I Am Still Alive :)

I haven't had much time lately to blog or make anything super interesting. We have been having very random meals at my house trying to clean out our fridge (i.e. dinner two nights ago-- fried catfish, beets & lo mein. lunch--cream of broccoli soup & waffles). I do have a couple of posts that are in the works (hopefully, I'll get them up after I send out the Christmas cards today), but the holiday season has been quite busy in this household this year!

I will leave you with some great food blogs to read that aren't on the side of my blog:

Cake Wrecks- professional cakes that people actually paid money to take home. Really funny stuff!

Cooking for Engineers- for those of you who like to deconstruct things.

Orangette- lovely food blog with tasty looking pictures (and recipes)!

Bakerella- YUMMY! I made one of the cakes on her blog. At first, I thought it was a bit dry, so it sat a day and ended up DELICIOUS. I think that I ate 70% of the cake!

Homesick Texan- I love this blog. I haven't had a chance to make anything on it yet, but it's delicious sounding. Home-style TX food. It will make you gain 20 lbs just reading it!

Smitten Kitchen- I believe this one was featured on Martha Stewart's show. The couple works in their 80 sq ft (yes, that's 8-0!) in NYC. I can no longer complain about my small kitchen anymore.

Dorie Greenspan- Well known in the baking world, this cookbook author has a great blog with lots of information, recipes, stories, etc, etc.

Hope you like these blogs and I'll be posting again soon--promise!

Herb Baked Eggs

I was a little surprised that I hadn't tried out this recipe yet because I usually buy herbs for a specific recipe and then have to scramble to figure out what to do with the rest of them. We always have farm-fresh eggs on hand thanks to CSA subscription. I did cut the recipe in half and only used two eggs per dish instead of the three that she used. I would suggest cutting your cooking time a bit if you decide to do the same because the eggs cooked faster with only two eggs in the dish, resulting in a non-runny yolk (I like them runny, if you don't then cook away). They were still delicious cooked most of the way and the herbs added a wonderful kick to the eggs. But whatever you do, be sure that your baking dishes that you use are broiler safe and I suggest that you make sure that your baking sheet is too (I skipped using the baking sheet) or it will have a tendency to warp!

This recipe comes from Barefoot Contessa's Barefoot in Paris cookbook.

Herb-Baked Eggs

Sweet and Sour Pot Roast

I had an arm roast in my CSA subscription and was wondering what to do with it. I found this recipe in Neiman-Marcus' No Jacket Required. It was very tender and full of flavor, but it was a little too sweet for my tastes. On the other hand, Chris was a big fan of it and had seconds. If you like sweet and sour things, this is definitely something for you to try.

Sweet and Sour Pot Roast

serves 6 to 8

1 tb shortening

4 lbs arm or chuck roast

2 onions, sliced

1/4 teas pepper

1/4 teas ground cloves

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup sugar

juice of 2 lemons

salt to taste

Heat shortening in a heavy skillet with a tight-fitting lid. Add roast and onions. Brown, turning frequently. Add remaining ingredients, cover, and simmer over low heat for 3 to 3 1/2 hours until meat is very tender, turning every 45 minutes and uncovering for the last 15 minutes to reduce the juices.

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

Chris and I have always loved spring rolls, but I wasn't sure that Nathaniel would like them. But he loved them! I need to work on the wrapping of my spring rolls (not super pretty), but they

were really delectable. I used pork this time per the recipe, but I think that I'll try out some shrimp next time. The hoisin-peanut sauce was also well received in my house. I had halved the recipe for the sauce, but realized that Nathaniel could have eaten it with a spoon and I'll have to make the full amount next time.

Spring Rolls

Giada's Panna Cotta Recipe

I love the Italian dessert Panna Cotta ("cooked cream"). You can add any kind of berries to top it. I think some mangoes would be delicious too. This time I used whole raspberries and just placed them on top. Giada's version has a very strong honey taste, so make sure that you use a good honey for this. This recipe comes from her Everyday Italian cookbook, but it's already online at Food Network. I wasn't able to get a good pic since I put it in white dishes again, but that's life!

Panna Cotta with Fresh Berries

Stepping It Up

I have been really bad about trying out new recipes lately! I have devised a better way of keeping track of what cookbooks I have used for the blog and sadly, I am only at #22 (and the new total of cookbooks isn't known because I have gotten a few new ones in the last couple of months)! So I need to step it up especially since in a couple of weeks, I'll be taking a cookbook break while visiting the parents over the holidays (but I will be sure to post about the delightful foods that I do eat in CA). I'll try to do better at scouring through my cookbooks on a weekly basis and have recipes ready to go for that week. I already have four new recipes in different cookbooks ready for this week. I will be sure to include good recipes in favorite cookbooks that are staples in our diet whenever I make them.

I am still trying to catch up on past meals that I haven't gotten up on the blog yet. I should be getting closer to being finished with those posts soon. Happy Cooking!

Paprika Home Fries With Poached Egg

I am a sucker for poached eggs. I love the gooey goodness of the yolk dripping all over my food (I know that some people are grossed out by this). It's especially disappointing when I order a poached egg in a restaurant and it comes out with a hard yolk. So while reading food blogs, I found this great recipe for paprika home fries on Serious Eats. We buy large bags of potatoes, so it was a great way to use some of them up before little eyes developed all over them and ended up in the trash!

The red stuff that is on the dish is the special Frontera Grill hot sauce that we discovered in Chicago when eating at Rick Bayless' restaurant. It's sad that we have been able to find other Frontera Grill products like salsa in Kansas, but no hot sauce. Luckily for us, they have it in San Antonio (which meant bringing 4 bottles back)!

Shrimp Fra Diavolo

Fra Diavolo (means "Brother Devil" in Italian) is a spicy sauce for pasta or seafood. This is a quick pasta sauce perfect for a weekday meal.

Shrimp Fra Diavolo from Quick From Scratch Pasta by Food & Wine Books

Serves 4

2 tbs cooking oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cup canned crushed tomatoes in thick puree (one 16 oz can)

1/4 teas dried red pepper flakes

1/4 cup water

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

3/4 teas salt

1 lb med shrimp, shelled

3/4 pound vermicelli (or other thin long pasta)

1) In a large frying pan, heat the oil over moderately low heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, 30 seconds longer. Stir in the tomatoes, red-pepper flakes, water, parsley, and salt. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes. Add the shrimp and cook, covered, just until the shrimp are pink, about 4 minutes.

2) In a large pot of boiling water, cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain pasta and toss with the sauce.

Tonight's Dinner- Pizza and Creole Corn Chowder

Nathaniel has been waiting for me to make pizza again for awhile now. Since I didn't get the roast cooking early enough, I decided why not try out a new pizza crust recipe that I had been eyeing for months now. It turned out great and it was simple with only 10 minutes sitting time to rise. The crust is a thin wheat crust, but it's not cracker-like as with some thin crusts. You won't be able to use lots of sauce or toppings since the crust is so thin, but that's good for the waist line. I added a little bit of tomato sauce with herbs and some fresh mozzarella. Perfect! Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Since the pizza crust only made two pizzas (one for Nathaniel, half for me & Chris), I decided to make creole corn chowder. I have wanted to make this chowder for years now, but I never got around to it. Since we had gotten some ham in our meat CSA subscription, I had the perfect excuse to make it tonight. It's pretty thick, so if you might want to add more milk or cream to your pot of chowder. The chowder is also pretty spicy, so you might adjust the red pepper in the soup to your taste.

Creole Corn Chowder from Neiman-Marcus' No Jacket Required

serves 10 to 12

2 cups finely diced bacon

2 cups finely diced onion

2 cups finely diced green bell pepper

2 cups finely diced red bell pepper
2 cups finely diced ham

4 cups corn

3 cups diced tomatoes

1/2 cup tomato juice

1 teas oregano

1 teas basil

1 teas thyme

2 teas red pepper flakes

1 teas black pepper

2 cups milk

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup oil

2 cups cream

Saute bacon in heavy pan until crisp. Add onion and bell peppers, cook until limp. Add ham, corn, tomato juice and seasonings. Simmer 30 minutes. Bring milk to boil in a saucepan. Make a roux to corn mixture and mix well. Add milk. Simmer 15 to 20 minutes. When ready to serve, add cream and cook until hot. (This recipe can be cut in half, which is what I did)

Austin, TX

I forgot to write about the Austin part of our trip. It's only about an hour away from San Antonio, making it a nice day trip for us when we are visiting. If you have never been to Austin, it's a huge college town (1.6 million if you count the surrounding Round Rock suburb) with lots of great non-chain restaurants, live music nightly, a very nice university art museum, etc. etc. It's definitely the "coolest" city in Texas and a foodie paradise. Chris and I have eaten in Austin quite a few times and have yet to have a bad meal.

On this trip, we decided to try out Shady Grove, a roadfood.com suggestion. We were pleased with the cheese fries (so good that Chris didn't even offer to let me eat the last one), Chris' hippie sandwich (a bunch of grilled veggies on their homemade hippie bread) and my Monterey Chicken (grilled chicken topped with bacon, green chile strips, Monterey Jack cheese and green chile sauce). I was also very happy with the homemade jalapeno ranch dressing for my side salad. It was so tasty that I thought about getting another side salad to use up the rest of the dressing!

After lunch, we made a stop at LBJ's Presidental Library that is located on the University of Texas campus. It's free admission (free parking too) and worth the stop. An old lady at the admission desk talked our ear off for about 10 minutes explaining the museum layout to us, but we couldn't really complain because she was so excited about everything!

Our last stop in Austin was Amy's Ice Cream. I had heard about this terrific place while watching Food Network before our last trip out there and I am addicted now. The ice cream there is fabulous (14% butterfat--how could it be bad?). I was excited to see that she had a location in San Antonio (which I ended up visiting a couple of times).

We were disappointed that we missed out on a roadfood find, Eva B's Bakery and Cafe. They were closed by the time that we drove by and we didn't get to try all the delicious looking kolache that they have. It looks like we'll have to make another trip to Austin in the near future...bummer.

Rustic Chicken with Mushrooms and Polenta

This is one of our favorite chicken dishes. I finally got a chance to use the organic chicken thighs that I bought from a local farm. They ended up being delicious.

adapted from magazine The Best of Fine Cooking; Comfort Food Issue Comfort 2004

For the chicken:
salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbs olive oil, more as needed
8 bone-in chicken pieces (3 to 4 lbs total) or one 3 1/2 lb chicken, cut into 8 pieces
1 cup sliced yellow onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups sliced portabella mushrooms
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 1/2 cups canned diced tomatoes, with their juices
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
2 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

Polenta:
1 tbs unsalted butter
4 cups water or chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 cup medium ground cornmeal

To make chicken: Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot but not smoking. Cook the chicken pieces, skin side down in batches, until browned on all sides, 3 to 4 minutes per side, adding oil if necessary. Transfer the chicken to a plate as it's browned.

Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions, saute, stirring, until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, another 2 minutes. If the pan is dry, add 1 Tbs, oil. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their juices and begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add 1 tsp, salt and 1/2 tsp pepper. Add the wine and scrape up any browned bits in the pan. Return the chicken pieces to the pan (they should just fit in snugly) and simmer until the wine is reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Add the tomatoes, broth, olives and thyme. Reduce the heat and simmer the chicken, turning occasionally, until it's completely cooked and very tender, 30 to 40 minutes. Meanwhile, make the polenta while the chicken is cooking.

To make polenta:
In a medium saucepan, bring the butter, water (or broth) and salt to a boil over medium-high heat. Slowly, add cornmeal, whisking until smooth. Reduce the heat to a simmer and continue to cook, whisking or frequently stirring with a wooden spoon until the mixture is thick, about 30 minutes. If polenta is done before the chicken, cover with foil and stir occasionally to keep a crust from forming.

Serve the chicken over the polenta with some of the sauce.

Million Dollar Brownies

The other item that I brought to the Christmas party.

Million Dollar Brownies from Neiman-Marcus' No Jacket Required

14 oz bag of individually wrapped caramel candies
1/3 cup evaporated milk
8 oz German's sweet chocolate
6 tbs butter
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 cup sifted flour
1 teas baking powder
1/2 teas salt
2 teas vanilla
6 oz chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (if you want them)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13 by 9 inch baking pan. In a double boiler over low heat, combine unwrapped caramels and evaporated milk. Cover and simmer until caramels melt, stirring occasionally, keep warm until caramels melt, stirring occasionally, keep warm with lid askew and water barely simmering.

In a 2 quart saucepan over low heat, combine chocolate and butter, stirring occasionally, until melted. Remove from heat, let cool to room temperature.

In a large bowl, beat eggs with an electric mixer at high speed until foamy. Gradually add sugar, continuing to beat until slightly thickened and pale yellow.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, and salt, gradually add to the egg mixture. Mix. Blend in the cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla. Spread half of the chocolate batter into prepared pan. Bake for 6 minutes, or until set. Remove from oven.

Spread caramel mixture over baked chocolate batter. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Add half of pecans into remaining chocolate batters (if using). Spoon over caramel layer. Sprinkle remaining pecans over top. Bake for 30 minutes or until the top layer of the batter is set. Let cool in baking dish. Chill for at least 2 hours in the dish.

Note: If brownies are not chilled, they will be difficult to cut.

Hummus

This is what I made for last night's Christmas party that we went to.

Hummus from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

2 cups canned chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 cup tahini (sesame paste)
6 tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
2 tbs liquid from the chickpeas
8 dashes Tabasco sauce

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and process until the hummus is coarsely pureed. Taste for seasoning and serve chilled or at room temperature.

Slacking!

Sorry about the lack of posts! With the holiday and my trip to see the in-laws, I haven't had much time to blog! I didn't get a chance to cook much before our trip since we were busy with an out of town guest and running around trying to get things ready for our trip.


We ate A LOT of great food in Texas, but I have to say that I was a little relived that I finally got to cook and eat at home tonight! Our friends from Dallas were planning to come down for the weekend and Jeff told us that there was only one thing that he wanted to do was eat at Taco Taco, which was named best taco in America by Bon Appetit. The small no-frills restaurant only holds 40 people and the homemade tortillas and authentic Mexican fillings in the tacos made us recall the delicious tacos that we had in Mexico. It was so tasty that Chris and I made another trip to the restaurant the day that we left San Antonio for a final meal there.

April, Brett and I also ate at the Tip Top Cafe (while the adult males were golfing on Sunday), which I had seen on Food Network's Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I had never eaten at a restaurant that I had seen on this show and always wanted to, but I was pretty disappointed with the food. My chicken fried steak was huge, but pretty flavorless and I'll probably skip any of Guy Fieri's choices from now on.

Sunday night after the nephews left, Chris' dad took us to Welfare Cafe in Hill Country. The restaurants is in the middle of nowhere on a working ranch. Unfortunately, the weather was windy and cold, so we couldn't sit outside on their porch. There was a bluegrass band playing that night, making most conversation hard to hear, but the food was wonderful. They have a rotating small daily menu (not a good place for vegetarians or picky eaters).

We ended up eating at Liberty Bar the last night that we were in San Antonio. It's a restaurant in an old building with a crooked floor. I have eaten here a couple of times and I wasn't really that impressed the first time, but it's a place that Chris' parents like to eat at. The menu is extensive, which sometimes isn't a good thing. But this time, I did have some delightful pasta (which was a great choice after all the super fattening foods that I had eaten during the trip).

I can't wait for another trip down to San Antonio next year for some more mouth watering food!

Heath Bar Brownies

I just made these today. Nathaniel was not impressed with Heath Bars alone, but I had a feeling that he would like these brownies. I was right and he loved them.

Heath Bar Brownies adapted from Maida Heatter's Brand-New Book of Great Cookies

6 1/2 oz Heath bars
2 oz unsweetened chocolate
4 oz unsalted butter (1 stick)
2 large eggs
1/2 teas vanilla
1/4 teas salt
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup sifted flour

Adjust a rack one-third up from the bottom of the oven and preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 8 inch square pan by lining it with foil with the shiny side up, then butter it (I sprayed it instead--less work!).

To cut up the Heath bars, work on a cutting board with a sharp and heavy knife. Cut through the long sides into slices 1/4 to 1/3 inch wide (about 1 1/2 cups of cut up Heath bars). Chop a scant 1/4 cup of the cut up bars into smaller pieces (to sprinkle on top), keep these separate.

Place the unsweetened chocolate and butter in the top of a small double boiler over warm water on moderate heat. Stir occasionally until melted. Remove the top of the double boiler and set aside.

In the small bowl of an electric mixer beat the eggs, vanilla, salt and sugar until mixed. Add the chocolate mixture (which may still be warm) and beat only to mix. Then add the flour and beat only to mix. Remove bowl from mixer and add all but the 1/4 cup of the smaller Heath bar pieces.

Turn into the prepared pan and spread smooth. Sprinkle the smaller pieces of Heath bars over the top. Bake for 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out just barely clean.

Remove the pan from the oven, let stand until cool. Cut into small pieces. Serve at room temperature or refrigerated.

Frozen Hot Chocolate

I am sure that a few of you are wondering what the heck frozen hot chocolate is. Personally, I think it's kind of weird too. If you remember from earlier posts, I don't really like chocolate but my son was having a hard day and I decided that he needed some cheering up. This recipe helped out some and he really did like it. It comes from the famous dessert place, Serendipity 3, in NYC where celebrities hob nob all the time. This makes A LOT. The cookbook just said a gigantic Serendipity-sized serving. It made easily 5 margarita sized drinks.

Frozen Hot Chocolate from Sweet Serendipity

3 oz of a variety of your favorite chocolates

2 teas store bought hot chocolate mix

1 1/2 tbs sugar

1 1/2 cups milk

3 cups ice

whipped cream

-chop chocolate into small pieces and place it in the top of a double boiler over simmering water, stirring occasionally until melted. Add the hot chocolate mix and sugar, stirring constantly until thoroughly blended. Remove from heat and slowly add 1/2 cup of the milk and stir until smooth. Cool to room temperature.

-in a blender place the remaining cup of milk, the room temperature chocolate mixture and the ice. Blend on high speed until smooth and the consistency of a frozen daiquiri. Pour into a giant goblet and top with whipped cream. Enjoy with a spoon or a straw--or both!

Lamb Chops

This is a a recipe from Giada DeLaurentiis' Everyday Italian cookbook. Our lamb chops came from a local rancher who sells her meats at the Farmer's Market. It took no time to make up the rub and cook these up. She calls for a grill pan, but I don't have one. I ended up just pan frying the chops and they still ended up delicious.

Lamb Chops

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

I just made these this afternoon. The recipe was on a blog of a friend (Laura's) of a friend's that she adapted from Smitten Kitchen's blog. I followed the original recipe on SK's and everyone loved them. I'll have to try out the chunky peanut butter next time, but I only had creamy.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

A perfectly easy way to make shrimp cocktail. Another great recipe from Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics cookbook.

serves 6 to 8
2 lbs (12 to 15 count) shrimp
1 tbs olive oil
1/2 teas kosher salt
1/2 teas freshly ground black pepper

SAUCE:
1/2 cup Heinz chili sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tbs prepared horseradish
2 teas freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teas Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teas Tabasco sauce

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Peel and devein the shrimp, leaving the tails on. Place them on a sheet pan with the olive oil, salt and pepper and spread them in one layer. Roast for 8 to 10 minutes, just until pink and firm and cooked through. Set aside to cool.
For the sauce, combine the chili sauce, ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco. Serve as a dip with the shrimp.

Knife Contest On Steamy Kitchen

I found this knife contest on a blog that I read. I missed posting about Pioneer Woman's KitchenAid contest today, but this one is still going on Steamy Kitchen. She also has some great tips on how to sharpen your knives (which will only work if you have decent knives).

Sorry that I don't have cool contests like this. But no one is sponsoring me or offering to donate me any items to give away. Plus future plans include being a poor college student once again, so giving away $150 knives just isn't in the budget right now. Maybe someday.

Knife contest

Barefoot Contessa's White Pizza With Arugula

The other night, I decided to try my hand at making homemade pizza (much to my son's delight). It took a little bit of time and effort, but it was fun to make them with Nathaniel. The only problem now is that Nathaniel doesn't feel that other pizzas are up to par to eat anymore and it looks like I'll be making more pizzas in the future. This is a Barefoot Contessa recipe from her newest cookbook that I purchased a few weeks back. She uses a garlic oil instead of red sauce and 3 different kinds of cheese for the pizza, then she tops it with arugula with a lemon vinaigrette. It's a perfect pizza!

White Pizza With Arugula

Pioneer Woman's Shrimp Pasta

I wasn't feeling great all day, but I needed something quick for dinner. I try to keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer, which made this dish easy to make. If you like pasta and shrimp, this is a wonderful and quick dish. I used spiral pasta instead of penne because I recently purchased a six pack of pasta at Costco. Another great dish from Pioneer Woman!

Shrimp Pasta

Carnitas!

I forgot to take pics of this lovely recipe. I had tried making carnitas earlier and the results were ok, but not great. Even my foodie son commented on how they were too dry and that this recipe was much better. It made a lot of food, so we will be enjoying the pork for a couple of lunches. I had some homemade salsa leftover and served it with some sour cream and flour tortillas. Delicious (and easy)!

Carnitas

Curried Chicken Salad

I was really glad that Nathaniel ended up liking this because the recipe makes a lot of chicken salad. It's a Barefoot Contessa recipe and you can adjust it to your taste by making it spicier with more curry powder or sweeter with more chutney. If you want to omit the raisins or cashews, you can (I omit both because I don't like raisins in my savory foods and Chris doesn't usually like nuts).

Curried Chicken Salad from Barefoot Contessa's Family Style cookbook
serves 6

3 whole (6 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (you'll want the skin on to keep the juices in, but get rid of it before putting it in the salad)
olive oil
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups good mayonnaise (DON'T use Miracle Whip--whatever you do, don't do it!)
1/3 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup Major Grey's chutney
3 tbs curry powder
1 cup medium-diced celery (about 2 large stalks)
1/4 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts (2 scallions)
1/4 cup raisins
1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and dice the chicken in large bite-size pieces.

For the dressing, combine the mayonnaise, wine, chutney, curry powder, and 1 1/2 teas salt in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Process until smooth.

Combine the chicken with enough dressing to moisten well. Add the celery, scallions and raisins, and mix well. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to blend. Add the cashews and serve at room temperature.

Marshmallow-Hot Fudge Sauce

I just purchased the ice cream cookbook last night and had Nathaniel look for a recipe to make. This is the one that he picked to top our homemade ice cream.

Marshmallow-Hot Fudge Sauce from David Lebovitz's The Perfect Scoop

makes 2 cups

2/3 cup milk (whole or low-fat)

2 tbs salted butter (I used unsalted since I never have salted)

30 large marshmallows (not quite a whole bag)

8 oz bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped (I used a 4 oz bar of each since that's what I had)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Warm the milk and butter in a medium saucepan. Add the marshmallows and cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until they've melted. Remove from the heat and add the chocolate pieces. Let stand for 30 seconds, the stir until smooth. Add vanilla. Serve warm.

**Can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Rewarm it gently in a microwave or by stirring in a saucepan over very low heat. If the sauce becomes too thick, stir in a few spoonfuls of milk.

Korean Short Ribs

I just realized that the picture isn't that appetizing looking, but trust me, it's delicious. It's a great meal when you serve it with some rice and a veggie side (I made stir-fried bok choy). I get my short ribs from the Korean/Japanese market in Overland Park because I have never seen the same cut in the regular grocery store. I have seen short ribs, but not cut the same way. So you might have to get the meat from an Asian market unless you live out in CA or somewhere like that.

Korean Short Ribs from Neiman-Marcus' No Jacket Required

1/2 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup sliced green onions

2 tbs toasted sesame seeds

2 tbs sugar

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 teas pepper

4 lbs short ribs, cut between the bones

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Stir together soy sauce, water, onions, sesame seeds, sugar, garlic, and pepper. Pour over ribs and marinate, chill in fridge overnight. Grill or broil for 15 to 20 minutes until cooked to desired doneness.

Sweet Potato Fries

I found this recipe for sweet potato fries last week when I was looking for something to make with my Farmer's Market sweet potatoes. Chris loves blue cheese (which I do not love), so I decided to be nice and still make the blue cheese dressing that was also posted. The fries were delicious (sorry no photos) and Chris loved the blue cheese dressing. He loved it so much that he asked if that was really all that was left of it after finishing off the fries. I did have a couple of the fries burn on me and I think that I might try to make these at 400 degrees instead of the 425 because it was too hot for my fries. And next time, I will probably make a homemade ranch dressing along with the blue cheese when I make these again. It's a good change of pace from regular french fries and with it's high nutritional value, how can you go wrong?

Last Week's Cooking Class

I know that I am slacking in the posts! I am about 3 posts behind and I will try to get them up asap! I didn't end up going to Chicago because I needed to have a relaxing weekend before the holidays. Now that I am rested, I am ready to take on the holiday season. Ok, I am not, but let's pretend that I am.

I took cooking class #3 at the Merc last week. It was called "A Vegetarian Indian Feast Made With Fresh Paneer" taught by a woman who was grew up in New Delhi and has lived in Lawrence for the past 20+ years. For those who aren't familiar with Indian food, paneer is Indian cheese. It's unbelievably easy to make (milk and vinegar). It's creamy, delicious and very versatile. She showed us how to make the paneer and how to use it in 5 different dishes. I'll be making it in the near future (since Chris is really excited about this), so I'll post step-by-step pics of how to make paneer on my blog.

Tonight, I am taking another class (#2 out of 3 this month) where I will learn the tricks of making breakfast breads. The sole reason that I signed up for this class is that the instructor is making cinnamon rolls (YUMMY!) and I have completely forgotten what else is being made!

The cold weather has made it's way to KS, so expect some cold-weather homey foods to start appearing. I've already gotten into a rut in making some foods that are sure things lately and haven't been pulling out the old cookbooks as much. I am really enjoying Barefoot Contessa's Back to Basics, so if you are in the market for a new cookbook, I highly recommend it. I pretty much want to make everything in it and I've already made a few recipes with plans for more soon!

Anyway, it's off to Half Price Books right now where I am going to purchase another cookbook! I have some great coupons and spent two hours yesterday scanning the whole store for some great purchases (of course, there was more than just one great book, but the coupons are for a single purchase). So I am going back today to purchase The Perfect Scoop at the ridiculously cheap price of 40% off $12.99 (brand new copy too)! By the way, is it wrong to buy an ice cream cookbook when it's 40-some degrees outside?

Last Farmer's Market For The Year Today

The last Farmer's Market for Lawrence was today. It's a sad day for me because that means that till April, I will have to shop in the grocery stores for all my produce. Luckily, we signed up and paid for a CSA from Amy's Meats to get 15 lbs of beef/pork & 2 cartons of farm-fresh eggs monthly until the Farmer's Market starts up again. It's nice because she makes a bi-monthly trek out to Lawrence (they are right outside of it) and you pick up your meat at one of the three locations that she has set up. The upfront cost was a lot, but in the long run, we are probably saving a bundle since we were buying quite a bit of meat/pork from her weekly. Plus now, we don't have to worry about paying for beef/pork products (unless we decide to add some stuff on) till April. Amy took really good care of us this month with tons of great stuff in our bag: 2 cartons eggs, lb flank steak, lb minute steak, 2 lb ground beef, lb ground pork, lb Italian sausage, lb sausage patties, 2 3/4 lb rump roast, 2 1/2 lb arm roast, 1 1/2 lb ham steak, and 1 1/4 lb pork tenderloin. It looks like I'll be busy looking for some recipes for all this stuff!

Along with our CSA subscription, we also purchased one whole chicken, 2 lbs chicken thighs, 3 lbs chicken wings (I am in the middle of reading a book right now that has me swearing off chicken from the market--I'll post about the book later), 2 lbs of lamb chops (great thing is this farmer will also be making a monthly visit from Baldwin to sell her beef/lamb/pork too), bok choy, 2 bunches of arugula, salad mix, cilantro, a HUGE leek, 2+ lbs of Roma tomatoes, dill, hummus, baklav and organic cayenne pepper.

That's the last purchase of 2008 at the Farmer's Market for me. Sad, sad, sad. I have a couple of posts that I haven't gotten to yet, so I'll try to get those up soon. Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Pumpkin Pie

I finally used my pumpkin puree (you remember the one that made my hand break out in a weird allergic reaction) to make some pumpkin pie. I found the recipe in the local newspaper that comes from the pumpkin patch people. Since the pumpkin puree had no spices in it (like in canned pumpkin), I would add more pumpkin pie spice next time.

Pumpkin Pie

2 eggs
2 cups pumpkin
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 small can Carnation Milk
1 9-inch unbaked pie shell (I ended up using two because the shells were very shallow)

Mix all ingredients together in large bowl. Pour into unbaked pie shell, bake at 375 for 15 minutes and reduce to 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until set.

Apple Turnovers

I am a HUGE fan of Ina Garten (aka Barefoot Contessa) for her mouthwatering, sophisticated recipes. I have yet to be disappointed in one of her recipes and she continues to make my family's stomachs happy. But I believe that she has outdone herself with her new cookbook Back to Basics. Everything in the cookbook looks so tasty and I am ready to make all the recipes soon!

Last night, I made her Apple Turnovers. OMG! I love this recipe because it uses frozen puff pastry, which is something that I always have on hand. I only made half this recipe since I didn't think that we would eat all eight of them and I figured that these are best served hot. Since the oranges at the grocery store looked sad, I used lemon instead (worked perfectly) and I skipped the dried cherries (since I didn't have any). Make this soon!!!

Apple Dried Cherry Turnovers adapted from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook

1 teaspoon grated orange zest (I substituted lemon)
3 tbs freshly squeezed orange juice (again lemon)
1 1/4 lbs tart apples (I used Golden Delicious)
3 tbs dried cherries (I omitted them this time. I am sure dried cranberries would be good too)
3 tbs sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
1 tbs all-purpose flour
1/4 teas ground cinnamon
1/8 teas ground nutmeg
pinch of kosher salt
1 pkg frozen puff pastry (2 sheets), defrosted
1 egg beaten with a 1 tbs water, for egg wash

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Combine zest and juice in a medium bowl. Peel, quarter and core the apples, then cut into 3/4-inch dice. Immediately toss the apples with zest and juice to prevent them from turning brown. Add the cherries, sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.

Flour a board and lightly roll each sheet of puff pastry to a 12 x 12 square. Cut each sheet into 4 (6 x 6 inch) squares and keep chilled until ready to use.

Brush the edges of each square with the egg wash and neatly place about 1/3 cup of the apple mixture on half of the square. Fold the pastry diagonally over the apple mixture and seal by pressing the edges of the pastry with the tines of a fork. Transfer to a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Brush the tops with egg wash, sprinkle with sugar, and make 2 small slits in each turnover. Bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and browned. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

I love spaghetti and meatballs, but only if it's homemade sauce and homemade meatballs. I don't do sauce in a jar (I've tried most of them and they are too sweet for my tastes) and I haven't found any frozen meatballs that aren't hard and tasteless yet. One night, I was talking to my friend (who is part Italian) and she told me about how wonderful her Grandma's meatballs were. After that conversation, I decided that I needed to find a recipe for meatballs! With some searching online, I found one in the New York Times and sent it to my friend. She told me that it sounded very similar to the one that her Grandma made, so I was excited to try it out.

Nathaniel LOVED them and was disappointed that there wasn't more (we did let him eat about half of them--you can imagine how much growing teenagers eat). I will admit that I ended up burning the first batch because I used a pan that I never usually use and it heated a lot quicker than my other ones (might have to start using it more often). After adjusting the heat to a very low temp, I was able to brown them to perfection. I also admit that my meatballs weren't perfectly uniform and pretty, but they tasted so good that I hope a dinner guest wouldn't complain!

The tomato sauce that I used is a recipe from Giada De Laurentiis' Marinara Sauce from her cookbook Everyday Italian. It's a great sauce that can be frozen for up to three months. We froze half of it, so that Chris would have something to eat this weekend while I am out of town. I'll probably be making this again during the cold winter, if it ever comes that is!

Meatballs

Saturday's Farmers Market

Sorry about the lack of posts lately, but with Halloween and the KU-K State game this weekend, I haven't had a lot of time to make food. I am heading to Chicago for a little R&R this upcoming weekend, so I'll try to get some good recipes in before Friday. It's sad that I'll miss the final weekend of the Lawrence Farmer's Market and it's going to be hard to have to buy produce in the grocery store for the next six months. I am hoping that I can send my husband to the market on Saturday and that he'll pick up some good stuff for us (but you know husbands who don't cook....haha).

The list of food from this week: baby carrots (too cute!), green onions, cilantro, lettuce/salad mix, 2 cartons eggs, 2 lbs minute steak (it's basically cubed steak for Pioneer Woman's steak sandwiches), 3 lbs ground beef (I'm making meatballs this week), lb sweet Italian sausage, bok choy, radishes, apples, Roma tomatoes, honey wheat bread, two mini pies (that I forgot to put in the first pic)--sweet potato & pecan and some organic cayenne pepper.

My sweet potato pie was AMAZING (Chris got a bite) and I should look into making some this winter. I am really interested in the cayenne pepper. I have never used homemade cayenne pepper and usually use Dean & Deluca spices (worth the extra money), so I'll have to find a recipe using cayenne for this week.

For Halloween, we were the "cool house" and passed out full size candy bars to the kids. We ended up with some extra candy bars, so I might have to try to use them up in some desserts too.

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Halloween and weekend!

Short Ribs Round 2

This is the second short rib recipe that I have tried since I started this blog. This one comes from the blog Simply Recipes that I have been following for awhile now. There are tons of great recipes on there, so be sure to check it the website. It's nice because you get rid of all the fat by skimming the cooking liquid the next day and reheating the ribs over the stove.

Elise's Short Rib Recipe

Fish Tacos

I made fish tacos last night. Corn tortillas from scratch, tortilla chips from scratch, salsa from scratch, etc. etc. It ended up being a TWO full hour affair and dinner wasn't ready till 7:45 (much to my teenager's dismay). He told me that the food was good, but not worth the wait...haha. Teenagers!




This recipe is labor intensive and it's not for the faint of heart. I got it from my last cooking class and it was the main reason that I took the last one. I am going to skip the homemade corn tortilla recipe because I don't know many people who would go to the effort to make them (but I will post it if there is anyone out there that really wants to do it). Instead see if you can't find a good local Mexican restaurant that makes their own and will sell them to you. If not, find the best brand in the grocery store that you can buy and use them.

My picture is kind of funny. It's only half a taco because I forgot about taking a picture before I started eating. I would have cut the fish into smaller strips because they were too big for my tortillas and I couldn't add much else to the taco without it all falling out. I'll be a fish taco pro next time. P.S. The salsa is good for anything. I would be willing to make it just to keep in the fridge for chips--delicious!




Baja Fish Tacos



2 cups flour
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/2 t garlic powder
1/4 t cayenne
salt and freshly ground black pepper
12 oz bottle cold beer (not dark)
3 tbs. milk
1 1/2 lbs white fish fillets (I used catfish which is plentiful in the Midwest and what the instructor recommended), skinned, boned and cut into strips
vegetable oil for frying



winter salsa:

2 cloves garlic
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 chiles chipotles en adobo from a can
14 oz can diced tomatoes in juice
3 Tbs. chopped cilantro
3/4 t. salt
2 Tbs/ veggie oil



1/3 cup mayo
5 Tbs. milk
Fresh limes



1/2 head finely shredded cabbage
1/2 cup shredded radishes
1/4 cup chopped cilantro



20 fresh corn tortillas
Guacamole and lime wedges to serve





1) Fish and beer batter: Put flour, baking powder, oregano, garlic powder and cayenne into a large mixing bowl. Add beer and 3 T. milk and whisk until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then cover and let rest for 30 minutes. Season the fish strips with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime juice. Heat vegetable oil to a depth of 1 inch to 375 degrees (use a candy thermometer). Have ready a cooling rack set over a baking sheet. ***Note: cut the strips in fairly skinny strips so that they don't have to cook in the oil for so long.



2) Garnishes: Process garlic, onion, chipotles, tomatoes, cilantro and salt in a food processor. Heat oil in a small skillet until hot but not smoking, then add puree and fry until it thickens slightly. Set aside to cool. Combine mayo, milk, lime juice and salt to taste in a small bowl, set aside. Combine cabbage, radishes and cilantro in a large bowl. Season lightly with lime juice and salt, set aside. If necessary, warm the tortillas. Make guacamole.



3) Finishing the dish: Dip fish strips into batter, letting the excess drip off. Lay carefully in the hot oil and fry until crisp and brown, being careful to monitor oil temperature. Drain on the cooling rack. Serve immediately: lay a crispy fish fillet into a warm corn tortilla and top with cabbage, salsa and mayo sauce. Squeeze some lime over top. Serve with guacamole.

Tortilla Chips

Take store bought small sized corn tortillas and cut into chip-sizes. Heat vegetable oil to 365 degrees and fry tortillas until lightly colored (a few seconds). Drain in a paper towel lined plate and sprinkle with salt as soon as they come out of the oil. ***It's so worth your time to make these!

Book Recommendation

I finally got a chance to read Barbara Kingsolver's Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and loved it. It's her family's journey on the quest to grow everything, raise poultry or eat locally for an entire year. Even if it won't inspire you to grow all your own veggies and raise some chickens in your backyard, it should inspire you to think about where your food is coming from and what you are really eating. Heck, it might even change your way of eating for the better! Let me know if you have read this or do read it. I would love to hear what you thought of it!

OMG!

Ok, this picture might not be that look that great, but trust me, this brisket is delicious!!!! Of course, it came from Pioneer Woman (who hasn't failed me yet). The recipe actually called for a 10 lb piece of brisket, but mine was only 4. I still used the same cooking liquid because I didn't read the recipe till after I poured out the sauce ingredients, but that's ok. I left the beef in the fridge for 2 nights since I was gone all day yesterday. I didn't time my cooking time for it to be done right before dinner instead it was about 4 PM, when it was done and Chris and I have been munching on it ever since. I am not sure how much more will be left by dinnertime! It's so tender and good. I might have to go eat some more now.

Pioneer Woman Brisket Recipe

Here is a pic of my lovely flowers from the Farmer's Market on Saturday. So pretty! They have to sit on the fireplace mantel, so that the kitties don't eat them!

Mystery Pan Revealed/Weekend Cooking

My friend out in CA, Rose was able to name the mystery pan of mine! It's an Italian bread pan and I have been able to find lots of recipes for it online. Since it's starting to get cold out here, I'll be trying to make some breads for the winter. Thanks to Rose for the info!

Pandoro

This weekend was full of things to do and people to see, so I didn't get a chance to try out too many new recipes. I stuck with some old standbys for Saturday and Sunday dinners (Chris was at the game Sat lunch and we had lunch in KC on Sun); Giada's Bolognese sauce and Lo-Mein. I did make Pioneer Woman's Chocolate Milk Mix, which Nathaniel said was amazing and I liked the fact that it was super easy (cream and chocolate--that's it).

I promise more new recipes soon!

Pumpkin Allergic Reaction!

I cut up my pumpkins that I got today and got them de-pulped and de-seeded to roast in the oven. After doing this, I noticed that my left hand was starting to feel really weird and tight. I washed my hands thinking that their was just dried up pumpkin juice on my fingers and that was what was causing the sensation. After scrubbing my hands, I noticed that my fingers were dried up. Basically, they looked like I had rubbed Elmer's glue on them and let the glue dry! Since it was after the doctor's Saturday hours, I called up Chris' dad and asked him. He thought it sounded weird (since it only happened on one hand) and told me to put some cortisone cream on it to see if that would help.

I did try googling this and seeing it I couldn't figure out what was going on. I came across how some people are allergic to raw butternut squash and how this happened to them when cutting the squash (great since that's my next soup that I am making). I guess it's a good thing that I am not into cutting pumpkins for Halloween or I would be screwed!

Farmer's Market

My wallet is $150 lighter after today's trip to the Farmer's Market. But considering I spent $97 for meat/pork, $9 for 9 lbs apples, $8 for honey and $8 for 10 gladiolas, I think that I made out like a bandit. I am sure that my large bill is also due to the fact that there is only two weekends left before the Farmer's Market closes till April.


This week's purchases include 9 lbs of apples (Honey Crisp, Yellow Delicious and Jonathan Golds), 2 lbs of baby yukon potatoes, lb green beans, 3 bunches of radishes, edamade, salad mix, 2 lbs baby Romas, flat leaf parsley, cilantro, 3 lbs bacon, 3.5 lb pork shoulder, 2 lbs pork chops, 3 lbs skirt steak, lb sirloin, green onions, tsotsi (Chinese spinach), a dakion radish, 2 heirloom tomatoes, 2 pumpkins (did you see Pioneer Woman's recipe for pumpkin puree?) and some polbano chilies.


I'll be cooking a lot, so look forward to some new recipes!

P.S. I picked up my weekly tamale at the Farmer's Market this morning and I was terribly disappointed. My homemade tamales in Dallas have ruined me forever!

What Kind of Pan Is This?

I got a major bug today to do some deep cleaning (it might be the medication that I am taking for the fluid in my ear which is supposed to cause extra energy!). After cleaning out the kiddo's closet and room, I decided to tackle my kitchen cabinets. Since we have lived in this house since May 2007, I have yet to organize my cabinets in a way that is most efficient for my cooking needs and instead just threw every thing into cabinets. The thing is that I gained a bigger house, but a much smaller kitchen (who does that?) and my cabinets are filled to capacity. Until I buy a new dining room set and hutch, I am stuck with putting all my dishware in my kitchen cabinets which takes up a lot of room.



I decided to go through my kitchen cabinets and catalog some of my things especially my bakeware, which I have a HUGE amount of. Tarlet pans (all sizes and shapes), different sized cake pans, mini molds, checkerboard cake pan, muffin pans of all sizes, Bundt cake pans, etc. etc. You name it, I might have it. Then I came across this pan tonight and it has me scratching my head in wonder. I can't remember what it's called so that I can find a specific recipe for this pan (which would have some interesting baking times with the weird shape). I do know that I bought it from Williams-Sonoma (sticker is still on the bottom) back in the 90's when I did buy random cooking stuff when seeing it on sale. I believe it's a holiday pan for some foreign bread, but I am drawing a blank on what it's called. Any ideas???? P.S. Please excuse the dust on the pan. This pan hasn't seen the light in ages and still hasn't seen the inside of an oven!

I Am Back!

I got home from my trip last night with lots of Mexican food goodies (chilies, corn masa, tortilla press, hot sauces, etc) that are needing a new home in my pantry. I had a busy day with a meeting at the kiddo's school, a doctor's appointment (I have fluid in my ear--not as bad as an ear infection, but not fun), grocery shopping (no food in the fridge!) and laundry. I had a great time in TX learning how to make tamales (it's a long process but so worth it) and am looking forward to making them in the near future. I am stocked up with the ingredients, so I'll be able to make them whenever I decide to pick up some pork.

Since there was no food to eat, we made it out to the Farmer's Market today where I picked up some bok choy, jalapenos, white bell peppers, tomatoes and cherry tomatoes. I'm looking forward to Saturday where I can get lots more food (including bacon again). And I am starting to get sad about nearing the end of the Farmer's Market for this year.

The weather has gotten cold here (40's) and I am not looking forward to the cold winter. I'll be making more soups with the falling temperatures including a butternut squash soup that will be made in the very near future (per Chris' request).

I promise that I'll be back to posting recipes tomorrow!

Road Trip!!!

We are leaving for Oklahoma this afternoon and heading straight to Cattlemen's Steakhouse in Oklahoma City for dinner. I am super excited because I have yet to have a fabulous restaurant steak while living in the Midwest except years ago at Ruth Chris' (which is a chain and cost $50!). I live in cattle country--come on, there has to be a great steak out there! But I continue to be disappointed over and over with overcooked, chewy, tasteless steaks. I'll get a decent one every once in awhile, but I have never gotten a great one here in the Midwest. Why have I been able to buy tasty steaks in the grocery store in KS, but how come I can't get one in a restaurant? When we decided that we were going down to OK for the OU-Kansas football game, I told Chris that we were eating at Cattlemen's (since he had eaten there before) and maybe I would finally get the steak that I have been looking for all my adult life!

At Cattlemen's, they also serve lamb fries. If you don't know what these are, let's just say most men will cringe at the thought of eating these. I have tried them in the past (at a holiday party where the boss took the whole office & spouses to dinner and there were more than a couple of plates of these to try) and I can't say that I love them. They are a bit on the chewy side and don't really taste like anything. Just fried. I asked Chris if he would eat these (he will eat anything! This is the guy who ordered worms in Mexico City for his dinner!) and he said with a weird look on his face that he wasn't sure. We will have Chris' youngest brother with us too, so I am thinking that maybe I'll order myself a plate and freak them both out while digging into this strange culinary creation.

Cattlemen's Steakhouse

We were excited to hear that our friend, who throws the KU tailgates at home, will also be making the trek down to Norman to see the game. Bill always throws a great tailgate and it will be fun to be able to drink and eat before watching some football (it might not be pretty since OU just lost last weekend!) with Chris' parents and our friends. I am also looking forward to going to the OU's Fred Jones Jr Museum of Art. For those who don't know, I was an art history major at KU and traveling to art museums is a big passion of mine.

After the game, we'll be heading down to Dallas to hang out with our friends, relax, shop, go see some art and EAT! Jeff has already asked if I wanted to go eat at Babe's (I am obsessed). Babe's is a BYOB fried chicken restaurant with two items on the menu--fried chicken or chicken fried steak. If you order the steak, people look at you weird because the chicken is where it's at. Along with the chicken, you get salad, mashed potatoes, creamed corn and biscuits. If I could get them to cater a wedding reception in Lawrence, I would!

Since I'll be gone for a few days, I won't be cooking much but I'll be sure to post about my travels & food down in OK and TX! Have a great weekend!

I Am SOOOO Making This!!

I love caramel and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE caramel apples. I don't eat them much because you can't always find great caramel apples, but I came across this recipe last night and now I am going to have to make them. The apples have been plentiful at the Farmer's Market. We picked up a variety of super delicious apples (for only $1/lb!) last Saturday and they were all gone by yesterday. Since we are leaving town tomorrow, we'll miss out on the delicious apples this weekend. I am hoping that there will still be plenty the following weekend because I am going to be buying lots more, so that I can make this recipe! Yummy!!!

Caramel Apples

Apple Crisp

This is the perfect fall dessert and with all the awesome apples that are in the Farmer's Market right now, I couldn't resist making this for my lunch with Melanie. I forgot to take a picture after the topping was added to the dessert and baked, but the picture is the apples pre-oven. The recipe says it makes 4 desserts, I made 5 instead. I love this dessert because I don't have to eat it for days even if it's just us eating it. I didn't have any crystallized ginger this time, but it is great with or without it. Make sure to add a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream on top for added goodness. YUMMY!

Apple Crisp

Stir-Fried Pork and Tomato

There has been some tasty looking green tomatoes at the Farmer's Market and when I came across this recipe, I was excited to make something other than fried green tomatoes! This recipe has an interesting combination of tart and savory flavors. I served it with some rice to soak up the gravy that forms in this dish.

Stir-Fried Pork and Tomato adapted from Food & Wine's Best of the Best (2001 version)

1/3 lb pork

2 to 3 long medium-hot green chiles (suck as Cubannelles, Anaheim, or Hungarian wax)

2 tbs peanut or vegetable oil

1/2 lb tomatoes, preferably mixed red and green, cut into 3/4-inch dice

3/4 teas salt or to taste

1 teas roasted seasame oil

1 teas cornstarch, dissolved in 2 tbs water

Thinly slice the pork, then cut crosswise crosswise to coarsely mince. Set aside.

Trim the stems from the chilies, then make one cut lengthwise in each to expose the seeds, strip them out and discard. Cut into chunks. Should be about 1 cup.

Place all the ingredients near your stovetop and have a serving plate ready.

Heat a work or large heavy skillet over high heat until hot, then add the oil. When oil is hot, add the pork and stir-fry, separating the meat to expose all surfaces to the heat, until it has all changed color, about 2 minutes. Add the chilies and tomatoes and stir-fry for about 3 minutes, until the chiles are beginning to soften and the tomatoes are getting tender. Add the salt and stir-fry for another minute or so, until the chiles are softened and the tomatoes are soft but still have some shape, the add the sesame oil. Stir briefly, then stir the cornstarch mixture well and add it to the wok. Stir-fry for about 30 seconds, until the sauce thickens, then turn out onto the serving plate and serve hot.

Lo-Mein

I was asked what I do with all my bok choy that I get at the Farmer's Market. Usually I cook up some lo-mein, which is a staple lunch here in my household now that Chris works a lot at home. This is something that my mom makes for lunch a lot (noodles for lunch, rice for dinner). There isn't a specific recipe that I use, instead I use whatever vegetables and meat I happen to have on hand. I bring home Chinese noodles from CA whenever I go home, so that I have them on hand all the time. I know that some recipes will say that you can substitute angel hair for lo-mein egg noodles. It's not the same (just think you would never substitute lo-mein noodles for spaghetti? Right?), so stick with Chinese noodles for this dish. You might have to search for them, but these days many regular grocery stores stock them.

Lo-Mein adapted from my Mom's recipe

Oil (I used extra virgin olive oil, but regular veggie oil works too)

Veggies, cut into small bite size pieces. I used 1 medium size yellow onion and 2 bunches of boy choy this time. You usually want to use onions for the flavor. There are lots of other veggies that you can use--it's like a stir-fry, so use your imagination.

Meat (chicken, pork, steak)--a lb. KC strip for this meal

Chinese lo-mein noodles (I am not sure how much I use. It usually depends on if I want leftovers. It's kind of like Italian pasta, you can figure it out!)

soy sauce (no salt because soy sauce is salty enough)

pepper to taste

Boil water and cook noodles according to package while cooking the rest of the ingredients. Heat oil in wok (or any other large pan). Use just enough oil to cover the bottom (you don't need a lot). Cook the onions and bottoms of the boy choy first (since they take longer to cook) until they are softened. Cook the meat next until almost done (to your taste), add more oil if needed. Add boy choy leaves, then add soy sauce and pepper to taste (don't add too much soy sauce, but you'll need enough to flavor the noodles too--soy sauce is just like salt and no one needs to eat too much sodium!). Add noodles. Mix. Serve.

Cream of Tomato Soup

I made this with my fresh tomatoes from the Farmer's Market when Melanie was in town. We were talking about soup and she mentioned that she liked tomato soup. I told her to come on over for lunch and I would make some. There is nothing like homemade soup and I refuse to eat soup from a can (I will use cream of whatever soups in dishes that I make, but not to eat plain). Homemade soups take more time than opening a can, but the results are so worth it. If you love soup, do yourself a favor and make some from scratch! My picture was super blurry, so no picture--sorry!


Cream of Tomato Soup from Neiman-Marcus' No Jacket Required

4 tbs butter
1 tbs olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1/4 teas minced garlic
3 ripe tomatoes (4 to 5 if small), coarsely chopped
3 tbs tomato paste
4 tbs flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock (this is about 1 1/2 cans if using canned stock)
1/2 teas sugar
salt
1/2 teas thyme
white pepper (best to use freshly cracked)
1 cup heavy cream

Heat 2 tbs butter with olive oil in saucepan. Add onion and garlic, saute 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and tomato paste. Cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add flour and mix. Add stock, sugar, salt, thyme and white pepper. Simmer 15 minutes. Pour into blender and blend. Strain through a fine sieve. Pour in saucepan. Add cream and bring to a boil.. Reduce heat and simmer 2 to 3 minutes. When ready to serve, stir in remaining butter, bit by bit.

Another Successful Cooking Class at the Merc

I took a wonderful cooking class with Chef Nancy Stark at the Merc tonight. The class was completely full (unlike last week) and makes me want to take more of her future classes. Nancy was informative and friendly. Her years as a professional chef showed in her techniques and her delicious food. In this class, she showed us how to make corn tortillas which she used in her baja-style fish tacos (amazing), sopes with red chile pork (which will be a great appetizer for a dinner party) and Mexican flan (even better than the recipe that I made the other night). I'll be making all the recipes in the future and post them on here soon!

Another Jayni Recipe

I also made this Friday night for company. It's supposed to be for an antipasto, so servings are smaller than if you used it as a salad.

Jayni's Shrimp w/Zucchini, Green Onions and Lemon Dressing

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined (you can use smaller ones or bigger ones. If you use the bigger ones, be sure to cut them up into bite size pieces)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 large garlic clove, minced
3/4 cup zucchini, finely diced
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/8 teas salt
2 teaspoon lemon zest
2 to 3 tablespoons lemon juice, to taste
2 tablespoons Italian parsley, fined chopped

Rinse and drain shrimp on paper towels. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the shrimp and cook, turning frequently, until cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Using a slotted spoon, remove the shrimp from the skillet (reserving oil in the skille) and place it in a large bowl. Add the zucchini and green onion to the bowl.

To make the lemon dressing, whisk the lemon zest, lemon juice and salt into the reserved oil in the skillet. Taste and adjust seasonings if needed.

Pour the lemon dressing over the shrimp and vegetables. Toss to coat. Serve warm, or cover and chill before serving. Garnish with Italian parsley.

Serves 6.

My Favorite Dessert

I am not a huge sweets person. I would rather eat an extra serving of dinner than have dessert. But when it comes to flan, I'll skip all dinner and eat one servings of flan, two, three, maybe four. I am not kidding. If it wasn't for the fact that we had dinner guests come over and I had to serve six flans to everyone, I probably would have eaten them all myself.

If you have never had flan, it's a Spanish dessert with an egg custard baked with caramel at the bottom. Then when served, you turn it out of the baking dish and it's served caramel side up. The caramel will melt during baking and runs down the sides of the custard. You will need to chill the flan for hours before eating, so plan according!

Flan from The Joy of Cooking

serves 8

1) Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2) Place in a small, heavy saucepan: 3/4 cup sugar. Drizzle evenly over the top: 1/4 cup water.

Over medium heat and without stirring, very gently swirl the pan by the handle until a clear syrup forms. It is important that the syrup clarify before it boils, so slide the pan on and off the burner as necessary. Increase the heat to high and bring the syrup to a rolling boil. Cover the pan tightly and boil for 2 minutes. Uncover the pan and cook the syrup until it begins to darken. Gently swirl the pan by the handle once again and cook the syrup until it turns a deep amber. Quickly pour the caramel into eight 6-oz custard cups or ramekins or a 2 to 2 1/2-quart souffle dish. Using a potholder, immediately tilt the cups or dish to spread the caramel over the bottom.

3) Whisk just until blended: 5 eggs or 4 large eggs & 3 large egg yolks (I went with the 5 eggs because I never end up using the egg whites), 3/4 cup sugar, 1/8 teas salt.

4) Heat just until steaming: 3 cups of whole or low fat milk (I used 2%)

5) Gradually whisk the milk into the egg mixture and stir gently until the sugar is dissolved. If you wish, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl or large measuring cup. Stir in 3/4 teas vanilla.

6)Pour into the caramel-lined cups or dish. Bake in a water bath (a roasting pan that is large enough to accommodate the custards without touching each other. After arranging the custards in the pan, add enough scalding-hot tap water into the pan---I use my tea kettle for this---add enough water, so that it's 1/2 way up the sides of the custard dishes until firmly set in the center, 40 to 60 minutes for individual cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours for a single dish. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 2 days. To unmold, loosen the edges with a knife and invert onto individual plates or a large plate. The plate for a large flan must be either broad or deep to catch all the caramel.

The Mother Load Today

The Farmer's Market was full of great looking produce today and my fridge is very full now! We are going to the KU football game in Oklahoma next weekend, so we had to stock up on meat from Amy's. I was very sad to receive her email saying that there was no bacon right now, which means we have to make our last 1/2 lb of bacon last for two weeks! But we did end up with lots of goodies; salad mix, spinach, baby Romas tomatoes, yellow cherry tomatoes, bok choy, green tomatoes, sweet potatoes, radish, yellow peach tomatoes (Chris' favorite), Napa cabbage, pears (some crisp variety), various kinds of apples (the growers give samples and they are delicious), 2 dozen eggs, brisket, 4 lbs short ribs, ground beef, ground pork, a KC strip and a mini-mixed berry pie.

There will be plenty of posts coming up this weekend/week. I am already behind with a couple of other things that I made last night, so I'll try to post the recipes while watching college football today! Hope everyone has a great weekend!

She Did It Again!

Pioneer Woman rocks. She really does. Another great recipe and another great result. I made these tonight for my dinner party with the Heffleys. I used the jalapenos that I got yesterday at the Farmer's Market. I'll be making them again for sure. So good that there wasn't a single one left on the plate.

Jalapeno Poppers

*Sorry, but no picture. They were eaten before I could even think about getting the camera out!

Tonight's Dinner

I went to TJ Maxx today and ended up finding some cute Italian plates, so that I would finally have some color for my pictures on the blog. The first course that I made tonight was one of Jayni's recipes from last night. I love this simple salad and it's a great way to enjoy your tomatoes.

Jayni's Avocado, Tomato and Mozzarella Salad

2 avocados, peeled and pitted, then cut into 1/2 inch dice
12 oz cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (I used my baby Roma tomatoes and cut them up into smaller chunks)
8 oz small fresh mozzarella balls, sliced in half (use as many as desired)
extra-virgin olive oil
1 large lemon
salt and black pepper, to taste

Divide the avocado, tomatoes and mozzarella among four large salad plates. Arrange as desired. Drizzle olive oil over each salad. Slice the lemon in half and squeeze over the salads, to taste. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

I had a 3 lb chuck roast sitting in my fridge that needed to be eaten. Not having any potatoes in the house, I decided that I needed to figure out something beside just throwing the roast in a crock pot and calling it good. I found a recipe for Italian beef on cooks.com. Italian beef sandwiches are extremely popular in Chicago (where I ate one for the first time a couple of visits before) and I love the fact that this recipe is super easy (perfect for those lazy, cold winter weekends that will be coming up). My boys love spicier food, so next time, I'll be adding some extra heat to the beef. Other than that, they loved it!