Mee Ga-Ti Rice Noodles with Coconut-Bean Sauce

This recipe comes from my cooking class that I took last month where we received a cookbook along with the class fee. When I first heard that Chef Nancy was making this, I have to admit that I was leery. Afraid that the sauce would be too sweet because of the coconut milk, I was pleasantly surprised by the complexity of the dish and it ended up being my favorite dish that she demonstrated that night.

Mee Ga-Ti Rice Noodles with Coconut-Bean Sauce from Real Vegetarian Thai by Nancie McDermott

8 oz dried rice noodles, either wire-think or about the width of linguine or fettuccine (I used the wider ones)
1 tbs vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups unsweetened coconut milk (MAKE SURE THAT IT'S UNSWEETENED!)
1/2 cup minced shallots
1/3 cup Asian bean sauce (you will need to go to an Asian grocery store for this)
8 oz firm tofu, cut into slender 1-inch long rods
2 zucchinis, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into thin half-moons, or cut into slender 2 inch long rods
2 tbs Tamarind Liquid or freshly squeezed lime juice (I used my Tamarind paste--about 1 tbs)
2 tbs Vegetable stock
2 tbs sugar
1 teas salt
1 teas freshly ground pepper
1 teas red chili pepper flakes
A handful of fresh garlic chives, cut into 2-inch lengths, or 3 green onions, white part thinly sliced crosswise and green part cut into 2 inch lengths
2 cups bean sprouts
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
1 lime, cut lengthwise into 6 wedges

Put the dried rice noodles in a bowl, add warm water to cover, and let stand until limp and liable, 15 to 20 minutes. Put a large pot of water on to boil.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of egg added to the pan sizzles at once, about 1 minute. Add only enough of the eggs to coat the pan, swirling to make a thin sheet. Cook until the egg sets, about 30 seconds. Flip it to warm the other side, and then turn it out onto a cutting board to cool. Repeat with the remaining egg, When the egg sheets are cool, shred them into fine strips and set aside.

Drain the noodles and add them to the boiling water. Cook until tender but still firm, 1 to 2 minutes. Drain well and set aside.

Pour the coconut milk into a medium skillet, place over medium heat and bring to a gentle boil. Adjust the heat to maintain an active simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, until it gives off a sweet aroma and thickens a little, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the shallots, bean sauce, tofu and zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Add the tamarind or lime juice, vegetable stock, sugar, salt, pepper, and chili flakes. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes more.

Add the noodles, the garlic chives or green onions, and most of the bean sprouts, reserving a handful for garnish. Toss well to coat everything with the sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the cilantro. Garnish with the reserved bean sprouts and the lime wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 4.

French Apple Tart

I was watching the Barefoot Contessa on Food Network the other day and saw her making this. It looked so good that I had to make it. The recipe is in her latest cookbook, which is one of my favorites (I want to make just about all the recipes in there). Make sure that the sugar is not close to the edges or it will burn the sides. I had a little bit of burnt edges, but I just cut it off. For the glaze, I used rum instead of Calvados since it costs almost $30 for a 1/5 of the apple brandy. I am sure that the Calvados would have added a great complexity to the apples, but I thought that the rum was tasty enough and I already had it in my liquor cabinet. For a little added extra, a dollop of sweetened freshly whipped cream would be a great addition to this. She was really fancy with her cutting of the apples, but I didn't have a melon baller and didn't cut them like she did. It was still delicious, so I am not going to judge if your apples aren't perfect!

French Apple Tart from Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients

For the pastry:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
12 tablespoons (11/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced
1/2 cup ice water

For the apples:
4 Granny Smith apples
1/2 cup sugar
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, small diced
1/2 cup apricot jelly or warm sieved apricot jam
2 tablespoons Calvados, rum, or water

Directions
For the pastry, place the flour, salt, and sugar in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Pulse for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and pulse 10 to 12 times, until the butter is in small bits the size of peas. With the motor running, pour the ice water down the feed tube and pulse just until the dough starts to come together. Dump onto a floured board and knead quickly into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Roll the dough slightly larger than 10 by 14-inches. Using a ruler and a small knife, trim the edges. Place the dough on the prepared sheet pan and refrigerate while you prepare the apples.
Peel the apples and cut them in half through the stem. Remove the stems and cores with a sharp knife and a melon baler. Slice the apples crosswise in 1/4-inch thick slices. Place overlapping slices of apples diagonally down the middle of the tart and continue making diagonal rows on both sides of the first row until the pastry is covered with apple slices. (I tend not to use the apple ends in order to make the arrangement beautiful.) Sprinkle with the full 1/2 cup of sugar and dot with the butter.

Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until the pastry is browned and the edges of the apples start to brown. Rotate the pan once during cooking. If the pastry puffs up in one area, cut a little slit with a knife to let the air out. Don't worry! The apple juices will burn in the pan but the tart will be fine! When the tart's done, heat the apricot jelly together with the Calvados and brush the apples and the pastry completely with the jelly mixture. Loosen the tart with a metal spatula so it doesn't stick to the paper. Allow to cool and serve warm or at room temperature.

Sunday lunch

I love goat cheese. If I had my way, I would probably eat it every day and at every meal. I had come across this recipe the other day on foodnetwork.com, but realized that it was in one of my cookbooks that I haven't used for my blog yet.This is a salad that you would find in a fancy restaurant, but it's not hard to make. I used my own version of a mustard vinaigrette instead of hers since I didn't have all the ingredients. But I have no measurements for my own vinaigrette (I just throw in some fancy mustard, white wine vinegar, olive oil, salt & pepper to taste). If you love goat cheese, give it a try.

Salad with Warm Goat Cheese adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa Parties!
serves 6

1 (11-ounce) log plain or herbed Montrachet (or any good goat cheese)
2 extra-large egg whites, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Fresh white bread crumbs (I used panko crumbs since that's what I had)

2 tablespoons good cider vinegar
2 tablespoons good Champagne vinegar
Pinch sugar
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 extra-large egg yolk
1 cup good olive oil
Enough mixed salad greens for 6 servings
Olive oil and unsalted butter, for frying

Slice the Montrachet into 12 (1/2-inch-thick) slices. (The easiest way to slice goat cheese is to use a length of dental floss.) Dip each slice into the beaten egg whites, then the bread crumbs, being sure the cheese is thoroughly coated. Place the slices on a rack and chill them for at least 15 minutes.

For the dressing, place the vinegars, sugar, salt, pepper, and egg yolk in the bowl of a food processor fitted with a steel blade and blend for 1 minute. With the motor running, slowly pour the olive oil through the feed tube until the vinaigrette is thickened. Season, to taste.

Toss the salad greens with enough dressing to moisten, then divide them among 6 plates.
Melt 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter in a saute pan over medium-high heat until just under smoking. Cook the goat cheese rounds quickly on both sides until browned on the outside but not melted inside. Top each salad with 2 warm rounds and serve.

Bolognese Sauce

If you don't know who Alice Waters is, please do me a favor and google her right now. Her Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook is one of the most wonderful cookbooks that I own. The illustrations for the book are gorgeous colored block prints by David Lance Goines and her cookbook is filled with stories and explanations. I have owned this cookbook for a couple of years now, but I had never used it for recipes--only to read the delightful stories and ogle the illustrations. This recipe takes hours to cook plus prep time, so it's not something that you can just whip up quickly and the ingredients aren't cheap. But it's so worth the extra time and effort. Trust me, it's a good one.

Alice Waters' Bolognese Sauce from Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

Yield: Serves 8

1/3 cup dried porcini mushrooms
Extra virgin olive oil
4 ounces pancetta, diced fine
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine
4 ribs celery, diced fine
1 small carrot, diced fine
Salt
2 cloves garlic, chopped fine
1½ pounds skirt steak (or chuck), cut into ¼-inch cubes
4 ounces lean pork shoulder, coarsely ground
1 cup dry white wine
2 bay leaves
2 sprigs thyme
2 cups Basic Beef Stock or Basic Chicken Stock
1½ cups milk
3 tablespoons double-concentrated Italian tomato paste
¼ cup chopped parsley, for garnish
Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Pepper

Cover the dried porcini with boiling water and allow to sit for 15 minutes. Remove the porcini from the water, reserving the liquid, and chop the mushrooms fine. Heat a wide heavy-bottomed pan; pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the diced pancetta. After the pancetta has released some fat, add the onion, celery, carrot, and a little salt. When the vegetables have softened somewhat, add the garlic and porcini, and cook until the vegetables are soft. Remove the vegetables from the pan and set aside.

Put the pan back on the heat (you don’t need to wash it), pour in 2 more tablespoons of oil, and when it is hot, add the skirt steak, pork, and a little salt. Cook over medium-high heat until the meat begins to brown, about 15 minutes. Turn the heat to medium and add the cooked vegetables, wine, bay, and thyme. Adjust the heat to maintain a low simmer and let the sauce cook until the liquid evaporates and the contents begin to brown. Deglaze with 1 cup of the stock and a few tablespoons of the milk; add the tomato paste, making sure to scrape the brown bits off the bottom of the pan and stirring the sauce well to incorporate the milk. Continue to cook the sauce gently, adding a few tablespoons of milk and stock now and then. Reduce the sauce until the liquid evaporates and everything begins to brown again; this gives the sauce depth and color. Deglaze with the rest of the stock and milk, stirring and scraping well. Skim the fat that rises to the surface of the sauce. The sauce is done when its texture is velvety and the meat is completely tender, in about 1½ hours. Cool and refrigerate for up to 4 or 5 days.

Reheat and serve over pasta, garnished with the chopped parsley, and pass Parmesan cheese and the pepper mill.

Variation: This basic recipe can be used with other kinds of meat and even poultry—guinea hen is especially good. Another variation worth trying is to add sautéed fresh wild mushrooms at the end of the cooking.

P.S. This is cookbook #31 which means only 120+ to go!

Thai One-Pot

I have been eyeing this recipe for years, but I hadn't gotten around to making it. I finally made it last night to a rave review from my husband. We even ate the leftovers for lunch today, which was just as delicious as it was last night. It's a very simple recipe where you throw everything into one pot, so who can complain about that?

Thai One-Pot from Food & Wine's Quick From Scratch One Dish Meals cookbook

serves 4

1 tbs cooking oil
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch strips (I chopped them into smaller pieces)
1 red bell pepper, cut into same size as green bell pepper
1/4 pound shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps cut into 1/4 inch slices
1 teas salt
1 1/4 pounds lean ground pork
3/4 cup short grain rice
2 1/2 cups canned low sodium chicken broth or homemade stock
3 tbs soy sauce
1/4 tea cayenne pepper
4 scallions including green tops, chopped
10 radishes, cut into thin slices
5 tbs chopped cilantro or fresh parsley
2 tbs lime juice (from about one lime)

1. In a large nonstick frying pan, heat the oil over moderately high heat. Add the bell peppers, shiitakes, and 1/4 teas of the salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove.

2. Add the pork to the pan and cook, stirring, until it is no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Spoon off the fat from the pan. Stir in the bell peppers and shiitakes, the rice, broth, soy sauce, the remaining 3/4 teas salt, and the cayenne. Bring to a simmer. Cover. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, without removing the lid, until the rice is just done, about 20 minutes.

3 Remove the pot from the heat and let stand, covered, for 10 minutes. Stir in scallions, radish, cilantro, and lime juice.

Penne alla Vodka

Note--Picture is not very exciting looking and dark. Sorry about that!

I have been craving Italian pasta the last few days. I am pretty sure it has to do with the fact that I dvr-ed a bunch of Food Network episodes about pasta recently. My pantry is full of different kinds of pastas at any given time because I love how versatile it is. After viewing a couple of pasta episodes this morning, I decided that I really wanted some pasta carbonara, but I was missing a few ingredients to make it. So I went through Lidia Matticchio Bastianich's cookbook Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen and found a simple, quick recipe for Penne alla Vodka. I love vodka sauce and find it funny that many people will buy the jarred stuff when it's super easy to make yourself. I used to make Giada's Vodka Sauce, but with the 1 cup of vodka in there, it's best made a day or two ahead of time. Lidia's only requires 1/4 cup, so that the vodka does not overwhelm the sauce. I didn't put parsley in this time since I didn't have any on hand with any effect on the delicious taste of the sauce. Enjoy!

Penne Alla Vodka from the cookbook Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen

Salt
One 35-ounce can Italian plum tomatoes (preferably San Marzano) with their liquid
1 pound penne
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
10 cloves garlic, peeled
Crushed hot red pepper
1/4 cup vodka
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or olive oil for finishing the sauce, if you like
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
3/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for passing if you like

Bring 6 quarts of salted water to a boil in an 8-quart pot over high heat.

Pour the tomatoes and their liquid into the work bowl of a food processor. Using quick on/off pulses, process the tomatoes just until they are finely chopped. (Longer processing will aerate the tomatoes, turning them pink.)

Stir the penne into the boiling water. Bring the water back to a boil, stirring frequently. Cook the pasta, semi-covered, stirring occasionally, until done, 8 to 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Whack the garlic cloves with the side of a knife and add them to the hot oil. Cook, shaking the skillet, until the garlic is lightly browned, about 3 minutes. Lower the work bowl with the tomatoes close to the skillet and carefully — they will splatter — slide the tomatoes into the pan. Bring to a boil, season lightly with salt and generously with crushed red pepper, and boil 2 minutes. Pour in the vodka, lower the heat so the sauce is at a lively simmer, and simmer until the pasta is ready.

Just before the pasta is done, fish the garlic cloves out of the sauce and pour in the cream. Add the 2 tablespoons butter or oil, if using, and swirl the skillet to incorporate into the sauce. If the skillet is large enough to accommodate the sauce and pasta, fish the pasta out of the boiling water with a large wire skimmer and drop it directly into the sauce in the skillet. If not, drain the pasta, return it to the pot, and pour in the sauce. Bring the sauce and pasta to a boil, stirring to coat the pasta with sauce. Check the seasoning, adding salt and red pepper if necessary. Sprinkle the parsley over the pasta and boil until the sauce is reduced enough to cling to the pasta.

Remove the pot from the heat, sprinkle 3/4 cup of the cheese over the pasta, and toss to mix. Serve immediately, passing additional cheese if you like.

Cupcakes

I am not a fan of cake mix. I think that when they are made per the instructions on the box, they aren't very appetizing. But there are many recipes on how to improve cake mixes with added ingredients that will make them more tasty. While I would like to bake from scratch cupcakes all the time, it's not always possible. I found this recipe in this adorable cupcake cookbook called HELLO CUPCAKE! If you haven't seen this cookbook, it's full of really cute ideas. I just made plain vanilla cupcakes with homemade chocolate frosting, but I hope that I will be able to make the Van Gogh cake one of these days (check out the cookbook---it's soooo cute)!

Perfect Cake Mix Cupcakes from Hello, Cupcake!

1 box cake mix (French vanilla, devil's food or yellow--without pudding)

1 cup buttermilk (in place of the water called for on the box)

vegetable oil (the amount on the box)

4 large eggs (in place of the number called for on the box)

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Follow the box instructions, putting all the ingredients in a large bowl and using the buttermilk in place of the water specified (the box will call for more water than the mount of buttermilk that you are using), using the amount of vegetable oil that is called for, and adding the eggs. Beat with an electric mixer, until moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to high and beat until thick, 2 minutes longer.

3. Spoon half of the batter into a ziplock bag. Snip a 1/4 inch corner from the bag and fill the paper liners two-thirds full. Repeat with remaining batter. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pans, place on a wire rack and allow to cook completely.

Chocolate Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces

2 oz semisweet chocolate, chopped

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

16 oz powdered sugar

1/3 to 1/2 cup milk

1. Combine the butter and the chocolate in a small saucepan. Melt over medium heat, stirring constantly. Add the cocoa powder and stir until smooth. Transfer the chocolate mixture to a large mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer.

2. Add the powdered sugar alternately with the milk, adding more milk, if necessary, to thin, and beat until fluffy and smooth.

Farfalle with Broccoli

One of the things about buying produce at Costco is that you are stuck with HUGE bags of one item and you have to be creative about what to make with all of the bag. This week, it's broccoli and brussel sprouts that I have to figure out what to make with all those veggies!

With the broccoli, I made some cream of broccoli soup for lunch tomorrow and this pasta dish tonight. I still have 3/4 of the bag left, so I'll need to look for more broccoli recipes. There is anchovy fillets in this sauce, but they will melt when cooked so that you won't be able to tell that they are there. They add an salty flavor to the pasta which you won't be able to obtain without them.

Farfalle with Broccoli from Giada De Laurentiis' Everyday Pasta

4 to 6 servings

1 lb farfalle

2 heads of broccoli, trimmed to florets (about 4 cups)

1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

4 tbs unsalted butter

3 garlic glovers, chopped

5 anchovy fillets, chopped

1/4 teas. crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teas. salt

1/2 teas. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook, stirring occasionally. After 5 minutes, add the broccoli florets to the pasta, stir, and cook for another 4 minutes. Drain the pasta and broccoli, reserving 1 cup of the pasta water.

Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, anchovies, and red pepper flakes and cook for 5 minutes. Add the broccoli, pasta, salt and pepper and toss. Add some of the reserved pasta water, if necessary, to make a light sauce. Transfer to a serving platter and sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese.

Perfection Pound Cake

I really love pound cake and I have tried different recipes for this dessert (I usually use Martha Stewart's recipe which uses 4 sticks of butter!). I found this in one of my new cookbooks, Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. This pound cake is less sweet than other recipes that I have tried, which would make it delicious with some ice cream and berries. Sorry that there is no pic because we ate it before I could take some! :) Enjoy!

Perfection Pound Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour or 2 1/4 cups cake flour (she suggests cake flour for a more delicate cake. I used all-purpose and it was still great)
1 teas baking powder
1/4 teas salt
2 sticks (8 oz) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teas vanilla extract

Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan or an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf pan. Put the pan on an insulated baking sheet or on two regular baking sheets stacked one on top of the other.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Working with a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or a with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until pale and fluffy, a full 5 minutes. Scrape down the bowl and beater and reduce mixer speed to medium. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 1 to 2 minutes after each egg goes in. As you're working, scrape down the bowl and beater often. Mix in the vanilla extract. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour, mixing only until it is incorporated--don't over mix. In fact, you might want to fold in the last of the flour, or even all of it, by hand with a rubber spatula. Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top.

Put the cake into the oven to bake, and check on it after about 45 minutes. If it's browning too quickly, cover it loosely with a foil tent. If you're using a 9x5 pan, you'll need to bake the cake for 70 to 75 minutes; the smaller pan needs about 90 minutes. The cake is properly baked when a thin knife inserted deep into the center comes out clean.

Remove the cake from the oven, transfer the pan to a rack and let rest for 30 minutes.

Run a blunt knife between the cake and the sides of the pan and turn the cake out, then turn it right side up on the rack and cool to room temperature.

Chocolate Covered Bananas

***Here is a recipe that I forgot to post from last month. It's a great one for those of you who have kids at home!

Many years ago, I purchased two of Emeril's children's cookbook, hoping that Nathaniel would want to start cooking with me in the kitchen. While he has started helping me cook more (mostly when it comes to desserts), he was more willing to tell me what recipes he wanted me to make for him! So this is one of the recipes that he does like making with me. I am not usually a big fan of bananas (I don't like the mushy texture of it), but I do love frozen bananas!



From Emeril Lagasse's There's a Chef in My Soup! cookbook



You'll-Go-Ape For Chocolate-Covered Bananas

8 servings



4 bananas

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup lightly toasted coconut or 1/2 cup chopped roasted peanuts (or 1/4 cup of each)



1) Peel bananas and cut them in half crosswise so that you now have two short pieces.

2) Insert an ice-cream stick or half of a bamboo skewer into each piece so that it has a handle.

3) Wrap each banana half in a piece of aluminum foil and place in the freezer until frozen solid, 4 to 6 hours or overnight.

4) Place the cream in a small saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat.

5) Place the chocolate chips in a medium mixing bowl, then carefully pour the hot cream over the chips. Let the chocolate and cream sit undisturbed for a minute or two, then stir with a small spoon or rubber spatula until the mixture is blended and smooth and the chocolate is completely melted, about two minutes.

6) Place the coconut in a small mixing bowl. Or if using nuts, chop into small pieces and place in a small mixing bowl.

7) Remove bananas from the freezer and unwrap.

8) Cover a small baking sheet with waxed paper or foil.

9) Holding the stick or skewer, dip one banana half int he melted chocolate and cream until completely coated.

10) Sprinkle the coated banana with about 1 tbs of either the coconut or peanuts.

11) Set banana on the covered baking sheet and repeat with the remaining bananas and coatings.

12) Serve immediatedly or cover tightly and return the bananas to the freezer until ready to serve.

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.

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)

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.

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

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.