Today was the first day of the end of madness. :-) Today we held our official dress rehearsal for Bye Bye Birdie. The dress rehearsal is technically a performance. It is a performance for our school districts 4th and 5th grade students. It gives our cast a chance to fine tune their performances while playing to an audience, and the little kids always are an enthusiastic audience. There was many a glitch today, but hopefully they are all out of the system, and it will be smooth sailing from here on out.
The set is done, the costumes are done, and all we can do now is be a support system for the cast and crew and run the show to its conclusion. Our job is not over until we leave school on Sunday night with an empty stage. I am looking forward to Sunday. Today I told Andy that I am actually looking forward to simple tasks like cleaning the house. Pretty much since we moved in here, I've had my mind towards all I need to accomplish for the musical, and the house has sorely disintegrated. I'm looking forward to actually spending time in all the bedrooms, rearranging the furniture until it is something I am excited about. Putting new things on the walls, actually coming up with a vision for the master suite, and playing in the kitchen (of course) are things I am eagerly anticipating. Of course, we have Thanksgiving in two weeks and how can I not look forward to that! It sounds like we will have quite the full house. And even better- we get to celebrate Thanksgiving 3 days in a row!!! We get to spend Wednesday evening at Mom's for Thanksgiving dinner, then Thursday at our house, and then back to Mom's on Friday. There just wasn't a way for Mom to get the whole family together on one day, so we will get together every time we have opportunity. I have no problem with that. :-p
So I'm very tired, and not pulling together very cohesive thoughts tonight, so I will cut short by saying this:
Above all things: Avoid the Banquet Crock Pot dinners found in the freezer section. I threw one in the crockpot today before I left for school. I threw it down the garbage disposal when we got home, and pasta made a repeat performance this week. Let's just say that calling this stuff Dog Food is kind. Blech. So stay away.
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Monday, November 7, 2005
Hey- I cooked something new today!
Sort of. :-) I made basic pasta and marinara tonight for dinner. Which of course I have done many times before. But I did try a new marinara recipe today. I tried Giada's Basic Marinara from Everyday Italian, and I was not disappointed. It was bright and fresh tasting- exactly what I want in a marinara. I did make a few changes to suit my palate, but nothing too drastic. I followed her directions and used San Marzano tomatoes. Soooo worth the extra $2.50 a can for the San Marzanos. They are a wonderfully sweet tomato with almost zero acidity. Yum. They would be perfect for tomato soup actually.
For my changes, I add a few dashes of dried basil and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flake to the sauce as it cooked. And I didn't quite dice the vegetables small enough so I took the immersion blender to it for a few passes- not too many, so there were still some chunks. And the last change I made was to add a handful of fresh basil. It was extremely simple, and if you are looking for a fresh tasting marinara give this one a try. If you like a hearty meaty sauce this is not for you. :-) The recipe made plenty so I am going to tuck the rest in the freezer for another time. Another variation Giada gives is to add some olives for a puttanesca sauce, so I may do that, you just can't go wrong by adding kalamata olives and some feta cheese. Mmmm.
Here is Giada's recipe, it says it makes about 8 cups, but I think I ended up with about 10.
Marinara Sauce
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)
For my changes, I add a few dashes of dried basil and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper flake to the sauce as it cooked. And I didn't quite dice the vegetables small enough so I took the immersion blender to it for a few passes- not too many, so there were still some chunks. And the last change I made was to add a handful of fresh basil. It was extremely simple, and if you are looking for a fresh tasting marinara give this one a try. If you like a hearty meaty sauce this is not for you. :-) The recipe made plenty so I am going to tuck the rest in the freezer for another time. Another variation Giada gives is to add some olives for a puttanesca sauce, so I may do that, you just can't go wrong by adding kalamata olives and some feta cheese. Mmmm.
Here is Giada's recipe, it says it makes about 8 cups, but I think I ended up with about 10.
Marinara Sauce
Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 small onions, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 (32-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves
In a large casserole pot, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent, about 10 minutes. Add the celery, carrots, and 1/2 teaspoon of each salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves, and simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaf. Season the sauce with more salt and pepper, to taste. (The sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool, then cover and refrigerate. Rewarm over medium heat before using.)
Saturday, November 5, 2005
So they said the turkey was good.
But I certainly wouldn't know. I woke up at 5:00 am yesterday morning for my own visit to the bathroom. And pretty much spent the rest of the day alternating between there and the couch. Yuck. I felt completely awful. The dilemma was: what to do with this turkey that HAD to be cooked. So Andy called up our friends, and together they all arranged to get together at another home. That still left the turkey, stuffing, and gravy in my hands. Andy to the rescue. He did a very good job playing Mr. Mom, and managed to look out for both kids while making the turkey. AND he also did laundry and kept the kitchen clean. I need to get sick more often. No. Not really.
So it's a very good thing this was not the REAL Thanksgiving. Well, it was a real Thanksgiving, so maybe that's not the right wording. But it is good that I get another go at it. I am very sad that I missed spending time with Dan before he ships out. Best wishes Dan! Go Save the Mideast!!
I'm still not feeling well, and I'm being very mindful of Zander and Andy. I'm really hoping that the antibiotics that Zander has been on will prevent him from getting the bug, but I still expect it at any second. Andy has claimed that he is feeling a bit exhausted today- so maybe it's his turn? I'm not sure. He certainly deserves to feel exhausted after his busy day yesterday. Good thing he wasn't working. :-) So anyway, nothing new to report. I don't feel much like eating or cooking- even watching FoodTV is a little nauseating, so it may be a few days. But I do have plans for next week. So tune in then to find out what it is. Have a good weekend.
So it's a very good thing this was not the REAL Thanksgiving. Well, it was a real Thanksgiving, so maybe that's not the right wording. But it is good that I get another go at it. I am very sad that I missed spending time with Dan before he ships out. Best wishes Dan! Go Save the Mideast!!
I'm still not feeling well, and I'm being very mindful of Zander and Andy. I'm really hoping that the antibiotics that Zander has been on will prevent him from getting the bug, but I still expect it at any second. Andy has claimed that he is feeling a bit exhausted today- so maybe it's his turn? I'm not sure. He certainly deserves to feel exhausted after his busy day yesterday. Good thing he wasn't working. :-) So anyway, nothing new to report. I don't feel much like eating or cooking- even watching FoodTV is a little nauseating, so it may be a few days. But I do have plans for next week. So tune in then to find out what it is. Have a good weekend.
Thursday, November 3, 2005
I will likely miss tomorrow.
I figure that there is a good chance I will miss posting tomorrow because of Thanksgiving Dinner. But I had to come on and post my successes today. It was a crazy busy day that started at the bright hour of 5:00 am. Abigail woke me up with a tummy ache. That set off an alarm bell- friends of ours had a stomach bug a few days earlier. Sure enough, 20 minutes later she was sitting up in bed crying and making quite the mess. So she had her first sick day, and I was facing a day of getting not much done. This morning I worked on getting my kitchen clean enough to cook in and speniding time with Abigail and Zander. Poor Abigail. There is nothing worse than a sick child. Sweet Zander was trying to share treats with her all day, and was so concerned every time she was sleeping. I had to spend a lot of extra time today playing with him since he was denied his playmate. I certainly didn't mind that. ;-)
Anyway, in between my kids, I did get a lot done for tomorrow! I started with the pie and got that made up. It was the pumpkin pie I'd posted earlier- but without the cranberries. I also got the herb butter made for basting the turkey, and the gravy base for the gravy. Then I made up the stuffing short of adding the broth, so that just need to be mixed and baked. I also got two dips made for the appetizers and the turkey out of the brine. I think that's my list. Oh and I decided I wanted to make scones tomorrow, so I made some cinnamon sugar butter for spreading on the scones. So tomorrows list is: One appetizer, a cheese tray, scones, mashed potatoes and herbed peas. Nothing terribly difficult, and it should all go well. I'm looking forward to it.
So I'm off to bed I think, after I finish my cup of tea. I may be needed again in the middle of the night, and I'm already dragging. I want to be certain I am my cheery best tomorrow. Happy Early Thanksgiving everyone!
Anyway, in between my kids, I did get a lot done for tomorrow! I started with the pie and got that made up. It was the pumpkin pie I'd posted earlier- but without the cranberries. I also got the herb butter made for basting the turkey, and the gravy base for the gravy. Then I made up the stuffing short of adding the broth, so that just need to be mixed and baked. I also got two dips made for the appetizers and the turkey out of the brine. I think that's my list. Oh and I decided I wanted to make scones tomorrow, so I made some cinnamon sugar butter for spreading on the scones. So tomorrows list is: One appetizer, a cheese tray, scones, mashed potatoes and herbed peas. Nothing terribly difficult, and it should all go well. I'm looking forward to it.
So I'm off to bed I think, after I finish my cup of tea. I may be needed again in the middle of the night, and I'm already dragging. I want to be certain I am my cheery best tomorrow. Happy Early Thanksgiving everyone!
The turkey is brining!
Well, last night I got the turkey brining! Later tonight I will take it out of the brine to rest overnight. Today I have quite a few things to do, but forgetting my shopping list yesterday is really hurting me today. Abigail is home with her first sick day, so I can't just go running around. :-( My poor girl. Andy is going to come home later so I can run and pick up the must haves from my local grocery store. I was so proud of my timeline. Seriously. It was like this:
Wednesday: am: shopping
2:00 pm: prepare gravy base
9:00 pm: brine turkey
Thursday: am: make pie dough
1:00 pm: make appetizer dips
2:00 pm: make pumpkin pie
3:00 pm: prepare stuffing and broth seperately
4:00 pm: remove turkey from brine
And it went on. I was very proud of my timeline. It is out the window, but I will do what I can when I can I suppose. At the very least, I can re-use the timeline for Thanksgiving Day. :-) I thought I would share my turkey recipe here. It is long, and it looks daunting, but it is great for making ahead of time. The herb butter can be made successfully with dried herbs. In fact, since my trip into Green Bay is on hold, I will most likely use dried ones again this time around. I just reduce the herb amounts by 1/3. Where something calls for 2 tablespoons of fresh rosemary, I use 2 teaspoons. It all works out, and the herb gravy is seriously the best gravy I have ever made. I absolutely love the process of the gravy base that you just whisk in the drippings in the end. So here is the recipe, complements of www.epicurious.com and Bon Appetit magazine. I owe my Thanksgiving to them.
HERB-ROASTED TURKEY WITH APPLE CIDER GRAVYBrining the turkey in the refrigerator for two days ensures an incredibly moist result. We do not recommend stuffing brined turkeys because the brine can make the stuffing too salty. A do-ahead gravy base eliminates last-minute stirring and thickening. Look for fresh bay leaves in the produce section.
Brining
8 quarts cold water
2 cups coarse kosher salt
8 large fresh or dried bay leaves
2 tablespoons black peppercorns
2 tablespoons whole allspice
1 16- to 17-pound turkey; giblets removed, neck reserved
Herb butter and gravy
3 tablespoons minced fresh Italian parsley
3 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
3 tablespoons minced fresh sage
3 tablespoons minced fresh marjoram
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
4 cups low-salt chicken broth
2 cups apple cider
3 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons Calvados (apple brandy) or other brandy
Roasting
2 large Granny Smith apples, quartered, cored
2 large onions, quartered
1 cup apple cider
To brine the turkey: Line extra-large pot or bowl with two 13-gallon (or larger) plastic bags, 1 inside the other. Combine 1 quart water, salt, bay leaves, peppercorns, and allspice in large saucepan. Stir over medium heat until salt dissolves. Remove from heat. Add 1 quart cold water and cool to lukewarm. Pour into plastic bags; mix in remaining 6 quarts water. Wrap turkey neck and refrigerate. Submerge turkey in brine to cover completely, gathering bags tightly to eliminate any air; tie bags closed. Refrigerate turkey in brine in pot at least 18 hours and up to 20 hours.
Line large roasting pan with 4 layers of paper towels. Remove turkey from brine and drain well; discard brine. Place turkey in prepared pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
For herb butter and gravy: Mix parsley, thyme, sage, marjoram, rosemary, and nutmeg in small bowl. Transfer 1/4 cup herb mixture to small bowl; mix in 1/2 cup butter.
Combine broth and apple cider in heavy large saucepan. Boil until reduced to 3 cups, about 20 minutes. Pour broth reduction into bowl. Melt remaining 1/4 cup butter in same saucepan over medium-high heat. Add flour; stir 1 minute. Whisk in broth reduction, then cream, Calvados, and remaining herb mixture. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until gravy base is thickened and reduced to 2 3/4 cups, whisking often, about 20 minutes. Cool gravy base slightly. (Gravy base and herb butter can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and chill.)
To roast the turkey: Position rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Remove turkey from roasting pan; drain any accumulated juices from main cavity. Discard paper towels from roasting pan. Melt herb butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Brush bottom of roasting pan with some of herb butter. Return turkey to prepared pan. Tuck wing tips under; tie legs together loosely to hold shape. Place some apple quarters and onion quarters in main cavity. Brush remaining herb butter over turkey; sprinkle with pepper. Scatter remaining apples and onions around turkey in pan. Add reserved turkey neck to pan.
Roast turkey 1 hour. Baste with 1/2 cup apple cider. Roast turkey 30 minutes. Baste with remaining 1/2 cup cider. Roast turkey until thermometer inserted into thickest part of thigh registers 175°F, basting turkey every 30 minutes with pan juices and covering breast loosely with foil if browning too quickly, about 2 hours longer (3 1/2 hours total). Transfer turkey to platter; let stand at least 30 minutes before carving (internal temperature will rise 5 to 10 degrees).
Discard apples, onions, and turkey neck from pan. Pour pan juices into large glass measuring cup; spoon off fat from surface. Pour degreased juices into gravy base and bring to boil over medium-high heat, whisking occasionally. Boil until gravy thickens enough to coat spoon and is reduced to 3 1/2 cups, about 15 minutes. Season gravy to taste with pepper.
Serve turkey with gravy.
Makes10 servings.
Bon AppétitNovember 2003
Wednesday, November 2, 2005
Taking a tiny bit of time for an update :-)
I figure I should take a second and post a few updates for everyone. I am taking a pause between making dinner and sewing a few accessories for the show to get my thoughts in order. I feel like a mad hen this evening. I am in a last minute scramble to get the set finished for the show, and my vision is coming together nicely, in my opinion. I am also trying to plan and pull off a Thanksgiving dinner on Friday. It will be fun and a blast. I have a carefully laid out my timeline over the next three days, and like any best laid plans... Today Zander and I went shopping for set things, a fresh turkey, and groceries for turkey dinner. Would have worked better if I'd remembered my gorcery list. :-s
So I did get most of my set things, minus those darn telephones. I had every intention of picking them up today, but ran out of time- so that means one more trip into Green Bay tomorrow. Which is fine since I still need to do my grocery shopping. Poor Zander is going to get very sick of running around. It's a good thing that gas went down to $2.39 today. And in the meantime, I have pieces of set EVERYWHERE and my house is so trashed. I have no idea how I'm going to get everything cleaned up and put away for Friday.
On the job front, Andy did go and officially fill out his job paperwork on Monday, and he will be back to work this coming Monday. So yippee! We're still not entirely sure what his pay rate will be, but let me tell you, it is a guaranteed raise from where he was- so that's awesome news. We have also pretty much made the decision today that we will likely not be doing the musical again after this year. There has been an extreme lack of understanding, as well as a blatant disregard for both of our time and talents. So we would rather not do it. It has been a hostile environment for Andy up at the school, and that is certainly not something we want our children experiencing through us. It is constantly being flung in our faces that we are getting paid to do yada, yada, yada. While we are doing these yadas, we are also going above and beyond, and the ironic thing is that we would do what we do without the financial compensation for our time. Those high school kids deserve to have as good of a show as they can have, and they work so hard. It is so thrilling to see their faces after they have put on a stellar performance. That is why we have done the musical. It is strictly for the kids, and somewhere along the line this year it became about the director, and that is awful. My heart is breaking for those poor kids who are getting chewed out at every corner. I will miss them next year, but there comes a point where we have to focus on our own children, and we are at that point. While we will miss it, we will be much happier being stress-free.
Okay, well, the roast is beeping at me, so I best go put the finishing touches on a speedy dinner, before the monsters tear apart the kitchen looking for their candy stash. :-)
Tuesday, November 1, 2005
Countdown to Thanksgiving!!
Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. How could it not be. There is something magical about Thanksgiving dinners. I absolutely love sharing meals with family and friends. Usually we spend Thanksgiving Day with friends, and the day after with family. (After a major day of shopping of course). This year it is my turn to host the turkey day, but I get a bonus. I get to do a trial run this coming Friday. Yippee! There is nothing better than coming together with loved ones to eat, drink, and be merry. Which is exactly what we will be doing.
So unfortunately for those in foodie-dom, I may have a few days of not so much actual cooking as prepping. But it will be fun, and most assuredly, there will be some form of disaster lurking around the corner for me. :-) Later today I am going to finalize my menu and make an appropriate timeline. Tomorrow I will be shopping so that I can gt my turkey brining on Thursday. Oh yes, I said brined. My "offical" turkey is one from Bon Appetit magazine. It is an herb roasted turkey with apple cider gravy. Yummers. I love that it is versatile for making ahead of time. In fact, I am trying ot get as much of the meal done beofre Friday as possible. That way I can spend Friday cleaning the house and getting out all the autumnal decorations. I can't wait. Later today after I get my timeline and shopping list down, I will come back and share a recipe or two. But until then...wish me luck!
Happy Tuesday!
Sunday, October 30, 2005
Another new recipe tonight plus a new challenge!
Tonight for company dinner I made another new recipe form this month's Cooking Light magazine. This is about as simple as it gets, and it was very good. Definitely a winner. It was a mustard and blackberry glazed ham, and it was very good. At first I wasn't sure if those two flavors would combine so nicely- but oh was that good ham. The crust was definitely the best part. And of course, since it was a ham, I have quite a bit leftover, and this week may become Iron Chef Ham. I'm not sure that I'll offically declare that challenge though, as it stands to be a busy musical week, and I may be going after a few old standbys. But we'll see. We have started the official 2 week countdown to the end of the show. Two weeks from this moment we will be completely done with Bye Bye Birdie, and life will resume some sense of normalcy.
And of course, this Friday is Thanksgiving Part 1- and we're really looking forward to that. So until tomorrow, here is the ham recipe I used tonight, courtesy of Cooking Light magazine- give it a try, you won't be disappointed.
Blackberry-Mustard Glazed Ham
This classic recipe will be well received at all of your holiday gatherings; try it with any flavor of fruit preserves you enjoy. Adorn the platter with fresh blackberries, apple slices, oregano, and flat-leaf parsley.
1 (5-pound) 33%-less-sodium smoked, fully-cooked, bone-in ham half
Cooking spray
1/2 cup apple juice
1 (13-ounce) jar blackberry preserves
1 (7.3-ounce) jar whole-grain Dijon mustard
Preheat oven to 350°.
Trim fat and rind from ham. Score outside of ham in a diamond pattern. Place ham on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray.
Combine juice, preserves, and mustard in a medium bowl, stirring until well combined. Set aside half of preserves mixture.
Bake ham at 350° for 1 1/2 hours or until a thermometer registers 140°, basting with half of preserves mixture every 20 minutes. Remove ham from oven. Place ham on a platter; cover and let stand 15 minutes before slicing.
Place reserved preserves mixture in a large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until reduced to 1 cup (about 15 minutes). Serve sauce with ham.
Yield: 20 servings (serving size: 3 ounces ham and about 2 teaspoons sauce)
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 185(27% from fat); FAT 5.6g (sat 1.6g,mono 2.3g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 18.3g; CHOLESTEROL 45mg; CALCIUM 15mg; SODIUM 1011mg; FIBER 1g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 14.8gJackie Mills
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Well, they smell good.
Today I am making brownies. To be specific, Chocolate Mint Brownies. This is one of those recipes that I would never really think to make it myself. I am not a huge mint fan with chocolate, but it does have its moments. This is one of those moments. I see these brownies frequently at picnics and potlucks. And I can never eat just one- they are so good. I finally tracked down the recipe, and they are baking as we speak. I know they will be great, so I have no need to wait until they are completed to post the recipe. I fully admit though, that the recipe threw me. It only calls for 1 cup of flour, and it also calls for 1 can of chocolate syrup. Interesting. I am expecting a nicely fudgy brownie. My only caveat is that by the time I include the filling and ganache topping, there will be 3 sticks of butter in this one brownie recipe. That is quite a bit. So when I am beating the filling, I intend to start with half of the butter there and see how that works. Same with the chocolate topping. I may just use half of that anyways. I will let you know if I end up making any changes. In the meantime I am going to wait for them to finish baking.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Chocolate Mint Brownies
Serving Size : 24
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter -- softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can chocolate syrup
1 cup sugar
Filling:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter -- softened
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
3 drops green food coloring
Topping
10 ounces mint chocolate chips
9 tablespoons butter
Combine first 7 ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool completely. Combine filling, beat until creamy, spread over brownies. refridgerate 30 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and butter together, let cool for 30 minutes. Spread over filling, cut into squares.
Description: "Dessert"Yield: "1 piece"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 319 Calories; 16g Fat (43.9% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 182mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 3 Fat; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
I am thinking that this recipe has possiblities for endless variations. I am thinking about subbing raspberry extract and pink food coloring in the filling, and using raspberry chocolate chips for the topping. You could also just choose to make the mint a pink color, make a pan of each, and alternate the colors for a really pretty brownie plate. Or perhaps adding orange extract to the filling, orange color, and using dark chocolate chips for the topping- along with some finely chopped toasted pecans. Or how about a coconut variation? Add coconut extract to the filling, and some toasted coconut flakes to the topping. Oh my, this has serious playing potential. I will share any variations I make. :-)
* Exported from MasterCook *
Chocolate Mint Brownies
Serving Size : 24
1 cup flour
1/2 cup butter -- softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can chocolate syrup
1 cup sugar
Filling:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter -- softened
1 tablespoon water
1/2 teaspoon mint extract
3 drops green food coloring
Topping
10 ounces mint chocolate chips
9 tablespoons butter
Combine first 7 ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 3 minutes. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Cool completely. Combine filling, beat until creamy, spread over brownies. refridgerate 30 minutes. Melt chocolate chips and butter together, let cool for 30 minutes. Spread over filling, cut into squares.
Description: "Dessert"Yield: "1 piece"
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 319 Calories; 16g Fat (43.9% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 44g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 64mg Cholesterol; 182mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 3 Fat; 2 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
I am thinking that this recipe has possiblities for endless variations. I am thinking about subbing raspberry extract and pink food coloring in the filling, and using raspberry chocolate chips for the topping. You could also just choose to make the mint a pink color, make a pan of each, and alternate the colors for a really pretty brownie plate. Or perhaps adding orange extract to the filling, orange color, and using dark chocolate chips for the topping- along with some finely chopped toasted pecans. Or how about a coconut variation? Add coconut extract to the filling, and some toasted coconut flakes to the topping. Oh my, this has serious playing potential. I will share any variations I make. :-)
Friday, October 28, 2005
Back to normal
So I did cook today. After the last two days I needed to just spend some time with the kids. So we had a nice lazy day together. My brother and his family came over for a little while to play, and that was nice, the kids really love Kara and love spending time with her. All day I've almost felt hungover. Not really achey or sick feeling, but that feeling like you get after a busy vacation. I've felt tired all day, but by mid afternoon I was feeling like doing a little cooking. So I tried a new recipe from the new issue of Cooking Light. This was a good issue, there's lots I want to try, and this was the first. I made Oven Braised Lentils with Sausage. And it was super easy, and really quite good.
I did make a few changes (of course) trying to use a couple of things that needed using. I decided to add my leeks and fennel and when I went to get my tomato paste, I noticed that it was tomato paste with Italian herbs, so I had to use that. I also left out the white wine and just used chicken broth instead.
First off, the fennel. I have never had fennel before, and it surprised me. It really really smelled like anise, which I don't care much for. But it really didn't taste it. I can't exactly describe the flavor- but it was somewhat sweet. I am intrigued. I used half a bulb along with the veggies called for. I took the other half of the bulb, sliced it up and tossed it in the freezer, along with the upper stems and fronds. I intend to use them next time I make a stock- which will likely be turkey stock.
Back to the dish. I also had two small leeks that I trimmed and cleaned and sliced up. I added them to the oil first to give them a few minutes to soften before adding the rest of the vegetables to sweat. I followed the rest of the directions as planned, swapping out turkey kielbasa for regular kielbasa- my store was out. Oh, and I don't have a dutch oven that I can use on my stove, so I followed the instructions thru bringing to a boil, and then poured it into a baking dish, covered and popped it in the oven. Oh, and if you do make it, cut the sausage into bigger chunks. Mine were more like 1 1/2 inch, and they were starting to get a little soft in texture. I think if they were much smaller they would almost disappear.
It was perfect. It was such a homey and delicious dish. Almost exactly like a lentil and sausage soup, only no broth in the end product, and the lentils are individual and distinct. I am certain the fennel and the leeks helped contribute to such a wonderful dinner, and I will most likely include them next time. I am also thinking about what else I can do with fennel, because that unusual veggie has certainly caught my attention. :-) So here is the recipe, complements of Cooking Light. Bon Appetit!
Oven-Braised Lentils with Sausage
From Cooking Light
Comforting and easy to prepare, this hearty dish is good for busy nights, as the lentils cook in the oven and leave you free to tend to other things.
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 thyme sprigs
2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) bag dried lentils
1 (14-ounce) package turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 bay leaf
Preheat oven to 375°.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 1 minute. Add water and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover and place in oven. Bake at 375° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until lentils are tender; discard bay leaf. Yield: 10 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 234(14% from fat); FAT 3.6g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 20g; CHOLESTEROL 10mg; CALCIUM 109mg; SODIUM 450mg; FIBER 15.4g; IRON 5.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33gLorrie Hulston Corvin
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005
I did make a few changes (of course) trying to use a couple of things that needed using. I decided to add my leeks and fennel and when I went to get my tomato paste, I noticed that it was tomato paste with Italian herbs, so I had to use that. I also left out the white wine and just used chicken broth instead.
First off, the fennel. I have never had fennel before, and it surprised me. It really really smelled like anise, which I don't care much for. But it really didn't taste it. I can't exactly describe the flavor- but it was somewhat sweet. I am intrigued. I used half a bulb along with the veggies called for. I took the other half of the bulb, sliced it up and tossed it in the freezer, along with the upper stems and fronds. I intend to use them next time I make a stock- which will likely be turkey stock.
Back to the dish. I also had two small leeks that I trimmed and cleaned and sliced up. I added them to the oil first to give them a few minutes to soften before adding the rest of the vegetables to sweat. I followed the rest of the directions as planned, swapping out turkey kielbasa for regular kielbasa- my store was out. Oh, and I don't have a dutch oven that I can use on my stove, so I followed the instructions thru bringing to a boil, and then poured it into a baking dish, covered and popped it in the oven. Oh, and if you do make it, cut the sausage into bigger chunks. Mine were more like 1 1/2 inch, and they were starting to get a little soft in texture. I think if they were much smaller they would almost disappear.
It was perfect. It was such a homey and delicious dish. Almost exactly like a lentil and sausage soup, only no broth in the end product, and the lentils are individual and distinct. I am certain the fennel and the leeks helped contribute to such a wonderful dinner, and I will most likely include them next time. I am also thinking about what else I can do with fennel, because that unusual veggie has certainly caught my attention. :-) So here is the recipe, complements of Cooking Light. Bon Appetit!
Oven-Braised Lentils with Sausage
From Cooking Light
Comforting and easy to prepare, this hearty dish is good for busy nights, as the lentils cook in the oven and leave you free to tend to other things.
2 teaspoons olive oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped carrot
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup dry white wine
3 cups water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3 thyme sprigs
2 (14-ounce) cans fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 (16-ounce) bag dried lentils
1 (14-ounce) package turkey kielbasa, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 bay leaf
Preheat oven to 375°.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste, and cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits; cook 1 minute. Add water and remaining ingredients; bring to a boil. Cover and place in oven. Bake at 375° for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until lentils are tender; discard bay leaf. Yield: 10 servings (serving size: about 1 1/4 cups)
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 234(14% from fat); FAT 3.6g (sat 1.3g,mono 1.6g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 20g; CHOLESTEROL 10mg; CALCIUM 109mg; SODIUM 450mg; FIBER 15.4g; IRON 5.2mg; CARBOHYDRATE 33gLorrie Hulston Corvin
Cooking Light, NOVEMBER 2005
Thursday, October 27, 2005
The Unexpected Roller Coaster
Wow.
That's just about all I can say.
Wow.
It has been a crazy two days. As a little background, every year Andy and I work on our local High School musical. It's kind of a hobby for us that we can do together- and we do it well. He does the technical aspects of the show, designs the set, designs lights, runs the show from backstage, etc. I am the fluff. I do costumes, props, and dress the set. Every year the school has a long weekend that we all take the opportunity to spend two days really polishing the technical aspects of the show. Well. Andy requested off of work for this Thursday and Friday. It was approved. Then this week his boss told him at the last second that he couldn't have the time off. Uh Oh. These two days TOTALLY hinge on Andy. Needless to say, the director was not happy.
Andy had to spend today at work, and we were lucky enough to be able to get ahold of a former student who was majoring in theater to come in and take over for the day. I did spend a little time at school helping with hair and make-up and checking out the fit of my costumes. I have to say- those kids looked pretty darn good! But with two sick kids at home I didn't stay long. I spent a nice lazy afternoon at home with the kids. Zander had a good nap, Abigail and I made cookies. Then everything changed...
Andy walked in early- Oh good, I'm thinking. We can bump up dinner and get him to school at a reasonable amount of time because he has a lot to do tonight. His first comment is "Time to break out the resumes". Um. Yuppers. He was let go. His boss picked him up at the job site and personally drove him home. He told Andy that it was obvious he wasn't happy with his job, so he was doing Andy a favor and letting him go. Doing him a favor???!!! He was totally full of it. So Andy and I made a lot of quick phone calls to people putting out the APB that Andy was looking for a job- pronto, and hooking up with our prayer families.
Well. One of the phone calls Andy made was to a guy he had been working with in the last few weeks- basically letting him know he was looking for work and would it be beneficial for Andy to drive out to this guys work and drop of a resume? Sure, come out anytime. Well, as it turns out, this guys DAD owns the company. He called back 20 mintues later- come fill out an application, you start the Monday after next. Yippee!!!! Andy has heard good things about this company, and he was only unemployed technically for about an hour. He will have next week off, which as it turns out, means he can put in even more time on the musical than originally planned. :-p
What a crazy day!!!!!!! I seriously feel like crawling into bed and staying there for a week. And now I'm hungry. It's been so stressful that I haven't felt much like eating, and now that I think we are maybe on a bit of an upswing, my stomach is voicing it's opinion.
Anyway, maybe tomorrow I will get to a new recipe that I've been meaning to try all week. I also have a bulb of fennel in the fridge that I bought for...no clue. I've never used fennel, and just felt like buying it, along with a pair of leeks. So maybe some kind of roasted chicken? We'll see. I'm going to do a couple of searches and figure something out- maybe. :-)
That's just about all I can say.
Wow.
It has been a crazy two days. As a little background, every year Andy and I work on our local High School musical. It's kind of a hobby for us that we can do together- and we do it well. He does the technical aspects of the show, designs the set, designs lights, runs the show from backstage, etc. I am the fluff. I do costumes, props, and dress the set. Every year the school has a long weekend that we all take the opportunity to spend two days really polishing the technical aspects of the show. Well. Andy requested off of work for this Thursday and Friday. It was approved. Then this week his boss told him at the last second that he couldn't have the time off. Uh Oh. These two days TOTALLY hinge on Andy. Needless to say, the director was not happy.
Andy had to spend today at work, and we were lucky enough to be able to get ahold of a former student who was majoring in theater to come in and take over for the day. I did spend a little time at school helping with hair and make-up and checking out the fit of my costumes. I have to say- those kids looked pretty darn good! But with two sick kids at home I didn't stay long. I spent a nice lazy afternoon at home with the kids. Zander had a good nap, Abigail and I made cookies. Then everything changed...
Andy walked in early- Oh good, I'm thinking. We can bump up dinner and get him to school at a reasonable amount of time because he has a lot to do tonight. His first comment is "Time to break out the resumes". Um. Yuppers. He was let go. His boss picked him up at the job site and personally drove him home. He told Andy that it was obvious he wasn't happy with his job, so he was doing Andy a favor and letting him go. Doing him a favor???!!! He was totally full of it. So Andy and I made a lot of quick phone calls to people putting out the APB that Andy was looking for a job- pronto, and hooking up with our prayer families.
Well. One of the phone calls Andy made was to a guy he had been working with in the last few weeks- basically letting him know he was looking for work and would it be beneficial for Andy to drive out to this guys work and drop of a resume? Sure, come out anytime. Well, as it turns out, this guys DAD owns the company. He called back 20 mintues later- come fill out an application, you start the Monday after next. Yippee!!!! Andy has heard good things about this company, and he was only unemployed technically for about an hour. He will have next week off, which as it turns out, means he can put in even more time on the musical than originally planned. :-p
What a crazy day!!!!!!! I seriously feel like crawling into bed and staying there for a week. And now I'm hungry. It's been so stressful that I haven't felt much like eating, and now that I think we are maybe on a bit of an upswing, my stomach is voicing it's opinion.
Anyway, maybe tomorrow I will get to a new recipe that I've been meaning to try all week. I also have a bulb of fennel in the fridge that I bought for...no clue. I've never used fennel, and just felt like buying it, along with a pair of leeks. So maybe some kind of roasted chicken? We'll see. I'm going to do a couple of searches and figure something out- maybe. :-)
Tuesday, October 25, 2005
Prayers Please...
It's been a very tense couple of days at our house, and it only stands to get worse. Personally I have been struggling to finish my costume efforts to meet my self imposed deadline of Thursday. I actually am almost done. I have one dress to alter, and my nightmare dress only needs a hem. I tried it on the girl today, and she simply looks stunning in it. So yeah for me! Well, not really. It IS a costume, so I wasn't super careful with my lining and the stitching. But it sure looks good. I am amazed that I made an entire dress by hand. But the stress of the show is still there. I have to shop tomorrow for all of my men's clothes and now Zander is quite ill, and I feel awful having to make him run around tomorrow. But I really have no other choice.
I had a medical crisis today with Zander. Last night I was up with him most of the night as he was coughing a lot and struggling to breathe. I was playing round robin with the medicines in our cabinet. I started with one, and then two hours later it still wasn't working, so I would watch the clock until I could give him another dose- only I would try something different. Nothing worked. Finally, at 8:30 this morning I called and got him into the doctor's office. My poor boy has been diagnosed with asthma. It wasn't unexpected, I have asthma, but it was hard to actually hear it given voice. In just one day I have thought of so many things that will have to be considered with him in the future. With any luck, it will be something that he will grow out of. Of course, right now the asthma is having immediate consequences. He's always been one to hang on to a cough and a congested chest when he gets a cold- at least now we know why, but he's been struggling with this last cold and the asthma has trapped some bacteria in his tiny lungs, so he's being treated with antibiotics, along with his albuterol treatments. And right now, he wants Mommy. At all times. The only reason I am not in bed with him right now, is because Abigail is in my bed with him. That's another story.
Abigail is not herself this week. I wish I knew what was going on there. She has been extra cuddly, wanting Mommy and Daddy, and she's really struggling with bedtime. She spends a few minutes in bed before she starts crying that she wants Mommy. So her and Zander have been starting off the night in Mom and Dad's bed together. I wish I could get her to tell me what is bothering her. I think part of it is Halloween. She is such a sensitive girl, and they've been doing Halloween themed things at school, and I think it's bothering her. Today she told me she'd rather go to the mall than go trick-or-treating on Monday. So I think all the spooks and things have taken their toll. We will not be carving pumpkins I think, and no Halloween decorations of any kind. Right now I plan to take Abigail and Zander somewhere during trick-or-treating. I'm just not sure where. I want to avoid scary costumes if at all possible, and I think that will be very hard to do. Of course, I had to let her know that she could still be Sleeping Beauty all day on Monday. So we'll see about that. The option to trick-or-treat will still be there, but I've also offered to take her to the candy wall at Toys R Us to pick out a bag full of treats. We'll just have to wait and see what she decides on Monday I guess.
So it's been a wee bit stressful here. Andy is in the middle of a crisis at work, and he is getting the brunt of the "angry fuel" regarding the musical. I think we are both debating not doing it again next year. But between that and no sleep because of the kids, things are wound pretty tight here. So send some happy thought our way. And some happy eating thoughts! I'm hardly in the mood to cook, much less eat. Breakfast for me today was a handful of candy corn. Lunch was a handful of Twizzlers. Almost as an afterthought I whipped up a quick supper, and when I sat down to eat with the family, Zander wanted cuddle time, and Abigail had a bit of a breakdown. Ugh. Maybe I'll be back tomorrow with something a little more happy to talk about.
Sunday, October 23, 2005
How wierd is that??
Yesterday's post appeared magically just now. So I guess you get two posts at once! How exciting!
Brown Butter Pumpkin Pie with Cranberries and streusel
Well, that's a mouthful, say that three times.
Yesterday I posted a nice post about how I was almost finished with my sewing projects and was looking forward to playing in the kitchen today. Well, somehow blogger ate my post. It was rather poetic and exciting. (At least for me) So I'm sorry you won't get the benefit of yesterdays prose.
However, today was the perfect blustery day to try a little bit of creativity in the kitchen. I have a pumpkin pie recipe that we love. I found it two years ago in an issue of Bon Appetit and have pretty much adopted it as my pumpkin pie. You can look at it here for the original version. Well, somewhere in the last few days I got it into my head that I needed to play with it a bit and figure out the best way to put cranberries into my pie. How could that not be good. So this was a grand science experiment. I started with the pie filling.
I was going to add some tartness to the pie, so I wanted to up the sweetness in the actual filling just a tad, without increasing the sugar. My first thought was the butter. I had actually been thinking about cutting the butter in half and adding some evaporated milk instead. Then I thought about browning the butter and that won. So one stick of butter, browned, went into the filling, along with 1/4 tsp of cinnamon. Next stop, the streusel. I already have eliminated the crystallized ginger. I am not a big ginger fan, so I leave that out. Instead I add 1/8 tsp. of powdered ginger to the flour and sugar in the streusel. I looked at the nuts, and decided that I like pecans better with cranberries than walnuts, so I swapped those out and increased the nuts to 1/2 cup.
Then I thought of the cranberries. The last time I made a pie with cranberries, it was an apple pie with a cranberry ribbon. There were a lot of instructions that came down to basically making a simple cranberry sauce to layer in the pie. I decided that a can of whole berry cranberry sauce would fit the bill. Except that we used that can for dinner the other night, and I only had about 1/2 cup left- and I wanted more than that. Ah, that jar of lingonberry preserves should fit the bill. Again, about 1/2 cup there too. So I mixed the two together. Now, where to put the cranberry sauce.
After careful thought, I decided to try a layer in the middle of the pie. I poured about 1/3 of my filling into the crust. (Which, by the way, I did not follow the directions and prebake the crust. 45 minutes in the oven is plenty of time to bake.) Then I dollopped cranberries all over the filling- staying away from the edge. I poured the remaining filling over, topped with streusel, and baked it. The flavors turned out quite well. I'm not quite done with it, but it is good. I think I still need to cut the butter in half, and I think I should use all lingonberries, as they are a smaller, more delicate berry than a cranberry. The only problem I have with the pie, is the length of time to bake. I checked it at 45 minutes, and since it didn't jiggle when shaken, I called it done and pulled it out. It probably could have used another 10 minutes or so, as the very center is quite soft.
But here is the recipe as I made it tonight. It is very rich- and very good, but like I said, I plan to tweak it a tiny bit more, and of course, if you feel anyhting in particular would be beneficial...just let me know!
* Exported from MasterCook *
Pumpkin Pie with Spiced Walnut Streusel
Serving Size : 10
1 Butter Crust Pie Dough disk
STREUSEL:
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/8 teaspoon powdered ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 tablespoon nutmeg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter -- chilled and cut into cubes
1/2 cup pecans -- chopped
PUMPKIN FILLING:
1 can pumpkin -- 15 oz. (pure pumpkin)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large eggs
1/2 cup unsalted butter -- melted and browned
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cranberry sauce -- whole berry
Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to a 9-inch deep-dish glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under; crimp edges decoratively. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until edges begin to brown and crust is set, about 17 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to rack, maintain oven temperature.
FOR STREUSEL: Mix flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Stir in nuts.
FOR PUMPKIN FILLING: Whisk pumpkin, sugar, and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla. Pour into prepared crust, layering cranberry sauce in as desired.
Sprinkle streusel over the filling. Bake pie until streusel is golden and filling is set, about 45 minutes. Cool on rack at least 2 hours. Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
Description: "Pie"Source: "Bon Appetit Nov. 2003" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 360 Calories; 17g Fat (40.5% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 52g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 87mg Cholesterol; 33mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 3 Fat; 3 Other Carbohydrates.
NOTES : Very very good. Has a texture similar to sweet potato pie. Maybe would like a little clove and cinnamon in the filling next time. Also would be good with a 1/8 tsp. rum extract with the vanilla. Definitely make again.
Saturday, October 22, 2005
I behaved myself today
Oh was that kitchen calling. More specifically, the oven. After yesterday's frolicking in the kitchen, I really wanted to do more. It was such a dreary and drizzly day, the oven just sang to me. "Bake something." "Bake something gooey!" "Bake something that is warm and comforting." And guess what. As hard as it was, I controlled that urge and continued with my sewing. I am almost finished! :-) I have one dress remaining to actually make, and then I am done with the actual sewing projects for the show! Yippee! I still have a lot of shopping to do, but other than minor alterations, it's almost time to put the sewing machine away. For a little while anyways. After this success, I am feeling a little adventurous, and I may attempt to make Abigail her Christmas dress this year, but we'll see about that.
Tomorrow our Company is bringing dinner, but I am thinking about trying a new pie. This one will be a bit of a leap for me. I am going to take a pumpkin pie and try to weave a ribbon of cranberry into it. I'm not sure how well that will work, with pumpkin being a slightly custardy pie, but I love pumpkin, and I love cranberries, it just seems to me that I would like that combo. If that doesn't work, I am thinking about attempting a pumpkin cheesecake that I can top with a spiced cranberry sauce. But we'll start with the pie. I need to get it perfected, because in two weeks I will be hosting the first of two Thanksgiving dinners. Our dear friend Dan will be home on leave for one week before deploying for Iraq. So we are going to give him and his family an early Thanksgiving dinenr together as a family. It will also be our way to send him off in the best way possible- with a belly full of love. :-) So until tomorrow, have a great night. And here is the pumpkin pie recipe that I plan to use as my base for the pumpkin cranberry concoction.
PUMPKIN PIE WITH SPICED WALNUT STREUSEL
1 Butter Pie Crust Dough disk
Streusel
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Pumpkin filling
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown suga
r3 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream
Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch deep-dish glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under; crimp edges decoratively. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until edges begin to brown and crust is set, about 17 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to rack. Maintain oven temperature.
For streusel: Mix flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Stir in nuts.
For pumpkin filling: Whisk pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in medium bowl. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla. Pour into prepared crust.
Sprinkle streusel over filling. Bake pie until streusel is golden and filling is set, about 45 minutes. Cool on rack at least 2 hours. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
Makes 10 servings.
Bon AppétitNovember 2003
Tomorrow our Company is bringing dinner, but I am thinking about trying a new pie. This one will be a bit of a leap for me. I am going to take a pumpkin pie and try to weave a ribbon of cranberry into it. I'm not sure how well that will work, with pumpkin being a slightly custardy pie, but I love pumpkin, and I love cranberries, it just seems to me that I would like that combo. If that doesn't work, I am thinking about attempting a pumpkin cheesecake that I can top with a spiced cranberry sauce. But we'll start with the pie. I need to get it perfected, because in two weeks I will be hosting the first of two Thanksgiving dinners. Our dear friend Dan will be home on leave for one week before deploying for Iraq. So we are going to give him and his family an early Thanksgiving dinenr together as a family. It will also be our way to send him off in the best way possible- with a belly full of love. :-) So until tomorrow, have a great night. And here is the pumpkin pie recipe that I plan to use as my base for the pumpkin cranberry concoction.
PUMPKIN PIE WITH SPICED WALNUT STREUSEL
1 Butter Pie Crust Dough disk
Streusel
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar
1 tablespoon minced crystallized ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into cubes
1/3 cup walnuts, coarsely chopped
Pumpkin filling
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup (packed) golden brown suga
r3 large eggs
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Sweetened whipped cream
Roll out dough on lightly floured surface to 13-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch deep-dish glass pie dish. Trim overhang to 1/2 inch. Fold overhang under; crimp edges decoratively. Refrigerate 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line crust with foil. Fill with dried beans or pie weights. Bake until edges begin to brown and crust is set, about 17 minutes. Remove foil and beans. Bake until golden brown, pressing with back of fork if crust bubbles, about 5 minutes longer. Transfer to rack. Maintain oven temperature.
For streusel: Mix flour, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until coarse meal forms. Stir in nuts.
For pumpkin filling: Whisk pumpkin, 1 cup sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in medium bowl. Whisk in eggs 1 at a time. Whisk in melted butter and vanilla. Pour into prepared crust.
Sprinkle streusel over filling. Bake pie until streusel is golden and filling is set, about 45 minutes. Cool on rack at least 2 hours. (Can be made 6 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.) Serve with sweetened whipped cream.
Makes 10 servings.
Bon AppétitNovember 2003
Friday, October 21, 2005
Happy Birthday Andy!
Today was Andy's birthday so I had to do a little something special for him for dinner. We don't do a whole lot for each other's birthdays, but we do make each other a yummy dinner. Tonight Andy requested red meat. Then he narrowed that down to steak. It was a steak kind of day. So we called up Mom and Dad to see if they wanted to join us for a brithday dinner. I picked up a beef tenderloin which I cut into small steaks and seasoned them so that Andy could simply grill them. To accompany that I made a simple tossed salad. Earlier in the day though, I was a wizard in the kitchen. I started the morning by baking up a chocolate fudge cake mix in a pair of loaf pans. And set that aside to cool. While that cooled I mixed together cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and Cool Whip. Tossed in some crushed oreos and split one loaf cake into three layers. I smeared on two layers of oreo creme and topped the whole thing with chocolate frosting and sprinkles. I had to make a cake because Abigail insisted that a birthday must include cake. Who can argue with that.
Next I whipped up a batch of whole wheat sandwich bread, only I shaped it into three smaller free form loaves. This turned out perfect of course, and I was able to send a loaf home with Mom and Dad. Finally, I made a Warm Buttermilk Apple Pie. I think Andy's favorite food is pie, and this one ranks in the highest marks in Andy's world. I will share the recipe below. It is a Cooking Light recipe, and the only chnage I make to the whole thing is that I add about 1/2 cup of finely chopped pecans to the streusel. That really adds to the pie, IMO. My last adventure in the kitchen today was a new recipe for Gorgonzola Artichoke Cream Pasta Sauce. How could you go wrong with gorgonzola in the first place, and even better to accompany a steak! It turned out quite well. I left out the nutmeg, but Andy thought it would have gone quite well. This is a definite repeat, and makes a great side dish. Highly recommended by Andy,as was the rest of dinner actually. I did not do the step of topping with crumbs and baking. I simply tossed the sauce with some penne and called it done.
Here are the recipes for the pie and the pasta sauce.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Gorgonzola Artichoke Cream Pasta Sauce:
Recipe By :shared by tomboy on CLBB
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup whipping cream
1/4 cup unsalted butter -- cut up
4 ounces Gorgonzola cheese -- room temperature
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 can artichoke hearts -- (14 ounce) well drained and chopped (I used a box of frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and cut into smaller pieces.)
In a large saucepan, heat chicken broth, cream, and butter to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer, uncovered, for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Whisk in Gorgonzola cheese until melted and sauce is smooth. Stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Stir in chopped artichokes and cook until heated through. Serve sauce over pasta (some type of shelled pasta works best to capture the sauce).
Walnut and Bread Topping (optional, but recommended):
Preheat oven to 350-degrees. In a small bowl, toss together 1/4 cup soft (fresh) breadcrumbs, 3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, 1 tablespoon snipped fresh parsley, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Spread in an 8x8x2-inch baking pan. Bake, uncovered, in a preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes or until golden. Sprinkle of pasta and sauce.
Warm Apple-Buttermilk Custard Pie
From Cooking Light
The key to both a flaky piecrust and crisp streusel topping is to keep them as cold as possible before putting them into the oven.
Crust:
1/2 (15-ounce) package refrigerated pie dough (such as Pillsbury)
Cooking spray
Streusel:
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 1/2 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces
Filling:
5 cups sliced peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 pounds)
1 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups fat-free buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 325º.
To prepare crust, roll dough into a 14-inch circle; fit into a 9-inch deepdish pie plate coated with cookig spray. Fold edges under; flute. Place pie plate in refrigerator until ready to use.
To prepare streusel, lightly spoon 1/3 cup flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine 1/3 cup flour, brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Place streusel in refrigerator.
To prepare the filling, heat a large nonstrick skillet coated with cookig spray over medium heat. Add sliced apple, 1/4 cup granulated sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon; cook 10 minutes or until the apple is tender, sitrring mixture occasionally. Spoon the apple mixture into prepared crust.
Combine remaining 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, salt, and eggs, stirring with a whisk. Stir in buttermilk and vanilla. Pour over apple mixture. Bake at 325º for 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300º (do not remove pie from oven); sprinkle streusel over pie. Bake at 300º for 40 minutes or until set. Let stand 1 hour before serving. Yield: 10 servings
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 317(29% from fat); FAT 10.1g (sat 4.6g,mono 3g,poly 1.2g); PROTEIN 5g; CHOLESTEROL 76mg; CALCIUM 73mg; SODIUM 230mg; FIBER 1.3g; IRON 0.8mg; CARBOHYDRATE 52.6g
Cooking Light, MARCH 2003
The Tea Review
I have discovered loose tea.
I found it, of all places, at the shop where Andy gets his beer brewing supplies. They have a small selection of about 15-20 loose teas. I went with Andy the last time he needed something, and got myself a little sampler. The tea is super cheap (I think) at between $.95 and $2.49 an ounce. I thought I should try a few different teas.
The first one I was drawn to was called Sunshine Lemon Rooibos. I already knew that I liked rooibos. Although, technically it is not tea, as it is not even a leaf, more like tiny little sticks, it makes a wonderful cup of herbal tea. And the Sunshine Lemon is just wonderful. It is so fragrant and yummy. It is my instant favorite. Rooibos is such a delicate flavor, it is truly ahrd to describe, but it is almost like it has hints of cinnamon and sweetness, and a light "red" flavor. The lemon is a perfect complement to the rooibos, and I plan to buy plenty of this tea to have at all time. I also think this would make a fabulous iced tea as well.
I also brought home a Green Tea Chai. I am on the fence about this one. I like green tea, and I love chai, but this one seems out of balance. It may be that I steeped it too long, but the spice flavor is overwhelming,and the tea flavor is underwhelming. The flavors I get the most are cardamom and clove, which have their places, but are not my favorite. So I'm not sure what I will do with this one. I don't love it, but I don't hate it. I know I wouldn't buy it again, but in the meantime I have almost 3 ounces of loose tea- which is quite a bit.
The third tea I got is called Russian Caravan. There is no fence here. The tea is described as an a basic black tea with a hint of Lapsong Suchong tossed in. Um, it smelled good in the jar. The Lapsong is a smoked tea, and while you can faintly smell it, it wasn't overwhelming, and I thought it sounded good. I only steeped this one for 3 minutes, because I didn't want to be overwhelmed. The first sip of tea was like, oh, wierd, maybe it's an acquired taste. So I sat down determined to give it it's full trial. I did try it unsweetened, and then added a little honey as well. About 4 or 5 sips later, I just couldn't stomach it. The lapsong doesn't come out right away, it's more like a lingering finish. And I definitely do not like the taste of smoke lingering on my tongue. I would breathe and I could smell my breath. It was like I had eaten smoked fish or something. This was soooo not for me. I don't mind my ribs and chicken to be a little smoked- but I don't care to drink it. So I have nearly 2 ounces of this sitting around here as well. If anyone is interested, I would be happy to send it to you for nothing. It cost me little, but I feel like it's being wasteful if I just toss it. I will keep it around for a little while, and if no one is interested, I will toss it, but just in case someone likes this yucky brew...
Now to the basics of brewing tea. At least, this is my procedure. First I boil some water and fill my ceramic teapot with hot water and my cups with hot water to warm them. The I set the kettle of water back on and gently heat it to between 170 and 190. I've been using my probe and letting it get to 185 before I take it off the heat. Then I dump the hot water out of my tea pot. I add my loose tea leaves to the pot. My proportions are 1 teaspoon for each cup of tea, plus one for the pot. Add the hot water to the pot and let it steep for between 3-5 minutes. If you let it go much longer than 5 minutes, the tea can become bitter. Using a tiny mesh strainer, I strain the tea as I pour it into the warmed tea cups. Ideally, if I were to make more than one or two cups of tea, I think I will be getting a carafe specifically for tea. As the tea doesn't stay warm for very long in the ceramic tea pot, and leaving it sit and steep is a bad idea.
While I won't be giving up my Stash tea bags anytime soon, I am enjoying the experience of loose tea, and I will be sure an dshare my experiences as Andy tends to need more brewing supplies form time to time.
I will be back later today, as it is Andy's birthday and I have a few special things planned for in the kitchen. So tune back in later. :-)
Thursday, October 20, 2005
So I did cook today.
But I REALLY hate sewing.
There, got it out of my system (I think). I really am in the home stretch, so hopefully soon I will be back in the kitchen doing what I love.
Anyway, tonight I made a recipe that I got from Bon Appetit magazine. Or Gourmet. I'm not sure, my Mastercook entry says Bon Appetit, but I suspect it is in fact from Gourmet, because it reminds me of a Gourmet every day recipe. Either way, it can be found at www.epicurious.com of you are interested in other reviews. This is the second time I made this one. I rememeber the first time thinking that I could taste and feel the fat too much to truly enjoy the dish. So this time I cut back a bit. Just a bit. :-) I also added about a cup of sliced mushrooms when I added the beans, as well as about 1/2 cup of chopped fennel fronds. The fennel added some freshness, the mushrooms added some earthiness, and it was really good. My only beef with the recipe as written is that the proportions are way off. You end up with 6 chicken thighs in a huge pot of stew. I am going to try something different with the leftovers though. I am letting it cool, and then I am going to skim the fat off the top. Then I am going to take the remaining thighs and take the chicken off, add it back to the pot along with 2 cups of chicken stock, and a handful or two of frozen spinach. Soup for lunch on Saturday. All it will need is a sprinkle of Asiago and some french bread for dunking.
Here is the recipe, it really is easy and needs very little tending while it cooks. While the stew cooks, there is plenty of time to warm up some bread and toss a salad.
* Exported from MasterCook *
CHICKEN STEW WITH TOMATOES & WHITE BEANS
Serving Size : 6
4 bacon slices -- chopped
6 chicken thighs -- with skin and bones
All purpose flour
1 large onion -- chopped (about 2 cups)
5 garlic cloves -- minced
2 cans stewed tomatoes -- (14 1/2 ounce)
1 can low-salt chicken broth -- (14 1/2 ounce)
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 cans cannelini beans -- (15 ounce) drained
Cook chopped bacon in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel. Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Add to drippings in pot and sauté until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to large bowl. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot. Add chopped onion and minced garlic to pot; sauté 4 minutes. Add bacon, stewed tomatoes, chicken broth, red wine, basil and oregano. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Add cannellini; simmer 10 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Source: "Bon Appétit December 1999" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 371 Calories; 17g Fat (43.1% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 83mg Cholesterol; 193mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.
But I REALLY hate sewing.
There, got it out of my system (I think). I really am in the home stretch, so hopefully soon I will be back in the kitchen doing what I love.
Anyway, tonight I made a recipe that I got from Bon Appetit magazine. Or Gourmet. I'm not sure, my Mastercook entry says Bon Appetit, but I suspect it is in fact from Gourmet, because it reminds me of a Gourmet every day recipe. Either way, it can be found at www.epicurious.com of you are interested in other reviews. This is the second time I made this one. I rememeber the first time thinking that I could taste and feel the fat too much to truly enjoy the dish. So this time I cut back a bit. Just a bit. :-) I also added about a cup of sliced mushrooms when I added the beans, as well as about 1/2 cup of chopped fennel fronds. The fennel added some freshness, the mushrooms added some earthiness, and it was really good. My only beef with the recipe as written is that the proportions are way off. You end up with 6 chicken thighs in a huge pot of stew. I am going to try something different with the leftovers though. I am letting it cool, and then I am going to skim the fat off the top. Then I am going to take the remaining thighs and take the chicken off, add it back to the pot along with 2 cups of chicken stock, and a handful or two of frozen spinach. Soup for lunch on Saturday. All it will need is a sprinkle of Asiago and some french bread for dunking.
Here is the recipe, it really is easy and needs very little tending while it cooks. While the stew cooks, there is plenty of time to warm up some bread and toss a salad.
* Exported from MasterCook *
CHICKEN STEW WITH TOMATOES & WHITE BEANS
Serving Size : 6
4 bacon slices -- chopped
6 chicken thighs -- with skin and bones
All purpose flour
1 large onion -- chopped (about 2 cups)
5 garlic cloves -- minced
2 cans stewed tomatoes -- (14 1/2 ounce)
1 can low-salt chicken broth -- (14 1/2 ounce)
3/4 cup dry red wine
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 cans cannelini beans -- (15 ounce) drained
Cook chopped bacon in heavy large pot over medium-high heat until crisp. Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towel. Sprinkle chicken thighs with salt and pepper. Dredge chicken in flour, shaking off excess. Add to drippings in pot and sauté until brown, about 3 minutes per side. Using slotted spoon, transfer chicken to large bowl. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot. Add chopped onion and minced garlic to pot; sauté 4 minutes. Add bacon, stewed tomatoes, chicken broth, red wine, basil and oregano. Bring to boil, scraping up browned bits. Return chicken and any accumulated juices to pot. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked through, about 20 minutes. Add cannellini; simmer 10 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Source: "Bon Appétit December 1999" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 371 Calories; 17g Fat (43.1% calories from fat); 27g Protein; 25g Carbohydrate; 7g Dietary Fiber; 83mg Cholesterol; 193mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 3 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Random Thoughts Today
Sorry, no excitement in the kitchen today or yesterday, and most likely not tomorrow either. I am on a roll with my sewing projects and in order to maintaint my pace, I must keep myself focused. It's hard, that's for sure, but I am up against a deadline, and I am determined to do better than meet it.
This year's musical Bye Bye Birdie was hand-picked by Andy and I because we knew it was a win/win show for all. The kids will enjoy playing it, the community will enjoy seeing it, and we'll enjoy working on it. In theory. Andy's set was not built according to direction, so he has spent all his spare time the last 3 weeks at school rebuilding his set. My painting instructions were not followed very well, so the interior of the MacAfee house looks more like a big top than a living and dining room. And the costumes...yikes. I am having fun shopping and am learning a ton sewing, but yikes. I have one dress that is like a recurring nightmare that won't go away. I am getting grief from staff at the school that I need to make sure I keep track of my spending this year. Um, yeah, hello? I was given a tiny, tiny budget. In a normal year, we can spend about $3500 costuming our entire cast for the musical. I was asked if there were things I could do to trim that amount a bit. Sure, we can rent way less, I can make some, and I am sure I can purchase much of the clothing from vintage clothing stores. Good theory. But not for $500. Yep. That's my costume budget. As it stands now, I have about $200.00 left, and 16 men to find pants for some and suits for others. It will be a busy weekend to be sure. So we'll see. I've also been hearing that there is some concern over how much time I am "not" spending at school. Yeah, I'm not happy about that line of concern. Let's just say it is a good thing for the school that I am not getting paid by the hour.
Anyway, enough venting.
Abigail went on another field trip this week- this time to a Pumpkin Patch. I had some conerns about this one. It was a long bus ride for one- and I was concerned about her digestive pyrotechnics going off. But she did manage just fine with the bus ride. I was also worried about the actual pumpkin patch. The planned activities included a hayride, picking a pumpkin, corn mazes, and a haunted house. I had a nice talk with Abigail about the haunted house, and that it was really important that she stays with her teacher and not go in that one. Last week on a field trip to the fire station, they showed a horrific movie about a little girl starting a fire in her bedroom with a candle- and it getting out of control. According to another Mom who went, they didn't even find out if the girl was okay until the end of the film. Abigail was so upset about it, I had to spend two nights sleeping with her on the airbed. I just can't imagine thinking that a haunted house is okay for kindergarteners. She was so proud of herself after that field trip. She told me that she stayed out of the haunted house, and she LOVED the hayride, so it was a good field trip.
Andy was out of town again last night, so he called to talk to Abigail like he usually does. Well, last night Zander wanted to talk too. It was such a sweet thing to hear him say "luv you Dad-dee". He is such a sweetheart. Every time he watches Barney, he looks for Mommy when the show is over so we can sing the "I Love You" song together. And lately he's also wanted to do "Pocket Rosie" a lot. Of course, he loves the part where we all fall down, and we have to do it quite a few times before he tires of it. As I type this he is watching Jack's Big Music Show on Noggin, and Laurie Berkner is singing and he is dancing like madman. And trying to sing along. He has been areal trooper this week while I sew and shop. And he is only to willing for a little snuggle break when I feel like one. :-)
Well, he is ready for a bit of a nap I think, so I should sign off for today. I just needed a bit of a break from the 1950's for a while. I hope everyone is having a great week!
Monday, October 17, 2005
Chicken with artichokes
Tonight's turn in the kitchen took me to a recipe posted on The Savory Notebook. Alysha made this a week or two back, and it intrigued me. She said it needed tweaking, so I felt the need to tweak. I think I'm happy with the results. I think there are a few things I would still tweak a little more- but overall, the finished product was a good dish served up with some egg noodles. Andy liked it, and since that always is a plus, it will go into my recipe file. I liked that it was quick, and it is fairly versatile. Of course, it called for those wonderful frozen artichoke hearts- and I am SO impressed with those alone. So here is the original recipe with Alysha's notes. I will add my notes and changes as well.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Chicken with Artichoke Hearts
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:20
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 pounds boneless -- skinless chicken thighs, cut into 2-inch chunks Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 garlic cloves -- minced
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
2 cups water
1 red bell pepper -- ribs and seeds removed, cut into 1/2-inch strips -- (I added about 1/4 cup of chopped kalamata olives)
1 package frozen artichoke hearts -- (10 ounces) thawed and halved
4 ounces feta cheese -- crumbled
1. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper; add to skillet, and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes.
2. Reduce heat to medium; add garlic, oregano, and crushed red pepper to skillet. Cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes. Add vinegar; cook, scraping up browned bits from bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon, until liquid has evaporated, 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Add 2 cups water to skillet, and simmer over medium heat 10 minutes. Add bell pepper and artichoke hearts; simmer until chicken is tender and liquid has thickened, 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in feta cheese, season with salt and pepper as desired, and serve.
Per serving: 377 calories; 19.8 grams fat; 39.8 grams protein; 9.6 grams carbohydrates; 4.6 grams fiber
Martha's Note: Since they are not packed in oil as many jarred artichoke hearts are, frozen ones taste the closest to fresh.
Source: "Martha Stewart's Everyday Food"Start to Finish Time: "0:40" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 148 Calories; 13g Fat (76.8% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 319mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 2 Fat.
NOTES : Because the chicken in this Mediterranean-style dish is braised, thighs are best. Dark meat stays moister than white; it becomes even more tender when cooked in liquid.
Now for my changes.
1 teaspoon olive oil
3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2 inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/2 inch strips
1/2 of a sweet onion, cut into thin slices
8 kalamata olives, chopped (okay, 8 was all I had, I would have liked a little more)
1 package frozen artichoke hearts, drained and cut in half
4 ounces feta cheese
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup low fat sour cream
I basically followed the directions, adding the onions and olives in with the peppers. Except that once the liquid had cooked down, I added the splash of lemon juice and sour cream. I think I would like yogurt better- but I used what I had. I added the feta cheese after those had combined with the sauce and serve dit right away. And if you notice, I used chicken stock instead of water. I think that next time I would also add 1/2 teaspoon of Greek Seasoning with the oregano. I don't personally care for the flavor of just using oregano, but I like it fine in a blend. I didn't have a problem with using chicken breasts instead of thighs. I'm sure the thighs would have a slightly better flavor, but I was using things up in the freezer- hence the breasts. I did use a little less of cook time in the first step- basically cooking them until they were no longer pink instead of the full 10 minutes.
I'm not sure what I will work on tomorrow. I really need to devote some time to my sewing this week, as I have costumes to finish. Aargh. So maybe there will be something new, maybe not. And because I need to get my mind out of the kitchen, and into the sewing room, I will be staying away from a challenge this week. Hopefully next week I will be back on track to challenge myself next week. :-)
Sorry for the slacking!!
It seems I sort of took the weekend off. I didn't actually mean to, so sorry baout that. I've been a little busy.
Well, last night for our weekly Company Dinner we went with a Chinese theme. Chinese food is not my forte', but I do make a good egg roll, so that's where we started. I told Company I was making egg rolls, and my friend Elizabeth said she had a great recipe for pot stickers. Oh yes, I could live on pot stickers. So that was good. My problem was the entree' portion of dinner. I will admit to the world, that I am terrible at stir frying. I always overcook everything and my sauces are pasty. I'm sure part of the problem is my lack of proper equipment, but even so, I should be able to at least muddle something up. So the CL BB to the rescue for me. I made CL's Three Pepper Beef, and it was very good, and quite easy. Since one of our guests doesn't care for peppers, I made a half a recipe of the pepper beef, and then subbed a blend of mushrooms for the other half of the recipe. I also added some Oyster Sauce to the finished mushroom product. And I have to admit, they turned out pretty good.
I will also admit that my egg roll is not my creation. I use CL's Baked Egg Roll recipe- but I still deep fry them. Baked egg roll wrappers are really not good, but their filling is, so I use that, escept that I add a little more black pepper than called for. I will post both recipes below here for anyone interested.
And finally, to top of the meal, Elizabeth made a fine contribution to my rice challenge for the week. She brought a Sticky Coconut Rice with Mangoes. This was very good. I had her bring the recipe along- and I will share that a little later when I have more time. But the creamy coconutty rice and the mangoes and all topped with a drizzle of coconut milk and toasted coconut. Yum. I have bit in the fridge, and I am thinking it won't last very long. But in the meantime, here are the CL recipes I used last night.
Three-Pepper Beef
This stir-fry gets its color and crunch from a variety of bell peppers. Serve over rice.
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 teaspoon sugar,
divided1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound flank steak, trimmed and thinly sliced across the grain
1/4 cup low-salt beef broth
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 1/4 cups cubed red bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed yellow bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed green bell pepper
Combine 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt, and flank steak in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Set aside.
Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, broth, soy sauce, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves; set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green onions, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry 10 seconds. Add beef mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove the beef mixture from pan; cover and keep warm. Add peas and bell peppers to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add beef and broth mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 3/4 cups)
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 326(36% from fat); FAT 13g (sat 5.2g,mono 5g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 34.1g; CHOLESTEROL 76mg; CALCIUM 50mg; SODIUM 832mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 4.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 17.6g
Martin Yan
Cooking Light, JULY 2004
Baked Egg Rolls
"My mother got this recipe from her grandmother, and I've modified it to include turkey. When dipped in traditional Vietnamese sauce and served with rice noodles on the side, these make an easy, low-fat, and delicious main meal." -CL Reader
Egg rolls:
2/3 cup coarsely chopped celery
2/3 cup coarsely chopped carrot
2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound ground turkey breast
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
14 egg roll wrappers
1 large egg white
Cooking spray
Sauce:
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine celery and carrot in food processor, and pulse 10 times or until finely chopped.
Combine celery mixture and cabbage in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; vent. Microwave at high 5 minutes; drain.
Heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cabbage mixture, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, and pepper. Cover and chill 15 minutes.
Place 1 egg roll wrapper at a time onto work surface with 1 corner pointing toward you (wrapper should look like a diamond). Trim 1 inch off right and left corners of wrapper. Spoon 3 tablespoons turkey filling into center of wrapper. Fold lower corner of egg roll wrapper over filling. Fold in trimmed corners. Moisten top corner of wrapper with egg white; roll up jelly-roll fashion. Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers, turkey filling, and egg white.
Lightly coat egg rolls with cooking spray, and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
To prepare sauce, combine 3/4 cup soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon ginger; serve with egg rolls. Garnish with green onions, if desired. Yield: 14 servings (serving size: 1 roll and about 1 tablespoon sauce)
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 79(29% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 0.9g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 5.7g; CHOLESTEROL 11mg; CALCIUM 18mg; SODIUM 532mg; FIBER 0.7g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8g
Cooking Light, MARCH 2001
Well, last night for our weekly Company Dinner we went with a Chinese theme. Chinese food is not my forte', but I do make a good egg roll, so that's where we started. I told Company I was making egg rolls, and my friend Elizabeth said she had a great recipe for pot stickers. Oh yes, I could live on pot stickers. So that was good. My problem was the entree' portion of dinner. I will admit to the world, that I am terrible at stir frying. I always overcook everything and my sauces are pasty. I'm sure part of the problem is my lack of proper equipment, but even so, I should be able to at least muddle something up. So the CL BB to the rescue for me. I made CL's Three Pepper Beef, and it was very good, and quite easy. Since one of our guests doesn't care for peppers, I made a half a recipe of the pepper beef, and then subbed a blend of mushrooms for the other half of the recipe. I also added some Oyster Sauce to the finished mushroom product. And I have to admit, they turned out pretty good.
I will also admit that my egg roll is not my creation. I use CL's Baked Egg Roll recipe- but I still deep fry them. Baked egg roll wrappers are really not good, but their filling is, so I use that, escept that I add a little more black pepper than called for. I will post both recipes below here for anyone interested.
And finally, to top of the meal, Elizabeth made a fine contribution to my rice challenge for the week. She brought a Sticky Coconut Rice with Mangoes. This was very good. I had her bring the recipe along- and I will share that a little later when I have more time. But the creamy coconutty rice and the mangoes and all topped with a drizzle of coconut milk and toasted coconut. Yum. I have bit in the fridge, and I am thinking it won't last very long. But in the meantime, here are the CL recipes I used last night.
Three-Pepper Beef
This stir-fry gets its color and crunch from a variety of bell peppers. Serve over rice.
2 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 teaspoon sugar,
divided1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound flank steak, trimmed and thinly sliced across the grain
1/4 cup low-salt beef broth
3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup sugar snap peas, trimmed
1 1/4 cups cubed red bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed yellow bell pepper
1 1/4 cups cubed green bell pepper
Combine 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, salt, and flank steak in a medium bowl; toss to coat. Set aside.
Combine 2 teaspoons cornstarch, 1/2 teaspoon sugar, broth, soy sauce, and black pepper, stirring with a whisk until sugar dissolves; set aside.
Heat oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the green onions, ginger, and garlic; stir-fry 10 seconds. Add beef mixture; stir-fry 3 minutes or until done. Remove the beef mixture from pan; cover and keep warm. Add peas and bell peppers to pan; stir-fry 4 minutes or until crisp-tender. Add beef and broth mixture to pan; cook 2 minutes or until thickened, stirring constantly. Yield: 4 servings (serving size: about 1 3/4 cups)
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 326(36% from fat); FAT 13g (sat 5.2g,mono 5g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 34.1g; CHOLESTEROL 76mg; CALCIUM 50mg; SODIUM 832mg; FIBER 4.4g; IRON 4.3mg; CARBOHYDRATE 17.6g
Martin Yan
Cooking Light, JULY 2004
Baked Egg Rolls
"My mother got this recipe from her grandmother, and I've modified it to include turkey. When dipped in traditional Vietnamese sauce and served with rice noodles on the side, these make an easy, low-fat, and delicious main meal." -CL Reader
Egg rolls:
2/3 cup coarsely chopped celery
2/3 cup coarsely chopped carrot
2 cups shredded cabbage
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 pound ground turkey breast
1 1/2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
14 egg roll wrappers
1 large egg white
Cooking spray
Sauce:
3/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce
6 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/3 cup thinly sliced green onions (optional)
Preheat oven to 425°.
Combine celery and carrot in food processor, and pulse 10 times or until finely chopped.
Combine celery mixture and cabbage in a medium bowl. Cover with plastic wrap; vent. Microwave at high 5 minutes; drain.
Heat vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add turkey; cook 5 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cabbage mixture, 1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce, and pepper. Cover and chill 15 minutes.
Place 1 egg roll wrapper at a time onto work surface with 1 corner pointing toward you (wrapper should look like a diamond). Trim 1 inch off right and left corners of wrapper. Spoon 3 tablespoons turkey filling into center of wrapper. Fold lower corner of egg roll wrapper over filling. Fold in trimmed corners. Moisten top corner of wrapper with egg white; roll up jelly-roll fashion. Repeat procedure with remaining wrappers, turkey filling, and egg white.
Lightly coat egg rolls with cooking spray, and place, seam side down, on a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. Bake at 425° for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
To prepare sauce, combine 3/4 cup soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon ginger; serve with egg rolls. Garnish with green onions, if desired. Yield: 14 servings (serving size: 1 roll and about 1 tablespoon sauce)
NUTRITION PER SERVINGCALORIES 79(29% from fat); FAT 2.5g (sat 0.4g,mono 0.9g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 5.7g; CHOLESTEROL 11mg; CALCIUM 18mg; SODIUM 532mg; FIBER 0.7g; IRON 0.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 8g
Cooking Light, MARCH 2001
Saturday, October 15, 2005
Chocolate fun!
Last night was very fun. Of course, how can chocolate ever NOT be fun. ;-) While I don't always find Pampered Chef parties fun, this one was. Part of that, I'm sure, can be contributed to the consultant who was very laid back and low-pressure. I also had people come that I didn't actually expect to come, and some neighbors, both old and new. So it was a good time. I got to know a few people better that I didn't know very well before, so that is always a bonus.
On to the chocolate. I didn't do anything overly complicated, but since it was a chocolate party, I felt I needed to have a good representation of chocolate here. I started with fudge. This was a super simple fudge that I added a few things- and by far was my favorite item of the evening. It was basic Eagle Brand fudge, only I mixed in some orange zest, craisins, and pecans, and oh yum. Next I made a batch of brownies. My favorite brownie currently is the one on a can of Ghirardelli Sweet Ground Chocolate and Cocoa. I would post the recipe- but since you need that specific cocoa to make the brownies- just go buy yourself a can. The recipe is on there. :-) Finally I made chocolate mousse cups. I made a simpel mousse with whipped cream, dark chocolate, and cinnamon. Next I took some frozen phyllo cups and brushed white chocolate on the top edge and a dollop on the bottom. I piped in the mousse, sprinkled on some edible glitter and had mousse cups. They turned out pretty darn good too.
Rounding out the evening for me, I made a centerpiece of chocolate chips. I used a bowl of dark, white, and swirl chocolate chips in three seperate bowls, surrounded by chocolate candy corn. It was nice and simple. I also made a simple punch using 7-Up, Pineapple juice, and orange sherbet. That was quite yummy and I will do again. And for those who cared to, of course, you cannot have chocolate without a glass of wine- right?
The PC rep made a skillet fudge cake which was okay, and a cold chocolate fondue. That was silly in my opinion, but then I have become a bit of a food snob as of late. She took chocolate chips and melted them, then stirred them into some Cool Whip and added a sprinkle of cinnamon. It certainly wasn't fondue. It was a dip, but it was more mousse-like than anything, and I think they would be better to call it chocolate mousse dip than fondue. Of course, I've been staying away from Cool Whip anyway- all that high fructose corn syrup...yucky. Give me real whipped cream anyday. The fudge cake was a devils food cake mix baked in a skillet. She took some caramel sundae topping and mixed in some chocolate chips and melted them together. Voila, topping for cake. And of course, decorated with Cool Whip squeezed out of a decorator. A little silly for me and my taste, but not bad considering some of the PC recipes I have experienced over time.
And for my non-chocolate contribution I made a cold Greek inspired pizza. I really went back and forth on whether or not I needed something non-chocolate, and I'm glad that I did decide to do that. I started with a purchased pizza crust (Gasp! The horror- I know, I know). Then I took some Chive cream cheese, stirred in some mayo, lemon juice, and Penzey's Greek Seasoning, and made a sauce for the pizza. I topped this with some pre-cooked chicken breast chopped up, marinated artichoke hearts, kalamata olives, tomatoes, feta cheese, and green onions. I guess it was pretty good. I never actually got a chance to have a piece, but I had back ups in case I needed to toss together a quick second pizza, so I may make it up for lunch today.
Here is the recipe for Eagle Brand Fudge, followed by my quantities for the Orange-Cranberry Pecan additions. I want to add that I have successfully made this with both the low fat and the fat free condensed milk- so if you,d rather- go nuts.
1 can Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk.
1 1/2 pkgs. chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
Melt chocolate chips and condensed milk together in the microwave for about 2 minutes. Stir until melted and combined. Stir in vanilla and pour into an 8x8 pan lined with plastic wrap and sprayed with cooking spray. Let cool and harden for several hours before cutting. Add nuts if desired.
Chocolate Cranberry version:
Along with the vanilla, stir in:
FInely grated zest of 1 orange
3/4 cup craisins
1/2 cup chopped pecans
The craisins make it take a little longer for the fudge to set up, so give it overnight before cutting into it. This is a hard step to follow- but you will be rewarded with fabulous orange fudge with yummy bursts of sweetness inside.
Thursday, October 13, 2005
This one...not so good.
Dinner went as planned tonight. Whew. One of our favorite standbys is CL's Honey Pecan Crusted Chicken. It is very simple and very good. Even Abigail gobbles it up, and she usually doesn't care for skin or coating on her chicken. So of course, that was welcome for dinner. My butternut squash risotto however...
This was the first time that I ever made real risotto. The process was a little intensive. Stirring mostly constantly for half an hour was certainly something. It was interesting to see it come together. I'm just not sure I liked it, and I'm just not sure why. I think I liked the texture- it was nice and creamy, yet the grains of rice were a touch chewy, but not annoying chewy. I'm thinking what I didn't like was the squash. I love, love, love squash. Roasted with a touch of butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon, and I am in heaven. Just this past Sunday for Company Dinner, one of our guests brought acorn squash halves stuffed with raisins, apples, and cranberries- and that was fabulous! The one time I tried to make a squash soup, I took three bites and had to toss it- the flavors did not work for me. I think that was my problem here. So, I will attempt risotto again, but something non-squashy.
So here are the recipes- the risotto does get good reviews on the CL website- so I am sure it is good if you like those flavors.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Honey Pecan Crusted Chicken
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 chicken breasts -- skinned
8 chicken leg -- skinned
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/4 cups corn flakes -- crushed
1/2 cup pecan -- finely chopped
Preheat oven to 400.
Sprinkle salt and pepper evenly over chicken.
Combine honey, mustard, paprika, and garlic. Brush both sides of chicken with sauce.
Combine cornflakes and pecans. Dredge chicken in cornflakes.
Place on large baking sheet that has been prepared with cooking spray. Lightly coat chicken with cooking spray.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes.
Source: "Cooking Light"Yield: "1 piece" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 439 Calories; 26g Fat (53.3% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 9g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 154mg Cholesterol; 256mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 6 Lean Meat; 1 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
* Exported from MasterCook *
Butternut Squash Risotto
1 cup water -- divided
1 can low-salt beef broth -- (14 1/4-ounce)
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 1/2 cups cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 pound) -- (3/4-inch)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup Arborio rice or other short-grain rice
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese -- (2 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley
Bring 3/4 cups water and broth to a simmer in a large saucepan (do not boil). Keep warm over low heat.Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion; cook 8 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently. Add 1/4 cup water, squash, salt, and pepper; cook 10 minutes or until squash is tender and water has almost evaporated. Add rice; stir until combined. Stir in 1/2 cup broth mixture; cook until liquid is nearly absorbed, stirring constantly. Add the remaining broth mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly until each portion of broth is absorbed before adding the next (about 30 minutes total). Stir in cheese, butter, and parsley. Serve immediately.
Yield: "2/3 cup per serving" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 49 Calories; 5g Fat (98.5% calories from fat); trace Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 12mg Cholesterol; 136mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Vegetable; 1 Fat.
Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Tomorrow night there will be no dinner- as my chocolate party is tomorrow. If I get a chance I will post all of my temptations tomorrow night- otherwise look for the round-up sometime on Saturday. Have a good Friday everyone.
I'm so excited!!
I found frozen artichoke hearts today!!!! I LOVE artichokes, but really do not like the hassle of preparing one fresh, so I always use canned artichokes. I have been searching for the frozen ones, but have not found them before today. So it's a happy day here! On tap tonight (I hope) will be a Honey-Pecan Crusted Chicken and BUtternut Squash Risotto. Although I am tempted to move up the artichoke dish now...
Anyway,I will be back with more later. I just wanted to share the excitement of the artichoke. And if anyone else is looking- they are actually being marketed by Birds Eye- so if you're grocer carries Birds Eye already, it should be no problem for you to ask them to carry the artichoke hearts too.
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