Coco Is Cooking

I Scream, You Scream!

2010-07-27T13:23:00.000-07:00

Although these will do nothing to cool you off on a hot day, I had to share! I loved the new royal icing so much that I couldn't wait to make more cookies. My mom came down this afternoon and we cranked out several summer themed cookies, but these were by far our favorite design. I think they would be really cute favors for a party and the bonus is they won't melt on you!

Watermelon Decorated Sugar Cookies

2010-07-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

We had another Throwdown yesterday and to sweeten my chances of victory I made these tasty cookies to compliment my watermelon lemonade.
They are by far my favorite sugar cookie recipe and though I didn't think I could find a better "royal icing" recipe, I think I hit the jackpot. The royal dried hard enough to stack and package the cookies nicely, but was still soft enough to be delicious and not break your teeth.
Now I am looking forward to the cookie orders I have in August because I am confident they will travel well and taste fantastic.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

2010-07-22T04:30:00.000-07:00

Not only is this a great way to burn through your stash of zucchini, it is a really delicious dessert. The deep chocolate flavor is complimented by the small amount of coffee, and the zucchini makes for an incredibly moist cake. A simple way to wow your guests and get a small dose of veggies while you are at it!

Chocolate Zucchini Cake
via Clotilde's Chocolate and Zucchini blog
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 scant cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon instant coffee granules or 2 tablespoons strong cooled coffee -- this is just to deepen the chocolate flavor, you won't taste it in the finished product
3 large eggs
2 cups unpeeled grated zucchini, from about 1 1/2 medium zucchini
1 cup good-quality bittersweet chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
Confectioner's sugar to garnish

Serves 12.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10-inch round springform pan.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In the bowl of a mixer (or by hand in a large mixing bowl), beat the sugar and butter until fluffy. Add the vanilla, coffee, and eggs, mixing well between each addition.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the zucchini, chocolate chips, and about a third of the flour mixture, making sure the zucchini strands are well coated and not clumping too much.

Add the rest of the flour mixture into the egg batter. Mix until just combined; the batter will be thick.

Fold the zucchini mixture into the batter, and blend with a spatula without overmixing. Pour into the prepared cake pan, and level the surface.

Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer onto a rack to cool for 10 minutes, run a knife around the pan to loosen, and unclasp the sides of the pan. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature. Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar or a chocolate glaze if desired.

Zucchini Slaw

2010-07-19T03:53:00.000-07:00

I have been on a slight Sara Foster kick lately, so when I ran across this recipe for zucchini slaw I thought it would be a new and delicious way to use up all that zucchini.
Although some readers may scoff at the idea of using raw zucchini and summer squash, I urge you to give it a go. Because the veggies are julienned, the texture is crunchy and the taste is fresh, much like you would expect from any slaw recipe. Unless you have mad knife skills, I would highly recommend that you purchase a julienne peeler. For under $10 you can impress your friends and family and sway them into believing that you are on the fast track to auditioning for the next Top Chef.
Note: I have included the Sweet and Tart Dressing recipe if you would like a lighter version of this slaw.

Zucchini Slaw

Serves 4-6
2 medium zucchinis, cut into 2-inch julienne
2 yellow summer squash, cut into 2-inch julienne
2 carrots, cut into 2-inch julienne
4 scallions, julienne (white and green parts)
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and julienned
1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Creamy Slaw Dressing
Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

Combine the veggies and parsley in a large bowl as you cut them. Drizzle with the dressing, salt and pepper, and toss. Adjust salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container. With the creamy dressing the slaw will keep nicely for up to 3 days. With the sweet and tart dressing the slaw should be served immediately.

Creamy Slaw Dressing (makes about 3/4 cup)
1/2 mayonnaise
2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard
2 Tablespoons white wine vinegar **I used Raspberry Vinegar
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Whisk together all ingredients in a small bowl. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week.

Sweet and Tart Slaw Dressing (makes about 1 cup)
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup sugar
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Combine all the ingredients in a jar and shake until the sugar dissolves. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week.

Makin' Whoopie

2010-07-15T05:04:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist the title which transports me back to the good 'ol days of skinny microphones, tuxedos, and Bob Eubanks talking about makin' whoopie on the Newlywed Game was probably the most off-color phrase the FCC had to worry about.
Those simpler times also make me think about my grandmas overflowing Tupperware cookie jar and her delicious recipe for zucchini chocolate chip cookies. When I saw a recipe for zucchini whoopie pies over at Gourmet I was convinced the I could adapt it by using my grandma's recipe, sans chocolate chips, as the base. My overabundance of zucchini was finally paying off!!
These delicious pies had the perfect balance of sweet and tangy with the addition of the cream cheese filling. Next time I throw these together I will go more the bite size route since they are quite a filling treat.

Zucchini Cookies

1 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts

Mix the zucchini, soda, sugar, shortening and egg until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; add to the zucchini mixture. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons on greased pan. Bake at 375 degrees until they start to brown, 12-15 minutes.

Filling

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Scant 1/4 teaspoon salt

Beat together cream cheese, butter, confectioners sugar, vanilla, and salt with cleaned beaters at medium-high speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Pipe or dollop filling on flat side of cookie and top with another cookie.

Sara Foster's Pickles

2010-07-11T05:16:00.000-07:00

Don't get too excited, I am not completely done sharing zucchini recipes with you yet, but I thought it was time to throw a little something else in the mix.
The cucumbers have just started to come on, so I had a small collection of the little beauties and pickles were just the thing to make. I have not made many pickles in my day, but these were the easiest I have encountered. I ran across the recipe in Sara Foster's Fresh Every Day cookbook. The recipes I have tried in the book have been successful, so I thought I would give it another go.
The pickles were no exception. Simple, quick, and full of flavor, these pickles would be a great addition to sandwiches and burgers on the grill. One caveat: they do have quite a little kick. You could certainly hold back on the red pepper flakes if you are so inclined.

Makes about 1 quart

1 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 whole cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon dill seed
4 to 5 small Kirby (pickling) cucumbers, peeled in stripes and sliced into 1/8-inch-thick rounds
1 small white onion, thinly sliced into rounds

1. Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt, black pepper, cloves, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, and dill seed in a quart jar. Place the lid on the jar and shake until the sugar has dissolved.

2. Layer the cucumbers and onion in the jar using a wooden spoon to press them tightly into the jar. Place the lid on the jar, shake it well, and refrigerate at least 4 hours, shaking the jar occasionally to keep the ingredients mixed. These pickles will keep in the refrigerator for at least 1 month.

Zucchini Sticks

2010-07-10T12:17:00.000-07:00

In my quest for zucchini recipes I stumbled across these delicious baked zucchini sticks featured on the Skinny Taste website. I have mentioned the site previously, but it really is a treasure trove of great tasting, healthy food. If you are following Weight Watcher's, it is practically a must.
Being that the zucchini sticks were a fairly healthy alternative to something fried, I thought I better punch up the calories be serving them with cilantro ranch sauce. The sauce was very simple and had some powerful flavor that complimented the zucchini sticks perfectly. I imagine it would be a great sauce for fajitas, french fries, or even a dressing for sandwiches.

Zucchini Sticks
very slightly adapted from Gina

3 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
1 large egg white
2/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
cooking spray
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt
fresh pepper

In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown.

Cilantro Ranch Sauce

1 pkt Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing Mix
8 oz salsa verde
1/4 cup cilantro
1 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup sour cream
Tobasco to taste

Combine all ingredients and blend. Season with Tobasco.

Zucchini Tart

2010-07-08T05:00:00.000-07:00

You better get used to seeing a whole mess of zucchini recipes because they are coming out of my ears! We have six plants and I never imagined we would have this kind of luck, but we are harvesting at least a couple every day.
Although I would never consider freelancing in the baking department, cooking is something I am much more comfortable with taking risks. I knew that I wanted some type of tart, so I turned to Smitten Kitchen for a simple no-shrink tart that did not have to be par-baked. I have to say it wasn't as flavorful as some tart doughs I have made, but I can make some adjustments next time.
As the dough firmed up in the fridge, I caramelized some onions and sliced the mushrooms and zucchini. I only par-cooked the mushrooms and zucchini since it would have lots of time to cook in the oven. Then I set about layering the tasty goodness in the tart dough. First, a healthy dose of goat cheese seasoned with fresh basil, chives, parsley, salt and pepper. Next came the caramelized onions and mushrooms, and finally I layered the zucchini on top. I baked the tart for about 25 minutes at 350 and voila...my freelancing paid off.

This is a great example of using items you have on hand to make something really delicious by just trusting your instincts and experimenting with tastes you enjoy.

Chocolate Ice Cream

2010-07-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

Remember a few posts back I was semi-complaining about how it was cool enough to have chili for dinner? Well, someone must have been listening because it has been beastly around here the past few days. Humid, hot, ughhh...time for ice cream!
Several years ago my sister and her husband gifted my dad with a Cuisinart ice cream maker. Just when you think you have him figured out and are sure of the perfect present, he rains on your parade and promptly puts the box in the closet never to be seen again.
Well, I for one was not going to let that ice cream maker go to waste. So far I have tested the waters with Cake Batter, Vanilla Bean, and now this lovely Chocolate. It is an easy, no-egg option that has a very smooth consistency and a wonderfully deep chocolate flavor. I am sure there are ice cream purists who will scoff at the idea of using sweetened, condensed milk in the base, but frankly they can suck it. I will stand by that little can of gooey milk and proudly serve it to my guests. In fact, this ice cream forced my dad to admit that he was sure he just loaned me the ice cream maker-ha!

Ingredients
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup best cocoa powder you have (preferably dutch process)
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate shavings
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
1 T. vanilla extract

In medium saucepan, stir together sweetened condensed milk, cocoa, and chocolate shavings. Cook over LOW heat until mixture is smooth and slightly thickened. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes.
Gradually add cream, milk, and vanilla, beating with a whisk until well combined. Refrigerate until cold--overnight if possible.
Place in ice cream freezer container and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Fresh Figs!

2010-07-06T03:05:00.001-07:00

Since we had an extended holiday weekend, we fixed something that wouldn't normally make an appearance on our weeknight menu unless a good amount of prep had been done in advance. Matt threw together our favorite pizza dough and we rounded up a variety of toppings that we had sitting in the fridge. We also harvested a zucchini from our garden just for the occassion!!

Although I recognize that the picture is beyond atrocious, I am sure you can vaguely make out my two new favorite pizza combinations: carmelized onion, fig, and goat cheese & zucchini and goat cheese. I happened to hit the jackpot with the Black Mission figs on my last shopping excursion at Meijer. They were inexpensive, ripe, and delicious. I simply sauteed them in a little butter and threw them on the pizza at the last minute. As for the zucchini, I also sauteed it so that it would be properly cooked as it doesn't spend a great amount of time on the grill. This will be a great way to use up all the zucchini coming our way!

Chicken Chili

2010-06-28T07:19:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know what you are thinking. Chili in the summer?? Well, here in northern Michigan our forecast has not exactly been what you think of as the dog days of summer. Yesterday was fairly gloomy and I had most of the ingredients for this chili on hand, so here goes.

This is a great chili to have on a cool summer day, or even to take you into the fall or winter. For this time of year, it tastes a bit brighter because I was able to use basil from the garden, rather than the tube I am sometimes forced to use when it is not in season.

The recipe originally comes from Ina, but I made a few changes based on our tastes and the spices I had on hand. Served with some piping hot cornbread Matt whipped up, we had plenty for dinner and a nice lunch today.

Chicken Chili
adapted from Ina Garten

1 large onion, chopped

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded, and large-diced

1 yellow bell pepper, cored, seeded, and large-diced

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika, or to taste

1 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for chicken

1 (28-ounce) can diced plum tomatoes

1/4 cup minced fresh basil leaves

2 split chicken breasts, bone in, skin on

Freshly ground black pepper

For garnish:

Chopped scallions, corn chips, grated cheddar, sour cream

Cook the onions in the oil over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the bell peppers, chili powder, cumin, red pepper flakes, paprika, and salt. Cook for 1 minute. Add tomatoes to the pot with the basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Rub the chicken breasts with olive oil and place them on a baking sheet. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast the chicken for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. Let cool slightly. Separate the meat from the bones and skin and shred. Add to the chili and simmer, uncovered, for another 20 minutes. Serve with the toppings, or refrigerate and reheat gently before serving.

Note: I added about a cup of chicken broth to stretch the amount of chili. Still a pretty thick chili, nonetheless.

Chili Chicken Sandwich

2010-06-27T11:35:00.001-07:00

Dorie Greenspan is always a fantastic source for any type of baked good that I might tackle, but her blog is also full of a variety of other savory ideas that are worth a try, as well. Take for example this delicious Chili-Chicken Sandwich. There is really no recipe, just a list of ingredients for you to throw together. We did not have the mushrooms and I substituted green onions for regular onions. As for the sweet chili sauce, I made my own and took Dorie's advice to mix it with a bit of mayo before dressing the sandwich. It was worth the extra calories!
The sandwich had great texture and the flavors mixed well together to provide a fairly light lunch.

Sweet Chili Sauce
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. fresh grated ginger
1 tsp. garlic, minced
2 T. hungarian sweet pepper
2 tsp. ketchup
cornstarch to thicken, if desired

Bring water and vinegar to a boil and then add the rest of the ingredients. Turn heat down and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add cornstarch at end of cooking if desired. Remove from heat and cool. Keep refrigerated until ready to use.

Strawberry Sangria

2010-06-24T04:46:00.001-07:00

If you are looking for a simple drink to serve on those hot summer nights, this recipe is for you. Sweeter than the average sangria, but still providing a tart kick, it was a delicious and refreshing way to slide into the evening. This really is a great recipe to showcase those local strawberries that are abundant in our area as we speak!

Strawberry Sangria
courtesy of Traverse

Ingredients
one bottle of rose
1/2 cup sugar
1 lemon, sliced
1 cup sliced fresh strawberries
2 cups Vernors ginger ale

Directions
In a large pitcher mix the wine, sugar, lemon, and strawberries. Refrigerate for several hours, up to one day. Add Vernors just before serving over ice.

Throwdown #1 Lemon Braided Bread

2010-06-20T06:21:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back, Matt and I were discussing what sounded good to eat on a cold Sunday. After tossing out a few ideas, we ultimately decided on two variations on a tart. A little smack talking later and Matt suggested that we invite the family and have a good ol' Throwdown. You know, a Throwdown a la Bobby Flay of the Food Network? So, to make a long story short, the fam loved the idea and we decided to set up several Throwdown competitions over the course of the summer.
First up, breakfast foods. I immediately knew what dish I would bring. I had some leftover lemon curd in the fridge, so I thought I would try my hand at the Lemon Braided Bread over at the Smitten Kitchen. Deb never lets me down, so despite the fact I had never made the recipe, I went for it. The results were delicious and the presentation was exactly what I hoped for. I didn't make any changes to the dough recipe, but the lemon curd came straight from Martha. Although I have not manned up and tried other lemon curd recipes, I don't know how you could beat Martha's. It is the perfect combination of tart and sweet and it paired really nicely with the cream cheese and sweet dough.
After the votes were counted, Matt and I came out on top with a tie. We are a force to be reckoned with and the family better keep one eye open!!

This One is For My Homies

2010-05-22T06:30:00.000-07:00

I could wax on poetic about how I love the renewal that Spring brings to Northern Michigan... warmer days, evenings spent on the porch, digging in the garden, but when it comes down to it what I really love is the new crop of goodies appearing at the markets and right in our backyard. This meal would not have been possible without the generosity of my good friend Sarah who graced us with two fat morel mushrooms to top our tasty pizzas. Pair that with some local asparagus fried in butter and you have heaven on homemade dough!

Grilled Pizza
1 recipe pizza dough
morels
asparagus
goat cheese
fresh mozzarella
olive oil
butter
salt and pepper

To be honest, this isn't really a recipe, but I will say that if you want to find success when grilling pizza, you must follow my friend Clay's words of wisdom. He grills one side of the dough (brushed with olive oil) for a couple minutes, removes the pizza from the grill to place toppings on the grilled side and then returns it to the grill to finish the cooking. You really can't go wrong when Clay is in your corner!

Light Chicken Parm

2010-05-11T04:08:00.000-07:00

Although I have been dying to tear into some local asparagus and bathe in the juice of freshly picked strawberries, Michigan weather has a different plan for me. We were teased in April, and now it is back to reality in May. Since those local goodies just aren't ready yet, we have gone back to some colder day dishes, but with a lighter twist. The following recipe for chicken parm is only 5.5 weight watcher points and it is very moist and tender for a boneless chicken breast. The full recipe (along with lots of other goodies) can be found here.

Light Chicken Salad

2010-05-09T04:33:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite places around to get a sub is the East Shore Market. They have a variety of delicious snacks, craft beer, and a deli case full of salads. A few years ago my sister keep hounding me to try the "dilly grape chicken salad", but she just couldn't woo me from my Judy sub and it went unnoticed. It wasn't until she had some for her lunch that I finally got a sample. It was so fresh and yummy and simple all at the same time, and I knew this was something that could be easily thrown together. You will have to forgive me for the lack of measurements, but I have never measured for this salad, so throw caution to the wind and give it a try!

Dilly Grape Chicken Salad
any variety pasta
red grapes
green onions
rotisserie chicken
fresh dill
dried dill
olive oil
salt and pepper

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

Here's hoping you all had a fabulous Easter spent with family and friends, I know I did! I can't think of too many things that put a smile on my face faster than seeing a baby dressed up in bunny ears!!
For the occasion my mother, sister, and I got together yesterday to crank out some delicious sugar cookies and also to try some cheesecake pops that have been on my "to do" list for some time.
My mom had already baked her favorite sugar cookies, so all we had to do is whip up some modified royal icing to finish the decorating. We did several shapes, but the bunnies pictured above were at the top of my favorite list. They were inspired by one of my go-to blogs, Annies Eats.
Then, we were off to dip some cheesecake! I copped out and bought some Sara Lee, but I think it was a great stand in for a busy weekend. I simply used a mini cookie cutter on the frozen cheesecake to create the shape and then placed a lollipop stick in each bite. These were returned to the freezer to firm up and then we dipped in melted chocolate and rolled in Easter themed sprinkles. Such a simple dessert that really presents well. I know we will revisit these often!

Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette

2010-04-02T16:17:00.000-07:00

In my search for new ways to spruce up the good ol' chicken breast, I often turn to my favorite blogs, but sometimes head straight for the Food Network website. Although I haven't tried many of Giada's recipes, I thought her Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette seemed like the start of a good combination.
It's not that I don't like Giada, but I seem to be picky about who I choose to spend 30 minutes with when it comes to cooking programs. Maybe it's the way Giada changes her intonation when she pronounces words like mozzarella and pancetta, or perhaps the fact she doesn't seem to have a single turtleneck in her wardrobe. Despite these glitches, I have been recently impressed by some of her bold flavors and I plan on hitting her up again in the future.
*Though the recipe doesn't call for browning the chicken prior to finishing it in the oven, that is exactly what I did. Doing this seems to seal in the juices and if you use your cast iron pan, it is a one pot meal.

Roasted Chicken with Balsamic Vinaigrette

adapted from Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar
2 T. dijon mustard
2T. freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. olive oil
salt and freshly ground pepper
4 bone-in chicken breasts
1/4 c. chicken broth
1/2 c. red wine
2 T. balsamic vinegar
2 T. butter
parsley
lemon zest

Whisk the vinegar, mustard, lemon juice, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper in small bowl to blend. Combine the vinaigrette and chicken pieces in a large resealable plastic bag; seal the bag and toss to coat. Refrigerate, turning the chicken pieces occasionally, for at least 2 hours and up to 1 day.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Remove chicken from the bag and brown in an oven safe pan. Transfer to oven and roast until the chicken is just cooked through, about 1 hour. If your chicken browns too quickly, cover it with foil for the remaining cooking time. Transfer the chicken to a serving platter. Place the baking dish on a burner over medium-low heat. Whisk the chicken broth, wine, balsamic vinegar, and butter into the pan drippings, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the baking sheet with a wooden spoon and mixing them into the broth and pan drippings. Reduce sauce and drizzle over the chicken. Sprinkle the lemon zest and parsley over the chicken, and serve.

Lemon Cupcakes

2010-03-29T04:45:00.001-07:00

My mom celebrated her birthday last week, so I was put in charge of bringing dessert. We had just shared the Baileys cupcakes a week before, so I thought something fruity would hit the mark. My mom loves anything lemon, so when I saw a version of Lemon Meringue Cupcakes on Martha's site, I knew I had found a winner!
I made my standard white cake batter and topped it off with Martha's lemon curd. When it came to the meringue, I struggled with how it was all going to come together after school and a meeting, so I took the easy way out and topped the curd with whipped cream.
The cupcakes were really delicious and moist and perfect for a birthday that fell on the first day of Spring!

Baileys and Guinness and Chocolate, OH MY!

2010-03-21T12:28:00.000-07:00

With St. Pat's falling on a weekday, our family decided to do a little celebrating yesterday. If I'm being really honest, it was just an excuse to see my sweet little niece dressed up in her "daddy's lucky charm" onesie, but there was some food around once you got over that distraction!
These cupcakes were quite delicious and well worth the work, but if you are going to give them a try, be prepared to drop some cash on ingredients. I doubled the frosting recipe per reviews on the Smitten Kitchen site. Also, if I were to make them again, I would surely hollow more cake out to fill with Baileys ganache.

St. Pat's Cupcakes
courtesy of Smitten Kitchen

Makes 20 to 24 cupcakes

For the Guinness Chocolate Cupcakes

1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
2/3 cup sour cream

Ganache Filling (Updated to double it, based on many commenters suggestions — thanks!)
8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
2/3 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 to 2 teaspoons Irish whiskey (optional)

Baileys Frosting (see Recipe Notes)
3 to 4 cups confections sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperatue
3 to 4 tablespoons Baileys (or milk, or heavy cream, or a combination thereof)

Special equipment: 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer and a piping bag (though a plastic bag with the corner snipped off will also work)

Make the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 24 cupcake cups with liners. Bring 1 cup stout and 1 cup butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.

Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add stout-chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. Divide batter among cupcake liners, filling them 2/3 to 3/4 of the way. Bake cake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, rotating them once front to back if your oven bakes unevenly, about 17 minutes. Cool cupcakes on a rack completely.

Make the filling: Chop the chocolate and transfer it to a heatproof bowl. Heat the cream until simmering and pour it over the chocolate. Let it sit for one minute and then stir until smooth. (If this has not sufficiently melted the chocolate, you can return it to a double-boiler to gently melt what remains. 20 seconds in the microwave, watching carefully, will also work.) Add the butter and whiskey (if you’re using it) and stir until combined.

Fill the cupcakes: Let the ganache cool until thick but still soft enough to be piped (the fridge will speed this along but you must stir it every 10 minutes). Meanwhile, using your 1-inch round cookie cutter or an apple corer, cut the centers out of the cooled cupcakes. You want to go most of the way down the cupcake but not cut through the bottom — aim for 2/3 of the way. A slim spoon or grapefruit knife will help you get the center out. Those are your “tasters”. Put the ganache into a piping bag with a wide tip and fill the holes in each cupcake to the top.

Make the frosting: Whip the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer, or with a hand mixer, for several minutes. You want to get it very light and fluffy. Slowly add the powdered sugar, a few tablespoons at a time.

[This is a fantastic trick I picked up while working on the cupcakes article for Martha Stewart Living; the test kitchen chefs had found that when they added the sugar slowly, quick buttercream frostings got less grainy, and tended to require less sugar to thicken them up.]

When the frosting looks thick enough to spread, drizzle in the Baileys (or milk) and whip it until combined. If this has made the frosting too thin (it shouldn’t, but just in case) beat in another spoonful or two of powdered sugar.

Ice and decorate the cupcakes.

Blackened Chicken with Avocado Salsa

2010-03-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

When we start to get some nicer days two major problems crop up in my life. What do I wear and what do I fix for dinner? Too cold for short sleeves and too warm for chili, so to make myself feel better I run out and buy a plethora of magazines with spring fashion and lighter fare.
Better Homes and Gardens pulled through with a simple recipe that can be easily thrown together after work or the gym. It is light and filling and made me feel right with the world despite the brown sludge that has magically appeared now that our snow is melting.

Blackened Chicken with Avocado Salsa
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

for the chicken
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tsp. blackened steak seasoning
1 T. olive oil

for the salsa
2 T. olive oil
2 T. rice wine vinegar
2 T. honey
lime juice from 1/2 lime
1/4 tsp. cumin
salt and pepper to taste
1 avocado, chopped
1 mango, chopped
1/4 c. red bell pepper, chopped
1/4 c. orange bell pepper, chopped
1/4 c. chopped cilantro

Preheat oven to 375°. Lightly sprinkle both sides of chicken with blackened seasoning. In a large cast iron pan heat the 1 T. oil over medium heat. Add the chicken and cook until browned, turning only once. Transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes or until no longer pink.

Meanwhile, for salsa, in large bowl, whisk olive oil, rice wine vinegar, honey, lime juice, cumin, salt and pepper. Stir in avocado, mango, pepper, and cilantro. Serve with chicken.

Tortilla Pie

2010-03-10T03:23:00.001-08:00

It has been several years since this recipe was clipped from an Everyday Food magazine. Like so many recipes we try, we loved it, had it a few times, and moved on only to forget about how delicious and easy it was.

We modified the original recipe so our version is posted below.

4 flour tortillas (if you buy 9 inch tortillas, you won't have to trim to fit pan)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large onion, diced

1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1 jalapeno chile, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 pkg fajita seasoning
1 can (15 oz) black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can (15 oz) refried beans
1 cup beer

1 package (10 ounces) frozen corn
4 scallions, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish
2 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese (8 ounces)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onion, jalapeño, garlic, red pepper, and seasoning packet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
Add black beans and beer to skillet, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium; simmer until liquid has almost evaporated, 8 to 10 minutes. Stir in corn and remove from heat.

Fit a tortilla in bottom of springform pan; spread a layer of refried beans tortilla and layer with 1/4 of the beans and 1/2 cup cheese. Repeat three times, using 1 cup cheese on top layer. Bake until hot and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Unmold pie; sprinkle with scallions. To serve, slice into wedges, garnish with sour cream and salsa.

There's No Wrong Way to Eat a Reese's

2010-03-07T14:21:00.000-08:00

I have had a silicone Reese's pan in my arsenal for several years, courtesy of my mother-in-law, but it wasn't until today that I decided to use it. Yes, you could certainly use disposable muffin liners, but this bad boy made quick work of my melted chocolate. No annoying peeling, or paper stuck to the chocolate. Just right down to business with two of my good buddies...peanut butter and chocolate.

Homemade Reese's Cups
1 bag semi sweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter

Melt chocolate chips. Spread a liberal amount of chocolate in paper liners (or silicone pan) and place in refrigerator to harden. Meanwhile, mix the powdered sugar and peanut butter until smooth. Once the chocolate is firm, spread a dollop of the peanut butter mixture on the chocolate and cover the top with more melted chocolate, making sure that the melted chocolate touches the firm chocolate. Return to refrigerator and let the chocolate harden once again. Peel liners away or pop out of silicone mold and serve. They are especially tasty when straight out of the fridge.

Against My Better Judgement

2010-03-05T04:26:00.000-08:00

Although the annoying screech of Rachael Ray's voice usually sends me running the the opposite direction, I have to give her props for this quick and tasty meatloaf recipe. I won't be subscribing to her magazine anytime soon, but I will certainly put this in our dinner rotation.

Mini Meatloaf Muffins
adapted from Rachael Ray

1 2/3 to 1 3/4 pounds ground sirloin
1 medium onion, cut into chunks
2 ribs celery from the heart of the stalk, cut into 2-inch pieces
1/2 of a red and orange pepper, cut in chunks
1 large egg plus a splash of milk, beaten
1/2 cup 4 cheese bread crumbs
1/2 cup panko
2 tablespoons grill seasoning
1 cup barbecue sauce (we used raspberry chipotle)
1/2 cup tomato salsa
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Put ground beef into a big bowl. Put onion and celery into a food processor. Cut the bell pepper in half, rip out the seeds and throw them into your garbage bowl. Cut the pepper into a few pieces and add to the food processor. Pulse the processor blades to finely chop the vegetables into very small pieces then add them to the meat bowl. Add egg, beaten with milk, bread crumbs and grill seasoning to the bowl. Next, mix together the barbecue sauce, the salsa and the Worcestershire sauce. Pour half the sauce mixture into the bowl with the meatloaf mix. Mix the meatloaf together with your hands. Wash up. Brush a 12-muffin tin (1/2-cup each) with vegetable oil or extra-virgin olive oil. Top each meat loaf with a spoonful of extra sauce. Bake about 20 minutes. Cut open 1 muffin to test that the middle is cooked through.

Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot, Chicken Pot Pieeee

2010-03-03T03:56:00.000-08:00

If you have ever had the pleasure of licking the bottom of the gratin dish full of Amical's chicken pot pie, this is the recipe for you! It is a creamy, delicious dinner fit for company and can be easily adapted to use the biscuits that the original recipe requests.

Chicken Pot Pie
adapted from Ina Garten

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on
olive oil
kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
5 cups chicken stock
2 chicken bouillon cubes
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup heavy cream
2 cups medium-diced carrots (4 carrots), blanched for 2 minutes
1 10-ounce package frozen peas (2 cups)
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley

1 tsp dill
1/2 tsp tarragon
1 pkg. puff pastry

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub them with olive oil. Sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then remove the meat from the bones and discard the skin. Shred the cooled chicken.

In a small saucepan, heat the chicken stock and dissolve the bouillon cubes in the stock. In a large pot or Dutch oven, melt the butter and saute the onions over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, until translucent. Add the flour and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes. Add the hot chicken stock to the sauce. Simmer over low heat for 1 more minute, stirring, until thick. Add 2 teaspoons salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, and the heavy cream. Add the chicken, carrots, peas, parsley, dill, and tarragon. Mix well. Place the stew in individual gratin dishes. Place the dishes on a sheet pan lined with parchment or wax paper. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the stew from the oven and arrange the puff pastry on top of the filling. Brush them with egg wash, and return to the oven. Bake for another 15-20 minutes, or until the pastry is brown and the stew is bubbly.

I Love It When You Call Me Biga Poppa

2010-03-01T03:55:00.000-08:00

For those of you who think you can't make delicious bread at home, you have to try this simple recipe. Don't be discouraged by the length, much of your time is spent waiting for the end result. I opted to form the dough into six sandwich size loaves, but the original recipes yields two larger loaves. Whether you do it for me, Big Poppa, or just to say you can, you will amaze yourself and your family with amazing homemade bread!

Ciabatta

Source: Epicurious
Makes 2 loaves

For biga:
1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm water (105°‐115° F.)
1/3 cup room-temperature water
1 cup bread flour*

For bread:
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons warm milk (105°‐115° F.)
2/3 cup room-temperature water
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cups bread flour*
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

Make biga:
In a small bowl stir together yeast and warm water and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In a bowl stir together yeast mixture, room-temperature water, and flour and stir 4 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let sponge stand at cool room temperature at least 12 hours and up to 1 day.

Make bread:
In a small bowl stir together yeast and milk and let stand 5 minutes, or until creamy. In bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with dough hook blend together milk mixture, sponge, water, oil, and flour at low speed until flour is just moistened and beat dough at medium speed 3 minutes. Add salt and beat 4 minutes more. Scrape dough into an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours. (Dough will be sticky and full of air bubbles.)

Have ready a rimless baking sheet and 2 well-floured 12- by 6-inch sheets parchment paper. Turn dough out onto a well-floured work surface and cut in half. Transfer each half to a parchment sheet and form into an irregular oval about 9 inches long. Dimple loaves with floured fingers and dust tops with flour. Cover loaves with a dampened kitchen towel. Let loaves rise at room temperature until almost doubled in bulk, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

At least 45 minutes before baking ciabatta, put a baking stone or 4 to 6 unglazed "quarry" tiles (see note, above) arranged close together on oven rack in lowest position in oven and preheat oven to 425° F.

Transfer 1 loaf on its parchment to baking sheet with a long side of loaf parallel to far edge of baking sheet. Line up far edge of baking sheet with far edge of stone or tiles, and tilt baking sheet to slide loaf with parchment onto back half of stone or tiles. Transfer remaining loaf to front half of stone or tiles in a similar manner. Bake ciabatta loaves 20 minutes, or until pale golden. With a large spatula transfer loaves to a rack to cool.

Dinner Rolls

2010-02-27T04:25:00.000-08:00

When I found the world of cooking blogs sometime last year I was opened up to a whole new
domain filled with exciting recipes and great photographs. As I perused some of my favorites, I kept stumbling upon the name Peter Reinhart when bloggers waxed on about bread. After a little research, I decided my plan of attack was to purchase The Bread Baker's Apprentice and see for myself. That purchase has definitely been one of the best I have made in my quest for really learning about bread.
Reinhart is truly a teacher and goes to great lengths to thoroughly explain the many stages that bread goes through so the student can begin to comprehend the how's and why's behind the art. Reinhart is to bread baking what Alton Brown is to cooking...he includes the science of bread making from explaining the ingredients to informative photographs on shaping and preparing a home oven for hearth baking. Here, I am including a simple dinner roll recipe that we used to make mini sloppy joes.

White Bread: Variation One
Makes two one pound loaves, 18 dinner rolls, or 12 burger or hot dog buns

4 3/4 c. unbleached bread flour (I use King Arthur)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c. powdered milk (DMS)
3 1/4 T. sugar
2 tsp. instant yeast
1 large egg, slightly beaten at room temperature
3 1/4 T. butter, margarine, or shortening, melted or at room temperature
1 1/2 c. plus 1 T.-1 3/4 c. water, at room temperature
Sesame or poppy seeds for garnish (optional)

1. Mix together the flour, salt, powdered milk, sugar, and yeast in a bowl of electric mixer. Pour in the egg, butter, and 1 1/2 plus 1 T. water and mix on low speed with paddle attachment until all flour is absorbed and dough forms a ball. If dough seems stiff and dry trickle in more water until the dough is soft and supple.
2. Mix on medium speed with dough hook attachment, adding more flour if necessary to create a dough that is soft, supple, and tacky but NOT sticky. Continue mixing for 6-8 minutes. In the electric mixer the dough should clear the sides of the bowl, but stick ever so slightly to the bottom. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 80 degrees F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
3. Ferment at room temp for 1 1/2-2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
4. Remove the dough from the bowl and divide it in half for sandwich rolls, into 18 2 oz. pieces for dinner rolls, or 12 3 oz. pieces for burger or hot dog buns. Shape the pieces into boules for loaves or tight rounds for dinner rolls or buns. Mist the dough lightly with spray oil and cover with a towel or plastic wrap. Allow to rest for about 20 minutes.
5. For loaves shape and lightly oil 2 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pans and place the loaves in the pans. For rolls and buns, line two sheet pans with baking parchment. Rolls require no further shaping. For hamburger buns, gently press down on the rolls to form the desired shape. For hot dog buns, shape without tapering the ends. Transfer the rolls or buns to the sheet pans.
6. Mist the tops of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Proof the dough at room temp for 60-90 mins. or until it nearly doubles in size.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 for loaves or 400 for rolls and buns.
8. Bake the rolls or buns for approximately 15 mins., or until golden brown and register just above 180 degrees in the center. Bake loaves for 35-45 mins., rotating 180 degrees halfway through for even baking, if needed. The tops should be golden brown and the sides, when removed from the pan should also be golden. The internal temperature of the loaves should be close to 190 degrees and the loaves should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
9. When the loaves have finished baking, remove them immediately from pans and cool on wire rack for at least one hour before slicing or serving. Rolls should cool for at least 15 minutes on a rack before serving.

Valentine Treats

2010-02-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

Although this is coming at you a week late, I wanted to share the treats I made for Valentine's Day. The first photo is the almond toffee crunch topped with chocolate. The second photo shows some simple chocolate dipped pretzels adorned with sprinkles, and the final photo is my new favorite sugar cookie recipe topped with modified royal icing. These cookies were delicious! I do want to note that I did not add the full 1 1/2 tsp. of almond extract to the dough. I thought that sounded a little heavy handed, so I compensated be adding a touch more vanilla as a replacement.

Almond Toffee Crunch
shared by The Quail's Nest

1/2 cup chopped almonds or pecans (toasted)
1 cup butter
1cup sugar
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon corn syrup
3/4 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup finely chopped almonds or pecans (toasted)

Line a 13" x 9" pan with foil, extending over edge. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup nuts and set aside.

Butter sides of heavy 2 quart saucepan. Melt butter and add sugar, water, and corn syrup. Cook and stir over medium high heat until mixture comes to a boil. Clip a candy thermometer on pan and reduce heat to medium. Continue boiling at moderate, steady rate, stirring frequently until thermometer registers 290 degrees (soft-about 15 mins.). Watch carefully after it reaches 280 to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and quickly pour into prepared pan. Let candy stand for about 5 mins. and then sprinkle with the chocolate chips. When the chocolate has melted, smooth with knife/spatula and finally sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup nuts.

Egg Noodles

2010-01-10T13:44:00.000-08:00

Although it was a beautiful, sunny day yesterday, the thermometer still dipped in the single digits and I thought it was high time for soup. I have been wanting to make egg noodles for some time, but have given in to convenience and bought the frozen variety instead. After a little research I discovered that homemade egg noodles are very simple and worth the effort. I let them dry briefly on wire racks and stirred them in to some chicken noodle soup about 25 minutes before we sat down to eat. If you have some freezer space available I think it would be wise to make a double batch and keep some on hand for a quick weeknight meal.

Egg Noodles
2 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup whole milk
1 T. butter, melted

Stir together flour and salt. Add the beaten egg, milk, and butter. Knead dough for about 5 minutes or until smooth. Cover and let rest in bowl for 10 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out to 1/8 inch thick and cut into strips. Air dry until ready to cook.
**Note: When I started to roll the noodles, they did not want to cooperate. I had read somewhere that if you let the dough rest for a few more minutes it should be easier to work with. I did, and it definitely did the trick!

Oreo Truffles

2010-01-01T09:12:00.000-08:00

I know you are thinking "Just what I need, more sweet recipes to crush my diet in 2010", but these just HAVE to be shared. Apparently they have popped up in the blogosphere time and again, but they had alluded me until my hairdresser mentioned their chocolately goodness which sent me straight to the internet to investigate. I decided on the following ratios:

Oreo Truffles
36 oreos
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened
chocolate chips (for dipping)
white chocolate chips (for drizzling)

In the bowl of a food processor, pulse oreos until they are ground. Add cream cheese and blend well. The mixture looks very sticky, but is easily handled. Roll into small balls and refrigerate well. Dip chilled balls in melted chocolate and drizzle with white chocolate if desired. Store in refrigerator.

Please note that if you have an aversion to black oreo dust getting lodged between your teeth, these are the perfect alternative! They are the bite-sized answers to your snacking prayers.

Coconut Joys

2009-12-29T11:34:00.000-08:00

Here is a simple recipe for delicious coconut joys that can be used anytime of the year. We usually make an abundance of them for Christmas, but we have also been known to crank them out for other occasions and instead of the milk chocolate filling, we used colored candy melts to go with the theme.

Coconut Joys
1/2 cup butter
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
3 cups coconut
6 oz. milk chocolate chips, melted

Melt butter in saucepan. Remove from heat and add powdered sugar and coconut. Mix well. Shape rounded teaspoonfuls of mixture into balls, make a dent in the center with thumb and place on cookie sheet lined with waxed paper. Fill centers with melted chocolate. Chill until firm. Store in refrigerator.

Focaccia

2009-12-28T06:43:00.000-08:00

Even with all the Christmas baking happening around here, I was in the mood to make some bread. I have become more experimental and comfortable working with yeast, so I thought I would give focaccia a try.
For years I have had a copy of Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Baking collecting dust on my shelf. My husband used a potato buttermilk roll recipe out of it a while back and had great success, so it was my turn!
The dough went together quickly and kneaded in the Kitchen for 6 minutes. After that, it was just a lot of waiting and making the topping. It was worth the wait. The bread turned out to be full of flavor and just the right texture. I think it would be delicious to use for BLT's, or as the book suggests, croutons for a Caesar salad.

Basic Focaccia
makes 1 large flatbread

2 pkgs. active dry yeast
1 3/4 c. warm water (105-110 degrees)
1 tsp. sugar
3/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
5 cups all purpose flour (plus extra for kneading)
2 tsp. fine sea salt
1 tsp. coarse sea salt

In the bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the yeast in the warm water and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add the sugar, 1/2 c. of olive oil, the flour, and the the fine sea salt. Place the bowl on the mixer, attach the dough hook, and knead on low speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, 5-7 minutes. Add up to 1/2 c. flour while kneading to prevent the dough from sticking. Remove dough from the bowl.
Form the dough into a ball, transfer to a lightly oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in bulk, 1-1 1/2 hours. For a more flavorful bread, make the dough up to this point, punch it down, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Let the dough come to room temp before shaping.
Pour the remaining 1/4 c. of oil evenly in half-sheet pan. Turn the dough out into the pan. Press the dough evenly into the pan. If it is too elastic to spread without springing back, let it rest for five minutes. Cover the pan loosely with a dry kitchen towel. Let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free spot until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
Position a rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat to 450 degrees. Dimple the dough by pressing your fingertips all the way into it at 1-inch intervals over the entire surface. Sprinkle it with the coarse salt, if desired.
Bake the focaccia until golden brown, 20-30 minutes. Transfer to wire rack and let cool in pan. Cut it into squares and serve warm or at room temperature. Store tightly wrapped in aluminum foil at room temp for up to 1 day or freeze for up to 2 weeks. Reheat at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Topping:
I caramelized a sweet onion in butter and sugar and then added some finely chopped rosemary and garlic and sauteed for a couple minutes. Spread the mixture over the dough before dimpling and sprinkle with salt.

*Note: I only kneaded for 6 minutes, and did not need to add additional flour to prevent dough from sticking. Also, next time I make this, I may move it up one rack as the bottom of the dough seemed to get a little done for my liking.

Buckeyes

2009-12-26T05:20:00.000-08:00

In the next few days I will be sharing some of the Christmas cookies my sister and I made earlier in the week. Today is the family favorite and people pleaser, Buckeyes. Maybe it is because we have had them every year for as long as I can remember, or maybe it is the wicked combination of chocolate and peanut butter, but whatever the reason, I highly recommend whipping up a batch of these and sharing them if you don't devour them yourself first!

Buckeyes
modified from Gifts from the Kitchen
(an old school Better Homes and Gardens book)

2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. butter or margarine
4 1/2 c. sifted powdered sugar
3 c. Rice Krispies
2 c. chocolate chips

Melt peanut butter and butter. Mix sugar and cereal. Pour butter mix over sugar mix and blend with hands. Form into balls and chill until firm. Melt chocolate in double boiler; dip balls in chocolate and place on waxed paper lined baking sheet. Chill till firm.

Note: The last few batches I have made I reduced the powdered sugar by approximately 1/2-1 cup. This makes the mixture much easier to handle and roll. Also, if you don't have a Wilton chocolate melting pot, seriously consider saving your JoAnn coupon and investing! It makes the job so much easier.

Merry Christmas!

2009-12-25T13:43:00.000-08:00

Just wishing you and yours a lovely Christmas! We baked and decorated these cookies yesterday and enjoyed them for Christmas Eve and again today. Thanks to Ashlee for the recipe and the good ol' internet for a modified royal icing. After all the iced sugar cookies I have cranked out in my day, these are by far the best tasting and now I have my go-to recipe for shiny royal icing that tastes delicious and won't break your teeth!

Barefoot Bloggers Stuffed Mushrooms

2009-12-24T18:35:00.000-08:00

This week we have Michelle of Welcome to the Club to thank for our Barefoot recipe. She very wisely chose a great appetizer that I am certain will be making an appearance on many a holiday table. Ina's Stuffed Mushrooms proved to be a simple recipe, but we had a difficult time finding the mascarpone here in the north country, but we made a substitute out of cream cheese, heavy cream, and butter. The next time we throw this together, we will certainly look for larger mushrooms to ensure that not a bit of the delicious filling goes to waste!

Stuffed Mushrooms
courtesy of Ina Garten

16 extra-large white mushrooms
5 tablespoons good olive oil, divided
2 1/2 tablespoons Marsala wine or medium sherry
3/4 pound sweet Italian sausage, removed from the casings
6 scallions, white and green parts, minced
2 garlic cloves minced
2/3 cup panko crumbs
5 ounces mascarpone cheese, preferably from Italy
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
2 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Remove the stems from the mushrooms and chop them finely. Set aside. Place the mushroom caps in a shallow bowl and toss with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and Marsala. Set aside.

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Add the sausage, crumbling it with the back of a wooden spoon. Cook the sausage for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until it's completely browned. Add the chopped mushroom stems and cook for 3 more minutes. Stir in the scallions and garlic and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the panko crumbs, stirring to combine evenly with all the other ingredients. Finally, swirl in the mascarpone and continue cooking until the mascarpone has melted and made the sausage mixture creamy. Off the heat, stir in the Parmesan, parsley, and season with salt and pepper, to taste, Cool slightly.

Fill each mushroom generously with the sausage mixture. Arrange the mushrooms in a baking dish large enough to hold all the mushrooms in a snug single layer. Bake until the stuffing for 50 minutes, until the stuffing is browned and crusty.

Mr. Whiskers Bread

2009-11-27T12:53:00.000-08:00

When I was teaching Kindergarten, I couldn't imagine a late November passing me by without reading Cranberry Thanksgiving to my students. If you have never had the chance to enjoy the Cranberry series by Wende and Harry Devlin, you should really check it out and share it with any little ones in your life. Not only do the stories have a nice lesson, there is always some type of cranberry recipe in the back that happens to be really delicious. The one I will share today is a slight adaptation to the one in Cranberry Thanksgiving and is a nice addition to a brunch or dinner any time of the year. The dough goes together quickly and is a great use for those fresh cranberries hanging around the local stores. The bread fills the house with an amazing scent and freezes well, so you can plan ahead for all of your holiday gatherings.

Mr. Whiskers Cranberry Bread

2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. orange zest
3/4 c. orange juice
2 T. oil
1 egg
1 c. chopped cranberries (use the Cuisinart...you'll thank me later)

Preheat oven to 350. Stir together dry ingredients. Add the orange juice and oil and mix until combined. Add the egg and beat until combined. Stir in cranberries and pour batter into well greased loaf pan. Bake for 1 hour or until toothpick comes out clean.

Barefoot Bloggers Pot Roast

2009-11-26T16:00:00.000-08:00

Ina's Company Pot Roast

Ingredients

1 (4 to 5-pound) prime boneless beef chuck roast, tied

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
All-purpose flour
Good olive oil
2 cups chopped carrots (4 carrots)
2 cups chopped yellow onions (2 onions)
2 cups chopped celery (4 stalks)
2 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 to 4 leeks)
5 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 cups good red wine, such as Burgundy
2 tablespoons Cognac or brandy
1 (28-ounce) can whole plum tomatoes in puree
1 cup chicken stock, preferably homemade
1 chicken bouillon cube
3 branches fresh thyme
2 branches fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Pat the beef dry with a paper towel. Season the roast all over with 1 tablespoon salt and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper. Dredge the whole roast in flour, including the ends. In a large Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium heat. Add the roast and sear for 4 to 5 minutes, until nicely browned. Turn and sear the other side and then turn and sear the ends. This should take 4 to 5 minutes for each side. Remove the roast to a large plate.

Add 2 tablespoons olive oil to the Dutch oven. Add the carrots, onions, celery, leeks, garlic, 1 tablespoon salt, and 1 1/2 teaspoons pepper and cook over medium heat for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender but not browned. Add the wine and Cognac and bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, chicken stock, bouillon cube, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen string and add to the pot. Put the roast back into the pot, bring to a boil, and cover. Place in the oven for 2 1/2 hours, until the meat is fork tender or about 160 degrees F internally. Turn the heat down to 250 degrees F after about an hour to keep the sauce at a simmer.

Remove the roast to a cutting board. Remove the herb bundle and discard. Skim off as much fat as possible from the sauce. Transfer half the sauce and vegetables to a blender or a food processor fitted with the steel blade and puree until smooth. Pour the puree back into the pot, place on the stovetop over low heat, and return the sauce to a simmer. Place 2 tablespoons flour and the butter in a small bowl and mash them together with a fork. Stir into the sauce and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring until thickened. Taste for seasonings. Remove the strings from the roast, and slice the meat. Serve warm with the sauce spooned over it.

**This was a delicious dish! We had it last weekend, since we would obviously be having turkey for dinner today. We especially loved the sauce, as it seemed the meat was a little on the fatty side. Not sure if it is normal for the cut or just an issue for the piece we bought.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

2009-11-22T11:45:00.000-08:00

You can never go wrong when you combine pumpkin and chocolate. It is a really delicious combination, particularly when the chill of Fall sets in. This recipe was shared with me from a close friend of my husband's family. Phylis is a baking machine, constantly turning out amazing bread, cookies, and pies that are out of this world. Here is a cookie recipe that will not disappoint.

Phyl's Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup white sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin
4 cups flour
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1 package good chocolate chips

Directions
Cream first four ingredients. Add in eggs one at a time until combined. Stir in pumpkin. Sift together dry ingredients and add slowly to wet mixture. Once the dough has come together, stir in package of chocolate chips. Chill before baking. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Bake for 10 minutes.
**These also freeze well.

Barefoot Bloggers Creme Brulee

2009-11-12T19:16:00.000-08:00

This weeks Barefoot Blogger post comes to us courtesy of Suzie from Munch and Nibble. I have tasted many a creme brulee in my day, but this was the first time I tackled it myself. I must say the recipe was incredibly easy to follow and yielded great results. In fact, I have never had crust as tasty as it was homemade. We are in the middle of a move, so the kitchen torch is God knows where so the broiler was a great stand in. I left the oven door open and watched carefully to develop that delicious crackle that is my favorite component of creme brulee. Thanks for another winner, Ina!

Creme Brulee

1 extra-large egg
4 extra-large egg yolks
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving
3 cups heavy cream
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined. Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it's very hot to the touch but not boiled. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs. Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly. Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Barefoot Bloggers Blue Cheese Souffle

2009-10-22T05:19:00.001-07:00

This weeks selection comes to us from Summer of Sexy Apartment. I have never taken myself to task to make a souffle, but I must say that I am so happy to have that culinary milestone under my belt!
I think this dish would be the star for your next luncheon with the ladies, or a light supper paired with a salad of mixed greens and some fresh fruit. It went together quickly and despite my stressing about how it would actually turn out, I was pleasantly surprised.
The blue cheese flavor wasn't overwhelming, but simply provided some tanginess to compliment the eggs. I will definitely be making this one again!

Barefoot Bloggers Corn Chowder

2009-10-06T05:17:00.001-07:00

This week we have Jill of My Next Life to thank for choosing such a delicious Fall soup. I am not a chowder connoisseur, mostly because I can't stand the thought of clams coming anywhere near me, but this selection was a really winner sans seafood.

There was a fair amount of prep work involved, but when you have a willing husband, you can make quick work of that dilemma!

We absolutely loved this dish. There was a complexity of flavors with the addition of the turmeric, and it really added to the overall taste of the chowder. The only additions we made were the green onions and blue corn chips for garnish. I think this would be fantastic with some homemade croutons, but alas, there was no time to include them.

Cheddar Corn Chowder

Ina Garten

8 ounces bacon, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
Directions
In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.
Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

I'll Have My Cake

2009-09-10T14:49:00.000-07:00

What a busy week! I started a new job and by the design on Ina's cake, you may guess that it is teaching 5th Grade. In the midst of all the craziness, my lovely mother offered to make the cake since this is only the third day of school. What on earth would we do without our mothers, even when we are old enough to fend for ourselves?! The only issue she had in the process was that the pan she had on hand was smaller than the one Ina called for in the recipe. You can find the recipe at the Food Network website, or on page 216 in Family Style. I apologize for not going into further detail or providing more links, but this dial-up business is for the birds!

Barefoot Bloggers Pizza

2009-09-05T16:32:00.000-07:00

Please check out this link to see the pizzas we made awhile back. Tara was kind enough to allow us to re-post since we had already made the recipe. Please know that these pizzas are fan-tastic and we have indeed made them several times since. They will NOT dissapoint!

Barefoot Bloggers Mango Banana Daiquiris

2009-08-13T18:44:00.000-07:00

Since I am away from my computer this post will be shorter than normal. You see, I am dealing with the curse of dial-up for the time being.
This week's selection was perfect for a warm summer evening, but I have to say that I went very easy on the rum. The dust-covered bottle only had 1/2 of the amount called for in the original recipe, so I went with it. If I had been paying closer attention, I also would have made less of the simple syrup as it only called for 1/2 cup.
In the end, I would make this again for the smooth texture and slight kick of rum. This would be a fun recipe to share with friends at your next girls night.

Mango Banana Daiquiris
makes 4 drinks
Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

2 c. chopped ripe mango (1-2 mangoes, peeled and seeded)
1 ripe banana, chopped
1/2 c. freshly squeezed lime juice (4 limes)
1/4 sugar syrup (*see note)
1 1/4 c. dark rum
mango slices for serving

Place the mango, banana, lime juice, sugar syrup, and rum in a blender and process till smooth. Add 2 cups of ice and process until smooth and thick. Serve ice cold in highball glasses with mango slices.
*Note: to make the sugar syrup heat 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water until the sugar dissolves. Chill.

Lemony Potato Salad

2009-07-31T05:25:00.001-07:00

Whenever I see a recipe for potato salad I start scheming to figure out when I can throw it together and who is going to eat it with me. Although the dog-eared July issue of Gourmet magazine has provided a myriad of delicious recipes, it wasn't until this past weekend that I finally made the Lemony Potato Salad.
I have to admit the addition of lemon zest and juice may have scared me off at first. Let me assure you, though, it is a fantastic combination! It gives the salad a lighter feel and with only a 1/2 cup of mayo to three pounds of potatoes, you can feel a little better about shoveling it in spoonful after spoonful. The original recipe suggests bringing the salad to room temp before serving, but I for one will not take a chance when serving mayonnaise in the summer heat.

Lemony Potato Salad
adapted from Gourmet Magazine

3 lb. small boiling potatoes (we used Yukon Golds)
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tsp. lemon zest
2 T. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp. sugar
1 T. kosher salt
1 tsp. fresh ground pepper

Cover potatoes with water in large pot and season well with salt. Bring to boil, then simmer until tender, 12 to 20 minutes. While potatoes cook, stir together celery, mayonnaise, green onions, lemon zest and juice, sugar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Drain potatoes and cool completely, then halve or quarter. Add to dressing and toss to coat.

Rolo Cookies

2009-07-30T12:17:00.000-07:00

My mother has amassed quite a collection of cookbooks over the years and she always is able to weed through the pages to find delicious and special recipes to share with family and friends. She was given a Best of Friends cookbook by a family member and immediately found a cookie recipe we would enjoy for years to come.
I happened to make these a few weeks back when a craving for chocolate and caramel was to overwhelming to ignore. I do want to mention the dough tends to be quite loose, so refrigerating it for a period will make the process a little easier. These are time consuming, but a very special treat to share, or if you are anything like me, polish off on your own while watching trashy Bravo network programming!

Rolo Cookies
c/o Best of Friends, Etc.
by: Darlene Glantz Skees

2 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar (packed)
1 cup butter (room temperature)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 eggs
1 cup chopped pecans
48 Rolos (9 oz. pkg.)
2 Tbsp. sugar
4 oz. vanilla candy coating or white chocolate

Beat together 1 cup granulated sugar,1 cup packed brown sugar, and 1 cup butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs and beat well. Add flour, cocoa and soda and blend well. Stir in 1/2 cup chopped pecans if desired. Shape 1 tbsp. dough around a Rolo. Combine 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 2 Tbsp. sugar and press one side of each ball into pecan mixture. Place nut side up, 2" apart on cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 7-8 minutes. Cool 2 minutes, remove from sheet and drizzle with melted white chocolate.

Barefoot Bloggers Peach Blueberry Crumble

2009-07-23T17:10:00.001-07:00

This week's Barefoot challenge is the Peach Blueberry Crumble from Barefoot Contessa at Home. I definitely send my thanks to Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen for this delicious selection. We really enjoyed the addition of the lemon juice and zest in this recipe. It's presence certainly brightened the flavor of the other fruits and gave it such a summery flavor. My only issue with this recipe is that there is not a local peach to be found in our part of Michigan at this time in the summer. We were able to use local blueberries, but the peaches from the grocery store just weren't ripe enough to make this sing. Here is my proposal: try again at the very end of August/beginning of September when we can easily source local blackberries and peaches simultaneously. Problem solved!!

Peach and Blueberry Crumbles
Recipe by Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home

For the fruit

2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the Crumble

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serves 5 to 6.

Barefoot Bloggers Pasta with Sudried Tomatoes

2009-07-09T17:24:00.000-07:00

This weeks selection for the Barefoot Bl0ggers came from Cat over at Delta Whiskey. We took this dish over to our friends Timm and Faith, and one of the comments that came from that noshing was, "This is Summer!" Our sentiments exactly. A couple of modifications we made: We could not find sundried tomatoes at the local grocery store so we substituted a jar of sundried tomato bruschetta and we found it worked like a charm. After perusing the reviews at the Food Network we decided to cut back on the oil, double the pasta, and due to our personal tastes we nixed the kalamata olives and the capers. Verdict: we will be making this again during the height of the tomato harvest. The tartness of the vinegar, the acidity of the tomato, and the creaminess of the fresh mozzarella was an unbelievable combination of tastes and textures. A big thank you goes out to Cat for choosing this simple, fresh summer dish.

Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes
courtesy of Ina Garten via the Food Network

1/2 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
Kosher salt
Olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
1 pound fresh mozzarella, medium-diced
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

For the dressing:

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

6 tablespoons good olive oil

1 garlic clove, diced

1 teaspoon capers, drained

2 teaspoons kosher salt

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

1 cup packed basil leaves, julienned

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.

Burgers and Buns

2009-07-05T15:20:00.001-07:00

I am always mesmerized with the beautiful food and photos over at the Smitten Kitchen, and when I saw the light brioche burger buns the other day, I knew I had to give them a go. The recipe was easy and really made the burger more special. I previously mentioned how tasty goat cheese and caramelized onions are on a burger, and today was no exception. We also threw on some mixed greens straight from the garden and a nice slice of tomato to top it off. Although it is so easy and convenient to simply pick up a package of buns at your local grocery store, I really think for the little bit of hands on time, it is beyond worth it to make your own. Needless to say, these are definitely part of the repertoire from here on out!

Strawberry Shortcake Cake

2009-07-02T16:44:00.000-07:00

Since we knew time would be limited on the Fourth, we thought we would get together with our good friends Timm and Faith and celebrate early. We went for simple, picnic style food and came up with the following menu:

Burgers with all the fixins'
Corn Salad
Potato Salad
Strawberry Shortcake Cake

The Strawberry Shortcake Cake came straight from my favorite down-home gal The Pioneer Woman, and like all the other recipes I have tried from her collection, was delicious. It was beyond moist and the cream cheese frosting complimented the berries beautifully. I will certainly make this again to share with family and friends.
And P.S....if you haven't tried goat cheese and caramelized onions on your burger, you are really missing out!

Barefoot Bloggers Gazpacho

2009-06-25T03:53:00.000-07:00

This week for our Barefoot Bloggers challenge, Gazpacho was the choice made by Meryl of My Bit of Earth. I was really excited about this one because I have always loved Gazpacho, and because it was too stinking hot to be doing much more than chopping! I really liked how it turned out...the texture, the depth of flavors, the sour cream I added to top it off. Matt on the other hand could not get on board with this one. It is rare that he doesn't like something, but the cucumbers were too much for him to stomach. I would make this again, but in retrospect I would halve the batch because it really does make a large portion.

Not Just Tigers and Kid Rock

2009-06-21T08:43:00.000-07:00

Today I want to give some props to the Motor City for churning out some really tasty potato chips. I was thumbing through my July issue of Country Living magazine when the spread Potato Chip Nation caught my eye. The magazine chose 31 favorites, and Better Made Special Potato Chips made the cut. We try to do our part by purchasing locally grown and produced products, so naturally I was happy that my snack habit is supporting Michigan's economy. Better Made has been a Detroit business for over 70 years. They source the majority of their potatoes from Michigan and really have an outstanding chip at a very reasonable price. I can't get enough of the Salt and Vinegar, but the Sour Cream & Onion comes in a close second. Better Made doesn't stop at chips, however, as they stock everything from pretzels to beef jerky. So, if you live in Michigan do your part and buy some Better Made Potato Chips for your next backyard BBQ, and if you don't, check out the article in Country Living and buy local!

Veggie Bagel

2009-06-20T16:34:00.000-07:00

Now that we are finally having consistently warmer days, we are starting to see local vegetables making an appearance at our farmer's market. Today we hit the jackpot with tomatoes, red pepper, and pickling cucumbers. Since it was sweltering today, I thought it was the perfect time to use those vegetables for my version of The Pioneer Woman's Veggie and Cheese Bagel.

Veggie and Cheese Bagel
adapted from The Pioneer Woman
*please note that I am not listing amounts, just the ingredients we used to assemble the bagels

Thomas' Everything Bagels
muenster cheese
pepperjack cheese
red onion
tomato
mesclun mix (from the raised garden bed of your's truly♥)
cucumber
dill pickle
sprouts
Philidelphia Garden Vegetable Cream Cheese Spread

Of course Matt had to add ham and salami to his "veggie" sandwich, but I went for straight up vegetables. Suspiciously, Matt brought home the Thomas' bagels without being asked to, so it makes me wonder if he has been spending sleepless nights scouring The Pioneer Woman's site. You be the judge. Also, if you haven't tried Garden Vegetable cream cheese, you're really missing out. It is perfect on bagels, crackers, and even as a dip for vegetables.

Corn Salad

2009-06-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

I was looking for a light salad to play a supporting role to our protein last night and decided on Ina's version of corn salad. After the couscous debacle I had to right a wrong and this dish pulled through for a big win. Although we obviously don't have local corn yet, there happened to be a five-pack on sale this week and I had all the other ingredients on hand. It was just meant to be! The acidity of the vinegar paired well with the sweetness of the corn, and let me just say...basil and sweet corn are a match made in heaven.

Fresh Corn Salad
Ina Garten via Food Network

5 ears of corn, shucked
1/2 c. small diced red onion
3 T. cider vinegar
3 T. good olive oil
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 c. julienned fresh basil leaves

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the corn for 3 minutes until the starchiness is just gone. Drain and immerse it in ice water to stop the cooking and to set the color. When the corn is cool, cut the kernels off the cob, cutting close to the cob.

Toss the kernels in a large bowl with the red onions, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Taste for seasonings and serve cold or at room temperature.

Raspberry Cream Tart

2009-06-15T17:22:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know I should be making something with fresh Michigan strawberries, but this tart was calling my name. Since my sister mentioned that she had good luck with it over Memorial Day, I thought I better give it a go. The tart was featured in the May/June issue of Midwest Living magazine and it couldn't have been easier. I felt like I was cheating using a pre-made sugar cookie crust, but the flavor was delicious and it went together in a snap.

Raspberry Cream Tart
Midwest Living
1 16.5 ounce roll refrigerated sugar cookie dough, cut into 1/2 inch thick slices
2 3-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. finely shredded lemon peel
1 T. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. fresh red raspberries, blueberries and/or blackberries
powdered sugar
Fresh red raspberries, blueberries and/or blackberries (optional)

1. Press cookie dough slices into bottom and fluted sides of a greased 11-inch tart pan with removable bottom. Do not prick. (Or, press onto bottom of greased 12-inch pizza pan.) Bake in a 350° oven 20 minutes or until light brown. Remove from oven; set aside.
2. In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese with an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add 1/4 c. sugar, egg, lemon peel, lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until combined. Pour cheese mixture over warm crust and spread evenly.
3. Place the two cups raspberries in a single layer on top of cheese mixture. Sprinkle raspberries with 2 tsp. sugar. Bake for 15-17 minutes more or until cheese mixture is set. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool for 30 minutes before serving.
4. Just before serving, sprinkle with powdered sugar. Garnish with additional fresh berries if you like. Makes 8 servings.

**A couple notes: I used a 9-inch tart pan since I am too cheap to buy the right size. I simply cut back on the sugar cookie dough, but I did add the same amount of filling. Because of this change, I only needed one small package of raspberries. We let the tart cool for the recommended 30 minutes, and it was very good, BUT, I think it would be even better if it chilled in the refrigerator prior to serving. I just think there is something seductively delicious about cold and tart lemon desserts! I also added more lemon juice, because that is just how I roll.

Barefoot Bloggers Curried Couscous

2009-06-11T17:54:00.000-07:00

This edition of Barefoot Bloggers comes to us courtesy of Ellyn over at Recipe Collector and Tester. She chose Ina's Curried Couscous and has used the recipe as is for several years. I was excited to try something that I would not choose on my own, which is really one of the reasons I joined the group to begin with.
The dish was extremely easy and fast to prepare and had a great texture. After browsing the reviews on the Food Network website, I decided I would only add a little of the dressing at a time. I was glad I did. Matt loved the dish, but I just thought it was okay. Don't get me wrong, I really did enjoy the combination of the ingredients in the couscous mixture, but maybe I am just not a curry fan. I will certainly give it another chance, but I may make a different dressing for this particular salad.

It's 5 o'clock Somewhere!

2009-06-11T11:07:00.001-07:00

Yesterday was the last day of school where I have volunteered in the Kindergarten class. Quite a while back I stumbled upon Kelsey's blog Apple A Day and saw the cutest idea for happy hour cupcakes that she brought to school the first week. I figured the end of the year would be a great time to share these with the teachers who have worked hard and are ready for a little happy hour themselves! I adapted Kelsey's idea for a sign to put by the cupcakes: Sometimes Summer Vacation is too long to wait for Happy Hour, so have your Margarita/Pina Colada now! These were a big hit at school, and I would make again in a heartbeat. I knew I didn't want to put alcohol in the cupcakes since they were headed to a drug-free school zone (what a drag, right?), so here are the recipes I used.

Margarita Cupcakes
1 Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix
1 c. margarita mix ( I used non-alcoholic)
1/3 c. water
3 egg whites
2 T. vegetable oil
1 T. lime zest

Blend all ingredients on low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter in muffin cups and bake immediately. Bake at 350° for 18-21 minutes. *My oven is a real beast, so I only baked mine for 15 minutes.

Lime Buttercream
c/o Hostess With the Mostess
8 Tbsp butter, softened
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 Tbsp lime juice (approx 2 fresh limes)
1 Tbsp margarita mix
1 tsp lime zest
5 cups powdered (confectioners’) sugar
cane sugar & fresh limes (for garnish)

In a large bowl, combine butter, cream cheese, lime juice, margarita mix, and lime zest. Beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar, one cup at a time, and continue beating until smooth. If icing is too thin, add more powdered sugar, a couple tablespoons at a time. Spread icing generously on each cooled cupcake* or use a pastry bag to frost. Sprinkle cane sugar around the edges of the cupcake for a “salt rimmed” look and garnish with lime wheels & wedges.

*Make sure to remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely before frosting.I was nervous about using fresh limes to garnish because of the moisture, so I picked up some mini gummi fruit slices and used Wilton White Sparkling Sugar for the salt rim.

Pina Colada Cupcakes

1 Duncan Hines Classic Yellow cake mix

1 c. Pina Colada mix (I used non-alcoholic)

1/3 c. water

1/3 c. oil

3 eggs

Blend all ingredients on low speed until moistened. Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter in muffin cups and bake immediately. Bake at 350° for 18-21 minutes.

Pina Colada Buttercream

1 stick butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 T. pina colada mix
5 c. powdered sugar

Beat butter, cream cheese, and pina colada mix until fluffy. Add powdered sugar, a little at a time until the mixture is smooth.
**I used umbrella straws from Pier 1 as a garnish. I have had these for a couple years, so I don't know if they still carry them.

$6 Dip

2009-06-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

Last Spring when I was home visiting family, I got the chance to have dinner with my good friend Maria. Not normally ones to order an appetizer (rather have a cocktail!), we couldn't pass up the leek dip they had on the menu that night. It came to us piping hot and to our surprise, the base of the dip was goat cheese. Now readers, I know I have mentioned my love of goat cheese in previous posts, but let me reiterate: I ♥ goat cheese!

I knew that I would have to try to recreate this dish at home. Here is what I came up with:

Leek and Goat Cheese Dip

8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. goat cheese
1 stick butter
3 c. leeks, chopped
1 small head garlic, roasted
salt
pepper

Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Add leeks and saute until tender. Stir in garlic and over low heat, fold in the cream cheese and goat cheese. Season with salt and pepper. We usually throw this in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes, but you certainly don't have to. Our favorite way to serve this is with homemade bread, but crackers or pita chips will do in a pinch.

Cups and Cakes

2009-06-06T16:51:00.000-07:00

Another busy weekend filled with sweets! First on the list was a double batch of Cupcake Pops for my friend Lindsey. Her parents are retiring this month and happen to be celebrating their 40th anniversary, as well. She originally wanted me to make cakes, but after I showed her Bakerella's handiwork, the pops were a done deal. I used red velvet cake mix with cream cheese frosting for the base and the Wilton candy melts for the dipping. Let me just say that my new Wilton Chocolate Pro Melting Pot is indispensable. I got lucky and had a 40% off coupon at Hobby Lobby, so the pot ended up being a "sweet" deal. I highly recommend investing in one if you are going to be doing a lot of pops or even for candy making at the holidays. It really makes the job so much easier!

Next up were some Banana Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream. I originally was just going for yellow cake, but Matt spotted some ripe bananas that were on their way to the garbage and started reminiscing about his favorite cake from childhood. His mom used to make a banana cake with chocolate frosting and I must say it is delicious. I had a yellow cake mix on hand and did a little searching on the internet to come up with the following:

Banana Cake Mix Cake
adapted from Barbara Whiting
1 pkg. yellow cake mix
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 c. water
1/2 c. oil
2 ripe bananas, mashed
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Using a hand mixer, combine all ingredients and beat on low for 30 seconds. Mix on medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake 18-21 minutes. Cool completely and frost with your favorite chocolate frosting.

I decided to use a chocolate buttercream for the frosting. Normally, I use cocoa powder, but today I thought I would give the melted chocolate a try. I think it improved the texture and the flavor had a deeper chocolate taste.

Chocolate Buttercream
1 c. butter, softened
3 1/2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugar until blended. Add vanilla and milk and beat for 4 minutes. Add chocolate and beat about 1 more minute, or until combined.

A Big Piece of Pig!

2009-06-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

Let me introduce myself before I get going on the current post. I am Matt, Coco's husband, and I love to cook and eat just as much as my wife. Coco asked me to be the guest blogger on tonight's post, A Big Piece of Pig.
Occasionally, the wife needs a night off from the kitchen. This is where we usually decide to order Chinese or get a quick sandwich out somewhere, but last night I decided that I was going to make dinner. I stopped at our local market and perused the sale items. That is when I saw it. A large piece of pork loin, about 4lbs, that was on a crazy sale. I had no idea what I was going to do with it at this point, but when I see 4lbs of pork loin for $6.83, I will find something, believe me. After picking up some other items I cruised home to show Coco my find. I was as proud as a cat bringing its master a freshly killed bird. "Look Coco," I yelped. "4lbs of loin for $6.83! Don't you think that's a great find?!" Coco was happy with my pick, but reminded me that 4 lb's of pork for 2 people is a little much. Even though I have to agree, I was thinking of the leftover pork sandwiches, the diced pork in my salads, the ground pork for homemade sausage. I could harldy contain my glee.
I decided a simple rub of salt, pepper, and jerk seasoning would suffice for the pig. I rinsed it off, patted it dry, and sprinkled the seasoning on. I proceeded to throw this in the oven at 250 for an hour. After that hour, I added a 1/2 cup of Worcestshire and threw it back in to slowly bake in it's own juices for another 2 hours. In the meantime......
This is where my cooking can get downright dangerous. When I have a large piece of meat that is cooking slowly for multiple hours, my mind whirls like a dirvish thinking of all the glorious sides that can accompany the main meat course. I decided on a couple things. With about 3lbs of fresh asparagus in the fridge, this was a no brainer. Fresh asparagus is one of our all time favorites. The only problem is coming up with a new and refreshing way of preparing it. I decided to blanch the aparagus and then pan fry it with some bacon and jalapeno pepper. Not really a new and exciting method, but when you put bacon in anything, you are guaranteed a sure winner. Next I had a 3 lb sack of B size red taters. I chose to simply boil until about halfway cooked and then finish them under a skillet of onions and about a T. of the bacon grease I had from the asparagus dish.
I tossed together a green salad and I was thinking that I was done. Now, I could have easily grabbed a beer from the fridge, sat down on the couch and waited for all of this to come together. But the last time I opened the fridge, I saw last night's leftover sitting in a tupperware container. 1 large filet of Tilapia looked at me as if to say,"If you don't use me tonight, more than likely I will find my way to the garbage can. Please! Please! Please, find something to use me up in." That is when it came to me. Why not really surprise the wife with an appetizer?! I grabbed the tilapia out of the fridge and proceeded to grind it up with my stick blender. When the fish was ground up finely, I added a T. of mayonnaise, and a few pieces of crusty day old French bread, salt, pepper, lemon juice, and a small dash of Tabasco. I whipped this up and served it on pieces of crusty bread. Viola! Poor man's whitefish spread! Tasty indeed!
The wife enjoyed the meal and she was right when she told me that we would have tons of leftovers.

Fresh Fish!

2009-06-02T16:14:00.000-07:00

We try to incorporate fish into our diet, but it is not always the pick of the litter when your only option is the grocery store seafood counter. We happened to luck out with some very firm tilapia that was on sale this week at our market. I had seen Giada prepare a lemon vinaigrette for whitefish and I thought it would be a light and simple accompaniment to the fish. We paired it with some roasted asparagus drizzled with a balsamic reduction and had a fast, healthy meal that you could certainly serve to company. I simply placed the tilapia on some oiled parchment paper, seasoned with salt, pepper, and a shot of fresh lemon juice. After I wrapped them up, they went on the grill for about 10 minutes while the asparagus roasted and the balsamic reduced. The vinaigrette came together in a flash and was spooned on while the fish was hot off the grill.

Lemon Vinaigrette

courtesy of: Giada De Laurentiis

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup lightly packed fresh Italian parsley leaves

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Blend the lemon juice, parsley, garlic, lemon zest, salt, and pepper in a blender. With the machine running, gradually blend in the oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with more salt and pepper.

*Note: I did not feel the need to add any additional seasoning. I used the stick blender to whip this together and it worked like a dream.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2009-06-01T17:39:00.000-07:00

If there's one thing that my friend Timm knows how to do, it's making a creamy white sauce! Timm and Faith came down this weekend and Sunday morning we found ourselves wondering what to make for breakfast. Matt and Timm went to the store and when they came back, they had the makings of a delectable Sunday brunch. What started as the standard breakfast fare, turned in to being a hearty and delicious breakfast dish.
Timm told us the story of his aunt making creamed eggs on toast for her large family because it was delicious and economical at the same time. She was definitely onto something! Timm simply made his famous white sauce and then added some cheese, hard boiled eggs, ham, salt, and pepper. Meanwhile, Matt toasted some sourdough bread and Timm proceeded to ladle that creamy goodness right over the toast. He served this with fresh fruit and maple sausage. Now, my friends, we could have stopped there, but I had been dying to try PW's Monkey Bread and figured that a few more carbs couldn't hurt. The bread was easy to throw together and it gave me a chance to bring my bundt pan out of retirement after a traumatic baking experience back in the year 2000. It was time and much to my surprise the bread came out of the pan with no trouble. We were lucky to have another lovely meal with good friends and tasty food.

Graduation Cakes

2009-05-30T10:13:00.000-07:00

OK, definitely not my best photography work here, but I wanted to get these pics up without having to move the cakes around a great deal. I made these for a friend whose son is graduating from high school and will be attending MSU this fall. I used the Sprinkles Vanilla Buttercream recipe and liked the taste much better than any other I have made to date. There is no Crisco, so it has a better texture and the clean up is a breeze. Maybe not the best to have outdoors on a blistering summer day, but certainly a winner in the taste category.

Briney Chicken

2009-05-28T16:03:00.001-07:00

Usually Matt does the grilling around here, but I thought it was high time I tried my hand with some bone-in chicken. Although we do use boneless-skinless most of the time, we feel you just can't beat the flavor and moistness the bone-in variety offers.
I set out to find a good recipe for the chicken and had to look no further than Cooks Illustrated. They suggested a brine of salt and water to get the chicken started, and thinking back to the way my Dad cooks his Thanksgiving turkey, I knew it would be the way to go. The breasts were submerged in the mixture and rested in the fridge for an hour before I fired up the grill. Mainly, CI suggests that you hit the breasts with high heat and then cook them low-n-slow until you hit it with the glaze.
In the meantime, I was looking for a tasty glaze to add near the end of the grilling process. I happened to find a recipe for Amazing Jerked Honey Rum Glaze, and one airplane bottle of dark rum later, I was in business. I'm no expert, but I believe the honey really helped form a nice crust on the skin, while all the spices in the jerk seasoning provided the spiciness needed to counteract the sweetness of the honey and rum.
From now on, I will most certainly brine the meat to achieve a flavorful chicken with plenty of texture to boot.

Crispy Tacos Picadillo & Fresh Salsa

2009-05-27T16:07:00.000-07:00

Although I really enjoy looking through the glossy pages of the Martha Stewart Living magazine, I have to admit it is rare that I make one of her dishes. I have had good success with a few of them over the years, but sometimes the daunting list of ingredients forces me in a different direction.
However, in the recent issue, I was drawn to the Crispy Tacos Picadillo. This recipe called for homemade taco shells, so we decided to give it a go. I normally am not at all interested in frying in the kitchen, but I threw caution to the wind and despite the fact that I need another shower because of my oily stench, I was happy we went through with it. Since the package of corn tortillas had many more than we would use, we decided some chips would be the perfect solution. I must say the chips turned out fabulously. Matt did most of the frying and he just added a sprinkle of kosher salt after he transferred them to the paper towel to drain. The taco shells were a different story all together. For the amount of work that went into the shells, the result was mediocre in our opinion. I will say neither one of us has much frying experience under our belts, but the shells were too greasy and limp in no time flat. Because of this, we decided that next time around we will fry the chips and make nachos. Crisis averted!
We scoured the internet for a good tomato salsa recipe and thanks to Cha and T, we found it with our new online subscription to Cooks Illustrated. I can't post a link to the recipe because you need to be a member, but I will give a list of the ingredients:

vine-ripe tomatoes
red onion
jalapeno
cilantro
garlic
lime juice
salt
sugar

This, for me, was the highlight of the meal. It had a little kick of heat, but not so much that it overpowered the salsa. It was a fresh accompaniment to the tacos and delicious along with the homemade tortilla chips.

Lemony Snickets!!

2009-05-26T17:15:00.000-07:00

It has been such a beautiful weekend! The sun was shining, the wind was warm, and the breeze smelled like the summer was coming. What a wonderful time to make something springy and fresh! That is why I picked the Baked Lemon Pasta from Pioneer Woman. It looked like the perfect dish for the nice warm spring day that we had today.
Although pasta dishes are very filling, this dish seemed to to be "lighter" than the normal spaghetti and meatballs or fettuccine alfredo plate. The lemon seemed to compliment not only the thin spaghetti, but also worked well with the parmesan cheese. It gave you the feeling that you were having a nice brisk lunch in the cafe down the street in late spring.
We had some zucchini left over and decided to slice it up thin and put it in the dish. The best part is that your imagination can run wild and come up with a dozen different ideas to perk this up to your own taste and more than likely, all of them would be wonderful. My husband, who has the idea that pasta without a sauce or dressing on it is going to taste bland, was pleasantly surprised with this dish. He went back for seconds and said that he was looking forward to his leftover lunch tomorrow. When Bubba heads back for a second helping, you know something went right.

There's a Fungus Among us!

2009-05-20T17:23:00.000-07:00

After many, many hours of foraging in the woods in several different towns, we had come up short of finding any morels this year. We really thought we knew just where to look, but again and again we emerged defeated. Then, on a brief hiatus from rock band, our good friends Timm and Faith came down for a visit. When they arrived we again lamented how the precious fungus had foiled us and unless we wanted to shuck out 40 dollars for a measly pound, we should simply throw in the towel until next year. It was around this time that Timm mentioned he had brought along some treats that we could use for our culinary ventures over the weekend. He pulled a small cotainer (that's for you , Timm) out of the fridge and you can imagine my look of surprise when I saw those elusive suckers hiding beneath the lid. It just so happened that Timm's Aunt had them growing in her yard of all places and she was generous enough to share a few with him, and in turn, us.

We had all decided that pork was on the menu for the night and after a few stops at local stores, we decided on a 4 lb loin. The morels went into a sauce with salt, pepper, butter and cream and made for a delicious topping of the pig.

I imagined every bite of the morel sauce as it were my last on earth. Seeing as how the morel has such a short(and elusive) season, you almost have to relish every last morsel. If we had the funds, we would have these mushrooms flown in from all over the earth to have them on top of our steaks, our pork, our chicken, our pasta, our asparagus, well, I think you get the picture. But with a price tag of $40-$50/lb, we will remember the woody and wild flavor until next year when we are lucky enough to stumble across a patch under a dead elm tree, or have friends who are willing to share. Either way, we are happy that we had the chance to dine on these beautiful specimens and will wait patiently until next year when we can don our hip boots and walk through the muck searching for this tasty treat.

Traverse City Chicken

2009-05-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

As previously mentioned, my sister and BFF Cha, was generous enough to share this recipe with us. Although she has strayed a bit from her Southwest roots with this dish, I am sure it will not disappoint. Maybe in the near future my rad brother-in-law will share his famous cheesecake with us. Until then, thanks for sharing, Cha!

My recipe for Cherry Chicken comes from the Record Eagle newspaper, but it originated with a friend of my parents named Judy LaCross. She is the wife of a local cherry farmer and apparently she is also quite a cook. Cherry Chicken is easy to throw together, but somehow it seems more special than your standard chicken breast. While I have only made it for my husband and I, I could totally envision serving this to guests with rave reviews. As you can see from my picture below, we enjoyed the Cherry Chicken on a bed of wild rice accompanied by a spinach salad with fresh strawberries, goat cheese, slivered almonds, and a vinaigrette. Props go to Stone House bread for the delicious North Country 2-grain sourdough bread that rounded out the meal.

So, if you've never been to the cherry capital, I'd encourage you to do so. There is so much to offer from the breathtaking natural beauty to the up-and-coming foodie scene (amazing restaurants and wineries) to the thriving local arts communities. It truly is a year around playground and I'm proud to call it home. And did I mention the cherries?! :)

Cherry Chicken

2 lbs chicken breasts

2 tbsp butter

1/4 cup chopped onion

3 tbsp cherry jam

4 tbsp white wine or cherry vinegar

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup dried cherries

Melt butter in a skillet. Cook chicken breasts on each side to brown. Add onion and cook 10-15 minutes or until chicken is tender and cooked through. Be careful not to scorch! Remove chicken from skillet and keep warm.

Add jam and vinegar to skillet. Cook slowly and stir. Boil 1-2 minutes. Slowly add cream, stirring constantly on medium heat until hot but not boiling. Add dried cherries.

Serve with wild rice, salad, and bread (or whatever tickles your fancy!).

Sooo Meaty!

2009-05-19T11:05:00.000-07:00

Knees weak...vision blurred...concentration disrupted. No, I'm not swooning over my poster of Captain Jack Sparrow, I just devoured Marlboro Man's Favorite Sandwich, courtesy of The Pioneer Woman. I have honestly never had a sandwich quite like it. From the buttery bun to the perfectly seasoned meat and onion concoction, this recipe is to sandwiches what Stevie Ray Vaughn is to guitar lovers. Seriously...if you do one thing for the meat loving man in your life, make him this sandwich! He will fall to his knees and sing your praises, or at least do the dishes for you:)

Sistah Sausage

2009-05-18T17:59:00.000-07:00

Don't you just love and easy, delicious dish that you can throw together in no time? Tonight's dinner was Sausage Pasta and it certainly fit that criteria. We have only had this dish a handful of times, but I was reminded tonight that it needs to go in the regular rotation. My sister happened to give us this recipe and if I'm not mistaken it came from an old issue of Everyday Food. I did try to search their website for it to give credit, but to no avail. I guess I just have Cha to thank for this one! Speaking of her, readers can look forward to her guest blog on Wednesday. She will expertly be whipping up some Cherry Chicken to share with us. An homage to Northern Michigan and The Answer Man, I'm sure.

Sausage Pasta

1 lb. Italian sausage
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 lb. bow tie pasta, cooked
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 c. plus 2 T. olive oil
Heat 2 T. olive oil in a large pan. Add sausage and cook until done. Add bell pepper and cook 3-4 minutes. Add cooked pasta and the rest of the ingredients and stir.

*Note: I added the garlic with the red pepper since we are not big fans of raw-ish garlic.

I'm Officially Smitten

2009-05-17T16:04:00.000-07:00

That is, with the blog Smitten Kitchen. I ~~stalk~~ visit the website on a regular basis and I am consistently amazed by Deb's ability to not only cook and bake, but also photograph her food in such a beautiful way. Until yesterday I had not actually tried one of her recipes, but now I am so glad I did! Those pictures had been teasing me long enough.
We have recently been trying to be better about not wasting food and since we had some squash in the freezer and it was quite cool, we thought the Butternut Squash and Caramelized Onion Galette would fit the bill.
Unfortunately, (or so I thought) I only had mashed squash on hand, but I figured I could roll with it ~~baby~~. I proceeded to make the pastry dough without any modifications, but after that, I strayed quite a bit.
My version of the squash filling consisted of the following:

*note: Someday I will get my act together and actually write down measurements:)

-mashed squash (souped up with brown sugar, butter, salt, and pepper)
-caramelized onions
-goat cheese
-grated parmesan reggiano
-salt
-pepper
-chives
-toasted pecans

We both loved this dish and served it with some fresh mesclun greens tossed in a lemon balsamic vinaigrette. We will definately be ~~stalking~~ visiting Deb's site for fabulous recipes in the future.

Mother Week Wrap-Up

2009-05-15T17:38:00.000-07:00

The last installment of Mother Week happens to be a delicious zucchini chocolate chip cookie from my Grandma Arlene. As I mentioned earlier, I was fortunate enough to live in the same town as both sets of Grandparents, and actually right next door to Grandma Arlene and Grandpa Sid. Grandma and Grandpa were both well known cooks, but Grandma Arlene always had a special knack for baking. From her homemade white bread to her delicious cookies, you could always count on Grandma to warm your soul with her sweet treats. When deciding on what to make out of Grandma's arsenal of baked goods, I remembered back in the day when my sister and I would wait until Grandma and Grandpa pulled out of their driveway so we could run over to their house and sneak these cookies out of her big Tupperware cookie bin. As I stood in the kitchen and smelled the first batch as they began to brown, I was taken back to Grandma's house where I not only remembered the special times with my Grandparent's but all the scheming that we used to do on Sunset Drive.

Grandma Arlene's Zucchini Cookies

1 cup grated zucchini
1 tsp soda
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup shortening
1 egg
2 cups flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup chocolate chips

Mix the zucchini, soda, sugar, shortening and egg until light and fluffy. Sift the flour, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; add to the zucchini mixture. Add nuts and chocolate chips. Drop by teaspoons on greased pan. Bake at 375 degrees until they start to brown, 12-15 minutes.

Barefoot Bloggers Backtracking

2009-05-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

*Please note: the last installment of Mother Week will be posted tomorrow*

It's time for another Barefoot recipe, but Matt and I were not looking forward to the Tuna Salad. We have tried tuna and had it prepared many different ways, but unless it comes out of the Starkist pouch, we are not interested. And then, like angels singing a sweet chorus, Tara announced the Barefoot Backtracking feature and the California Grilled Pizzas were a done deal. I have been pizza dough from scratch previously, but never achieved a result I was happy with until today. Ina's dough was easy with the help of my trusty Kitchen Aid, and unlike other dough I have made, went together and was ready to use in no time. We ended up using three of the dough balls for dinner and the remaining three went straight to the freezer. Since we used three, I chose toppings for one, Matt for the next, and both of us decided on the third. Here is the breakdown:

C's Pizza
-roasted garlic
-goat cheese
-mozzarella
-arugula tossed with a lemon/balsamic viniagrette

M's Pizza
-red sauce
-red pepper
-bacon
-mozzarella
-sharp cheddar

Both
-red sauce
-ham
-pineapple
-green pepper
-pepperoni
-mozzarella
-sharp cheddar

Ok, so we didn't really choose 8 of Ina's toppings, but this worked for the ingredients we had on hand. For once we didn't even have to make a run to the store, for which I'm sure Matt was thankful! I have poo-pooed homemade pizza for years, and until my friend Timm showed me the way and I found this dough recipe from Ina, my choices for pizza consisted of the Hut, and the occassional taste treat from our local brewery. However, now that my eyes have been opened, the possibilities are truly endless and I am sure the dough will be thawing in no time!

Mother Week Continued--The Corner Cafe

2009-05-13T18:43:00.000-07:00

The fourth installment of Mother Week features a favorite recipe from my Grandma Sis, a.k.a. Sissy. I debated for some time over what recipe to use, but ultimately decided that her decadent Heath Bars would fit the bill. Sissy has been making them for years and they are a no fail treat that I always request when she has us for a meal--that and boiled dinner, but somehow that didn't seem like a good thing to make post St. Patrick's Day. As a child I spent a great deal of time with all of my grandparents since we all lived within a 3 mile radius. I am forever grateful for that time and can't imagine how different my life would be without having the impact of their love and kindness within such a short distance. When I think of the memories I made and continue to make with my Sissy, I immediately am reminded of what an amazing woman she is. Growing up with three brothers, Sissy grew a thick skin and is one of the strongest ladies I know. I watched her, with grace, care for my grandfather throughout his battle with Alzheimer's and was touched by her selfless example of love. And now, in her 89th year, I still watch in amazement at how active she is. We are so lucky to have you!! So Sissy, thank you for everything from taking me to the "city", to having sleepovers, to letting me play with your arms in church. The memories you have given me make me smile every day!

**I will post a picture once the bars have set up**

Heath Bars

1 c. Imperial margarine
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. chopped pecans
1 package graham crackers
1 bag milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Bring first 3 ingredients to a boil. Meanwhile, line a 9 x 13 glass pan with graham crackers. Once mixture comes to a boil, pour over graham crackers and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Allow to melt and then spread gently.

A Mother of a Week Continued

2009-05-12T15:53:00.000-07:00

Another night guest blogging and I find myself reminiscing about the old days of summer. Both of these recipes were dishes that I would not touch with a ten foot pole when I was a child. When it came to food, I was more into the simple things in life. Hamburgers, chicken cheese nuggets, Banquet pot pies, you know, the things that a normal 12 year old boy loves to eat. I would sit at the dining room table on Sunday afternoon in the summer months and both the baked beans and the potato salad would normally be on the menu. When my grandparents or my sister or dad would pass the corning ware dishes my way for a helping, I would turn my nose and politely pass them on to the next person. My parents and grandparents would always shake their heads and say that I was missing out on the good things in life.

Eventually, my tastes grew up and I found that there were few things in life that I did not like. From baked beans to potato salad to calf sweetbreads, there was nothing that I wouldn't try and more than often nothing that I didn't like. The beans and the potato salad were staples for our family during the summer months on a lazy summer day. I did my best to recreate the recipes although I still don't think I did them justice.

A funny anecdote about the beans: My mother and father have been married for over 43 years and started dating when they were in their early teens. When my father first started coming around to my mom's family home, my grandma would occasionally serve the baked beans. My dad, always the polite one, would say, "No thank you," and pass the dish to the right. My grandma would always ask my dad, "If you've never had these beans before, how do you know you don't like them? Just take a spoonful Mike." My dad would and over time he grew to love these beans . These days, he is taking two helpings of these beans.

My mom has jazzed these beans up a bit over time but they continue to be a very simplistic recipe. They are as follows:

Baked Beans

2 C navy beans

Sort through navy beans then cover with cold water and let soak overnight.

Next morning rinse beans well and put into slow cooker and add:

1 medium sized onion - chopped fine

3/4 - 1 C brown sugar

1 tsp dry mustard

Salt - probably 1 good tsp full

Cover with water - probably 1-1/2" above bean mixture.

Turn cooker on high and let cook all day. Beans are done when you can easily mush bean with a fork.

Put cooked beans into a greased casserole dish and place a couple of slices of bacon on top. Bake the beans at 325 - 350 for a couple of hours. You can double the recipe and freeze the cooked beans to bake later.

Potato Salad

Not much of a real recipe to this one. Start with 4 potatoes and 8 eggs. Boil tater until starting to get soft but not cooked through the whole way. Boil the eggs until done. Chop both the eggs and taters into fine pieces. Chop 1 medium onion fine and add to bowl with taters and eggs. In a separate bowl add 1 cup of Miracle Whip and add milk until the consistency of the mix is easily pourable. Add to potato, egg, and onion mix. Add salt and pepper to taste.

These recipes are both continued works that change each time we make them. Depending on the feel of the day or the group of people we have over, the dishes can be different works of art every time. I must say that my mom has these dishes down better than anyone. No matter how many times I attempt to recreate these, they are never the same. I guess there is something to be said about a mothers touch. My mother has always been a special part of my life and she has always been there for me. I hope that I can be as good a cook as her someday. I love you mom!

Grandma's Muffins

2009-05-11T17:00:00.001-07:00

**For installment number two of Mother Week, I turn the blog over to my husband Matt so he can share a special recipe from Grandma Grieta.

As the guest blogger this week, my first post will be on Grandma Elenbaas' oatmeal muffins. These were a favorite of grandma's later in life when she was living on her own at the Pine Villa apartments. Grandma, who had always cooked for a crowd, now found herself cooking for 1 and this recipe allowed her to make some delicious muffins that she could enjoy for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. She became quite famous for these treats at the apartment complex where she lived and they became quite a requested favorite of her friends who came to play cards and visit. She also made these a few times for a bakesale and always seemed to sell out quite early. This was a hard pick for me because I have so many wonderful memories of food and my grandmother. From the cheese sandwiches I would have for lunch as a child to the "onionless" meatloaf my grandma would make especially for her fussy eating grandson, the recipes would be endless. Grandma would be proud to see her muffin recipe on the blog.

Grandma's Oatmeal Muffins
*yields 12 muffins

1 c. quick cooking oatmeal
1 c. buttermilk plus 1 T.
1/3 stick of margarine, softened
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 egg, beaten with a fork
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
dash salt
1 c. flour
3/4 c. raisins (we used dried cherries)
chopped nuts if desired

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine oatmeal and buttermilk and set aside while preparing the rest of the mixture. Cream the margarine, sugar, and egg. Sift together baking powder, soda, salt, and flour and add to the creamed mixture. Stir in the oatmeal mixture until combined and add the raisins and nuts. Scoop into muffin cups and bake for 10 minutes.

One Mother of a Week

2009-05-11T07:12:00.000-07:00

I want to take a moment to thank the mothers and grandmothers that have touched my life, so what better way to do that than to have a week full of recipes that remind me of them?!
The first installment of this series belongs to my mom. She is truly the inspiration behind my love of all things food. Growing up with a mother like her taught me the passion, attention to detail, patience, and creativity required for success in the kitchen. There are so many recipes I could have chosen, but her chicken salad happened to be the first that came to mind. The base recipe was originally used at my mom's wedding shower by Gert, a special family friend. Over the years my mom made it her own with the addition of whipping cream and several of the fruits and veggies. Not only does this salad scream Spring to me, it also fills me with warm memories of my mom in her little yellow kitchen up to her elbows in tasty creations for the latest coffee hour at church or a special delivery for an elderly friend who needed a pick-me-up. So, thank you mom, for showing me that by making a homemade treat for someone you care about you not only lift their spirits, but also give yourself a good feeling by sharing your talent with them. Hats off to you mom, the world is a better place with you in it!

Mom's Chicken Salad
**There is no real recipe for this, but the whipping cream is a must! I have only listed ingredients, amounts are always evolving:)

macaroni elbows
sweet pickles
celery
carrots
broccoli
radishes
onion
green onion
slivered almonds
chicken
hard boiled eggs
grapes
whipped cream
Hellmann's real mayonnaise
candied sliced almonds

Cumin Chicken Salad

2009-05-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

Several years ago my mom and I went to visit an aunt to learn how to make her amazing oatmeal bread. Although I haven't made it since, I did come away from that day with another recipe that has stayed in our menu rotation. Ever the hostess, my aunt threw together this salad even though we weren't expecting to stay for lunch, and I am glad she did! The recipe originally came from Cooking Light magazine, but I can't give you the exact issue since a recipe card is all I have to follow. This is certainly a healthy version of chicken salad that could have many variations. We always use kidney beans, but black beans would give a nice color contrast. I also add a bit more hot sauce and a pinch more salt for our taste.

Cumin Chicken Salad
Cooking Light via Aunt Margaret
2 c. cooked pasta (1 c. uncooked)
1 1/2 c. cooked chicken
1 c. red pepper
1 c. shredded yellow squash
1/2 c. carrots
1/2 c. green onion
1/2 c. corn (I don't cook it, just cut it right off the cob)
1/2 c. green peas, thawed
15 oz. beans, drained

Combine the above ingredients and set aside.

For the dressing:
1/4 c. rice vinegar
3 T. olive oil
2 tsp. dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. hot sauce (I use Tabasco)

Whisk together above ingredients and toss with salad mixture.

Kabob-less Kabobs

2009-05-06T15:34:00.000-07:00

While we were at the market the other day, we were inspired by all the fresh (and some local) produce. This means lots of fruits and veggies this week! Tonight as Matt was throwing some chicken and veggies together for kabobs he realized we didn't have any skewers. Since we really didn't want to run to the store, we decided to cook the meat and veggies on a foil "pan" on the grill and they turned out really well. They were also easier to eat and took less time to prepare as a result. I did roast the asparagus in the oven with a little olive oil and some salt and pepper, and it was amazing. This is the first Michigan asparagus we have had this year and we can't wait to make more!!
As Matt was slaving over the grill, I stirred together a really tasty rice dish that I believe would be a real crowd pleaser. I found it over at Our Best Bites and I followed it nearly to a tee. The only thing I did differently was to add less cilantro than recommended and use fresh chopped pineapple instead of the canned. We both agree that cilantro can be a little overpowering, so I think I only added about 1/4 c. when it was said and done.

Lime-Cilantro Rice with Pineapple

Like I said, you really can just make this to taste, but here’s the basics.

1 cup dry white rice, cooked
2 T real butter
Juice from 1 large lime, or two smaller ones (taste as you go, I add a lot!)
1 C pineapple tidbits, drained
½ - ¾ C chopped fresh cilantro
Salt and pepper to taste

Cook rice. As soon as it’s done, toss in the butter and stir to melt. Add lime juice, pineapple, and cilantro. Stir to combine, and then add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

* You’ll want to serve this right away, if you don’t, the flavors tend to mellow a bit and you’ll probably need to add more lime juice because the rice kind of sucks it up. If you’re not quite ready to eat when your rice finishes cooking, just toss in the butter and keep a lid on it so it stays warm. Then right before you serve it, toss it all together.

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

2009-05-05T18:35:00.000-07:00

We love any excuse to eat Mexican food, so we figured that Cinco de Mayo would be a great day to pull out our favorite fish taco recipe. We were going to use tilapia, but settled on cod since the store didn't have any available. Matt took care of marinating the fish and I went to work on the chipotle lime cilantro sauce. Neither one of us measured a thing, and I frankly don't remember if they were even the same ingredients we used last time, but these babies were tasty. It doesn't hurt that our local farmer market had lots of the ingredients on sale, either!

Before we started on dinner, I was finishing up a little project for a friend who just announce she was pregnant. I have been wanting to use the sugar cookie recipe from Ashlee, and now was my chance. They were delicious and are now my go-to recipe when I need to make iced sugar cookies. I used a simple royal icing and although it was not the Wilton one I have previously used, the results were great and I think I liked the taste better.

Sausage Fest '09

2009-04-27T11:43:00.000-07:00

I know I said in an earlier post that we would be cooking a "challenging" dish with our friends Timm and Faith once a month, but when there is sausage to be made, who am I to argue? Timm and Faith have made sausage previously, but this was a first for Matt and I. Timm and Matt were brainstorming at the grocery store when shopping for ingredients when they thought of a grand idea!! Why not stuff these casings with themed meat goodies? Thus, the ideas started flowing. We made the following sausages:

Shepherd's Pie (ground chuck, carrots, leeks, celery, onion, garlic, potatoes, salt, and pepper)
Buffalo Chicken (ground chicken, fat, celery, Frank's Red Hot, bleu cheese, salt, and pepper)
Sweet and Savory Chicken (ground chicken, fat, apple, bacon, salt, and pepper)
Triple P (ground pork, pineapple, pepper-green and red, salt, and pepper)
Plain (ground pork, mace, salt, and pepper)

My only question is: Why haven't we done this sooner!? The sausages were delicious, and we all felt good about the fact that all the ingredients were fresh and we had complete control over the flavors. It was nice to know there were no artificial additives, and you could certainly tell the difference. We had good success with all the sausages except the Triple P. Unfortunately, the casing began to break down when they were chilling in the refrigerator and even when they were transferred to the hot part of the grill, they completely fell apart. We think this was due to the moisture of the pineapple and peppers, but since none of us had ever used those ingredients in sausage, we can't be sure. All in all, it was a great experience, and I have already priced the food grinder attachment for the Kitchen Aid! In addition to the sausage, Timm requested that I make my mom's recipe for Confetti Coleslaw. You can see the picture below, but you should check out her adorable blog for the recipe and just to poke around:)

Oreo Fudge Bars

2009-04-26T17:06:00.000-07:00

Although I could gorge myself on dessert for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Matt is not the biggest fan. When I stumbled upon these Oreo Fudge Bars, he actually had a fairly enthusiastic response, so that was my green light. This recipe comes from Baking Blonde's Weblog, and we definately will keep this in our arsenal!

1 16oz. package of Oreo cookies
1 stick butter, melted
1/4 tsp salt
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips (I used semi-sweet)

Preheat the oven to 325.
Line a 9×13 pan with foil and lightly spray with PAM.
Set aside 6 Oreo cookies for the topping.
In a food processor grind the rest of the cookies. If you don’t have a food processor, just pound with a rolling pin until the cookies are fine crumbs. Add the salt to the crumbs and stir to combine. Melt butter and gently stir together with the cookie crumb mixture.
Press firmly into the bottom of the prepared pan. Coarsely chop the remaining cookies into chunks and set aside. Over a double boiler or in the microwave, melt 3/4 cup semi-sweet and 1/2 cup milk chocoalte chips together with the condensed milk and vanilla. Stir frequently until smooth. Spread evenly over the prepared cookie crust. Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips and the Oreo cookies chunks over the top of the filling. Press down gently into the chocolate topping.
Bake for 20-22 minutes . Allow to cool on counter for 1 hour. Chill in fridge until completely cold and set before cutting into bars or it will make a big mess.
*These are not too great hot from the oven but are great after chilling and the filling has set.

Savoir Faire (eez everywhere)

2009-04-23T18:10:00.000-07:00

Well, I for one am tipping my beret to Kathy of All Food Considered for selecting the Croque Monsieur as the Barefoot Blogger challenge for this week. Not that they are remotely similar, but I really enjoyed this dish so much more than the Chinese Chicken Salad. I did make a couple of modifications to Ina's recipe, but to good results! I did not cut the crust off the bread, as we find it to have a nice crunch and loads of flavor. Also, I made Matt's Croque with the dijon, but since I despise it as a sandwich spread, I slathered on some cherry preserves. After my raves, Matt even went back to get some to use as a dip. The bread I used was a homemade Amish White Bread that I had in the freezer and because of its dense texture, it held up to all the cheesy goodness. I think this would be a crowd pleaser and I am already thinking of the many variations that could be used. We will definately be revisiting this sandwich!

Chicken For Dinner, Baby

2009-04-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

I have been meaning to get this post up for about two weeks, so here goes.
After hatching a plan with my good friend Timm, we decided to get together at least once a month to tackle a dish that in some way we were reluctant to make on our own. The first installment happened to be the French classic Coq Au Vin. We were guided in our journey by hottie chef Eric Ripert and his cozy winter dinner menu. We loosely followed his interpretation and rather than serving it with egg noodles, we made an updated version of the aforementioned No-Knead Bread. Let me just say that it was a home run. We paired the dish with a beautiful salad of baby greens topped with a meyer lemon-based viniagrette, goat cheese, and pears. We were really ambitious at the beginning of the day and were going to throw together a chocolate souffle, but laziness and a lack of semi-sweet chocolate took over and we ended up making a Dorie Greenspan version of blondies. It wasn't exactly frenchy, but they were tasty.
A note on the coq au vin: if you decide to give this a try, we suggest that you add the breasts to the dutch oven after the dark meat cuts, because the breasts were slightly overcooked. Oh, and for those of you who were former Buddy Rhubarb fans, Bubba is out of retirement!!! I don't know if it was the rooster, the Dr. Love blaring from the amps, or the fine atmosphere of the Pompeii Bar, but I am still waiting for an encore. Maybe next time Faith will be on the mic??

Barefoot Bloggers Chinese Chicken Salad

2009-04-09T17:58:00.000-07:00

I recently joined the Barefoot Bloggers group and the first Ina recipe I was to make was her Chinese Chicken Salad. We have made many of her recipes, so this group seemed like the perfect excuse for us to have an Ina meal every other week. Most often, we don't have to buy out of the ordinary (for us) ingredients for one of Ina's recipes, but we did not have sesame oil or seeds, so it was off to the local asian market. We were really thankful to have them since we were able to pick up the udon noodles we would use for the side dish we were making. The chicken salad went together without a hitch, and I definately recommend roasting the bone-in chicken breasts as opposed to the boneless, skinless variety. There is a moistness you just can't acheive otherwise. One thing I would like to mention is that Ina's recipe calls for salt in addition to the soy sauce. After reading many reviews on the Food Network site, I opted not to add the salt in order to have a little more control over the taste of the dish. It was certainly a good choice to make. I love salt, but even without the amount called for in the recipe, I was happy with the results and didn't need to add a bit. The vegetables were crisp, the chicken was moist, and the flavor of the dressing was spot-on. Since we were having company, I thought I better make a side dish to go along with the chicken salad. I stumbled upon a recipe for Peanut Butter Noodles over at All Recipes, and it did not disappoint. If you haven't tried udon noodles, it would be worth your time. The texture is interesting and mixed with the peanut butter sauce, quite delicious. The added crunch of the chopped peanuts and scallions gave a nice contrast to the noodles, and we will certainly make this again. A word to the wise: watch how much chile paste you add, as it can turn the heat up very quickly!

PBJ Bars

2009-04-08T16:43:00.001-07:00

We had some company tonight and we all know you can't have company without dessert. Ina's PBJ Bars looked simple, and who doesn't like the combo? They did go together easily; smooshing the topping on was the most labor intensive part. My only complaint was that they were a bit dry, but if you dug milk you would be in business--make mine chocolate!! Oh, and don't you just love it when your company brings along a lovely bunch of flowers?
And in other news: Made a second loaf of no-knead today, and was even happier with the results. I added an additional pinch of salt and let the first rise go for 15 hours. It seemed to make a difference, but the added salt was where I really picked up the flavor. I could totally see myself making this bread weekly and beginning to experiment with some additions such as cheese, garlic, and the likes.

Jim Lahey=Genius!

2009-04-07T17:21:00.000-07:00

So maybe I am about three years behind the times, but I just found a really exciting way to make bread. I mean bread that you might actually buy in a store and now you can master it at home! Take note Timm, this post is for you.
The bread I speak of is the brainchild of famed NYC baker Jim Lahey. A few years back Mark Bittman (of NY Times fame) did his weekly Minimalist column with said baker, and the movement began. If you google no-knead bread recipe, you can peruse the internet for hours looking at variations and reviews of this recipe. I suggest you head on over to You Tube (like you don't want to look at silly animal videos, anyway!) and watch the video of Lahey and Bittman making the bread. I use the word making loosely, since there isn't much making involved. It is more like waiting...lots of waiting.
I am so excited about the results and only have a couple of things to add in case you decide to bake your own. First, I would definately add a little more salt. Not a lot, but I think some would surely add a little more flavor. Second, if you don't have a dutch oven, it is OK! You don't need to run out and buy one, because if you have a covered casserole-type pot you will be fine. I used a smashing red Emile Henry number my cha and bro got me a few years back and was really happy with the results. So happy, I am going to start a second loaf tonight.
Since I had this wonderful, crusty bread, I thought it the perfect time to try a recipe I found in the April issue of Southern Living magazine. The cover is devoted to rubbing it in that strawberries are in season as we speak, but hey I have some chives peeking up through the snow-so there! At any rate, the Strawberry Turkey Brie Panini featured on page 126 caught my attention. Instead of buying a jar of red pepper jelly, I simply used some leftover Rhubarb Sauce from last night's meal and since we don't have a panini press, we threw them on the George Foreman. A few minutes later, dinner was served!

Pork with Rhubarb Chipotle Sauce

2009-04-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

I have perused many a Williams Sonoma catalog with drool coming off my chin, but I have not previously paid much attention to their website. It is a great tool to find all the cooking gear you lust after and can't afford, but I have also found it to be a good resource for all the tasty recipes they print on the pages of their glossy catalog. That said, I have had some rhubarb in my freezer for some time and found a recipe on the WS that inspired this dish. M picked up some pork loin the other day and we had some bacon in the fridge, so I figured that more pork is always a better, tastier option. I simply seasoned the loin with salt and pepper, wrapped it in bacon, and drizzled with maple syrup. I have learned that with pork, if you remove from the oven a few degrees prior to doneness, cover with foil, and let rest, you have a juicier piece of meat. The rhubarb sauce was quite a good addition to the pork, but I really deviated from the recipe with this. I started with some sauteed onions, added the rhubarb, a little apple cider vinegar, brown sugar, salt, pepper, and finished it off with a heaping helping of adobo sauce. The adobo added a smoky bite with just the right amount of heat on the finish.
You'll notice that we have been eating a bit of starch with our meats, and last night was no exception. I gained inspiration for the potatoes at the WS site, as well. I often have an aversion to measuring when I am cooking (not baking!!), so I was very loose with the ingredients. I used the Idaho's I had on hand, mashed them with the half-n-half, and added the cheese, butter, and chives. In addition, I threw in a little sour cream and seasoned them with salt and pepper. Into the oven alongside the pork for the last 15 minutes and we had a great meal that finally used up some of the ingredients sitting in our freezer!

Steak and Potatoes

2009-04-06T07:11:00.000-07:00

I have watched Giada numerous times on the Food Network, but I have never tried one of her recipes. Typically when the weekly ad for our grocery store debuts, I check the ingredients that are on sale and then search for recipes that feature said ingredients. This past week steak and potatoes were on sale, and since I love red meat, I knew I had to find a new way to prepare steak. Giada's recipe for Filet Mignon with Balsamic Syrup and Goat Cheese came up in my search engine, and those flavors immediately grabbed my attention. No we didn't have the filet, but the less expensive cut of beef we used worked well for the recipe. I also didn't have the full amount of balsamic, so I improvised with raspberry vinegar...also a decent substitution. For a steak cooked on the stove and finished under the broiler, I was impressed. Normally we would only use the grill when beef is involved, but this was a nice alternative on a snowy April night.
As for the potatoes, I simply cut some Idaho's in chunks and layered them-skin side up-on a bed of melted butter, fresh grated parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. I drizzled a little olive oil and a bit more parm on top and baked at 400 degrees until tender. Mmmm! Crispy goodness sprinkled with fresh chives.

Easter Egg Cake Pops

2009-04-04T17:56:00.000-07:00

After months of spying on Bakerella's site and drooling over her super-cute cake pops, I decided it was my turn. With Easter coming up, I thought I would give the Easter egg pops a try, and for the most part I was really happy with the way they turned out. Bakerella has detailed instructions on her site, so I won't rehash here, but I will share a couple tips in case you have a go at them.

1. Cake should be chilled until firm, but not frigid! The few I dipped when they were straight out of the freezer caused the candy coating to crack. I guess I could have pretended they were real eggs and appreciated the crack for what it was, but I'm too anal for that.

2. Make sure the candy coating meets the sucker stick and you see no cake. If you see cake, you may just have eggs that look like they are dripping cake, because the candy coating forces it to come out the bottom and ruin all your hard work.

The possibilities with these pops are truly endless, and that darn Bakerella just keeps cranking out one idea after the next. If you haven't ventured over to her site, now is the time!

Gołąbki

2009-04-03T15:55:00.000-07:00

Problem: Once again, we here in Michigan have been fooled by Mother Nature. Yesterday she brought us temps in the mid 60's and today we are back to the frigid, windy garbage we have lived with all Winter.

Solution: Fix Emeril's cabbage roll recipe to warm your tummy and transport you back to Grandma's kitchen when you were but knee-high to a grasshopper. OK, so my Grandma isn't polish, but maybe yours is??

The only change I made was to puree the sauce slightly with my stick blender since Matt isn't big on tomato chunks. Although it is a very time consuming recipe with lots of prep work, the result is a hearty dish that is very satisfying on a cold day. And you know what I say to that? BAM!

*Note: If you want a tangy compliment to the cabbage rolls, serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Yummy, Yummy, Yummy I Have Cake In My Tummy

2009-04-03T11:10:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't noticed, I surf the internet for recipes often. I stumbled upon a gem for a flourless chocolate cake and after reading the description, I was compelled to make it as soon as I possibly could. I actually started it last night and let it set up without the ganache overnight. This morning I got to work on the topping and threw it into the fridge to set up. The ganache sets up quickly and as you can see, I put a piece on top so you could the the interior. That piece was promptly eaten and let me tell you, if this cake was a song, it would be named You Make My Dreams (Come True). Hall and Oates weren't talking about just any 80's hussy. No, they were speaking of this smooth piece of dark chocolate that makes makes your mouth water and come back for more. And, thanks to Tish Boyle my dreams have come true!

Not Your Mom's Spaghetti!

2009-04-02T17:47:00.000-07:00

We love goat cheese. I mean even our cat loves goat cheese. So, in trying to find a clever way to use it in a main dish, I stumbled upon an idea on the internet that used mushrooms, caramelized onions, goat cheese, and basil. Sounded like a tasty way to pull a pasta dish together, and boy was it ever! We used our favorite baby bella mushrooms to add a nice woody flavor and we got some brightness out of the fresh basil. As for the caramelized onions, you just can't go wrong when serving them. If you have never tried to fix them, you should. It is a simple preparation that yields fantastic results. Throw said ingredients together, season with salt and pepper, and you've got a meal to be proud of!

1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
1 T. sugar
2 T. butter
3 T. olive oil
12 oz. pasta (we used spaghetti--we had it on hand)
8 oz. baby bella mushrooms, sliced
2 T. fresh chopped basil
4 oz. goat cheese
4 T. grated parmesan cheese (more if you like)
salt and pepper to taste

Melt 1 T. butter and 1T. oil and stir in the sugar and some salt to taste. Add onions and cook over medium heat until they are a nice brown color. This will take quite some time, so be patient. After onions are done, remove from pan and use the same pan to saute the mushrooms with remaining butter and oil. Add salt and pepper to taste.
In the meantime, cook pasta according to package, drain and add mushroom mixture along with the caramelized onions, basil, parmesan, and goat cheese. Toss to combine and season with additional salt and pepper if necessary.

Lemon Scones

2009-04-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

Although we are having leftovers for dinner tonight, I thought lemon scones would be a nice compliment to the meal. I had all the ingredients on hand, so that was a bonus. The result was a light, tart scone that was moist...even for a scone. I have tried my hand at scones in the past, and I think I have finally, through lots of trial and error, figured out that the less you handle the dough, the better.

Lemon Cream Scones
adapted from Morning Menus Inn Style
1/3 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. baking powder
2 c. flour
3 T. fresh grated lemon zest
1 1/4 c. whipping cream
1 egg white mixed with 1 T. water

Mix together all dry ingredients, including lemon zest. Add cream, stirring quickly to moisten dry ingredients. Dough should be soft. Sometimes and extra tablespoon or two of cream needs to be added. Knead on a lightly floured surface 6-8 times, until dough is smooth. Divide dough and pat into three circles about an inch thick and then cut into quarters. Brush with egg white mixture and bake at 425 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.

**Note: I made a powdered sugar glaze to drizzle over the top of the warm scones.

Breakfast for Dinner

2009-03-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

I have mentioned my arsenal of Bed and Breakfast cookbooks in previous posts, but I have to revisit! We were out of town this weekend visiting family (more on that in another post) and when we returned I had some leftover ingredients from last week that were still usable. This time I got the inspiration from Morning Menus Inn Style which happens to be published by the Wisconsin Bed and Breakfast Association. The recipe I chose was Ham, Eggs and Hashbrown Casserole, but I made many modifications and was pleased with the result. I will post my modified version below:

16 oz. frozen shredded potatoes
1/2 c. butter, melted
1/2 c. chopped onions
1 c. chopped red pepper
1c. sliced baby bella mushrooms
1 1/2 c. shredded colby jack cheese
1 c. chopped fresh spinach, loosely packed
6 eggs
1c. milk
salt and pepper to taste

While oven is preheating to 400 degrees, spread hashbrowns in a greased 9x13 glass dish. Pour the melted butter over the hashbrowns and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Layer onions, pepper, mushrooms, and cheese on the hashbrowns. Beat the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper in a bowl to combine and pour over hashbrown mixture. Bake for 25 minutes or until set. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting. Garnish with fresh chives.

*Notes: In original recipe ham and green pepper were used.

As for the bacon you see, I simply sprinkled it with brown sugar, draped over a cooling rack, and baked alongside the hashbrown dish for about 20 minutes. This is, in my opinion, an easier way to cook bacon with less cleanup to boot.
By the way, I am doing some experimenting with my camera and a new editing program, so hopefully the pics will be improved.

Final Cake

2009-03-26T17:45:00.000-07:00

Tonight was the final class in Course 1, so we were able to decorate our cake however we wanted. I chose Spring colors and was actually really pleased with the result. We did learn sweet peas tonight, but since they were pretty easy, I stuck with roses to get a little extra practice. I think I will enroll in the next course so I can learn more flowers and borders, but I am still deciding. I have posted a picture of the cake prior to smoothing so you can see what a difference it makes. I just used a fondant smoother and placed some parchment paper on the cake and lightly smoothed my way over the cake.

before smoothing after smoothing
final product

When we head home this weekend I am going to make a cake with my mom so I can show her some of the techniques I learned throughout the course. She just celebrated a birthday, so we'll have to pretend it is her birthday cake!
After arriving home from class, I found Matt had already started shredding cabbage for dinner and he had a salad put together. I jumped in and finished off the cabbage and carmelized some onions for the polish sausage. All in all, it was quite a productive day and dinner was delicious!

Fear Not!!

2009-03-25T19:53:00.000-07:00

*Former Nemesis*

Although I have done lots of cooking and baking over the years, I have always had a fear of yeast. My good friend Clay Bertrand scoffs at this notion and has encouraged me to suck it up and try, so here's to you Clay!
After a little searching, I found a recipe that seemed to be fool-proof and since I was planning on making BLT's, this was as good a time as any to give it a whirl. The dough came together nicely and as promised it was a rather quick process, aside from the rising time. We were so happy with the taste that I am sure we will be making this again and again. It was slightly sweet and I believe it will make a fine piece of toast come morning. So, the morale of this story is: stop being a sucker and make some bread!

Italian Sausage Soup

2009-03-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

During these chilly March Michigan days, we can still get away with a hot bowl of soup for dinner. After looking at the grocery ad for the week, we decided an Italian soup would fit the bill. Turkey, spinach, and beans were on sale, so it was the perfect time to throw together this hearty soup. I imagine you could use any type of sausage, but we really like the turkey. We served this with garlic bread and a fruit salad and will have plenty of leftovers for lunches.

Italian Sausage Soup
1 pkg. Jennie-O Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage 2 cans beef broth-low sodium
2 cans chicken broth
1 can stewed, diced tomatoes
1 can cannellini beans, slightly drained
1 clove garlic, minced
3/4 c. onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
1 large zucchini, chopped
2 c. macaroni, cooked
2 c. fresh chopped spinach
salt
pepper

In large stock pot brown sausage until no longer pink. Add garlic and onion and saute for 2 minutes. Add broth, tomatoes, and carrots and simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in zucchini and beans and simmer until zucchini is tender and the beans are warmed through. Season with salt and pepper and then add spinach and cook for 5 minutes, or until spinach is wilted but still has its bright green color.

*I had parmesan cheese on hand, so I grated a little in near the end. It definately added a good flavor, but it would be fine without it.

Practice

2009-03-20T12:34:00.000-07:00

I had some leftover icing from class last night, so I thought I would do a little practicing this afternoon. I think the rose gets easier every time I do it, so hopefully the cake I will post for final class will be top notch! The buttercream was getting a little thin, so I will have to remember to add powdered sugar before I make the final roses. I have found that icing consistency is much more integral to decorating than I thought.