of fennel, persimmons and hazelnuts with a citrus vinaigrette, scalloped potatoes, and yorkshire pudding. The salad recipe is from Fine Cooking and you can get it here. The brussel sprouts were a Jacques Pepin recipe from his public television show. They turned out so well that I made them again for New Year's Eve.
In light of our British leanings for Christmas in the food department, we love to have Christmas crackers or poppers. Inside the brightly colored tube is a toy, hat and horribly bad joke. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday too!

Indoor Pulled Pork

2009-12-29T10:34:00.001-05:00

Cook's Illustrated had a recent article and recipe for indoor pulled pork barbecue. I had a great excuse to try it out with our recent snowstorm. The finished product had tons of flavor & bark. It's definitely worth getting the issue to try it out.

One of the secrets is halving the pork butt so that more surface area can turn into bark. Here's the pork after it was brined and then rubbed with mustard and a spice rub.

The finished product after a nice long time in the oven.

Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

2009-12-15T14:12:00.000-05:00

I hadn't made this recipe in over a year, but both my husband and I have been craving it. It's a very simple recipe that results in a luscious chicken dish. The only hard part is peeling the 40 cloves of garlic and my lovely husband did that for me!! The recipe is Alton Brown's and here's the link on foodnetwork's site: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/40-cloves-and-a-chicken-recipe/index.html

You might want to swap out a whole cut up chicken for all dark meat. And, a crusty loaf of bread for sopping up the juices is an absolute must.

Challah French Toast

2009-12-10T09:17:00.000-05:00

Nothing beats really tender french toast on a weekend morning. A friend of mine owns a bakery called Creme Patisserie and Confectionery on Merrimon Ave. in Asheville. She & her business partner make the most delicious challah, which in turn makes the very best french toast. Here's how I made it.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Whisk equal parts eggs to milk in a shallow dish, add a pinch of salt, a tablespoon or two of sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Meanwhile heat a skillet with olive oil (or butter) and place two slices of bread in the custard mixture. Let sit for 30 seconds and flip the bread. Cook the french toast for 3-4 minutes per side then place on a sheet pan in the oven. Continue cooking the french toast until you have the portions you need. Serve with the toppings of your choice (butter, syrup, fresh fruit, powdered sugar, etc.).

Thanksgiving Dinner

2009-11-30T12:12:00.000-05:00

I'm a big fan of the Thanksgiving holiday. This year was a bit quieter than most, which was a nice change of pace. The first pic is of the full plate (starting clockwise with the cranberry chutney, brined, roasted turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, roll, green bean casserole, stuffing and in the center cauliflower with pears and hazelnuts).
The green bean casserole made from scratch. No cans involved!!! Those are crispy fried shallots on top in place of the canned fried onions.

A family tradition, it's a called a cranberry tip top, and it's a frozen salad. The top is cranberry jelly mixed with lemon juice and the bottom is a mixture of whipped cream, mayonnaise, cream cheese and walnuts.

Dessert was a chocolate toffee pecan pie and a dairy free pumpkin pie with a brown sugar and walnut topping. YUM! Hope everyone had a nice holiday!

Chicken Sausage & Mushroom Marinara

2009-11-10T11:07:00.001-05:00

An easy weeknight throw-together meal. I had some chicken sausages flavored with sage that I seared off, removed from the pan, and then sweated onions & mushrooms until they were golden. I added minced garlic, a bit of tomato paste, deglazed the pan with some balsamic vinegar and added a large can of diced tomatoes. Simmer until the flavors come together & put the chicken sausage back in to warm up (10 minutes). Toss with hot pasta and serve. Yummy dinner!

Annie's Goddess Grilled Chicken Salad

2009-11-09T09:49:00.000-05:00

After a big birthday weekend for my husband (i.e. lots of food) I made a lighter dinner. Annie's Goddess dressing is about the most delicious item in the grocery store. I used the dressing to marinate boneless, skinless chicken breasts for an hour or two. I then grilled the chicken in a grill pan, and used it to top a green salad with apples, cranberries and walnuts. I used the same dressing to dress the salad. And then I added a couple of homemade pita chips and dinner was served.

Greek Lentil Soup

2009-10-20T12:52:00.001-04:00

I forgot to take a picture before I ate the whole bowl... it's that good. The recipe is compliments of my friend Sophia. Try it out, you won't be sorry. But, it does make a ton so plan to freeze part of it, or invite lots of friends over.

Put 1 gallon of water into a big stock pot, and start to boil.

Start chopping and adding to it:

1 onion, diced

4 or 5 cloves of garlic, diced

4 stalks of celery, diced,

4 carrots, diced

1 can tomato sauce (14 oz)

1 bag of lentils (16 oz)

1 teacup olive oil (don’t be cheap, or you’ll be sorry)

2 bay leaves

Liberal amount of salt

Ground pepper to taste

Reduce heat to medium, and simmer until the lentils are soft.

Turn off heat and add ½ cup of red wine vinegar.

Serve with crusty bread, feta and kalamata olives.

Tastes better when it’s been sitting for a while; tastes heavenly on day 2!

Serves 12.

Ratatouille Pasta with Pine Nuts

2009-10-08T08:29:00.000-04:00

The flavors of ratatouille work so well over some al dente pasta. Here's what I did.

1 medium sized onion, diced
1 medium sized eggplant, diced
1 red pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
handful of pine nuts, toasted
1 Tbs. tomato paste
splash of balsamic vinegar
small can of diced tomatoes
olive oil
salt and pepper
red pepper flake
pasta of your choice

Heat olive oil over a medium flame, add onion, and saute for a few minutes, then add eggplant and red pepper. Saute for 10-15 minutes until softened. Add minced garlic, red pepper flake, saute for a minute. Add balsamic vinegar, tomato paste, saute for another minute. Add canned tomatoes and salt and pepper. Cook down until eggplant has completely cooked through (about ten more minutes). In the meantime cook pasta. Once cooked, drain, and combine the sauce with the pasta and add the toasted pine nuts, reserving a couple for garnish. Serve immediately.

Fall Roasted Squash Soup

2009-09-23T09:01:00.000-04:00

To celebrate the first day of fall I made a roasted squash soup. We had three different squashes, all of medium size that I halved, rubbed with olive and salt and placed in the oven at 375 for 45-60 minutes. I had a butternut, winter, and an acorn. Once they were roasting, I sauteed 2 medium onions in olive oil until they were nearly falling apart, then added minced garlic (3 big cloves), a teaspoon of tomato paste, and let those cook for a few minutes. I deglazed the pan with some cognac and then added vegetable stock.

Once the squash were roasted I scooped the flesh into the soup pot, added additional stock and seasoned to taste. I served with some crusty bread and a green salad. Enjoy!

Favorite Foodie Sites

2009-09-17T08:31:00.000-04:00

Sorry for the lapse in blogging, life got in the way. I thought a good way to get back into it would be to share all of my favorite foodie sites.

Let's start with the ones I visit on a weekly, if not daily basis:

Serious Eats (I especially love their photograzing section)
NY Times Dining & Wine Section
Chowhound South (for all the new restaurants and hot spots in my neck of the woods that I might have missed)

Now on to my recipe inspiration sites:

Epicurious is usually where I start first
Food Network has some solid recipes too
I also like Real Simple and Martha Stewart's sites

And a few others:

I was really into Yelp (Asheville) for a while there
Mountain Xpress sometimes has some good, not too biased reviews
The living section in the Asheville Citizen-Times is another place I check out occasionally

Maybe these sites will inspire some creativity in your cooking too! Ciao

Tomato Basil Quiche

2009-08-11T12:54:00.001-04:00

We're still enjoying the bounty of our tomato crop. I made a variation on a tomato basil quiche recipe found here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tomato-and-Basil-Quiche/Detail.aspx. I substituted dairy for soy milk, cut out the cheese and added a tablespoon of flour. Turned out well, although if you can eat dairy it would probably be even nicer to follow the recipe! Enjoy.

Crispy Baked Chicken

2009-08-05T10:31:00.001-04:00

I promise I do still cook, but my husband made this delicious looking & tasting meal two nights ago. The crispy baked check was the real standout and it paired perfectly with the lemon sauce. He accompanied the chicken with items from our garden; fried okra, fresh tomatoes, and hubbard squash puree.

The chicken was a take on a recipe we had seen on Cooks Illustrated using fresh breadcrumbs. It's the usual breading method of flour, egg wash and the coating, in this case the breadcrumbs seasoned with salt, pepper and some cayenne pepper. Delicious!

Chocolate Banana "Cigar"

2009-08-03T08:33:00.001-04:00

I'm a big fan of having puff pastry or filo dough in the freezer for a quick dessert. We had family over last night and I whipped up this chocolate banana concoction in just a few minutes. Here's what I did:

3-4 sheets of filo with butter brushed in between each sheet. Cut into four even rectangles. Next place 3 or 4 slices of ripe banana, chocolate chips and a sprinkling of cinnamon on the rectangle. Wrap the dough tightly into a cigar shape. Bake at 375 until golden brown. I sprinkled the a little more cinnamon before serving. It turned out to be a nice summertime dessert.

Roasted Red Pepper & Butternut Squash Soup

2009-07-31T09:12:00.001-04:00

This is most definitely a keeper. My husband made this soup last night, and since he made up the recipe, I won't be able to give you measurements but you should get the general idea.

Roast a medium sized butternut squash, 2 red peppers and 2 nice-sized tomatoes (squash will require quite a bit longer than the peppers and tomatoes). Add the flesh of those veges to a pot, add vegetable stock, 2 cloves of garlic, and puree with a stick blender. Season with chipotle powder, cumin and salt & pepper. Cook until you have the thickness and consistency that you like.

We had ours garnished with herb oil, seasoned pumpkin seeds, and little crustini. Mmm, and I get to have it for my lunch today!

Gazpacho

2009-07-29T11:02:00.000-04:00

So, my apologies for the plethora of tomato recipes, but that's what we have to work with and they are incredibly delicious! My husband made this Alton Brown recipe (courtesy of Food Network) for gazpacho the other night. We had so many tomatoes that he made a double batch which we ate for leftovers, and he also used it as a braising liquid for country ribs. It may not be as simple as some gazpacho recipes, but the extra time makes a huge difference. Enjoy it with crusty bread and a glass of white wine.

Ingredients

1 1/2 pounds vine-ripened tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
Tomato juice
1 cup cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 small jalapeno, seeded and minced
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 lime, juiced
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon toasted, ground cumin
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons fresh basil leaves, chiffonade

Directions

Fill a 6-quart pot halfway full of water, set over high heat and bring to a boil.

Make an X with a paring knife on the bottom of the tomatoes. Drop the tomatoes into the boiling water for 15 seconds, remove and transfer to an ice bath and allow to cool until able to handle, approximately 1 minute. Remove and pat dry. Peel, core and seed the tomatoes. When seeding the tomatoes, place the seeds and pulp into a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl in order to catch the juice. Press as much of the juice through as possible and then add enough bottled tomato juice to bring the total to 1 cup.

Place the tomatoes and juice into a large mixing bowl. Add the cucumber, bell pepper, red onion, jalapeno, garlic clove, olive oil, lime juice, balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire, cumin, salt and pepper and stir to combine. Transfer 1 1/2 cups of the mixture to a blender and puree for 15 to 20 seconds on high speed. Return the pureed mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill for 2 hours and up to overnight. Serve with chiffonade of basil.

Campfire Eggs

2009-07-22T10:18:00.000-04:00

My husband and I went camping this weekend and we wanted to make a hot breakfast. We started with a little olive oil in a cast iron skillet & added lots of tomatoes, one medium sized onion and some salt and pepper. We let it soften and then reduced the tomato liquid. We made 4 "cups" into the tomato onion mixture and added the eggs. Once cooked to our liking we ate the eggs with bread we toasted over the fire. It was a really delicious and simple breakfast!

Panzanella with Bacon

2009-07-20T08:54:00.001-04:00

It's tough to beat a bread salad with tomatoes & bacon! This makes for a super-easy and delicious dinner or weekend lunch.

My ratios were equal parts toasted bread to tomatoes (probably 3 cups of each). I dressed the tomatoes with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper, and basil. And, then I tossed the toasted bread and chopped, cooked bacon into the tomatoes.

Ina Garten has a more elaborate panzanella recipe here. Whichever you decide to create, definitely use good tomatoes otherwise it won't be worth eating!

Creamy Tomato Soup

2009-07-15T15:26:00.001-04:00

My husband made this Cooks Illustrated recipe for Creamy Tomato Soup. It was superb. He substituted bread from our favorite bakery Creme Patisserie & Confectionery (640 Merrimon Ave in Asheville) for the sandwich bread. I found this write-out of the recipe on seriouseats.com. Enjoy!

Creamless Creamy Tomato Soup from Cooks Illustrated:

2 Tbs. EVOO
1 small onion, chopped
3 med. garlic cloves minced
1/8 t. hot red pepper flakes (optional --- and I used more)
1 bay leaf
2 (28oz) cans whole tomatoes
2 t. sugar
2 large slices good quality white sandwich bread, torn into 1 in. pieces
2 cups low sodium chicken broth
table salt and ground black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh chives

1. Heat oil in Dutch oven over med-high heat. Add onion, garlic and red pepper, stirring, until onions are translucent. Add bay leaf and tomatoes. Using spoon, press tomatoes against side of pot to release juices. Stir in sugar and bread. Cook, stirring constantly, until bread starts to break down (5 min).
2. Transfer soup to blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Return soup to pot and stir in chicken broth, bring to a boil and season with S&P. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with black pepper, chives, and a drizzle of olive oil.

Basil & Tomato Chicken Salad

2009-07-13T09:22:00.001-04:00

We have started coming in to quite a few tomatoes (and herbs) from the garden. I only had a bit of chicken leftover from a meal so I bulked up on the chicken salad with lots of tomatoes and basil. It turned out very light and fresh. Perfect for a hot summer day...

Serves 2

one chicken breast and thigh (cooked & chopped)
cup and a half of chopped tomato
big handful of basil minced
1/4 of an onion minced
2 Tablespoons of mayonnaise
1 squeeze of Dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste

I served the salad on a tortilla with romaine lettuce

Raspberry Chipotle Ribs

2009-07-07T11:07:00.000-04:00

Nothing beats tasty, fall of the bone ribs. This time I made them with a raspberry chipotle glaze. They turned out really yummy.

1 rack serves 3-4 people depending on your sides (or how hungry you are)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees, season ribs with salt and pepper, or the rub of your choice. Wrap tightly in aluminum foil, place on baking sheet and bake for 1 and 45 minutes to 2 hours. Remove from oven and brush on glaze. Either broil the ribs on place on grill. I like brush on the glaze 2-3 times and place back on/under the heat. This process really seals in the flavor! When you're satisfied with the glaze, cut up and serve!

Black Bean Cakes

2009-06-18T14:20:00.001-04:00

I needed a hearty vegetarian recipe that would travel well. The first thing that came to mind was a black bean cake. The morning that I made them I turned them into a delicious heuvos rancheros with an egg, salsa and cilantro garnish.

2 cans of black beans (rinsed)
1 can of diced tomato (drained)
2 garlic cloves
big handful of parsley and cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoon of cumin
10 dashes of hot sauce
1 cup of fresh bread crumbs
1/2 an onion
2 tablespoons of olive oil

Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until just combined (you want it to still have texture!!). Form into patties and bake at 375 degrees for 25-30 minutes.

Vegetable Curry

2009-06-16T09:29:00.001-04:00

This is one of our favorite go-to meals throughout the year. It's delicious and fragrant!

1 Tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves
1 1/2 Tablespoons of good curry powder
fresh ground coriander seed (to taste)
vegetable stock or water
salt and pepper (to taste)
vegetables (winter time, or early spring/summer I use a bag of frozen mixed veges)
1 can coconut milk

Saute onions in canola oil. When translucent add garlic, saute for one minute. Add curry powder and coriander seeds. Saute for a few minutes until coated. Add vegetables and a couple of tablespoons of stock or water, cover until softened. Add can of coconut milk and salt and pepper to taste. Heat through and reduce if the consistency is too loose.

Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.